Chapter 29 Night Banquet

Three days later, the rituals and music masterpieces were made with big red lanterns hanging high, and guests below came to visit and traveled endlessly, which was a glorious and prosperous scene. The Northern Qi delegation and the Dongyi guests were greeted by the guest of the Qing Kingdom, smiling and walking along the long passage along the long passage. Looking at the expressions of the three parties, it seemed that the world was extremely peaceful. The war and assassination in the past few days had never happened.

The banquet was arranged in the outer city of the palace in the palace to pray for good fortune.

The palace maids who served the food plate and wine back and forth in the flat restaurant were very beautiful. Fan Xian raised his eyebrows and looked at them busy in the grand palace with a smile. The palace maids found that the young and handsome young master Fan had some different eyes at him, and they were a little shy, and the faint rouge became more and more rosy, and secretly glanced at him from time to time.

There were many famous scholars in front of the hall, but there were silent. Many of the guests in the Qing State were the heads of various departments and some princes and nobles who had never seen Fan Xian. Only President Chen and Prime Minister were both sick and sick. The opposite were the Northern Qi delegation and the Dongyi City delegation.

Although Fan Xian has a low position and a low official position, he is arranged to sit in the middle of the case a few times, and there are elderly senior officials around him, and he can't help feeling uncomfortable. At this moment, he heard the old man next to him smile and said, "There are many rules for giving banquets, but Your Majesty has always been easy-going, so Mr. Fan should not be nervous."

The old man is Zhang Ziqian, the Minister of Rites. Because Fan Xian had an unsolvable grudge with the Guo family, the Minister of Rites, so he was a little wary of this man secretly. However, when he heard the other party's words, he seemed to have no malice. He couldn't help but smile ashamedly: "You guy Xiang lives in the countryside, and you have never seen such a show. If there is any place that is not polite, I hope the old man will give me some advice."

Zhang Ziqian stroked the long beard under his jaw and smiled and said, "Ren Shaoqing was at the court meeting today. Mr. Jiyan Fan made great efforts in this negotiation. At this time, no one in the court will treat you, just be careful of the people opposite."

The two looked opposite and saw that Changning Hou of the Northern Qi delegation was waiting bored, while the table in front of him was still empty. It was the Zhuang Mohan who saw the dragon but the tail was not seen. But at the head of the Dongyi delegation, there was a middle-aged man sitting. Before the sword was placed on the waist of the great man, Fan Xian couldn't help but frown and said, "Why can he enter the palace with his sword?"

"Your Majesty personally. I look at the sword and keep the sword away from you. This is an exception." Zhang Ziqian said in detail as if he was explaining to his juniors.

"He is Yun Zhilan, the head disciple of the four-gu Sword?" Fan Xian took a breath of air, narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly felt a fierce killing intention on the man with swords.

These days, the Qing Dynasty court deliberately neglected the Dongyi Mission. It seems that this ninth-grade swordsman Yun Zhilan is not in a good mood. Even though he is sitting in the Qing Dynasty Palace, he is still cold.

Fan Xian was looking at Yun Zhilan's sword-like eyebrows, and Yun Zhilan looked at him very well.

Two eyes slashed into the palace air like lightning.

After a while, Fan Xian lowered his head as if he showed weakness and coughed twice. The sword intent in the other party's eyes was too strong.

This look made everyone in the hall notice this place. Everyone knows that Fan Xian killed two female disciples under Sigujian Sect in Niulan Street, and Dongyi City came to pay tribute to the beginning and end of the matter. But according to most people's opinions, I am afraid that this swordsman Yun Zhilan would not mind killing Fan Xian under the sword.

Fortunately, the prince of the Eastern Palace has also released some kindness to Fan Xian through negotiations on personnel arrangements. Therefore, no matter which faction in the court, no matter which faction, dares to gloat about Fan Xian because of this matter. Foreign enemies are in front of Qing State, so no matter which department in the Qing State is in charge, and the military personnel, they all stare at Yun Zhilan, the sword in Dongyi City, and the atmosphere in the entire palace suddenly becomes tense.

