"Duke Rongguo, you worry too much."
Bi Daxia, who had been ignored, spoke up.
He said in a strange tone, "Shizi Ye entered the palace with the young General Jia.
Eunuch Feng, the Head of Palace Hall, has already arranged the seats.
Duke Rongguo need not worry about his reputation being damaged.
Young Master Zheng need not feel wronged.
This is the palace.
It is not a place where one can come and go as they please.
Unexpectedly, Young Master Zheng's rules have not changed at all.
I'm afraid that Godfather will not be happy when he finds out.
"
Jia Zheng was engraved in his heart by this feminine and vicious face.
He could not forget it.
Who had just been slapped hard in the face?
If he saw that person again in less than a quarter of an hour, it would still be fresh in his memory!
"The banquet is about to start.
Shizi Ye has not yet taken his seat.
When Eunuch Feng blames him,
I can't afford it.
Duke Rongguo, don't make it difficult for me! "
Bi Daxia glanced at Jia Zheng disdainfully.
He said coldly to Jia Daishan.
After saying that,
He ignored Jia Zheng's pale face and Jia Daishan's red face. He said politely to Jia Xie, "Shizi Ye, please follow me."
"
Jia Xie was secretly pleased, but on the surface, he raised his hand slightly to Jia Daishan. "Master, then I will follow Eunuch Xia to his seat."
"
The two of them walked past Jia Daishan and Jia Zheng, one in front and one behind, and walked to the seats in front.
In this palace banquet,
Every seat was very famous. Not only did it reflect the guest's status, power, and reputation, but it also included the Emperor's favor.
The more they walked forward,
The closer they were to the Emperor,
The more they were trusted by the Emperor.
It was said that it was Emperor Wen Of Zhou.
It was better for Head of Palace Hall, Feng Jing to arrange it.
Dai Quan nodded. The Jia Lian's seat was not set next to the court officials, but in the row of the imperial family.
Moreover, he was quite close to the front. Compared to the Duke Rongguo of the Jia Daishan, he was more than ten positions ahead.
If the Jia Daishan relied on his status as the first-rank Duke Rongguo to obtain this position, then the young Jia Lian obviously relied on the imperial favor of Emperor Wen Of Zhou to obtain this position.
"Thank you, Minister!
Countless civil officials who saw this scene shook their heads, thinking that they were upright and plainspoken.
The ignorant and fearless Jia She proudly led Jia Hu to sit down. At the same time, he tried his best to sit upright so as not to embarrass his younger brother.
After a while, the Jia Lian was led into his seat by Bi Yu. He ignored the father and son, Jia Daishan and Jia Zheng.
This not only made the Jia Daishan and his father angry, but also made the Eldest Prince and the Sixth Prince, who had been paying attention to him since he entered the hall, frown.
"Eldest Brother, this Jia Lian's brother and his father appear to be in harmony, but are actually at odds with each other. His relationship with the Jia Daishan is even colder.
Even if the Jia Daishan agrees, I'm afraid this boy will not be willing to marry our Mingzhu. "
Sixth Prince Li Tian?
He said worriedly.
The Eldest Prince Li Tianhuang was also a little worried. However, when he saw the signal from the head of the officials, Jingtai, he could only comfort his brother, or as if he was comforting himself, "What are you afraid of?
Our Mingzhu is of noble status. She is beautiful, intelligent, and quick-witted.
This boy has the opportunity to marry her. This is his great fortune. How dare he refuse!? "
Mingzhu was his only legitimate daughter, and also his most beloved daughter. He only hoped that this daughter could be happy for the rest of her life.
"Besides, according to Grandfather's words, as long as Imperial Father decrees a marriage today, this boy will have to marry even if he doesn't want to!
At that time, you and I will be able to discipline this boy until he is obedient! "
Li Tianhuang had already planned a hundred and eight ways to discipline this future son-in-law.
Li Tian?
He clicked his tongue and said, "Eldest Brother, just now, it was Bi Yu who personally brought this boy into the hall.
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
Bi Yu has not done this kind of small task for many years.
"
Returning to business, Li Tianhuang abandoned his love for his daughter. He was the Eldest Prince who had been fighting with the Crown Prince for decades. "It seems that this boy either has a close relationship with Bi Yu, or he has already formed an alliance with the internal court."
In the end, those old foxes in the internal court could not hold back. They were afraid that the Crown Prince would take them out on the throne. It was not in vain for them to add fuel to the fire for the Crown Prince.
Other than Li Tianhuang, it was not difficult for the other princes to come to this conclusion.
