0p0 Chapter 357: Leaving on the 2nd day of the first lunar month
Chapter 357: Leaving on the 2nd day of the first lunar month
A grand banquet was held in the Linde Hall.
The retired emperor drove all the clan members to sit down, and called the three princes of Dongping, Xining and Nangan to the place closest to him under the imperial steps, and chatted and laughed with them affectionately.
Among these three, the Prince of Dongping is the old prince, a bloody war god who has truly experienced killing and whose face is full of murderous intent.
Xining and Nan'an were both his nephews and nieces. They were supposed to guard the borders like the Eastern King, and they had indeed stationed troops in the west and south for more than ten years.
But later, the border was stable, and the royal family was wary of their long-term control of the border army, so they both returned to the capital.
Having lived a life of luxury over the years, the two of them had become fat. Seeing Tai Shang and Dong Wang wanted to drink, they hurriedly tried to get up and pour wine for them, but their movements were not so agile. By the time they stood up, Tai Shang and Dong Wang had already finished their second glass of wine.
The King of the East laughed at them: "You have never poured wine for anyone in your life, just sit still! It's winter, and you are sweating all over again."
Both of them looked embarrassed.
The Supreme looked at the two of them with a kind face and said, "Sit down. Your uncle King Mu is still in the army and can still wield the iron spear. He doesn't need you to serve him."
The clan members who had been moved also heard it and looked at each other.
Only Prince Zhongshun looked up from below, sneered, and turned his head with a wooden face to look at the singing and dancing on the stage.
The row behind him were members of the side branches of the royal family.
Then someone from a distant clan fanned the flames and asked quietly with a smile, "Your Majesty seems displeased. Who was so bold as to offend you?"
Prince Zhongshun laughed, but his face was not smiling: "Who am I? What's the big deal about offending me? The ones you really can't offend are those people!"
As he spoke, he raised his chin a little, then picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
Yuan Zong sneered and muttered in a low voice: "Look through the history books, is there any king of a different surname who had a good ending?
"A bunch of dogs guarding our house are worthless!"
Prince Zhongshun finally turned around, looked him straight in the eye, and raised his glass to him with a smile.
Yuan Zong excitedly raised his cup with both hands: "Cheers, Your Majesty!"
The important officials of the imperial court on the other side turned a blind eye to the disturbances among the royal family, and just chuckled, clinked glasses, greeted each other, and chatted.
Only Prince Yu was displeased.
Look at the princes sitting in front of him, they are so young!
Look at all those royal family members that he had killed, they are useless parasites!
Look at the court officials like Cao Yu sitting opposite, they don’t know how to appreciate your kindness!
His eyes finally wandered to the three kings who were chatting and laughing intimately with Tai Shang, and he couldn't help but rolled his eyes in disdain.
Emperor Zhaoming watched the singing and dancing attentively, with a smile on his face from time to time.
Tao Xingjian knelt beside him and whispered something in his ear from time to time, and Emperor Zhaoming would smile along with his words.
"…Prince Yu rolled his eyes! It seems he was rolling his eyes at Prince Dong and the others."
"Master Cao has already been forced to drink his sixth pot of wine... Even if you have a good alcohol tolerance, you can't drink like this... He barely touched the food in front of him...
"Oh! Those who gave Master Cao wine were all from Prince Yu's faction...
"Lord Cao was anxious and went to toast Prince Yu in person!!!"
Emperor Zhaoming smiled as usual, turned aside, and whispered to the Emperor:
"Father, Cao Kuangru is an official from another place, and he is just a deputy governor who has not yet assumed his duties. Should we let him go back?
"Look, that group of jealous people almost made him drunk to death! He didn't even eat a single bite of food, but drank more than ten bottles of wine!"
When the Supreme Emperor turned his head to look, he could not help but frowned, and threw the wine bottle in his hand onto the table without any lightness or heaviness. He raised his eyebrows and shouted at Cao Yu, whose face was already red from drinking:
"Kuang Ru! Come here!"
"Father, don't do that! They will become even more jealous of him!" Emperor Zhaoming hurriedly whispered to stop him, "Do you still remember Ru Hai!?"
The hand of King Dong, which was raising the wine glass, suddenly paused.
