Su Tong nodded again: "I understand. Lord Shen, you are responsible for so many court affairs, so where can you have free time to deal with these things? Now everyone below is talking about Lord Shen, you have made great contributions."

Chen Xi waved his hand: "Brother Su is a joke. He is preparing to step down as Minister of War. It is too tiring to take care of both positions and can't take care of them for a while. After the war against the Tatars, I still want to live a more relaxed life and stay in the capital for a few days of quiet life."

It seemed as if he understood something again, Su Tong nodded and exchanged glances with Zheng Qian again.

Since the arrival, the two of them kept their eyes communicating, probably to remind each other to write down what Chen Xi said without missing a word, so that they could discuss the countermeasures of the Holy Times alone when they turned around.

The two of them did not think that attending Zhu Houzhao's banquet was just about talking about some romantic affairs. As ministers, they had to be involved in affairs in the court.

You cannot be a slander or be scolded by thousands of people. There is a practical example in front of you. Just follow Chen Xi’s logic of being an official.

After a discussion, the two stood up and Su Tong said, "Mr. Shen, I won't bother you anymore. Your Majesty dare not delay the summons, so I say goodbye."

Chen Xi stood up and personally sent the two out, which showed her importance to them. After leaving the gate, Chen Xi even watched the two of them walk away before returning to the mansion.

...

...

The courtesy Su Tong and Zheng Qian received in the leopard room were not comparable to ordinary ministers, and even if Chen Xi went there, he would not be able to receive such hospitality.

Under the guidance of the guards, the two went straight to the inner courtyard. There was also Xiao Tiaozi next to explain the scenery along the way. Xiao Tiaozi was somewhat flattering to these two people.

For Xiao Guozi, "judging the situation" is the most important. When he found that Zhu Houzhao valued the two candidates introduced by Shen Xi outside the palace so much, he realized that he could actually use the two to suppress Jiang Bin. He also saw Jiang Bin's hatred towards Su Tong and Zheng Qian before.

Xiao Taozi thought to himself: "I am a eunuch and a royal slave. I am a bit overestimating my ability to fight Jiang Bin. But these two adults are different. They are officials and friends with His Majesty. They are normal men like Jiang Bin. Their status in His Majesty's mind may be higher than Jiang Bin."

"Two sirs, Your Majesty will hold a banquet in the attic in front today. You can see the stage directly in the attic... Please follow the villain."

Xiao Tuozi acted like an ordinary eunuch in front of Su Tong and Zheng Qian, but Su Tong and Zheng Qian knew that Xiao Tuozi's status in the leopard room now did not dare to neglect any.

"You are kind to me, please, please first." Su Tong said with a smile.

Xiao Guozi was very satisfied with the attitudes of the two. Whether I am humble to you is my own business. If you don’t know how to show off your airs, then you are going to be against me sincerely.

When they arrived at the attic, the two sat down at the empty table. Someone immediately brought the stove and the temperature in the room rose immediately.

"Your Majesty hasn't come yet. There are some refreshments here, so you can use them first." Xiao Tiaozi greeted the palace maids to deliver the tea and snacks.

Su Tong was still normal, but Zheng Qian kept staring at the little palace maids, because according to the principle, the palace maids in the leopard room were basically forbidden by the emperor, but due to the relationship between the two and Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao often rewarded the palace maids to them, so Zheng Qian was more careful.

"Ahem!"

Su Tong cleared his throat and reminded Zheng Qian to pay attention to the occasion.

Zheng Qian then withdrew his gaze, picked up the teacup in disappointment, and found that the tea was very hot, so he quickly put it down.

Su Tong took out a small package from his arms and said, "Duang Daddy, I have some thoughts here, I hope you can accept it with a smile."

As he said that, he opened a crack and revealed a cloth bag of Daming treasure banknotes. Because the silver could not be brought directly into the leopard room, Su Tong took out the paper treasure banknotes.

From the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the Zhengde period, Baochao was in name only, but the Baochao in good years still had a certain value. With the increase in the amount of silver on the market, the paper currency system was severely impacted.

"How can you be so embarrassed?"

