Spirit of the Phoenix: 34. Birthday Banquet

The ministers of the Manchu Dynasty looked at each other in dismay, no one knew what the reckless carpenter emperor was asking what this sentence meant.

Pei Junzhi was called out by name, so he had to bite the bullet and answer: "Tao is based on virtue, and harmony is based on courtesy. If there is something wrong, know harmony and be harmonious but not different..."

Eloquent, incomprehensible.

Where did the emperor understand, he quickly stopped Pei Junzhi with a smile on his face: "What Aiqing said is true! What I said is true! It's just that I think it's better to resolve an enemy than tie it up. A gentleman doesn't remember an overnight feud. You and Da Sima are both He is the minister of my big swallow, and he should live in harmony. Now that Sima is on his 60th birthday, Aiqing should go to celebrate his birthday!"

The emperor was giggling and full of vernacular words, and before Pei Junzhi could answer, he had already said firmly: "It's decided! The eighth day of April, Sima's birthday, I will stay in the palace to accompany the pregnant queen, Pei Aiqing, don't forget to prepare for the ceremony , Come back and tell me about the grand event at the birthday banquet."

Zhong Shuling Pei Junzhi was still staring at the emperor's leaving back in dumbfounded, wondering why the sage sang such a nonsensical song.

Dr. Guanglu, Shen Zhiyun, belongs to the Qingliu party, and he is usually on good terms with Peijun, so he couldn't help leaning forward to inquire: "What's wrong with the saint? Could it be that he is dissatisfied with the recent party disputes?"

One of Pei Jun raised his hand, resolutely restrained his next words, and shook his head slowly.

In the East Palace, Tai'an looked at the little prince very puzzled: "...It's just a Hongmen banquet. Isn't it enough to have a big Sima who wants to harm you? Why do you want your father to let Zhongshuling also go?" Participate in the banquet? Didn’t the Zhongshu order Pei Junzhi want to abolish your crown prince?”

The little prince looked relaxed, and replied: "Tai'an, have you heard a word?"

"The enemy of your enemy is your friend."

Pei Junzhi is indeed the enemy of Chief Sima Chen Keling, but judging from the current situation, it is already rare for the Pei family not to fall into trouble, and he definitely cannot be called the little prince's friend.

Tai'an's clear eyes were full of worry, and his brows were furrowed.

The little prince coughed as if to cover up: "If there is a Qingliu party at the birthday banquet, they will not let Da Sima act recklessly."

During the banquet, Da Sima will inevitably go wild. Pei Junzhi prides himself on being loyal to the emperor and respecting the rules, so how could he let go of the opportunity to catch the pigtails?

"Don't worry, Tai'an." He smiled and blinked, "Pei Junzhi hates me more than he hates Da Sima Chen Keling."

Tai'an can't rest assured at all.

But the little prince had already said this, so Taian could only stop, lowered his eyes, forced a smile from the corner of his lips, and said according to his intention: "...That's good."

She never said anything like persuading him to prepare early, or pretending to be ill to avoid the limelight.

But on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, before the little prince left the palace early in the morning, Tai'an ate the weight and made up his mind to go with him no matter what he did.

"Be obedient." The little prince was extremely helpless, "There will always be a chance to take you out of the palace in the future. This time the situation is difficult to distinguish, and there are always entourages by my side. It is inconvenient for me to take you to the banquet."

He still treated her like a child when he spoke, and he insisted on it for fun.

Tai'an didn't explain, but he just grabbed his chest with both hands tightly, like a little gecko: "Don't try to hide it from me! The birthday banquet is at night, and you leave the palace early in the morning, so why don't you spend the whole day?" Are they all staying in the Chen residence?"

"I don't care!" She regarded death as home, "If you have the ability, stick me to the bed in the East Palace with paste! Otherwise, if you don't take me, I will secretly hide on Shayuan, and I will always follow you By your side!"

Stick her with paste? Thankfully she figured it out!

The little princess who keeps making noises even if her sleeves are cut at the slightest bit, if he really glues her whole flower paper together, I don't know how she will cry...

The little prince rubbed his forehead, after thinking about it, he felt that he was a little unfounded, and finally nodded to Tai'an: "You must obey my orders in everything, and don't be impulsive like last time in Hanzhang Palace!"

Just after the time passed, the prince's car slowly drove out from the Suzaku Gate. Sha Yuan accompanied the prince, while Li Shaolin, the guard of the East Palace, personally led the army, followed by more than 20 guards.

