Chapter 29 Night Banquet

Three days later, the ceremonial music, big red lanterns hanging high, below the guests to and from the endless, a brilliant world scene. North Qi mission and East Yi guests in the welcome of the guest of honor of Qing, full of smiles, along the long passage, walked into the most solemn palace of Qing, looking at the expression of the three parties, it seems that the world peace exceptionally, the war and assassination of the previous days, is something that has not happened at all.

The location of the banquet was arranged in the palace’s outer city Prayer Hall.

The palace maids who were serving plates of food and wine to and fro in front of the flat table were very beautiful, and Fan Xian raised the ends of his eyebrows and looked at them with a smile on his face as they bustled about in the grand palace. These palace maids realized that the young and handsome Prince Fan was looking at them differently, so they couldn’t help but be a little shy, their light rouge becoming more and more red, and sneaking glances at him from time to time.

In front of the hall, there was a gathering of famous scholars, but the crows were silent; many of the guests of honor on this side of Qing were ministry directors and some princes and nobles that Fan Xian had not even met, and only President Chen and Lord Chancellor were claiming to be sick at the same time for the future. On the opposite side of the table were the delegations from Northern Qi and Eastern Yi City.

Although Fan Xian was a lowly official, he was arranged to sit in the center under the table because he was also the deputy envoy, and he was surrounded by older officials, so he could not help but feel a little uncomfortable. At this moment, I heard the old man next to me smile and say, “There are many rules for giving banquets, but His Majesty has always been easy-going, Mr. Fan should not be nervous.”

This old man was Zhang Ziqian, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. Fan Xian was secretly wary of this man because of his irreconcilable grudge against the Guo family, the minister of Rites, but listening to the other side, he seemed to have no ill will, so he couldn’t help but smile shyly and say, “My son has always resided in the countryside, so I’ve never seen this kind of ceremony before. If there is any disrespectful place, I still hope that the boss man to point out one or two.”

Zhang Ziqian stroked his long beard under his jaw, smiled and said: “Ren Shaoqing today at the court, extremely said Fan Gongzi this negotiation in the great effort, when this time, no one in the dynasty will be how you, just be careful of those people on the other side.”

Two people’s eyes to the opposite side of the look, only to see the northern qi delegation of Changning Marquis is bored waiting, and the most head of the table is still empty, think that is the dragon see the head of the Zhuang Mo Han everyone. Instead, at the chief of the Eastern Barbarians’ envoys, there sat a middle-aged man, who had a long sword at his waist that was not yet under his belt. Fan Xian could not help but frown, “Why is he able to enter the palace with a sword.”

“His Majesty’s pro-Huai. Under the Four Gu Sword Sect, the sword has always been kept at bay, and this is a special case.” Zhang Ziqian said in detail as if explaining to his own juniors.

“He’s Yun Zhilan, the first disciple of the Four Gu Swords?” Fan Xian sucked in a mouthful of gin, his eyes narrowing slightly as he instantly felt a stern killing intent naturally flowing from that sword-tied hulk.

These days, the Qing court had deliberately cold-shouldered the Eastern Barbarians’ envoys, and it seemed that this Ninth Grade Swordsmanship Master, Yun Zhilan, was not in a very good mood, and even as he sat on the Qing palace, his entire person was still cold and icy.

Fan Xian was looking at Yun Zhilan’s sword-like eyebrows, and by sheer coincidence, Yun Zhilan also looked over at him.

The two gazes cleaved to one another like lightning in the air of the palace.

After a moment, Fan Xian lowered his head like a sign of weakness and coughed softly, the sword intent in the other’s gaze was too strong.

This pair of glances instantly made everyone in the palace notice the party. Everyone knew that Fan Xian had killed two female disciples under the Four Gu Sword Sect in Oxford Street. And Dong Yi City had previously come to pay tribute in order to clean up the first and last of that incident. But according to most people’s opinion, I’m afraid that this master swordsman Yun Zhilan wouldn’t mind beheading Fan Xian under the sword.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace had also released some goodwill to Fan Xian by negotiating the personnel arrangements, so no matter which faction in the court dared to gloat over Fan Xian because of this matter. A foreign enemy was present, so no matter which ministry’s chief official on the side of Qing, as well as people in the military all glared fiercely at Yun Zhilan, the Head Sword of Dongyi City, and the atmosphere in the entire palace was suddenly tense.