Fan Xian had no expression on his face, lowered his head and regulating the true energy in his body. He was always ready.

At this moment, a faint sound of piano and zither came from the side of the palace. In the solemn palace music, an eunuch shouted loudly: "Your Majesty is here." The most powerful person in the world, the only master of Qing Kingdom, His Majesty the Emperor and the Queen, walked slowly from the side, and stood in front of the dragon throne with a gentle smile on his face.

"Long live my emperor."

The ministers in front of the hall knelt down respectfully and sent the guests to bow to salute. The trace of tension that had originally remained in the hall was replaced by an inexplicable solemn and solemn feeling.

His Majesty the Emperor was high above, the Empress was with him, and the Prince also had a unique seat on the two steps below his parents. In this case, other princes generally would not come. The emperor's eyes swept over the ministers below and said gently: "Let's go flat."

The ceremony was held, and the banquet officially began. First, the ministers of the Northern Qi mission took the list, and they performed a routine praise of their merits, promoted the traditional friendship between the two countries, and then retreated. Yun Zhilan, the Dongyi City, came out, said a few words expressionlessly, and retreated.

The queen smiled slightly and whispered in His Majesty's ear: "This figure in Dongyi City is very arrogant." The emperor and the mother of the nation sat high on it. They were not afraid that others would hear it, so they spoke directly.

Your Majesty also smiled gently and said, "If the first disciple of Sigujian doesn't even have a sense of arrogance, I'm afraid that if he enters my room, he will not have the courage to hold the sword."

A palace maid had already replaced the hot vegetables and fresh paste, and the ministers buried their heads in eating and did not dare to speak. His Majesty did not speak, so naturally it was quiet.

Fan Xian lowered his head a little uncomfortable, but his eyes were extremely difficult to detect. A person had already sat on the other side, who was already empty before. The man had an old face, but his eyes were clear and bright. The wrinkles on his forehead seemed to be mixed with countless wisdom. He wrinkles on his face like a cloud to protect his not tall body in the middle. Without asking, he knew that this person was Mo Han, a big brother of Northern Qi.

I don’t know when he sat down, but Fan Xian analyzed that it should be when the Emperor came down, and he came in at the same time. It seems that the rumors are true. Zhuang Mohan is highly appreciated by the Empress Dowager, and maybe he has been staying in the palace before.

When Fan Xian snatched the other party, he didn't know that the high-ranking couple was also aiming at him. The queen drank a sip of wine. Her eyes signaled the place where Fan Xian sat, and said softly: "That young man is Fan Xian, Princess Chen's future son-in-law."

His Majesty smiled and said, "It looks pretty good and has some poetic reputation in the capital. Today, when Xin Qiwu and Ren Shaoan praised his talents at the same time, I am really curious about why the prince's servants and the prime minister's disciples are so kind to him."

The queen's smile was a little reluctant: "Maybe the prince understands popularity and ministers? Besides... he is soon the prime minister's son-in-law."

"Oh, popularity?" His Majesty smiled and did not look at the queen. Instead, he looked at his son below. "It seems that my son also knows the importance of popularity."

Although I heard a little dissatisfaction, the queen still felt that His Majesty was in a good mood today and was not only willing to scold the prince as he used to. Could it be that he had some positive comments? He couldn't help but say happily: "Chengqian grows up and always understands something."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled speechlessly.

After a moment of the banquet, Fan Xian kept drinking wine for no reason. These wines are at most yellow wine, and the degree is not high. When drinking sour and sweet, Fan Xian didn't feel anything, but in the eyes of the officials next to him, the young man looked like a drunk. It was really ferocious. Even Zhang Zigan, the Minister of Rites, couldn't help but remind him: "Mr. Fan, don't drink too much. If you lose your etiquette in front of the palace, it would be a serious crime."

