The golden dragon pillars and coiled dragon chair made the imperial court of the Qian Dynasty magnificent.
The civil and military officials were separated, and all had happy expressions on their faces, because Emperor Cheng was going to hold a Mid-Autumn Festival Royal Banquet this year.
"How are the preparations at the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works going?" Emperor Cheng looked at the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Works with a smile.
The Minister of Rites Li Wei stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, all the sacrificial ceremonies for the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet have been prepared. I and your servants have observed the celestial phenomena at night and found that the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival will be clear, with a full moon and bright stars. It will be the best time to appreciate the moon." The Minister of Rites smiled.
"Good!" Emperor Cheng slapped his thigh, quite satisfied.
The Minister of Works Zhao Su stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the tents and banquets for the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet have been set up and can be cleared today."
"Well, that's right!" Emperor Cheng smiled with satisfaction and looked around at the civil and military officials in the court: "This time, the emperor and his subjects will enjoy the banquet together. Everyone can bring their children of marriageable age. I will be a matchmaker for you. Hahaha—"
"Thank you, Lord—" Everyone was beaming with joy. The court was filled with joy today.
The two adults began to report in detail, from the steps of the imperial banquet to the utensils used in the banquet. They described everything one by one. This was also to let the important officials who attended the banquet listen carefully and discuss and see where there were any omissions. After all, it was a major sacrificial banquet and there was no room for carelessness.
All the civil and military officials in the court listened attentively, and each of them smiled happily.
It is said that Emperor Cheng was acting as a matchmaker for everyone, but in fact, he was also looking for in-laws for his sons and daughters. Which official in the court would not be happy about such a good thing
Fu Kun was frowning at this time because he had many sons but lacked a daughter!
You said that it is impossible for the Crown Prince Duanmu Qingchen of Emperor Cheng to marry a man as the Crown Princess. Then his Rui'er is the winner. Whether it is appearance, talent, or deep friendship with Duanmu Qingchen, she is the most suitable.
Other people worry about having too many daughters and not being able to give birth to sons, but little do they know the importance of having daughters for these powerful people.
This time, he might lose to the Right Prime Minister Lin Jingzhi, because he has both a son and a daughter!
Lin Jing's family had one son and one daughter. The eldest son, Lin Shulun, was also a talented scholar who was well-read in the classics. The younger daughter, Lin Shiyue, was a beautiful lady who was proficient in the four elegant arts.
In the competition for the crown princess, Fu Kun was completely out of the game. But in the competition for the prince consort, he could still give it a try.
The second and third sons in the family were still unmarried. But Fu Mingrui knew his temper well. The child was very stubborn. If he was asked to marry a princess for the sake of the family, he might not be willing. The third son was more obedient.
Fu Kun turned around and secretly counted with his fingers.
"Are you calculating whether the Third Young Master will be able to come back in time?" Yao Guang's round head popped out beside him.
"Ahem!" Fu Kun's face darkened, he coughed and turned away. Has Fatty Yao become a spirit? How can he guess everything
Yes, he was calculating whether his third son Fu Minghui could make it back from the military camp.
The eldest princess and the fourth princess of the Qian Dynasty have all married off, leaving only the seventh princess Duanmu Yaxin. The spy in the palace told Fu Kun that since there was only one daughter left, Emperor Cheng did not want to let this only daughter marry off, and wanted to keep Princess Yaxin by his side. This shows the status of Princess Yaxin in Emperor Cheng's heart.
Therefore, this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet can be regarded as a matchmaking meeting for the royal family. For the important officials who can attend this banquet, as long as they have children of marriageable age, this is undoubtedly an important opportunity.
As for becoming a relative of the royal family, the benefits are self-evident.
Therefore, since Fu Kun had no daughter to be the Crown Princess, he had to take down the Seventh Princess! He had asked the spies in the palace to thoroughly investigate the Seventh Princess's preferences, even what she liked to play on a daily basis.
