Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The emperor tightly grasped the corner of Lu Wan's clothes, so even though Lu Wan wanted to leave, she couldn't move at all. She was slightly stunned by the emperor's words and was a little at a loss for what to do.

Dian Wei, who was standing by, saw that Lu Wan wanted to leave but was forcibly held back by the emperor and was unable to escape. He mistakenly thought that the emperor was forcing Lu Wan, and he became extremely anxious. He shouted, "Your Majesty, since the young lady does not want to stay, why do you insist on keeping her?" After shouting, he made a gesture to step forward to stop the emperor.

The emperor, already feeling a bit uneasy because he hadn't invited Wang Yue and his apprentice to attend the banquet, panicked when he saw Dian Wei charging towards him. He quickly turned to Liu Bei and said, "Uncle, quickly have Generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stop this reckless man."

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stood up without a word and quickly grabbed Dian Wei. Seeing the two sides about to clash, the situation suddenly became tense. Seeing this, Lu Wan sighed inwardly. She didn't want this wonderful banquet to become a mess, so she quickly whispered, "Dian Wei, please leave." Then, turning to the emperor, she said, "Your Majesty, if that's the case, I will stay and reunite with my brothers."

Upon hearing this, the emperor's face lit up with joy, and he hastily arranged for Lu Wan to sit at the table to his right. Furthermore, the emperor, not forgetting to show his favor, loudly ordered, "Come here, prepare another table, and let General Dian Wei sit there as well." Upon receiving the order, the eunuch hurried down to prepare it.

Over there, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were still holding Dian Wei. Dian Wei looked unhappy and said angrily, "Let go!" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not want this incident to ruin the originally lively and harmonious atmosphere of the banquet, so they had to let go and returned to their seats in disappointment.

At this time, the eunuchs had not yet arranged the newly added seats, but Dian Wei saw Ma Chao on the field. He did not care about any arrangements and walked quickly to Ma Chao's side, saying casually as he walked: "Hey, General, you are here too! Well, don't arrange a seat for me, I will just sit with you and eat and drink, it's very comfortable!"

Ma Chao couldn't help but chuckle at this, then moved aside to make room for Dian Wei. Seeing this, Dian Wei sat down immediately, then, without thinking twice, reached out and grabbed the delicious food in front of Ma Chao, stuffing it into his mouth. His eating manners were completely unrefined. Ma Chao, on the other hand, just smiled at Dian Wei's behavior, but he didn't seem annoyed.

This situation caught everyone at the banquet off guard, and everyone's gazes turned toward him. The emperor, upon seeing this, instantly darkened, his anger building like a volcano about to erupt. However, he suppressed his rage, clenching his fists tightly within his robes. His nails dug deeply into his palms from the excessive force, yet he maintained a forced composure, maintaining a semblance of harmony at the banquet.

The emperor suppressed his anger and slowly raised his glass, saying, "Ah, it is a great honor to have you all gathered here for this grand feast. Each of you here is a trusted minister, my right-hand man. Come, drink this cup to the full." Upon hearing this, everyone raised their glasses and drank it all in one gulp. Only Dian Wei, the simpleton, was still busy eating and drinking, oblivious to the emperor's words and completely unconcerned with the toast.

After everyone finished drinking and put down their glasses, the emperor continued, "Since this is a family banquet, firstly, it's to mourn Master Lu, and secondly..." He turned his gaze to Lu Wan and continued, "My beloved, these are all your fellow disciples. You should toast to them one by one. Firstly, thank them for taking the trouble to come and pay tribute to Master Lu; secondly, thank them for their contributions to the country on my behalf."

Lu Wan's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. At this moment, Ma Chao quickly spoke up to defend her, saying, "Your Majesty, you are wrong. Although today is a family dinner, and it is due to your Majesty's grace, we are still closely related to the Imperial Concubine, and there is a hierarchy of rank. How dare we bother the Imperial Concubine to offer a toast? This is truly incompatible with the proper etiquette of high and low, and absolutely unacceptable."

At this time, the emperor gently defended himself, "Alas, Marquis Wei, this is wrong. How can this be said to be against etiquette? This is originally a family dinner. I have repeatedly emphasized that you are all my trusted ministers. Even if the imperial concubine offers a glass of wine, what's the big deal? Besides, this situation is not without precedent.

In the past, King Zhuang of Chu held a grand banquet for his ministers. It was a lively and exciting occasion. To reward his meritorious officials, King Zhuang of Chu arranged this sumptuous banquet. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, everyone was enjoying themselves to the fullest.

At this time, King Zhuang of Chu specifically ordered his beloved concubine to come out and toast to each of the ministers. The concubine was beautiful and graceful. As she held the wine pot and walked lightly among the ministers to toast, her grace was truly magnificent, attracting everyone's attention.

But during the toast, a sudden gust of wind blew out the candles at the banquet. Instantly, darkness fell all around. And in this darkness, something unexpected happened. One of the ministers, perhaps emboldened by the wine, took advantage of the darkness and reached out to tug at the corner of his beloved concubine's clothes. This was an extremely disrespectful act.

