The Chinese New Year's Eve palace banquet is a very cumbersome matter, not only to see the emperor's face when drinking and drinking, but also to mention eight hundred hearts and eyes at all times, in case a secret knife inadvertently stabs him.

This kind of secret calculation is particularly obvious between the concubine and the courtiers, compared to the powerful children who have just been starved in the side hall on Rong Tang's side, but they have a while to eat.

The singing and dancing in the hall was being staged, Emperor Renshou had a homely meal with a few pillars of the court from time to time, Rong Tang ate a few dishes that cushioned his stomach, turned his head and asked Ke Hongxue: "Why did you sit here?" ”

The seats in the main hall are divided into east and west directions, and are divided according to their status and seniority.

Due to the banquet of the ministers, there were not many concubines in the harem of Emperor Renshou, except for the queen who was in the main position, there were only a few concubines who gave birth to the prince.

Although Fang Guiren is only a nobleman, the Seventh Prince is young and cannot do without the care of his biological mother, so he also occupies a place in the east.

The seats are divided into two rows, Duanyi is the elder, sitting in the front of the queen mother and concubines, so that they can talk at any time.

Four ladies occupy two rows, and then the prince. The older ones are at the front, and the younger ones are at the back, occupying a total of six seats in the second row.

On the minister's side, the front row is full of first-class officials, and the back is the heirs brought by the officials.

Ke Hongxue and Mu Jingxu, one is the young master of Guozijian, and the other is the young master of Dali Temple, no matter how you look at it, the grade can't reach this table.

Hearing this, Young Master Ke bent his eyes, shook the folding fan in the winter, and raised his chin forward: "Do you know what materials are used for this meal?" ”

Rong Tang looked at him inexplicably.

Ke Hongxue reported the same: "Abalone in the West Sea, sea cucumber in the North Sea, mushrooms in Lingnan, and snow lotus in the Northern Xinjiang...... Even the 1,100 pheasants hanging the soup were all supplied by my family, why do you think I sat here? ”

Rong Tang: "......"

He bowed his head silently, took a sip of Buddha jumping over the wall soup, and slowly tasted the taste of money.

Ke Hongxue overflowed with laughter, Mu Jingxu glanced at him, and explained to Rong Tang: "Don't listen to his nonsense, it was Mrs. Ke who was invited, but Mrs. Ke was too old to go out in winter, and Uncle Ke was still in Jiangnan and had not returned to Beijing, so he sat here." ”

Ke Hongxue was noncommittal, and served soup for his senior brother with a smile.

Su Huaijing asked casually: "Then why did Master Mu sit here again?" ”

Mu Jingxu's voice paused slightly, and he inexplicably felt that Xiao Qi was pheating himself.

Sure enough, as soon as Su Huaijing's words fell, Ke Hongxue said with a smile: "The father-in-law who delivered the message said that he wanted to bring his family, is there anything wrong with me bringing my senior brother here?" ”

Su Huaijing smiled slightly, shook his head, did not respond or refute, and gave Tang Tang vegetables with peace of mind, only half of Ke Shaofu's arm was bruised by Mu Shaoqing, who was cold all year round.

"Hiss-" Ke Hongxue was in pain, but she still asked Mu Jingxu with a shy smile: "Can the food be delicious?" Why don't you go to my house tonight, the kitchen is stocked with a lot of ingredients, enough for you to eat for a winter. ”

Rong Tang drank the soup in the bowl with peace of mind, and felt that if he looked over there more, he was afraid that he would be escorted to Dali Temple by Mu Jingxu to wait for trial.

Halfway through the banquet, everyone wished the saint long live, Concubine Yi's dragon fetus is stable, Marshal Xia is in good health, and Zhang Ge is old and strong.

After a group of pleasantries, the topic finally attracted them

This way.

