After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 61 Banquet
evening.

When Chu Ming arrived at Linjing Palace, he happened to meet two concubines who were dressed gorgeously and dignified and majestic. They also came to Linjing Palace accompanied by many palace maids in palace skirts. When they saw him, the two concubines stopped.

Chu Ming bowed and saluted to them from a distance before entering the Linjing Hall.

The people traveling with him were puzzled and asked, "Those two were just concubines of the Shun Dynasty. What is your current status? Why do you have to bow to them?"

Chu Ming shook his head. "They are the concubines of Shunchao and Prince Qian. How can I not respect them? Besides, the king will host a banquet for us later. They must be here to attend the banquet with the king and pour wine for him."

After hearing this, the man finally came to his senses and immediately regretted not respecting them.

"Announce Chu Ming to see you!"

Chu Ming went in and waited for a while before a eunuch came to summon him.

Although Prince Qian had not yet ascended the throne, all etiquette had been followed according to the emperor's. Chu Ming straightened his clothes in front of the mirror before going in to meet the emperor.

Empress Zhang and Jia Yuanchun also entered the Linjing Hall and waited in a small room nearby.

When they were in the harem of Shun Dynasty, the relationship between the two was ordinary. At this moment, they were staying in the same room, with nothing to say. They just chatted casually for a few words and then read books waiting to be summoned by King Qian.

They waited for an hour, with the moon high in the sky. They didn't know how many groups of people had come to Linjing Hall. They only heard Prince Qian sitting in the main hall, laughing or scolding, and handling state affairs in an unconventional way.

After another group of people left, Xia Shouzhong came to call them, smiling and saying, "My two ladies, His Highness has summoned you."

Jia Yuanchun and Empress Zhang looked at each other, put down their books, and tidied themselves in front of the mirror before leaving.

When I arrived at the main hall, I saw a tall figure leaning on a chair and leisurely drinking tea.

Empress Zhang had a blank expression on her face, and no one knew what she was thinking. However, Jia Yuanchun thought of yesterday when Prince Qian touched her cheek, and her face flushed. She lowered her head and walked forward lightly.

"coming?"

Chu Yan looked at the two dignified and beautiful concubines and laughed, "Have you been waiting for so long? I just talked to them about rewarding the three armies tomorrow. We don't have enough silver, so we need to find a way to get some in the city. Rewards should still be given in silver!"

Jia Yuanchun glanced at the cold Empress Zhang, then looked at Chu Yan and said softly, "Your Majesty has been working hard for state affairs, so it is only right that I wait a little longer."

Empress Zhang remained cold.

Chu Yan stood up and walked in front of her with a smile on his face. He was wearing a round-collar robe and was eight feet tall. He was a head taller than Empress Zhang who was wearing a bright yellow phoenix robe, and almost overwhelmed her.

Empress Zhang remained silent, turned her head away, and a look of shame and anger slowly appeared on her face.

Jia Yuanchun beside her also lowered her head.

Chu Yan smiled and said, "Do you think I'm humiliating you again tonight?"

He ordered the two to pour wine tonight and reveal their true faces in front of a group of nobles from the new dynasty. This was very different from the custom of women in the Shun dynasty not to leave the house. In their view, it was a humiliation to them.

Empress Zhang said, "Your Majesty conquered the world with a powerful army, and asked the Dashun Emperor to come down from the imperial throne and order the nine-story city walls to change their surname to Chu. How can you ask me, a woman, to do the same?"

Chu Yan said: "That's true, but I always respect people with integrity."

Pointing to the palace door, he said, "If you leave today, I will escort you out of the palace and allow you to be accompanied by the ancient Buddha and the green lamps in the temple!"

Jia Yuanchun didn't dare to say anything, but lowered her head, wondering whether she should persuade her.

Empress Zhang slowly raised her head, her clear eyes fixed on him: "I am already a bird in your king's cage, a fish in his net. Where can I escape?"

Chu Yan laughed and stopped talking nonsense with her. He held them with one hand each and only let go after he led the two dignified beauties out of the palace.

"Please, Her Majesty the Queen and Consort Xiande, take the carriage!"

Xia Shouzhong and other eunuchs had been waiting for a long time, and brought in the empress's phoenix sedan chair with a golden phoenix holding a pearl and hanging bright yellow satin curtains, and the virtuous concubine's sedan chair with a golden top and golden embroidered phoenix.

But the emperor's carriage was nowhere to be seen.

Jia Yuanchun looked over and saw him climbing onto a fine horse. As he rode on it, he looked even taller and more powerful.

In the phoenix carriage, Empress Zhang lifted the curtain and glanced at him.

The group passed through the Qianqing Gate, then went through the Houzuo Gate and arrived in front of the Chonghua Palace.

"Your Majesty, I bow to you!"

