Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it is already September. The heatstroke in Bianjing City has dissipated, and the autumn air is crisp and the geese are flying south. It is a rare good time of the year.
However, the situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty has entered a very sensitive period.
It has been more than a year since the new emperor took the throne, and Empress Dowager Cao has basically returned to power, but she still refuses to withdraw the curtain, and firmly holds the jade seal and refuses to hand it over.
There was already a lot of resentment between Zhao Zongquan and Empress Dowager Cao, the "mother and son", but now because of the jade seal incident, the relationship between the two has worsened and is about to become incompatible.
The ministers in the DPRK were very worried. Han Zhang, Wen Yanchang, and Shen Weizhong, as the leaders of the court officials, had been admonishing the emperor and empress these days, but to no avail. They all suffered from headaches.
Fortunately, there is finally something happy.
Under the unremitting efforts of Gaoyang County Prince Zhao Ceying and the County Princess, they finally welcomed their eldest son, the emperor's eldest grandson of the Great Zhou Dynasty was finally born.
The birth of the emperor's eldest grandson made the whole court clear away the gloom of the past few days, creating a scene of joy.
Zhao Zongquan was also very happy. He searched the royal treasury and rewarded his eldest grandson with many precious and rare festive treasures.
Among them is a long-life lock made of jade, exquisitely pecked, with twin fishes playing in the water, warm and shiny, and engraved with the four words "wealth and longevity", which means avoiding misfortune, exorcising evil spirits, and living a long life.
In addition, Zhao Zongquan also specially asked Empress Shen to dispatch twenty maids from the palace to serve her. The rules were doubled every time, which shows Zhao Zongquan's love for his eldest grandson.
Even Zhao Ceying benefited from the honor of his new-born son and was granted the title of King Huan by the Prince of Gaoyang County.
Since the death of the late emperor, this was the first great joyous event in the Zhou Dynasty that was celebrated by everyone. Zhao Zongquan specifically asked Zhao Ceying to make a grand event for the emperor's eldest grandson's 100-day banquet to show the prosperity of the new emperor and his new policy.
So Prince Huan's palace went out of its way to send invitations to the residences of prominent civil and military officials one by one, inviting them to bring their families to the banquet to congratulate the emperor on the birth of his eldest grandson.
Naturally, the Wei Mansion in Laoya Lane also received the invitation, and it was specially sent by Zhao Ceying's confidant.
Not long after Enke's death, Wei Chen was promoted to Zhan Shifu of Zhan Shi Mansion, the third rank, due to his meritorious service.
Although Bianjing City has always had as many dignitaries as dogs, and ministers everywhere, it is still quite rare to have officials up to the third rank. The six ministers are only the third rank, and the higher ones are the six ministers.
At Wei Chen's current level, it is no exaggeration to call him an important official in the imperial court.
This time, Wei Chen gained a lot from Enco and gained a lot of limelight. He knew very well the principle of giving up when something is good. After Enco, he became even more low-key.
Zhan Shi's Mansion is a leisurely yamen. There are very few trivial matters on weekdays, and there is no need for Wei Chen, Zhan Shi's Mansion, to worry about it. Wei Chen just goes to Zhan Shi's Mansion to answer questions every day, and then goes home.
When attending the court meeting, Wei Chen was also cautious in his words and deeds, rarely expressed his opinions, and remained unknown for nearly half a year. Everyone almost forgot that there was such an important third-rank official in the court.
This time, the emperor's eldest grandson's 100-day banquet was taken very seriously from top to bottom, and there was a lot of noise. Wei Chen originally did not want to show his face.
However, after all, Wei Chen and Zhao Ceying are both teachers and friends. They have been friends for many years and their relationship is extraordinary. Now that Zhao Ceying is getting married, Wei Chen should go and congratulate him both emotionally and rationally.
Therefore, on the day of the centenary banquet, Wei Chen no longer kept a low profile, put on a fancy dress, brought generous gifts, and went to Prince Huan's Mansion with Rulan Minglan to attend the banquet.
