Time flies quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it will be the twenty-fifth day of the lunar month.

Red lanterns are also hung in shops all over the capital, and the streets are bustling with people buying New Year's goods, and the cries of street vendors can be heard from time to time.

The capital, Yuwang's Mansion.

At this time, the Yuwang Mansion hung up red lanterns early, and the door was also swept clean, and couplets were pasted, looking jubilant, and all kinds of slaves were also put on new clothes.

In the room, Zhu Zaikun was listening to the report from the housekeeper: "His Royal Highness King Yuyu, according to your orders, the little one has sent all the slaves' regular money this month, and in addition, there are two more months!" ”

After listening to the housekeeper's report, I saw Zhu Zaikun waving his hand and commanding: "Well, Lone knows, you go down first!" ”

"Yes, His Royal Highness King Yu!"

After bowing to Zhu Zaikun, the housekeeper immediately walked away.

After the housekeeper left, I saw Zhu Zaikun get up from the chair, and a little worry appeared on his face.

For no other reason, tonight, Jiajing will feast the ministers in the Imperial Palace.

At that time, more than a month ago, the Shen family, who was canonized as the queen, will also attend this banquet together.

What worries Zhu Zaikun the most is that many ministers in the DPRK and the central government are likely to take this incident as a signal, and then fall to Zhu Zaiyuan's side without saying anything.

After all, Zhu Zaiyuan is the child born to Jiajing and the empress.

You must know that Zhu Zaikun's current name is the eldest son, but Zhu Zaiyuan, who is still in infancy, is a veritable son-in-law.

Since ancient times, in terms of the priority of inheriting the throne, the concubine is far stronger than the concubine!

"My father gave birth to a total of eight sons, six of whom died young, only me and my fourth brother successfully grew up, and it is still unknown whether this child can grow up successfully in the future!"

"At tonight's banquet, I'll just try not to make mistakes!"

After comforting himself like this, the worry on Zhu Zaikun's face also decreased a lot.

Just as Zhu Zaikun was still racking his brains and thinking about how he should deal with tonight's banquet next, he saw Concubine Li come to Zhu Zaikun with a silent step.

Concubine Li saw that Zhu Zaikun looked thoughtful, so she didn't bother, just waited quietly on the side.

Time passed slowly, and when Zhu Zaikun came back to his senses, he found that Concubine Li had stopped beside him for a long time.

Just when Zhu Zaikun wanted to say something, he heard Concubine Li's beautiful voice sound: "Husband, what are you thinking, you haven't been motionless since just now?" ”

When Zhu Zaikun heard this, he didn't mean to hide it, looked at Concubine Li who was close at hand, and said slowly: "I'm thinking about what to do with tonight's banquet, my father is inviting civil officials and hundreds of officials to a banquet in the Emperor's Palace, and I'm afraid that I will accompany those ministers to drink at that time!" ”

When Zhu Zaikun said this, his face was full of helplessness and he shook his head.

Although he complained so much, Zhu Zaikun could actually understand it, after all, if the emperor was present, the ministers present would not be able to let go.

"Maybe my father only showed his true emotions in front of Gonggong Lu!"

Thinking like this, Zhu Zaikun couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy in his heart.

When Concubine Li heard Zhu Zaikun's words, she couldn't help but have a little worry on her face.

Then, I saw him snuggling into Zhu Zaikun's arms, and comforted him softly: "Drinking hurts your body, husband drink less tonight, the concubine heard that your fourth brother has quit drinking!" ”

Concubine Li's words full of concern made Zhu Zaikun's heart flow a trace of warmth, and then, I saw him withdraw his gaze from Concubine Li's body, and said in response: "Well, Lone will pay attention!" ”

……

On the other side, the capital, Yanfu study.

"Father, the child has sharpened the ink for you!"

After Yan Shifan finished speaking, he stepped aside, unconsciously slowing down his breathing, and he didn't even dare to breathe, for fear of disturbing Yan Song.

The couplets of the Yan Mansion every year are written by Yan Song himself, and this year is no exception.

At this moment, on the bookcase, the paper used to write couplets was neatly placed, and I saw Yan Song take a deep breath and use a brush dipped in ink to neatly write on the paper "National Grace and Family Celebration, Life Expectancy" A few big words.

After finishing writing, I saw Yan Song put the brush in his hand aside and breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing this situation, Yan Shifan on the side hurriedly stepped forward and praised him: "Father's calligraphy is unmatched in the entire Ming Dynasty, no wonder so many people do not hesitate to spend a lot of money and want to get your ink treasure!" ”

When Yan Song heard this, he just glanced at Yan Shifan quite indifferently, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "Oh, is it possible, someone is rushing to ask for Mobao again this year?" ”

As soon as Yan Song's words fell, I saw Yan Shifan respond without thinking: "Father, you are right, not long ago, several wealthy merchants in the capital found their children, saying that they were willing to ask for your share of Mobao at a price of 400,000 taels of silver, you see......"

