Joy of Life: I, a man, became the Queen of Northern Qi?

Chapter 83 The Night Banquet Begins. (5000 words, please subscribe!)

Tonight's banquet is held in the south of the palace, which is closer to where ministers enter the palace and is also the most frequently used place.

According to His Majesty's habit these days, all the officials thought that this morning would be another day of leisure and relaxation. Unexpectedly, His Majesty actually went to court in the end. Could it be that this time the Kingdom of Qing really came with great force, unlike the minor conflicts in the past?
All the way from the palace gate, there were loud sounds of ceremonial music, all kinds of strange and beautiful lanterns hung high, and countless officials and guests coming and going in an endless stream.

The birthday party of the eldest princess was supposed to be a happy event, but the civil and military officials still wore court robes and carried various gifts in their hands, hoping to attract the attention of the person in the palace, so that they could become the biggest winner of the night.
Countless ministers brought their wives and children into the palace, and were led to their respective seats by the maids who had been waiting for a long time.

They were all smiling as they walked along the winding passages in the palace. It was not chaotic, a splendid scene of prosperity! People talked to each other from time to time, and the atmosphere was filled with joy, as if the world had always been like this. They also selectively forgot about the war that Qing Kingdom was about to invade.

Along with them came some circus troupes and theater masters. I heard that it was arranged by Concubine De. The eldest princess is simple-minded, playful and curious. Today is her coming-of-age ceremony, and the empress dowager can only acquiesce.

Just like that, two completely different but distinct flows of people converged, adding more worldly atmosphere to the originally solemn imperial palace.

The scene was beautifully arranged, and it was obvious that Concubine De had put some thought into it. The maids were carrying food trays and fine wine, moving around between the tables, making the boys who had come to the palace stare in amazement. This, this... This is too beautiful, isn't it?
They are all sons of the rich and powerful, and have seen beautiful women before.

"What nonsense!"

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister."

"The Prime Minister is sensible."

Some of the people at the banquet knew that their status was not high enough and did not have many fantasies, while others may have reached some agreements with others, which led to the current situation - their sons and nephews did not come to the palace, but instead let some of their children who were involved come here with them.
You know, the Queen Mother has issued an imperial decree allowing all the talented and eligible men in the ministers' houses to enter the palace tonight.

I don't know if he thought of something or if he already knew that Sean was his second uncle. After sighing, he drank faster.

First, she submitted a memorial to the court saying that she wanted to select concubines for His Majesty, and now she is stirring up trouble among the ministers before the banquet. I don't know how she is going to counter me. Is it just to ensure that the eldest princess can get married smoothly so as to strengthen the Queen Mother's power?
But he did not respond, while the others were exchanging glances. In just a few breaths, they had reached an agreement. With He Ningkun's gentle nod, he accepted the favor and gave it to them.
"Hey, Master Zhuang, you don't know. I'm not surprised by his personality. He might be a little upset because of something. Besides, he is the Queen Mother's man, so it's understandable that he has more things to do."

His expression was like constipation. After hesitating for a while, he finally chose to speak out his thoughts: "My queen, please forgive me for being so nosy. Why don't we just give the man surnamed Jin to..."

"Silence!"

The maids ignored the occasional glances at them, their minds were all in another direction - that was the Yonghe Palace where the Empress Defei was. For some reason, ever since they had seen the Empress Defei, all the young men and talents in the world could no longer catch their eyes.

All the powerful ministers are most afraid of a lack of successors within their own ranks.

After everyone was seated again, Grand Secretary He Ningkun smiled and said, "The talents of our colleagues are not a big deal. After all, whether they can be favored by the Queen Mother or the Grand Princess is still a question. Ah, I almost forgot that there should be a young man like this in Lord Zhuang's family. It's a pity that the glory has long gone, and there are only some people who are not up to standard."

Zhuang Yiwen snorted and laughed, and said with a hint of meaning, "Don't talk about my son, but some people at the table. If it's not due to force majeure, why are all the people who come here from my family not presentable?"

Jin Weixian first eased the conversation as usual, and then deliberately led the topic back to his own goal, "But for such a good thing, I am pessimistic. This matter may have many twists and turns, and it may be difficult to achieve!"

