270, repeated calculations
270, repeated calculations
When Lu Mingfei returned to the banquet from outside, a noble lady from an aristocratic family was already playing the pipa.
The emperor sat on the throne and drank with his ministers, with a happy smile on his face.
The queen plays the role of the mother of a country and lives in harmony with her concubines.
Zhang Lingxuan, who was sitting at his seat, waited anxiously until he finally saw Lu Mingfei, who had been gone for a long time, return. He grabbed Lu Mingfei's hand and asked worriedly, "Are you okay? You look terrible."
"I'm fine." Lu Mingfei shook his head. He didn't know what medicine Zhao Lang had given him, but after taking it, he felt weak and powerless, as if all his strength had been suppressed. He felt very uncomfortable.
Just now, the imperial physician examined him and gave him a bottle of medicine. However, after taking the medicine given by Zhao Lang's men, he didn't dare to take the medicine given by the imperial physician again, so he still carried the medicine given by the imperial physician with him.
Seeing the eldest prince looking at them, Lu Mingfei did not avoid the eldest prince's gaze. The eldest prince gave him a provocative sneer, and the other party turned his eyes away and no longer looked at him.
[The eldest prince, right? Just wait for me!] Lu Mingfei took note of the eldest prince in his heart. He would definitely find a chance to repay the eldest prince for being drugged today.
Retracting his gaze from the eldest prince, Lu Mingfei thanked his friend: "Thank you for tonight."
"You don't have to thank me. It was Fu Lianxin who helped find His Royal Highness the Second Prince. Just now when I was about to go find His Royal Highness the Second Prince, I was stopped by two eunuchs halfway. Fortunately, Fu Lianxin showed up in time, otherwise I don't know what to do." Zhang Lingxuan told Lu Mingfei what he had encountered.
Lu Mingfei had just left and was not here, so he really didn't know that Zhang Lingxuan had encountered such a thing.
"The eldest prince must have calculated that we would go to the second prince for help, so he blocked your way on purpose." He didn't even leave him any chance of survival! Lu Mingfei cursed the eldest prince in his heart.
If Fu Lianxin and the Second Prince hadn't come to his aid, he would have been in real trouble tonight.
Fortunately, he is now out of danger. As long as he can hold on until he can leave the palace safely, he will be fine. But in the future...
Lu Mingfei looked at his friend and said with a guilty look on his face, "You helped me today. I'm afraid the eldest prince will also hold a grudge against you."
"I'm sorry, I hurt you."
"Don't say that. Even if I didn't help you, the eldest prince would think we were in cahoots." Zhang Lingxuan didn't regret helping his friends today. He knew that if Lu Mingfei hadn't helped them over the years, he might not have reached this point now, sitting in this palace and attending a palace banquet.
However, what happened tonight also made Zhang Lingxuan realize one thing, that is, even if these children from humble backgrounds entered officialdom, they had no help, no connections, and no network behind them, and they were still objects that those princes could play with at will.
"Ming Fei, today I have truly experienced that the water in this court is deeper than I imagined." Zhang Lingxuan looked at the guests who came to attend the palace banquet tonight. Who among them did not have a higher status than them?
"I originally thought that if we could pass the imperial examination and become officials, our lives would be bright. Now it seems that I was wrong."
"Ming Fei, I want to leave Kyoto Prefecture and become an official in another place."
"If we stay in Kyoto Prefecture, we don't have any connections behind us, and it will be difficult to move up. If I become an official in the local area, relying on my own abilities, it is not impossible for me to move up in three years." This method is what Zhang Lingxuan can think of at the moment. It is the best way to move up.
After listening to what Zhang Lingxuan said, Lu Mingfei did not respond to him immediately. In fact, he thought that Zhang Lingxuan's idea of leaving Beijing and becoming an official in the local area was also a good one.
But being far away from Kyoto, far away from the center of power, it is also very difficult to work your way back from the bottom step by step. Many people who leave the center of power can never come back here.
Just as he was thinking about what Zhang Lingxuan said about becoming an official in the local area, he heard the eldest prince praising his piano skills and suggesting that he go up and play a song to liven up the atmosphere.
"..." Lu Mingfei, this bastard is not going to stop tonight, you just have to kill him, right?
Hearing what the eldest prince said, Zhang Lingxuan's face fell. He looked in the eldest prince's direction and said in a low voice that only the two of them could hear: "If this eldest prince becomes emperor in the future, neither you nor I will survive."
Lu Mingfei understood this principle very well. He just refused the eldest prince's gift of a beautiful woman at the Qionglin Banquet, but the eldest prince still holds a grudge against him.
The eldest prince has attacked Lu Mingfei many times, and this time even Fu Lianxin couldn't stand it.
