Just as Shen Xi was enjoying the blessings of the people of Qi, the banquet in the leopard room was not over yet.

The banquet that should have been very lively was much more beautiful because no one had arrived. This key figure was Chen Xi. In addition to him, the officials from the six ministries and five temples, Shuntian Prefecture, Hanlin Academy, and Imperial College were all here. Even so, the atmosphere of the banquet had not yet been mobilized.

"...Yu Qiao, you said that Zhihou's illness has recovered, why didn't he come to the leopard room? Could it be that he was deliberately hiding something?" He Jian, the person who was on the same seat with Xie Qian, had met today and spoke much casually. He Jian noticed that Zhu Houzhao was a little depressed and came to Xie Qian and spoke quietly.

Xie Qian was displeased and said with a dark face: "He was a civil servant, but he wouldn't come if he didn't come. No one begged him to come to the Leopard Room. Since Your Majesty has not asked, what should you pursue?"

When Xie Qian looked at each other coldly, He Jian shook his head and smiled bitterly, not intending to argue with Xie Qian. In his opinion, Xie Qian cared too much about face that many important things were ignored.

On the stage, Zhu Houzhao suddenly stood up and left. Before the ministers could kneel down, their backs had disappeared behind the moon gate.

The ministers looked at each other and didn't know what to do. Xiao Tiaozi appeared and stood on the platform and said, "Your Majesty is unable to drink, so go back and rest first. Please continue to enjoy the wine and food... Your Majesty said, "Your Majesty has enough wine and food today, and you won't be drunk!"

After saying that, Xiao Tiaozi came to Xie Qian and lowered his voice: "George Xie, Your Majesty asks you to come forward to entertain all the sirs... After the banquet is dispersed, you can leave by yourself. The Imperial Guard outside will escort you out of the leopard room."

Xie Qian's face was not very good-looking and asked, "Where is Eunuch Zhang, Zhang?"

Xiao Taozi was stunned at first, then shook his head: "Reply to Mr. Xie, the young man had never seen Eunuch Zhang before. He should have handled some things in the palace and didn't come to the banquet... The young man took his leave."

After saying that, Xiao Guozi said goodbye and left, Xie Qian stood there a little confused.

He Jian asked: "Yu Qiao, what are you doing to Eunuch Zhang? Is there anything to discuss?"

Xie Qian sighed and said, "I always feel that Shen Zhihou has not come to the banquet. There is something hidden behind it. If Eunuch Zhang is there, maybe I can ask a few questions. Since you haven't come to the Leopard Room, Your Majesty will leave the table early. Even if you want to ask, no one can answer it."

Just as Xie Qian was talking to He Jian, a few people came from a distance, holding wine glasses in their hands, as if they were coming to toast.

Except for Xie Qian and He Jian who care about whether Chen Xi comes or not, others will not be confused at all. Taking advantage of the emperor's retreat, many people took the opportunity to come to greet Xie Qian and get to know each other. After all, they were busy meeting guests at the mansion that day and rarely had time to go out for social events.

Although Xie Qian was full of doubts, he still stood up to accept the toasts from people.

Yang Yiqing, Li Jue, Zhang Zilin and others all surrounded him. Even Bai Yue, the Minister of Rites who had been recuperating before, came to toast Xie Qian. However, because Bai Yue was in poor health, he could not drink alcohol, so he could only use tea instead of wine.

Xie Qian said: "You have a rare time to reunite with your family. Today is the Spring Festival. Let's go out after drinking..."

Everyone knew that the informal place for guests in the Leopard Room was originally just for the sake of meeting the saint. Now that the emperor has left, civil officials who always pay attention to etiquette should not stay for a long time. So at the call of Xie Qian, everyone toasted and hurried back to greet the people from the various yamen and prepared to leave.

Xie Qian also turned around and said to He Jian: "It's not too early, so it's time for us to leave. If you don't hurry back home, go and ask what happened in the city today."

...

...

The banquet was given to the leopard room, not only civil officials, but also military generals.

Most of these military generals were nobles. They were hereditary titles and were used to being generous in the Governor's Office of the Five Army. Both Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were there, but they were neglected during the meal. In the past, they were the center of the banquet, and others would toast and greet, but this time no one was willing to pay attention to them.

The status of British Duke Zhang Mao was thus highlighted.

The Zhang brothers felt uncomfortable watching Zhang Mao and his father-in-law Xia Ru being surrounded and toasted.

Zhang Yanling said: "Brother, everyone would come to toast before, but now we two brothers are like plague gods. I am afraid of avoiding it... It seems that we shouldn't have attended the banquet today, it is obvious that we are here to embarrass people!"

Zhang Heling took a sip of wine and said angrily in such a noisy environment under the stage: "Just take care of yourself, what should you do with your stupid things? If you really have the ability, how would you care about others' attitude towards you for a while?"