Only the Crown Prince did not care. Firstly, from his point of view, no matter how high Bi Yu's power was, he was just a servant. There was nothing strange about a servant leading a guest to a seat. Secondly, even if they formed an alliance, so what? He was the Crown Prince of a country. Could it be that they dared to offend him?
The Ninth Prince Li Tianlang's face was dark and gloomy, causing the Eighth Prince Li Tianjin and the Tenth Prince Li Tianying to constantly find topics to talk about to coax this stingy younger brother (older brother) back.
Among them, the Fourth Prince Li Tianyan was the most vexed.
If that day in front of the Gongsun Mansion, he would have stood on the Jia Lian's side from beginning to end. Now, although he could only look on helplessly as the Jia Lian and the Twelve Directorates of the internal court were in front of him, he could not eat them!
Furthermore …
He also distanced himself from that Feng Zizhi for no reason … No, now he should call him Supervisor Feng.
He drank a cup of wine without showing any emotion. Only his tightly clenched fists under the table with exposed blue veins could tell his mood.
As for the Seventh Prince Li Tian?
He just tacitly looked at the Jia Lian and nodded slightly.
The Jia Lian withdrew his gaze and concentrated on chatting with He Qi and the other generals who had fought together on the battlefield.
In addition to the dishes, wine was naturally indispensable. The graceful and graceful court singers and dancers were also indispensable.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
"Emperor!"
"This subject greets the Emperor!"
"Emperor!"
Emperor Wen Of Zhou, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, said majestically without being angry, "Everyone, rise."
"Emperor!"
"New Year's celebration is celebrated, and the festive season is called Changchun.
Today, we will not talk about state affairs, only the wind and the moon. "
"Everyone, please drink to your heart's content, do not be restrained."
He flicked his sleeve and laughed heartily.
"This subject obeys."
"Emperor!"
Ai!
If that fellow Niu Jin was still here, he would have laughed out loud and said, "This subject will not return until he is drunk tonight!"
How can this kind of small cup be satisfying!?
Change to a bigger bowl!
Come, come, come!
Lao He, Mr. Wang, each drink three bowls first!
If anyone dares to not give face, don't blame this old ox's axe for not recognizing people!
"
Thinking of his old brothers who had followed him for many years, Emperor Wen Of Zhou suddenly lost interest.
Dai Quan tactfully signaled the palace servants to start the banquet.
As all kinds of fine wine and delicacies were presented by the palace servants, the sound of stringed and woodwind instruments sounded. The graceful and graceful court dancers also went on stage to perform.
"This leading beauty dances quite well. The one in green next to her is a bit lacking."
The Jia Lian commented while watching the singing and dancing.
The Jia Lian was too lazy to pay attention to him. He picked up Jia Hu and placed him on his lap to help him pick up food.
Although there were no written rules, the various ministers rarely brought children under the age of ten into the palace to the banquet of the previous dynasty.
Firstly, they were afraid that the children were not sensible and would offend the heavenly power if they cried during the banquet. Secondly, because the children were still young, they could not take care of them too obviously and cause others to make fun of them for no reason.
Only the foolish Jia Lian and the Jia Lian, who almost treated the palace as their own home, dared to bring Jia Hu and offended many people around them??
They looked at him in amazement.
"General Zhao Lie really cares for your nephew in every possible way!
The Ninth Prince, Li Tianlang, said sarcastically.
"This nephew of Lian was born intelligent, generous, sensible, and considerate. It is inevitable that Lian dotes on him."
The Jia Lian slowly picked up a piece of fresh fish for Jia Hu before saying.
"You!"
Li Tianlang almost slammed the table and stood up. This was clearly mocking him for being narrow-minded and inferior to even a child.
Li Tianjin and Li Tianying, one on the left and one on the right, firmly pressed down on his thigh, not letting him get up.
In addition to Imperial Father and the other brothers, all the influential civil and military officials of Da Zhou and the Emperor's relatives were also present at the banquet. Younger brother (older brother) absolutely could not lose his composure!
"May I know who your nephew's teacher is?
Mr. Wen Tao is knowledgeable and proficient in the Four Books. He is also good at teaching disciples and has many students in the city.
He and I have a good relationship. If General Jia is interested in Mr. Wen Tao, I can recommend your nephew to study under his tutelage. "
Li Tianjin's face was gentle, as if he was sincerely making plans for Jia Hu.
