Chapter 130: Banquet for Ministers

"Your Highness! I've been here for so long, but you ignored me and only cared about the princess's happy conversation. I'm so sad." Xiao Liangdi said coquettishly.

"Nonsense, how could I forget Liangdi? Don't stand there, take a seat and have a good chat with me." Li Chengqian said with a smile.

"No! Your Highness! I want to sit next to you. I am your Liangdi. If I sit so far away from you, wouldn't it be awkward?" Xiao Liangdi said, and then she walked directly to Li Chengqian and leaned against him.

"Your Highness, you haven't come to see me for so long, have you forgotten me?"

"Nonsense, I'm busy with government affairs, and I was summoned to Luoyang by my father some time ago, so naturally I have less time to visit you."

"I've been to the Crown Princess less often than I've been to you, but the Crown Princess hasn't complained." Li Chengqian said.

"Your Highness! It seems that you really forgot about me, and you've been hanging around outside, and now you're saying that I'm a complaining woman." Xiao Liangdi complained.

God is my conscience, our Crown Prince really didn't mean that, why do women's brain circuits always differ from men's.

"How could it be, my Liangdi is so beautiful, and I love her so much, how could I forget you?" Li Chengqian said.

Li Chengqian bombarded Xiao Liangdi with a bunch of sweet words, which made Xiao Liangdi very happy and she was even more affectionate to Li Chengqian.

Princess Xincheng, who was standing by, blushed when she heard this, and felt that her eldest brother, the crown prince, was really good at flirting!

If only her husband in the future could be like this to the crown prince!

The hopes of our princess are probably going to be dashed. Wei Shuyu is an honest and upright child. He inherited his father Wei Zheng's outspokenness, and sweet words are not his strong point.

Princess Xincheng is afraid that she can't expect Wei Shuyu to say sweet words in the future.

"Your Highness! Is Luoyang fun? I have never been to Luoyang, can you tell us about it!" Xiao Liangdi said with a curious look on her face.

Princess Xincheng was also curious. She had been growing up in the palace and had never been outside the palace, let alone a place as far away as Luoyang.

"Luoyang! There's nothing fun about it. It's not much different from Chang'an. Since you want to hear it, I'll tell you."

Li Chengqian told them about his time in Luoyang. When he got to the exciting part, the two of them lit up and cheered.

It took him half an hour to finish the story.

"Okay! It's getting late! I should go back!" Li Chengqian said.

"Your Highness! Are you leaving now? I want to keep you for dinner!" Xiao Liangdi asked.

"There are still many government affairs that need to be handled by me, not to mention that I have to entertain all the officials tonight, so I will not stay here any longer! I will come to see you in the palace later." Li Chengqian said.

It was impossible for him to stay in the harem all day. There were still some government affairs that needed to be handled by him personally, and there were many things that needed to be arranged for the evening banquet for all the officials.

Li Chengqian left the harem and came to Guangtian Palace. He asked Wang Quan to call the wet nurse Madam Suian and told her to arrange the banquet tonight.

Madam Suian was not only the wet nurse of the prince, but also the chief official in charge of the daily expenses of the East Palace.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince!" Madam Suian came to Guangtian Palace and saluted Li Chengqian.

"No need to be polite, wet nurse! Stand up!" Li Chengqian said with a smile.

Madam Suian was the person Li Chengqian trusted the most. Li Chengqian was naturally relieved to let her take care of his food and daily life.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Madam Suian stood up and said, "Your Highness summoned me, what do you want me to do?"

"I will host a banquet for all the officials tonight, and I will leave the arrangements for the banquet to you, the wet nurse." Li Chengqian said.

"Yes!" Madam Suian said, "Your Highness,

don't worry! I will definitely arrange the banquet!" "Yes! With the wet nurse personally taking care of it, I am relieved!" Li Chengqian said.

"Your Highness! Are you hosting a banquet for all the officials tonight, but are you hosting the officials of the Eastern Palace like in the past?" Madam Suian asked.

Although Li Chengqian was the crown prince, he would usually only invite the officials of the Eastern Palace to eat and drink, and chat about the current situation, and advise the crown prince on what he should do to please the emperor.

The prince would tell the officials of the Eastern Palace about his political views, and they would discuss them. Most of the time, he would have academic exchanges with scholars.

Theoretically, the prince could also entertain ministers, but if he did so without a legitimate reason, it would easily arouse the emperor's suspicion.

If you often interact with them, the emperor would think that you are forming a clique for personal gain, which would lead to the possibility of usurping the throne, especially if you interact with military generals, which would be more likely to arouse the emperor's suspicion. As the saying goes, you can

guard against thieves day and night, but you can't guard against thieves in your own house! What if you, a thief in your own house, want to seize his throne?

Since ancient times, when encountering such a situation, as long as someone fanned the flames, the emperor would immediately deal with the prince. Even if it was false news, the emperor would kill without hesitation, so that the emperor could sleep peacefully.

Therefore, a smart prince would generally keep a safe distance from the ministers in the court so as not to arouse the emperor's suspicion of him.

If the prince really wants to collude with the ministers in the court, he will secretly contact them through the relatives of these ministers who work in the East Palace.

So it is normal for Madam Suian to ask this question.

"In addition to entertaining the officials of the East Palace this time, this palace will also invite officials above the fourth rank to attend the banquet. This banquet should be simpler, not too extravagant and wasteful." Li Chengqian said.

Now that he is the crown prince, he can openly host a banquet for the ministers in the court as a reward for their work.

"Yes! I will arrange it right away!" Madam Suian bowed and left.

Madam Suian personally ordered the selection of ingredients and asked the chef to prepare a simple meal. She also recorded the officials above the fourth rank and the original officials of the Eastern Palace, and then sent people to notify them to attend the banquet held by the Eastern Palace tonight.

At night, the officials who received the notice came to the Eastern Palace one after another and took seats according to their ranks. The higher the rank, the closer they were to Li Chengqian.

After the meeting, all the officials found familiar officials and chatted with each other. The scene was very harmonious.

However, the sons of noble families and those of poor families were divided into two distinct groups, and no one participated in the conversation between the two.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!" As Wang Quan's voice came, the Guangtian Hall, which was originally a little noisy, immediately became quiet, and everyone hurriedly stood up.

"Meet the Crown Prince!" When Li Chengqian came to his seat and sat down, all the officials saluted.

"No need to be so polite! Take your seats!" Li Chengqian said. "

Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Everyone sat down and waited for the food to be served. Many people were already hungry, but they were still waiting to eat.