Although it is almost twilight, the already weak sunshine still dazzles Zheng Rong so much that he can't open his eyes. After a period of dizziness, Zheng Rong finally managed to adapt his eyes to the huge change in light, but he remembered a sharp and hoarse voice in his ears, it turned out that Wang Zhonghai walked behind Zheng Rong and whispered at some point: "The Holy Lord ordered the old slave to pass on the decree to stay for the prince's night banquet." ”

Since it was a holy decree, of course Zheng Rong did not dare to refuse, and solemnly saluted and replied: "This king has the decree." ”

When Wang Zhonghai heard this, he still looked like he was smiling and not smiling, and said: "Then please ask the prince to drive the imperial garden, hey, hey, I don't know if the prince still remembers where the imperial garden is?" ”

Zheng Rong grew up in the palace since he was a child, and the imperial garden is a big place in the palace, so he naturally knows how to go, and he doesn't agree to Wang Zhonghai, but he holds his hand and slowly walks towards the imperial garden.

Although the king of the law has the right to walk freely in the palace, Zheng Rong has not entered the palace for ten years after all, and it is really noticeable to hang out in the palace alone, so from time to time the royal guards patrolling the palace stop and interrogate. Fortunately, many of the guards who were familiar with Zheng Rong back then had been promoted to big and small leaders, and they didn't dare to embarrass King Youyan after some greetings. However, it was still somewhat troublesome to be interrogated repeatedly, and Zheng Rong couldn't help but speed up his pace and walk towards the Imperial Garden.

The first emperor liked to be lively, and when Zheng Rong was in the palace more than ten years ago, the imperial garden often held various banquets. However, the current emperor Zheng Yong is concentrating on cultivating immortals, living in a simple place, and unnecessary court meetings are already saved, so that even the tributaries of vassal countries such as Korea, Annam, Ryukyu, and Japan will not receive them in person, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites are of course impossible to entertain foreign envoys in the imperial garden, which makes the holy decree of "banqueting the imperial garden" at a glance, and the internal supervision is really busy.

Zheng Rong, who came alone, didn't want to disturb the busy preparations because of unnecessary etiquette, so he found a secluded corner to enjoy the flowers and plants. Luoyang is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and the flourishing of flowers and plants is originally inferior to that of Jiangnan, Yunnan, Guizhou and southern Guangdong, and the palace has its own skilled craftsmen to cultivate and grow the flowers, plants, fruits and trees contributed by various places on this loess. Such a collection of flowers in one corner, although it is not natural, but also has a unique flavor.

Among the hundred flowers, plum blossoms are the first, which has a lot to do with Dahan's entrepreneurship. When Taizu rose up, the first battle was lost, the officers and soldiers of the previous dynasty were very urgent, Taizu had to escape into the mountains, only relying on sour plums to satisfy hunger, survive half a month, clean up the people, and make a comeback, which gave rise to the foundation of the Han Dynasty for 200 years. Taizu did not forget the difficulty of starting a business, and the quality of the bitter cold blooming plum blossom, so the plum blossom was designated as the national flower of the Han Dynasty. After two hundred years of peaceful and prosperous era of the Han Dynasty, the plum blossoms that are now pampered in the court are not only different colors, but also have fist-sized flowers, which are not inferior to the wealth of peonies. Although such plum blossoms have lost the intention of Taizu to be prepared for danger in times of peace, it is very pleasing to the eye, and such a magnificent wonder is transformed into a fluttering camouflage in Zheng Rong's eyes, and it is blurred.

At sunset, the moon is in the sky, and countless lights and candles are lit around the imperial garden, lighting the banquet scene as if it were daytime, and the exotic flowers and plants of different colors and shapes are particularly gorgeous under the rendering of various lights, and the weather is getting cooler and cooler. The specifications of this night banquet are different from the past, except for the current saint Zheng Yong and Youyan King Zheng Rong, there are only two princes invited, Zheng Chang, the eldest son of the emperor, and Zheng Yao, the second son of the emperor; Zheng Hua, the prince in Beijing and the king of Heluo; Zheng Nuo, the son of the Lingnan king, who nominally studied in Guozijian but was actually a hostage; There are also eleven county kings and first-class royal relatives of the state princes, who are the backbone of the royal family of this dynasty. There are also three cabinet elders of Zhongshu Province and Cabinet, and Yang Yuanzhi, the prime minister of the head of the hundred officials, and Cao Kang and Zhang Chaohe, who are left and right; Liang Xunde, the secretary of the six ministries and the secretary of the ministry, Ye Yuanlu, the secretary of the household department, Shi Liangzhi, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Fu Kui, the secretary of the military department, the Yuwenguan of the criminal department, and Lu Jia of the Ministry of Industry; There are also six left waiters invited, and the six right waiters are only different from the left waiters in daily affairs, but this time they are not invited because they are nominally a little inferior to the left waiters, and they can't help but be very depressed. In this way, only thirty-two people attended the banquet, although the number was small, but it had already concentrated the ruling layer of the Han center.

