The prince is more stable

Chapter 311: Hasty Birthday Celebration
At the age of nineteen, he was already granted the title of Duke of a County and was still a young and powerful official.

Is there anything wrong with such an awesome person celebrating his birthday?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We should celebrate it not only this year, but also next year and every year.

As for the fact that there is no precedent of celebrating the 19th birthday in the past, it doesn’t matter. As long as you are thick-skinned enough, you can create a precedent.

Zhao Hao stared at Zhao Xiaoqian for a long time, as if wondering whether his son had a fever.

"Qian'er, even if you want to celebrate your birthday, it's already July and your birthday is in the first month, so the date is wrong."

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked: "Just say it's the age in Chinese lunar calendar..."

Zhao Hao: “…………”

What the hell is your age?
"Can we tell the truth? What exactly do you want to do?" Zhao Hao was a little confused about his son's train of thought.

He suddenly announced he was going to celebrate his birthday without any warning. I really don't understand the new tricks young people are playing nowadays.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, "No matter what my son wants to do, my father only cares about the results."

"What's the result?"

"It's my son's birthday. All the clan members, dignitaries, and officials in Bianjing City should give some face, right? It doesn't matter if they come or not. It's best if they don't come, but gifts must be in place. Father, gifts! All the dignitaries in the city are giving gifts to our family. Our Chu Palace is going to be rich..."

Zhao Hao's eyes lit up. Hey? He liked this idea!
As a human being, you can be shameless, but you must gain benefits after being shameless, otherwise it is shameful.

As soon as the word "gift money" came out, Zhao Hao suddenly became enlightened. From his previous opposition to his current approval, his attitude changed very naturally and smoothly. Zhao Xiaoqian did not say any extra words at all. The word "gift money" was enough to convince him.

"We can make some plans for this matter..." Zhao Hao pondered solemnly.

"No need to plan. Clear out some space in the palace, then send out invitations to all the dignitaries. The date will be set for three days later. Everyone comes, pays first, and then has a meal. After the meal, send the guests off, and call it a day!" Zhao Xiaoqian explained the process clearly without hesitation.

"To ensure everyone's gifts are well spent, we can raise the standard of the palace's reception. We can invite a band of musicians, a variety show troupe, entertainers from the Zhouqiao brothels, and the most beautiful courtesans from the major brothels to entertain the guests."

"Oh, by the way, there's no need to invite the suona player from the orchestra. It wouldn't sound right to have a suona player playing during a meal."

Zhao Hao nodded repeatedly, his face full of greed: "It's very face-saving!"

Then Zhao Hao added, "Put a table in front of the door to receive gifts. The table must be large and placed in a conspicuous place, so that no one can enter without paying..."

Zhao Xiaoqian praised him, saying, "Father, you have great foresight. I am far behind you."

Zhao Hao continued to ponder, "It's inappropriate for you to celebrate your birthday. You've made a fool of yourself. At nineteen, you're nowhere to be found. There's no precedent for holding a birthday party. Even the most shameless person wouldn't do such a thing."

"Why not just celebrate my birthday? My birthday is next month anyway, so I might as well celebrate it in advance."

Zhao Xiaoqian thought about it and felt it was appropriate, but he still hesitated and said, "It's fine for my father to celebrate his birthday, but it's bound to be criticized. After all, the birthday banquet was hastily held, giving people the illusion that it was purely an extortion of gifts. I'm afraid my father will be criticized."

Zhao Hao smiled proudly, "Throughout history, heroes and noble men have endured humiliation and hardship. How can I, the king, not endure such a small grievance just to make a fortune? You underestimate my father."

Zhao Xiaoqian felt relieved.

If there is anything in common between the father and son, it is that they really don't take their own face seriously.

If we really have to rank them, life comes first, money comes second, beauty comes third, power comes fourth, and the palace guard dog comes fifth...

As for face, it ranks worse than a dog.

So Zhao Hao and Zhao Xiaoqian looked at each other and smiled, revealing a sense of pride at the same time, but no one knew what they were proud of.

