Hearing the eunuch's voice, everyone entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony one after another.

Zhu Yan also quickly separated from the two of them and went to welcome the saint to his seat, leaving the two of them digesting the news he had just revealed.

The banquet is divided into three classes.

Fan and Zhao Er had just been awarded the fifth rank, and they could only sit in the third-class seats far away. They were in the middle and back of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, thirty feet away from the throne of the emperor, the center of power. They found a seat marked with the name

Sitting in the middle of the table, within a moment, Peng Yushi also sat at the table next to him.

Fan Xiaodao reminded: "Master Peng, your seat is in front."

Peng Yushi smiled and said: "The third-class seats are pretty good. No one will care about these details." He glanced at the dishes on the table, which were already cold. "These are not enough to fill the gap between teeth. Wait a moment."

When the banquet is over, I’ll invite you to have a drink at Tianxiang Tower!”

Fan Xiaodao said: "We already had a meal when we came here."

Peng Yushi gave a thumbs up, "You have foresight!"

Before the emperor arrived, everyone was still very relaxed and talking and laughing among themselves. At this time, the eunuch announced, "The saint has arrived!"

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, wearing a scarlet robe, slowly walked out of the back hall. Prince Zhu Yan and Princess Taiping followed him to the left and right, and came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Fan Xiaodao peeked secretly and saw that the emperor's face was calm and happy.

Her anger was invisible, but Princess Taiping's face looked unhappy and slightly sad, so she must have been in a bad mood.

Everyone stood up and moved to the center of the hall, where they knelt down and bowed, "Long live my emperor!"

The emperor waved his hand, motioning for everyone to stand up, and said: "Today's night banquet, please feel free to do whatever you want at home, there is no need to be too formal."

Everyone took their seats and sat upright.

The emperor said that everyone is allowed to do whatever they want, but if you really do so, that would be disrespectful. Several censors at the Yushitai are staring at you with serious eyes. If you are slightly unkempt or behave inappropriately today, secondly,

The memorial of Tian's impeachment was handed over to Long Shu's case. Yes, it is so disgusting.

There are many etiquettes for dining with the emperor, but many people still flock to it and enjoy it very much.

A young eunuch came forward and read an oral edict, to the effect that God would bless the Ming Dynasty, and the weather would be smooth, and the emperor would be in good health, etc. It was almost a replica of the speech he made in the morning, except that the words he said in the morning were for God to hear. The words he said in the evening

, it is said for people to listen to.

After the reading was finished, everyone stood up again and said, "I wish your Majesty good health and my emperor a long life!"

The Ministry of Rites has strict requirements for these rhetorics. All the officials present are already familiar with these. As for those who were temporarily invited like Fan Xiaodao and Zhao Xing, in the past, the Ministry of Rites would perform the ceremony first, and there would be dedicated people

I'll tell you how to kneel down, how to kowtow, and what to say. Today's situation is special, so I can omit this step. Fan Xiaodao and Zhao Xing can handle it just by mixing in the crowd and kowtowing, only opening their mouths and not speaking.

After finishing the work, the emperor stood up and said, "My dear friends, over the past few years, I have been practicing Taoism every day and praying for the world. I have received God's mercy. The prosperity of the Ming Dynasty and the prosperity of the country are all due to the ability of all my dear friends to govern the country.

If you are able to defend your borders with force, I would like to toast you all!"

After that, he picked up the wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Everyone bowed their thanks first, then raised their glasses, covered their faces with their sleeves, and drank from the glass of wine.

The dishes are not good, but the Palace Yuye wine melts in your mouth and is full of mellow flavor, which is really good.

Today is a birthday banquet, and all the civil and military officials have already presented gifts. After three rounds of drinking, the emperor began to reward the ministers with gifts.

This is also a normal part of the emperor's banquet. For example, Xue Yingxiong, Duke of Jingguo, was rewarded with a pair of Ruyi, Qiu Huairen was rewarded with a mouth of porcelain, and General Xu Hu was rewarded with a sword, a cabinet bachelor, and Imperial College sacrificial wine.

It is the Four Treasures of the Study, and other officials of slightly higher ranks also have different rewards.

As for the low-ranking officials in the third-class seats, the inner court has also prepared a sun-drenched gift. They are tributes sent from various places. The price is still secondary. This is a gift from the emperor. When it is brought back, it must be kept

They should be worshiped in the ancestral hall, burn two sticks of incense in the morning and evening, and kowtow three times day and night. In the future, they will be released as officials, and they will even take their posts with them.

At the end, the little eunuch took out another imperial edict and preached: "Six-door Fan Xiaodao, Zhao Xing takes the edict!"

All eyes fell on the third-class seats in the back row.

This is to reward the two of them individually. However, today in the Temple of Heaven, the two of them have done a good job in protecting the emperor and deserve this reward.

The two came out of the queue and knelt down to salute.

