(second update)

Zhou Duxin ranked seventh in the exam, and there were no guests at the Zhou family's banquet.

Zhuang Jike ranked 183rd in the exam, but the dealer sent an invitation to the palace.

Jiang Changning threw the invitation on the kang table, "I won't go."

"Do you want to prepare a gift?" Xiulan asked.

Jiang Changning thought for a while. With Mrs. Zhuang here, the relationship with the banker cannot be broken. "Let's prepare the gift as usual. When the time comes, I will tell the prince and let the chief historian go."

The left and right chief historians of the palace all hold official posts of the fifth rank, so it is appropriate for the chief historian to replace her and the King of Jin.

"Okay." Xiulan took the invitation and went out.

At the beginning of the Youshi period, Jiang Changning performed pregnancy exercises with Aunt Feng, and played stick pick-up games with Fu Cui on the kang.

Fangju came in and reported: "Princess, Laixi just came back to send a message. There are many things in the Yamen today. The prince asked you not to wait for him to have dinner."

"I understand." Jiang Changning said without raising his head.

Xiulan, who was embroidering insoles on the side, was convinced that the princess made these toys for herself to play with, not for the prince or the princess.

The reason why the King of Jin returned late was because Yu Cang, a powerful official from Annan, proclaimed himself queen and sent people to Qin to request for canonization.

He also claimed that the Li family of the Yue State was massacred by the rebels, and that the lineage was extinct and the common people were wiped out, leaving no successor. The minister, the nephew of the Li family of the Zhao State, was elected as the king by everyone.

The emperor did not want to worry too much about the internal affairs of Annan, which was located in a corner.

As long as he is willing to surrender, it doesn't matter who becomes King Annan.

He thought about the request of the Yu family and his son, but as an upright courtier, he felt that he should not be so hasty.

"What Yu Cang and his son did is truly rebellious and will not be tolerated by ghosts and gods. I believe that Your Majesty should send troops south to wipe out the Yu family's rebellion and return power to the Li family."

"The Li family has been wiped out, how can we return?" one of the officials said.

"This is just a one-sided statement made by the Yu family and his son. As long as we look for it, we will surely find Li family members."

The emperor listened quietly to the arguments of his ministers and remained unmoved.

Until one of the ministers made a shocking statement, "If you let these rebellious ministers and traitors go unchecked, even the suzerain country will not pay attention to them. What if some people imitate the example and kill the emperor and usurp the throne?"

The emperor had always suspected that King Jin was disloyal and deliberately asked King Jin, "How should we handle this matter?"

"Replying to your majesty, I believe that people should be sent to verify whether the Yu family and his son are rebelling. It is not difficult to conclude that the Yu family and his son are plotting to usurp the throne just based on the fact that the Yu family and his son petitioned for canonization."

"I second the proposal." Several ministers came out and said.

If so, the ministers at the court would discuss who should be sent as envoy to Annan, and whether they should lead troops there? If so, how many troops should be brought?

After endless debates over this matter, the person to send the envoy was finally decided. The young minister of Honglu Temple was appointed as the envoy, and four officials of the fifth rank were selected as deputy envoys.

Escorting them to Annan for selection was another debate.

In addition to the city defense army and the imperial forest army, there are five other teams in the capital.

General Song took the initiative to ask for military service, but his opponent firmly opposed it.

Some spoke for General Xiong who was idle at home, while others disagreed, "General Xiong acted too recklessly. If he leads the troops, I'm afraid that a small matter will turn into a big deal, just like appeasing the victims, and the trouble will get out of hand."

"

Some people also suggested that the King of Jin lead an escort, but were ridiculed: "What qualifications do a group of fourth- and fifth-rank officials have to let the prince lead an escort?"

There is indeed some truth to this. Of course, even if he didn't say this, the emperor would not let King Jin lead the army.

The last person to lead the troops was the commander of Jinwu's right battalion, who was promoted by the emperor.

