Because it was late autumn, the sun set extra early.
When the last ray of light on the horizon was covered by the night, the Bixiao Palace was already brightly lit, especially the Ziyang Palace where the banquet was held, which was even more lively at this time.
As usual, this autumn hunting night banquet starts at four o'clock.
However, the dignitaries attending the banquet and the princes and princesses in the palace will arrive a little early. Firstly, they can get to know each other and get closer to each other. Secondly, they can also avoid arriving later than Emperor Jin and being charged with a serious crime of disrespect.
Except for the royal family, almost all of the people participating in the Autumn Hunting this time were the top dignitaries in Kyoto.
Led by the four pillar families, the lowest ones are the family members of officials of third rank or above.
Of course, Su Wenshao's family, the fourth-rank lieutenant, was considered another one. As the in-laws of the sixth prince, Prince Kang, they were naturally invited as an exception.
Su Luo followed her father, looking around aimlessly, until she saw a familiar figure, then her eyes lit up and she quietly waved her hand.
The visitor was none other than the Ninth Prince Jiang Yunzhou who had just entered the palace.
Jiang Yunzhou also saw his cheap nephew for the first time and nodded with a smile.
He had no intention of coming forward to say hello. Both of them knew very well that their status was not suitable for talking here.
"I've met His Highness Ninth Prince!"
After Jiang Yunzhou entered the palace, some officials led their family members to greet him.
Although they all knew that Jiang Yunzhou was a little dull-minded, both his mother-in-law Canglan Yuening and his fifth brother King Yan were very powerful, so they did not dare to show any disrespect in front of Jiang Yunzhou.
Jiang Yunzhou was not arrogant and returned the greetings one by one.
Faced with all the meaningless chatter, he didn't expect that the "bad brain" thing actually had its benefits. After he pretended to be deaf and dumb, his ears quickly became much quieter.
After getting rid of the entanglements of those powerful people, Jiang Yunzhou and his party walked to their seats under the leadership of a palace maid.
His position is at the end of the first row. The Jin Emperor has not yet entered the palace. He can only stand and cannot sit down yet.
Directly above the banquet were the seats of Jin Emperor Jiang Hongzheng and Jin Queen Nangong Rong. There were three tables at the back, which were the seats of the accompanying concubines. Jiang Yunzhou's mother-in-law did not accompany her this time.
On both sides below, the first row on the left is for the prince, the first row on the right is for the first-rank officials, and other officials are arranged in the back.
Although the status of women in the Jin Dynasty is lower than that of men, they are relatively open to the public. They can also be seated at this kind of informal banquet. However, except for the princess and Mrs. Yipin Gaoming, the other women's seats are very far back.
During this autumn hunt, Jiang Yunzhou was the youngest among the princes accompanying him, and he had not yet been crowned king.
The kingship of the Jin Kingdom is based on the spiritual master's talent. Only a double spirit or a pure spirit can be crowned a prince. According to his talent, even if his brain is not affected, he can at most be a county prince.
However, his position is also at the top of the list, which shows that his mother, concubine and brother are definitely strong enough as backers.
Wait for a while.
"I have met His Highness the King of Wei and His Highness the King of Wu——"
A burst of noisy greetings came from the door. Jiang Yunzhou turned around and saw two men wearing red dragon brocade robes walking into the main hall with their families. These two men were the fourth prince Jiang Yunsheng and the eighth prince Jiang Yunhai.
One of them is Prince Qizhu, and the other is Prince Sanzhu. The fourth prince's royal title is 'Wei', and the eighth prince's royal title is 'Wu'.
Both of them are Jiang Yunzhou's brothers. Although they don't have much interaction on weekdays, Wei King Jiang Yunsheng has always competed with King Yu for the position of crown prince.
In the original book, when the Jin Emperor died of illness, Wei King Jiang Yunsheng took advantage of the chaos and fled to another country, and later joined the forces of the male patron Gu An who was relegated.
As the saying goes, the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
Naturally, Jiang Yunzhou couldn't choose to ignore him like he did to King Yu, so he stepped forward and saluted:
"I have met His Highness the King of Wei and His Highness the King of Wu."
When King Wei saw Jiang Yunzhou, a warm smile suddenly appeared on his face. He stepped forward and stretched out his hand to help Jiang Yunzhou up, and said with a hearty smile:
"Haha, they are all brothers. How can I call you Your Highness? Just call me Emperor Brother. I heard that my ninth brother was feeling unwell and had been sleeping for several days. Do you feel better now?"
Compared to Prince Yu, who had the wretched temperament of a middle-aged greasy man, Prince Wei looked a bit fairer, and his solemn demeanor made him look very mature and steady.
