King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 687 Celebration Banquet

"Since the 35th year of Zhangwu, the Ming Dynasty has been in turmoil. My grandson has led troops many times and personally put down rebellions!"

"My grandson is open to all opinions and accepts their suggestions..."

"My grandson will organize the aristocratic families and increase the tax base for the court..."

"Grandson..."

Zhu Xianming said a lot and recounted all his life's achievements.

It has to be said that he did accomplish many great things and he was indeed an outstanding emperor.

He originally thought that by doing so much, he could convince the whole world and gain his grandfather's forgiveness.

But at this moment, Zhu Shenzhuo, who was sitting on the dragon throne, angrily shouted, "You evil usurper... why don't you kneel down!"

Zhu Xianming instinctively wanted to kneel down, just like he had done more than 30 years ago when he was trembling in front of Emperor Taizu and never dared to have any thoughts of disobedience.

But he had been the emperor for more than ten years after all, and had experienced great changes in the last thirty years. His character was much stronger than that of the little prince back then.

So even though his knees were slightly bent, Zhu Xianming finally stood up straight again, looking with great reluctance at Emperor Taizu, who was sitting on the dragon throne with white hair and beard and looked intimidating without even getting angry.

That was the person he respected all his life, and the only person he was extremely afraid of.

"Kneel down!" Zhu Shenzhuo stood up.

Zhu Xianming's legs were shaking and his face was filled with grief and anger. He saw Prince Li and the others laughing, but his legs were still shaking.

"Grandpa, my father has done meritorious deeds and is innocent!"

A loud and resolute voice sounded from the side, and Zhu Xianming knew it was Old Thirteen without even listening.

He thought he was now at war with the whole world and had no one to rely on, but when he heard Zhu Jinghong's voice, Zhu Xianming, who was originally pessimistic, desperate and terrified, was instantly injected with energy and courage.

So much so that at this moment, he raised his head again facing his grandfather on the throne.

"Grandpa, I'm innocent!" Zhu Xianming didn't explain any more.

On the throne, Zhu Shenzhuo's eyes were like breathing fire, staring at Zhu Xianming below the imperial steps.

"Come here, execute this traitor!"

Immediately, guards came from both sides and roughly restrained Zhu Xianming, and pressed him to the ground. Then one of the guards drew his sword...

Seeing the blade getting closer and closer, Zhu Xianming was extremely terrified.

Although he was an emperor, he was ultimately a human being, a person who did not want to die.

His mouth was dry, his eyes were bloodshot, his body was trembling, and he struggled desperately...

However, all his efforts were in vain. When the guard raised his knife and slashed fiercely, Zhu Xianming roared, "Old Thirteen, protect the emperor!"

On the imperial couch in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Xianming suddenly sat up.

His clothes were soaked with cold sweat, and the quilt covering him was torn to pieces.

The situation in the dream still affected him, leaving him in a state of shock and unable to tell whether he was alive or dead.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

Several young eunuchs came to the bedside, and they were responsible for serving closely so that they could obey orders at any time.

"Call Thirteen, call Thirteen!"

Zhu Xianming spoke in an anxious tone, and it was obvious that he had not yet recovered, because the dream just now was too real, not to mention that it was the scene he feared most in his life.

"Your Majesty, do you want to summon His Royal Highness Prince Xiang?" the young eunuch answered with gritted teeth.

When asked this question, Zhu Xianming became a little more alert, and then his mind gradually became clear.

Another eunuch asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, the Thirteenth Master is far away in the southeast. Do you want to send an imperial decree to invite him back to the capital?"

At this time, Zhu Xianming had regained his composure and he knew that he had lost his composure.

He adjusted his breathing and said solemnly, "It's okay, get out!"

"Yes!"

After several young eunuchs left, Zhu Xianming pulled the quilt tightly, closed his eyes slightly, sat alone on the couch, holding his forehead and thinking about what had just happened.

Although he knew it was a dream, Zhu Xianming still felt a lingering fear when he thought about it again.

At this moment, he couldn't help but wonder, if there really is an underworld or a paradise, how should he face his great ancestor and the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty.

While Zhu Xianming was thinking, Cheng Ying had also received the report and hurried into the Qianqing Palace.

He first asked a few young eunuchs about the situation. After learning the details, he sternly ordered that this matter must not be discussed again tonight, otherwise they would be beaten to death.

Several people did not understand the deeper meaning of this, but those who were on duty in the Qianqing Palace knew best that they should not say things that should not be said, otherwise they would be playing with their own lives and the lives of their families.

After giving these instructions, the old eunuch Cheng Yingfang entered the emperor's bedroom. At this moment, Zhu Xianming was still sitting on the couch.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Cheng Ying was Zhu Xianming's confidant and one of the few people in the world who could gain his trust, so Zhu Xianming was willing to say a few words.

"I just had a dream. The Emperor Taizu said I was a traitor and wanted to kill me..."

After hearing these words, combined with the eunuch's reply just now, Cheng Ying understood the emperor's intention.

