The ministers waited outside the Fengtian Hall for more than an hour before they heard the proclamation of the eunuch who held the rituals. The eunuch led the ministers around the Fengtian Hall and headed towards the Qingji Hall of the inner court.

The Qinghe Palace is the center of the imperial palace and the place where the emperor gave banquets. Through the inner court, the harem is behind it, and the Fengyi Palace where the empress lives is located is in the middle of the harem.

When he arrived outside the hall, there was another tedious procedure. Qi Ning could only do whatever others did. After more than an hour of struggle, it was already dusk. Qi Ning sighed in her heart and thought that the emperor suffered from the wedding from top to bottom. She went out early in the morning until now, not to mention eating, she didn't even drink a glass of water.

After a while, I saw a group of female officials and palace maids surrounded by princess Tianxiang, who was surrounded by phoenix crowns and robes, heading towards the harem. The ministers immediately fell to the ground and watched the queen leave.

When the ministers entered the Qinghe Hall and entered the table, it was already dark.

At this time, Qi Ning only hoped that the dishes would come up quickly and eat their fill first. Who knew that they would wait and see? It was only when it was dark that the banquet in the palace came late, and the ministers here were all hungry. However, after the dishes came up, they did not dare to be rude. They tried it casually and were very subtle.

Seeing that the officials on the table were so reserved, it was difficult for him to let go of his hands and drink. He thought it was impossible, so he could not bear it in the palace and waited for a full meal after returning to the Marquis' Mansion. Anyway, he had been hungry for a day and didn't care about waiting for an extra hour or two.

In fact, after the founding of the State of Chu, successive emperors promoted diligence and thrift. Today's etiquette was already very complicated in Qi Ning's opinion, but in fact, many orders of etiquette that could be saved have been omitted. Otherwise, the ministers would have to postpone the seat by one or two hours.

At first, the ministers were still reserved, but after a moment, the Qing and the palace began to become lively. They pushed the cups to the cup. When Qi Ning saw this, he was not polite. At this time, the officials on the table all brought cups to Qi Ning.

If Qi Ning had no prestige among the ministers before, the change of the imperial tomb and the etiquette dispute between today's wedding ceremony made the ministers not dare to underestimate Qi Ning. At the beginning, many people thought that Qi Ning had a few times against the Sima family, but they did not know that the world was high, but Qi Ning had the upper hand both times. Many people began to feel that although this time the Jinyi Hou was young, it was not as simple as it seemed.

Hundreds of ministers gathered together in the Qinghe Hall. Today is a festive day, and the Qinghe Hall is also very lively.

Because of the emperor's wedding, there were lights and decorations everywhere in the capital, and the entire Chu imperial capital was shrouded in a festive atmosphere. Even on the Qinhuai River, singing and dancing were also coming to peace. Many pleasure boats posted the word "happy" on them, not knowing whether it was to celebrate the emperor's happy day or to create a warm atmosphere for the benefactors and girls.

There are many deserted places in the capital, and Huainan Prince's Mansion is one of them.

After the Huainan Prince's Mansion was confiscated, the Kyoto Prefecture's servants came to replace the Yulin Camp to temporarily guard the Prince's Mansion. Then the 100 Black Scale Battalion soldiers transferred from outside the city replaced the Kyoto Prefecture's mansion. The commander who led this 100-man team was Zhao Wushang, who walked out of the Marquis' Mansion.

After the reconstruction of the Black Scale Camp, Qi Ning sent Duan Canghai and Zhao Wushang, the guards of the Marquis' Mansion, to the commander, leaving Qi Feng and Li Tang to continue to be responsible for the escort in the mansion.

Zhao Wushang didn't talk much, was low-key, but he was very reliable in his work. It was no small matter to protect the royal palace. When Qi Ning sent someone to dispatch troops, he specifically instructed Zhao Wushang to lead the troops.

The front and back of the royal palace were guarded by soldiers from the Hei Scale Camp. Even the surrounding streets, Zhao Wushang would personally lead people to patrol from time to time.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse. Two carriages are parked in the back door alley of the royal mansion. The back door is open. Several men in black carry boxes out of the royal mansion and carefully ship them to the carriage.

The Minister of Revenue Dou Kui was wearing casual clothes, looking around, and waved from time to time to speed up. The two soldiers of the Black Scale Camp guarding the back door ignored it, like stone sculptures.

Five or six boxes were moved out and packed into two carriages. When the last box was lifted out, Zhao Wushang came out of the back door and bowed to Dou Kui and said, "Mr. Dou, the Marquis has instructed us to prepare all these goods, and there are a lot of them. Lord Dou goes back and check it out."

Dou Kui knew that Zhao Wushang was Qi Ning's confidant. Although his status was much higher than Zhao Wushang, he still said politely: "I'm sorry, brothers, please tell the Marquis that I will do this properly and not let the Marquis have any worries." Without saying much, he hurriedly boarded the carriage in front and waved: "Let's go!"

The two carriages began to slowly start, and each carriage was followed by four men in black wearing swords at their waists, and with the moonlight, they protected the carriage away.

Dou Kui walked through the remote streets and crossed two streets. Suddenly, he felt the speed of the carriage slowing down. Dou Kui was leaning in the carriage and closed his eyes to rest. He felt that the carriage slowed down. He frowned, stood up, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and was about to question, but he suddenly saw a group of black shadows appearing on the street ahead.