Many voices were heard outside the curtain. Empress Zhang lifted the curtain again and saw that under the moonlight, more than a hundred rebel generals in front of Chonghua Palace knelt down to greet Prince Qian. Hundreds of eunuchs and palace maids who were serving tonight also knelt down to welcome Prince Qian's arrival.

And this King Qian… rode on a tall horse and accepted their kneeling greeting. “Stand up.”

Chu Yan reined in his horse, looked up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, and said with a smile, "The moonlight is just right tonight. There's no need to go into the palace. How about you all drink and chat with me under the moonlight?"

In the sedan chair, Jia Yuanchun also looked up at the moon. She saw that the moon was as silver, the sky was high and the clouds were vast. It was a good day to appreciate the moon.

Li Changjin said with a smile, "Your Majesty is in such a good mood, we are naturally willing to accompany you to enjoy the moon!"

"Okay, let's drink outside the palace!"

"Eunuchs, hurry up and bring out the wine and food!"

The generals cheered one after another, and about a hundred eunuchs and palace maids rushed into Chonghua Palace, moved out tables and chairs, and set up the banquet outside the palace again.

After Chu Yan sat down, everyone else sat down. Empress Zhang and Jia Yuanchun accompanied him on his left and right. Some young palace maids served the soldiers and poured wine for them.

Beside Chu Yan, Empress Zhang of the Former Shun Dynasty picked up the wine pot with her slender hands, lowered her head and poured him a glass of wine, then gently put it down.

She glanced at the crowd and found that these rebel generals were not curious about the existence of her and Princess Yuan. It seemed as if it was natural. They also knew that Prince Qian would ask women to accompany him when he had a banquet.

No wonder.

"Come!"

Chu Yan raised his wine glass and faced them.

Chu Ming, Li Changjin, Xu Zhiyi, Ma Ji, Su Dingbian, Wu Xinan and nearly a hundred other officers and civil officials raised their glasses.

Chu Yan smiled and said, "The first glass of wine is to celebrate our conquest of the country and the creation of a new dynasty!"

His voice was so clear and loud that not only the more than one hundred soldiers could hear it clearly, but also the hundreds of eunuchs and palace maids serving beside him could hear it clearly.

Empress Zhang and Jia Yuanchun, who were accompanying him, also looked at him in surprise.

"To your Majesty!"

Everyone saluted Chu Yan with their wine glasses, then drank the wine in the glasses. After drinking, they couldn't help laughing.

They've conquered a vast territory, so what worries them now? Just enjoy yourself and drink to your heart's content!
Jia Yuanchun also stretched out her delicate hand and poured a second glass of wine for Chu Yan.

The dishes were served one after another, and the aroma filled the air, making everyone who had been waiting for a long time salivate.

Chu Yan said: "No feast is complete without music, bring on the drums and music!"

Someone had already made arrangements and brought in military instruments such as drums, cymbals, and羯轰 and placed them around.

Chu Yan looked at his subordinates and friends who had fought with him to conquer the country. He also had beautiful women by his side. Rongguo Mansion also had many beauties he was familiar with in his previous life waiting for him to meet. His spirits were high for a moment. He smiled at Chu Ming, who was sitting at the first seat on his left, and said, "Play the 'Song of Breaking the Formation'. Bring me a sword. Tonight, to celebrate our army's capture of the capital, I will perform a sword dance for you generals!"

Everyone was shocked, and Empress Zhang and Jia Yuanchun looked at him in disbelief.

Chu Ming hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, you are now the ruler of the Nine Provinces. How can you continue to act as you did before? How about I, Chang Jin, and I perform the sword dance on your behalf?"

Li Changjin immediately stood up and said with a smile, "I learned this sword dance from the king back then, and I'll perform it for you all today!"

Seeing that everyone was trying to stop him, Chu Yan had no choice but to give up.

Singing and dancing were not allowed in formal banquets during the Shun Dynasty, as they were considered decadent.

But Chu Yan didn't care about that.

He still remembered his first life-and-death battle. In order to boost morale, he recalled the drum music of his previous life and some sword dance performances he had seen in stage plays on the eve of the battle. He imitated Li Shimin's "Qin Wang Pozhen Music" and created his own "Pozhen Song". He performed it himself to show that he would fight to the death the next day.

After that, many officers and soldiers in the army learned from him and also learned the sword dance and music he created.

Under the gaze of everyone, Chu Ming and Li Changjin, one civil and one military, stood in the center with swords in hand.

The passionate drum music gradually rose, and the two men danced with swords. Chu Yan and the soldiers sang along with them. The singing was majestic and full of murderous aura, echoing throughout the Shun Dynasty Palace.

The palace maids and eunuchs stood around, their eyes fixed on this scene.

When was there such an informal moment in the Shun Dynasty palace where the emperor and his ministers drank and sang together?
Empress Zhang sat on Chu Yan's left, watching silently, then turned her head and looked far away towards the west towards the Wangjiang Tower.

"He is such a hero... Your Majesty, your defeat is well deserved."

(End of this chapter)