He really didn't expect that the emperor trusted Prince Xiang so much that he only thought of him to protect him in times of crisis.

"Your Majesty, the Thirteenth Master has won a great victory in the southeast. I think he will return to the capital soon!"

"Ok!"

After answering, Zhu Xianming asked again: "What time is it now?"

"Your Majesty, it's just past the hour of gloom!"

In other words, only about an hour had passed from the time the emperor finished washing and went to bed.

"Go down, I'm going to rest!"

"Your servant will wait for your majesty to go to bed!"

Cheng Ying went forward and helped the emperor to sleep, extinguished a few candles, and then left the bedroom.

It is the eighth day of the fourth month in the fifteenth year of the Zhengtong reign. The almanac says today is a good day.

Feng Yuan didn't believe this at first, but when he received an invitation, his ideas began to waver.

The invitation came from his classmates, inviting him to attend a banquet tonight, or more precisely, to attend a banquet to celebrate the victory of conquering the barbarians.

The main guests of this banquet were of course civil and military officials, but local dignitaries and some students were also invited.

There are a lot of students from the seven southeastern provinces, but there are only fifty places for students to attend the conference, so it is not easy to get this invitation.

I was able to get this invitation thanks to Feng Yuan’s classmate.

This person's name is Li Ziheng. He took part in the imperial examination for the first time last year and ranked 25th in the second class. He is only 25 years old now, and can definitely be called a promising young man.

The fact that Feng Yuan received this invitation clearly showed that he was recognized by Li Ziheng. This also showed that he was an extremely outstanding person, as he was able to make such a friend in the Imperial College.

Feng Yuan studies very hard and has experienced many ups and downs. He has a very high level of understanding in how he conducts himself, does things and studies, so it is not surprising that he is valued by people of similar abilities.

Of course, the fact that they were able to become so close was probably largely due to Feng Yuan’s support of Li Ziheng and his extra care for his self-esteem.

Unfortunately, when it came to the joint examination stage of the imperial examination, the test scores did not absolutely match the level of academic knowledge, so Feng Yuan failed.

"Brother Ziheng, your gift is really too generous. Ask me..."

Because of his excellent ranking in the imperial examinations, Li Ziheng was assigned to a prestigious government office such as the Censorate after completing the "political observation" training at the Ministry of Personnel, and was later sent to Nanjing to serve as an inspector of agriculture.

Li Ziheng came from a poor family and suffered a lot of bullying as a child. After becoming an official, he hated evil and was very hostile to evil.

With his personality, it would be difficult for him to get along in the officialdom. He might even be accused of "making trouble in the local area by pretending to be honest and upright" and then be dismissed from office. But Li Ziheng was lucky. He encountered the war in the southeast and Jia Yucun's grain collection.

Against this background, Li Ziheng was able to use the Ming Dynasty laws to crack down on the powerful and wealthy with ease and success.

This also led to his outstanding performance in the entire Jinling Censorate system, and he was deeply appreciated by Jia Yucun.

For this reason, Li Ziheng got the recommendation and then gave the invitation to Feng Yuan.

"Brother Feng, your knowledge is not inferior to mine. You are qualified to attend this celebration banquet!"

"Besides, you are a man of integrity and great ambitions. You will be of great benefit to the country and the people. The upright officialdom needs people like you..."

Looking at Li Ziheng who was talking eloquently in front of him, Feng Yuan felt extremely ashamed. He thought that he was not as good as the other party said.

For example, if he became an official, although he would definitely stick to the bottom line in doing things, he would definitely be more tactful in his words and would never say such righteous words.

He had long understood that in order to punish evil, one had to be more evil than the other party.

After listening to what Li Ziheng said, Feng Yuan stopped expressing his gratitude because it did seem too superficial.

"Brother Ziheng, you still need to be careful with your words and actions in the officialdom now!"

"I know that since you took office, you have handled many major cases in one go, which have won praise from the people and the world!"

"But have you ever thought about it? You have offended many people yourself. This is a big taboo in the officialdom!"

If someone said this, Li Ziheng would just think that person is a mean person and walk away without paying any attention.

But he knew that Feng Yuan was not such a person, so he was willing to argue a few words.

"Brother Feng, I am upright, why would I be afraid of them?"

Feng Yuan then said, "Yes... You are not afraid of them, but are they afraid of you?"

"them……"

Before Li Ziheng finished speaking, Feng Yuan continued, "Many of them have family members who are officials, and their relationships are complicated and they help each other. They can go up to the provincial government and even the imperial court. Of course, they are not afraid of you, a seventh-rank imperial censor?"

"You move them because someone needs you to move them!"

Li Ziheng had never thought about these questions, and Feng Yuan's words made him fall into deep thought.

He began to re-examine what he had experienced in the past few months, and then he found that what Feng Yuan said made sense.

He was an official but didn't understand these things, while Feng Yuan was not an official but his mind was as clear as a mirror, which made Li Ziheng admire Feng Yuan even more.