Xiao Tiaozi said this on his mouth, but his hands and feet were very honest. He took the cloth bag and put it in his arms. For him, no matter how small the mosquito legs are, they are still flesh, and there are not any written legs in front of him, almost chicken legs or even lamb legs.

Zheng Qian said: "It's just a little bit of thought. I hope my father-in-law won't be disgusted. Today, I have any things to pay attention to. I hope you can give me more."

Xiao Zhuozi smiled and said, "The two adults are famous people in front of His Majesty. Our family can't compare. We can only say try our best to help. Your Majesty should not talk nonsense, talk more about strange and strange things. The rumors in the market are better all related to Fengyue. The two adults know a lot about these things, but the villain is blinded."

...

...

After waiting for a long time, it was almost the second day before Zhu Houzhao arrived late.

Zhu Houzhao brought two elegant and luxurious women, one was Concubine Li and the other was Concubine Hua. These two women were the most favored women in front of the emperor. The two women had certain means and each had a large number of fans.

In the leopard room, there are not only big guys like Xiao Zhuozi, Jiang Bin, and Zhang Yuan, but also many middle and lower-level polites, managers, Jinyiwei, small eunuchs, little palace maids, etc. The small circle formed by these people is a force that cannot be ignored in the leopard room. However, these are different classes from Xiao Zhuozi and Jiang Bin and do not have much intersection with each other.

These circles are for the purpose of saving, and each seeks someone to defect to, including two women, Li Fei and Hua Fei, who are deeply favored by Zhu Houzhao.

"See Your Majesty."

Su Tong and Zheng Qian knew that Zhu Houzhao was going upstairs, so they had already stood up and waited at the stairs. When they saw Zhu Houzhao, they knelt down and saluted.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand: "Why do you have to be so polite for two brothers? Although this is my own place, it is not a palace with complicated rules and regulations. There is no need to be so dissatisfied... Come and introduce to you, these two are my beloved concubines, one is Concubine Hua and the other is Concubine Li."

"See the Empress."

Su Tong and Zheng Qian were about to continue saluting, but found that two women were saluting them.

Although Concubine Hua and Concubine Li have a good status in the Leopard Room, they have never had a formal status. They understand the rules, that is, in front of the king and others, they must place themselves in a very low position so that the emperor will be satisfied with them.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Sit together, come here, you can serve wine and food."

Zhu Houzhao sat down first, followed by Su Tong and Zheng Qian, and finally Concubine Hua and Concubine Li sat on the side of the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao looked up at the two of them and smiled, "It's because I haven't considered it clearly. You should let me bring your female companion here. But that's fine. There's no shortage of women here... Come on, please invite a few beauties to come."

With the emperor's order, Xiao Twist, who was standing at the stairs, signaled to the downstairs that more than a dozen "beauties" brought by Zhu Houzhao came upstairs by two little eunuchs.

Yingying and Yanyan made Su Tong and Zheng Qian look at each other.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Brothers, don't think I forgot about the invitation today. It's just that I'm choosing beauties for you. It's just that I'm late. Can you please feel satisfied?"

Only then did Su Tong and Zheng Qian dare to directly scan the beauty in front of him. After seeing clearly under the candlelight, they realized that these more than a dozen so-called "beauties" were of good looks, but they were not as old as under twenty. They all looked mature, not as pure and tender as a girl.

Of course, they understood that this was the emperor's preference, not intentionally finding some "ladies", but the emperor just treated the two with the best "beauty" he thought.

"very nice."

Su Tong sighed.

Zhu Houzhao laughed: "Brother Su, do you think so too? I just said that it tastes the same as Brother Su and Brother Zheng. Look at this figure and charm, I haven't spent so much time in vain."

While talking, Zhu Houzhao looked at the dozen "beauties" standing aside waiting for "select". These women were selected by the emperor himself, and obviously it was not the first time they appeared in front of others. With the ideas of Su Tong and Zheng Qian, these women were probably all favored by the emperor before, and they were comparable to the concubines they once gave to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was extremely enthusiastic, waiting for Su Tong and Zheng Qian to choose the beautiful women he carefully selected.

But Su Tong and Zheng Qian, who had just met Shen Xi, dared not act too presumptuous. At this moment, they were thinking more about how to be a useful minister to support the country, rather than a flattering minister who was scolded.