"Thank you for your concern, brother Huang. Nothing happens in Yunzhou."
"Hey, Ninth Brother, you..."
King Wei looked at Jiang Yunzhou with some surprise, seeming to see the changes that had taken place in Jiang Yunzhou.
"After waking up this time, I suddenly felt that my brain was a little more flexible."
Jiang Yunzhou responded with a faint smile. It was impossible to hide his changes from everyone, so he simply pushed it to the point where he had been sleeping for three days and asked what Xiao Huazi said, and he suddenly became enlightened...
"I just said, I always feel that Ninth Brother's demeanor has changed so much that he can do such a good thing, so, so, so—"
King Wei patted Jiang Yunzhou on the shoulder and said with joy.
The battle for the East Palace between him and King Yu was on the losing side, especially after he heard that King Yu would offer a set of sixth-grade secrets, he had faintly given up on competing for the crown prince's position.
If the sixth-grade secret technique is of the gold type, it will definitely become a national treasure, and it will definitely make those neutral royal families completely turn to King Yu.
In the past, before Jiang Yunzhou came out of the cabinet, he could not have much contact with him. Now he saw that Jiang Yunzhou's demeanor was no different from that of a normal person, and Jiang Yunsheng had the idea of making good friends with him.
If he could make good friends with Lao Wu through him, and with the power behind him and the protection of King Yan, he would still be able to keep a glimmer of hope even if King Yu successfully climbed to the top.
"His Royal Highness Prince Yu is here~"
While the two were chatting, the eunuch greeting him at the door sang.
King Yu Jiang Yunde and King Kang walked in with several maids.
On such an occasion of a royal banquet, except for the Jin Emperor, only the Jiuzhu Prince like Yu Wang Jiang Yunde and the four pillars of the country are qualified to greet the ceremony and sing "Nai".
As soon as King Yu entered the hall, he immediately became the focus of the audience. Many ministers came forward to salute. King Yu enjoyed the feeling of being watched by everyone.
"No gift——"
He raised his hands, imitating the way he had been promoted to the emperor in the past, making empty gestures, smiling and greeting the dignitaries, showing off the air of a superior, like you are all good dogs, but I am the alpha wolf.
After a while of "You are very good" and "He has a promising future", he suddenly saw Jiang Yunzhou standing with King Wei.
His face suddenly turned cold.
"snort--"
Prince Yu narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly. Thinking of being teased by Jiang Yunzhou that morning, a surge of anger suddenly arose in his heart.
He actually dares to approach King Wei now. He is really a reckless boy.
I really thought I would be afraid of a King Yan who only knows how to fight and kill.
Wait, then.
When this king ascends to the throne, none of you can escape!
King Yu glared at Jiang Yunzhou and King Wei coldly, and then walked towards the front of the hall with King Kang and several maids.
"Tsk, the villain succeeds."
After he walked away, King Wu Jiang Yunhai behind King Wei snorted and muttered in a low voice.
"Eighth brother, be careful what you say! Be careful of trouble coming from your mouth."
King Wei glanced at him warningly, reminding Jiang Yunhai to pay attention to the occasion.
Jiang Yunhai obviously listened to King Wei's words very much. He looked in the direction of King Yu, curled his lips, closed his mouth, and said no more.
"The Duke of Zhenguo has arrived~"
There was another chant, and an old man with a strong figure and majestic appearance walked into the main hall. He was wearing a purple and gold official uniform, and his whole person exuded a breathtaking aura.
The officials came forward to salute again, and the scene was no less than when King Yu entered the palace just now.
Behind him was a middle-aged couple with excellent looks and temperament.
No wonder they could give birth to a beauty with stunning looks like Chu Xiaoqing. The looks of this couple are also quite impressive!
Jiang Yunzhou was secretly speechless.
After greeting many officials at the door, Duke Chu Tianyao also walked towards his seat. When passing Jiang Yunzhou, he paused slightly, glanced at his grandson-in-law coldly with a pair of tiger eyes, and then went straight Leave.
That face was equally beautiful, but Chu Xiaoqing's mother, Xiao Mo, didn't even look at Jiang Yunzhou.
On the other hand, Chu Xiaoqing's father, Chu Jicheng, smiled and nodded at him.
Jiang Yunzhou didn't have the habit of being cold-hearted. He didn't take the initiative to greet Duke Zhen. He just smiled at Chu's father and returned the greeting.
After watching the group of people from Zhenguo Duke's Mansion pass by, he subconsciously looked at the door of the palace, feeling a little confused:
Strange, why didn't she come...