Fan Xian’s face was expressionless as he lowered his head and tempered the true qi in his body, always ready.

Just at this time, the sound of a hidden zither came from one side of the palace, and amidst the solemnity of the palace music, a eunuch hissed in a loud voice, “His Majesty has arrived.” The most powerful person in the entire world, the sole master of the Qing Kingdom, His Majesty the Emperor, with the Empress in tow, slowly walked over from the side, standing before the dragon chair with a gentle smile on his face.

“Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor.”

The group of ministers in front of the hall kneeled down respectfully and saluted, the guests of the mission bowed and saluted, the trace of tension that originally remained in the hall was all replaced by an inexplicably solemn and dignified feeling.

His Majesty the Emperor stood tall, the Empress accompanied him, and the Crown Prince had a unique seat two steps below his parents. On this kind of occasion, the other imperial princes usually did not come. The Emperor’s gaze swept over the group of ministers below and said gently, “Stand up.”

Saluting and rising, the bestowal banquet officially began. First, the ministers of the Northern Qi Mission came out and routinely sang some praises and proclaimed the traditional friendship between the two countries, and then retreated back. Again, Yun Zhilan from Dongyi City came out, said a few words expressionlessly, and also retreated back.

The Empress smiled faintly and whispered in His Majesty’s ear, “This Dongyi City figure is arrogant as hell.” The Son of Heaven and the Mother of State were sitting high above, and there was no fear that there would be bystanders to hear what they were saying to each other, so their speech was straightforward.

His Majesty also smiled gently and said, “The first disciple of the Four Gu Swords, if he doesn’t even have a trace of arrogance, I’m afraid that when he enters my house, he won’t even have the courage to hold the sword.”

Early there are palace maid will hot dishes new pulp change on, the group of ministers buried head to eat, do not dare to speak. His Majesty did not open his mouth, so naturally there was silence.

Fan Xian lowered his head somewhat uncomfortably, but his gaze was extremely unnoticeable as he glanced across the room, and on top of the chief, which had previously been empty, there was already a man seated. That person’s face is old, a pair of eyes is clear and godly, forehead wrinkles seem to be mixed with countless wisdom, a white robe like a cloud will not tall body protection in the center. No need to ask, this is the northern qi great Zhuang Mo Han.

Not knowing when he took his seat, Fan Xian analyzed that he should have come in at the same time as His Majesty the Emperor arrived. It seemed that the rumors were correct, this Zhuang Mo Han was highly appreciated by the Empress Dowager, so perhaps he had been staying in the palace previously.

While Fan Xian stole glances at the other party, he did not realize that the couple high above him was also glancing at himself. The Empress took a shallow sip of wine, her gaze signaling the direction where Fan Xian was sitting, and said softly, “That young man is Fan Xian, the future son-in-law of County Princess Chen.”

His Majesty said with a slight smile, “He looks good looking, and has some poetic reputation in the capital, and today at the court, the two young ministers, Xin Qiji and Ren Shaoqing, praised his talent at the same time, so I’m really a bit curious as to why the crown prince’s warden and the chancellor’s disciple, are both so kind to him.”

Empress’s smile is a bit forced: “Maybe the crown prince understands the human courtier’s fate? Besides …… he is after all immediately the son-in-law of Lord Chancellor.”

“Oh, human karma?” His Majesty seemed to be smiling, and did not look at the Empress, instead looking at his own son below, “It seems that this son of Lian also understands the importance of people’s karma.”

Although hearing a hint of dissatisfaction, the Empress still feels that His Majesty is in a good mood today, for the Crown Prince is also not like the past days that are only willing to scold, rare some positive comments, can not help but be happy to say, “Chengqian is gradually growing up, will always understand some things.”

His Majesty smiled and was speechless.

After a few moments of the banquet, Fan Xian did not know whether it was because he was nervous or for some reason, but he kept drinking wine. These wine syrups were at best considered yellow wine, not high in degree, and the drink was sour and sweet, so Fan Xian didn’t feel how it was, but in the eyes of the officials next to him, the way this young man drank was really some animal ferocity. Even Zhang Ziqian, the Minister of Rites, couldn’t help but remind him, “Lord Fan, don’t drink too much. In case you lose your manners in front of the temple, that would be a great offense.”