Thirty years later, Tai'an left the palace again.

When she was leaving the palace gate, she leaned on his collar and subconsciously turned around to look, only to see two scarlet palace gates slowly closing in front of her, feeling flustered for no reason.

On the way, she was uncharacteristically very quiet, which caused the little prince to lower his voice and ask several times: "What's the matter? You made a fuss about leaving the palace, are you unhappy now? Why haven't you spoken?"

Tai'an came back to his senses, immediately concealed his subconscious guilt, and muttered in a low voice: "...Before leaving the palace, you were the one who told me not to show my feet, why are you not satisfied with me being so obedient? You said that you are too picky? You are not satisfied with what I do? "

She started chattering and chattering, but the little prince yelled a lot in an instant. Hearing her annoying chatter like a sparrow, it felt like a big stone had fallen from his heart, as if he had tasted the vibrant atmosphere of fireworks.

Tai'an's prediction was good, the little prince did not go straight to Chen's residence when he left the palace early in the morning. Instead, after going around the East City, he turned into the old Grand Fu Pei's house.

Princess Pei Ansu seemed to have known that he would come, and she was waiting outside the side corridor slimly.

She is still in the period of filial piety, and her clothes are plain and plain. At first glance, you can tell the difference. On her lotus-colored long skirt, plum blossoms are embroidered with almost untraceable silver threads. , which is very commensurate with her proud demeanor.

I haven't seen her in a year. She has lost a lot of weight, and her round chin reveals a slightly sharp line. In order to conceal the slightly abrupt edge, she deliberately combed a double-ringed bun and stuck it to the side of her face, adding a lot of charm. .

As for the little prince, whom he hadn't seen for a year, his stature has grown a lot due to the abundance of food and clothing during the year. The Adam's apple is fully exposed, the chin is slightly green, the waist is still slender as a teenager, but the shoulders are much wider.

The two stood together, as if they were a pair made in heaven.

Pei Ansu pursed the corners of her lips and bowed to the little prince, showing her slender and white nape. Her every move was impeccable, as if she had practiced it thousands of times.

"Is your highness okay?" She tilted her head slightly, "I heard that your highness is going to a birthday banquet. I wonder if the birthday gift has been prepared? If not, I have something for your highness to celebrate his birthday?"

The little prince lowered his eyes and showed a gentle smile: "I would like to hear more about it."

Pei Taifu has a breeze in his sleeves, and even after his death, he will go out of the tea. The concubine of the Pei family died early, and only the concubine took care of the door. The whole family made up their minds, but in the end it was the princess and concubine alone.

The Pei family's wealth is not rich, although there are many calligraphy and paintings in the family, it is absolutely impossible for them to come up with any decent gifts.

But at the center of the main hall of Pei's house at this time, there is clearly a three-story ivory dragon boat celebrating the birthday of the immortals.

It is worth a lot, and it is definitely not the work of the Pei family.

Beside the ivory boat sculpture, stood a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, tall and slender, with a delicate appearance.

The little prince watched quietly, knowing that the ivory-carved dragon boat must be a congratulatory gift from the Qin family, and the girl beside the boat was the second miss of the Qin family who lived in Pei's mansion.

His future prince Liangdi.

"I just wanted to bring two bottles of royal wine." The little prince smiled, turned around and said to Pei Ansu, "Since you are so thoughtful, then I would rather be respectful than follow orders, and borrow flowers to offer Buddha."

Pei Ansu bowed his head just right, promised gently, turned around slowly and instructed the servants, and arranged everything in a few words.

She acted steadily, swayed freely, dressed appropriately, had a perfect expression, generous and magnanimous, and her gestures and gestures were 100% similar to the queen in the palace.

The little prince was in a trance for a moment, and a chill rushed up from the spine of his tail, making him shudder.

When he came back to his senses, the little prince subconsciously covered his chest with his right hand, the place where Taian was hiding.

Tai'an was unprepared for a while, so he whispered: "It's so strange, why are you touching me?"

The familiar tone instantly dragged the little prince back to the ridiculous reality.

He coughed lightly, glanced at Pei Ansu's back, and said in a low voice, "How are you talking? You don't look like a princess at all. Look at him, and then at you!"

He pouted in Pei Ansu's direction.

Tai'an followed his line of sight, snorted heavily, and did not back down at all: "Look first, you who are with her, and you who are with me!"

