Chapter 157 Spring Fragrance Hall

The banquet was held in the Spring Fragrance Hall.

The scale of the banquet wasn't large. The only foreign minister accompanying them was Chancellor Zhao Jiulang. The rest were members of the Ji family, so it could be said that this was a family banquet.

Of course, this didn't mean a lack of importance. In fact, those who were truly valued were invited to dine at home.

Xiong Liqing was called away by the women of the harem. She was a newly appointed princess by His Majesty, and it was customary for the imperial concubines to give her a welcoming gift, have a private chat, and give her some presents.

Zheng Boye was led into the Spring Fragrance Hall by Eunuch Wei. Along the way, Eunuch Wei would occasionally turn his head to look at Zheng Boye,

His gaze,

Contained regret,

Sorrow,

Remorse,

And heartbreak,

Making Zheng Boye feel uneasy.

"Eunuch Wei, what is this..."

Zheng Boye couldn't help but ask.

Wei Zhonghe smiled slightly and said, "Amazing, truly amazing. To be honest, I've served His Majesty for so many years, and you're the first to make him laugh so heartily in this way."

Ordinary people would naturally be well-behaved in front of His Majesty, not daring to be even slightly out of line, but this Plain Field Earl dared to joke in this way.

"You jest, Eunuch. I was just speaking from the heart."

"I just like your shamelessness, Earl."

"..." Zheng Fan.

"Alas, what a pity. I'm not afraid of offending you, Earl, but when I first met you, I thought that a talent like you would be so much better if you entered the palace."

"Uh..."

"Of course, you're a驸马 (imperial son-in-law) now, so you can't enter the palace."

"Eunuch Wei, please stop mocking me."

"This isn't mockery. I'm being sincere. The Directorate of Ceremonial lacks a talent like you."

"Thank you for your kindness, Eunuch. Thank you."

"Earl, this is the Spring Fragrance Hall. You're the main character today, so take the second seat on the left. The Chancellor will sit in the seat above you."

"Alright, I understand."

"Please take a seat, Earl. The other princes will arrive soon. I'll go elsewhere to take a look first."

"Please be busy, Eunuch."

Zheng Boye didn't rush to take his seat but stood to the side, looking at the flowers and plants in front of him.

"Looking a little restrained?"

Ji Chengjue's voice came from behind Zheng Boye.

Zheng Boye didn't turn around but simply nodded.

"You've worked hard these past few years," Ji Chengjue said.

"Sentimental."

"I just wanted to start a conversation, and then I'd bring up how the truly hard work was mine."

"I know, so I don't want to cooperate."

"Do you know how painful it was for me to eat cornmeal every meal the year before last?"

Zheng Boye shook his head and said,

"Being able to eat your fill of cornmeal every meal is already a very happy thing for many people in this world."

"Bastard."

Zheng Boye turned around, looked at Ji Chengjue, and said,

"Cornmeal-eating beast."

"..." Ji Chengjue.

"Sixth Brother."

At this moment,

The Fourth Prince and Fifth Prince walked over together.

Zheng Boye took the initiative to salute. There was no need to kneel, but the gesture had to be made, cupping his hands and saying,

"Greetings, Fourth Prince, greetings, Fifth Prince. Fifth Prince, you've worked hard today."

"Plain Field Earl, today should be our first meeting, right?" the Fifth Prince said enthusiastically.

"That's why I feel even more apologetic."

He was currently an inspector for the Ministry of Works and would be returning to Jin with Zheng Boye in a few days, so he would inevitably be more enthusiastic towards Zheng Boye.

In the capital, he was a prince, but once he left the capital, especially when he arrived in Jin, to be honest, the title wouldn't be so useful.

Although the officialdom of Great Yan wasn't like that of Qian, where the scholar-officials had a natural disdain for the feudal lords, everyone would still try to distance themselves as much as possible from a powerless prince.

Because the direction was very clear,

The future crown prince would either be the rising Sixth Prince or the Crown Prince, who still occupied the orthodox position of heir, and there wasn't much connection with the other princes.

Getting close to a prince now would be a sin after the new emperor ascended the throne.

It was difficult to strive for the merit of supporting the dragon, but there was no need to draw the new emperor's hatred, right?

"Not at all, not at all. This is what I should do," the Fifth Prince said very kindly, with a rustic and sincere air.

"I heard that the Fifth Prince likes craftsmanship?"

"Yes, I'm not interested in anything else. I just like studying this. I've been reprimanded by my father for not attending to my duties because of it."

"Isn't this a good opportunity to show your talents?"

"You can't say that, you can't say that. The governance of Wangjiang isn't that simple. I'm just going to take a look on the side, observe, and won't interfere, after all, it concerns so many lives.

Perhaps my father's intention is for me to go there and make contributions, but I personally don't have that intention at all."

It could be said that the Fifth Prince's words were already very frank and straightforward.

"Your Highness, have you heard of the Heavenly Design Pavilion of Jin?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Heavenly Design Pavilion? I sent people to inquire about it. They said it was destroyed in the war."

"I happen to have taken in one or two Heavenly Design Pavilion artisans and some blueprints. After returning to Jin, I can give them to Your Highness."

"Hehe, that would be great, that would be great."

The Fifth Prince rubbed his hands, looking very eager.