Dou Kui's heart sank, but the coachman shouted: "Does go, who is blocking the way? Don't you want to live?"

"Stop!" The other party shouted coldly, "Zhongyi Hou is here, how dare you be arrogant. If you say nonsense, be careful to tear your mouth."

When Dou Kui heard the three words "Zhengyi Hou", he felt a stern. He immediately went out of the carriage, jumped out of the carriage, looked up, and saw Sima Changshen, who was wearing rich clothes, holding hands in front of him. Behind Sima Changshen, there were more than a dozen big men, one by one, one by one.

"So it's the clerk of Zhongyi? The minister is paying homage to the marquis." Dou Kui has been in the officialdom for many years and has had the skill of acting. He smiled on his face and bowed, "The marquis left the banquet so early? The banquet in the palace has not yet stopped?"

"It's not a good time yet." Sima Changshen smiled and glanced at the carriage, then said lightly: "But I looked for Lord Dou at the banquet, and wanted to respect Lord Dou for a drink, but I couldn't find Lord Dou. I heard that Lord Dou had left the table first, so I came out to search for it myself."

"The Marquis came out to find the official?" Dou Kui was stunned, but his expression remained unchanged, and he smiled and said, "How dare you? Today is the happy day of the Duke's Mansion. The Marquis should drink a few more drinks in the palace. Why don't the Marquis guard the official?"

Sima Changshen smiled and said, "Mr. Dou, if others don't thank you, I will thank you." He walked slowly forward, walked around Dou Kui, and kept staring at Dou Kui: "If the Emperor's wedding was not for the Ministry of Revenue's efforts, it would not be as smooth as today. Others don't know, but I know that you, Lord Dou, have made great contributions."

"This marquis is really too good, and the officials really dare not take it." Dou Kui bowed and said, "The officials dare not delay the marquis' banquet. They will bring good wine to the marquis to pay two glasses of marquis."

Sima Changshen laughed and said, "That's good. But Lord Dou, I have something unknown to me, so please give me advice."

"Mr. Marquis has any instructions, just tell me!"

"Today is the emperor's wedding, and all the officials are having banquets in Qinghe Hall, and it is very lively to push the cups until they are very lively." Sima Changshen said: "Why is Mr. Dou the only Lord Dou leaving the table first? Is Mr. Dou feeling uncomfortable?"

"This!" Dou Kui turned his eyes and sighed: "Xiaguan has indeed not felt very comfortable these days, and it is not advisable to drink too much. Stay there, for fear of being confused and drinking too much alcohol, so he can only say goodbye first."

"So that's how it is." Sima Changshen carried his hands on his back, raised his neck slightly, and looked at Dou Kui with condescending looks: "Since it's because of his physical discomfort, Lord Dou should have a good rest in the mansion. Why did he run here in the middle of the night?" He leaned slightly, leaned his head and looked at a carriage behind him, and smiled deliberately: "Lord Dou isn't he having a tryst at the beauty in the middle of the night, are you afraid that someone will know?"

Dou Kui smiled dryly and said, "The Marquis is joking. The officials are all very old, how could they have such thoughts."

"Since that's the case, who is in the carriage behind?" Sima Changshenwei looked proud: "Mr. Dou wouldn't tell me that there is no one in the carriage, right? Could it be your family?"

"This!" A cold sweat broke out from Dou Kui's forehead.

He and Qi Ning agreed to smuggle away the treasures of the royal palace during the night banquet in the palace to prevent the Sima family from intervening. Who knew that after careful arrangements, they were blocked on the long street.

Sima Changshen said he was looking for him to drink, and Dou Kui naturally knew that it was nonsense. He knew that from the beginning, he was afraid that he would be stared at by the Sima family. He must have been noticed by the Sima family after leaving the palace banquet. The other party even guessed that he had taken action, so he left the palace banquet and ran to block himself.

It is really troublesome now. The wooden boxes in the carriage are all rare treasures made from the treasure room of the royal palace. If Sima Changshen opened the box and saw it, whether these treasures can be saved is second. He will also be charged with embezzling the treasures, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Sima Changshen saw Dou Kui's forehead sweating, and he was even more proud and said with a smile: "If there is Lord Dou's family in the carriage, I will meet you today." He lowered his voice and deliberately said: "If it is the beauty that Lord Dou meets in private, let me see how I look. Lord Dou rest assured, everyone has this thing, and I will not be able to publicize it."

Dou Kui tried his best to calm down and said, "The Marquis' marriage today is a serious matter, so how can we delay here? Another day, the lower officials will take the Guilty to pay homage to the Marquis. It is getting late, so the Marquis's better return to the palace as soon as possible, so that others will not find the Marquis' but will not see him."

"What?" Sima Changshen's face darkened: "Does Lord Dou not give me this face?" He walked forward to the carriage: "Mr. Dou doesn't want me to see me, but I have to meet today. See what kind of beauty can make Lord Dou ignore the emperor's wedding banquet and come out to meet in the middle of the night."

When Dou Kui saw Sima Changshen going straight to the carriage behind, his face changed drastically. He raised his hand and said in a silence: "Mr. Marquis, no!"—
Chapter completed!