The arrangement of the seats is also quite elaborate, and the center overlooking is naturally the emperor's dragon chair; Zheng Rong sat on the right side of the emperor, on the right side of the emperor, which was different from the left side of the crown prince, and different from everyone including the two princes and the outer court Zaifu; Under His Majesty Jin, on the right side are the relatives of the emperor, arranged by grade, the same grade is arranged by generation, the same generation is arranged by the time of award, and the same time is arranged by age; On the left side of the emperor are the officials of the outer court, headed by the three prime ministers of Zhongshu Province, and the following are the Shangshu of each ministry in the order of the officials and soldiers, and then the left servants of each department. Although Zheng Rong had a bad first impression of Shi Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, he was quite appreciative of the extremely useful arrangement arranged by the Ministry of Rites.

When the time of Shen arrived, a team of palace maids and eunuchs cautiously walked from the depths of the imperial garden with long-trained steps, each holding large and small plates and serving food to the adults one by one. Although it is not a delicacy, it is a rare choice in terms of the ingredients, which makes many imperial officials who have seen the imperial food for the first time salivate. However, none of the people who went to the banquet dared to get off the table, for no other reason, but the emperor has not yet entered the table.

The palace has its own rules in the palace, no matter what the thoughts in their hearts, the princes and ministers always sit with expressionless faces, and the usual innocuous exchanges and ears do not appear because of this special atmosphere. It wasn't until a high-pitched and sharp shout of "The Holy Lord has arrived" sounded that the more than 30 nobles present stood up almost at the same time, turned their heads to follow the voice, and saw Emperor Zheng Yong moving towards the throne with the support of the two eunuchs.

The emperor has not been in the court for a long time, let alone a few princes and six left servants who are not close relatives, even if it is a six-book book with shallow qualifications like Shi Liangzhi, it is the first time to see the supreme ruler of the empire with his own eyes, and he actually sobbed regardless of etiquette. Just when he was at a loss, Prime Minister Yang Cheng, who was still old and serious, shouted "Long live the ministers", and took the lead in completing a complete set of prescribed actions from standing up to prostrate on the ground. Under the leadership of Yang Yuanzhi, all the ministers bowed to the ground one after another, and the sound of "long live" sounded.

The emperor finally sat on the dragon chair under the hug, and said smoothly: "Ladies and gentlemen, please sit down, this time I am setting up a banquet for King Youyan, and Aiqing and others don't need to be polite." ”

The emperor has not looked at the court for a long time, and the jade sound is even more rare, although the thirty dignitaries, including the two princes, although they are intently observing the white marble textured ground, their ears are all listening upright, for fear of missing an important detail, and even after the emperor finished speaking, no one got up.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Rong was busy thanking him and said, "Long live Xie!" With that, he sat down on the seat. When the emperors and ministers heard this, they shouted in unison: "Long live Xie", and they didn't dare to pat the dust and mud on their bodies when they got up, and sat behind a few cases one by one, but none of them moved their chopsticks to pick up vegetables.

The emperor, who had not seen the emperor's relatives and officials for a long time, saw this restrained scene in the banquet, which seemed to be half funny and half proud, and he leaned over and raised the bronze wine lord used by Emperor Taizu Gao when he feasted the ministers, and tried his best to raise his voice and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been infected with illness for a long time, and I have not healed for many years, thanks to the integration of the inside and outside of the court, and the loyal service, this is the peace of the world, and I am deeply grateful." Come on, come on, I salute everyone! With that, he poured the eight-point full wine jue to his lips. The jade liquor is fragrant and mellow, so that the emperor Zheng Yong, who does not know the samadhi in the wine, is also intoxicated, and takes a sip, but he can't stand the strength contained in the wine, and he can't help coughing dryly, and he is quite reluctant to put down the wine.

The royal ministers saw the holy toast, and it was too late to be flattered, even if they usually didn't drink a drop of wine, they were busy raising their wine glasses and drinking them all, how dare they persuade the wine as hard as at the private banquet, and they had to toast to the bottom before they stopped.