The little eunuch said: "I have received the emperor's decree from heaven: Fan Xiaodao is promoted to the six gates, and Zhao Xing is promoted. They are commendable for their loyalty and bravery, and have both good moral conduct. Today, they have meritorious service in the longevity ceremony. Fan Xiaodao is specially granted the title of Anle Hou, and the edict is granted to him.

Uncle Zhao Xingzhong and Yong admire this."

Everyone looked at him with envy.

The imperial court has always been very cautious about conferring titles. Over the years, unless they have made great contributions to the court, they have rarely granted titles easily. For example, several cabinet bachelors, with first-rank official positions and highly respected ministers, have not received any titles.

, and these two people, so young, received the title of Marquis, how can they not be enviable?

Zhao Huan, the Minister of Rites, looked happy.

Zhao Xing knelt down to thank and salute and accepted the order.

Fan Xiaodao did not move, did not thank him, he knelt on the spot and did not move.

When the young eunuch saw this, he had no choice but to say: "I admire this!"

Fan Xiaodao said: "It is my duty to protect your majesty. I feel ashamed to receive such a generous reward from your majesty!"

In the distance, the emperor also said: "How come, Fan Qing, you are not satisfied with my reward?"

Fan Xiaodao said: "I don't dare, but actually I have something to ask of you."

The emperor was obviously very happy and said: "Say it!"

Fan Xiaodao said loudly: "I don't want to reward you, I just ask your Majesty to restart the investigation of the Qifeng Pavilion case twenty years ago!"

As soon as these words came out, the originally bustling Hall of Supreme Harmony instantly became silent.

Qifeng Pavilion.

These are the emperor's reverse scales, three words that no one dares to mention.

Fan Xiaodao not only mentioned it, but also wanted to investigate again, and he did so at the birthday banquet, in front of all the ministers.

Isn't this putting the emperor on the fire?

Alas, what’s ahead is all clouds, the main meal starts now, the first course, charcoal grilled emperor!

It's just that this feast was eaten with trepidation. If they were not careful, they would be in trouble. Therefore, the expressions of the officials were also very rich, with a hint of expectation and a little fear.

Fan Xiaodao also had no choice but to do so.

This matter has troubled him for so many years. No matter how hard he tried, he was always surrounded by mountains and clouds. It was like being in a maze and never being able to get in. But Changle Imperial Concubine was his biological mother. Her poisoning back then, her

Death directly affected Fan Xiaodao's life.

If he doesn't speak, who can?

His request was not an impulsive move, but a conclusion after careful consideration.

However, he underestimated the impact of this incident and its shock in the court.

This is the army of the general and emperor!

An imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Princess Taiping's lips. She squinted and glanced at Fan Xiaodao. This nephew of hers had a lot of personality and was more interesting than the other one. The world said she was crazy. Unexpectedly,

This Fan Xiaodao is the craziest person.

No, he is not crazy, he is stupid!

Thinking of this, she glanced at Zhu Yan again. Zhu Yan's eyes flickered and he avoided her gaze.

The emperor's face was gloomy and uncertain.

Zhao Quan, who was waiting at the side, winked at Zhuge Xianyu, who was sitting in the second-class seat, meaning that this matter was caused by Fan Xiaodao, he is yours, you can take him away yourself. However, Zhuge Xianyu was sitting upright.

, without squinting his eyes, he didn't see the hint Zhao Quan gave him at all.

The emperor clenched his fists, his emotions on the verge of explosion.

At this moment, I suddenly heard the general Xu Hu say: "Hahaha, I have long heard that there is a young hero in the capital, who has repeatedly solved strange cases, and today he has done a good job in escorting him. It turns out to be this Captain Fan. When I saw him today, it turned out that

Heroes are born in youth! Today is your Majesty's birthday party. My Ming Dynasty has always admired martial arts and bravery. Isn't it a pity that we have wine but no sword? Your Majesty, today I heard that Fan Captou is very brave. The old minister got a new sword. I am feeling thirsty. Please invite Fan Capt.

Head, present your sword in front of the emperor!"

Xu Hu's words seemed like a sword fight, but in fact he was helping the emperor to save himself from the siege.

After all, a long-term silence would make His Majesty very embarrassed, so Xu Hu's competition came just in time.

The civil and military officials had already seen the scene of their mutual complementarity outside the palace. They were all waiting to see how the arrogant and arrogant General Xu would find a place here. Xu Hu said, "Fan Xiaodao,

I would like to ask you about your swordsmanship. I think I, a bloody man from the Ming Dynasty, will not be afraid of fighting, right?"

Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at Xu Hu, although he was a little reckless and arrogant, he was able to help Fan Xiaodao out of trouble.

However, for Fan Xiaodao, he did not get the answer he wanted. Instead, Xu Hu jumped out to disrupt the situation, which made him feel very unhappy. He looked at Xu Hu and saw Xu Hu pulled out the sword from his waist and flicked the sword with one hand.

Above him, a crisp dragon roar sounded, seeming to challenge him.

Fan Xiaodao said: "The sword I have is a killing sword, not a martial arts sword."

The meaning is obvious, if you want to fight, you can.

However, this is not a father-son game, but a life-and-death game.
To be continued...