Jiang Xu was wearing a red robe and bowed straight and straight: "Jiang Xu pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor."
As the top scholar, Jiang Xu had taken the palace examination, so the emperor had naturally seen him. At this moment, facing the top scholar he had chosen, he also showed a pleased expression.
"With such a talented person, the Great Yong Dynasty has a successor, and I am very pleased."
Empress Jiang Hanzhao also said, "Dayong hasn't had such a young top scholar in many years. This year's winners are also quite a few young talents. I think it is because of Your Majesty's rule, the peace and prosperity, that we have so many talented people today."
"Good!" The emperor was very satisfied with the words.
Whether it was the officials and their families in the guest seats, or the concubines, they all kept whispering about this young and handsome new number one scholar.
Concubine Wu Lifei couldn't help but ask with a smile, "The number one scholar is both virtuous and talented, and he also has outstanding appearance and character. I wonder if his family has already arranged a marriage?"
Who didn't know that the only unmarried princess now was Princess Pingzhang, daughter of Concubine Li? Now that she saw Jiang Xu was favored by the emperor, how could she not have such thoughts?
But then Concubine Ge said, "The Qionglin Banquet is to reward the future pillars of Dayong, not an occasion for a personal meeting. The people of Nan'an are simple and honest, but they are inevitably ignorant of etiquette. Concubine Li, please don't make a mistake because of this."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Concubine Wu Life's face froze. Perhaps it was because her parents' home was far away and she had no one to rely on, which made her, a relatively favored concubine, not as rebellious as her daughter, Princess Pingzhang. Even when being ridiculed, she simply chose to keep the peace.
She lowered her eyes: "The Imperial Concubine is right."
The Queen Mother glanced in their direction and said, "Alright, although the Qionglin Banquet is a state banquet, it is ultimately a reward. There's no need to be so nervous and scare our new number one scholar."
Jiang Xu lowered his eyes and bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, I am humbled and humbled by your kind words. I wish to devote all my life's learning to establishing a heart for heaven and earth, a life for the people, carrying on the lost knowledge of the past sages, and bringing peace to the world for all eternity."
This little incident did not displease the emperor. He only smiled and said, "What a great way to carry on the legacy of the ancient sages and bring peace to the world. If everyone in the court could do the same, the Great Yong Empire would last for thousands of years."
Suddenly, someone said, "Jiang Zhuangyuan comes from a family of farmers and scholars. He has such a kind of character. I think it is because he was born and raised among the people that he can care about the people and understand their suffering."
The person who spoke was Prince Cheng Gu Shimin, who was sitting with several princes.
Xue Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat. This person was one of her enemies in her previous life.
He looked tall and had the bearing of a military commander, and he always had a kind smile on his face. However, because of the murderous aura he exuded, people felt that his smile did not reach his eyes, which made people feel cold.
But to be honest, they are not really enemies. The tragedy in her previous life was indeed caused by King Cheng, but she and King Cheng were not familiar with each other. In the power struggle, neither of them was wronged in public or private. If they lost, it was only because they were not as skilled as their opponents.
What's more, King Cheng had already been defeated by Gu Shichong in his previous life, and she had helped in that, so even if there was really a grudge, it had already been avenged in the previous life.
However, the absence of old grudges does not mean that there will be no new grudges in this life.
Power struggles are always about interests. If Prince Cheng blocks her way, she will fight to the death, even if it is just to protect herself.
But before that, this person played an important role in balancing her real enemy.
On this side, the Queen heard this and just smiled and said, "Prince Cheng has guarded the southern border for many years, isn't it because he cares about the people?"
Gu Shimin simply said, "Your Majesty, I am so kind. The people of Dayong are my father's subjects. As the crown prince of Dayong, the people are my brothers and sisters, and I shall do my utmost to protect them."
Several princes sat together, in order.
The eldest prince died young, the fourth prince was sent away, and several young princes sat together with their biological mothers. Only the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth princes were left at the table.
The second prince, Prince Chang, was born to Concubine Li and had foreign blood. Knowing that he had no hope of becoming the crown prince, he became as introverted as his mother and did not care about worldly affairs.
Gu Shichong is the third in the family, Gu Shimin is the sixth, and between them is the fifth prince, Prince Sheng, who is said to be "slow to speak".
Listening to Gu Shimin's words, Gu Shichong just chuckled: "Sixth brother, you are wrong. Under the rule of the emperor, the world is peaceful and prosperous. How can the people suffer?"
The two were accustomed to sparring, but Gu Shimin simply responded calmly, saying, "My royal brother has lived in the imperial capital for a long time, so he's unaware that although the border of Yuzhou has been under the wise rule of our father, it has been plagued by the Zhou invasions. The Zhou people are despicable, even setting fire to farmland during the harvest season, leaving the people starving. Fortunately, our father had the foresight to order me to garrison the border and cultivate the land. The Zhou people didn't dare approach the official farmland, so we were able to store food in advance to cope with the famine and cold of last winter."
After saying this, he showed Gu Shichong a sincere expression: "Your Majesty, you have never experienced these things, so naturally you don't know. Even if a wise ruler were alive, it is inevitable that the people would suffer from foreign enemies. Fortunately, there is a wise ruler in the world, so the people's suffering is not a catastrophic disaster. Now, all the people on the border are grateful for your wisdom."
Although Gu Shichong was still smiling, his teeth were almost broken: This Gu Shimin, although in the army, was still eloquent and could always make his father, the emperor, very happy every time he returned to the court. He was really as cunning as his mother.
But something occurred to him, and he said, "According to what Sixth Brother said, Sixth Brother really cares about the people, regardless of gender, age, status or class."
"Of course." Gu Shimin said, "Isn't my royal brother like that?"
Gu Shichong chuckled again: "I hope that Sixth Brother can do what he says. Otherwise, if his words are not sincere, I am afraid that every word he just said will make people suspicious and make people doubt whether the livelihood of the people in the border areas is really like this."
The two men were at loggerheads, and the atmosphere was awkward for a moment, but the emperor remained silent, as if he had always turned a blind eye to the open and secret struggles between his two sons.
Only the Queen tried to smooth things over: "Chong'er and Min'er are both concerned about the country, and they understand Your Majesty. The hearts of ministers and sons are the same."
After that, he asked the Fifth Prince: "Feng'er, what do you think?"
The fifth prince had already been annoyed by the two people on his left and right and had been covering his ears. Suddenly, when his name was called, he put down his hands covering his ears and was slightly stunned.
Although the Fifth Prince was rumored to be born mentally retarded, he only looked slightly slower than others. His slightly round face gave him a somewhat honest look.
He just smiled brightly and said: "I think it is best to start the meal first."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but laugh. Even Gu Shichong glanced at him and shook his head helplessly. The awkward atmosphere was temporarily relieved.
Seeing everyone laughing, he explained, "Father, Mother, it's not that I'm hungry. I just saw that Jiang Zhuangyuan has been standing here for so long, he must be hungry and tired."
The emperor seemed to really like this silly son. Upon hearing this, he was not displeased. Instead, he smiled and said, "Feng'er is still the most thoughtful. However, we have to wait until the palace flowers are given before we can start the banquet."
Then, the chief eunuch Peng Hui said, "Your Majesty and the Queen Mother have shown their grace by granting palace flowers!"
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