Halfway through the banquet, some people were drunk while others were dazed.
Rong Tang was about to return to his seat, but when he heard the words, he stopped and stood still, waiting for Su Huaijing to come to him.
Ke Hongxue raised an eyebrow and returned to her seat with a smile. When she saw the tea on the table that was just right for her to drink, her eyes lit up and she asked Mu Jingxu, "Brother, is this a reward for me?"
Mu Jingxu glanced at him, then his gaze moved downwards, fixed on the folding fan that Master Ke always held in his hand in winter.
Very good, I changed it to white jade.
He asked in a clear and meaningful voice: "If you can be frugal, then be frugal?"
Ke Hongxue remained calm, took a sip of tea, smacked his lips to savor the remaining fragrance, and said, "I have become much more frugal. I haven't changed my fan for a few days."
Mu Jingxu turned sideways, rolled his eyes and didn't bother to pay attention to him, the corners of his lips unconsciously raised slightly.
On Rong Tang's side, Su Huaijing stood beside him and bowed to greet Emperor Renshou: "I am your humble servant here."
As a male wife, his address should follow Rong Tang.
Emperor Renshou sat at the top, scanning him for a long time with his eyes, finally stopping at the hands that the young couple held secretly in their sleeves as they approached.
He laughed, turned his head and said to the queen, "You are so loving indeed."
Queen Wang responded with a dignified smile.
Emperor Renshou asked, "Have you ever been to school?"
As soon as Rong Tang mentioned it in his mind, he was afraid that he would blurt out something that he had never been to school.
But Su Huaijing said: "When I was young, I lived in my uncle's house and started my education with my cousins. Later, I studied with the teacher at home and never went to school."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Renshou's expression changed slightly, as if he had just remembered something, and his tone became deeper: "Is the uncle you are talking about Li Changfu, the Minister of War?"
Su Huaijing nodded: "That's right."
Emperor Renshou: "Which side of the family are you and him related to?"
Su Huaijing: "Madam Li is my distant aunt."
Emperor Renshou thought about it, and the smile that had just been coaxed out by Ke Hongxue's flattery gradually faded away. He asked casually, "Relatives from the Wei family?"
When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.
The fire on Xuanwu Avenue a month ago is still vivid in my mind. Emperor Renshou has been in office for many years, and no one in the court dared to mention the name of Duke Xian. But now Emperor Renshou has taken the initiative to mention it...
Some people who had been in officialdom for too long and were more perceptive were startled and felt a sudden panic in their hearts for no reason.
I feel like... the day in the capital seems to be changing.
The people in the center of the gaze were neither humble nor arrogant. Su Huaijing replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, if you count strictly, my mother's adoptive father was the elder brother of General Wei's deputy general. The deputy general passed away, and my grandfather was old. On the day of my mother's marriage, the Duke's wife acted as a matchmaker and adopted my mother as her adopted daughter. That's how she was able to marry far away in the south."
Rong Tang spent a long time trying to figure out the relationship between his words, and finally figured it out:
-It doesn't matter!
Although they are said to be distant relatives, in fact they have no relationship at all. The only reason they were able to get this relationship was because of Duke Xian's nostalgia.
Su Huaijing's words were full of twists and turns and bizarreness. Almost every time he mentioned a character, everyone had to sort them out with him. By the end, when he clarified the relationships, everyone was speechless for a moment.
Ke Hongxue was not worried about him facing the questioning of Emperor Renshou alone, but after hearing what he said, she was still stunned. After she reacted, she turned sideways to avoid the gaze of Emperor Renshou and the palace servants, and gave Mu Jingxu an uncontrollable smile, and asked in a low voice: "Is there really such a person?"
Mu Jingxu was looking at Su Huaijing with a complicated expression. He was distracted for a moment when he heard the words. He frowned and looked at Ke Hongxue: "How should I know?"
Ke Hongxue: “…” Oh, I forgot that my senior was still hiding this from me.
Master Ke stopped smiling and turned back to concentrate on watching the show.
For the first time tonight, a look of surprise appeared on Emperor Renshou's resolute face.
According to the existing setting in "The Emperor's Journey", the royal bloodlines are all quite handsome in appearance. Although Emperor Renshou is over 40 years old, his temperament is still superior. When he is silent, he has the majesty of a royal family. Now his expression is stunned, but he has a rare sense of intimacy.
Princess Duanyi smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I was adopted by Emperor Xuan, and your mother was adopted by my elder sister. No wonder you entered my family."
When Lady Xian of Duke Xian was alive, she was two months older than Duanyi. Later, their houses were built facing each other, and after years of living together, Duanyi got used to calling her sister.