Hearing the three words, Lord Fan, he knew that the other party was reminding himself that this was not on the Flowing Crystal River, but rather in the middle of a solemn and deep palace, and that his status was not that of a drunkard, but rather that of a courtier. Fan Xian smiled in his heart, but his true qi reversed the flow, forcing the wine to his face, and his eyes suddenly had a trace of disorientation, and he lowered his voice and said, “I don’t dare to hide it from the Boss, my nephew is really tense, so I might as well hurry up and drink some wine, so that I can also relax a little bit.”

Zhang Ziqian looked at his drunkenness, seems to be unable to hear his own words, can only shake his head and laugh bitterly: “The chancellor of the Lord claimed to be sick not to come, your father bias also not to come, but will you this kid to my tube, if really drunk, how can I explain to them?”

These days, the Northern Qi delegation on the other side was really embarrassed by those diplomatic officials of Honglu Temple, and when they saw Fan Xian’s appearance, they looked at each other and made up their minds. These days although Fan Xian as deputy envoy, has been silent, but the mission is deeply disgusted with the beautiful face of the wilting bad, Beiqi in the Qing State Kyoto still have a lot of scouts, of course, know that the Qing State Honglu Temple this time the reason why so powerful, all because of the deputy envoy called Fan Xian in the back of the bad idea, as for the bad idea of what, but no one knows.

Now the negotiations between the two countries have been finalized, both sides of the royal family has made a pledge, certainly can not renege, the Northern Qi delegation still has a big lump in the heart. Looking at Fan Xian’s drunken state, Changning Marquis smiled sinisterly, stood up and saluted respectfully to the high place, “Your Majesty, these days both sides negotiated hard, your country Honglu Temple all belongings are also hard, I don’t know whether the foreign minister can toast all the officials of the Honglu Temple a cup to prove the friendship of the two countries.”

When Marquis Changning spoke, the Dongyi City delegation was sitting next to them, and naturally took Fan Xian’s drunkenness in stride, knowing what the Northern Qi people were trying to do, they just stood by coldly but did not join in the fun.

The dragon chair was too high, His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress didn’t seem to have a clear view of the undercurrents between the scenes, and naturally wouldn’t notice Fan Xian, smiling and allowing it. The crown prince also chimed in, “Changning Marquis naturally wants to have fun, the so-called rivals on the field, but also friends off the field …… Of course, above the wine table, it’s just rivals.”

The prince actually just want to show their own talk, but this talk is really general, and he is not clear how things will develop, but is worried about the Honglu Temple sitting below the officials, these days in the negotiations, everyone has long been the deputy ambassador Fan as their own, how can let the North Qi people will be deputy ambassador Fan drunk, but the two sides are sitting far away, there is no way to help to go.

Fan Xian smiled as he drank with the Northern Qi envoys, but his heart was vaguely uneasy. In recent days, those chambers of commerce managed by the Princess had begun to lay hands on the Tanyu Bookstore, raising the price of paper and suppressing the price of books, and with two simple hands, he had made Fan Sicheng and the Seven Leaf Shopkeeper very depressed, but he knew the other party’s real tactics should be at the back. And his means today, just need the help of wine pulp.

It was hard not to get drunk, and even harder to pretend to be drunk, this was the strongest feeling that Fan Xian had when he was given his first palace banquet. The Beiqi side didn’t work either, six of the eight ambassadors fell down, and in the end, even Marquis Changning no longer cared about his status, and ended up sacrificing himself heroically, half-hanging on Fan Xian’s arm.

Until this moment, His Majesty the Emperor who had been talking softly with the Empress and Zhuang Mo Han everyone, the corner of his lips slightly bloomed and smiled, “In the palace, it has been a long time since there has been such a bustle.”

That Zhuang Mo Han has been silent, only occasionally when His Majesty the Emperor of the Kingdom of Qing asked questions would he answer a few sentences in a soft voice, posing as a generation of famous scholar. At this moment, following His Majesty’s gaze, he seemed to have only just realized the noise over there, and looking at the beautiful young man who was holding the Marquis of Changning of Northern Qi and pouring wine, he curiously asked, “That young lord, is the poet, Duke Fan?”

