Zhu Houzhao stayed outside the palace for two days, and on the night of the Lantern Festival, he still stayed in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion.

On the morning of the third day, Zhu Houzhao, who had just fallen asleep for less than two hours, woke up in the noise. When she heard the hypocritical response when she was sending her kind-hearted guest outside, she couldn't help but get tired of this kind of life wearing a mask and felt that she was not at all freehand.

When he was tired of playing, he subconsciously wanted to find a safe haven. Zhu Houzhao did not turn back to the palace, but dragged his exhausted body to the leopard room.

First let Concubine Hua enter the inner courtyard, Zhu Houzhao went to the main hall himself... He was not here for two days, so he wanted to find someone to ask what program he had prepared so that he would continue to eat, drink and have fun in the evening.

Zhu Houzhao entered and saw Zhang Yuan standing there, holding his hands, frowning, and sighing, as if there was something important.

"His Majesty."

Zhang Yuan was sitting and standing still. When he saw Zhu Houzhao, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but frown: "Zhang Yuan, what are you doing here? Do I allow you to come?"

Zhang Yuan replied in a crying voice: "Your Majesty, you said you would give a banquet in the palace on the day of the Lantern Festival. The time has come but you can't find anyone everywhere. I have been waiting here, hoping that Your Majesty can appear in time... When I leave the palace, those ministers were waiting in the palace..."

"ah!?"

Zhu Houzhao was originally confused, but when she heard this, she couldn't help but feel excited. She then took a smacking shot at her forehead and said in annoyance, "Oh, I actually forgot about this. Are those ministers still in the palace?"

Zhang Yuan said: "I heard that at midnight last night, the ministers left the palace one after another... I heard that they waited for His Majesty in the palace for more than three hours."

"Oh, this...this..."

Zhu Houzhao was blushing and ashamed, and didn't know what to say for a moment. Finally, he looked at Zhang Yuan and said, "Why didn't you come to inform me earlier?"

Zhang Yuan suddenly realized that he had been vented for no reason and stammered: "Your Majesty... You have never been here... I don't know your whereabouts..."

"ah?"

Zhu Houzhao thought about it carefully and found that the matter really had nothing to do with Zhang Yuan. After all, he had not returned to the leopard room for two days, let alone the palace. He said with some annoyance: "It's true, I've actually gone out for two days... Today is the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, right?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

When Zhang Yuan heard that Zhu Houzhao did not continue to complain about him, he felt relieved and answered cautiously.

Zhu Houzhao seemed very upset. After sitting down, she sighed there: "Why did I forget it? It's so unreasonable... Go, call Liu Jin to me, I have something to ask him."

"Yes, your Majesty!"

Zhang Yuan originally came to the Leopard Room to show his loyalty and solid work. Now when he sees the emperor, as long as Zhu Houzhao is not furious, he will make progress. After all, Zhu Houzhao has alienated him because of Mrs. Zhong's disappearance.

Half an hour after Zhang Yuan went out, he brought Liu Jin to see the carriage. When Liu Jin saw Zhu Houzhao, he knelt down habitually and said loudly: "I will meet your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao was about to scold him on the spot, but then he thought that he would seem to be very rude, and he couldn't think of any connection with Liu Jin, and thought to himself: "It seems that Concubine Hua said she wanted to go to the people to appreciate the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, but... the matter has nothing to do with Concubine Hua. She just said that she would go out on the 14th day of the first lunar month and came back that night. Who would have thought that she had been confused outside the palace for two days, but she didn't remember that there was still a banquet in the palace!"

"Liu Jin."

Zhu Houzhao shouted with a stern face, "I'm here to ask you, what happened to the banquet in the palace yesterday? I heard that those ministers all returned in disgrace in the end?"

Liu Jin replied with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, you have not shown up yesterday. The old slave sent people to search for him many times, but he had not found his Majesty's traces. He could only wait for His Majesty to come back. In the middle of the night, those ministers did not think about the emperor's kindness, and actually left the palace by his own leadership by Master Xie and Master Wang..."

Liu Jin spared no effort to crack down on Xie Qian's position in Zhu Houzhao's heart.

Just like Xie Qian targeted Liu Jin everywhere, they were political enemies, and there was no doubt that Liu Jin said was so far-fetched that Zhu Houzhao would not accept it at all. He immediately said annoyed: "Fart, I haven't come back. Do you want those ministers to spend the night in the palace? It's cold and cold, what should I do if I get sick from the cold? What if I don't think about the emperor's kindness? It's just a fart... Alas, I did something wrong this time!"

"Your Majesty, you are right." Liu Jin laughed secretly.

