The New Year's Eve palace banquet is a very cumbersome affair. Not only does one have to consider the emperor's facial expression with every sip and bite, but one also has to be extremely careful at all times to prevent a hidden knife from stabbing one inadvertently.
This kind of secret calculation was particularly obvious between the concubines and the court officials. In comparison, the children of the powerful and wealthy who had just been hungry in the side hall on Rong Tang's side actually had some time to eat.
There was singing and dancing going on in the palace, and Emperor Renshou was chatting with some of the pillars of the court from time to time. Rong Tang ate a few dishes to fill his stomach, then turned his head and asked Ke Hongxue, "Why are you sitting here?"
The seats in the main hall are arranged from east to west, and are divided according to status, rank and seniority.
Since the banquet was for entertaining many ministers, not many concubines from Emperor Renshou's harem attended. Apart from the empress who held the highest position of honor, there were only a few concubines who had given birth to princes.
Although Concubine Fang was only a concubine, the Seventh Prince was still young and depended on his biological mother's care, so he also occupied a place in the east.
The seats were divided into two rows. Duan Yi was the elder and sat below the Empress Dowager and in front of the concubines, so that she could talk at any time.
The four ladies occupied two rows, and the princes were at the back. The elders were in the front, and the younger ones were at the back, occupying three rows in total, six seats.
Turning to the ministers, the front row were all first-rank officials, and behind them were the children brought by the officials.
Ke Hongxue and Mu Jingxu, one was the tutor of the Imperial College and the other was the junior official of the Dali Temple. No matter how you looked at it, their ranks were not high enough to sit at this table.
Upon hearing this, Master Ke curled his eyes, waved his folding fan in the middle of winter, and raised his chin forward: "Do you know what ingredients are used for this meal?"
Rong Tang looked at him in confusion.
Ke Hongxue reported one by one: "Abalone from the West Sea, sea cucumbers from the North Sea, mushrooms from Lingnan, snow lotus from the North Frontier... even the 1,100 wild pheasants used in the soup were all supplied by my family. How did I end up sitting here?"
Rong Tang: “…”
He lowered his head silently, took a sip of the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup, and slowly savored the taste of money.
Ke Hongxue burst out laughing. Mu Jingxu rolled his eyes at him and explained to Rong Tang, "Don't listen to his nonsense. It was Grand Tutor Ke who was invited, but he is old and cannot go out in winter. Uncle Ke is still in Jiangnan and has not returned to Beijing, so he was allowed to sit here."
Ke Hongxue did not comment, but smiled as he served soup to his fellow student.
Su Huaijing asked casually: "Then why is Lord Mu sitting here again?"
Mu Jingxu paused slightly, feeling inexplicably that Xiaoqi was setting him up for a trick.
As expected, as soon as Su Huaijing finished speaking, Ke Hongxue smiled and said, "The eunuch who delivered the message said that he would bring his family with him. Is there anything wrong with me bringing my fellow student here?"
Su Huaijing smiled slightly and shook his head. He neither responded nor refuted, and focused on picking up food for Tangtang. Only Master Ke had half of his arm pinched purple by the always cold Mu Shaoqing.
"Hiss—" Ke Hongxue felt pain, but still asked Mu Jingxu with a shy smile: "Do you like the food? Why don't you come to my house tonight? I have prepared a lot of ingredients in the kitchen, enough for you to eat for the whole winter."
Rong Tang drank the soup in the bowl peacefully, feeling that if he looked over there for another second he would be taken to the Dali Temple by Mu Jingxu to await trial.
Halfway through the banquet, everyone wished the emperor a long life, Concubine Yi a safe pregnancy, Marshal Xia good health, and Lord Zhang strong and healthy.
After some pleasantries, the topic finally turned to them.
Emperor Renshou put down his wine glass, scanned the hall with his sharp eyes, and said loudly: "Did the kid from the Ke family come today too? Why didn't I see him?"