"If it weren't for the Prime Minister's advice, I would never have let you off with this matter!"

The ministers cursed him in their hearts, and after a few grumbles, they gradually stopped talking and then started to discuss in low voices. Every word was an accusation against Zhuang Yiwen.

"What's the reason? Did he rebel or something?"

At the beginning, they didn't know that this man was Uesugi Tora's man. It seemed that our general was going to put himself against all the ministers in the court in order to rescue his adoptive father.

The two looked at each other, and the atmosphere was tense.

"If you are excellent, why do you need to announce it?"

Zhuang Yiwen stroked his long beard and remained silent.

"It's a good thing for the Queen Mother to choose a son-in-law for the eldest princess. Not only can it make the court more peaceful, but it can also make us, the ministers, closer. Lord He is very good at training the minds of his children and nephews. If it weren't for his health problems, Master Zhuang's son would naturally be the best choice."

Cheng Jushu alone brought Northern Qi to its current state, and his sins cannot be redeemed even by death.

The prime minister was watching the two fighting with a smile. Both of them had strong backgrounds and represented different forces. Jin Weixian had no ability to bring them under his command. In view of this, he might as well make some arrangements and use them.
Li An's face straightened when he heard this. Is this our little birthday boy?
As a second-rank official, He Ningkun did not rely on these things to gain a foothold in officialdom. However, in an occasion like today, he could be considered to be the first to see the moon because he is close to the water, so he felt a little proud.

"Hmph! Some of the ways that Concubine De did things were indeed a bit too much." Zhuang Yiwen, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. He found it hard to believe that the emperor whom he had taught for so long would become like this! And the one who brought all this upon himself was none other than Concubine De!
He estimated that with the Queen Mother's increasingly outrageous tactics, he would be exposed in less than two attempts.
No matter which family gets the big bargain in the end, all the ministers present today will be closer to the Queen Mother. And will Concubine De, who helps His Majesty to confront the Queen Mother, just sit back and watch this happen?
The same goes for this!

His eyes drifted towards Academician He, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

"It's just to unite everyone's strength and fight against the same enemy! If this can be easily done, why would we need to choose someone?" Jin Weixian couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at this time. He secretly became more alert to Zhuang Yiwen in his heart. There was no malice in his words. "This is a helpless move, and it's just a means."

The Prime Minister's actions could not be without purpose.

He was just scolding Zhao Gao when he heard a young eunuch outside shouting, "The eldest princess is here~"

"Just like the Imperial Censor Ma Fu and the Right Assistant Censor of the Censorate Cai Nian who had his property confiscated some time ago." The Prime Minister looked at He Ningkun, "If I remember correctly, Lord He also wanted to speak up to help at that time. Even I, the Prime Minister, remained silent that day, didn't I? Maybe we should really pay attention."

Also of equal status is the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor Zhuang Yiwen, the second son of Emperor Wenzong Zhuang Mohan. As for the others, although their status is somewhat inferior to the three, they are also the backbone of the court, otherwise, they would not be qualified to sit in this seat.

"Unexpected, but also reasonable." The prime minister answered the other party, and did not forget to greet others, trying his best not to neglect anyone.

"Mr. Zhuang, don't think that just because you are His Majesty's teacher of literature and the son of Mr. Zhuang, you can be so arrogant and domineering!"

The two chatted for a while, but he was the first to say something to spoil the fun, making the atmosphere a little weird. "If it weren't for your Majesty explaining everything clearly in the court today, the ministers would have been ignorant all their lives and would still be crying out for the injustice of Uesugi Tiger!"

This Mr. He, whose name is He Ningkun, is the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet of the current dynasty. His mother, Zhang, is strictly speaking two generations older than the Empress Dowager and is a distant relative of his mother's family, so there is a little relationship involved.

Although he still had a smile on his face, his heart was already cold. These bookworms are quite cunning!

That must be impossible!

"Defei." He Ningkun muttered, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the prime minister's words made sense.

