The grass in the factory should be plucked

The Autumn Hunting Banquet was held on an island in the middle of the lake. The emperor looked sick but was forcing himself to be energetic. He sat on the throne, surrounded by several concubines dressed in gorgeous clothes.

This time hunting, he did not bring high-ranking concubines such as Concubine Zhou and Concubine Xiao, but only a few beauties and noble ladies.

The society of Great Chu was open-minded, and there was no distinction between men and women at palace banquets. It was the best occasion for the children of the aristocratic and powerful families to show themselves in public. The place was filled with beautiful women in fine clothes, and it seemed that the shadow of the bloodbath of the imperial guards two days ago had completely dissipated.

Apart from a few princesses, the only princes present were the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Jin.

The King of Qi was full of vigor and vitality, handsome and elegant, like an orchid or a jade tree, and won the admiring gazes of many noble ladies.

Sitting next to him was the dignified and graceful Princess Zheng of Qi.

It's a pity that many noble ladies sighed with regret and turned their attention to the Prince of Jin on the other side.

The Prince of Jin has a handsome face, red lips and white teeth. He is a beautiful young man with a scholarly air. He has also attracted a lot of admiring glances. The key is that he doesn't have a wife yet!

Nangong Qinghe did not respond to these admiring glances. He was distracted and was naturally thinking about Jiang Li.

The palace banquet was brightly lit, with beautiful ladies in elegant clothes, but his Ah Li was somewhere feeling the cold wind!

It would be great if she could attend the palace banquet with me. She is so beautiful, and if she dresses up, she will definitely be the most beautiful person in the whole audience...

It was also the first time that the emperor looked directly at his almost forgotten son.

After he was so angry that he vomited blood, the imperial doctors and Shen Muchun worked together to formulate a prescription. Prince Jin actually mingled with the imperial doctors to help them, and he also boiled the medicine himself.

His mother was the daughter of a merchant of humble origin. She was also suspected of murdering the unborn baby of Concubine Zhou and was banished to the cold palace.

Since then he has rarely seen his son.

Occasionally during the New Year holidays, when the emperor saw him looking cowardly and shrinking, he didn't want to even look at him a second time.

Now he has grown into a handsome, gentle and graceful young man.

Seeing him talking calmly and confidently in front of the imperial physician and Shen Muchun, the old emperor actually felt somewhat relieved.

Especially compared with the stupid and domineering eldest prince, this youngest son seems to have some good points?

I heard that he studied pharmacology with the imperial physicians, which shows that he is filial. However, medicine is a minor profession. To govern the country and bring peace to the world, one needs a prince like Nangong Xihe who is both civil and military wise.

The eldest prince has been deposed, so there should be no opposition in the court to making the Prince of Qi the crown prince, right?

When the emperor thought of this, he turned his loving gaze to the Prince of Qi again. Seeing Zheng beside him, he couldn't help but frown again. The Prince of Qi still had no legitimate son, so he had to urge him.

As the crown prince, having a successor is also a hard condition.

The accompanying princes, nobles, civil and military officials sat on both sides.

Liao Wuyong sat in the chief seat, wearing a dragon robe, a jade belt around his waist, with a stern face and sharp eyes.

Xie Chang'an was sitting below him, dressed in a bright red python robe and a flying fish costume, with a cloud gauze crown on his head. He was handsome and elegant, yet had a hint of indescribable evil charm. His pair of peach blossom eyes seemed to be able to captivate people's souls, attracting many noble ladies to stare at him frequently.

This is even more regrettable. Many noble ladies from official families like Zou Ke'er, who have ever met Xie Chang'an, all feel extremely sorry that such a handsome and unparalleled person actually has that kind of identity!

After the singing and dancing, it is time to present the game.

Originally, the eldest prince Nangong Taihe should have been the first to offer his prey, but now that he was under house arrest, the second prince, Prince Qi, stepped forward to offer his prey.

The King of Qi presented five stags and seven wild wolves. The hunting ground had only been open for three days, and it was quite a good hunt to get these prey, which won cheers from the audience.

"Good, good! There will be a huge reward!" The emperor was very happy, and his face, which had originally looked old and haggard due to illness, seemed to be much more energetic.

The prey offered by King Jin was much smaller, only a few pheasants and rabbits.

