Zhang Juzheng had been helping out in Prince Yu's Mansion for some time. His abilities were recognized by Prince Yu and everyone else, so he was considered half a member of Prince Yu's Mansion. He had also participated in many banquets held there before, so everyone was not surprised that Gao Gong brought Zhang Juzheng to the banquet together. Everyone was somewhat accustomed to it.
With the arrival of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, all the officials of Prince Yu's Mansion were also present, and the pavilion was packed with people.
Soon, Prince Yu finally arrived accompanied by his entourage.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Yu."
Zhu Ping'an, Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin and others stood up and bowed to Prince Yu.
"No need to formalities, my lords. Please take your seats." Prince Yu bowed to everyone in return, then waved his hand and invited everyone to take their seats.
"Your Highness, please."
Zhu Ping'an and others bowed their hands without moving. Prince Yu had not yet taken his seat. How dare the ministers take a seat first? Wouldn't that be an overstepping of authority
"Haha, okay, please come in, gentlemen."
Prince Yu sat down with a smile, then waved his hand again and invited all the officials in the audience to take their seats with full energy.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Everyone bowed their hands in thanks and then took their seats.
"Huh?"
"Well... ... "
“Your Highness… ”
As soon as Zhu Ping'an sat down, he heard a burst of surprised exclamations from the crowd, as if they had seen something incredible.
What's wrong
Zhu Ping'an looked at everyone curiously, but saw that everyone was looking in the direction of the main seat in shock. Zhu Ping'an followed the line of sight of everyone, and then saw a relatively obvious scar on Prince Yu's face, just below the ear, above the chin, a long and thin scar about four centimeters long, as if it was scratched by a sharp object.
The bloodstains had barely dried yet, and it was obvious that they were fresh wounds.
His Royal Highness Prince Yu actually had an injury on his face
Was this an assassination
Has the protection of Prince Yu's Mansion been relaxed to this extent? What are the guards of the palace doing? How can they protect His Highness?!
Do you feel safe anymore
Everyone was stunned and started talking about it.
God damn assassin!
Unlike others, when Zhu Ping'an saw the long and thin scar on Prince Yu's face, he immediately thought of Prince Yu's rear residence.
Then, Zhu Ping'an looked carefully at the long and thin scars on Prince Yu's face again, and the more he looked, the more it looked like they were scratched by fingernails.
It is estimated that Prince Yu hid the petite Zhang in the kitchen, and was discovered by Princess Yu. When the backyard of the palace caught fire, Prince Yu was scratched by the angry Princess Yu when he went to put out the fire. This should be the untrue story, not an assassination attempt. Prince Yu's palace was heavily guarded, how could an assassin break in
Zhu Ping'an had a good impression of Wu Wanfu, the guard of Prince Yu's Mansion. With Wu Wanfu around, the guards of Prince Yu's Mansion could be trusted.
"Ahem, haha, sorry to have made you all laugh. I was thinking about something while walking, and I accidentally slipped and scraped my skin. I've asked the palace's imperial physician to check it out, and it's fine. You don't have to worry."
Prince Yu explained with a slight smile, but his face turned slightly red and his tone sounded a little lacking in confidence.
Just kidding, of course you will feel guilty if you tell a lie.
After Prince Yu finished speaking, he smiled at everyone with a calm expression.
"Oh, I see. However, Your Highness is worth a fortune, so you should be careful in the future."
It’s good that he is not an assassin. After listening to Prince Yu’s explanation, everyone felt relieved and began to persuade Prince Yu.
"Thank you for the reminder, everyone. I'll keep it in mind."
Prince Yu felt relieved by the reactions of the crowd. The blush on his face gradually faded away, and he spoke with more energy.
"Serve your meal."
Following a gesture from Prince Yu, the eunuch beside him sang loudly.
After the eunuchs finished singing and drinking, maids came and went, and then the table in front of everyone was filled with wine and delicious food.
Prince Yu picked up the first cup of wine, stood up and said respectfully to everyone, "You are all wise men of our Ming Dynasty. It is my great honor to be able to consult you day and night. I would like to thank you for this first cup of wine."
After he finished speaking, Prince Yu drank the whole glass and showed the empty glass to everyone.