Hearing the three words of Lord Fan, he knew that the other party was reminding him that this was not on the Liujing River, but in the solemn and deep palace. His identity was not a drinker, but a minister. Fan Xian smiled in his heart, but his true energy was against the luck, and he pushed the drunkenness to his face. There was a trace of confusion in his eyes, and he lowered his voice and said, "I dare not hide it from the old man. My nephew is really nervous. It's better to drink some wine quickly and relax."

Zhang Zigan looked at his drunken state and seemed to be unable to hear his words clearly, so he shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The Prime Minister said he wouldn't come to you. Your father didn't come even though he was born, but he gave you, a kid, to me. If you were drunk, how could I explain to them?"

The Northern Qi delegation was really embarrassed by the diplomatic officials of the Honglu Temple these days. When they saw Fan Xian's appearance, they couldn't help but look at each other and made up their minds. Although Fan Xian was the deputy envoy and remained silent these days, the delegation members were deeply disgusted with the desolation that always showed on their beautiful faces. There were still many spies in the Kyoto of Qing Kingdom. Of course, they knew that the reason why the Honglu Temple of Qing Kingdom was so powerful this time was entirely because of the bad idea behind this deputy envoy named Fan Xian. As for what bad idea was, no one knew.

Now that the negotiations between the two countries have been completed, the royal family on both sides have been stamped, they must be unable to repent. However, the Northern Qi delegation still had a big heart. Looking at Fan Xian’s drunkenness, Changning Hou smiled sinisterly, stood up, and saluted respectfully at the high place: "Your Majesty, the negotiations between the two sides have been hard these days, and the subordinates of the Honglu Temple in your country have also worked hard. I wonder if the foreign ministers can respect the officials of the Honglu Temple to prove the friendship between the two countries."

When Changning Hou spoke, the Dongyi City delegation sat next to them, and naturally saw Fan Xian's drunkenness. He knew what the people of Northern Qi wanted to do, but just watched coldly, but did not join in the fun.

The dragon chaise is too high, and His Majesty the Emperor and the Queen seem to have not seen the undercurrents between the court, so they naturally would not notice Fan Xian. He smiled and agreed. The prince also said with a slight interest: "The Marquis of Changning naturally needs to have fun. The so-called opponents on the court and friends off the court... Of course, there are only opponents at the table."

The prince actually just wanted to show his conversation, but the conversation was really average, and he didn't know how things would develop, so he was worried about the officials of the Honglu Temple sitting below. In these negotiations on heaven and earth, everyone had already regarded Deputy Envoy Fan as their own. How could the people of Northern Qi get Deputy Envoy Fan drunk? However, both sides sat far and could not help.

Fan Xian smiled and drank wine with the Northern Qi delegation, but he felt a little uneasy. In recent days, the chambers of commerce managed by the eldest princess have begun to attack Danbo Bookstore, raising the price of paper to suppress the price of books. His simple actions made Fan Sizhe and the shopkeeper Qiye very depressed, but he knew that the other party’s real means should be behind. His methods today just need the help of wine.

It is difficult not to get drunk, and it is even more difficult to pretend to be drunk. This is the strongest feeling when Fan Xian first gave a banquet in the palace. It is not possible in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Six of the eight envoys fell down. In the end, the company Chang Ning Hou no longer cared about his identity, and died bravely, half on Fan Xian's arm.

Until this time, His Majesty the Emperor, who had been talking softly with the Queen and Zhuang Mohan, smiled slightly and said, "It has been a long time since the palace has been so lively."

Zhuang Mohan was silent all the time, but occasionally he would answer a few words softly when His Majesty the Emperor of Qing asked questions, which was as if he was a famous scholar. At this time, he followed His Majesty's eyes and seemed to have just noticed the noise there. Looking at the beautiful young man holding the Marquis of Changning, Northern Qi, he asked curiously: "That young master is Mr. Fan of the poet?"

