Chapter 210 Celebration Banquet
When everyone in the hall heard that Jiang Hao was asking for a meeting outside, they all fell silent for a moment.
Huo Zheng said calmly, "Please let him in."
"Yes." The soldier who entered to pass the message responded and left.
A moment later, Jiang Hao, dressed in black, walked over the threshold with several rebel leaders, his sleeves fluttering as he walked in. His arrival brought a gust of cold wind, which blew the candlelight in the hall. The vision in front of everyone darkened for a moment, but soon returned to light again.
Jiang Hao and several rebel leaders knelt on one knee, clasped their fists and saluted, saying, "Greetings to the King of Chang'an! Jiang Hao is late, I hope the prince will forgive me."
Huo Zheng laughed and said, "You led your men to attack Xizhou City overnight and destroyed the rebels' lair. You have accomplished another great feat and should be rewarded. Why should you forgive me?"
Jiang Hao raised his head and said, "I have indeed recaptured Xizhou City for this prince, destroyed the rebels' lair, and brought back a lot of food and medicine. However... the person the prince was looking for, the Ninth Prince Huo Yan, has disappeared."
"What?" General Wang stood up immediately after hearing this. "The Ninth Prince is missing? Hasn't he been held captive by Cao Jing in the rebel lair? Now that the rebels have surrendered and Xizhou City has been recaptured, how could the Ninth Prince disappear?"
Everyone at the banquet couldn't help but talk about it when they heard the news that the Ninth Prince Huo Yan was missing.
Many people were skeptical about Jiang Hao killing Cao Jing and leading the rebels to surrender to the imperial court. Therefore, when Jiang Hao led the rebels to attack Xizhou City during the chaos and wiped out the rebels' lair, they always felt that Jiang Hao had other plans.
Who knows if he will close the city gates as soon as he enters Xizhou City and turn against the court?
Before Jiang Hao arrived, everyone was talking about many possibilities, but King Chang'an didn't let them talk about these, so everyone changed the subject.
Jiang Haoren has returned now, and he did not take over Xizhou City, but he lost the Ninth Prince!
The current emperor dotes on the imperial concubine, and his fatherly love for the Ninth Prince far exceeds that for the other princes. When he sent Prince Chang'an Huo Zheng to Xizhou, he put the rescue of the Ninth Prince Huo Yan together with the suppression of the rebellion in Xizhou. This shows how much the emperor values his son Huo Yan.
Now that Huo Yan is missing, even if Huo Zheng repels the Xiling army, incorporates the rebels, and quells the rebellion in Xizhou, in the emperor's mind he will probably still be considered to have done a poor job.
Maybe the emperor even suspected that Huo Zheng was bent on fighting for the throne, so he disregarded his brother's life and deliberately killed Huo Yan.
The royal family is heartless, and there has always been more suspicion than affection between fathers, sons and brothers.
The civil officials were more thoughtful. Seeing Jiang Hao, they couldn't help but wonder in a low voice whether Jiang Hao had deliberately hidden the Ninth Prince.
Who else would take the Ninth Prince away at this time?
Huo Zheng said, "Ninth brother has always been very quick-witted. Perhaps he has already taken advantage of the rebellion to escape."
When everyone heard what King Chang'an said, they immediately stopped talking.
The Ninth Prince and the Prince of Chang'an are not born of the same mother, and the contrast between them now is extremely tragic.
One is a useless prince, the other is a hero who turned the tide and pacified an area.
If they were the ninth prince, they would probably not have the face to see their brother.
If you think about it more deeply, the Ninth Prince Huo Yan and Prince Chang'an are rivals in the fight for the throne. Maybe he is afraid that Prince Chang'an will harm him at this time, so he deliberately hides to avoid being found by Prince Chang'an's people.
There are indeed many possibilities for the disappearance of the Ninth Prince.
Jiang Hao said, "Your Highness and the Ninth Prince are brothers, so you naturally know best how the Ninth Prince will act. If the Ninth Prince really escapes during the chaos, we should send someone to look for him now."
Huo Zheng said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. Yuanjia, tomorrow you will paint a portrait of my ninth brother and have painters copy it. Post it all over Xizhou. Anyone who finds my ninth brother and reports him will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold."
Young Master Gu is a famous painter, and he has met the Ninth Prince Huo Yan several times. It would be most appropriate to entrust this task to him.
"Yes, Your Highness." Gu Yuanjia stood up and responded.
"Everyone, please sit down." Huo Zheng said to Jiang Hao, "You've worked so hard to capture Xizhou City overnight. Come and sit down."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Jiang Hao and several rebel leaders sat down at the lower right of King Chang'an.
Sitting in the seats to the lower left of Prince Chang'an were Gu Yuanjia and Shao Feiyang, both of whom were Huo Zheng's confidants.
All other seats were full, only the seat on the lower right was empty, which was obviously reserved for them.
After Jiang Hao sat down, countless eyes fell on him. He didn't care. He just found that Princess Chang'an was looking at him, so he looked up and smiled at her.
Chunzhi's eyelids twitched when she saw this.
This man was filled with murderous intent, and when he smiled there was no warmth at all, only sinisterness and ambition.
The last time Chunzhi saw Jiang Hao, he was a prisoner. Now when she saw him again, he had become a meritorious official who led the rebels to surrender to the court.
In just two or three months, my identity has changed drastically.
Even though she had thought that Huo Zheng might use him as a weapon when she sent people to escort Jiang Hao to Xizhou, she had never thought that he would have such an experience.
Tonight is the celebration banquet. Huo Zheng publicly praised Jiang Hao for his decision to turn from evil to good, affirmed the generals' bravery in fighting the enemy, and the achievements of a number of officials. He even did not forget to mention the contributions of the female family members.
The Prince of Chang'an said, "Once the Western Province is pacified, I will return to the capital and report the truth, and request honors and commendations for you all."
Everyone raised their glasses and said repeatedly, "Thank you, Your Highness!"
Some people also said that they did this not for any reward, but for the people and for Xizhou.
While Huo Zheng expressed his understanding, he also said that he was a role model for the country and the people and should be rewarded.
Chunzhi watched Huo Zheng talking to everyone. No matter whether they were civil officials or military generals, they all looked honored and gratified by what he said.
Huo Zheng seems to be born to be a superior.
Perhaps it was because they had been suffering too much from being suppressed by the Xiling people and the rebels for these days. Before Huo Zheng showed up with the Mo Yu Cavalry, General Wang and his men even planned to fight to the death. After three rounds of drinks, some people started cursing the Xiling people, some shed tears on the spot, and some laughed out loud.
Noisy and lively.
Chunzhi picked up some dishes and put them in Huo Zheng's bowl. "Don't just drink, eat something to fill your stomach."
Huo Zheng glanced at her sideways, his thin lips curled slightly as he said, "Thank you, Princess."
Chunzhi was about to speak when she saw Jiang Hao stand up and walk towards her with a glass of wine in his hand.
She thought Jiang Hao came to toast Huo Zheng, as many civil officials and military generals had come to visit Huo Zheng during the banquet.
But Jiang Hao stood in front of her, holding a wine glass. "Before, I was driven by Cao Jing and plotted to seize the Song family's wealth, which frightened the princess. Today, I have come to apologize. I hope that the princess will not bear grudges against me."
Everyone at the banquet had been paying close attention to Jiang Hao. Although they had all drunk a lot of wine, most of them were still sober. When they saw him approach Princess Chang'an, they all looked over...
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