Here, Ding Wei was still in a state of pupil earthquake. Over there, Wang Zeng immediately left the table and walked towards the door.
"Kou Xiang, please come with me."
Ren Shouzhong half-bowed and led Kou Zhun all the way to the inner circle.
"Kou Xiang."
"Kou Lao."
On the way forward, officials on both sides greeted Kou Zhun one after another, even those not from Kou Zhun's group.
Today, Kou Zhun's appearance in Yuchen Hall is like a signal.
Therefore, superficial work still needs to be done.
"Master Xiang!"
Wang Zeng came up with an excited look and held Kou Zhun's arm tightly.
"You are finally back!"
"Xiao Xian, you did a good job."
Kou Zhun smiled and patted Wang Zeng on the shoulder, pretending to be commending his juniors.
"The prime minister is so complimentary."
Wang Zeng looked ashamed and said, "Xiao Xian just did what he should do."
"What's good is good, and what's bad is bad."
Kou Zhun said dumbly: "I said you did well, then you did well."
Hearing this, Wang Zeng couldn't help but feel emotional.
'The prime minister is still as domineering as ever.'
"Master Xiang, Xiao Xian will take you to the table first."
As he said that, Wang Zeng turned his eyes and looked at Ren Shouzhong beside him.
"Prime Minister Kou, Prime Minister Wang, follow me."
Ren Shouzhong heard Xian's intention, bowed slightly, then picked up his steps and continued walking forward.
Not long after, Ren Shouzhong led the two of them all the way across the middle circle, the inner circle, and arrived at the core circle, which was the seat closest to the official residence and the Queen Mother.
In terms of regulations, the person sitting here must at least be a minister or a prince of the clan.
"If you don't meet each other in life, it's like participating in business."
However, before Kou Zhun could enter the table, he saw Ding Wei walking towards them with a smile while reciting Du Fu's "To the Eight Imperial Guards".
This poem was written by Du Fu when he met his childhood acquaintance by chance after he was demoted. The first two sentences of the poem are used to describe the rising and falling of the two stars in business, which is a metaphor for the rare meeting of close friends in the world.
Poetry is good poetry, but Dante said it is inappropriate to use it here.
After all, he and Kou Zhun were not close friends, but political enemies.
"Hey, isn't this He Xiang?"
Kou Zhun had always had a bad temper. When he saw his former political enemy approaching him, he immediately retorted and ridiculed him.
"Why, did He Xiang see the cranes dancing around today?"
When Zhenzong was in power, Ding said that whenever Zhenzong set up an altar to pray, there would be a performance of cranes dancing in the imperial city. Later, when Zhenzong enshrined the east and offered sacrifices to the west, and sent down books from heaven, Ding said that he would also perform retribution every time.
Coincidentally, it is recorded in the postscript of Sou Shen that Ding Lingwei, a native of Liaodong, transformed into a crane and ascended to the immortal world. Ding Lingwei and Ding Wei had the same surname, so Kou Zhun called Ding Wei the "Hexiang".
Given this origin, the word is of course inherently ironic.
However, what surprised Kou Zhun was that when Ding Wei heard these words, he did not walk away on the spot, but instead continued to persuade him with a smile on his face.
"Mr. Kou, today is the Queen Mother's Holy Day, so you need to be careful what you say."
"I have my own concerns about this matter, so there is no need for He Guan to be concerned."
Kou Zhun replied coldly, then turned his head to the side and began to communicate with Wang Zeng in a low voice.
Seeing Kou Zhun say "Hexiang" when he said it and "Hexiang" when he didn't say it, Ding Wei couldn't help but feel secretly angry in his heart even though he was prepared.
What an old man!
If he hadn't been worried about the occasion, Ding Wei would have just started spraying.
But he can't do that right now.
Even if they are political enemies, even if everyone knows about it, Kou Zhun's identity must be taken into consideration. After all, he is a veteran of three dynasties.
As a junior, you still need to have the respect you deserve.
Therefore, if you bite it into pieces, you can only swallow it in your stomach.
The more magnanimous he behaves at this time, the more he will benefit when today's scene spreads.
On the other hand, Kou Zhun will most likely end up with a reputation of not knowing his progress.
At this time, a middle-aged man wearing a python suit suddenly stopped at the door.
Why is Mr. Kou here?
This person is none other than the Eight Great Kings Zhao Yuanyan. Compared with when he appeared in the play, Zhao Yuanyan is still relatively young now, only in his thirties.
In addition, it had been nearly a year since Guan Jia ascended the throne, and he no longer had the worries before and became active again.
Seeing his surprised expression, it was enough to show that he was unprepared for Kou Zhun's arrival.
Zhao Yuanyan was the eighth son of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty and the only two surviving heirs of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty. Apart from him, the only one left now is the eldest son of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, the deposed prince Zhao Yuanzuo.
However, since Zhao Yuanzuo interceded for the King of Qin, he gradually fell out of favor and was deposed as the crown prince.
After that, he lived in Nangong. Even if Zhenzong restored his title after he ascended the throne, Zhao Yuanzuo still lived in Nangong.
Therefore, among the clans that are still active in the capital, Zhao Yuanyan, the Eight Great Kings, has the highest status.
When Song Taizong was still alive, he doted on the Eighth Prince. Just how favored the Eighth Prince was can be seen just from the age at which he left the palace.
Generally speaking, a prince would leave the palace and open a government office when he was in his teens, but the Eighth Prince was an exception. It was not until he was twenty years old that Zhao Yuanyan was granted the title.
In addition, Zhenzong also doted on his younger brother after he ascended the throne.
When Zhenzong was seriously ill, there were even rumors that Zhenzong would be transferred to the Eight Great Kings Zhao Yuanyan.
However, Zhao Yuanyan was well aware of the character of his imperial wife. When rumors spread, he took the initiative to claim that he was sick at home and did not dare to do anything illegal.
And all of this was due to the teachings of Taizong and Zhenzong.
During the Taizu period, the descendants of the clan still had the opportunity to actually participate in politics, and Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Tingmei successively held positions of real power.
When it came to Song Taizong's generation, Zhao Guangyi knew very well how he "seized" the throne. After that, the descendants of the clan were deprived of the right to actually participate in politics.
However, Song Taizong also favored his younger sons very much. Even if he deliberately restricted the rights of the clan children to participate in political affairs, he still did not forget to select famous teachers to teach his younger sons.
The same is true for Song Zhenzong. Before Zhao Yuanyan left the cabinet, Zhenzong specially selected several pure and cautious ministers to be friends with Zhao Yuanyan.
"I've met the Eight Kings."
"Eight Kings..."
As soon as Zhao Yuanyan entered the palace, the courtiers in the outer circle stood up and bowed to him.
Hearing the noise coming from the door, Kou Zhun couldn't help but poke around the door, and then he saw Zhao Yuanyan.
'He's here too?'
Kou Zhun was also surprised when he saw Zhao Yuanyan coming in person.
If I remember correctly, this is the first time Zhao Yuanyan has participated in a similar palace banquet since the late emperor ascended the throne, right?
In the past year, although Zhao Yuanyan has not appeared in public, Kou can definitely get a feel for his thoughts.
This prince, like him, probably didn't like the powerful queen mother very much.
In Zhao Yuanyan's eyes, this world is the world of the Song Dynasty. To be more precise, this is the world of the Zhao family.
How can the Zhao family's world be regent by someone with a foreign surname?