This world-famous literary great seemed to be having a hard time believing his own eyes that that legendary young talent who had managed to win poetic fame with only three poems, was actually a good wine fanatic.

His Majesty the Emperor also seemed to be slightly annoyed, raising his voice and shouting, “Fan Xian.”

The entire palace, in fact, had most of their ears listening carefully to the movements on the dragon chair, fearing a moment of inattention. So when His Majesty the Emperor spoke, the large palace was suddenly quiet and silent-except for the young lord named Fan Xian, who still kept yelling, “Drink victory! Drink victory!”

That seemed to be some sort of southern expression, and it appeared that young Lord Fan had really drunk too much.

“Fan Xian!” Seeing that boy drunk, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but reprimand him even as he suppressed his anger. After all, appointing Fan Xian as the deputy envoy was the East Palace’s suggestion, and it was because of this that Fan Xian had the qualifications to enter the palace today, and Fan Xian’s disgrace was not very honorable in the Crown Prince’s heart himself.

Seems to notice that the atmosphere in the palace is somewhat quiet and strange, Fan Xian stood somewhat frozen in place, his eyes somewhat confusedly swept around, but his beautiful face was permeated with a sprightly and frenzied intent after drinking.

“Who called out to me?”

All the ministers in the court who were friends with the Fan Family Chancellor’s family, when they heard this kid’s response, they all hated to immediately plug his mouth and then stuff it into the carriage and hurriedly throw it back to the Fan House.

Surprisingly, His Majesty the Emperor, who is high above the people, after hearing this response which is only available in the restaurant, but seems not to be very angry, instead, he smiled: “It’s me who is shouting at you.”

Hearing the word me in, no matter if one is really drunk or pretending to be drunk, they all have to wake up, and Fan Xian was no exception, and hurriedly bowed and saluted, “I …… deserve to die for my sins, I …… drank too much.”

As soon as he let go of his arm, the drunken Changning Marquis of Northern Qi, who had been on his arm, went limp and fell to the ground with a blatting sound. When the Qing official saw the enemy negotiating officer fall in such a sorry state, a smile spread across the corners of his lips, very pleased with himself. The only two ambassadors of the Northern Qi delegation who were not drunk hurriedly helped Marquis Changning back to his seat, and had their own palace maids considerately bring sobering soup.

His Majesty the Emperor reprimanded, “Of course I know that you’re drunk, or else I would have to punish you for disrespectful behavior in front of the temple.”

Fan Xian struggled to maintain his bowing posture, smiled bitterly and defended, “I don’t dare to defend myself, but there are guests who come from afar, and it’s not a pleasure not to keep these adults from Northern Qi company, and as the deputy ambassador of hospitality, I can’t help but fail to fulfill my duties.”

“Look.” His Majesty sidled up to the Empress and said, “This is still not daring to defend himself, if he defends himself, he is only afraid that he will still say that …… it is me who let him drink, and he has nothing to do with him.”

The Empress knew that His Majesty had always loved that girl, County Princess Chen, the most, and wondered if he was in love with her, smiled faintly, and neither put in a good word for Fan Xian, and naturally would not be foolish enough to speak out in rebuke.

“Fan Xian.” This was the third time His Majesty had called out his name in the hall, and the officials listened with their ears perked up, but deep down inside they tasted something else, it seemed that the relationship between the Fan family and the royal family was really not ordinary.

Just heard his majesty faintly said: “your Fan family and my love is not general, in my eyes, you are just a junior, and regardless of the ruler and subject, when I speak, you still have to put your sharp mouth to close! Don’t think I don’t know you in the restaurant that nonsense words, small age, really think that the mouth is clever some, will be the world’s people do not look in the eyes.”

Ming is to denounce, secretly is to care for, the group of ministers group make which there is a fool, will hear do not understand.

As expected, His Majesty softly said, “On this bright night of late summer, when the king and his ministers are in harmony, the friendship of the state will be forever solidified. Fan Xian, you have always been known for your poetry, why don’t you compose a poem in honor of this.”