The two kings of Xining and Nangan also looked up at Emperor Zhaoming.
The emperor's face darkened: "Can't I even love a capable grandchild?!"
Emperor Zhaoming's eyes dimmed.
But at this moment, Cao Yu, whose steps were already somewhat unsteady, had already walked to the imperial steps with a smile on his face, raised his hand and bowed, "What do you want, Your Majesty?"
"Come up and answer my question." The Supreme Lord regained his kindness and waved to Cao Yu again.
Cao Yu hesitated and glanced at Emperor Zhaoming.
Emperor Zhaoming sighed and nodded reluctantly.
But Cao Yu still felt that something was wrong. He thought about it, looked around, and saw the angle between the King of the East and the Supreme. His eyes lit up and he lifted his robe and walked over.
Just below the imperial steps, beside the Eastern King, he looked up at the Supreme Emperor and asked with a smile, "Retired Emperor, what do you want?"
"You kid!" The Supreme Lord felt even more pity for him when he saw how polite he was, and asked him softly, "Can your stomach handle not eating anything?"
Cao Yu smiled and nodded: "I know what's going on. It's okay."
The Supreme had no choice but to give up.
The Eastern King looked at Cao Yu and asked the Supreme Lord, "This young man is quite good. I think I saw him in the Imperial Study just now. Whose family is he from?"
"Oh! His name is Cao Yu, and he is the younger brother of Cao Feng, the current Minister of Personnel. He is smart and clever, and I like him very much.
"Your Majesty has appointed him as a county magistrate in Jiangnan. I think he has done a great job and he has been promoted to the position of deputy governor of Jiangning Prefecture after the New Year.
"Oh! You guys, and the two brothers Jia Yan, aren't your ancestral homes all in Jiangnan?
"He will be there from now on. If there is anything you need to take care of, just tell him!"
Cao Yu hurriedly bowed to the three princes of the East and said, "I am Cao Yu, your humble servant. I greet the Prince of Dongping, the Prince of Xining, and the Prince of Nan'an!"
"Humph! Among the people of my ancestral home, there are only a few who are promising, but there are a lot of crooked and evil ones!
"I won't tell Master Cao! If someone falls into your hands, you can do whatever you want. Don't give me face!"
The Prince of Dongping spoke first, drinking with a calm face.
After he said that, the other two just smiled and said, "It's all the same. No need to look after it."
Cao Yu immediately thanked the three men deeply and praised them for their "righteousness".
"Just listen to them!" Tai Shang laughed, "Whose family doesn't have a few beloved younger generations?
"When you are in Jiangnan, if you hear that the children of these families have done something wrong, you must first persuade them to reflect on themselves. If they don't obey, it won't be too late to punish them severely by law."
Cao Yu smiled and bowed in agreement.
The Supreme Emperor glanced at the worried Emperor Zhaoming and said to Cao Yu with a smile, "You have been away for a while, and I am sure your elders at home miss you very much.
"During this year's New Year, your position is still low, so you can stay at home peacefully. After next year, the work will be heavy, and I am afraid you will not be able to come back.
"Well, I won't keep you any longer.
"Your elder brother is here, so go back and show your filial piety to him."
He actually let Cao Yu go home with his own mouth.
Cao Yu was filled with surprise and knelt down to express his gratitude. When he was bidding farewell to Emperor Zhaoming, Emperor Zhaoming pursed his lips, smiled, pointed at Tao Xingjian, and waved his hand to let him leave.
Tao Xingjian understood what he meant and hurriedly escorted Cao Yu out personally.
The court officials could no longer hide their gazes towards Cao Yu; each of them was filled with jealousy and envy.
However, once they were outside the hall and there was no one around, Cao Yu gently pulled Tao Xingjian and whispered, "The old story of Jiangnan was done ingeniously and covertly, without a single leak. None of the five surnames have this ability.
“But seeing that the three kings today did not allow me to contact their original place of origin, it may not be because the tribesmen are not up to the task.
"The eunuch reported to His Majesty that my file had been delivered to Master Zhitong, so the mission had been successfully completed.
"Tomorrow I will follow everyone to pay New Year's greetings to His Majesty, and the day after tomorrow I will return to Jiangnan to continue the investigation!"