This famous literary master seemed to find it difficult to believe his eyes. The young talented man who successfully won the reputation of poetry with just three poems was actually a drunkard.

His Majesty the Emperor seemed a little angry, and raised his voice and shouted: "Fan Xian."

In fact, most of the people in the palace were listening carefully to the movements on the dragon throne, for fear of not checking for a while. So when His Majesty the Emperor spoke, the huge palace suddenly became quiet, silent - except for the young man named Fan Xian, who was still shouting: "Drinking! Drinking!"

That seemed to be some kind of saying in the south. It seemed that Mr. Xiao Fan was really drunk.

"Fan Xian!" Seeing that the boy was drunk, the prince couldn't help but yelled with anger. After all, Ren Fan Xian was the deputy envoy and the Eastern Palace advised him. It was precisely because of this that Fan Xian was qualified to enter the palace today. Fan Xian was embarrassed and in the prince's heart, he was not very glorious.

As if he noticed that the atmosphere in the palace was a little quiet and weird, Fan Xian stood there blankly, his eyes swept around in a confused manner, but his beautiful face showed a free and easy feeling after drinking.

"Who called me?"

All the ministers in the court who had acquaintances with the Prime Minister of the Fan family who heard the boy's response would want to block his mouth immediately, stuff him into the carriage, and throw him back to the Fan Mansion.

To everyone's surprise, the high-ranking Emperor Emperor heard the answer that only existed in the restaurant, but he didn't seem very angry, but instead laughed: "I'm calling you."

When I heard this word, people who were really drunk or pretended to be drunk would wake up. Fan Xian was no exception. He relaxed his arms and bowed quickly: "I... I deserve to die. I... I'm drunk too much."

When he let go of his arms, the Changning Hou of Northern Qi, who had been strangled by him, collapsed drunk and fell to the ground with a loud bang. Seeing that the enemy's negotiating commander fell so embarrassedly, the smile appeared on the corner of his lips. The two only envoys who were not drunk in the Northern Qi delegation quickly helped the Changning Hou back to his seat, and the palace maids were considerate and sent to the sobering soup.

His Majesty the Emperor scolded: "Of course I know you have drunk too much, otherwise you will definitely be punished for the crime of losing your etiquette in front of the palace."

Fan Xian tried hard to keep his bow and argued with a wry smile: "I dare not defend myself, but it's a pleasure to have guests come from afar. If I don't accompany these adults from Northern Qi, as the deputy envoy of the reception, I will inevitably fail to complete the duties."

"Look." His Majesty said to the queen sideways, "I still dare not defend myself. If he defends himself, I am afraid he will say... I asked him to drink the ground, and it is nothing to do with him."

The queen knew that His Majesty had always loved Princess Chen the most, and she didn't know if he loved the house and the Wuwu. She smiled slightly and did not say good things to Fan Xian, she would naturally not be so stupid as to scold him.

"Fan Xian." This is the third time that His Majesty the Emperor called out his name in the hall. The officials listened with their ears, but they savored other flavors in their hearts. It seems that the relationship between the Fan family and the royal family is indeed extraordinary.

His Majesty said lightly: "The relationship between your Fan family and me is extraordinary. In my eyes, you are just a junior. Regardless of the king and the ministers, when I speak, you still have to close your sharp mouth! Don't think that I don't know what you are talking nonsense in the restaurant. At a young age, I really think that my mouth is a little more delicate, so I don't take the people in the world."

It is a derogatory person, but it is a secretly protective person. No fool can be understood by the ministers and envoys.

As expected, His Majesty could only hear his Majesty whisper: "On this late summer night, the monarch and ministers are harmonious and the country is in harmony. Fan Xian, you are famous for your poetry. It is better to write a poem to make a contribution."

