Chapter 723: Celebration Banquet

The celebration banquet was not considered grand, one reason was that the Empress Dowager had just arrived this year and was still in mourning.

The second reason is that the emperor's health has not been very good these days, so he ordered the inner government to keep the banquet simple.

Since it is a celebration banquet, all relatives and ministers will naturally be present, and everyone above the fifth rank must attend, but they will not bring their family members.

The celebration banquet is different from other banquets. It is only for commending meritorious ministers and celebrating the victory of the Great Week.

After Prince An and Xiao Xiao returned to the court, they immediately entered the palace to meet the emperor. The emperor was delighted, leaving the two of them talking for a while.

Around You hour, before the sky darkened, the Longevity Hall where the celebration banquet was set up was brightly lit. Since Zian managed the harem before Zian and cut expenses, the palace had been frugal for a while, but since Hu Huanling became the empress, he was sealed again. After the concubine became the empress dowager, the style of luxury began to prevail again.

Indeed, Hu Huanling also had a lot of dowries. She chose some of these dowries to keep by her side, and gave the rest to the emperor.

Hu Huanling is understanding, virtuous and generous, and most importantly, generous.

The Hu family has a lot of money and is the richest in the world, there is nothing wrong with that.

The money she gave as a dowry made the Emperor Longyan very happy for three days.

Because of his good mood, the emperor was extra merciful today, pardoned King Nanhuai, and allowed him to enter the palace to attend the banquet.

King Nanhuai has been reduced to a laughingstock. He once created pressure on the capital, just like before a summer rainstorm, thunder and lightning, strong winds, and finally, not a single drop of rain fell.

Some vulgar people even described him as full of anger in his stomach. In the end, he only let out a fart and didn't make a sound.

Moreover, his fiancée, Sun Fang'er, became a noble concubine in the end. King Nanhuai was green from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. When talking about him, everyone covered their mouths and smiled.

He came very early tonight, wearing a python robe made by a prince, he has lost a lot of weight, his expression is shrinking, he is not generous when he sees people, he just dodges blindly, looking very pitiful.

People are so strange sometimes, if a person's arrogance is high, many people will not like it, but a high-ranking person suddenly falls into the mud, as humble as a bereaved dog, and sympathy will arise spontaneously.

Perhaps, it's not sympathy, but I just want to show my hypocrisy and benevolence.

Many ministers actually went over to greet him and say a few words of relief.

King Nanhuai showed a very grateful attitude, bowing again and again, without the air of a royal prince at all.

When Murong Jie came, King Nanhuai was talking to the Minister of the Household Department. King Nanhuai lowered his head and listened intently, nodding his head sometimes and smiling humblely at other times.

On the other hand, the servant of the household department was arrogant and proud, with a benevolent attitude, and then he even patted King Nanhuai on the shoulder, with the arrogance of a high-ranking person teaching a low-ranking person.

Murong Jie pretended not to be seen, and was surrounded by everyone.

As soon as he came in, there was no one around King Nanhuai immediately, they all stepped forward and said some congratulatory words to Murong Jie.

Murong Jie had a dark face all the time, which was in line with his usual image, and everyone was used to it. If he suddenly talked and laughed with everyone in a good mood, everyone would be afraid.

King Nanhuai hesitated for a moment, and also stepped forward to salute.

"Seventh brother!" He bowed his hands humbly, his back was slightly bent, Murong Jie looked at him from a close distance, and found that the hair on his temples was slightly frosted.

He is only twenty years old this year.

"En!" Murong Jie made a voice from his nasal cavity, and some voices from his throat also made noises, and he tried his best to suppress it.

He was never a humble and respectful person.

Even if it is on the surface, it is not in the bones.

At the celebration banquet, not many concubines attended, the emperor only brought the empress Hu Huanling, Concubine Yi and Sun Fanger.

Sun Fang'er was dressed very plainly today, a stone blue dark moiré satin palace skirt without any embroidery, walking against the wind, it made people feel thin and her face was extremely pale.

She didn't look sideways, followed behind Hu Huanling, and walking side by side with her was Concubine Yi. Concubine Yi was wearing a crimson satin pleated skirt today, embroidered with exquisite peonies, combed into a bun, and her temples were lazy, saying Out of style.

Hu Huanling is dressed in formal attire, wearing a queen-style court dress that is well-regulated, embroidered with exquisite flying phoenix embroidery, an oval face with light makeup, dignified eyebrows, and a queen-made crown on her head. She is indescribably graceful and luxurious. Merchant background?

The emperor was wearing a bright yellow uniform, his movements were a little slow, and his complexion was worse than the previous few days, but because he was in a good mood, there was a smile on his brows, so he looked energetic.

Following behind the emperor were General Xiao Xiao and Prince An.

Both of them have not changed their silver armor, they are dusty, their faces have been washed, but the vicissitudes of life cannot be concealed.

There were some scars on Prince An's face, which had already healed, leaving only faint traces, but it was a little different from the Wenxiu Qingjun of the past, appearing wild and domineering.

Xiao Xiao is still calm and introverted, but because the fighting spirit has not dissipated, it always makes people feel fierce.

When the two of them entered the capital, the emperor immediately issued a decree to allow them to enter the palace and not allow them to meet anyone in private, even the mansion never returned.

Now when they saw Murong Jie, they only nodded slightly.

All the officials kowtowed and shouted long live three times, and the atmosphere was once lively.

The emperor smiled and invited everyone to the table, and toasted the heroes.

After Xianbei was pacified, the war in Beimo could be regarded as a temporary truce. The emperor really relaxed a lot, and felt that what he had done before was a bit biased.

Therefore, after drinking for three rounds, he took Murong Jie's hand and said to the officials with a look of relief: "When the late emperor was around, he praised Lao Qi very much, saying that he is smart and generous, with a virtuous heart, and he is one of the great generals. Talented, he can become my right-hand man in the future, and now, Lao Qi really lived up to the expectations of the late emperor, and made great contributions to the court and the Great Zhou."

Some of the old courtiers present, and even the older generation of the royal family, such as the King of Yuedong and others, knew that the late emperor had indeed favored Murong Jie, and, at one point, they were moved to make Murong Jie the crown prince.

Of course, Murong Jie was neither the eldest son nor the eldest son, and there was no precedent for him to be established. In addition, the prince at that time and the current emperor are also very good, so the late emperor did not insist.

The emperor was excited and said: "One day I will never doubt the regent, nor will I withdraw the position of regent. He will rule the country of the Great Zhou together with me."

When Murong Jie heard this, his face was respectful, but his eyes were slightly cold.

What is the purpose of praising him so high? Is it possible to work together to govern the country of the Great Zhou without withdrawing the regent?

King Nanhuai has been silent tonight. He drank while drinking, and when the emperor spoke, he listened quietly, like an invisible person.

The emperor's emotions became more and more high, and when he was about to pass on the dancer girl, he heard panic and noise from outside, and could vaguely hear the third prince shouting: "Xia Lin is dead, Xia Lin is dead."

The emperor stood up abruptly, his expression changed drastically.

Everyone looked over and saw that the third prince was already limp on the ground, his face was pale, and he was yelling indiscriminately, "It's terrible, I went to visit him, and after he said a few words, he suddenly vomited blood and died..."

The servant beside him covered his mouth vigorously, trying to drag him away.

However, the third prince seemed to be frightened, struggling desperately, crying and shouting.

Eunuch Lu, who was beside the emperor, hurried over and said angrily, "Why don't you take the third prince back quickly? Do you want the head?"