"Brother, you are so open-minded. Our brothers are not short of their age in the court. Why can Old Man Zhang last forever? But our brothers are so neglected? Did Old Man Zhang never do anything illegal or disorderly? When Liu Jin was in power, he exposed his invasion of civil land. What is the difference between us?" Zhang Yanling was unwilling to say.

Zhang Heling smiled coldly: "You also said that it was when Liu Jin was still there, but now Liu Jin has been wiped out long ago. Who would mention this? Besides, whether the matter is true or false is up to the question. Perhaps it is an excuse for Liu Jin to find an excuse to suppress the nobles of the Governor's Office of the Five Army."

Zhang Yanling looked at the excitement of other tables and gritted his teeth.

At this moment, Xia Ru, the father-in-law, suddenly stood up and walked over, which made Zhang Yanling a little puzzled. Xia Ru walked straight to the two of them, holding a glass of wine in his hand, looking very polite: "I have never toasted the two marquises before, so I came here to toast a glass of wine."

Except for Xia Ru, Zhang Mao and others did not come together. At this moment, a group of nobles in charge of the army were talking and laughing, and they didn't notice what was happening here at all.

Zhang Heling seemed very graceful and stood up and responded: "The father-in-law is polite, please."

Then Xia Ru looked at Zhang Yanling. He came over with kindness and wanted to reach a reconciliation with Zhang's relatives, but in Zhang Yanling's eyes, this move came to provoke him and said with a dark face: "I am not worthy of drinking and am ready to go home. You don't have to be too sentimental!"

He refused to eat toast and even spoke ill of each other. Xia Ru did not expect that his kindness would be rolled so much.

Zhang Heling said: "Forgive me, my father-in-law, he really drank too much, let's drink this cup together." After that, Zhang Heling accompanied Xia Ru to drink together.

Xia Ru realized that he was not popular and apologized and left.

After Xia Ru left, Zhang Heling sat down and complained: "Even if you are dissatisfied, you should have the etiquette. He was the father-in-law of the current dynasty, and he came to toast you and my brothers."

"What kind of father-in-law? Is his daughter favored by the emperor now?"

Zhang Yanling's tone was not kind, "The emperor disdained him and thought that he was a dignified father-in-law. He is still a little man who works according to people's faces and is still complacent about it. He is not even as good as those eunuchs in the palace... This time he came here, it was clearly here to ridicule us. Brother, you give him face to drink with him."

Zhang Heling said: "I will talk less about this, especially in this kind of occasion."

After saying that, Zhang Heling looked around and found that some eunuchs were looking at him with bad eyes.

...

...

While Zhu Houzhao arranged for the banquet, he did arrange for many eyeliners to spy on the reaction of civil and military officials present.

He deliberately withdrew from the seat, hoping to give these people a space to "play freely". Others left, but there were quite a few eunuchs and palace maids who stayed to serve. These people were all eyeliners, telling him what they heard and saw, so that he could know how the people in the court reacted to him.

Xie Qian realized that Zhu Houzhao should leave immediately after he left, but others may not have such a perception.

Especially the generals, these people would not have such a mind. They thought that Zhu Houzhao would be unscrupulous after leaving, so they began to act recklessly.

Zhu Houzhao didn't drink too much. After drinking a few glasses of water and wine, she couldn't even be slightly drunk.

When he entered the backyard, he immediately summoned Concubine Li, who is now the most favored in front of him.

"... I've been waiting for a long time. I've been to meet those ministers. Are you here to reunite with you right away?" Zhu Houzhao came to Concubine Li with a smile on her face.

Concubine Li was a little resentful: "Your Majesty is the lord of a country, so you should naturally put national affairs first. I am not qualified to care about where Your Majesty is going... Even if Your Majesty doesn't come today, I will not blame you."

Zhu Houzhao said: "What is my beloved saying? I will naturally not regret what I promised. Let's go inside and talk. My beloved can prepare a program for me..."

The reason why Zhu Houzhao favors Concubine Li is because Concubine Li has Qian Ning helps, and she can always bring out some novel and interesting things to attract Zhu Houzhao's attention in the leopard room.

Concubine Li comes from the folk, has rich knowledge and past experiences. In addition, her extraordinary conversation always brings Zhu Houzhao a novelty that is completely different from other beauties in the harem.

This time, what Concubine Li prepared was something that Zhu Houzhao had long hoped for.

"...Your Majesty, these little things are easy to find. There are not many of these things in the people, and we cannot say that they are very interesting. We mainly want to ask your Majesty to play with and appreciate them..."

Originally, what Zhu Houzhao was looking forward to most was folk women, but after contacting all kinds of women every day, Zhu Houzhao was naturally a little tired and hoped to get something new.

This time, Concubine Li found a gadget carved by folk craftsmen. Every piece in front of her was very delicate. Zhu Houzhao looked at it carefully, and even came to her eyes to study it carefully.