The beloved concubine was frightened, but she reacted quickly. She immediately pulled off the minister's hat tassel, then hurried to King Zhuang of Chu and cried to him about the incident, saying that someone had been rude to her in the dark. She pulled off the man's hat tassel and begged King Zhuang of Chu to stand up for her and find this audacious man to punish him.

But guess what? When King Zhuang of Chu heard about this, he didn't fly into a rage and pursue the offender. Instead, he ordered all the ministers present to remove their hat tassels. Although they were a little confused, they couldn't disobey the king's order, so they all took off their hat tassels.

After the candles were relit, there was no trace of the hat tassel at the banquet, and naturally there was no way to trace who the rude person was.

Later, during a battle, a general named Tang Jiao was exceptionally brave, charging into battle and making remarkable achievements, playing a crucial role in the victory of the State of Chu. After the battle, when King Zhuang of Chu was rewarding his meritorious officers, he discovered that this brave general, Tang Jiao, was the same man who had been rude to his beloved concubine at the banquet.

King Zhuang of Chu was so magnanimous and forgiving at the time that he not only did not hold him accountable for his fault, but instead made him grateful and repay him with his life on the battlefield. Therefore, I asked the imperial concubine to toast today to create such a harmonious atmosphere. How can it be said that this is against etiquette?

The emperor paused briefly, as if weighing his next words. After a moment, he spoke calmly, "My dear ministers, listen to me. This situation isn't something I've just thought of on a whim." His gaze slowly swept over the ministers present, and he continued, "Similar things have happened in the past, and there's precedent. This isn't something I've just come up with out of thin air."

At this point, the Emperor gently raised his hand and waved it, continuing, "Moreover, each of you present here is my most capable right-hand man, my most trusted ministers, and the backbone of the Han Dynasty. You have tirelessly served this country, achieving illustrious military exploits and offering counsel at court, all of you have made indelible contributions. Moreover, you are all fellow disciples of the Imperial Concubine, and your friendship is deep. Based on your status and conduct, you are certainly not the type to be frivolous or ignorant of etiquette. Therefore, what is there to worry about regarding the Imperial Concubine's toast?"

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Ma Chao's expression froze. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, while that's true, there's a crucial difference." He bowed slightly as a sign of respect, then continued earnestly, "Your Majesty, you know that King Zhuang of Chu wasn't a legitimate heir of the Zhou Dynasty. He was merely a regional prince. While he held considerable prestige among the princes, his status was vastly different from that of the legitimate Han Emperor, Your Majesty. Furthermore, King Zhuang of Chu's beloved consort was merely an ordinary concubine, and her position within the palace was incomparable to that of the Han imperial consort."

Ma Chao paused, then looked at the Emperor with a determined gaze. He continued, "Furthermore, Concubine Lu's situation is completely different. Your Majesty has already personally issued an imperial decree, clearly informing the world that you will soon appoint the Concubine as Empress. The Empress is the head of the harem, the mother of the nation, and an incomparably noble position. Her every move affects the reputation of the imperial family and the order of the harem. As subjects, we, receiving Your Majesty's grace, should strictly abide by our duties and respect the rules of the imperial family. How could we allow the Concubine, who will soon become Empress, to personally toast us? This is truly unreasonable and contrary to the etiquette of our dynasty. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider and revoke your order."

The emperor frowned slightly at Ma Chao's sharp words. Seeing Ma Chao's full support, and even explicitly raising the issue of the empress's enthronement, he remained silent for a moment. His gaze slowly shifted from Ma Chao, then moved among the crowd, finally landing on Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan, noticing the emperor's gaze, understood the emperor's intention. He abruptly stood up, his expression stern and serious, and said, "Junior Brother Mengqi, your words are quite inappropriate. Your Majesty's actions were clearly intended to show favor to us, demonstrating your respect and care for us. Yet, you intervened. This is profoundly disrespectful."

Gongsun Zan raised his voice slightly at this point, a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes as he continued, "Furthermore, at this moment, Concubine Lu has not yet been officially crowned as empress. Besides, this is Your Majesty's family affair, concerning the inner workings of the imperial family. How can you arbitrarily interfere or make unwarranted comments?"

As he spoke, he glanced around, his eyes sweeping across everyone's faces, as if observing their reactions. He then added, "Let's not talk about who arrived first, but in terms of moral integrity within the palace, how is Concubine Gongsun inferior to anyone else? Within this harem, Concubine Gongsun has always upheld a virtuous character, treating the servants with kindness and generosity, and even more so towards Your Majesty, always prioritizing the interests of the imperial family. Your Majesty's appointment of a queen must be your own wish. What connection does Your Majesty's decision have with us, the outsiders? As outsiders, we receive Your Majesty's salary and eat the royal family's stipend. We should understand our status and position. Can we disregard the order of rank and disobey Your Majesty's wishes?"