At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

Soon, under the enthusiastic leadership of Xiao Yan, Xia Yun and Xu Wan'er arrived at the banquet.

Many maids came out from both sides of the hall and began to pour wine and water.

"I've heard that Lord Xia has a beautiful advisor who accompanies him all year round. I saw her today and she is indeed extraordinary."

After the three of them sat down, Xiao Yan took the initiative to speak again, still smiling as he spoke, his eyes fixed on Xu Wan'er.

"Your Majesty, you have wronged my little girl."

When Xu Wan'er heard this, a shy look appeared on her face. This was the first time she was teased by such a person in person.

As for Xia Yun on the side, he grasped the key point in Xiao Yan's words.

This Ninth Prince, whom he had never met before, seemed to know a lot about him.

Seeing Xu Wan'er blushing, Xiao Yan burst into laughter and his gaze returned to Xia Yun.

However, at this time, Xiao Yan did not speak, but took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Xia Yun.

The sudden scene made Xia Yun a little confused.

But he still took the letter from Xiao Yan. However, when he focused his eyes, he found a familiar name on the envelope of the letter.

"Lei Zhenning, Governor of Zhejiang Province, is writing to the Ninth Prince."

Xia Yun's eyes immediately revealed a hint of surprise.

"Master Xia, before you came to the capital, the Governor of Zhejiang Province, Lei Zhenning, had already sent a letter to me by express horse, asking me to take good care of you in the capital. You can open the letter and take a look."

Without waiting for Xia Yun to ask, Xiao Yan took the initiative to explain the origin of the letter.

Open the letter and take a look?

There was a hint of surprise in Xia Yun's surprised eyes, but he still did it.

After quickly opening the envelope, he immediately checked the contents of the letter.

It was not until dozens of breaths had passed that Xia Yun finished reading the contents of the letter, and the surprise and surprise in his eyes gradually faded away.

It turns out that Lei Zhenning and the Ninth Prince Xiao Yan are good friends with a friendship of more than 30 years.

Lei Zhenning is in his fifties and Xiao Yan looks to be in his forties, so their ages are consistent.

In the letter, Lei Zhenning mainly talked about Xia Yun's visit to the capital, and asked Xiao Yan to protect Xia Yun at all costs.

This kindness really moved him.

"I will remember the kindness of the prince and Lord Lei."

Although Xia Yun was a time traveler, he was not someone who did not know how to be grateful. It was truly extraordinary for these two people to treat him like this when they had only a few interactions with him.

"Master Xia, you don't have to be polite. Even if there was no letter from Master Lei, based on what Master Xia did in Zhejiang, I will never allow Master Xia to suffer any loss in the capital."

Xiao Yan laughed.

What he was talking about, of course, was Xia Yun's relief work for disaster victims and punishment of corrupt officials in Hangzhou.

At this point, Xia Yun had a rough judgement of the Ninth Prince in his heart.

At least from now on, the Ninth Prince seems to be a good person with a cheerful and generous personality.

"Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty."

Xia Yun returned the letter to Xiao Yan and nodded with a smile.

"Come, Master Xia, I'll toast you three cups!"

Xiao Yan accepted the letter, then picked up the wine glass, toasted Xia Yun, and drank three glasses in one breath.

"Xia also toasts His Majesty three cups."

As a veteran in the bar, Xia Yun was not vague. He followed Xiao Yan and also drank three glasses of wine in one breath.

After three glasses of wine, the atmosphere at the banquet gradually became lively.

Xiao Yan then asked Xu Wan'er to eat first.

"This is a top-quality bear paw brought from the Northeast. The chef who made this dish is a famous Shandong chef. If the girl eats this dish, it will be extremely beneficial to her beauty."

"There is also this dish, which is six abalones sent as tribute from Guangdong. They are cooked by a famous Cantonese chef. It is a rare delicacy in the world. Miss Xu must try it."

"Master Xia, this is the finest venison tribute from the Western Regions. It was cooked by the famous Anhui cuisine chef Chen Yian in the palace for a whole day and night. You must try it!"

"..."

At the banquet, Xiao Yan did not talk about other things first, but instead introduced the delicious dishes on the table.

Even Xia Yun, who was well-informed, couldn't help but secretly think that the dishes on the table were too extravagant.

It is obvious that the Ninth Prince has extremely good attainments in food.

Under Xiao Yan's enthusiastic introduction, Xia Yun and Xu Wan'er also started to eat.

Only after three rounds of wine and five dishes had been prepared did Xiao Yan's gaze return to Xia Yun.

"I heard that when Lord Xia entered the capital yesterday, he beat up the city guard commander under Mu Chun at the city gate. I wonder if this is true?"

There was a hint of anticipation in Xiao Yan's inquiring expression.

Hearing this, Xia Yun smiled awkwardly.

"Xia Yun had just arrived in the capital and didn't know the people there. The guards were deliberately making things difficult for him, so Xia ordered his men to take action."

Xia Yun didn't know why Xiao Yan asked this question, so he had to respond truthfully.

Unexpectedly, when Xiao Yan heard this, the next moment, he burst into laughter of gloating.

"Good fight! Good fight!"

"Ha ha!"

"I have long been fed up with those bastards in Prince Mu's Mansion!"

While Xiao Yan was laughing, he did not forget to utter sarcastic words.

Seeing this, although Xia Yun was a little surprised, he also heard some information from Xiao Yan's words.

The relationship between the Ninth Prince's Mansion and the Mu Prince's Mansion doesn't seem to be very good.

"Don't worry, Xia Yun. Just beat those guys. If those bastards from Prince Mu's Mansion dare to cause trouble for you, just tell me and I will take care of them myself!"

After a loud laugh, Xiao Yan said to Xia Yun with a solemn look on his face.

"Then Xia would like to thank His Majesty,"

Xia Yun nodded happily.

"Xia Yun, I heard that you first served as the county magistrate in Dai County for three years, and then were directly transferred to Hangzhou. I guess you don't know much about the affairs of the court."

"You must remember what I am going to tell you next."

Suddenly, Xiao Yan's expression changed and became serious.

When Xia Yun heard this, his expression instantly became more serious.

"Since your majesty ascended the throne, in just a few years, the imperial power is still unstable. The court is surrounded by many ministers and factions are numerous and complicated."

"Generally speaking, the largest faction is the Jiangnan Party officials. I think you already know this in Zhejiang."

When Xiao Yan mentioned the three words "Jiangnan Party", his voice became particularly low.

"The current cabinet chief Xu Jinsong, the Minister of Works Wei Zili, and the Minister of Revenue Pei Yan are all officials of the Jiangnan Party."

"In addition, half of the officials in the court are from Jiangnan. Their influence is extremely huge. Even Your Majesty is wary of the Jiangnan Party."

Xiao Yan paused and looked at Xia Yun again.

"Chen Hanzhi and Zuo Anning, who you had previously taken down in Zhejiang, are also Jiangnan Party officials. They will inevitably target you when you go to Beijing. You must be mentally prepared."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Since Xia has the guts to come to the capital, he has already made preparations."

Xia Yun nodded upon hearing this, with a look of deep agreement on his face.