After nightfall, Xiang, the commander of a restaurant on Dingfu Street, went from the secret passage to Langhuan Bookstore to meet his real master, King Jin.

"The Yu family and his son are extremely vicious. You should have no worries in the territory of Daqin, but when entering Annan, be careful they send people to ambush you." King Jin warned him.

"I will act with caution," Xiang Commander said.

After talking to Huizi again, Xiang Commander left through the secret passage. King Jin took a few ancient books and left the bookstore.

When he returned to the house, Jiang Changning had already gone to bed and the couple could not speak.

The next day, before Jiang Changning woke up, he went to the morning court again.

Jiang Changning didn't find a chance to tell the chief historian about having a banquet at the banker's house, and he was leaving tomorrow.

Jiang Changning couldn't go to the Yamen to find someone, so he could go to the Liuxuan Courtyard and ask the concubine for advice. Can he ask the chief historian to go to the banker's house?

When the concubine heard that the banker had sent an invitation, she was worried that Jiang Changning was going out for the banquet, but she couldn't stop him. After all, Jiang Changning's belly was not big yet and he could move quite easily.

Fortunately, Jiang Changning took the initiative to say not to go and let the chief historian go. The concubine was overjoyed and said, "Let the chief historian go. I'll go tell him."

"Thank you, Concubine. Thank you, Concubine." Jiang Changning said with a smile.

"You kid, you only have so many courtesy and every little thing."

The next day, the Chief Historian went to the banker's house for a banquet on behalf of the King of Jin and Jiang Changning.

When Mrs. Zhuang learned that Jiang Changning was not here, there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

Wu curled her lips, "What a white-eyed wolf."

"If you can't speak, just shut up." Mrs. Zhuang said sternly.

"Sister-in-law, trouble comes from the mouth and the words go through the mind. Today is different from the past. Stop putting on the airs of Mrs. Zhuang." Mrs. Zou said in a strange and sinister manner.

Mrs. Wu snorted coldly, "It's none of your business."

"We are all bankers. If you offend someone, our second wife will also suffer with you. Of course it is none of my business." Zou said plausibly.

"When have I ever offended someone? It's obviously you who offended them." Wu said unconvinced.

"Okay, it's a big day, don't make any noise here and go out to entertain guests." Mrs. Zhuang said angrily.

The two daughters-in-law glared at each other, left the old lady's yard, and went to the front.

Mrs. Zhuang sighed heavily and leaned on the pillow, "Ning Yatou is separated from me."

"Old lady, although Princess Jin didn't come, she asked the chief historian to come. There are still seventh-rank officials in the Prime Minister's Mansion. I don't know what rank the chief historian is, but I think he must have six or seven grades, right?"

"Ignorant little girl, the Chief Historian is a fifth-rank official." Mrs. Zhuang said.

"The fourth master will definitely become an official in high school. Princess Jin sent a fifth-rank official here. This is not to be quarrelsome with the old lady, but to praise the fourth master."

After hearing this, Mrs. Zhuang showed a hint of joy on her face.

Jiang Changning did not come, but he asked a fifth-grade chief historian to come, which shows that the Jin Palace has not severed ties with the Zhuang family, and there are contacts between the two palaces.

Even if the Jin Palace did nothing, people in the officialdom would not dare to look down on the Zhuang family. This would be good for Zhuang Jike's career as an official.

The banker invited many relatives and friends to this banquet. The chief historian found that most of them were officials of the third and fourth grades, and then he saw people from Dai Jian County Duke's Palace.

After the banquet, the chief historian returned to his residence and reported the matter to Jiang Changning.

Jiang Changning didn't pay much attention to it. The boss of the banker always liked to work in the camp, and he was an official in the same court. It was not a big deal to have a relationship with Dai Jian County Duke.

The article contains references to the Annan Rebellion in the Ming Dynasty. Friends who have done research please forgive me.
Chapter completed!