Two days later, in the early morning, the Third Division of the East Palace was summoned by the Emperor to the Chonghua Hall to have breakfast and discuss matters.

The assistant minister of the cabinet and the minister of the Ministry of Rites, together with the prince and grand master "Rabbit Prime Minister", were the first to arrive at Zhuque Gate to await the order.

Rabbit Xiang, whose surname is Yu, whose given name is Yi, and whose courtesy name is Changzu, is from Nanping Road, Chaizhou. Because Yi’s pronunciation sounds like rabbit, he is known as Rabbit Xiang.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, "Mei Xiang", the deputy minister of the cabinet and the minister of household affairs, and the crown prince and tutor also arrived.

Mei Xiang, surnamed Cao, given name Mei, courtesy name Guodong, was from Chengtianfu, Beizhili. Because his name contained the character plum, he was known as Mei Xiang.

The last person to come to Zhuque Gate was He Xiang, the chief minister of the cabinet and the official secretary and the crown prince's Taibao.

After the three divisions of the East Palace gathered together, the eunuch guarding the gate immediately went back to deliver the message. After the emperor's decree came down, the three of them passed through the Suzaku Gate and entered the palace to meet the saint.

The three masters came to the Chonghua Hall one after another and took their seats in order according to the previous rules; the crane was on the left, and the plum and rabbit were on the right.

The eunuch "Nine Thousand Years Old", who was in charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor, was busy instructing the young eunuchs to go about their business, serve tea and dishes, and serve the breakfast of the three ministers.

Later, as Jiu Chitose shouted: "The Emperor is here!" everyone in the palace, regardless of their power or position, all knelt down to greet the Emperor.

Perhaps because of the hot weather, the emperor did not wear formal court clothes, but only wore a scarlet uniform when he entered the palace.

The emperor's party walked easily to the center of the palace, walking slowly and slowly surrounded by ministers.

Jiu Chitose followed the emperor step by step, always ready to lend a hand to support him.

The emperor walked up to the nine-step high platform and sat down in front of a long table covered with bright yellow satin.

At this time, the table has been carefully laid out with a total of 18 hot and cold dishes! They are all delicacies of the world, including delicacies from mountains and seas, both meat and vegetables, salty, sweet, sour and spicy, all in color, flavor and flavor.

You know, the emperor's breakfast never has a lot of food, but he will prepare it carefully to replenish his physical strength, and then he will ascend the throne to listen to the government.

There are so many delicacies on the table that it is dizzying to see: there are abalones from Hainan, which are plump and dry and fragrant; there are matsutake mushrooms from Yunnan, which are shaped like gold; there are cantaloupes from northern Xinjiang, as red as fire; there are sugar melon seeds from Jiangnan, which are sweet

tasty.

There are countless exotic flowers and plants, red, purple, yellow, white, colorful and dazzling.

Just the delicious food and delicious food on the table has whetted the emperor's appetite.

This kind of delicacy can only be enjoyed in the palace. Although the food on weekdays is also very exquisite, the quantity is not very large, and more attention is paid to nutritional combination.

Today, the table is full of delicacies from the mountains and seas, with all kinds of colors, aromas and flavors, showing the prosperity and magnificence of the imperial court. This ultimate enjoyment is really difficult for ordinary people to experience.

Accompanied by this delicious food, the emperor was in a happy mood and enjoyed this rare and comfortable time.

And this table of sumptuous food also kicked off the subsequent banquet, making the following feast time even more colorful.

The emperor first greeted the three masters, said good morning, drank a bowl of herbal tea, and then tasted a piece of bell roll. Then he called: "Xiaojiu..."

After hearing the sound, Jiu Chitose trotted with her head down, climbed up to the high platform, and fetched the enamel porcelain plate with three bell rolls left in it. Then she respectfully walked down the high platform, and then told the eunuch to divide it into small plates and give them to others.

Go to the third division's dining table.

"There are so many talented people in this year's imperial examination." While eating, the emperor praised: "Thanks to Prime Minister Tu for taking the trouble to run the examination and share my worries. My dear, thank you for your hard work..."

Hearing the emperor's praise, the Rabbit Prime Minister quickly stood up, bowed his hands, and said humbly: "There are thirty-one new scholars in total, and they are all appointed by the Holy One. They are indeed wise and wise. I don't dare to say that I have merit."

"Whether it's meritorious or not, I can clearly remember it..." The emperor called Jiu Qiansui again, gestured to the plate of crystal jade and white flower jelly ice cream on his right, and said: "Those who deserve to be rewarded... I will definitely reward them!"

After finishing speaking, Jiu Chitose picked up the ice cream, walked down the high platform again, passed directly by the tables of He Xiang and Mei Xiang, and presented the plate of imperial cakes to Rabbit Xiang alone.

After the rabbit took the ice cream, he bowed and bowed again. After thanking the emperor for the reward, he sat down again and continued to enjoy it.

"Is the ice cream delicious?" the emperor suddenly asked.

"It's delicious, it's delicious!" The emperor asked the rabbit half-way through the meal. He forgot himself for a moment and praised it frequently in vernacular.

"How old is the new champion...how old?" the emperor asked.

"Back to the emperor..." Tu Xiang chewed half of the ice cream, quickly swallowed it, stood up and replied: "Twenty-seven years old."

The emperor's eyes suddenly lit up! Then he sighed with emotion: "Oh... twenty-seven! That should be the person born in the first year of Xilong!"

At this time, the emperor suddenly felt that time was flying by. He never thought that the age of this new champion was as long as his reign.

"Where are you from?" the emperor asked again.

Rabbit: "Nanping Road, Dongzhou people."