Although the attack on Xie Qian and Wang Yang was not successful, since Zhu Houzhao took the initiative to take responsibility, it means that this incident made him successfully escape, and a rift arises between the ministers and Zhu Houzhao... Zhu Houzhao is so proud of his face, it is impossible for him to see those court officials again in a short time to avoid embarrassment, so that he can continue to cover the sky with one hand.

Zhu Houzhao said: "Liu Jin, do you know your guilt?"

This sentence without any reason made Liu Jin not react for a moment. He stared at him and said in surprise: "Your Majesty, I... what's the crime... Yes, I'm guilty, please punish him." Liu Jin wanted to ask himself what was wrong, but suddenly remembered that the emperor didn't like his subordinates to shirking responsibility, so he said halfway, and turned from refuting to taking the initiative to take responsibility.

Zhu Houzhao said: "You are indeed guilty. Since I asked you to help me plan a banquet and knowing that I am not here, of course, I have to let those ministers return with full meals and satisfaction. You should let them wait for me for more than three hours in vain. In this way, those ministers must think that I am absurd and forget such an important thing?"

"I am guilty, I am guilty, Your Majesty... Wow, it's because I am not careful about it... I am just a slave and dare not break the rules casually. I did not think about your Majesty carefully yesterday, which made Your Majesty embarrassed. Your Majesty, please give me a death to me." Liu Jin cried and apologized for himself.

When Zhang Yuan saw this scene, he was stunned... He was not the kind of person who was willing to take the blame. When Zhu Houzhao questioned him, he always made excuses.

Now that he finally saw Liu Jin's cleverness, Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "Liu Zhe was so disregarding the facts when he spoke. According to Dai Yi, it was clearly that Liu Zhe deliberately asked those ministers to wait outside Fengtian Hall. Even if His Majesty went out, it might be that he was planning behind the scenes... No, I have to expose him."

Just as Zhang Yuan was about to speak, Zhu Houzhao waved his hand impatiently: "Forget it, even if you are guilty, you will not be punished to death. I will punish you for one month's salary!"

Zhang Yuan forced himself to put the conversation back. He finally realized what it means to be scheming and lamented in his heart: "No wonder Liu Jin can get the trust of His Majesty. He has always pretended to be pitiful. In the future, I have to learn a little. If I have the chance, I will cry in front of His Majesty, so that His Majesty can understand my loyalty."

Zhu Houzhao was very angry, but because of this matter, he was mainly responsible for himself. He didn't know who to take his anger out of it, and felt very uncomfortable. After a while, Zhu Houzhao glared at Zhang Yuan and said:

"Eunuch Zhang, go and pass on my words and let the imperial kitchen send some meals to each of the ministers who came to the palace to the banquet yesterday, just as I have made compensation."

"Your Majesty, you don't have to do this... Woo woo, your Majesty, you work hard for the country. Even if you have some mistakes occasionally, those ministers will not take them to heart."

Zhang Yuan began to learn from Liu Jin, and knelt down and said in a crying voice.

Zhu Houzhao was furious: "Don't let your mother's stinky farts, what's not your turn to do to give me some advice, go quickly!"

...

...

Zhu Houzhao issued an order to give a banquet but put out all the civil and military pigeons in the court. No matter how he compensated him, he could not get the minister's understanding.

However, whether the ministers forgive him or not is irrelevant to Zhu Houzhao, because he will not meet the ministers at all. People who originally hated him are still grudged, while those who want to flatter him still flatter him in every way, but more people realize how unreliable the emperor is today.

Chen Xi was waiting at home to "give food" in the palace. Although he was one day late, he knew that Emperor Zhengde Zhu Houzhao was obviously regretful at this moment.

Chen Xi looked at the table full of dishes and sighed: "If I had known this, why would you have to be like this? I would not return outside the palace for two days and two nights for food, drink and fun. Fortunately, you have no brothers and sisters or someone who competes for the throne with you. Otherwise, leaving the palace like this is no different from seeking death... Emperor Hongzhi only has you, you, and you have no descendants now, so you can only let you do something absurdly and not express anything."

Chen Xi did not intend to enjoy the food given in the palace. After all, eating vegetables overnight is not good for the health, but the Shen family is full of curiosity about "Imperial Food".

No matter what comes out of the palace, it is a symbol of glory. Xie Yuner smiled: "My husband, these dishes are so exquisite and rich, are they used to worship their ancestors?"

Chen Xi shook his head: "Sacrifice to ancestors? There is really no need... If the family members want to taste it, just call people together and have a meal together! Anyway, I have no appetite."

Chen Xi himself did not plan to eat it, but he did not stop his family from eating it. In this era when imperial power was supreme, even if the emperor's food was as light as water, the people would eat it far better than the world's delicious food.