Upon hearing this, Ke Hongxue immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and saluted Emperor Renshou: "Your Majesty, may you be well. I am your humble servant here."
"No thanks." Emperor Renshou waved his hand and asked, "How are the Grand Tutor and your father?"
"Grandfather and father are doing well. Before I entered the palace, my grandfather repeatedly reminded me to remember to pay my respects to Your Majesty. Your Majesty invited me, but my grandfather was unable to come due to health reasons. I am deeply terrified. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Hey! What punishment?" Emperor Renshou asked with a smile, "The Grand Tutor is old. When I was young, he worried about my studies a lot. Now he is old and not in good health. How could I punish him for such a small matter?"
Rong Tang lost his appetite, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and sat quietly aside. Su Huaijing took the opportunity to hold his hand and rubbed it repeatedly in silence.
Rong Tang turned his head and glanced at him, but did not see any displeasure on his face.
—He always hides.
Rong Tang lowered his eyes and suppressed the pain in his heart.
After tonight, the year will turn to the tenth year of Qingzheng, and all those people in the palace who are enjoying singing, dancing and feasting will receive the guidance of fate.
In spring, the third prince Sheng Chengxing held another flower-picking party, and the fifth prince Sheng Chengli left the palace to set up a residence; in summer, Concubine Yi gave birth to a son and was promoted to Imperial Concubine Yi. Half a month later, the fourth prince died due to the heat; in autumn, Wu Kangbo rebelled, the second prince was exiled, Zhang Ge Lao begged for his bones to return home, Imperial Concubine Yi was demoted to a concubine, and the eighth prince was adopted by the queen to be raised; in winter, Southwest Governor Zhang Baoshan embezzled military pay and was beheaded, his father-in-law, Marshal Xia Jingyi, lost his left and right arms, and the third prince's party suffered a heavy blow.
After this year, the second prince was demoted to a commoner, the third prince gradually lost his power, the fourth prince died, and the fifth prince Sheng Chengli became the one who dominated the vast palace.
The drama of the twelfth year of Qingzheng came to an end, and all the struggles of the eleven years were put on the table. Only in the tenth year of Qingzheng, the water in the capital was like a bottomless underground river. Once you stepped into it, you would be sucked into the whirlpool and swallowed up your flesh and blood.
Back at the banquet, there was still singing and dancing, music and the aroma of wine. The concubines were in great joy, and all the officials were doing their jobs according to etiquette. Ke Hongxue replied to Emperor Renshou in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace—"
Emperor Renshou interrupted him: "Don't be so anxious to thank me. I heard from the second brother that you contributed a lot to the flood in Jiangnan this time."
As soon as these words were spoken, the clinking sounds of cups in the hall subsided a little. Rong Tang raised his head and glanced at Sheng Chengming from a distance.
They had not seen each other for half a year since they parted in Suzhou Prefecture in July. After a long period of experience in the court, the naivety and recklessness on his face had disappeared, and he looked more calm and steady.
But when he looked at Rong Tang, he was stunned for a moment, and then he took the initiative to nod and greet him.
Rong Tang nodded and was about to look away when he met a pair of deep eyes.
He frowned and was about to look over when Su Huaijing whispered in his ear, "Tangtang."
So Rong Tang immediately retracted his gaze.
He wanted to meet the male protagonist, but the current situation was that Sheng Chengli had tried many times, and Rong Tang had not revealed anything. There was no need to rush to find out what was going on with him, as there were always people who couldn't hold back.
Su Huaijing squeezed his hand and said in a light and casual tone: "Don't look at him, I will be jealous."
"… "
Rong Tang was really speechless. He shouldn't have mentioned that damn dream!
How does he know that the villain can really take a dream seriously
Rong Tang felt depressed. He stared at the finger-long sea cucumber in the bowl. He didn't want to pay attention to Su Huaijing, nor did he want to let him play with his hands.