The ministers agreed. They knew that Your Majesty was giving the Fan family a face. It seemed that Your Majesty had a sudden inspiration and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of today's court banquet to let the ministers know what kind of person this Fan son, the eighth-rank Xieluo, was. Your Majesty wanted to give Fan son a great opportunity to stand out, but Lord Fan was half drunk at this time. It was a pity that he would waste this opportunity.

Fan Xian was drunk and was indeed a little confused, but the conversation in front of the hall was clearly heard. He laughed at himself and bowed to the dragon throne: "Your Majesty, I only know some sour sentences. How dare I show my ugly face to Mr. Mohan, a great man in the generation of great men."

As soon as this statement was spoken, the ministers looked at Zhuang Mohan, and then they understood that His Majesty's meaning was definitely not just to give Fan's son a chance to show his face, but to take this opportunity to prove to all the nations and peoples in the world. In terms of martial arts, Qing's country is unparalleled in the world, and in terms of papers, Qing's country is also capable of competing with Zhuang Mohan's talented men!

Fan Xian's reputation as "a visitor who is sad for thousands of miles apart" has been heard in Kyoto for several months, but later he refused to write poems, which gradually faded. After hearing his words, the ministers pushed the matter to Zhuang Mohan, thinking that he and Your Majesty had already secretly had a plan to hit the arrogance of the literary world of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

In fact, Fan Xian was just guessing. His previous experience was not enough to make him guess the emperor's heart. However, judging by the popularity of the Qing Kingdom's literary style recently, I think this Majesty has always been unwilling to accept that there is no enemy on the battlefield. However, the people of Northern Qi have always regarded it as the Southern Barbarians.

After Zhuang Mohan came to the country, he went to and from the palace. Although the empress dowager and the empresses respected his name, he was afraid that his Majesty would feel very uncomfortable. He had no masters in the country of Qing, so his writing copy was innocently pushed onto the arena.

Fan Xian knew that he had guessed the wrong intention of His Majesty, because from a distance, his strong eyes could still see clearly. His Majesty's eyes gradually narrowed. His eyes were filled with a hint of appreciation.

This appreciation is naturally to appreciate Mr. Xiao Fan deeply understand my heart. At the same time, it is also a warning. When writing a good poem, don’t lose the face of Qingguo in front of Zhuang Mohan.

"It would be better if you write a song and let Mr. Zhuang Mohan savor it. If it is not good, you can get a drink." The queen said with a smile. She also knew the thoughts of the man beside her and set up a backup plan in advance.

Now that things have come to this point, what else can it be? Fan Xian returned to the meal, regardless of the fact that he was drunk, and poured another cup of wine into his mouth, letting the slightly sour wine savor it and frowned.

All the ministers knew that Mr. Fan was anxious, so they counted for him secretly. At about fifteenth time, Fan Xian's eyes appeared slightly, his face was full of smiles, his lips opened slightly, and he chanted: "How much life is like wine and singing? It's like morning dew, the past is full of suffering. The green collar is longing for my heart. But for the sake of yours, I have been pondering until now. I have guests, playing the zither and singing. It's as clear as the moon, when can I pick it up? I talk about banquets, and I miss my old grace. The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the magpies fly south, and they circle the trees three times, and what branches can I rely on? The mountains are never too high and the sea is never too deep. The Zhou Gong vomits and feeds the world, and the whole world is returned."

Just like Fan Xian throws a poem to beat people every time, the whole hall is quiet as soon as this poem is released.

This is a masterpiece of Cao Gong that year. Fan Xian deleted a few sentences and threw them out. In this hall, the world's heart is just in line with Your Majesty's thoughts. The most wonderful thing is that Zhou Gong's spitting and chest is actually there in this world. Moreover, Zhou Gong is not a disciple of the emperor, but is actually an emperor. Therefore, Fan Xian dared to write it out grandly.

After a long time, in the grand palace, the ministers cheered in unison: "Good poem!"

