The first thousand and twenty-first chapters of the law of longevity
"Pass the decree and have a banquet!"
The chief steward waved the whisk in his hand solemnly: "Your Majesty has decreed to have a banquet!"
As soon as the chief steward finished speaking, the melodious notes of the harp, pipa, and chimes sounded, and hundreds of eunuchs carried various kinds of food covered with exquisite covers and distributed them towards the minister of civil and military affairs!
First, four plates of pastries carefully tanned by the imperial chef were placed on the table, and then four kinds of fresh and tender fruits were placed on the table!
Immediately, sixteen hot dishes with various meat and vegetable tarts were served, as well as grilled lamb legs and roasted whole lamb!
Finally, two jars of fine wine exuding a strong aroma were placed on each table. When you smell it, you can tell that it is an old wine. At least it is the imperial wine that has been stored in the palace for ten years!
Liu Mingzhi has participated in many celebration banquets and this is the first time he has seen such a sumptuous banquet. It can be seen that Li Zheng spent a lot of money in order to have a good time for the guests and hosts, and to let the envoys from Western countries see it for a long time!
The banquets given by the ministers of civil and military affairs were extremely sumptuous, and there were many dishes on the tables of the queen and many concubines. However, the dragon table in front of Li Zheng, the great dragon emperor, only had three simple dishes and one soup!
A colorful glazed wine pot holds a pot of fine wine, and a jasper wine glass is placed next to it!
In comparison, it can be described as simple and simple. I don’t know if Li Zheng has a poor appetite, or because even though he lives a wealthy life, he still remembers the hard-won rule of having a cup of tea and a meal!
More than thirty singers in feathered skirts stepped on musical notes and quietly entered, dancing in the square!
In the eyes of ordinary people, all thirty singers are beautiful women with good looks and good figures!
The youngest of the singers is about sixteen years old, and the oldest is only twenty-three or four years old!
The feathered skirts on their bodies sway flexibly with their dancing postures, their dancing postures are enchanting, and their beautiful eyes are captivating!
Under the leadership of the leading female officer, the singers moved around, danced with long sleeves, and smiled from time to time at the civil and military officials who were watching the singing and dancing, with a enchanting and charming meaning!
As for the Western envoys in the farthest place, they did not receive this kind of treatment. They all held the wine glasses in their hands and stared at the singers' exposed slender waists with their hearts racing!
Liu Mingzhi didn't care about the four little cotton-padded jackets who kept destroying the food on the table, nor did he have the mind to admire the beautiful dancers who danced with enchanting and enchanting postures.
He caressed the golden whip in his hand with complicated eyes. Although he knew that this was the art of the emperor and that no matter who he was, the queen would also do this, but Liu Mingzhi still felt a little uncomfortable!
Although Li Zheng treats himself well, being on guard against himself from time to time does make him feel a little exhausted, but he still has no choice!
Because not only himself, but also Li Zheng and his own son, Prince Qing, were also on guard!
He was on guard against everyone in the civil and military circles of the dynasty. From the high officials of the first rank to the left, right, right, left, right, assistant, and the first rank, down to the minor clerks of various ministries and the ninth rank, in the eyes of the emperor, they were all people whom he could not get along with.
The emperor is destined to be a lonely man. In his eyes, only the imperial power is the most important. Talking about the love between children is just a fool's dream!
The third princess slowly put down the wine glass in her hand. After drinking a few glasses of wine, the third princess's cheeks had a delicate blush!
The third princess looked with complicated eyes at her father who was sitting on the dragon chair, chewing slowly and enjoying the singing and dancing, and sighed silently!
"Father, my father, my son can understand your difficulties as an emperor, but your husband may not be able to understand!"
"How long can you maintain the harmony between your king and your ministers? Do you know how difficult it is for children and ministers to be caught in the middle? Do you know how difficult it is to silently be a fool?"
Gently holding her husband's arm, the third princess looked at her husband's increasingly resolute profile with infinite affection in her eyes!
"Husband, no matter what situation you will be in in the future, Yan'er will always be with you until life and death!"
Li Zheng put down the silver chopsticks in his hand and wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth. He filled himself up with a glass of wine and was about to raise the glass!
