Zhu Yi booked the largest, most expensive and most luxurious set of elegant halls in Huaiyue Tower, and personally guided Chen Qingzhi.

Chen Qingzhi originally thought that when Zhu Yi invited him, there would be no others present as always, but when he stepped into the elegant hall, the scene in front of him suddenly caught him off guard.

At least more than a dozen ministers of the court and the central government have been waiting here, all of them are people in important positions, Xu Mian, the secretary of the ministry, and Ye Wang Yuanshu are all impressively listed, and what surprised Chen Qingzhi even more was that Xiao Tong, the crown prince of the dynasty, actually appeared here!

Chen Qingzhi hurriedly stepped forward, knelt down in front of the prince and bowed, "Wechen has seen His Royal Highness the prince. Weichen didn't know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was here, and he was late, and he hoped that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would forgive his sins. ”

Prince Xiao Tong has a plump body, coupled with rich literary accomplishment, and the temperament of the whole person seems kind and gentle, and does not give people a feeling of superiority.

The crown prince smiled and stretched out his hand to help Chen Qingzhi up, "Chen Hou doesn't need to be polite, you are a person who has made meritorious contributions to the imperial court, and you have won the trust of your father, so this palace should wait." ”

After speaking, the prince raised his hand and said to everyone, "Princess, let's greet Chen Hou." ”

These people immediately gathered around and greeted Chen Qingzhi one by one, flattering them to the fullest. Only the old Shangshu Xu Mian respectfully greeted Chen Qingzhi, but only showed admiration and appreciation, and there was no flattery.

Ye Wang Yuanshu was also as usual, but Chen Qingzhi looked a little embarrassed.

Maybe it was because of the brocade robe, Chen Qingzhi felt uncomfortable all over, and his gestures looked a little stiff.

After the ceremony, Zhu Yi warmly greeted everyone to take a seat.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is naturally on the upper seat, Zhu Yi and Chen Qingzhi sit on both sides of the prince's lower steps, and the rest of the people are seated in order according to their identities.

After everyone sat down, the maids with all kinds of delicacies and wines rushed in, the musicians who had already arranged also played music, and the graceful dancers danced, and the feast officially began.

Zhu Yi took the lead in picking up the wine cup, and said to Chen Qingzhi enthusiastically and loudly, "Brother Xian, after returning from victory this time, I have made great achievements for Daliang, and I am overjoyed for my brother, come, I will pay tribute to my brother first!" ”

"Brother Yan and Brother are overrated." Chen Qingzhi also got up and picked up the wine cup, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is above, our first wine, let's pay tribute to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince together." ”

The prince smiled kindly and said to Chen Qingzhi, "Chen Hou doesn't have to be formal, today's banquet is to wash the dust for you, this first wine, of course, should be honored to Chen Hou." ”

"Wechen is terrified." Hearing the prince say this, Chen Qingzhi couldn't argue any more.

After drinking wine with Zhu Yi, as soon as Chen Qingzhi sat down again, the prince smiled and applauded gently, and said in an admiring tone, "Okay, the two of them are both ministers of the humerus that the emperor relied on, and they can be commensurate with each other as brothers, and they get along so well, this palace is very pleased." The two of them are in full bloom, and the palace will also rely on the two of them in the future. ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent and virtuous, and the two Weichen brothers will definitely work for me Liang Sheji, do their best, and die!" Zhu Yi picked up the wine cup again and greeted Chen Qingzhi, "Brother Xian, let's salute His Royal Highness the Crown Prince together!" ”

The prince smiled happily, and happily picked up the wine cup to drink with Zhu Yi and Chen Qingzhi.

Although Chen Qingzhi has always disliked the battle of officialdom, after all, he has been by Xiao Yan's side since he was a child, and he has seen a lot, and these ways can still be seen.

This banquet seems to be to give Chen Qingzhi a pick-up, but in fact, it's just a start, all the important ministers present are important ministers in the court, and those who can achieve this status can be called scheming, how can it be just to catch a general, and they can gather together?

Especially Zhu Yi, he can't afford to be early, he can be so arrogant, is he really just happy for his so-called "virtuous brother"?

And when the crown prince actually appeared on such an occasion, what was the reason for such condescension?

Chen Qingzhi's heart is like a mirror, and the scene in today's elegant hall is alive and well.

