The palace banquet was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This was an external banquet, where only the Emperor and court officials dined together.
Before entering the grand hall, eunuchs led servants carrying trays to collect the swords worn by the military officials.
Fan Changyu had discovered during her first palace visit that they only verified waist tokens and confiscated visible weapons carried on one’s person, without conducting individual body searches. This was why she had strapped short blades to her legs before leaving.
With her long boots on, no one could tell.
After all, those attending imperial audiences or banquets, apart from nobles, were all high-ranking officials. If every court meeting or palace banquet required searching each official’s body before allowing entry, it would not only be time-consuming and laborious but also damage the officials’ dignity and the relationship between ruler and subject.
The rule prohibiting military officials from carrying weapons into the hall, issued throughout dynasties, was firstly to avoid disrespecting the Emperor, and secondly to prevent military officials from challenging the Emperor in the grand hall.
But for those truly harboring rebellious thoughts, what could they achieve with just one blade brought into the grand hall? If someone were to force the Emperor’s abdication, they would surely have already turned the entire palace’s Jinwu Guards.
Ordinary officials would never dare to privately carry weapons into the hall, an act punishable by beheading.
Therefore, the imperial palace had never had the custom of searching officials’ bodies; only palace maids and eunuchs were treated this way.
Fan Changyu’s last palace visit was during the day, when the entire imperial palace already appeared majestic and solemn. Tonight, with snow fluttering, the entire palace city was brightly lit everywhere, hidden in the boundless night like a giant beast whose skin had been burned and cracked, revealing the glowing red charcoal beneath – both magnificent and eerily shocking.
But the darkness untouched by the lamplight also revealed endless wounds and gloom.
Upon entering the Hall of Supreme Harmony, servants guided the officials to their respective seats.
The left side was for civil officials, the right for military officials.
The seats for the Three Excellencies, Nine Ministers, and imperial relatives were closest to the front. Fan Changyu, as a third-rank official, was led by a young eunuch to a seat in the middle of the right side.
In the entire grand hall, among both civil and military officials, Fan Changyu was the only woman.
As soon as she took her seat, she drew glances from all directions – some curious, some appraising.
Previously in the Hall of Golden Chimes, although the court officials had seen Fan Changyu once, it was during a court session. She had faced the Emperor and stood at the front of the hall with Tang Peiyi and others. Officials at the back could only see the trailing scarlet cape behind her armor. Tonight was the first time these courtiers truly saw Fan Changyu.
Fan Changyu knelt on her knees before the low red sandalwood table, her face composed and calm. The third-rank crimson military official robe she wore gave her a unique air of heroism. She kept her back straight as a rod, like a green bamboo growing among craggy rocks, having developed a formidable presence through repeated rooting down and growing up. Among these seasoned officials, she showed not the slightest timidity.
The Emperor hadn’t arrived yet, and the chief seats in both civil and military sections were still empty. The atmosphere in the grand hall was fairly harmonious, with familiar officials chatting in small groups.
Fan Changyu intended to wait quietly for the banquet to begin, but unexpectedly, a young unfamiliar military official walked directly to her table. “I’ve long admired General Fan’s reputation. We only briefly met in the Hall of Golden Chimes before, and tonight I’m fortunate to see General Fan again. Let me toast to General Fan!”
With that, he drained his cup with both hands and turned it upside down for Fan Changyu to see.
The implication was clear: if Fan Changyu didn’t drink, she would be disrespecting him.
At the previous victory celebration in Lu City, Fan Changyu could decline by citing her injuries as a reason not to drink. But at tonight’s palace banquet, even the lowest-ranking official was of the fifth rank. It wasn’t appropriate to refuse such a toast.
The generals in Lu City were at most enthusiastically insistent, but this military official coming to toast before the banquet even began made even the usually unperturbed Fan Changyu sense some undercurrents.
She glanced at the fourth-rank court robe worn by the military official and simply said, “The General is too kind.”
She picked up her own cup, drank it down, and like him, turned her wrist to invert the empty cup.
The military official immediately praised Fan Changyu: “General Fan has an impressive capacity for alcohol!”
He Xiujin also sensed something amiss. Fearing other military officials might approach Fan Changyu to drink, he stood up with his cup and said, “General Song, why not have a drink with me?”