The chief steward grabbed Li Zheng's wrist, with a hint of worry in his eyes: "Your Majesty, the imperial doctors have repeatedly ordered you not to drink alcohol. Can I bring you a pot of tea instead?"
"It doesn't matter. I am very happy about the big banquet today, so it doesn't matter if I drink three glasses of thin wine!"
"Your Majesty, I beg you, please cherish the dragon body!"
"I know my body very well, let go!"
"His Majesty!"
"Old Zhou, in forty years, you have never violated my wishes!"
The chief steward sighed and gently let go of Li Zheng's wrist: "Your Majesty, drink less, drink less!"
The chief steward who returned to his original place hurriedly winked at the little eunuch beside him and whispered: "Go and summon all the imperial doctors to the palace immediately. If you dare not come except for official duties, we will have him smashed to pieces!"
The little eunuch trembled, nodded, held the whisk in his arms and walked around to the corridor to the side!
"My dear friends and distinguished envoys, please accompany me to drink three cups of wine to show that the diplomatic relations between Dalong and the Western countries are everlasting!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you Emperor Dalong!"
Li Zheng raised the jade cup and drank the wine in one gulp, then gestured to everyone with the wine cup!
"Your Majesty has a huge amount!"
A glass of wine can also be described as a huge quantity. The positions of everyone are indeed not unreasonable!
"Lao Zhou pours wine!"
"yes!"
The chief steward picked up the jug and slowly filled Li Zheng with half a glass of wine before he left!
"Fill up!"
"yes!"
"Everyone, have another drink with me!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The general manager knew that persuasion was useless and continued to fill the wine glass. He stared nervously at Li Zheng who was holding the wine glass, for fear that something bad might happen to Li Zheng!
"One more drink!"
"Your Majesty, please!"
After three glasses of wine, Li Zheng signaled to everyone and sat on the dragon chair with a smile!
The chief steward let out a long sigh when he saw this, and then realized that there were dense beads of sweat on his forehead, and he hurriedly wiped it clean with his sleeve without leaving any trace!
Li Zheng raised his spoon, took a spoonful of the big tonic soup carefully prepared by the imperial chef and was about to put it into his mouth!
In the meantime, Li Zheng's face had an unnatural flush. He coughed twice and hurriedly put down the soup bowl in his hand. He looked at the Qionglou Yuyu around the square with melancholy eyes and took a slow breath!
"Prince!"
"Father!"
Li Baiyu hurriedly put down the cake in his hand and looked at Li Zheng respectfully!
"I still have some memorials to deal with. Please treat me well to all civil and military officials and Western envoys!"
"My son obeys the order, father, please go slowly!"
"Queen, come with me, I have something to tell you!"
"I obey your orders!"
Except for a few people who know when Li Zheng will leave, most people's minds are lingering on the singer!
In the imperial study room, Li Zheng wiped the sweat on his forehead with a silk scarf, drank the decoction handed by the chief steward, and looked at the old Taoist with slovenly clothes and childish face opposite him with a smile!
"Old fairy, I made you laugh!"
If Liu Mingzhi had been there, he would have known at a glance that the old Taoist priest opposite Li Zheng was the god Li Buyi whom he had not seen for many years!
Several years have passed in a hurry, and the years seem to have left no trace on Li Buyi's body. There was no change at all when he and Young Master Liu finally parted. He had a childish face, a rosy complexion, and a straight back that was even taller than that of a young man!
"Your Majesty, the old Taoist is a person who has turned away from outsiders. He will never take this matter to his heart. Peace and inaction is the supreme purpose of Taoism!"
"The old god is still exactly the same as he was twenty years ago. Unfortunately, I have turned from a young and green-haired man to a gray-haired man. Time, time, is really unforgiving!"
"Your Majesty, everything has its own destiny, everything has its own destiny!"
"Yes, everything has its own destiny. In his later years, the late emperor was obsessed with the golden elixir road and neglected state affairs. I can still remember it clearly. But I still want to ask the old god, is there really no way to live forever in this world?"
Li Buyi, who is nearly one hundred and thirty years old but looks like an old man in his fifties, closed his bright eyes and shook his head slightly!
"Your Majesty, the alternation of yin and yang, birth, old age, illness and death are the right ways in the world, and there is a way to live forever!"