The ministers agreed, knowing that His Majesty was giving the Fan family a face, it seemed that His Majesty had the bright idea to use today’s court banquet as an opportunity to let the ministers know what kind of character this Fan’s son, this eighth ranked Conciliator, was. His Majesty is trying to give Fan’s son a great opportunity to make a name for himself. It’s just that little Lord Fan is half-drunk at the moment, so I’m afraid he’ll waste this opportunity, which is a pity.

Fan Xian’s drunkenness was reciting, and he was indeed a bit confused, but he heard this conversation in front of the temple clearly, smiled to himself, and bowed to the direction of the dragon chair, saying, “Your Majesty, my humble servant only knows some sour sentences, so how would I dare to make a fool of myself in front of the great man of the generation, old Mr. Zhuang Mo Han.”

The words, the group of ministers look to Zhuang Mo Han, only then understand his majesty’s meaning, is definitely not just to give Fan’s son a chance to show his face, but to take this opportunity to prove to the world’s countries and people, on the martial arts, Qing is unrivaled in the world, thesis, Qing also has enough to rival Zhuang Mo Han’s talent!

Fan Xian’s reputation as “a frequent visitor in the sad autumn” had been resounding in Kyoto for months, only to fade away as he refused to write poems. When the ministers heard that he had pushed the matter to Zhuang Mo Han, they thought that he and His Majesty had a secret plan to strike a blow against the great masters of Northern Qi’s literary world.

In fact, Fan Xian was only guessing, his experience in his previous life was not enough for him to guess the heart of the emperor, but looking at the recent flourishing of Qing’s literary style, he thought that his majesty had been unwilling to have no enemy on the battlefield, but was always regarded as a barbarian by the people of Northern Qi on the literary field.

This Zhuang Mo Han came to the country, in and out of the palace, although the empress dowager and the ladies honor his literary reputation, but I am afraid that his majesty’s heart will be very uncomfortable. It turned out that there were no great writers in Qing, so he, the literary copyist, was innocently pushed into the ring.

Fan Xian knew that he hadn’t misjudged His Majesty’s meaning, because from a long distance away, his strong eyesight was still able to see clearly that His Majesty’s eyes were gradually narrowing, and there was a hint of admiration in his gaze.

This admiration, Bai Ran was admiring Lord Fan for his deep understanding of my heart, but at the same time, it was also a warning to compose a good poem, so as not to lose the face of the Qing Kingdom in front of Zhuang Mo Han.

“Not if you make a poem, let Mr. Zhuang Mo Han taste some, if not good, but to be punished.” The Empress said with a smile, she was also clear about the thoughts of the man beside her, and laid out a backhand in advance.

The matter had come to this, what else could be done? Fan Xian returned to the table, ignoring the fact that he was already drunk, he poured another cup, letting the slightly sour wine syrup sip and savor it in his mouth, his brows furrowed.

All the ministers knew that Mr. Fan was in a hurry, so they secretly counted for him. About the time he counted to fifteen, Fan Xian’s eyes showed a clear light, his face was full of smiles, and his lips slightly opened, chanting: “Singing to the wine, what is the geometry of life? It’s like the morning dew, the days are long and bitter. I’m so proud of you, I’m so proud of you. But for the sake of the gentleman, I have sung to this day. I have a guest, drumming and blowing the sheng. The moon is as bright as the moon, when can I get it? I’ve been talking about the feast, and I’m thinking of the old favor. The moon and the stars are thinning, the magpies are flying south, three turns around the tree, what branch can I rely on? The mountains are not tired of heights, the sea is not tired of depths. The Duke of Zhou spits, and the world returns to him.”

Just as Fan Xian throws poems to hit people every time, this poem came out, and the whole hall was quiet.

This is the great work of Cao Gong back then, Fan Xian deleted a few lines and threw it out, and on this hall, the world returns to the heart just fits His Majesty’s heart, and the most wonderful thing is that the Duke of Zhou spits out the breasts of a canon, which actually exists in this world, and this Duke of Zhou is not the disciple of the emperor, but actually did the emperor, so Fan Xian dared to write it out in a dignified manner.

It was only after a long time that the ministers in the grand palace sang in unison, “Good poem!”