Zheng Wenchang followed suit, standing up and saying, “Who do you think you’re looking down on? In the Chongzhou rebellion suppression campaign, I put in no less effort than General Fan. General Song, you must drink a cup with me too!”
With Zheng Wenchang’s words, the generals who had come to the capital together from Jizhou for their appointments also came forward one after another to drink with that military official.
Now it was that military official’s turn to be unable to refuse. He was forced to drink seven or eight cups before he could return to his seat.
After this commotion, others who had intended to come over for a toast saw the situation clearly. If they drank with Fan Changyu, they would inevitably be forced to drink another round with He Xiujin and the others. The banquet hadn’t even started yet, and they didn’t dare to be too unruly, so no one else approached Fan Changyu for a toast.
Fan Changyu gave Zheng Wenchang a somewhat surprised look. She had previously thought him too rigid, but tonight it seemed his mind was quite sharp, and he played the part of a rough military man quite convincingly.
He Xiujin’s seat was next to Fan Changyu’s. After things settled down, he lowered his voice and said to her, “The Emperor’s praise for our Jizhou army in the Hall of Golden Chimes earlier has likely made many generals discontented. They won’t miss the chance to drink us under the table at tonight’s palace banquet.”
Fan Changyu finally understood why that military official had suddenly come to toast her.
The toast was a pretense; the real intention was to give them a hard time by having people take turns drinking with her.
Fortunately, He Xiujin and Zheng Wenchang were perceptive and intervened in time.
Fan Changyu nodded imperceptibly and said, “I understand.”
Her gaze swept across the grand hall, considering that those who would actively come to toast with her would likely be officials of lower rank or equal to hers. Higher-ranking officials probably wouldn’t lower themselves to do this.
For those lower-ranking military officials, the Jizhou generals banding together should be able to handle the situation.
Before long, Xie Zheng and Grand Tutor Li also arrived for the banquet.
The two men once again found themselves face to face at the entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Grand Tutor Li maintained his usual scholarly demeanor and greeted casually, “Marquis.”
Xie Zheng wore a dark military marquis court robe, with auspicious cloud patterns embroidered in gold and red threads on the knee flaps, shimmering in the lamplight, so intricate it made one dizzy. His jade-like face showed a hint of cold weariness as he lazily lifted an eyelid and said, “What a coincidence, meeting the Grand Tutor again.”
He shifted his body slightly, but his tone lacked any of the respect his words implied: “Grand Tutor is a senior statesman of three reigns. Please, Grand Tutor, after you.”
Grand Tutor Li said, “The Marquis’s military achievements are world-renowned, and you’ve also contributed greatly to this recent rebellion suppression. Tonight’s New Year’s banquet is also a victory celebration. The Marquis should go first.”
Compared to Xie Zheng’s arrogance and casual manner, Grand Tutor Li’s attitude could be considered exceedingly modest. The followers accompanying Grand Tutor Li all showed indignant expressions. Li Yuanting, who usually spoke up first in such situations, was unexpectedly silent this time.
Xie Zheng’s gaze passed over Grand Tutor Li and fell on Li Yuanting, his eyes showing a hint of cold mockery.
He said, “Since the Grand Tutor is so courteous, it would be impolite for me to refuse.”
With that, he stepped into the grand hall. One of Grand Tutor Li’s disciples, unable to contain his indignation, was about to speak up and step forward when Grand Tutor Li raised his hand to stop him.
The censorate official asked in confusion, “Grand Tutor, are we just going to let him be so arrogant? Even Wei Yan has never behaved like this in front of you.”
Grand Tutor Li’s eyes, seemingly covered with a faint blue-gray layer due to age, gave his gaze an indescribable coldness: “Young and vigorous, let him be at the height of his arrogance for now. He will stumble eventually.”
Hearing Grand Tutor Li’s ambiguous words, the Li faction officials showed various expressions.
As Xie Zheng and Grand Tutor Li took their seats, the previously noisy Hall of Supreme Harmony suddenly fell silent.
Fan Changyu looked towards Xie Zheng’s seat. Perhaps because she hadn’t seen him for a long time, or because it was her first time seeing him in court robes, she found herself staring for a moment.
She had always thought that the saying “clothes make the man” didn’t apply to Xie Zheng. Blessed with such an exceptionally handsome appearance, he would exude an air of jade-like quality even in beggar’s clothes.
But this military marquis court robe truly made him look too good.