The Emperor: "Hey... Nanping Road! Isn't that the same hometown as Aiqing!"

"Exactly." In order to avoid suspicion, Prime Minister Tu quickly explained: "Although Wei Chen's ancestral home is in Nanping and he was born in Nanping, he has been an official in the dynasty for more than thirty years and has not returned to Nanping for who knows how many years."

"Compared to Nanping..." the emperor said pointedly: "The majority of those who serve as officials in the court are students from Nanzhili!"

Hearing what the emperor said, He Xiang, who was born in Nanzhili, stood up quickly, bowed and replied: "Nanzhili is a land of plenty, with outstanding people, a strong scholarly atmosphere, many students, and many Jinshi, so those who enter the court as officials will

More."

Prime Minister He knew that breakfast was the most important thing to discuss and it was convenient to have a meal, so he had breakfast at home. After entering the palace and taking a seat, he only drank herbal tea and tasted two bell-ring rolls, and then did not eat again.

Therefore, the emperor can respond to questions at any time.

Although the Rabbit Prime Minister also knew this unspoken rule, the emperor rewarded him with crystal jade and white flower jelly ice cream alone. He was neither allowed to eat it nor refused to eat it, which led to his somewhat embarrassed reply.

Seeing that the conversation had been transferred to He Xiang, the Rabbit Prime Minister took his seat with peace of mind; but this time he sat down and did not dare to move his chopsticks again.

So did Mei Xiang on the side.

Although the emperor had not yet spoken to him, he still sat upright and listened.

Except for the first bowl of herbal tea, I haven't eaten half a bite of the meal; even the bell roll is intact as before.

The emperor summoned the three masters to the palace for breakfast this time because he wanted to discuss with them the matter of the prince's attendance at the palace.

Since the previous attendant has been studying for three years, according to the regulations, he needs to be transferred to another official position; therefore, the new attendant will select the best one from this year's new scholars to succeed him.

The Emperor: "Regarding the selection of the Prince's attendants... Dear friends, if you have any opinions, you may wish to put them forward." After saying this, there was silence in the palace for a long time, and only the three faces were seen looking at each other without saying a word!

At this time, the three prime ministers all wanted to recommend their fellow citizens to serve as ministers, but they were afraid of causing controversy and being targeted by the other two prime ministers, so they had no choice but to remain silent and wait and see what would happen.

The Emperor: "Mr. Caoge, you haven't spoken a word from the beginning to now; otherwise, I would have asked you to speak first."

"Replying to the Emperor..." Mei Xiang quickly stood up, bowed, and respectfully replied: "I believe that we should follow the past practice and select the number one scholar in the new subject to serve as the Prince's Attendant."

This is the best safe answer at present; it is neither self-help nor afraid of offending others.

The Emperor: "Mr. Weng Ge... what do you think?"

At this time, He Xiang was secretly feeling happy! Because he had long expected that no matter who was asked by the emperor, he would most likely answer this way.

That's why I sent Butler Zhang to the Hanlin Academy the night before yesterday to get acquainted with the number one scholar first, hoping to join the He Party for his own use.

Naturally, Prime Minister He would not object, and even used his strength to reply: "Replying to the Emperor, I think... what Mr. Cao Ge said is true." This reply not only followed his own plan, but also praised Prime Minister Mei.

One handful can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

The Emperor: "Then... what do you think, Mr. Yuge?"

This question is quite confusing to the rabbit! Because the number one scholar is from the same hometown as him, it doesn’t matter if he agrees, and it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t!

Rabbit Xiang whined for a long time, and finally managed to squeeze out four words. He replied: "My lord... I have no objection."

Emperor: "Then it's settled!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" the three ministers congratulated in unison.

"Excuse me for being brave, I have something to tell you!" Mei Xiang, who had not said a few words during the whole process, suddenly stood up and said: "The title of the Holy Lord has thirty-two characters before and after, and the imperial seal is as big as the national seal! Imperial edicts, decrees, documents

, due to the limited space, are all suffering from the use of seals! I am bold and petition the emperor to slightly reduce the number of words in order to increase its effectiveness."

Prime Minister Mei's outspokenness in giving advice has always been his characteristic; and as soon as he said these words, the emperor started to feel uncomfortable!

The emperor turned to Prime Minister He and asked: "Is my title...too long?"

I saw He Xiang's eyes closed tightly. After thinking for a long time, he began to recite silently: "The protector of the dark sky is a benevolent and filial king; the marshal of the universal sky at the end of the night; the star, the sun and the moon, the deity of all nations; the most holy emperor in the mountains and rivers."

This long string of thirty-two characters is exactly the title the emperor gave himself!

He Xiang: "It's a little longer!"

The emperor was originally very happy, and was amazed that He Xiang could recite his title silently!

Unexpectedly, when he changed the topic, they started to get into trouble again.

The Emperor: "Isn't it good to grow up to be respected and grow up to be great?"

The three people present here all understand in their hearts that the emperor's subtext is: Is shortness better? You all explain it clearly to me!

"It's not bad..." He Xiang continued: "It's just that there are too many words, which confuses the wise spirit of the Holy One!"

The Emperor: "How do you say this?"

At the same time, Plum and Rabbit looked at He Xiang to see how he would justify himself.

After all, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. As officials in the same dynasty, everyone works with their heads in mind.

He Xiang: "I think... short and concise sentences can more accurately show the wisdom and power of the Holy One!"

The Emperor: "Tell me, Mr. Weng Ge, how simple should it be? How should it be concise?"

After He Xiang pondered for a long time, he said: "The beginning of the four lines of the sentence, each with one word, is called 'Dark Night Star River'."
Chapter completed!