Su Tong said helplessly: "Your Majesty, in fact, I only need to drink and eat, no one needs to accompany you."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "You are embarrassed to choose in front of me, right? What's there to avoid? We are not outsiders. If it weren't for Concubine Hua and Concubine Li who were usually very considerate in serving me, so what if I gave them to you?"

Concubine Li and Concubine Hua were both scared.

Something that ordinary people would definitely not do, but in their opinion, this emperor might do it because they were sent to the emperor by others.

Su Tong and Zheng Qian still kept silent.

Zhu Houzhao roughly saw the two of them’s embarrassment and smiled freely: “Let’s do this, I will choose the people for you, so I will leave behind the few I think are good… The four in front stay and come and toast the guests.”

The four women are now owing a bow and walking over, sitting next to Su Tong and Zheng Qian, and starting to pour wine for Su Tong and Zheng Qian.

This made Su Tong and Zheng Qian's expressions even more restrained, and they seemed to not know how to deal with them.

"I also pour wine for Your Majesty."

Concubine Li seemed more free and easy on this occasion. She picked up the wine pot and poured wine for Zhu Houzhao. This move won Zhu Houzhao's praise.

Concubine Hua was not willing to be outdone and immediately put some snacks on Zhu Houzhao, but Zhu Houzhao glanced at him and could only quickly withdraw her slender hands.

The small episode did not make the banquet fade. Zhu Houzhao continued: "Today, I invited my two brothers to come here and specially prepared some fun programs. In addition to the show, there are also dancers who came from Fanbian to see if they are attracted by it... If you like it, just tell me."

After saying that, Zhu Houzhao didn't wait for the two of them to agree, so she greeted Xiao Tiaozi directly: "Let's start."

Xiao Tiaozi quickly went to make arrangements, but he took out a small flag and shook it, as if military orders were uploaded on the battlefield, and then there were sounds of gongs and drums in the distance.

After the sound of gongs and drums, more dishes were sent to the banquet table. Su Tong and Zheng Qian were still sitting there calmly. A little eunuch went over to open the windows in the attic towards the stage, so that he could directly see the stage opposite from the table, and he felt like watching the play in the castle in the air.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "This stage has just been built, and I have come a few times. I just want you to try it."

Su Tong and Zheng Qian both looked with honor on their faces. They looked at the stage together with Zhu Houzhao's eyes. The stage there was more than three meters above the ground. If it was performing martial arts scenes above, it would be very dangerous. If it fell down, it would be either dead or injured.

Just when the two were worried, the good show officially began. As they thought, the first performance of performing on such a high stage was a martial arts show. When a few boys went up, they flipped over it, and then they stopped to the edge of the stage. Then the people continued to flip back, which made the two frightened.

"good!"

Zhu Houzhao was very happy and clapped her hands and shouted, "This is the courage. If you perform well, you will be rewarded."

Su Tong and Zheng Qian looked at each other and saw that the emperor had a strange temper. An idea came to his mind: "It's really like a tiger!"

...

...

When Zhu Hou was watching the show, Xiao Guozi went downstairs. The next thing had nothing to do with him. Serving to the emperor became the errand of those little eunuchs, so he had to go back to Zhu Houzhao's bedroom to continue on night.

Xiao Taozi was still a little unwilling to accept: "I finally served Your Majesty once, but I was driven away so quickly. I don't know what kind of wind that boy Jiang Bin blew in front of Your Majesty."

Just when he was thinking about his concern, Jiang Bin came towards him. Unlike usual uniforms, Jiang Bin looked much more elegant in casual clothes this time.

"Twist my father-in-law?"

Jiang Bin didn't give Xiaozi's face at all, and stopped to say hello after getting closer.

Xiao Tiaozi said, "Your Majesty is here to have a banquet for guests, what are you here?"

Jiang Bin said: "I will come to the banquet, can't it be?"

Xiao Tiaozi took a breath. Of course, he understood that Jiang Bin was qualified to go up to the banquet. He thought to himself: "Your Majesty is really hard to figure out. It would be fine to invite two outsiders from the palace to visit, but why did he let this kid Jiang Bin get in and get involved?"
To be continued...