The gold and red embroidery on the dark black court robe, when illuminated by the hall’s candles, seemed to have a faint golden glow floating around it, making his eye color appear even deeper and the coldness between his brows more pronounced.
As if sensing Fan Changyu’s gaze, Xie Zheng turned to look at her, his eyes also rippling with a barely noticeable wave.
She probably didn’t realize how heroic and dashing she looked in that crimson military official robe.
All the young noblemen in the capital couldn’t match that streak of vigor and brightness between her brows, as if it had been pulled down from the rising sun itself.
With so many people at the banquet, their gazes only met briefly before moving away, but Fan Changyu’s heart still skipped a beat.
When the Emperor arrived, the officials merely went through the motions of rising and bowing.
Fan Changyu also noticed that the court officials seemed to show more respect to Xie Zheng and Grand Tutor Li than to the Emperor.
Wei Yan was still absent from this New Year’s banquet, claiming illness. Grand Tutor Li’s seat should have been the first among civil officials, but he had ordered his seat to be moved back two feet, not daring to directly occupy Wei Yan’s position.
Fan Changyu wasn’t sure if this was caution or pretense on Grand Tutor Li’s part.
He was the one who had dug a big pit to impeach Wei Yan, and that position seemed to be within his grasp, yet he still adhered to every etiquette and never overstepped his bounds.
One could only say that this man was extremely patient and had very deep schemes.
Perhaps because Fan Changyu had been staring at Grand Tutor Li for too long, the elderly man, who was only eating soft, easily digestible food at the banquet, suddenly glanced towards Fan Changyu.
Fan Changyu didn’t avoid his gaze, meeting Grand Tutor Li’s eyes directly.
One gaze seemed gentle but unfathomable, while the other was pure and resolute, as if hiding a blazing sun within.
In the end, Grand Tutor Li was the first to look away, his thin hand using chopsticks to pick up some light vegetables and eat slowly.
Suddenly, a crisp sound of breaking porcelain came from the military officials’ side.
A serving eunuch accidentally spilled wine on Xie Zheng’s court robe. Frightened, the eunuch’s hand weakened, and the wine pot he was holding also fell to the ground.
The attention of everyone at the banquet was drawn to this scene.
The eunuch’s face turned pale with fear. Ignoring the spilled wine on the ground, he kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy: “Spare me, Marquis, please spare me…”
The Emperor, sitting on the dragon throne, saw this scene and couldn’t suppress the excitement in his eyes. He directly called to the Jinwu Guards outside the hall: “Come, take this slave who soiled the Wu’an Marquis’s robe and behead him!”
The court officials gasped, but no one dared to plead for mercy.
Fan Changyu knew that Xie Zheng would probably use this opportunity to leave his seat. She had just frowned when she heard Xie Zheng’s cold voice speak unhurriedly: “It’s just spilled wine. This is the New Year’s banquet; it’s best not to see blood. What does Your Majesty think?”
Qi Sheng had no intention of arguing with Xie Zheng over this matter and immediately said, “Since the Wu’an Marquis has pleaded for you, you stupid slave, quickly thank him for his grace!”
The eunuch kowtowed repeatedly: “Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Wu’an Marquis!”
Qi Sheng barely suppressed the malice rising in his heart and the wild joy of nearly achieving some wish. He put on a normal expression and instructed the head eunuch: “Lead the Wu’an Marquis to change his clothes.”
This was all part of Xie Zheng’s plan. He said “Thank you, Your Majesty” to Qi Sheng and then followed the eunuch out of the grand hall.
As soon as Xie Zheng left, Qi Sheng seemed much happier. In high spirits, he raised his cup to the court officials and said, “Since Our ascension to the throne, Da Yin has faced endless internal and external troubles. Fortunately, with the support of all you loyal ministers, the Da Yin empire has reached its current state. We can say We have not failed Our ancestors’ legacy. Tonight, all loyal ministers should drink to your heart’s content. Don’t leave until you’re drunk!”
His sudden speech naturally led all officials to raise their cups in toast.
Grand Tutor Li said, “Your Majesty’s wisdom is our fortune.”
The court officials then followed with a loud cheer: “Long live His Majesty’s wisdom!”
Fan Changyu felt that using the word “wise” to describe Qi Sheng was somewhat ironic.
After joining in the toast, she sat back down, but her eyelid started twitching uncontrollably again.