His Majesty the Emperor, with a satisfied look on his face, turned his head to look at Zhuang Mohan and said softly, “I wonder what Mr. Zhuang thinks of this poem.”

Zhuang Mo Han face unchanged, his life I do not know how many times he has experienced this kind of scene, I do not know how many times to assess the poetry, the reason why he can get the world of the people’s respect, and even your highness, these Qing officials, there are many are reading his articles into the civil service, based on his virtue and his vision, of course, the most important thing is that his own macro-learning.

“Good poem,” said Zhuang Mo Han softly, lifting the chopsticks to hold a peanut rice to eat, “really good poem, although the intention is interrupted, but strong in its quality, the poem, the intention is the first, the quality of the importance of the poem, Mr. Fan’s poem intention is enough to quality, is indeed a good poem. I can’t imagine that Nanqing can produce talented people nowadays.”

Fan Xian smiled slightly, he did not have any special feelings for this literary great, he just did not like the other party’s style, after a shallow salute, he headed back to his own seat, only his feet stumbled a bit.

The court officials were still whispering about Lord Little Fan’s earlier verses. If generally speaking, the literary affairs would be considered as nothing more than this, but today the atmosphere between the halls seems to be a bit strange, and one person coldly said:

“Mr. Zhuang’s earlier remarks about Nanqing were a bit inappropriate, Mr. Zhang’s writings are well known to the world. In this poetry, but do not see the level of Fan Gongzi high, why presumptuous comments. This dynasty many scribes, Fan Gongzi belongs to the best, not to mention today’s fifteen number of poems, alone mention that the sad autumn often as a guest, I really do not know, this Northern Qi domestic, and which talent can be written?”

This was a very inappropriate thing to say, especially in the midst of a national feast, it seemed exceptionally rude. The Emperor of Qing did not expect that an unusual literary matter would go this far, and a frown gradually creased between His Majesty’s eye brows, wondering which minister was being so rude, but this person was, after all, doing injustice to this dynasty, and yet he could not be brought down for a crime.

Fan Xian stopped his steps to return to the table and slightly apologized, bowing to Zhuang Mo Han to show that he did not mean to be disrespectful. Zhuang Mo Han coughed twice, and with some difficulty stood up with the assistance of the little eunuch the empress dowager had pointed out to him, and looked calmly at Fan Xian, “The fame of Mr. Fan’s poems has long been spread to the capital of Da Qi, and that song of the 10,000 miles of sadness of the autumn often as a guest is something that old me does recite from time to time.”

Fan Xian suddenly saw a hint of pity in the eyes of this literary master, a hint of determination to cut off his back. Fan Xian suddenly felt a great stirring in his heart, sensing that some kind of danger that he had not been aware of was slowly approaching him. He was getting tipsy, but he still turned around violently, and found the face that provoked the war behind the banquet table on the temple.

Guo Baokun.

By their own punch Guo Baokun, the Prince of the near people Guo Baokun, the palace compiler Guo Baokun, today also qualified to sit on the table. But it is clear that his this talk, beforehand the prince did not know. So the crown prince and Fan Xian alike, all narrowed their eyes and looked at Guo Baokun’s face that had a hidden smugness, not knowing exactly what he was trying to do.

Fan Xian sensed the danger and smiled faintly.

At this time, he heard Zhuang Mo Han cough twice more and said softly after bowing to His Majesty, “Old me belongs to Da Qi, but my heart is in the world’s words, and I did not want to hurt the friendship between the two countries, but there are some things that I have to say.”

His Majesty’s face also gradually calmed down and calmly said, “There is no harm for Mr. Zhuang to speak.”

While His Majesty was speaking, the Empress also raised her wine glass, opened her mouth to speak, and then retracted.

“The wind and the sky are high and the apes are wailing, the islet is clear and the sand is white and the birds are flying back. Boundless fallen trees under the Xiao Xiao, endless big river rolling. Miles of sadness in the fall often as a guest, a hundred years of sickness alone on the stage. Tough and bitter hatred of frosty temples, scribbling new stop turbid wine cup.”

It was incredibly quiet above the palace, not knowing what kind of amazing words this famous literary master would say.

“The first four lines of this poem are excellent.”