When Zhu Ping'an walked into the awning, other officials from Prince Yu's Mansion also came to the banquet one after another.
Ever since Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and expelled the Mongols and restored the practice of separate dining, most official formal occasions have adopted the practice of separate dining. This welcoming banquet was no exception and also adopted the practice of separate dining.
The separate dining system is more particular and has more rules than the shared dining system, and it is easier to distinguish the main and secondary, the superior and the inferior, and the status hierarchy.
Inside the pergola, Prince Yu's main seat was set on a wooden platform six inches above the ground. From north to south under the platform, the seats of Prince Yu's officials were arranged in order of official rank and seniority, and each official had an individual table and chair.
The length and width of the table are the same as those in the Han and Tang Dynasties, both about two feet wide and three feet long, but the height is different from that in the Han and Tang Dynasties. The table now is much higher than that in the Han and Tang Dynasties. In the Han and Tang Dynasties, people knelt to sit at the table, but now there are chairs and people can sit to sit at the table.
Prince Yu's main table is three points longer and three points wider than the tables below the stage. This is the rule of Ming Dynasty banquets.
"Master Zhu, please come this way."
The seats for the welcoming banquet were all booked in advance, and Manager Liu led Zhu Ping'an to sit at the second seat from the west.
"Thank you very much."
After Zhu Ping'an sat down, he bowed and expressed his gratitude.
"You are too polite, sir. Please sit for a moment and have some tea. The banquet will start soon." After Manager Liu led Zhu Ping'an to his seat, he told the maid to pour a cup of tea for Zhu Ping'an.
"Thank you." Zhu Ping'an nodded in thanks.
Not long after Zhu Ping'an sat down, other officials from Prince Yu's Mansion also arrived one after another and were led to their seats.
Soon, an official also took his seat in the second seat on the east side opposite Zhu Ping'an.
He was the second seat at the top, sitting face to face with Zhu Ping'an, with a distance of more than two meters between them.
The person seated was a middle-aged official in his thirties, who looked much younger than Gao Gong, with a cheerful and heroic face. He was very tall, about 1.80 meters tall, with a broad back and a monkey-like waist. He wore an official robe that gave him a sense of unruly and suave. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a part of his arms, which were covered with sturdy black hair. He held a folding fan in his hand, twirling his beard and chatting with people while laughing and fanning himself.
After the cheerful and heroic official sat down, he noticed that the young unfamiliar face Zhu Ping'an sitting opposite him was not only unfamiliar, but also sat so close to the front. The cheerful official couldn't help but look at Zhu Ping'an in surprise, then he suddenly realized, and then nodded to Zhu Ping'an from a distance and said hello.
Zhu Ping'an smiled and bowed in return.
After the cheerful and heroic official nodded and greeted Zhu Ping'an, he was stopped by an official at the back seat and started chatting.
Looking at the cheerful and heroic official opposite him, Zhu Ping'an felt a little curious. Who was this person? There were no cameras in ancient times and paintings were seriously distorted. Just by looking at the appearance, Zhu Ping'an could not match this official with the historical figure.
Not long after the cheerful and heroic official opposite took his seat, someone also took a seat at the front row of Zhu Ping'an.
This was an official who was about forty years old, about the same age as Gao Gong. He was thin and handsome, and his looks were not inferior to Zhang Juzheng, but he was a little older. He had a goatee and a strong scholarly air about him, like a walking bookshelf, giving people the feeling that he was both talented and elegant, and well-read.
The person sitting above him must naturally be an official of equal rank and more seniority than him.
In Prince Yu's Mansion, there are only a handful of such officials. Apart from Gao Gong, they are Chen Yiqin, Yin Shidan and others.
"My name is Zhu Ping'an. Nice to meet you, sir. What's your name?"
After the official sat down, Zhu Ping'an took the initiative to stand up and greet the official above him.
"Oh, you are the new Zhu Ping'an, Master Zhu." The senior official looked Zhu Ping'an up and down, nodded without comment, raised his hand and bowed, and said lightly, "I am Chen Yiqin."
Chen Yiqin.
So you are Chen Yiqin. Zhu Pingan nodded and bowed once again to greet Chen Yiqin formally. "Greetings, Mr. Chen."
"Thank you, Lord Zhu." Chen Yiqin bowed and replied calmly.
Zhu Ping'an didn't care about Chen Yiqin's slightly cold attitude.
Zhu Ping'an knew that Chen Yiqin was a minister who wholeheartedly supported Prince Yu to ascend to the throne. He was loyal to Prince Yu and always considered Prince Yu's interests in everything he did.
He was very young and had just entered the officialdom. Apart from the slight fame of his Qingci, he had not done much else that was worthy of recognition.
Qingci?!
For His Majesty who needs to perform fasting and offering sacrifices, Qingci is useful, but what role does Qingci play for His Royal Highness Prince Yu
Moreover, the story that he was appointed by the emperor as a lecturer in Prince Yu's Palace because of a pair of chopsticks had already spread by then.
No one dared to criticize Jiajing, but they had no pressure in criticizing Zhu Ping'an.
There were no chopsticks in the imperial meal, so people had to eat meat with their hands. Just because of this, he was transferred to be a lecturer in the Prince's Palace? !
How absurd and ridiculous this is.
How could someone who eats meat with his hands be a lecturer to the prince?!
I believe Chen Yiqin has also heard similar criticisms.
The Lecturer in Prince Yu's Palace is an important position in Prince Yu's Palace and one of Prince Yu's four most important assistants. It is crucial to whether Prince Yu can ascend to that position and there is no room for unqualified people to fill the position or to pass themselves off as genuine.
I'm not afraid of god-like opponents, but I'm afraid of pig-like teammates.
This is the same principle from ancient times to the present. Although there was no such famous saying in ancient times, the principle is the same.
Chen Yiqin probably doubted whether he could take on this important task.
In fact, if I were in your shoes, I would do the same.
Therefore, Zhu Ping'an didn't care at all about Chen Yiqin's coldness.
As long as he can demonstrate his ability to hold this position, Chen Yiqin's attitude will definitely change.
It is Chen Yiqin's lifelong wish to unite all forces that can be united, put aside grudges, work together, and assist Prince Yu in ascending the throne.
In fact, what Zhu Ping'an didn't know was that there was another reason why Chen Yiqin was so cold towards Zhu Ping'an.
At the beginning, the rumor was that Zhu Ping'an would be promoted and transferred to the position of lecturer in the Prince Jing's Palace.
When Chen Yiqin heard this rumor, he assigned Zhu Ping'an to King Jing's camp.
But after the imperial edict came down, Zhu Ping'an suddenly became the lecturer of Prince Yu's Palace. This made Chen Yiqin wonder if Zhu Ping'an was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han. He even suspected that Zhu Ping'an was a pawn deliberately sent by Prince Jing to Prince Yu's Palace.
After Chen Yiqin sat down, Gao Gong also walked over slowly. What surprised Zhu Ping'an was that Zhang Juzheng also followed.
Zhang Juzheng is not yet an official of Prince Yu’s Palace.
What surprised Zhu Ping'an even more was that Zhang Juzheng was quite popular in Prince Yu's Mansion, even more popular than Gao Gong. Many officials greeted Zhang Juzheng, and even Chen Yiqin nodded to Zhang Juzheng.