"Oh my~~~ What should I do as a childless person like me~~~" Fatty Yao said sourly beside Fu Kun again, "But your chance is not great. Although the Right Prime Minister has only one son, General Yuchi has a whole bunch of sons! Hahaha—" Yao Guang laughed at Fu Kun in a low but loud voice without any mercy.
Fu Kun's brows became more and more gloomy in the suppressed laughter of Yao Guang. This time Fatty Yao was right. He certainly didn't care about other people, but Yuchi Gong really gave birth to a bunch of sons! And his sons were all meritorious! This was his biggest rival!
He narrowed his eyes and glanced gloomily at Yuchi Gong opposite him. The old man's face was indeed rosy and energetic, and it seemed that he had made up his mind.
At this time, Fu Kun only regretted that Emperor Cheng had not given birth to a daughter, and that he himself had not given birth to a daughter who was well-educated, gentle and virtuous.
"Very good, let's do it this way. Do you have any other suggestions?" Emperor Cheng was beaming with joy. He was also happy that his sons could find girls they liked at this imperial banquet. He had long wanted to find a princess for the crown prince, and he didn't want to find a gentle and virtuous woman. Instead, he wanted to find a powerful woman to control his dissolute crown prince.
Everyone was also very happy and bowed: "Your Highness and I have no objection."
Emperor Cheng laughed, stood up and waved his sleeves: "Okay, let's go. Hahaha—" It can be seen that Emperor Cheng was in a very good mood.
The Mid-Autumn Royal Banquet was held in the palace in the royal enclosure, which was large enough to accommodate court officials and their children.
Fu Kun walked out with a sad face, and Yao Guang followed him closely. Yao Guang followed Fu Kun out of the court like a tail, and Lord Lin Zhengying, the temporary Minister of Revenue, walked towards the Right Prime Minister Lin Jingzhi and said, "Lord Right Prime Minister."
Lin Jingzhi was calm and measured, and looked at Lin Zhengying calmly: "What's the matter, Lord Lin?"
Lin Zhengying frowned slightly, and after a moment's hesitation, he said to Lin Jingzhi, "Right Prime Minister, the disciple of the Left Prime Minister, Master Wang Yi, has disappeared."
"Hiss..." Lin Jingzhi was slightly surprised. He looked at the court and saw that there was no one there. Then he looked at Lin Zhengying, "Are you sure?"
Lin Zhengying nodded. "At first, he just didn't show up and didn't ask for leave, so I thought he was absent from work. But three days later, his family came to me and said he was missing. Because I didn't know if he worked in my Ministry of Revenue, I didn't report it to the authorities. Later, I took people to his residence in the capital, but I really couldn't find him. The imperial banquet is coming up, and an official suddenly disappears. I'm afraid... it will anger His Majesty."
Lin Jingzhi frowned and pondered for a moment, then looked at Lin Zhengying: "It is common for some officials in the capital to be greedy for pleasure and love leisure. There was once an official who disappeared for seven consecutive days, and in the end, he was enjoying himself in a brothel. You also know Wang Yi's background, maybe he is in a brothel or with a mistress."
Lin Zhengying frowned slightly: "Then I will use this as an excuse to expel him from the Ministry of Revenue."
Lin Jingzhi smiled faintly: "Since he is Fu Zuoxiang's man, let him go find him."
"Let Fu Zuoxiang go find it?" Lin Jingzhi was slightly surprised. He looked at Lin Jingzhi, understood something in his eyes, and smiled, "This subordinate will go to the Eight Gates to report the case now."
“Yeah…” Lin Jingzhi nodded and walked away slowly, his back looking calm and composed.
Lin Zhengying breathed a sigh of relief. This third-rank official was missing, and he was qualified to report it to the Eight Gates. He asked Fu Mingrui to find Wang Yi. If he really found Wang Yi in a brothel or with his mistress, he would use this as an excuse to expel Wang Yi from the Ministry of Revenue, and Fu Kun would have nothing to say. (To be continued)