"Brother Feng, I'm grateful for your advice!"

But then, Li Ziheng clasped his fists and said, "It is our duty as scholars to serve the emperor and support the country!"

"As the sage said, if I shrink from self-reflection, even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will still go..."

"I dare not compare myself to a saint, but I aspire to be one. This heart will not change no matter good or bad!"

Li Ziheng said these words with righteous words. He really meant it from the bottom of his heart and had been doing so from the beginning to the end.

In other words, judging from his words and deeds, he can already be compared with a saint.

"Brother Ziheng is a man of high moral integrity. I am not as good as him!" Feng Yuan admitted frankly.

These topics were too heavy, so after a few brief conversations, Feng Yuan changed the subject and talked about the customs and culture of Jinling.

Setting out food and wine, chatting and talking is indeed fun.

After finishing the matter here and seeing Li Ziheng off, Feng Yuan returned home.

But as soon as he entered the house, a servant came running to report that Jia Baoyu had gone out for a walk and had disappeared, leaving only a letter in the room.

"Show me the letter!" Feng Yuan asked anxiously.

After being beaten with a stick, Jia Baoyu suffered serious injuries. After returning to Yingtian, he recuperated in the Jia family's old house.

After half a month of rest, he felt much better, but he was still unhappy. In order to cheer him up, his servants took him out of the city to the Feng family.

Feng Yuan talked a lot with Jia Baoyu, but failed to enlighten each other. The only progress was that Jia Baoyu said a few more words.

Feng Yuan originally planned to slowly guide him later, but unexpectedly Jia Baoyu disappeared. This made Feng Yuan extremely anxious.

Feng Yuan opened the letter and read it carefully.

Jia Baoyu's letter was three pages long and contained only one thing: he had seen through the world and was planning to become a monk, and he hoped that his family and friends would not worry about him, let alone come to look for him.

"Oh!" Feng Yuan was extremely helpless.

"Uncle Feng, what should we do?" The servants were very anxious.

Feng Yuan said, "Send someone to look for it first, and then bring this letter back to the clan. After the masters and mistresses of Rongguo Mansion have read it, I think they won't make things difficult for you!"

In Jia Baoyu's letter, he specifically mentioned not to make things difficult for his servant, which shows that this guy still has a conscience.

"Yes!"

The servants of the Jia family were at a loss and could only do as Feng Yuan said.

"The world is unpredictable, what can we do about it!"

"Perhaps for him, retreating from the world is a good outcome, better than trying to figure out his fate!"

After muttering a few words to himself, Feng Yuan finally sighed a few times and decided not to dwell on the matter any more.

Not only did people from the Jia family look for her, Feng Yuan also sent people from his own house to look for her. However, after two days of searching she found nothing, so Feng Yuan had no choice but to give up.

Soon, it was April 12, the day for the banquet.

Feng Yuan calmed himself down, changed his clothes, and set off in a sedan chair. He arrived outside the Yingtian Palace at 5 p.m.

After a series of body searches, Feng Yuan was allowed to enter the palace.

Last year's imperial examination was held in the Gongyuan, but he failed and was unable to enter the palace examination, so this was his first time entering the royal palace.

After being guided through the palace walls for a long time, Feng Yuan was brought to the Yunjin Palace, which was the name changed after Emperor Taizong moved the capital. Before that, this place was called the Wuying Palace.

When Feng Yuan entered the palace, he found that there were already a lot of people there. They were discussing in groups of three or five, and he could hear many different accents.

"Brother Feng, you're finally here!"

Just a few steps into the palace gate, Feng Yuan was stopped by someone from the front. When he looked closely, he saw that it was Li Ziheng.

"Brother Ziheng, I guess I'm not late!"

After Li Ziheng approached, he smiled and said, "No, no, let's talk over here!"

Feng Yuan looked far away at the prince's throne that had been set up on the steps of the palace in the distance, and asked, "Isn't His Royal Highness Prince Xiang here?"

Li Ziheng put away his smile and said, "Of course I will come, but I have to wait until the banquet starts!"

"Now... His Highness should be at the training ground on the east side of the palace wall, riding and shooting for fun with the generals who have arrived!"

After staring at the throne for a while, Feng Yuanfang said with emotion: "Your Highness Prince Xiang is very popular!"

This sudden remark made Li Ziheng confused, and he immediately responded: "Your Highness Prince Xiang, you led the troops and resisted foreign humiliation... The world naturally respects you!"

Feng Yuan smiled and said nothing more.

Li Ziheng has a strong character but is too naive. Feng Yuan doesn't think there are some things he should tell him.

Following Li Ziheng to the side, he asked about today's banquet.

It was the first time for Feng Yuan to attend a banquet of this level, and everything was unknown to him, so he was very curious about what would happen next.

Of course, what made him even more excited was that today he would get to meet the world-renowned King Xiang.

If this gentleman had not intervened back then, I would have died in the Yingtian Prefecture prison. After all, he is my savior... Feng Yuan thought so.

(End of this chapter)