Ke Hongxue calmly brought the topic to them: "I just happened to be passing through Jiangnan and encountered the disaster. My father once said that the whole world belongs to the emperor. The reason why my family can have a foothold in Dayu is all due to your majesty's generosity and grace. I should always put your majesty's worries first. As a minister, if I just spend some of my family wealth and do my best for your majesty, I can deserve your majesty's words of contribution. I really feel guilty. Compared with me, Mu Shaoqing and Prince Ningxuan are more hardworking."
Rong Mingyu was originally sitting at the front table, but his body stiffened when he heard the words. He looked back with the gazes of the crowd, examining his eldest son, whom he had never taken seriously.
Rong Tang felt a little confused, thinking that this was all a trap set by Ke Hongxue for him, but he did not show it on his face. He sat there quietly, looking weak, pretending to be a sick person.
Emperor Renshou was silent for a moment, then asked, "I know Jingxu has worked hard, but what did Tang'er do during the flood that you praised him so much?"
Ke Hongxue pretended to be surprised and glanced at Sheng Chengming, as if wondering if she had let something slip: "Your Highness didn't report this to His Majesty?"
Sheng Chengming stood up and confessed his guilt to Emperor Renshou: "Father, please forgive me. My cousin is kind-hearted but weak. He can't stand too much bumps and hard work. He didn't want to take the credit, so I kept it a secret."
The singing and dancing had stopped, and the Shaohua Hall was exceptionally quiet. The two of them sang in unison, and people who didn't know the situation thought that Master Ke was openly praising Rong Tang but secretly criticizing him, but in fact he was trying to impeach Rong Tang.
Emperor Renshou's face darkened, and he whispered, "What's going on?"
Ke Hongxue hurriedly stepped forward, knelt down and reported: "It's not a big deal, Your Majesty, please don't be angry. It's just that the flood in Jiangnan started in mid-June, and I didn't arrive in Suzhou until early July. Although the court sent relief money all the way at full speed, the distance between Beijing and Jiangnan is far after all, and it was not distributed to the prefectures until after mid-July. Therefore-"
He paused, making sure his words could be heard in every corner of the hall: "So in fact, from the beginning of the rainstorm to early July, for more than half a month, most of the silver and rice for disaster relief in Suzhou Prefecture and even in neighboring counties were actually donated by Prince Ningxuan himself!"
Rong Tang: “…”
He turned his head and looked at Su Huaijing, catching a flash of surprise in his eyes, and felt a little relieved.
It must be said that if Ke Hongxue were not an official, he would definitely be a profiteer.
He can take advantage of anything. Even after half a year, he can still take advantage of it!
Rong Tang had been an aide for two lifetimes, and it was rare for him to be pushed directly in front of everyone like this. He counted to three silently in his mind, and then he heard Emperor Renshou calling out in a deep voice: "Rong Tang."
Rong Tang sighed inwardly, but still walked out. Just as he was about to kneel, Emperor Renshou seemed to have just remembered something and said, "You are not in good health, and the ground is cold, so you don't have to kneel."
Queen Wang showed surprise and her eyes were moved.
Emperor Renshou asked him, "Is this true?"
The emperor's spies were all over the border of Dayu, and Rong Tang had no doubt that Emperor Renshou actually knew that Sheng Chengming and his men were staying in his courtyard when they went south. But regarding the relief grain and the money spent, maybe the spies thought it was not worth reporting, or maybe the emperor didn't care, so half a year later, no one was wondering how people in the south of the Yangtze River survived during the ten days from late June to early July when houses collapsed and people were displaced.
Rong Tang coughed twice, and said in a low voice, as if he could not bear the pressure from the emperor, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This is true."
"Why not report it?" asked Emperor Renshou.
Rong Tang: "As a member of the royal family, it is my duty to be loyal to the emperor and to be well-respected by the people. I am also loved by the people, so it is only natural that I should give back to the people what I have received from them. Your Majesty is busy with many things every day. How can I report this little thing to your Majesty and cause him to be distracted?"
(End of this chapter)