Not only was the emperor not angry, he unexpectedly encouraged him.

"My son is still young, and this is his first time to participate in hunting, so this achievement is not bad. You can ask your royal brother for advice humbly at ordinary times. I hope my son will study hard, assist the king in the future, and become a talented person in the Great Chu."

Prince Jin bowed deeply and said, "I will follow your instructions and live up to your expectations."

This was tantamount to announcing to all the ministers the Third Prince's future position - a wise king.

The King of Qi curled his lips and smiled. If the third brother would always be so non-competitive, he could give him a lifetime of wealth and honor. After all, a wise ruler also needs a reputation of being "friendly and respectful to his brothers."

Next came the hunting offerings from princes, nobles and important officials of the court.

After the hunting sacrifice, it is time to reward the prey.

"Thank you, my dear minister." The emperor called out Xie Changan's name first.

Xie Changan stood tall and knelt before the emperor.

The emperor was delighted to see such a handsome young man. "Thank you for your loyalty and diligence, your dedication to your duties, and your remarkable achievements. I am very pleased. I will promote you to the rank of deputy commander, grant you the title of General Mingwei, and give you a thousand taels of gold."

Xie Changan bowed deeply: "I bow to thank the emperor for his grace!"

All the ministers were envious. Xie Chang'an was promoted twice in just two or three months. He was only in his early twenties, but he was already a fourth-rank official!

The East Factory has made many achievements recently. The Cuixiang Pavilion case and the Zhang Yu case are both major cases with wide-ranging implications. Recently, they discovered a secret passage in the hunting ground, captured an assassin, and saved two princes. Xie Changan deserves this reward.

At that moment, many old officials congratulated Liao Wuyong: "Lord Liao has a successor, which is a cause for celebration!"

Liao Wuyong smiled with satisfaction and felt proud of it.

The subordinates of the East Factory also received rewards. For secret guards like Jiang Li who were not on the list, Xie Changan would ask for rewards for them, which would be converted into silver or other in-kind items.

Jiang Li naturally earned a large sum of money, and with the Longmen Commercial Bank making a fortune every day, she has become a real wealthy woman!

The palace banquet began, with toasts, singing and dancing. Nangong Qinghe brought the young eunuch Yuanbao to the lake alone, staring at the mountains not far away in a trance.

Ah Li, just wait a little longer, I will make sure you can appear in front of everyone with dignity!

At this time, Cui Jin and her maid also walked slowly from the lakeside.

"His Royal Highness King Jin."

She was dressed very delicately today, with eyebrows like a crescent moon, eyes like autumn water, and lips like cherry blossoms.

Unfortunately, Nangong Qinghe just glanced at her indifferently, then found an excuse to leave.

Cui Jin was a little angry. Was this Prince of Jin unromantic, or did he have someone in his heart?

It seems I have to ask my brother to find out.

She, Cui Jin, would never be willing to be inferior to others.

After Xie Changan toasted a round of wine, he made an excuse to go on inspection, picked up a food box from the imperial kitchen, and hurried back to the mountain.

As expected, Jiang Li was sitting cross-legged on the wooden roof, with his five heads facing the sky, holding his breath and entering a state of meditation.

He leaped onto the roof, lifted his shirt and sat down beside her.

Jiang Li finished her meditation and opened her eyes, meeting his loving gaze.

In the moonlight, his pair of peach blossom eyes sparkled and shone with a hint of drunkenness, making him particularly attractive.

Jiang Li's face flushed, and he asked, "Sir, is the palace banquet over? Why are you back so early?"

Xie Changan smiled slightly and handed her the food box: "I was worried that the little cat at home would be hungry, so I brought her some food."

Hearing him calling her by her nickname half-jokingly, Jiang Li felt a little shy: "Thank you, sir."

She happily opened the food box, which contained a sumptuous array of dishes and several kinds of exquisite pastries.

The little eagle flapped its wings and flew over: "Sister, is there a share for me?"

"Of course there are. No one can be hungry. We ride the wind."

Jiang Li smiled, picked up a large piece of roasted venison and gave it to Chengfeng, then started eating with a smile on her face.

Seeing her and her eagle eating happily, Xie Changan couldn't help but curl his lips slightly, feeling indescribably happy.