"We are humbled to have received your kindness." Everyone held up their wine glasses, stood up, bowed, and drank the wine in the glass.
"I am a foolish man with limited abilities. Since I founded my government, I have encountered many setbacks. Fortunately, you have helped me, taught me, and provided me with advice and suggestions. Only then can I succeed today. This second cup of wine is to thank you all again."
The maid filled Prince Yu's glass with wine again. Prince Yu picked up the glass, held it with both hands, and toasted to everyone again, saying in a deep voice.
"We dare not do that. It is our duty to serve Your Highness..." Everyone bowed in return.
After the second glass of wine was finished, the maid filled Prince Yu's glass with wine again. Prince Yu raised the glass and turned his gaze to Zhu Ping'an.
"Zihou, welcome."
Prince Yu looked at Zhu Ping'an with a smile and a sincere tone. He picked up the wine glass and looked at everyone and said, "Today is Zihou's welcoming banquet. I have the opportunity to gather with you gentlemen. This third cup of wine is for us to welcome Zihou together."
"Welcome, Master Zhu."
Everyone gave face to Prince Yu and raised their glasses to toast Zhu Ping'an.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Zhu Ping'an hurriedly stood up and left the table, very formally bowing and saluting to Prince Yu who was sitting at the head of the table.
"Thank you, my Lords."
After Zhu Ping'an bowed and thanked Prince Yu, he again bowed and thanked him in the same solemn manner, moving forward, left, and back.
Zhu Ping'an performed the ceremony very respectfully, and bowed with great amplitude.
Zhu Ping'an knew the etiquette of officialdom very well, so he deliberately behaved respectfully. He was young, had just entered Prince Yu's mansion, and was already in a high position, which had already made the old people in the mansion jealous. He should lower his posture to avoid irritating them and causing unnecessary trouble.
After Prince Yu brought three cups of wine, the banquet became more and more popular with the delicious food and wine. The officials drank and chatted enthusiastically.
After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became even more lively.
When you drink more, you talk more.
As the protagonist of this welcoming banquet, the topic naturally revolves around Zhu Ping'an.
"I heard that Lord Zhu was transferred by His Majesty to be a lecturer in Prince Yu's Palace because of a pair of bamboo chopsticks?"
"Haha, I heard that it was Lord Zhu who was not particular about small matters and reached out to grab the meat to eat, and won the favor of the emperor..."
"Haha, it's a pity for Master Zhang. If Master Zhang didn't want chopsticks, we would have truly become colleagues..."
Although they didn't drink too much, the alcohol made some people's envy, jealousy, hatred and contempt come out.
"No, the chopsticks are just the surface. Lord Zhu deserves the title." Zhang Juzheng smiled slightly and shook his head.
"Haha, well-deserved?"
"Well, well-deserved, hehe..."
Those who had been spreading rumors before started to sneer.
"Haha, Master Zhu really deserves the title. Then it should be no problem for him to be able to speak eloquently and recite poems, right?"
An official sitting below Zhu Ping'an looked at Zhu Ping'an and asked with a smile.
"Lord Wang, your words really disrespect Lord Zhu. Not to mention Lord Zhu's well-deserved talent, even though we have only minor talents, we can easily compose poems and essays." Another official said, seemingly trying to sabotage but actually being cooperative.
"That's right, Wang made a mistake in speaking. He should drink a glass of wine as punishment." The official named Wang said as he poured himself a glass of wine.
"Speaking of poetry, it's boring for us to just drink like this, and we can't do the finger-guessing games like martial artists. How about drinking with poetry?" another official suggested.
"good."
"Great kindness."
This proposal made everyone nod their heads. Reciting poems and painting are indispensable at a banquet for literati. Who knows, if they are not careful, they may become famous for generations, just like Wang Xizhi's Lanting Preface.
"What's the title?" someone asked.
"How about this as a title?"
The official named Wang who was sitting below Zhu Ping'an raised the chopsticks in his hand with a slight smile.
Chopsticks
Everyone was startled, and then they thought of the joke that Zhu Ping'an was transferred to Prince Yu's Palace as a lecturer because of chopsticks, and they couldn't help but smile and nodded, "Good."