This Mr. Wen Tao was not an ordinary person. His original surname was Yuan, his given name was Shu, his courtesy name was Hongdao, and he called himself Wen Tao. He came from Runan's Yuan Clan, one of the four famous clans of Da Zhou: Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao.
Runan's Yuan Clan was known as "Disciples and Old Officials all over the world." They had a large number of disciples, old officials, and disciples. It could be said that among the four famous clans, the Yuan Clan had the most influence in the officialdom.
Mr. Wen Tao's temperament was open-minded, and he did not like the open struggles and veiled struggles of the officialdom. Although he obtained the title of Jinshi, he had only been in the imperial court for a short two years before he resigned and opened an academy to teach and educate people.
If the Jia Lian agreed, he would owe Li Tianjin a favor. If he refused, it would mean that he looked down on Mr. Wen Tao and would offend him and his disciples. He would even obstruct Jia Hu's future and cause the displeasure of Jia Hu's own father, Jia Xie.
"Lian 'er, what are you talking about with Old Eight and Old Nine?"
Emperor Wen Of Zhou had long known that his ninth son and the Jia Lian did not get along. Seeing that they seemed to be at loggerheads, he did not take it to heart.
But after all, it was the New Year, so Emperor Wen Of Zhou hurriedly interrupted.
As soon as Emperor Wen Of Zhou spoke, the hundreds of officials and members of the imperial family also unconsciously shut their mouths.
Although they were also chatting, they had been paying attention to Emperor Wen Of Zhou.
The Jia Lian wiped the mouth of the little Jia Hu in his arms, raised a flamboyant smile, and looked at Li Tianlang with a hint of provocation in his eyes, and said, "Replying to Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince saw that this subject's child was clever and quick-witted, so he wanted to reward him with a horse as fast as Ben Xiao!"
This immediately poked Li Tianlang's sore spot. Didn't he marry a Jia Lian because his Yulong 'er (Ben Xiao) was snatched away by a Jia Lian?
Was there a grudge?!
"Oh?
Little Jiu, is that true? "
Emperor Wen Of Zhou had watched the Jia Lian grow up. How could he not know that he was lying through his teeth, but he was too lazy to expose him.
Because he felt that Emperor Wen Of Zhou was paying attention to him, even if Li Tianlang was so angry that he wanted to fight to the death with the Jia Lian, he could only suppress his anger in his heart, almost causing internal injuries.
Forcing a smile, Li Tianlang gritted his teeth and said, "It's just a horse. I'll just reward it to the Jia family's young master."
He paused, "That's right!
Imperial Father, General Zhao Lie's salary is too low! "
He was actually fighting for the Jia Lian.
Emperor Wen Of Zhou naturally knew that Li Tianlang was not sincerely complaining for the Jia Lian. He lowered his voice, "If you have something to say, say it!
Don't hesitate. "
Can't you let him have a good New Year!
As if sensing Emperor Wen Of Zhou's impatience, even the musicians and dancers who were originally playing and dancing stopped one after another.
In the large palace, only Li Tianlang's voice echoed, "General Zhao Lie not only has to support the hundreds of personal guards by his side, but also has to socialize with hundreds of officials. With such high expenses, it's no wonder that he doesn't even have money to feed the horse. Even the new Changdu of Dongchang, Feng Zizhi, can't stand it. Cart after cart of fodder was sent to the back door of Rongguo Mansion."
In addition to the fodder, the carts were filled with gold and silver.
"Wow!"
As soon as these words came out, the entire hall was in an uproar.
Li Tianlang was clearly harshly criticizing the Jia Lian.
What he meant was that the Jia Lian secretly raised death soldiers, plotted against the law, made friends with hundreds of officials, and colluded with friends. Most importantly, as a foreign official, he actually dared to collude with internal officials and collude with them.
"Your Majesty, General Zhao Lie raised death soldiers, made friends with the Jia Lian, and colluded with internal officials. His evil intentions should be punished!
Your Majesty, please issue an edict to remove General Zhao Lie from his position of Secondary Rank Five and send him to prison!
Hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for punishment! "
An Imperial Censor from the Ninth Prince's faction stepped forward and shouted. The other officials from the Ninth Prince's faction also followed closely behind.
The Ministry of Justice was Li Tianjin's territory. The Jia Lian's fate was self-evident.
However, the Jia Lian, who was being condemned by thousands of people, did not take it seriously. He continued to eat and drink, as if the person being impeached was not him. He had a confident look on his face.
On the contrary, the Jia Daishan and Jia Zheng, who were more than ten seats away from him, were all ashen-faced. In their hearts, they could not help but resent the Jia Lian for causing trouble and implicating them.