Yan Song took in the expression on Yan Shifan's face, shook his head, and turned to speak: "Okay, no need to say any more, reject those people for me!" ”

Seeing Yan Song's resolute attitude, Yan Shifan couldn't continue to persuade him, so he had to nod his head and say: "Yes, father, the child understands!" ”

Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, Yan Song looked in the direction where Yan Shifan was, and continued to add: "You are not allowed to inscribe those merchants, even if they offer a high price!" ”

"In case those businessmen, under the sign of my Yan family, will cause trouble everywhere, do you understand?"

After listening to Yan Song's admonition, I saw Yan Shifan bow his head and respond respectfully: "Yes, father, the child knows!" ”

Seeing that Yan Shifan listened to his words, a hint of relief flashed on Yan Song's face.

Immediately, he stretched out his thin hand, pointed to the written couplet on the bookcase, and then ordered: "Let people paste this couplet to the door!" ”

When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he immediately stepped forward and took over the couplet.

Then, I saw a look of doubt on his face, looked in the direction where Yan Song was, and asked: "But father, there is still a lack of horizontal criticism, what is the horizontal criticism?" ”

When Yan Song heard this, after pondering for a while, he said unhurriedly: "Just write the horizontal batch, and everything will be prosperous!" ”

When the words fell, I saw Yan Song use a brush full of ink to write down the four big characters "Everything is prosperous".

After the ink on the paper dried, I saw Yan Shifan call the housekeeper and instructed: "Come with me and paste this couplet at the door!" ”

The housekeeper didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, and solemnly took the couplet from Yan Shifan's hand, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, Xiaoge Lao!" ”

Just as Yan Shifan was about to leave, he saw Yan Song lifting the brush with a thoughtful look.

Seeing this, I saw Yan Shifan stop, looked in the direction where Yan Song was with a puzzled expression, and asked, "Father, ...... are you?"

Facing Yan Shifan's eyes full of doubts, Yan Song shook his head and explained: "I plan to write a few couplets and send someone to send them to Hu Ruzhen. ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, his face was full of helplessness.

Sometimes Yan Shifan even has an illusion, that is, compared to himself, Hu Zongxian is his father's son.

……

On the other side, the Forbidden City, Ganlu Palace.

At the thought of attending the banquet held in the Imperial Palace with Jiajing tonight, Shen's heart couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness.

You must know that this is the first time she has attended such a major occasion since she was canonized as the queen, so there is no room for half a difference.

Since this was a private banquet, the Shen family only needed to wear regular clothes to attend.

"Well, I hope everything will go well!"

After that, I saw that Shen summoned his personal maid and began to dress up for himself.

After finishing the makeup and dressing, Shen looked at himself in the bronze mirror, wearing a phoenix crown, a yellow coat, and a dark blue curtain, and his face couldn't help but flash a trace of satisfaction.

At this moment, only to hear a 'squeak', the door of the room was pushed open, and Shen followed the prestige, only to see Jiajing walking in.

Seeing Jiajing's arrival, Shen got up from his seat in a panic and saluted respectfully: "The concubine has seen Your Majesty!" ”

"Okay, I've said it so many times, you don't have to be so polite to me!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he immediately came to Shen's face, with a warm smile on his face.

Seeing this, the personal maid on the side left the room with great discernment, and took the door of the room with her.

Then, I saw Shen Shi's face showing shyness, stretching out his slender jade hand, and leading Jiajing to the seat next to him and sit down.

Taking advantage of the gap between pouring tea, I saw Shen Shi raise his head, look in the direction where Jiajing was, and asked, "Your Majesty, isn't the banquet at night, why did you come at this time?" ”

Hearing this, Jiajing supported his chin with one hand, and after looking Shen up and down, he responded with interest: "It's the end of the year, and everyone who should be busy is almost busy, I specially came to see you!" ”

After Jiajing finished speaking, he shook Shen's hand with a smile.

After perceiving the temperature constantly coming from his hands, and the look on Jiajing's face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, the shyness on Shen's face became even worse, and he muttered, "Your Majesty...... Your Majesty, it's still daytime! ”

"Oh, what do you mean by concubine, it's okay at night?"

When Jiajing's words fell, I saw Shen lowering his head, and the whole person suddenly blushed, biting his lips, and his eyes wandered.

At this time, Shen's mind couldn't help but recall the previous scene, and after a long time, he responded like a mosquito and a fly: "...... If so, Your Majesty ......"

