Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 41: Banquet for Ministers
The great victory of the Northern Expedition at the end of the year spread to every corner of the Qing Kingdom, but the government hall was unexpectedly deserted.

The politicians spoke one after another, with sarcastic remarks, and people speculated on the right and wrong of the matter, but there was no general answer.

It was not until the beginning of the new year that His Majesty the Emperor in the deep palace finally had no intention of hiding anything, and he announced it to the world and celebrated with the people.

On New Year's Eve, the Emperor held a banquet in front of the palace, unprecedented in history, to entertain all the officials. All the officials in Kyoto who were famous were invited. For a time, the various factions in the huge officialdom no longer had any grudges, and they were all happy.

In the Fan Mansion where red lanterns were hung high, the New Year's Eve banquet that Liu had been preparing for most of the day was blatantly extinguished before it even began.

But when she heard that it was an imperial order from His Majesty the Emperor, Liu could only complain and swallow her anger.

Si Nanbo put on formal clothes, gave a few instructions, and hurried into the palace.

In the main hall, red lights and candles were lit high, and the long table was covered with delicious food, but it always looked monotonous and dull.

More than a dozen maids and servants surrounded the three of them. Liu became annoyed and yelled a few times, then asked them to go down and celebrate the festival.

"What do you think His Majesty is thinking? Why does he make such a scene during a reunion dinner?" Liu frowned with her gentle eyebrows as she looked at the only two people left at the table.

"It would be nice if my grandmother and brother were here." Fan Ruoruo showed a hint of sadness. She chewed a meatball, her cherry lips shiny and glossy, but she still muttered to herself from time to time.

Lin Ruo said gently: "Don't worry, Master Fan Xian will find his own fun."

When Fan Ruoruo heard this, she thought that her brother would not be idle. He was probably playing with the maids again.

"Hey, hey, I'm asking you two, did you hear me?" Liu glared at them with a stern face.

Lin Ruo put down his chopsticks and said, "Madam, please be careful with your words. You can't ask me such questions."

Liu gave him a fierce look and said, "Why can't you say anything about your own family?"

Lin Ruo smiled and continued, "Then please wait patiently, madam. There will be a result when my lord comes back."

Liu suppressed her annoyance, raised her pointed chin, snorted, and stood up and left the table: "It's a waste of time to accompany you two. I'm going to look for my son."

Fan Ruoruo said very obediently: "Auntie, take care."

Liu didn't look back, but she had already put her hands on her waist to show her authority, and whined, "Don't call me aunt."

After a while, Fan Ruoruo was full, wiped her mouth, and said excitedly: "Sir, Ruoruo went out to play."

Lin Ruo nodded: "Go ahead, be careful."

After a few hours, the main hall was empty and the maids all started to clear the table of the feast that had not yet been enjoyed.

I don’t know when, it was already late at night, and a drizzle of rain fell in the house, silencing some of the laughter.

Lin Ruo returned to the room, lit an oil lamp, opened the window, and worked at his desk.

Raindrops fell into the house, dimming the bright lights.

Rainy days always block out the world, filling the air with a quiet atmosphere. In this quiet environment, it is easiest to have a lot of thoughts.

Lin Ruo didn't know what he was thinking. He walked to the window and looked into the distance. His gaze extended all the way to the palace that looked like a galaxy.

……

Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the outer city of the imperial palace, the ministers filed in along the long corridor and took their seats. The palace maids presented them with all kinds of wine, meat and food in an elegant manner.

The banquet was attended by many nobles and celebrities. Dean Chen, who rarely attended court, came early tonight and sat in the front row in his wheelchair. His Royal Highness Prince Jing, who never participated in court affairs, also attended the banquet for the first time. At the lower right of the main table, three young princes were also present, which was incredible.

This celebratory banquet was held on the festive night of New Year's Eve, and it was indeed a family banquet of the royal family, which was not surprising. Thinking of this, the guests were no longer depressed.

There was no solemn atmosphere at the banquet. The ministers congratulated each other, chatted about family matters, praised the majesty of the emperor, and scolded the Northern Qi scoundrels for overestimating their own abilities. Some even wandered around, poured wine and toasted, and exchanged pleasantries with Lin Ruofu, a big celebrity in the court.

Until a eunuch shouted, the banquet fell into complete silence.

"Your Majesty is here!"

Emperor Qing came slowly from the side and behind, with an attitude of looking down on the world, a smile blooming on his lips, appearing particularly gentle.

He did not sit on the aloof dragon throne, but sat down slowly with the queen on both sides of the table, "Today, my dear ministers, please treat it as a family dinner. There is no need to be restrained."

Upon seeing this, the last trace of tension in the hearts of the ministers completely dissipated, and they shouted in unison: "Long live the emperor."

Under the Emperor's command, the banquet proceeded in an orderly manner according to the usual procedures.

His great Majesty the Emperor first talked about the Northern Expedition with admiration, rewarded people according to their merits, and granted fiefs to Qin Ye, the main general of the Northern Expedition, and gave enough face to his family.

Then he turned his attention to the three princes and distributed New Year gifts to them one by one in accordance with royal custom.

After taking a glance at his ministers, the Emperor quietly announced a shocking piece of news that was enough to shake up the political arena of Qing Kingdom: he would send the ten-year-old eldest prince Li Chengru to the border to train in military affairs.

All the ministers were shocked, and the hall suddenly fell into silence. The dispute over the crown prince that had been secretly going on gradually faded away and was truly covered up at this moment.

Without the older prince, the position of crown prince would inevitably fall into the hands of the third prince Li Chengqian, born to the queen. The rest was just a matter of time.

Inherit the imperial business and lead the world...

This is not an unexpected answer. Since ancient times, the eldest son has been the heir to the throne, rather than the eldest son. This is a royal rule.

His Majesty the Emperor sat high beside the desk. Even without the dragon throne to lean on, his majesty still spread throughout the hall. He looked at the ministers below, with a barely perceptible smile on his face.

"The country has just settled down, and there is still one month before the Spring Examination. The Spring Examination is a major event for the Qing Dynasty, and we cannot be lazy. You should work hard." His Majesty the Emperor smiled and changed the subject, "However, for this year's Spring Examination, I want to change the examination method. Where is Lin Ruofu, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy?"

"Your Majesty, here is my minister."

Lin Ruofu immediately stood up and stepped forward.

The emperor chuckled and said, "You will be the chief examiner for this year's spring exam, and the Ministry of Rites will be responsible for assisting you. If you have any questions, please go and ask for advice."

When Lin Ruofu heard this, he knelt down and accepted the order. No one knew what he was thinking.

Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the faces of the ministers changed again and again, each with their own thoughts, but they all guessed that His Majesty was cultivating Lin Ruofu, hoping that he would pass the Spring Examination and ascend to a high position in the future.

If the emperor says yes, then yes, and there is no room for negotiation.

Even the officials of the Ministry of Rites who had suffered a loss did not dare to have any extra thoughts. Instead, they all thought about taking advantage of this spring examination to curry favor with Lin Ruofu.

"Your Majesty is wise." All the ministers bowed in unison.

The Emperor, who had already made up his mind, was in a good mood. He stared at Lin Ruofu and said with a faint smile, "This matter must be done well, otherwise I will punish you."

(End of this chapter)