Li Tian?
He wanted to speak up for the Jia Lian, but Li Tianhuang signaled him to shut up.
There were many good men in Da Zhou. He did not have to have a Jia Lian as his son-in-law.
If he wanted to marry his Mingzhu, he had to be a dragon among men, one in ten thousand.
A dragon among men who died prematurely was nothing more than an immature loach.
After Niu Jin's death, He Qi, who was the nominal and actual head of the generals in Da Zhou, was livid. He reprimanded without any trace of politeness, "A bunch of nonsense!!
General Zhao Lie was a Secondary Rank Five General. He had 200 personal guards.
How could he raise death soldiers?!
I have thousands of personal guards. Do you think I want to rebel?! "
Whether it was in public or private, he was determined to protect the Jia Lian.
The civil officials actually accused the general of raising death soldiers!
He absolutely could not allow this to happen!
If he took a step back today, these civil officials would dare to write a petition to reduce the number of the general's personal guards. In the future, they would dare to use this matter to frame the general for rebellion!
As soon as He Qi opened his mouth, the other generals, regardless of whether they were far-sighted or admired the Jia Lian, all began to clamor.
"Tsk!
I have 800 personal guards, and I train them every day. Do you think I want to rebel like the general?! "
"Tsk!
The General Jia only has 200 people. Even if you raise death soldiers, I have been in the army for 15 years. When my soldiers are injured, I will send people to give them money. I don't even know how many people I have sent!
Am I also buying people's hearts and raising death soldiers?! "
"Tsk!
These civil officials are using the hearts of vile people to measure … measure the general's stomach!
When we, the great men in the army, bravely kill the enemy at the border and protect the country, they are hiding in the capital to eat, drink, and play!
Now that they don't like us, they are framing us out of nothing!! "
"Tsk!
Faced with the simultaneous condemnation of these burly generals, ordinary civil officials would not dare to say more.
But what was an imperial censor?
An imperial censor was a fighting chicken among civil officials!
When facing a military official, his fighting ability would soar.
The imperial censor turned a blind eye to the anger of He Qi and the others. Sentence after sentence, sentence after sentence, sentence after sentence, sentence after sentence, the imperial censor rebuked them for making a big fuss in front of the Emperor, for being impolite in front of the Emperor, for being arrogant, for having no respect for the Emperor and his father.
"General He, generals?
Calm down. "
Li Tian?
His dark eyes stared coldly at the imperial censor. "Lord Zhang, as General He said, according to Da Zhou's ancestral system, the lower fifth rank General Zhao Lie should have 200 personal guards. Moreover, the General Jia has been reflecting on his mistakes at home recently. How did he make friends with the officials?
Did you see him collude with the internal officials with your own eyes?
If there is no evidence and it is purely groundless accusations, I am afraid that this prince will accuse you of distorting the truth and framing loyal officials. Your evaluation this year will be inferior. "
"…"
While the Jia Lian was grounded at home, Emperor Wen Of Zhou handed over the Ministry of Personnel to Li Tian?
In his hands.
The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the appointment, dismissal, examination, promotion, conferment, transfer, and other matters of civil officials. If any prince who was qualified to fight for the throne held this weapon, he would definitely be attacked by a group of people.
On the contrary, Li Tian?
This "unqualified" prince became a fragrant smell.
The imperial censor was speechless and hesitantly glanced at Li Tianjin.
Although they were the Ninth Prince's supporters, most of the time they did things according to the Eighth Prince's wishes.
Li Tianjin frowned slightly. Why did Old Seven repeatedly help this Jia Lian? Was there something between the two that he did not know?
"Old Seven has spoken too much. It is common for the imperial censor to hear rumors."
The Crown Prince still held a grudge against Li Tian from last time?
He did not give him face. "However, Old Nine actually knows so much about this Jia Lian. Could it be that he sent people to monitor outside Rongguo Province day and night?"
Monitoring hundreds of officials was not something a prince should do.
"The Crown Prince must be joking. Ninth Brother also heard about it from others.
As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. How about we let Eunuch Feng go to the palace to explain and clear General Zhao Lie's name? "
Li Tianjin said gently but unquestionably.
Whether it was raising loyalists or making friends with officials, they were all empty. The most important thing was to hook up with eunuchs.
Emperor Wen Of Zhou's eyes darkened. He would treat this New Year as a show and see what his good sons wanted to do: "Pass on Feng Zizhi."
"Pass."