After hearing this, Emperor Renshou finally let go of the guard that was brought by Su Huaijing's identity, and turned to the princess and said: "Although my aunt is my grandfather's adopted daughter, she has made great contributions to Dayu, and is the well-deserved princess of the royal family. Please don't speak of yourself like this anymore."
The emperor was too lazy to care about Su Huaijing's complicated background. He would know whether this was true or not by sending spies to investigate.
And Su Huaijing was not afraid of his investigation. Since he had made up an identity, he would naturally be able to get away with it.
Emperor Renshou got straight to the point and asked directly: "Do you want to be an official?"
Rong Tang was slightly startled, and raised his head to look at the emperor. Emperor Renshou smiled and said, "There is still a saying among the people that one can donate money to get an official position. The prince has made amazing contributions this time, so no matter how much reward I give him, it is still not enough. But you are weak, and your aunt is too worried about you to let you work as an official. Since you and the prince's wife are a family, he will accept this reward for you. What do you think?"
[It’s ahead of schedule.] The system reminded silently.
Half a year ahead of schedule.
Rong Tang did not respond immediately. He thought for a while and said, "May I ask, Your Majesty, what kind of official position do you want to grant to my husband?"
"These dishes are really worth it." Ke Hongxue shook his head and said to Mu Jingxu with a smile.
It was worth it to spend some money to get such a front seat and watch these shows one after another.
Mu Jingxu exposed him: "Isn't this the play you arranged?"
Ke Hongxue smiled slightly and changed the subject: "Senior brother, I am very good at judging people. I told you long ago that this prince is not an ordinary person."
Without any foresight or communication, he attacked Rong Mingyu in that way. If it were any other brainless idiot, it would be good if he didn't do something bad in return, and he might even get himself into trouble.
Rong Tang, however, was quite calm. It was obvious that Rong Mingyu was questioning him about his own affairs, but he just managed to stand there motionless, not revealing the slightest emotion to others.
To do this, one not only needs to immediately understand the purpose of Ke Hongxue's words and quickly deduce the consequences of each reaction, but also has to have enough confidence in him and know that he will not cheat him.
Both of these are difficult.
The former requires intelligence, the latter requires sincerity.
There are many smart but cunning people in this world, while it is difficult for those who are sincere but foolish to achieve great things.
Even though it was just a banquet, it was undeniable that this was actually a high-pressure environment. Life and death could be decided in a moment, and saying the wrong thing in front of the emperor could result in one's head falling off.
But Rong Tang not only took over the stage set up by Ke Hongxue, but he also dared to calmly ask Emperor Renshou what kind of official position he wanted after he finished talking about granting it, as if if the answer was not what he wanted, he would not have to accept the gift.
Very arrogant.
Emperor Renshou was also stunned by his question. No one had dared to speak to him like this during all his years on the throne.
The emperor shook his bracelet and thought about it for a moment, then asked casually, "Lord Zhang, was there a memorial submitted to the Censorate two days ago?"
Zhang Gelao was suddenly asked a question, and he quickly stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, I submitted a memorial stating that the Censorate is short of staff, and requested that after the imperial examinations are held next year, some Jinshi be selected to serve in the Censorate."
Emperor Renshou nodded, looked at Rong Tang, and asked with a smile: "How about letting your young master go to the Imperial Censorate?"
He had probably never been so kind to his own son. The Queen was shocked by the attitude of the man beside her many times that night. She quickly gave Rong Tang a look, indicating that he should agree quickly.
Rong Tang couldn't tell whether he felt relieved or confused. He asked Su Huaijing, "Are you willing?"
Su Huaijing smiled and said, "I'll listen to Tangtang."
Outside Shaohua Palace, winter snow fell from the treetops, and the fragrance of plum blossoms filled the entire palace.
There has been no further news about Sheng Chengli’s burned house, and Prince Ning Xuan’s already embarrassing identity has planted an invisible thorn in Emperor Renshou’s heart.
The Censorate was not supervised by the Cabinet and was independent of all other officials. It only acted on the orders of the emperor and was a true minister close to the emperor, as well as his lackeys.
Su Huaijing was only seventeen years old, with eight days left until his eighteenth birthday, but he was about to step into this vortex of power.
Rong Tang retracted his gaze, tugged at his hand, and they knelt together, paying homage to the emperor on the high platform: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"
In the winter of the ninth year of Qingzheng, on New Year's Eve, the butterfly flapped its wings again, bringing an unexpected hurricane.
However, at this moment, after the two people in the center of the hurricane returned to their seats, Su Huaijing just reached out and gently rubbed Rong Tang's knees, and brushed off the dust on his robe.
His little Bodhisattva shouldn't kneel before anyone.
(End of this chapter)