The emperor smiled and nodded, looked at Zheng Rong and said to everyone: "The royal brother defended the northern frontier for the country, and he worked hard and made great achievements. It's a pity that I can't drink alcohol, so please give a few more glasses to King Youyan! ”

As soon as the words fell, someone raised their glass to salute. Zheng Rong looked fixedly, and sure enough, it was Zheng Chang, the eldest son of the emperor. Twenty years ago, the current emperor Zheng Yongshang Longyou Qiandi, I don't know when I was lucky to change the girl's clothes, a few months later, the girl's belly was getting bulging, which was included as a side room, and a son was born at full term, which was Zheng Chang. Although Zheng Chang's biological mother is poor, she looks very Xiao Nai's father, and she is also somewhat similar to her uncle Zheng Rong, and it is the blood of the royal family at a glance. I saw him holding his wine glass very respectfully and said: "Uncle Huang is both civil and military, Zheng Chang has admired him since he was a child. Ten years ago, when the imperial uncle was not yet in the domain, the nephew listened to the imperial uncle's teachings many times, and now that he thinks about it, he really benefited a lot. It's just that he hasn't yet learned it, and he hopes that Uncle Huang will enter Beijing this time and stay for a few more days, so that his nephew can come to ask for advice, so I salute Uncle Huang here. ”

Zheng Rong smiled and thought secretly: Zheng Chang was dull when he was young, and he couldn't read and write at the age of four or five, which worried the emperor many times; When he was able to read and write, he was already a prince who led soldiers to fight, and he went out all year round, and he had instructed Zheng Chang. However, on the banquet, how can it be more serious, so he will be modest and complimentary, and drink all the wine in the cup.

I didn't want to just pour a full wine, and another person stood up during the banquet to salute, it was Zheng Yao, the second son of the emperor. Zheng Yao is considered to be Zheng Yong's grandson, and his mother is the current queen. The queen is a loyal daughter for generations, arranged by the first emperor to marry Zheng Yong, and is not favored by Zheng Yong; However, the emperor was obsessed with cultivation and was not interested in other concubines, and the queen also secured the position of the leader of the harem. The son is more precious than the mother, and Zheng Yao's power in the inner court is incomparable to Zheng Chang.

The so-called relationship between Zheng Chang and Zheng Rong, the king of Youyan, was originally hard to come out, and it was even more difficult for Zheng Yao, who was two years younger than him, to make any friendships, and finally came up with empty statements such as "Uncle Huang's meritorious achievements, noble prestige, and admiration for a long time", and was just about to be exported, but Zheng Chang beside him sneered and said slowly: "Uncle Huang has just become white, you want to toast, do you want to get Uncle Huang drunk?" ”

Zheng Yao was unhappy when he heard this, and immediately withdrew his wine glass, stared at his brother's eyes and said: "Youyan King has a lot, every time he triumphs, he must always set up a banquet to celebrate his achievements, but he has never been drunk and out of shape, this is what even Huangkou Xiaoer knows, what are these two glasses of wine?" ”

Zheng Chang saw Zheng Yao secretly teasing him for not being as good as a child, his eyes rolled, and he said unhurriedly: "The sage said that if you go out, you will be a minister, and if you enter, you will be a father and brother, and you will not be sleepy for wine." Of course, the amount of alcohol consumed by the emperor is good, but after all, drinking is wrong, and the emperor must drink in moderation. Do you want to make Uncle Huang lose his temper when you toast like this? ”

Zheng Yao did not flinch when he heard this, he simply put down the wine glass and argued: "The sage also said that only wine is immeasurable and chaotic. Uncle Huang is the first commander of this dynasty, as long as it does not break military discipline, drinking more can boost morale, this is a common truth in the army, don't you know? ”

"Humph! Don't think that you are leading the errand of the palace guards, and you hang the word 'in the army' all day long, why haven't I seen you crisscross the battlefield and open up territory for the Han Dynasty? I am in charge of the security around Luoyang, and some of the inner court guards don't know whose power they rely on, and there are drunken troubles every day! Zheng Chang sarcastically said.

"You talk nonsense!" Zheng Yao scolded a foul language.

"You fart!" Zheng Chang also showed no weakness.

At this point in the argument, both princes threw away their utensils and stared at each other with their eyes. Seeing this, his uncle Zheng Hua on the side hurriedly got up and stood between the two, lest the two really fight; Although Zheng Nuo on the other side is a cousin, he is also a close relative, although he didn't step forward to pull the two away, he also smiled and played a round.

Shi Liangzhi, who was sitting in the back seat, remembered that the conflict was caused by a toast, and it was a dispute of etiquette, and of course he was the authority in this regard, and he couldn't let the eldest son of the emperor he supported suffer, so he came up with some reasons, stood up, and was about to speak. Prime Minister Yang Yuanzhi, who didn't want to be silent, turned his head and said to him: "Sit down for me, the conflict between the two princes, you are a little scholar, how can there be a place to speak?" The reprimand was not loud, but his tone was very firm, and coupled with Yang Yuanzhi's identity and qualifications, he actually suppressed Shi Liangzhi's painstaking rhetoric.

Zheng Yao, who was holding on to Zheng Chang, was still worried that he couldn't find the bottom of the steps, and vaguely heard Prime Minister Yang's words, so he raised his voice and said: "The Ministry of Rites naturally has no place to speak, but Yang Yuan is an old minister of the three dynasties, the prime minister of the two dynasties, and has the name of the emperor, so he must be able to say two sentences." Then Zheng Chang still wants to ask the prime minister, should this glass of wine be respected? ”