Finally, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly said, "Send a copy of the invitation to Zhang Dun." Zhao Hao was startled, then suddenly realized, "So this is the reason you want to hold a birthday banquet? To ease the relationship with Zhang Dun?"

"Over the Su Shi incident, my son and Zhang Dun are at loggerheads again. We're both adults, and there's no need to fight to the death unless there's a serious conflict of interest. He's the prime minister after all, so we should try to ease the situation. Prime Minister Zhang just suffered a great loss, so I'm sure he doesn't want to continue to be enemies with me."

"I'm taking this opportunity to give both of us a way out. Let's see if he can handle it."

Zhao Hao showed a look of relief: "My son has really grown up. That's right, this is how adults behave and act."

"In that case, I will cooperate with you and try my best to reconcile with Zhang Dun. I will treat this birthday celebration as one specifically for him."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "It's not just for him. I also want to use this birthday party to do something else..."

"What's the matter?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled mysteriously and said, "I will handle this matter alone."

Gazing at the sky outside the hall, Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, "The Song-Liao border has shown signs of instability recently. I'm afraid the peaceful days won't last much longer. I hold the title of Governor of Zhending Prefecture. If the border becomes unstable, this nominal position may soon become a real one, and I'll be sent to Zhending Prefecture to take up my post."

"Before I leave, there are some things I should wrap up. I can't leave hidden dangers in the capital and let my backyard catch fire."

…………

The news that His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu was going to celebrate his birthday quickly spread throughout Bian Jing.

The servants in the palace have been running around recently, and they have sent invitations to the homes of various powerful and influential relatives and important officials. Three days later, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu will hold a birthday banquet and invite all the powerful and influential people to come to the palace.

It was still just the invitation sending stage, but the whole city of Bianjing was buzzing with news.

Many people were invited to this banquet, including all the powerful officials with a little fame in the city of Bianjing. Not only that, the famous music troupes, opera troupes, and the most beautiful ladies from major brothels in Bianjing also received invitations from the Prince of Chu's Palace. On the day of the birthday banquet, these artists would go to the palace to perform for the guests.

The news that the King of Chu was holding a birthday banquet came suddenly, which was a bit inappropriate according to the etiquette of the powerful and wealthy families in that era.

Normally, the rich and powerful would give notice of birthday celebrations long in advance, and all preparations would begin several months in advance.

However, the Chu Palace was rather hastily organizing the celebration this time. The news that it would be held three days later gave the impression that it wasn't a birthday celebration, but rather a rush to reincarnate...

Fortunately, Zhao Hao decisively made himself the birthday boy. Otherwise, if Zhao Xiaoqian had followed his idea, the 19-year-old county lord would have held a birthday banquet, which would have caused a sensation in the entire Bianjing city.

As the news spread and invitations were sent out, the powerful families in Bian Jing naturally wanted to give face and expressed that they would personally visit His Royal Highness the King of Chu to celebrate his birthday.

If it were in the past, if Zhao Hao held a birthday banquet, it might not be so prestigious. The gifts from the powerful and wealthy would naturally be substantial, but they might not necessarily come in person. Most of the time, they would send a younger member of the family or even the housekeeper to the event, pay their respects, leave the gifts, and then leave.

After all, the clan members of the Song Dynasty had no real power in the past. No matter how prominent their titles and status were, if the powerful court officials did not want to give them face, the clan members really had no way to deal with them and could only swallow their anger.

But the times are different now. The King of Chu is still the King of Chu, but his son is extremely important. If any powerful family does not take the birthday banquet in three days seriously, no one knows what the consequences will be in the future.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Prime Minister Zhang Dun had suffered heavy losses at the hands of Zhao Xiaoqian in his several secret contests with him. Moreover, Zhao Xiaoqian was extremely favored by the emperor and enjoyed the highest degree of official trust. It was best not to offend such a person.

On the day of the birthday banquet, the Prince of Chu may not remember who was present, but he will definitely remember who was absent.

As the invitations spread out, preparations for the birthday banquet at the Prince of Chu's Mansion began in full swing.

At the same time, Zhao Xiaoqian was also preparing.

What he prepared was not a birthday banquet, but a net.

(End of this chapter)