Chapter 260 Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet
About half an hour later, night fell and all the palace lanterns were lit.
Nan Lijun came in a gorgeous bright yellow dress, surrounded by dozens of female officials and palace maids.
Everyone kowtowed to His Majesty the Eastern Palace, and the singing, dancing and night banquet officially began.
From a distance, Yun Chen saw that besides Song Lan, the head female official also had a face she was very familiar with.
Yun Chen looked over with a smile, and Zhi Luo also smiled softly and nodded in return.
Nanlijun sat on the high seat, Songlan and Zhiluo stood on his right and left, like two pearls against the bright moon, very beautiful.
After arriving in Beijing, Yun Chen and Huo Gan Nian had heard two strange stories, one of which was about Zhi Luo.
It is said that Zhiluo entered the palace with a criminal record, but unexpectedly caught the eye of Nanlijun.
Nan Lijun has always valued talents and has been actively cultivating female officials. He asked Zhiluo to serve by his side while serving her.
Although the female official was an "official", she was ultimately just a high-ranking maid who could handle official business for Nanli Jun. This was very different from Zhiluo's previous status as a military advisor with a formal title and salary.
Yun Chen didn't expect that in just a few months, Zhi Luo could be on par with Song Lan.
Seeing that Zhiluo was safe and sound, Yun Chen felt relieved. She wanted to ask Huo Gannian if he had mobilized a lot of manpower and financial resources behind the scenes to make things like this happen, but when she turned around, she saw -
Ever since the wonderful dance music came out, the expressions of Huo Gannian, Cao Fang and others became even worse.
Cao Fang frowned and sighed repeatedly, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated; Duan Jie and Meng Jianyun lowered their heads and drank silently, occasionally giving a wry smile.
Huo Gannian sat in silence, fiddling with the green bamboo shoots in a wide-mouthed, gold-painted bowl from a Ru kiln in front of him, almost mashing them into a paste before swallowing them in one gulp.
Looking at the expressions of Huo Gannian and the others, Yun Wang seemed to be thinking about something, his eyes revealing helplessness and worry.
Yun Chen looked left and right.
She knew that the atmosphere was not right, but she felt like everyone understood it, except her, who seemed to have no brains and had no idea what was going on.
She was imitating Yun Wang's thinking when she suddenly heard the rapid sound of war drums.
Almost as a conditioned reflex, she jumped up from her seat in an instant, subconsciously touched her waist, and looked in the direction of the sound with a vigilant expression.
Everyone was startled by her sudden action.
Huo Gannian, Cao Fang and others, like Yun Chen, straightened their backs and their expressions changed slightly, but their reactions were not as dramatic as Yun Chen's.
Yun Wang looked around at everyone who was looking at him, raised his hand and gently tugged at Yun Chen's sleeve, and said softly:
"It's the drum for a war dance, not a signal that the enemy is about to attack. General Yun, don't be nervous. Enjoy the feast in peace."
Yun Chen's tense nerves slowly relaxed as he saw everyone looking at him strangely, some even covering their mouths and laughing. Song Lan even had a sneer on her face. Zhi Luo, on the other hand, looked at her with a worried look on his face, frowning slightly.
She said "sorry" awkwardly, sat back down, and looked at Yun Wang sheepishly, feeling that she had been stupid again and had caused him trouble.
But this time, Yun Wang neither kicked her legs quietly nor came to the rescue speechlessly.
He raised his hand and poured the hot milk on the table into the bird's nest in front of Yun Chen. He lowered his eyes filled with emotion and said softly:
"General Yun, please eat this. It will warm your stomach and calm your nerves."
At this time, a group of young men had walked to the center of the stage, beating war drums and dancing war dances.
The passionate drum beats and the free and easy dance complemented each other, and the momentum was majestic and vigorous, which excited everyone and they applauded and praised.
After the dance, Nan Lijun was very happy and asked Yun Chen with a smile:
"When General Yun heard the drumbeat just now, did he mistakenly think that the enemy was invading? This shows that the drumbeats were realistic and the palace musicians put their heart into it."
Yun Chen felt a little embarrassed and blushed slightly:
"I have been disrespectful. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Nan Lijun smiled indifferently, then his expression darkened and he said with some sadness:
"The Nan Kingdom is now under attack from three sides, and it is entirely dependent on the bloody battles of the five generals to defend the country. I summoned you all here to rest and recuperate. Otherwise, it would be too tiring to guard the front lines for so many years.
Judging from General Yun's behavior just now, you generals are extremely tired. Secondly, it is Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions and national reunions. After the evening banquet, please report your duties in detail in preparation for the subsequent all-out battle.
After Nan Lijun finished speaking, Song Lan brought out the Eastern Palace Order, which rewarded Huo Gannian, Cao Fang and others with countless gold, jewels and jade.
After Song Lan finished reading, the scene fell into an eerie silence.
No one stood up to give thanks.
The five generals, led by Huo Gannian, sat motionless.
Among the five people, Huo Gannian has the highest official position. If he does not stand up first, the other four will not be able to move first.
Yun Chen looked at Huo Gannian with some uneasiness. After a long silence, the latter slowly stood up in the extremely ugly look on Nan Lijun's face.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness." Huo Gannian said this expressionlessly, and then said:
"How about inviting all the ministers to the banquet first, and then I will go with Your Highness to report on my duties?"
"Okay." Nan Lijun gave a stiff smile.
After the two men left, everyone at the table had different expressions, and they all tasted the flavor of the meal.
Compared to Nan Lijun, the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, Huo Gannian is not only the richest man in the Nan Kingdom, but also has an army of 300,000 elite soldiers at his command. His power in the court is growing day by day, and his family is deeply rooted and unshakable.
Judging from the conversation between the two just now, Huo Gannian's aura is actually more frightening.
With just one sentence, even though Nan Lijun looked grim, she had to leave the table obediently, abandoning the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet she had carefully prepared, to listen to some "performance report".
Yun Wang took in everyone's expressions, some sighing, some surprised, and some gloating, and he was filled with worry.
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