Hearing the eldest prince's proposal, he stood up, bowed to the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, as everyone knows, Lu Zhuangyuan comes from a humble family and his zither skills are very average."
"I have been learning music since I was young and have mastered the art of playing the zither. I consider myself quite skilled in it. Why don't you let me perform a piece for you all to celebrate this Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"Okay, okay, since you think you are good at playing the piano, then come on." The emperor also saw that the eldest son was looking for trouble with his ministers. He glanced at his eldest son and signaled the grandson of the old tutor to come up and play a song for everyone.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me this opportunity." Upon hearing this, Fu Lianxin thanked the emperor and asked someone to bring his zither.
Although the emperor did not ask him to perform his talent, Lu Mingfei still stood up, bowed to the emperor sitting on the throne, and also bowed to Fu Lianxin.
When his eyes met Fu Lianxin's, he gave him a grateful look. Fu Lianxin nodded to him, and then he sat back in his seat.
By this time, Zhao Lang had already sent his replacement away and returned to his seat. He glanced at the eldest prince and a slight sneer appeared on his lips.
On the other side, when Old Master Fu, who was sitting in the first row of civil officials, heard his grandson's words, his brows unconsciously frowned. He didn't know why his grandson would offend the eldest prince for Lu Mingfei today.
The eldest prince sat down unwillingly and looked in the direction of Fu Lianxin, his eyes full of viciousness.
Meeting Zhao Lang's gaze, Lu Mingfei gave Zhao Lang a look that said "don't be impulsive", fearing that Zhao Lang would take some revenge on the eldest prince in order to avenge him tonight.
If they really touched the eldest prince, the emperor would definitely not let it go.
If they really wanted to take action against the eldest prince, they couldn't do it themselves. There were many people here who disliked the eldest prince, so it would be better to use someone else to prevent the emperor from suspecting him and then investigating his relationship with Zhao Lang.
***
After the people brought the piano over, Fu Lianxin walked over and sat on a low stool, put his hands on the strings, and gently plucked them.
In an instant, pleasant piano music rang out, the whole audience fell silent, and everyone looked at the person playing the piano.
"What a graceful and elegant young man!"
"Master Xiaofu is so handsome. It would be great if I could marry him."
“…”
The girls who came today all fell in love with Master Fu when they saw him playing the piano.
The second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince were all sitting in their seats watching Fu Lianxin play the piano. None of the brothers paid any attention to their good elder brother.
Among the several princes, only the eldest prince was sitting there alone, with no one around to talk to him.
After finishing the piece, Fu Lianxin put away his hands, stood up, and said to the emperor and empress who were looking at him, "I am honored to present my humble service."
After the piano music ended, everyone came back to their senses from their intoxication.
The emperor applauded and said, "Excellent! Your grandson, Taifu, is truly an accomplished zither player."
The queen who was sitting nearby nodded and looked at the grandson of Old Lady Fu with approval in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your kind words." Old Master Fu stood up and responded.
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty." Fu Lianxin was not humble at all.
"Haha, reward." The emperor glanced to the side.
The eunuch standing on the side came down with a tray on which was a jade pendant.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Fu Lianxin picked up the jade pendant on the tray, thanked the emperor again, then stepped down from the stage and sat back down in his seat, still playing with the jade pendant that the emperor had just given him.
Meeting the eldest prince's gaze, he smiled back at him.
The eldest prince squeezed the wine glass in his hand tightly and glared at Fu Lianxin.
However, he did not forget that Fu Lianxin was the grandson of the old lady Fu's family and was not someone he could touch casually. So even though he blamed Fu Lianxin for meddling in his affairs, he did not dare to have someone drug Fu Lianxin like he did to Lu Mingfei, the boy from a poor family.
That night, Qi Jun sat in his seat without moving.
Originally, he was going to ask the emperor to marry the fifth princess tonight, but after he overheard what the fifth princess said to Lu Zhuangyuan, he did not act according to the original plan.
The banquet was already halfway through, and the emperor, feeling somewhat tired, whispered a few words to the empress beside him. Then, turning to the ministers and guests present, he said, "I am a little tired. I will take the empress away first."
"Big brother, second brother, third brother, you guys should entertain everyone well for me."
"Yes, father." The eldest prince, the second prince, the third prince, and the fourth and fifth princes behind him all stood up.
All the officials and other people present stood up and respectfully saw the emperor and the empress off.
All the concubines in the harem also stood up and left behind the emperor and the empress.
When their mothers left, several unmarried princesses followed them, including the fifth princess.
When the fifth princess left, she looked back in the direction of Prince Qi. Seeing that Prince Qi didn't look at her, she felt a little disappointed and followed her mother.
And from the beginning to the end, Prince Qi did not even look at the Fifth Princess. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com