"When you're with her, you'll be a gentleman like jade, gentle and gentle, and when you're with me, you'll have a small stomach...Hmph! Who wouldn't be gentle and careless? I'm not a concubine competing for favor in the harem, can I do something wrong?" she said. Back angrily.

Listening, the little prince couldn't help pursing his lips into a smile.

She looks silly all day long, but she still thinks clearly about major issues.

That's a good point.

Tai'an is indeed "not" a concubine competing for favor in the harem, just as Pei Ansu "is".

Heaven obeys people's wishes, seeks benevolence and obtains benevolence.

The slender girl who seems to have her own ideas and shows off is actually just an ant struggling to survive under the imperial power.

The concubine made her appeal so clear, the little prince was enlightened, and finally understood where his father's incomparable tenderness to the empress came from in Hanzhang Palace.

Before leaving, the little prince and Pei Ansu stood in front of the mansion as a couple, reluctant to part and speechless. After saying goodbye again and again, the little prince quickly stroked the princess' elbow, and the prince's face immediately flushed shyly.

Dayan's folk customs are open, and when the young couple's love was strong, they never shy away from the people around them, and their every move fell into the eyes of caring people.

Since then, the rumors of the prince's deep love, righteousness, honor and favor for the concubine, who is in filial piety, finally spread from the inner palace to the entire imperial city.

After coming out of Pei's mansion, the little prince rushed to Da Sima's mansion in the south of the city without stopping. There was plenty of time reserved on the road, but it was unexpected that when hundreds of meters before the mansion, the prince's car was surrounded by chariots and horses who came to celebrate his birthday.

Sha Yuan frowned anxiously, shouting repeatedly, "The prince enjoins this purpose", but his voice was drowned in the turbulent crowd and traffic, without causing any waves.

More than 20 guards crowded tightly beside the chariots and horses, unable to move. General Li also had a look of anxiety on his face: "Your Highness, what can I do? If this delay continues, I'm afraid it will be a waste of time."

The little prince sighed softly, squinted his eyes and looked at the archway on the Da Sima's mansion not far away, the four words "Three Dynasties Loyalty" shone in golden light, hanging high on the black plaque flamboyantly.

"That's already the case, so there is no need to worry." The little prince said, "Sima has not celebrated his birthday in the mansion for four years, and it is only natural that there are more guests this year."

The words were still to excuse the great Sima, but there were three people in a car, no one could tell if the car and horses that came and went would be the first one that the little prince encountered before entering the mansion.

"Considering all changes with the same, let's take one step at a time." General Li said.

The courtyard of Da Sima Mansion has six entrances. The left hand of the entrance is the Hoe Sutra Hall, and the right hand is the study room where the disciples live. It was a big event for the prince to come in person, but there was no Da Sima and his relatives coming to greet him beside the Sutra Hall.

The deacon of the Chen residence was still respectful, and bowed to the crown prince: "There are many guests, and all of them have already taken their seats. Is your Highness's journey going smoothly? Why don't you come with me to the flower hall to take a seat, so as not to disturb Da Sima's elegance?"

Contemptuous and arrogant.

The little prince held the imperial decree in his hand, and he came like a royal driver, but he was as useless as a seventh-rank official waiting in the flower hall with a mountain product.

Although General Li was the guard of the East Palace, he was stopped in front of the flower hall. The deacon of the mansion smiled and asked him to sit in the living room for a while, but when the door of the flower hall opened, the little prince clearly saw the crowds in the living room. On a small scorpion.

Aggrieved, too aggrieved.

The little prince couldn't bear it anymore, but he had no choice but to bear it all over again, with his fists tightly hidden in his sleeves, and he walked into the flower hall with his head held high.

Tai'an was born as a proud daughter of the heavens. How has she ever suffered such grievances? At this time, his face was flushed with anger, and he could only bite the back of his hand to suppress his anger.

"The prince is here!" The deacon's voice was so loud that it could be heard clearly even in the noisy flower hall. A dozen or so round tables were tightly packed together, and more than a hundred guests sitting there stood up sparsely when they heard the prince's arrival.

The space in the flower hall is limited and there are so many guests, so they can only kneel down staggeringly.

As for Da Sima, who was sitting on the Eight Immortals table in the middle, he was half-drunk and dissipated. He had no intention of kneeling at this moment. Forgive me, Your Highness!"