At this time, the dishes on the table had not been served yet. His action seemed a bit rude, but everyone was used to it. Some even said "Prince's Junior Tutor" when asked about it. This was the style of a scholar who was not fussy about trivial matters!
If possible, Li An didn't want to go to Shoukang Palace for a moment.

"Is this all the Prime Minister said during the banquet?" Li An was waiting bored in Yonghe Palace. The little emperor was not there, perhaps he was with the Empress Dowager.

"As long as you can hand over solid evidence of his crime to me, I will never let him see the next day!"

Their actions, in a small sense, are not worth mentioning. After all, it is their freedom to decide whether to let their own sons and nephews become the emperor's consorts. But in a big sense, it is disrespectful to the Queen Mother. They are not even willing to go through the motions. What they are looking for is a thrill!

He said in a deep voice: "After the Grand Princess' banquet, hurry up and send the beautiful maid to the Prime Minister's residence!"

He continued, "In the end, we still have to rely on the general to resist the invasion of the enemy. Thinking of how his adoptive father Sean was captured by Chen Pingping at night, he was in the same situation as Shangshanhu now. Thinking of this, I am not surprised."

However, Zhuang Mohan is better than Lin Ruofu in that he knows how to behave and has a very good reputation among the people. This is because the people's hearts are in line with his age. Apart from the crime of rebellion, even if he publicly pulls the little emperor in the court meeting, he can't do anything to him.
There were more than just the two of them at the table.

"No!"

Seeing that everyone at the table was looking at him, the prime minister straightened his robe and looked calm and said, "I think what some ministers did was right."

At this time, Zhao Gao was bowing like a pug. He thought that it was because of his appearance that the Empress Defei chose him. He was very proud and said, "These were all told to me by the boys under Eunuch Gao. It's absolutely true!"

Why did Zhuang Mohan have such an extraordinary status in Northern Qi?

Apart from anything else, even when Lin Ruofu was out of power and had no power, Emperor Qing was still worried about the list of students in his hand.
The silence here does not mean that they are not allowed to speak at all, but just that they are not allowed to bang the table and make noise. There are already people talking and laughing around, and at such a banquet, there must be noise.
No one dared to be late. After all, today was a special day. Even a birthday party for a royal family member would not have such a grand scene. It was just the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony combined with the selection of a prince consort, which created such a sensation.

Sure enough, the fish quickly took the bait and cooperated very well when asking the reason.

"Tell your 'friends' in the court to keep a close eye on Jin Weixian and report any signs of trouble in a timely manner!" Li An felt a little unhappy. The original novel did not focus too much on the Northern Qi court, which almost made him lose his vigilance against this world.

"We respect Mr. Zhuang's talent and character, so we are courteous to you! Don't forget, you are not as good as your tongue in the court!"

"Prime Minister, you are joking. My mother hasn't seen the Queen Mother for a long time. I am just taking this opportunity today to chat about the past."

Ignoring the creepy look from the former, He Ningkun continued, "After that, it's the age of young people. Not allowing them to attend such important occasions and see the world, are some people afraid? They can't even take care of their own sons, and they are talking to others?"

At this moment, Zhuang Yiwen clenched his jaw, and stared at He Ningkun with his eyes wrapped in loose eyebands. If he didn't know any martial arts, he would have attacked him right away!

"My son looks radiant, how could he be seriously ill?"

Some people may admire the other party's affection and righteousness, but all the ministers in this dynasty, whether they are civil or military, hate such people the most!
What will happen if the eldest princess marries the minister's son?

Bang!
"Humph, we should not bother with such a lunatic, it is really unreasonable!"

Jin Weixian was amiable tonight, without any trace of the fierceness he had in the court this morning. Although his tone was gentle and friendly, there was a hint of swordsmanship between the lines: "How is your child now? We, his uncles, are also very concerned about his condition."

Don't you see, even a tyrannical emperor like Emperor Qing would not dare to touch Lin Ruofu easily without finding a suitable reason. That would cause unrest in the whole country and damage his own cultivation!
A eunuch on duty shouted in a deep voice from a distance, "No noise is allowed in the palace!"