The purpose of those important ministers of the court is relatively simple, it is nothing more than to come to pat the sycophants - the prince, Zhu Yi, the scholar of Zhongshu, the newly promoted Guanzhong Hou, the rising star Chen Qingzhi, the three most dazzling political stars of today's Liang gathered together, if they failed to appear here, there would be a feeling of being excluded from the center of power, and being invited to attend is undoubtedly like obtaining some kind of affirmation, such an opportunity can be described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, how can you not rush to it.

And the reason why the prince appeared here, Chen Qingzhi believes, should be related to the "goose aversion to prayer" incident a few days ago.

In fact, the crown prince Xiao Tong has been intelligent since childhood, full of poetry and books, has high literary attainments, and is sympathetic and loving to the people, does not like to be sexual, and is quite benevolent.

His mother Ding Guifei died, and the prince personally selected a piece of feng shui treasure land to build a tomb for his mother. Before breaking ground, Emperor Liang suddenly issued an order to change another cemetery.

It is said that the landlord of the cemetery was exchanged, and the palace officials around Emperor Liang colluded, falsely claiming that the land chosen by the prince was in the way of Emperor Liang, and the feng shui of the land exchanged was in the favor of His Majesty.

Emperor Liang was very old at this time, and the previous incident of Xiao Zong, the king of Yuzhang, led to a lot of suspicion, even for his son, he no longer trusted and doted on him as before. For such a lie, Emperor Liang chose to indulge in vain, so he ordered the prince to change the cemetery.

The crown prince is a filial person, and his father has an order, so he naturally obeys it. At the time of the burial, a Taoist priest who had an old friend with the prince said to the prince that although this place was good, it was not good for the eldest son.

Of course, the prince believed the Taoist priest's words, but this piece of land was arranged by his father and could not be changed, so he asked the Taoist priest what he could do.

The so-called cracking method of the Taoist priest is to represent the seat of the eldest son on the side of the tomb, and bury the goose all the way down.

And all this was seen by a eunuch named Bao Miaozhi.

This eunuch and another eunuch named Wei Ya both worked in the Prince's East Palace, but Bao Miaozhi was too treacherous, so the prince gradually distanced himself from him and became closer to Wei Ya.

For this reason, Bao Miaozhi held a grudge and kept looking for an opportunity to take revenge.

A period of time after the burial, it happened that Emperor Liang was feeling unwell, and Bao Miaozhi felt that the opportunity had come, so he ran to Emperor Liang and said that he knew why His Majesty suddenly had a dragon body that was not safe.

Emperor Liang didn't care too much, how could your little eunuch still diagnose a patient, so he asked casually, "Then tell me, what is the reason?" ”

"Wei Ya is tired of praying for the prince!" Bao Miaozhi replied in the affirmative.

Prayer aversion is a kind of witchcraft that curses people, and although Emperor Liang is now more and more suspicious, he does not want to believe that his crown prince would do such a thing.

Bao Miaozhi swore an oath, saying that he had seen it with his own eyes, and Wei Ya found a Taoist priest to do the method and buried a goose next to Ding Guifei, just to curse His Majesty.

Although Emperor Liang didn't want to believe it, just in case, he immediately ordered someone to dig up the grave of Ding Guifei, and sure enough, he took out a goose next to it.

The impact of this incident on Emperor Liang can be said to be far greater than the previous betrayal of Xiao Zong, King of Yuzhang.

That is the crown prince of the current dynasty, and he is the chosen son who will inherit his ninety-five honor in the future! Is he going to curse me? Is he so anxious to ascend to the throne, and can't wait to die as soon as possible?

At that time, in the face of Emperor Liang's thunderous anger, it was the old Shangshu Xu Mian, who was also present at the moment, who was also present at the moment, saying that the prince was just trying to resolve the disadvantages of feng shui, and there was absolutely no intention of praying.

And Zhu Yi even took off his crown and knelt down to intercede for the prince - Zhu Yi, who never disobeyed Emperor Liang's wishes, such a move really surprised many people.

In the end, Emperor Liang only beheaded the Taoist priest in public in the city, and did not offend the prince, and even Emperor Liang never mentioned the matter to anyone again.

But can the prince be as if nothing had happened in his heart?