The banquet held at the home of Cheng Ruhai, the Minister of Punishment, was mainly to welcome Li Xu and others.
The Cheng Mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to celebrate. Li Xu sat on the seat next to Cheng Ruhai and accepted the congratulations from his colleagues.
"Master Li has done such a great job at such a young age. He will have a bright future."
"It's not your place to say this. It only counts when it comes from Mr. Cheng's mouth."
Everyone was talking and laughing.
Li Xu was a disciple of Su Huai. After joining the Ministry of Punishment, he helped everyone complete several cases. The Ministry of Punishment was repeatedly awarded by the court. This time, many officials of the Ministry of Punishment had the opportunity to be promoted after passing the exam. Everyone was happy.
So most people have a good impression of Li Xu.
"The imperial court will naturally reuse such talents." Cheng Ruhai looked at Li Xu with a smile on his face.
Li Xu immediately served Cheng Ruhai with a drink, and everyone at the table also drank with him.
Someone drank two more glasses and said with the strength of the wine: "It's just a pity that Mr. Li can't go to the banquet in the palace. It's somewhat unfair."
Cheng Ruhai shook his head: "That is the emperor's reward for the soldiers who have returned from victory. Naturally, our officials from the Criminal Department cannot go."
"There's nothing much to go to. I heard the banquet ended early.
It was said before that the emperor would reuse General Song, but now it seems... the reward has not come, can General Song lead another army..."
The man stopped suddenly when he said this and just kept shaking his head. It was obvious that he was not completely drunk yet and still had concerns.
This remark aroused everyone's interest.
"How to say?"
The man who spoke looked at Li Xu: "Master Li, you came back from Changzhou. You must know more about Changzhou than we do. Was the Song general seriously injured in Changzhou?"
Everyone looked at Li Xu.
Li Xu raised his head: "It is common for soldiers to get injured in battles. It is not surprising."
The man seemed a little disappointed when he heard this, but he immediately thought of something: "But I heard that the bandits captured by Mr. Song on his way to Beijing are usually very vicious. If Mr. Song is injured, how can he take them in person?
Surround those bandits?"
"What exactly do you want to say?" Someone finally couldn't help but ask.
The man looked around and saw that Cheng Ruhai didn't stop him, so he lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Mr. Song did not attend the palace banquet. It was not a recurrence of an old injury, but another reason."
"What's the reason? Tell me quickly. I'm so anxious."
"Such news will spread throughout the capital tomorrow, so what's the use of being secretive about it."
"Yes, tell me quickly."
The man couldn't bear the adulation from everyone, so he had to say: "The Queen Mother gave Miss Xu many rewards a few days ago, because she wanted the Zhang family to get married with the Xu family. Unexpectedly, Zhang He's lustful heart was hard to change, so he didn't wait.
When Miss Xu arrived in the capital, she went to see her daughter-in-law on the way. She was caught by Prince An Yi, who beat her severely. She was also forced to wear a woman's clothes and was sent to the Yamen as a bandit.
How could the Zhang family give up after losing face? In order to appease the Zhang family, the emperor ordered Song Chengxuan to postpone the marriage of the Xu family. Song Chengxuan finally climbed up a big tree like Anyihou, so naturally he refused to agree, which made Long Yan furious.
He was kicked out of the palace."
Li Xu frowned slightly after listening to these words. These words sounded untrue, but some parts should be true. The emperor did not want Song Chengxuan to marry Anyihou. The emperor must have the general power in his own hands, and the power in the hands of the generals.
It can't be too big, otherwise it will cause trouble.
Although An Yihou has not led troops for many years, he is somewhat famous among generals and nobles.
He had heard when he was in the north that the stability of Northern Xinjiang was all because of Marquis Anyi. Many generals in Northern Xinjiang were promoted by Marquis Anyi, so that the Zhang family still did not control the entire Northern Xinjiang after many years in the north.
In order to protect those generals and give them a place, Marquis Anyi continued to fight with the Zhang family in the court.
On the surface, the generals in Northern Xinjiang have no contact with Anyihou, but secretly they will definitely be grateful for Anyihou's kindness. If Anyihou wants to move, someone will definitely respond.
Fortunately, An Yihou had no intention of leading troops in recent years, and the prince of An Yihou was a dandy, so the emperor had less suspicion about Anyi Hou.
But now the Marquis of Anyi wants to marry the Song family. Song Chengxuan is brave and good at fighting. He was supported by the soldiers when he was in Quanzhou. He became famous in Changzhou in one battle. Such a person is entrusted with important tasks by the court and will inevitably become the commander-in-chief of the party. If he takes over,
Without the relationship left by Marquis An Yi, it would be like adding strength to a tiger, which would surely lead to disaster in time.
With such a balance, the emperor wanted to use Song Chengxuan, so he had to block this marriage.
Song Chengxuan had thought about this before entering Beijing, but he still did not give up, which shows that this marriage is inevitable.
Li Xu couldn't help but picture Song Chengxuan and Xu Qinghuan standing together in front of his eyes. The interests of the Anyi Marquis Mansion were worth Song Chengxuan's risk. Song Chengxuan also had some affection for Miss Xu. And now that he was frustrated, it didn't mean that he had no chance to take over Changzhou.
.
After what happened today, who else dares to work in Changzhou?
Song Chengxuan, a general who had made great achievements, ended up like this because of the revenge of the Queen Mother and the Zhang family. Unless they were members of the Zhang family, few people would have the courage to recommend themselves.
Li Xu's eyes flashed slightly, Song Chengxuan had already regarded Changzhou as his treasure.
"Master Li."
Li Xu raised his glass and drank with everyone.
"If it were me, I wouldn't dare marry Miss Xu."
"No matter where you go, there are crimes happening. Someone died in the Jiashan Princess's mansion today... This eldest lady is an evil star."
"I think you are drunk," Cheng Ruhai said with a hint of reproach in his voice, "Take him to sober him up so that you don't speak out loud."
The banquet is almost done here.
Everyone took this opportunity to get up and say goodbye. Li Xu walked out of the Cheng Mansion and walked towards the Li family's house.
I don’t know how long I walked.
"You can't drink enough!" came a familiar voice.
Li Xu raised his head and saw Xu Qingan.
Xu Qing'an, Qi Defang, and Huang Qinghe walked towards each other.
"This is Master Li," Qi Defang saw Li Xu first, "Master Li, would you like to come with us for another drink?"
"If he doesn't go," Xu Qing'an said with a smile, "Master Li will definitely be involved in official duties."
Qi Defang and Li Xu greeted each other, and Li Xu said, "Where do you guys come from?"
"The Xu family," Qi Defang said, "the Xu family has held a banquet, so we can go over to congratulate them."
Li Xu looked towards the road ahead, and it turned out that the Marquis of Anyi's Mansion was not far away. He arrived here unknowingly.
"Master Li," Xu Qing'an said, "If you don't want to go, we will leave first." It was impossible for Li Xu to go drinking with them. He was so polite, and then everyone went their separate ways.
"I just happened to have an errand, so I feel free to do nothing," Li Xu looked at Xu Qing'an, "Since we met here, I came to join in the fun."
Li Xu really came, and Xu Qingan immediately stopped smiling.
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Will update tomorrow, there are still chapters 6-8