"Haha, Master Zhuang, don't be angry. Everyone, please sit down first. What is in accordance with etiquette or not varies from person to person. Ninety percent of the young masters from various families are here today, so one or two won't make a difference. That's why the banquet is very lively now." After saying that, Jin Weixian did not forget to nod to the eunuch in front of the emperor, which calmed the matter down.

“But if powerful people fight each other, it will also disperse the power and reduce the voice.”

If they really acted as the other party said, how much exchange of interests and how much personal connections would be generated? Isn't this a disguised form of collusion?
Seeing this, the Prime Minister smiled slightly, and then sat upright again, waiting for the protagonist to appear.
Li An frowned slightly. He always had a bad premonition, but no matter how he thought about it, he didn't know where this premonition would be fulfilled.
"As everyone knows, the boy in my family is not good enough to be on the stage, and he happened to be out of town a few days ago. The one I brought here today is also a talented person in the clan, and he can take his place."

Looking at Zhao Gao as if he were a polio patient, Li An thought that he was showing his love. He explained unhappily, "Can this prime minister be treated the same as others? Kill him whenever he wants?"

Such words are heart-piercing. How can the Prime Minister, who has been in office for many years, respond to this?

"Of course I came here with the intention of congratulating you!" Zhuang Yiwen put down his wine glass, no longer looking worried. "By the way, the Minister of Revenue, Lord Zhou Jing, is so generous that he didn't even attend in person."

He asked Jin Weixian: "Then according to the Prime Minister's intention, what should we do?"

The faint rouge on their faces made them look rosy, and they all thought in their hearts: when they get older and leave the palace, they will definitely find a good man who looks like Concubine De to marry. At the very least, if there is one-tenth of similarity between her eyebrows and eyes, they will be satisfied!
"Hahaha." He Ningkun laughed out loud, attracting the attention of the people around him. He lowered his voice and said, "Today is the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony. You are talking about these old things here, Prince's Master, I wonder what you are thinking?"

"Indeed it is, madam!"

What's more, He Ningkun is still talking about the genius son of Zhuang Yiwen who has been dead for a long time.
This one sentence seemed to ignite the public's anger, and the situation looked like a fight was about to break out.

"The young talents of Lord He's family are both excellent in character and learning, and have great ambitions. This is known to everyone in the capital. If it weren't for the physical condition of Master Zhuang's son, he would be able to handle such a situation calmly without any worries for others."

"Why not do as the others do and unify our opinions to let the most likely person become the consort. In this way, by gathering the opinions of all the ministers, I'm sure that the opposition from Consort De will be ineffective."

"It's Lord He." Jin Weixian didn't put on airs. No matter who it was, he would respond politely tonight. "Just now, I saw Lord He bringing his old lady into the palace from a distance. It seems that he attaches great importance to the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony."

Ok?
As time goes by, everything that was supposed to happen has almost happened.

The position of prime minister is too important, and a single move can affect the entire body.

Jin Weixian turned the wine glass in his hand and smiled faintly: "Everyone has come here prepared tonight, so there is no need to say more. But I believe you can understand the current situation in the country. No matter what you do, you can't avoid one person."

But can she be the same with the people in the palace?

During the banquet, an elderly minister smiled and bowed to Prime Minister Jin Weixian, greeting him.

Ignoring his colleagues who were beaming with joy, Zhuang Yiwen straightened his face and asked, "Does the Prime Minister want to influence the palace and decide on a candidate for the Queen Mother's consort in advance?"

In a word, you can speak cheerful words as loudly as you like, but don't say anything unpleasant!

As Jin Weixian spoke, Zhuang Yiwen felt more and more depressed.

"My son is not feeling well. You asked him to come here. I'm afraid you want to use this as a pretext to announce that your son is inevitable?"

"I know the importance of this."

So, maybe there will be some twists and turns tonight?
"It has happened and the person is dead." Zhuang Yiwen has a special identity. He entered the palace to teach Zhan Doudou literature when he was still young, so he is very relaxed. At this moment, he is pouring wine and drinking it alone to moisten his throat.

We just can't do anything more, can't we just think about it in our minds?

　There is also a chapter of 5000 words to be sent.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)