More than a hundred guests looked at the little prince coldly, but no one made a sound to save him. The little prince stood in front of the flower hall like a green pine, and from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhongshuling Pei Junzhi watching the play.

"Today's family banquet, there are no princes and ministers. Only junior Lu Rui, congratulations to Sima Lingchun, who is still young, and blessed with eternal life!" Others looked at his joke coldly, and the little prince found himself a step down, with a mouth like Sweet as honey.

He signaled to Shayuan to present the ivory boat sculpture as a birthday gift. The boat has three layers of carvings, the carved beams and painted pillars are exquisite, and the three stars of fortune, wealth and longevity are sitting on the head of the boat.

This flattery is very good, Da Sima is really useful, Nianxu smiles, looking satisfied.

When others saw the opportunity, they immediately leaned forward, admiring the boat sculpture, and flattering Da Sima: "... Da Sima is as blessed as the East China Sea, and his age is older than three autumns. Blessed people, as it should be!"

Da Sima had a smile in his eyes, but he reprimanded him: "Nonsense! Your Highness is here, you are a noble man, what am I? How can I be called blessed?"

The prince's fingernails were pinched into the palm of his hand, and before he could reply, the person who spoke first came back to his senses as if he had been awakened, and bowed down to the prince with a flattering smile: "What Da Sima said is true. Your Highness is the most powerful person in the world." Blessed man! I heard that the prince grew up in the countryside before he was seven years old, raised chickens, fed dogs, and served the farmers. Now, in only four years, he is wearing a dragon robe and stands above ten thousand people. Isn't he the most blessed man?"

The whole hall burst into laughter, cups and toasts were mixed. Under the bright lights, the chief Sima at the high table smiled silently, staring at the little prince with fiery eyes.

Too much bullying, too much bullying!

The little prince was smiling all over his face, as if he didn't hear the man's sarcasm, he politely declined: "Where is that!"

Tai'an's eyes were red with anger, but he also knew that the situation was pressing, so he must not show any dissatisfaction at this time. If there is even the slightest difference, and Da Sima becomes suspicious, he may be the little prince in the future, so he will be Da Sima's ghost.

The emperor and his son have always been playthings in the hands of Da Sima.

He wants a cowardly puppet, not only the emperor who was so scared that he peed his pants that day, but also the prince who is weak and deceitful even under all kinds of humiliation today.

In the game between the monarch and his ministers, life and death are just a moment of thought. Da Sima is so powerful that he is afraid that one day the emperor will kill donkeys and wipe out his family.

At this time, the unscrupulous push forward, why is it not that Da Sima is probing every step of the way in order to save his life?

Wei Emperor Cao Mao couldn't bear the humiliation of Sima Zhao, and kept saying "Sima Zhao's heart is known to everyone", and wanted to kill the traitor, but he was beheaded in the palace. Emperor Xiaojing, Yuan Shanjian, was punched in the chest by the traitor Gao Cheng. Unable to bear the humiliation, he dug a tunnel in the inner palace and fled, but was poisoned to death because of his failure. Aidi Emperor Li Zuo succeeded to the throne at the age of thirteen, and endured it for many years, but because of his ancestral hall, Huanqiu, he had a dispute with Liang Wang, who was in power.

Which emperor does not know that he is a puppet? Which emperor doesn't know what time the puppet should wait for?

But in the world, there is always dignity greater than life. Unbearable, he rose up to resist, bravely raised his chest to die, and was smeared as a cowardly and brainless "Prince Hede" by the history books that were already successful and defeated.

Just like the former Princess Tai'an.

The little prince's pupils dilated slightly, and the cold piece of paper on his chest seemed to remind him to be patient at any time.

And his heartless laughing appearance, bit by bit, fell into the eyes of the high-ranking Da Sima.

Da Sima nodded to the little prince: "His Royal Highness is coming once in a while, and I will definitely drink a few cups with the old man before returning to the palace."

The little prince couldn't shirk, he was surrounded and sat on the left hand side of Da Sima, pouring a full glass of Luojiu.

Luo wine has a strong taste and is very pungent. The little prince was caught off guard and his nose was choked.

His face was flushed from coughing, and he was in a state of embarrassment with tears and tears. The residual wine dripped down his chin and onto the skirt of his clothes, gradually soaking through Panlong's prince's uniform, causing the whole room to laugh again.

As for Tai'an, who was hiding in his chest, he could only watch helplessly as his thin paper body was gradually soaked by the residual wine scattered on the skirt of his clothes.