For many officials, Feng Zizhi was the infamous new Governor of Dongchang. Most people had only heard of his name and had never seen him in person.
Under the gaze of hundreds of officials and nobles, the handsome man looked calm and collected. His long black hair was only held up with an agarwood hairpin and a small Hetian jade waist pendant hanging from his waist. He walked step by step to the center of the hall.
He looked exactly like Guru She, graceful and elegant, high-spirited and unsullied.
From the moment Feng Zizhi entered the hall, the Jia Lian put Jia Hu from his arms onto a chair and stared at Feng Zizhi absentmindedly.
Perhaps because his gaze was too fervent, a pair of long and narrow phoenix eyes met the Jia Lian's gaze.
Both of them felt a kind of electric shock. The Jia Lian's eyes were filled with a sense of aggression, which made the other person's heart skip a beat.
"This servant Feng Zizhi greets the Emperor." Feng Zizhi calmly turned his gaze away as if nothing had happened.
"Imperial Censor Zhang Zheng accused you of having an affair with General Zhao Lie's Jia Lian and sending several carriages of gold, silver, and other goods into Rongguo Province.
What explanation do you have? "
Emperor Wen Of Zhou's words didn't sound wrong at first. However, if one thought about it carefully, one could see that he had changed the original story of the Jia Lian colluding with the eunuch into the story of Feng Zizhi, the eunuch, who wanted to bribe the Jia Lian and even implicate the Jia Daishan, to further remove the responsibility of the Jia Lian.
"Your Majesty is clear!
This servant only sent people to send the horse grass newly cultivated by the Imperial Horse Directorate to Rongguo Mansion along with numerous carriages of gold, silver, and other goods. The head of the Imperial Horse Directorate, Eunuch Huang Jing, can testify. "
Feng Zizhi lowered his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes.
"Your Majesty, this servant can testify.
That day, this servant originally wanted to send the horse grass to Rongguo Province. Who would have thought?
Structure?
Barium sac panic?
Hum?
Restraining ring?
Ji Di ridiculing Zhi You?
Shaming Zheng?
Oval bad cui crab slips?
Stepping on Si Ting D shallow stare at Mu Yuyao?
Adding punishment?
Hum?
What?
How can you rely on me? "" You're like Mou Hui? You're like Mou Hui?
Resentment?
How unforgivable!
Is it enough to flatten Φ ether γ harmonic flash?
Sinomufang?
Instant locusts?
"Eunuch Huang!
A Jia Lian is a foreign minister!
Why would he need Eunuch Huang to feed his own horse?!
In this dynasty, a fifth rank official's annual salary is eighty taels of silver and forty shi of rice!
Furthermore, a Jia Lian was not married and did not need to raise a family. Why did the servants in the palace have to provide for the horses?!
Moreover, even if he spent a lot of money, his father was the Duke Rongguo, a Jia Daishan. Even if a Jia Lian couldn't afford to raise a horse, how could the Duke Rongguo not be able to?!
The Imperial Censor insisted that both Feng Zizhi and Huang Jing were eunuchs in the palace. The Jia Lian colluded with them and had bad intentions.
"Please issue an edict to dismiss the Jia Lian from his position as a fifth rank general, Zhao Lie, and throw him into prison!
Hand him over to the Ministry of Justice!
"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this official's family has received Your Majesty's grace for three generations. Every word and action of mine trembled with fear, deeply afraid that I would disappoint my ancestors and fail to live up to Your Majesty's expectations.
This official did not teach his son well, causing him to go astray and have bad intentions.
I hope that Your Majesty will spare this official's family on account of this official's loyalty to the country. "
The Jia Daishan understood that today's incident was the Ninth Prince's revenge. The Crown Prince added fuel to the fire while the First Prince watched from the sidelines.
Moreover, it was an undeniable fact that his youngest son had a good relationship with the eunuchs. The only way to safely extricate his family from this matter was to give up on his youngest son.
Perhaps the Crown Prince and the Ninth Prince would even think highly of his Rongguo Province because of his tactfulness.
The Jia Daishan knelt resolutely, and Jia Zheng followed closely behind.
What a pair of father and son who were deeply principled!
The Jia Xie was anxious. "Master!
What nonsense are you talking about?
Younger Brother Lian has always been the most … "
"Vile spawn!
Kneel down and accept your punishment! "
The Jia Daishan saw that his good-for-nothing eldest son was still muddle-headed, and his youngest son was looking at him as if he was a monkey watching a show. He was furious and spoke in a fierce tone.