Emperor Renshou put down his wine glass, his sharp eyes scanned the hall, and said loudly: "Did that kid from the Ke family also come today, why didn't he see anyone?" ”

When Ke Hongxue heard this, he immediately put down the dishes and chopsticks and got up, and saluted Emperor Renshou: "Your Majesty, Wan'an, Weichen is here." ”

"Excuse me." Emperor Renshou waved his hand and asked, "How are Taifu and your father?" ”

"My grandfather and father are all right, before Weichen entered the palace, my grandfather told me many times that I must remember to say hello to Your Majesty. His Majesty invited, but my grandfather was unable to come due to physical reasons, and he was really frightened in his heart, and asked His Majesty to surrender his guilt. ”

"Hey! What sin? Emperor Renshou smiled and asked, "Taifu is old, and he was worried about my studies when he was young, but he is old this year and his body is not happy, how can I punish him for this little thing?" ”

Rong Tang lost his appetite, put down the dishes and chopsticks, and sat quietly on the side, Su Huaijing took the opportunity to squeeze his hand and rubbed it repeatedly silently.

Rong Tang turned his head and glanced at him, but he didn't see any displeasure on his face.

- He will always hide.

Rong Tang lowered his eyes and suppressed the distress.

After tonight, the annual ring will turn to the tenth year of Qingzheng, and these people in the hall who enjoy singing, dancing and drinking banquets will all usher in the guidance of fate.

In the spring, the second prince Sheng Chengxing held a flower folding party again, and the fifth prince Sheng Chengli went out of the palace; In the summer, Concubine Yi gave birth to a child and was promoted to Concubine Yi, and after half a month, the four princes were not very infected with the summer heat and died; In the autumn, Wu Kangbo rebelled, the second prince was exiled, Zhang Ge's old beggar bones returned to his hometown, Concubine Yi was demoted to promise, and the eighth prince was raised under the queen's knees; In the winter, Zhang Baoshan, the governor of the southwest, was beheaded for embezzlement of military salaries, and his father-in-law, generalissimo Xia Jingyi, lost his right hand and left arm, and the two princes were severely damaged.

After this year, the second prince was demoted to a concubine, the second prince gradually lost his power, the fourth prince was destroyed, and the huge court became the fifth prince Sheng Chengli.

And it was also in the autumn of this year that Su Huaijing entered the Imperial History Terrace, and in the winter of the same year, he was ordered to supervise the case of Zhang Baoshan and performed outstandingly, and Emperor Renshou had a good eye.

The 12-year drama of Qingzheng came to an end, and the 11-year struggle was all released

On the table, only in the tenth year of Qingzheng, the water of the capital is a bottomless dark river, and a little step will be swept into the whirlpool and swallowed flesh and bones.

Back at the banquet, still singing, dancing and music, wine and fragrance, the concubine was happy, the hundred officials were in service, Ke Hongxue replied to Emperor Renshou without humility or arrogance: "Thank you, Your Majesty Longen-"

Emperor Renshou interrupted him: "Don't be in a hurry to thank you, I heard the second child say, you have contributed a lot to this Jiangnan flood?" ”

As soon as these words came out, the sound of the staggered cups in the hall dropped a little, and Rong Tang raised his head and glanced at Sheng Chengming from afar.

In July, they did not see each other in Suzhou Mansion for half a year, and this reckless prince had been trained in the court for a long time, and his face had hidden the naïve recklessness at the beginning, adding a bit of calmness and heaviness.

But he looked at Rong Tang, was stunned for a moment, and then took the initiative to nod to him to say hello.

Rong Tang nodded, and was about to look away, when he happened to crash into a deep eye.

He frowned, and was about to look over, when Su Huaijing whispered in his ear: "Tangtang." ”

So Rong Tang immediately took his gaze back.

He wants to meet with the male protagonist, but now the situation is that Sheng Chengli has tried a lot, and Rong Tang has not been exposed at all, so there is no need to rush to find out what his situation is, there is always it

People can't hold it back on their own.

Su Huaijing squeezed his hand, and said in a shallow and casual tone: "Don't look at him, I'll be jealous." ”

“……”

Rong Tang is really speechless to death, he shouldn't have mentioned that damn dream!

How did he know that the villain could really take a dream seriously!

Rong Tang felt aggrieved, staring at a finger-long sea cucumber in the bowl, not wanting to take care of Su Huaijing, nor wanting to play with his own hand for him.