His emperor's emperor looked satisfied, turned his head and looked at Zhuang Mohan, and said softly: "I don't know what Mr. Zhuang thinks about this poem."

Zhuang Mohan's expression remained unchanged. He had experienced such scenes in his life, nor did he appreciated poetry. The reason why he was respected by the scholars and the people of the world was that many of His Highness, such as the Qing Dynasty officials, read his articles and entered the officialdom. The place he relied on was his virtue and his vision. Of course, the most important thing was his own vast knowledge.

"Good poetry." Zhuang Mohan said softly, holding a pinch of peanut and ate it. "As a matter of good poetry, although the meaning is interrupted, it is better because of its quality. Poetry means first and quality is the priority. Mr. Fan's poetry is solid and he is indeed good poetry. I didn't expect that Nan Qing can produce talents now."

Fan Xian smiled slightly. He had no special feelings for this literary master. He just didn't like the other person's style. After a brief greeting, he returned to his own mat, but his feet were a little staggering.

The officials in the court were still whispering to the previous poems of Lord Xiao Fan. Generally speaking, the literary matters would be fine, but today the atmosphere between the hall seemed a little strange, and a man said coldly:

"Mr. Zhuang said that Nanqing was a bit inappropriate, and everyone knows the articles of Mr. Zhuang. In this poem, it is not necessarily as good as Mr. Fan. Why should he comment on it? There are many scholars in this dynasty, and Mr. Fan is the best. Not to mention that the poem is made within the fifteenth day, but the poem "Single is always a guest in the miserable autumn of thousands of miles. I really don't know, which talented man can write this in Northern Qi?"

This is very inappropriate, especially at the national feast, which seems extremely rude. The Emperor Qing Kingdom did not expect that ordinary literary affairs would come to this point. His Majesty's eyebrows gradually frowned. I don't know which minister was so rude, but this person was making trouble for the dynasty and could not be punished.

Fan Xian stopped returning to the table, bowed to Zhuang Mohan with a little guilty conscience, indicating that he had no disrespect. Zhuang Mohan coughed twice, and stood up with some difficulty with the support of the little eunuch pointed to by the empress dowager, and looked at Fan Xian calmly: "Young Master Fan's poem has long been passed down to the Great Qi Shangjing. The poem is always a guest of the sad autumn of thousands of miles, but I often recite it."

Fan Xian suddenly saw a hint of pity in the eyes of this literary master, a hint of despair that cut off the retreat. Fan Xian suddenly felt a sudden change in his heart, feeling a certain danger that he had not noticed, and was slowly approaching him. He gradually became drunk, but he still turned around suddenly and found the face that provoked the war behind the banquet in the palace.

Guo Baokun.

Guo Baokun, who was punched by himself, was close to Guo Baokun, and the editor of the palace, Guo Baokun, who was also qualified to sit on the table today. But it was obvious that the prince was not aware of his words in advance. So the prince and Fan Xian both squinted their eyes and looked at Guo Baokun's face with smugness, not knowing what he wanted to do.

Fan Xian felt the danger and smiled slightly.

At this time, Zhuang Mohan coughed twice, bowed to His Majesty the Emperor and said softly: "I belong to Daqi, but my heart is in the world's words. I didn't want to hurt the friendship between the two countries, but I have to say some words."

His Majesty's face gradually calmed down and he said calmly: "Mr. Zhuang is okay to speak." While His Majesty was speaking, the queen also picked up the wine glass, opened her mouth to speak, and then took it back.

"The wind is strong, the sky is high, the apes are roaring, and the white birds fly back. The endless fallen trees are rustling down, and the endless rivers are rolling. The sad autumn is always a guest, and the illness has been on stage for more than a hundred years. The hardships and bitterness are full of frost, and the frost in the temples are in full swing." The palace is extremely quiet. I wonder what amazing words this famous literary master would say.
Chapter completed!