Seeing this, Jiajing took Shen into his arms, tapped it on his forehead, attached it to his ear, and said softly: "Since this is the case, then I will look forward to it with peace of mind!" ”

The warm wind blowing in his ears made Shen Shi feel soft for a while, and then the whole person collapsed weakly in Jiajing's arms.

"Your Majesty...... Your Majesty, the concubine still hasn't said anything, it's still ...... Let's drink tea first! ”

After Shen finished speaking, he wanted to support his body from Jiajing's arms, but he tried several times and failed.

Seeing this, Jiajing's smile on his face was even worse, but he didn't have the idea of continuing to tease Shen, but changed the topic.

"The temperature has plummeted recently, Aifei should take care of her body, pay more attention to keeping warm, don't catch a cold, there are uncomfortable places, don't stand up alone, you know?"

"The concubine understands!"

When Shen heard Jiajing's words, he couldn't help but feel a trace of warmth in his heart, and then, he saw his whole person snuggled in Jiajing's arms and answered softly.

Not long after this, I only heard Shen's slightly distressed voice sound: "Your Majesty, not long ago, the concubine's family sent a letter, saying that they hoped that the concubine would come forward and help someone find an errand!" ”

When Jiajing heard this, a hint of surprise flashed on his face, and he then said, "Oh, and this is the case? ”

When Jiajing's words fell, I saw Shen nodding and continuing: "After receiving this letter, the concubine immediately wrote a reply and sternly refused, but later, the concubine's heart was very uncomfortable.

"The concubine has been in the palace for so many years, and the family has never been ......"

When Shen said this, his face was gloomy.

After listening to Shen's narration, Jiajing gently patted her back with his hand, and comforted her: "Don't blame yourself too much, you didn't do anything wrong in this matter, after all, your current identity is the queen of the world of the Ming Mother, and you shouldn't worry about such trivial matters!" ”

"If there is such a thing next time, tell me directly, and I will take care of it myself!"

"Hmm."

……

Soon, night fell, and the entire Forbidden City was brightly lit, and the Imperial Palace was even more lively.

There were many officials invited to participate in the banquet, in addition to the officials of the six departments, there were many officials such as Honglu Temple, Inspectorate, Dali Temple, etc., in addition, many clans and nobles were also invited to participate in the banquet.

Since there is still some time before the official start of the banquet.

Taking advantage of this interval, many officials gathered in groups of three or five, chatting and gossiping, and the feelings between each other continued to heat up in the process.

The seats for the banquet had already been arranged in advance, and the closest to the emperor and empress was the cabinet, followed by the six ministries and nine secretaries of the Ming Dynasty.

The seats of the civil and military generals sat on one side, while the clans and nobles sat on the other side, and there was a clear distinction between them, and the well water did not interfere with the river water.

And Zhu Zaikun, as the eldest son of Jiajing, naturally sat on the side of the clan and the nobles, and was also the closest to the position of the emperor and empress.

Next to him, the positions of the British Duke Zhang Rong and the Dingguo Duke Xu Yande and the Chengguo Duke Zhu Xizhong sat respectively, but they were empty.

At this time, everyone was talking happily.

I saw Yu Dayou retract his gaze from a distance, turned around, and looked at Qi Jiguang on the side, his face was full of excitement, and he said: "Hey, I didn't expect that we could be invited to this banquet when we first arrived!" ”

When Qi Jiguang heard Yu Dayou's words, he nodded, with a look of emotion: "Yes, I really didn't expect that we would also be invited!" ”

Since Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou visited the Ordnance Department before, they have been in full swing into military training.

You must know that more than 25,000 soldiers is not a small number, and the difficulty of commanding can be imagined.

And these soldiers are all brave and good warriors selected from the guards all over the country, and it is not easy to get their approval.

But fortunately, before Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou came, they brought many capable subordinates from their respective troops together, which saved a lot of trouble.

At present, under the training of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, the combat effectiveness of this army has gradually taken shape.

In Qi Jiguang's view, this army only needs to go through the tempering of war, and it will soon be able to transform into an elite division, and its combat effectiveness is no less than that of the Ming Dynasty's nine-sided border army.

"The flintlock pistol newly developed by the Ordnance Division is not only powerful, but also has several times the range of the arquebus, and the paper shell bullet greatly increases the loading speed of the flintlock pistol, if you combine it with the car battalion!"

"In the next war with the Tatars, my Ming Dynasty will be invincible, and I will be able to annihilate Altan Khan in one fell swoop and completely eradicate this great trouble!"

When Qi Jiguang said this, he couldn't help clenching his fists, and his face was full of anticipation.

Just as Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were chatting happily, the two didn't notice that there was a figure not far away, and they had stopped to watch for a long time.