Zheng Fan would naturally not send out the true core members of the Heavenly Design Pavilion. Xue San was still on his way back from Liang, and the disciples of the Heavenly Design Pavilion were still needed to help him build siege weapons in Snow Sea Pass.

After all, he had married their sister,

And Zheng Boye was a good man who cherished his wife,

He had to hurry up and open the way for his wife to return to her maiden home.

The Fourth Prince said, "Plain Field Earl, is the wind and snow in the Snow Plains heavy?"

"Heavy. It was only after going to the Snow Plains that I understood why the barbarians have always yearned to enter the pass."

"In that case, is there still a possibility of the barbarian disaster making a comeback?"

Zheng Fan nodded and said, "This is inevitable. After returning to Snow Sea Pass this time, I will organize troops and horses to conquer the Snow Plains again. Great Yan must not take the barbarians lightly, otherwise, with a single oversight, the barbarians may become a second Man race."

If it weren't for the imperial decree suddenly summoning him to the capital, he might have already sent out troops.

The Fourth Prince lamented, "With Plain Field Earl at Snow Sea Pass, the northeast of Great Yan will surely be worry-free. I also yearn for it."

Zheng Boye clearly heard a special flavor in his words,

What,

This Fourth Prince has ideas?

The First Prince had gone to South Gazing City through maneuvering and was partnering with Xu Wenzu. Zheng Fan knew about this.

So, did this Fourth Prince want to find another way because he failed to secure the position in South Gazing City?

Of course, from Zheng Boye's own perspective, he didn't want a prince to be dispatched to his territory. It would be too cumbersome and difficult to deal with.

But Zheng Boye wouldn't be too worried about this because if the Fourth Prince dared to come, then he, Zheng Fan, would dare to ask Marquis Jingnan for a military order and transfer the Fourth Prince to be a cook by the Marquis's side.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

His Majesty's arrival meant that the banquet had officially begun.

The Spring Fragrance Hall was divided into inner and outer sections, the former being the main one and the latter being a side room where the imperial concubines were seated.

Zheng Boye also saw the princess sitting there. After the two of them exchanged a glance, they continued to deal with the people around them.

After taking his seat,

Zheng Boye was very close to Zhao Jiulang.

"Greetings, Chancellor."

"Plain Field Earl, I've heard of you for a long time."

The two of them exchanged a very bland greeting.

In fact, there was still a grudge between them. The Chancellor's "alma mater" was razed to the ground by Zheng Boye, who was then the garrison commander of Green Willow Fort.

But Zheng Boye felt that Zhao Jiulang shouldn't care about such a small matter. His blandness wasn't real blandness but rather quite normal, but in contrast to the enthusiasm of others, it was inevitably a little bland.

Actually, it was also true,

The princes could engage in some small actions. After all, when chicks grew up, they had to learn to spread their wings.

But if the current chancellor wanted to have too many thoughts about military power, it would really be overstepping the line.

Perhaps the Yan Emperor himself wouldn't care, but for the sake of his descendants, he couldn't possibly leave a chancellor with too much power and too much reach behind him to continue "assisting" his successor. That would be digging a pit for his descendants.

Although, in Xiong Liqing's opinion, the Great Yan Imperial Palace was a bit "shabby" compared to the Chu Imperial Palace,

At the banquet,

There were still basic songs and dances.

The Yan Emperor frequently raised his glass, and everyone followed suit, so the atmosphere of the banquet was always peaceful and lively.

When the banquet was halfway through,

The dancers and singers retreated, and in the other room, the imperial concubines also took their leave, with the princess leaving with them.

The Spring Fragrance Hall suddenly became much quieter.

At this time,

The Yan Emperor slowly put down his wine cup.

At this moment,

Zheng Boye noticed that Ji Laoliu and the Fourth and Fifth Princes, who were sitting across from him, began to quickly shovel food into their mouths to chew and swallow.

"Whenever I see Minister Zheng's name on the military reports, I can't help but sigh that the heavens have been kind to Great Yan, and kind to me, bestowing upon me such a young and talented general. This is the fortune of Great Yan."

"Your Majesty is too kind. I don't deserve it."

"No, you deserve it, and you must deserve it; alas, these sons of mine are about the same generation as you, but why are they so disappointing?

Back then, every Ji family son would take the lead in every battle, fighting bloodily in front, as the cornerstone of the country, but now, it's not the same."

As soon as he finished speaking,

The Crown Prince left his seat,

The Sixth Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, and Little Seventh, seeing their older brothers move, also left their seats and knelt down to the Yan Emperor,

Saying in unison,

"Your sons are guilty."

"Your sons are guilty."

Originally, the princes just thought that their father was going through another formality,

So everyone would accompany their father to complete this formality.

They were all turtles hatched from the same egg,

How could they not know some of the turtle's habits?

But,

Who knew,

The Yan Emperor's next sentence,

Made the kneeling princes feel a shock in their hearts,

Even Zhao Jiulang, who was sitting next to Zheng Boye, spilled a lot of the wine in his cup.

Even Zheng Boye didn't expect that the originally peaceful and harmonious situation would suddenly be smashed with a boulder, and it was the Yan Emperor who personally smashed it down.

"Crown Prince, tell me your sins."

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This chapter has a few fewer words, um, so I'll make it up with a big chapter tomorrow;

Don't panic, hold on tight!