Master Lu looked at Lu Jun for a while. When the carriage wheels arrived outside, he instructed Lu Jun, "How about this, I'll ask your second brother's opinion during the New Year. We'll talk about this after the New Year."
Lu Jun breathed a sigh of relief; as long as he wasn't rejected, that was fine.
The carriages stopped in order, and the people got off and followed the palace maids to the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
The Hall of Preserving Harmony was where the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty entertained his ministers. It was used to hold banquets on holidays or the birthdays of the emperor and empress.
The Hall of Preserving Harmony is very large, and even with the families of officials of the second rank or above invited, it was not full.
After all the ministers had arrived, the Emperor and Empress Xue helped the Empress Dowager over. The little prince, who was over two years old, followed Empress Xue, holding onto her clothes as they walked.
"Your Majesty... Empress Dowager... Her Majesty the Empress... His Highness the Crown Prince..."
The crowd performed a deep kneeling ceremony.
"Rise!"
After helping the Empress Dowager to sit down, the Emperor returned to his own seat. Only after seeing Empress Xue and the young Crown Prince seated did he invite everyone to rise.
At such times, the emperor usually remains very serious, as he must maintain his imperial dignity at all times, especially with the princes and princesses of the Western Regions present.
After everyone was seated, the eunuch ordered the dishes to be served.
The emperor held up his wine cup, said a few auspicious words, and then everyone raised their cups to drink together before starting to eat.
There is not only delicious food, but also song and dance performances.
The music was melodious, and the dance was graceful. Many people ate and watched, especially Helian Yi, who couldn't take his eyes off the pretty girls. He enjoyed the wine while admiring the beautiful women.
Gu Xin, who was already immune to beautiful women, simply started eating.
Her sister's cooking was delicious and innovative, but the food in the palace was just as good, especially after Uncle Gu grew more varieties of vegetables in Kunzhou, which directly enriched the ingredients in the imperial kitchen.
Gu Xin and Gu Si both ate with relish, while Gu Ren and Gu Yingxue sat together, eating and enjoying the dance.
"San Niu, do you think I should go to the Royal Academy too? I feel like I can do a lot of things besides writing stories!" Gu Ren tugged at Gu Yingxue and asked.
"Gu Erdan, call me sister!" Gu Yingxue slapped him angrily, then said, "I can't make decisions for you right now. You have to ask Second Uncle. But I don't think Second Uncle will agree."
"Hahaha, you don't understand! Second Uncle will definitely agree!" Gu Ren mocked Gu Yingxue, looking at her like she was an idiot.
"Why?" Gu Yingxue wasn't angry and asked without being ashamed.
She was considered smarter than Gu Nian and Gu Erdan; she was rather slow-witted.
"Why? Because I have an older brother and a bunch of younger brothers. The ones in the middle don't need to occupy important positions in the court. Only Enzi is someone the emperor and the ministers can trust. I can't be too outstanding, or others will worry. The younger brothers haven't grown up yet; we can train them after Enzi enters officialdom. So, I can't be too outstanding, or I'll cause trouble for the family," Gu Ren explained to Gu Yingxue.
"Impossible, right? Your second uncle torments you by making you study all day long, and you're telling me he doesn't want you to take the imperial examination? I don't believe it." Gu Yingxue shook her head.
“Why not?” Gu Ren’s eyes darted around as he chuckled. “You don’t believe me? How about we make a bet? I’ll ask my second uncle during the first month of the lunar year if he’d be willing to send me to the Royal Academy when I reach that age, and he’d definitely be.”
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