Concubine Li didn't know if Zhu Houzhao liked it, so she stood by and watched.

After a long time, Zhu Houzhao said: "These things are really interesting, and they make me think of some things."

"What did Your Majesty remember?" Concubine Li asked with a wink.

Zhu Houzhao said: "My husband, namely, Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of War, made many sand tables to demonstrate the attack and defense of the army, and even the mountains and hills could be clearly expressed. At that time, I was still thinking that if I could join more villains, it would be more lifelike. Today I didn't expect to see such exquisite objects... Who carved them? I went back to find him and asked him to carve some villains for me... This is not for play, but for demonstrating changes in the battlefield situation. If it is a marching and fighting, this thing is very useful."

Concubine Li couldn't believe her ears. She originally just found a wood carving to satisfy Zhu Houzhao's curiosity, but Zhu Houzhao thought of military uses.

Concubine Li thought to herself: "It seems that he cannot be simply regarded as a ignorant monarch who ignores the government and only knows how to eat, drink and have fun. The young emperor in front of him also has ambitions and ambitions. He may not be able to become a wise lord who has left his name in history."

Zhu Houzhao only drank a few glasses of wine symbolically at the banquet. When he arrived at Concubine Li, he started the second half of the banquet.

The banquet arranged by Concubine Li this time was more lively than the banquet. Here, the people served tea and water, poured wine and danced the piano and flute, and there were countless women. These women were not wearing palace clothes, and they were not even gorgeous clothes. They looked very simple, which made Zhu Houzhao feel very novel.

After drinking and watching several performances, Zhu Houzhao pulled several dancers to become frivolous.

Just as Zhu Houzhao was about to have a feast, an eunuch came in and reported that Zhang Yuan was here.

"Zhang Yuan is really ignorant. If you have anything to do, you can't wait until tomorrow?" Zhu Houzhao was very angry, but was also curious about Zhang Yuan's visit late at night.

He thought to himself: "Zhang Yuan knew that if he came in an inappropriate way, he would be scolded by me. He had asked me for a woman before, and I was very dissatisfied with him. Could it be that he had found a suitable woman this time?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "My beloved concubine, you wait here first. I have met Eunuch Zhang in the past to see what happened to him. This late night visit is probably an important matter."

Concubine Li did not doubt that he was there and stood up to see him off.

Zhu Hou shone out of the door, walked through the corridor, walked through two houses and arrived at a side courtyard. When Zhang Yuan entered it, he had been waiting for a long time.

"I'll see your Majesty."

When Zhang Yuan saw Zhu Houzhao, he quickly knelt down and saluted.

Zhu Houzhao was a little impatient: "Zhang Yuan, I have agreed to you. If your affairs are not that important and I feel dissatisfied, let me see how I deal with you! Tell me, what's the matter!"

Zhang Yuan did not stand up and knelt there and said respectfully: "Reply to Your Majesty's words, I sent someone to meet the envoys from North Korea. In order to get His Majesty's recognition, they specially gave him a generous gift."

"North Korean envoy? What the hell?"

Zhu Houzhao frowned. He was not familiar with the Korean envoy at all. He only knew that North Korea was a vassal state in the northeast of the Ming Dynasty. Chengzu once gave the king a title.

Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, I heard that a coup occurred in North Korea, the previous tyrant was killed, and now someone has succeeded to the throne and become the emperor..."

"Bold, can the little Fanbian dare to be the emperor?" Zhu Houzhao said furiously.

"I should die, I should die. I should be said to have become the lord of the country. They wanted to get the title of the Ming Dynasty. After all, their throne came from the wrong way, so they sent people to the capital to ask for the title." Zhang Yuandao.

Zhu Houzhao frowned slightly: "I remember that the Korean envoys came to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute last year. At that time, Liu Jin seemed to think they were not respectful enough and drove them away with the Tatar envoys... Why are they here again this year? I have no time to see these barbarians, what kind of gifts can Xiao Xiaofanbang give? It's better to learn from Liu Jin and send people away directly!"

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao was not interested at all, Zhang Yuan quickly said, "Your Majesty, these gifts include ten beauties from North Korea... But I wonder if Your Majesty is interested in the women in the foreign countries?"

Zhu Houzhao was already going back and continued to drink with Concubine Li. When he heard this, he suddenly turned around and said, "Zhang Yuan, I ask you, since you are a foreign woman, you must be the same as the Tartars, big and thick, eating meat all day long. I have seen Tartar prisoners before, those women... Tsk tsk, I really can't catch my eyes. Do you think I would like this kind of woman who eats raw meat and drinks blood?"

Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, North Korea is different from the Tartars. I heard that they have etiquette and education. I have been learning from our Ming Dynasty for a long time. I specifically asked the historians, and they mean that the Koreans are almost the same as our Ming Dynasty. Maybe their beauties have a different charm?"
To be continued...