Xie Yuner nodded and immediately made arrangements. In addition to leaving some for her family, she also sent some for Shen Mingjun and Xie Bolian and his wife, which meant that the emperor's grace was so great that the rain and dew were all affected.

Giving food in the palace may not be anything to Chen Xi, but for ordinary people, it is simply a symbol of identity and status... The emperor rewarded it, and ordinary people may never have the chance to taste it in their lifetime, which is enough for them to brag about for several years!

After Xie Yuner made everything ready, she returned to the study. Chen Xi was reading a book at this time.

"My husband, aren't you going to work as a servant in the Ministry of War today?"

Seeing that Chen Xi was depressed, Xie Yuner asked with concern.

Chen Xi shook his head slightly: "No need, just go to the yamen in the afternoon to see if there is anything wrong... At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of War did not have much official duties, so I, the Minister of State, don't need to do it myself."

Xie Yuner said, "Why don't my husband go out for a meal?"

"No need!"

Chen Xi sighed, "I gave a banquet yesterday, but was left in the palace by His Majesty for half a night. The ministers waited until midnight to go home. The food was given a little late and no one had the appetite to enjoy."

"oh."

Xie Yuner seemed to understand Chen Xi's pain and empathized with it. "Although the affairs of the court are not as complicated as what I think, they are not simple. If you get involved, you can easily be influenced by emotions."

Chen Xi couldn't help but nodded: "That's natural. Whether it's court or family matters, it's impossible to get along with people, communicate with each other, and say it's not mixed with personal feelings. You don't know that many ministers had the intention to withdraw last night, and I don't know how many people submitted their resignation today."

Xie Yuner blinked: "Don't my husband want to leave the court, too, right?"

Chen Xi laughed silently and shook his head and said, "How many years have I been in the court? I am afraid no one will believe me when I say retirement and return home... I am the one who is the least likely to retreat in the court. These troubles must be borne by someone. But don't worry, even if the court has many troubles, I can still think about it. Since you are in the career of officialdom, you must be mentally prepared!"

...

...

Because of the unpleasantness caused by the emperor's banquet, the past passed.

The court quickly got on track, and this incident ended with Liu Jin's complete victory.

After this incident, Xie Qian did not resign, but many old ministers in the court submitted their resignation, among which the resignation of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Wang Yang and the Imperial College Priest Xie Duo were the most important. A few days after the two submitted their resignation, Liu Ji, the Minister of Revenue, also submitted his resignation.

Perhaps Liu Jin realized that this was a way for civil officials to put pressure on Zhu Houzhao, so he simply asked Liu Ji to test Zhu Houzhao's bottom line by resigning.

After Liu Ji submitted his resignation, Liu Jin came to the Ganqing Palace and informed Zhu Houzhao of the matter.

Zhu Houzhao had just woken up and was about to go back to the Leopard Room to take Hua Fei to the market for a trip. Liu Jin delayed his trip and was immediately furious.

"...At one time, more than a dozen ministers begged for the return of their homeland? How could this happen?" Zhu Houzhao was very angry, as if the ministers had done something that was sorry for him.

Liu Jin seemed very embarrassed: "Your Majesty, it's probably because you were on the Lantern Festival..."

Halfway through, Liu Jin stopped. His purpose was to remind Zhu Houzhao to click until it was time.

Zhu Houzhao's face was dark: "These people like to make trouble for me. Now even the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet has resigned. Should I keep it or let it go?"

This question seems to be asking Liu Jin, but in fact, Zhu Houzhao is talking to himself because he is analyzing the pros and cons.

Liu Jin took the opportunity to make a suggestion: "Your Majesty, some ministers are indeed old and in good health. For example, the Imperial College Superintendent Xie Jiji, it is time to return home to celebrate his old age. As for some ministers... if you really want to leave, why should your Majesty force him?"

Zhu Houzhao narrowed her eyes, looked at Liu Jin for a while, and then asked, "Explain it clearly, who should stay and who should not?"

This time, Liu Jin was stopped. He wanted Zhu Houzhao to think about it himself, but he never thought that Zhu Houzhao would return the question to him, making him unable to answer.

No matter who goes and who stays, it will make Zhu Houzhao suspicious.

Finally, he had to move out Liu Ji from his own faction. Liu Jin said: "Liu Ji, the Minister of Revenue, is mediocre in his post, so why not let him leave the court and change others to sit in his seat?"

"Hmm? You said Liu Ji?" Zhu Houzhao thought about it carefully before remembering who Liu Ji was. She shook her head and said, "It's not suitable, it's not suitable."

Zhu Houzhao said it was not that he remembered how capable Liu Ji was, but that he really couldn't remember what Liu Ji had done, nor did he think that Liu Ji's retreat from the court was the right choice.
To be continued...