Ke Hongxue calmly led the topic to them: "Weichen just happened to pass through Jiangnan and encountered a disaster. My father once said that the whole world is not the emperor's land, and the Weichen family business can have a foothold in Dayu, all thanks to His Majesty's generosity and kindness, and it is reasonable to think that His Majesty's worries are the first to do everything. As a courtier, if Weichen just scatters some family wealth and does his best for His Majesty, he can be worthy of His Majesty's contribution a lot, and he really has a guilty conscience. Compared with Weichen, Mu Shaoqing and His Royal Highness King Ning Xuan are more troublesome. ”

Rong Mingyuyuan sat at the front table, his body stiffened when he heard the words, and he followed everyone's eyes to look back, looking at his eldest son, who had never taken it to heart.

Rong Tang felt a little confused in his heart, feeling that this was a set that Ke Hongxue had set for himself, but his face was not obvious, he sat quietly in place, his complexion was vain, and he was sick.

Emperor Renshou was silent for a moment, and asked: "Jing Xu Lao Xinzhen is clear, but this Tang'er, what did he do in the flood to make you praise like this?" ”

Ke Hongxue pretended to be surprised, glanced at Sheng Chengming, and looked like he didn't know if he had said something wrong: "Didn't Your Highness tell Your Majesty?" ”

Sheng Chengming got up and confessed to Emperor Renshou: "My father forgives me, my cousin is kind-hearted, but his body is weak, and he can't withstand too many bumps and labor, he doesn't want to take this credit, so his son has been hiding it." ”

The singing and dancing have ended, the Shaohua Hall is extremely quiet, and the two of them sing and harmonize, and those who don't know still think that Ke Shaofu is praising and depreciating, but in fact, he wants to refer to Rong Tang.

Emperor Renshou's face sank, and he said in a low voice: "What is it? ”

Ke Hongxue hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down to reply: "It's not a big deal, Your Majesty must not be angry." It's just that the floods in the south of the Yangtze River started in mid-June, and Wechen didn't arrive in Suzhou until early July; Although the imperial court's disaster relief money was escorted all the way, Jingzhong was a long way from Jiangnan after all, and it was not distributed to the state capitals until half of July later. Therefore—"

He paused, making sure that what he said could spread to every corner of the hall: "Therefore, in fact, from the beginning of the rainstorm to the beginning of July, most of the relief for the victims of Suzhou Prefecture and even neighboring prefectures and counties in most of the month was actually donated by the prince of Ning Xuan himself!" ”

Rong Tang: "......"

He turned his head sideways and looked at Su Huaijing, catching the surprise that flashed in his eyes, and his heart was a little balanced.

Should I say it or not, if Ke Hongxue is not an official, he is definitely a profiteer.

Anything can be used by him, and after half a year, he can still use it!

Rong Tang has been a staff member for two lifetimes, and it is rare to be pushed directly in front of everyone like this, he silently counted two numbers in his heart, and then heard Emperor Renshou call in a deep voice: "Rong Tang." ”

Rong Tang sighed in his heart, but still walked out, and was about to kneel, Emperor Renshou seemed to have just remembered something, and said: "You are not in good health, the ground is cold, you don't need to kneel." ”

Queen Wang looked surprised, and her eyes were moved.

Emperor Renshou asked him, "Is there such a thing?" ”

Emperor spies are all over the border of Dayu, and Rong Tang has no doubt that Emperor Renshou actually knows that Sheng Chengming and they are living in their own courtyard when they go south. But as for the disaster relief food and the money spent, it may be that the spies feel that it is not worth reporting, or it may be that the Son of Heaven does not care, so half a year has passed, and no one has wondered what to eat and where to live in those ten days.

Rong Tang coughed twice, with a posture that was overwhelmed by the coercion of the Son of Heaven, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty forgives the sin, this is indeed the case." ”

"Why don't you report it?" Emperor Renshou asked.

Rong Tang: "As a royal clansman, it is his duty to eat the king's fortune and be loyal to the king, and he is loved by the people, and it is even more natural to take it from the people and use it for the people." Your Majesty has a lot of opportunities, how can Weichen report the reason to distract His Majesty because of this trivial matter? ”！