And this figure is Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, who temporarily left the table not long ago because of internal urgency.

……

Most of the officials on the scene are taking this opportunity to match, compliment each other, and get closer to each other.

However, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were talking about national affairs, which seemed very out of place.

And this also attracted the attention of Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, and without disturbing Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, Zhu Xizhong began to listen to their conversation.

In this process, the more Zhu Xizhong listened, the more shocked he became, because both of them showed extremely high military literacy and a sense of the overall situation.

In Zhu Xizhong's opinion, one of them is a rare handsome talent, and the other is also an experienced and brave general!

Just when Zhu Xizhong wanted to continue listening, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, who were chatting happily on the side, seemed to notice something, stopped talking, and looked in the direction where he was.

Then, I saw Qi Jiguang looking at Zhu Xizhong with a suspicious expression, and asked, "This adult, are you ......?"

When Zhu Xizhong heard this, he couldn't help but show a little embarrassment on his face.

After all, eavesdropping on other people's conversations and getting the person involved caught right is not a glorious thing.

Zhu Xizhong thought of this, and he decided not to tell the two of them his true identity for the time being.

And in order not to let Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou detect the clues, he decided to use his son's name.

Then, I saw Zhu Xizhong arch his hand to the two, and said with a smile: "This official Wang Shitai, an official of the Houjun Governor's Mansion, passed by just now, and happened to hear the conversation between the two generals, and suddenly felt that it was very beneficial, and dared to ask the two generals who ......."

When Qi Jiguang heard this, he did not doubt him, and introduced each other to Zhu Xizhong: "Under Qi Jiguang, he is currently General Zhaoyi, and this is General Yu Dayou of Huaiyuan!" ”

Seeing this, Yu Dayou, who was on the side, got up from his seat and arched his hand to Zhu Xizhong.

After listening to Qi Jiguang's introduction, Zhu Xizhong couldn't help but have a hint of surprise on his face, and couldn't help but speak: "You two are Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, who were recommended by Hu Ge Lao and transferred to the capital by His Majesty, and are in charge of military training full-time? ”

Seeing that the other party knew him so well, Qi Jiguang's face was even more surprised, he nodded, and said in response: "Well, yes!" ”

After this, Zhu Xizhong also reacted in hindsight, and explained: "When this official was serving in the Houjun Governor's Mansion, he had heard of the names of the two generals, and you followed Hu Ge Lao and annihilated the Japanese invaders entrenched in the southeast coast of our Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop!" ”

"Not only that, but he has also repeatedly led the army to quell the rebellion, and he has been friends with the two generals for a long time!"

Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou saw Zhu Xizhong's sincere expression, and they did not doubt him, so they quickly pulled him to chat together.

The three of them talked happily and had many opinions with each other, and they all tended to be in agreement.

Time passed slowly, I don't know how long it had passed, Zhu Xizhong seemed to have noticed something, withdrew his gaze from Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, and then said: "The banquet is about to start, let's get here first!" ”

After Zhu Xizhong finished speaking, he arched his hand to Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, and then walked straight to the position on the side of the sect and Xungui.

Seeing this situation, Yu Dayou just wanted to say something to remind, but was stopped by Qi Jiguang.

Facing Yu Dayou's puzzled gaze, I saw Qi Jiguang explain: "From the person's conversation just now, and every move, it can be seen that this person's identity is not simple, anyway, he is definitely not an official of the Houjun Governor's Mansion!" ”

"Now it seems that the person just now should be my Ming clan's clan and noble!"

After listening to Qi Jiguang's explanation, Yu Dayou's face also showed a sudden look.

Then, I saw Yu Dayou shake his head imperceptibly, and then said: "But why did he hide his true identity, it's really incomprehensible!" ”

After this, Yu Dayou saw the shocked look on Qi Jiguang's face that he couldn't hide.

Yu Dayou followed Qi Jiguang's line of sight, and saw that the person who had been talking to them very happily before went straight to the front seat.

And not far from him, sat Yuwang Zhu Zaikun!

"Hey, is it possible, this person just now is the top clan and noble of the Ming Dynasty, otherwise, how could he sit with His Royal Highness King Yu?"

At this time, this is the common idea of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

Then, I saw the two of them look at each other, and they both saw the shocked look in each other's eyes that they couldn't hide.

It was only at this moment that they understood why the previous man had concealed his identity.

And just when Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were at a loss because the facts were too shocking.

I saw Hu Zongxian in the distance retract his gaze, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said with emotion: "Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, these two guys, are really good luck!" ”

"I don't know what they talked about, they looked like they were talking happily, but it was a great thing for them to be able to catch the line of Chengguogong!" (End of chapter)