Lin Lan saw that Li Jie's expression was not quite right when he came back, and asked, "Shenzhi, what does the British military official want to do with you?"
Li Jie smiled slightly and said: "It's nothing. It's just that my policy on tribute and mutual trade during the meeting did not suit his wishes. I think this British prince is a staunch war advocate."
Lin Lan frowned slightly: "How could a British gentleman see the answer sheet of the general examination? It's completely irrelevant."
Li Jie was also puzzled by this. A military boss questioned him for no reason and gave him a slap in the face. His original good mood suddenly disappeared. It seemed that he could only ask after returning home.
I asked my second uncle Lin Han, but I didn’t know if he knew the reason.
The new scholars around him looked at Li Jie with envy, thinking that the British prince was looking for him for some good reason.
In addition to the new scholars, the participants of the Enrong Banquet were also the deacons such as the examiner, sealer, supply officer, and chanter of the palace examination. At this moment, the officials had already arrived one after another.
Generally speaking, cabinet bosses like Liu Ji and Xu Pu rarely attend the Enrong Banquet in person. Today, it is rare that they are all here. However, the atmosphere around the bosses is quite subtle. Although Liu Ji does not appear on the surface,
Even though he was showing off his expression, Li Jie still noticed a hint of resentment in Liu Ji's eyes that occasionally drifted towards him.
The official of Honglu Temple said loudly: "Please invite the minister waiting for the banquet, Mr. Britain, to come to the table!"
The officials and new scholars present all saluted Zhang Mao regardless of their position. At this moment, he was equivalent to hosting the banquet on behalf of the emperor. Even cabinet ministers were not exempt from this custom.
Zhang Mao preached in accordance with the usual practice, which was nothing more than serving the emperor respectfully and then eating, so that all the new scholars could serve the imperial court well.
After saying this, the elegant music played by the Jiaofang Si sounded. The music played "Pu" in "The Book of Songs", which means praising the emperor's sage and recruiting talents. The music was melodious, and the dancers with beautiful appearance and graceful postures came on the stage to dance.
, the officials of Guanglu Temple held a pot and poured wine, first toasted the three nobles to the chairman, and the banquet officially began.
The banquets of the Enrong Banquet are all organized by Guanglu Temple. They are rare to see on weekdays. Most officials can only eat them during major festivals or celebrations. Many Jinshi present may only eat this once in their lives. Beijing
Officials are hard to find, so most of the new scholars will be sent abroad, leaving only a few in the capital.
The dishes at the Enrong Banquet also have a strict hierarchy, which is divided into upper table, upper middle table, and middle table. As the first-class Li Jie, of course he enjoys the treatment of serving the table with the officials attending the meeting. The table is served with five kinds of wine, five kinds of fruits, and treasures.
Five kinds of tea and food, one chicken duck, a stack of small steamed buns, two plates of small silver ingots, two stick bones, one sheep back skin, two flower heads, five kinds of soup, four colors of vegetables, one large steamed bun, extra items
A pile of mutton and seven kinds of wine.
Before the banquet started, as usual, the number one scholar, who was the first of the three hundred Jinshi, gave a speech, which was equivalent to the current induction speech for new employees. Qian Fu stood up and spoke, quoting from classics, and won applause from the whole room.
After all the ceremonies are completed, it is time for free activities. Many new scholars are now looking for a way out for the future. Liu Ji and Xu Pu are surrounded by toasting scholars, even though everyone knows that they should go at this moment.
There were too many people toasting, so it was difficult for Mr. Ge to remember me, but I still took a chance, what if my toast was to Mr. Ge's liking.
Everyone went to toast, but it would be a problem if you didn't go. Li Jie had to go and toast as the Romans did. When he came to Xu Pu, Xu Pu said in a friendly tone: "Be careful, I will wait for you to return to your hometown some other time."
Let’s talk about it in the house.”
Li Jie even claimed that it was probably because of his policy of asking questions. When he visited Xu Pu that day, he made an appointment to come to Xu Pu on a certain day. When he came to pay homage to Liu Ji, Liu Ji was smiling just a moment ago. When he saw Li Jie, he immediately said something serious.
Face, some of the scholars who are jealous of Li Jie are quite gloating at this moment that you have stolen the limelight. The leader of the court doesn't like what you will do in the future.
Li Jie's heart was as clear as a mirror, but he still respectfully toasted Liu Ji a glass of wine according to the rules. No matter what happened in private, he still had to be cautious in the scene. Seeing Li Jie's behavior, Xu Pu nodded with a smile, showing off his demeanor by not being surprised.
People who are like flies and dogs are in a difficult position.
After toasting, Li Jie returned to his seat and was about to taste the craftsmanship of Guanglu Temple. After all, he was still a food lover, and it was his first time to eat dishes cooked by ancient imperial chefs. Li Jie tasted every dish, and was amazed by the taste.
It is really rare to be as good as the famous chefs of later generations. Before I had time to taste it carefully, there were scholars around me coming to propose a toast.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that although Li Jie is disliked by the chief minister of the cabinet, Jun Prelude's appreciation of the emperor has already made Li Jie invincible, unless he loses his holy family, and the Tanhua Lang himself
Coming from the Lin family of Lianjiang, he was also a disciple of Chen Xianzhang, a famous Lingnan scholar. He had no connections in the court, not to mention the appreciation of Mr. Xu Ge and other important ministers.
After three drinks and five dishes, Liu Ji took the initiative to come to Xu Pu with an uncharacteristic smile. There was no trace of the incompatibility between the two of them in the past.
Seeing that Liu Ji obviously wanted to see Xu Pu, the surrounding officials went to toast elsewhere, leaving room for the two big bosses. Liu Ji said with a smile: "Shi Yong, aren't you planning to recommend Wang Xie to be promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites recently?
As long as you promise me one thing, I will never object to it in front of the Holy One!"
Xu Pu knew the character of his old rival very well, and he must not be holding anything back. He said calmly: "Oh, what's the matter?"
Liu Jidao: "As long as you stand by and watch while I punish Lin Ping, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites will give you an advantage in exchange for this condition."
Xu Pu was furious when he heard this: "Wishful thinking! You are really good at calculating. I will never agree! If you want to use any tricks, I will never ignore it. Besides, you want to recommend Ye Qi as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
Do you think I don’t know? As long as you dare to block Wang Xie’s promotion, just wait and see!”
Liu Ji looked very ugly when he heard Xu Pu's statement about Ye Qi. The relationship between Ye Qi and him was still a secret at this moment. He originally planned to wait until Ye Qi's promotion to catch Xu Pu off guard, but he didn't expect that Xu Pu already knew about it at this moment.
This made this matter a little more unpredictable. Liu Ji was angry at the moment and planned to investigate who had tipped off Xu Pu after he returned, causing his previous plan to be aborted before it even started.
Seeing Liu Ji's surprised and uncertain look, Xu Pu couldn't help but have a smile on his face. Although his trump card was now directly revealed, which made his original plan to attack again at that time in vain, he was still very happy to see Liu Mianhua defeated.
, He loves Li Jie and Xu Pu from the bottom of his heart and will never let Liu Ji play tricks on him.