On the road leading to Prince Huan's Mansion, Wei Chen found that there were a lot of people traveling with him. Soft sedans and horse-drawn carriages came to banquet officials and dignitaries, as well as many ceremonial guards, which crowded the roads around Prince Huan's Mansion.
The journey that used to take just one meal took more than half an hour this time.
Wei Chen sighed secretly, and the carriage he was sitting on finally moved slowly to the door of Prince Huan's Mansion. As expected, there was another busy scene here.
Wei Chen led Ru Lan and Ming Lan out of the carriage, and was soon discovered by the sharp-eyed steward of the palace.
Since Zhao Ceying and his son came to Beijing, Wei Chen has been a guest at Zhao Ceying's house frequently. Most of the officials in the house have known the prince's mentor for a long time.
Seeing Wei Chen's family arriving, the steward in charge of welcoming guests saluted Wei Chen with a smile on his face. After accepting Wei Chen's gift, he sent someone to guide Wei Chen and his wife, while Wei Chen went to the front hall alone.
Then Rulan and Minglan went to the back house where the female relatives gathered.
Wei Chen separated from his wife and walked to the front hall by familiar means. There were about twenty tables set up inside, and half of the guests had arrived. When Wei Chen came in, everyone stood up with a smile and saluted.
After Wei Chen returned the gifts one by one, he looked around carefully and was almost shocked.
Good guy!
The people sitting at my table were either dukes, marquises or ministers. They were all the top officials and dignitaries of the Zhou Dynasty. He, a third-rank Zhanshifu Zhanshi, was placed in this circle of people and became an official.
The youngest one.
However, after only being stunned for a moment, Wei Chen immediately came to his senses. With this arrangement, Zhao Ceying regarded himself, the teacher, as half the master and asked him to help accompany the guests. This was a sign of the close relationship between the two families.
Otherwise, with Wei Chen's current status, he is really not qualified to sit at the same table as the big shots in the court in front of him.
"This boy really thinks highly of me!"
Wei Chen thought about Zhao Ceying's intention and couldn't help but feel a little moved. But when he felt the eyes of a table of dignitaries falling on him, he felt a lot of pressure and couldn't help but smile secretly in his heart.
Fortunately, the people sitting at the same table with Wei Chen are also good people. They know Wei Chen's status in the hearts of Zhao Zongquan and his son, and they understand Zhao Ceying's intention of placing Wei Chen here, so they don't dare to underestimate him.
Even the most senior British gentleman among the nobles had a very kind attitude when talking to Wei Chen. Naturally, the others did not dare to show off in front of Wei Chen.
After Wei Chen calmed down, he casually found a few interesting things that happened when he was hosting the Spring Festival as topics, and talked and laughed with the big guys at the table calmly, and everyone had a good time talking with each other.
However, Wei Chen's heart was always thinking about Ru Lan and Ming Lan, who had recently separated from him.
The intrigues among the female family members in the back house are even worse than those in the officialdom. I usually protect Rulan and Minglan too well. This is the first time they have faced such a big scene today, and I don’t know that these two little Nizi can't cope with it.
The more Wei Chen thought about it, the more he felt uneasy. He happened to catch a glimpse of Gu Tingye striding in at the door. Wei Chen apologized to the British father and others at the table, went out to find Gu Tingye, and asked him to let Mr. Shen help take care of him in the back house. One or two.
Xiao Shen is the sister of Empress Shen and the aunt of Zhao Ceying. She is tall among the officials and has a mature head. With her helping to take care of Ru Lan and Ming Lan, Wei Chen can feel a little more at ease.
Gu Tingye naturally agreed to this trivial matter. He immediately summoned the boy next to him and ordered him to go to the back house to deliver a message to Xiao Shen.
After giving the instructions to the boy, Gu Tingye turned around and saw that Wei Chen, who was usually very wise, was still worried about gains and losses. He couldn't help but shook his head and said with a smile: "What is caring and chaos? I have seen it today..."