While drinking tea, Li Ye's voice sounded from the hall.
"Uncle, please come in quickly. The little virtuous boy is so rude that he dares to let his uncle wait outside the hall. When the banquet is over, I will give him a small punishment."
Liu Mingzhi raised his head and looked at Li Ye, who was dressed in casual clothes and walked quickly out of the palace door, holding a gift box and clasping his fists in salute.
"Veteran Liu Mingzhi comes to see Your Majesty, long live long live!"
"No etiquette, no etiquette, there are no outsiders today, uncle, there is no need to be so formal."
"No, there is a difference between the king and his ministers, and the etiquette cannot be abolished."
"Uncle, your words are serious. Please take a seat in the palace."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Ye glanced at Xiao Dezi indifferently: "Xiao Dezi, you are so expressionless. Why don't you quickly take the gift box from uncle's hand? Do you want uncle to keep carrying it?"
Xiao Dezi hurriedly took the brocade box from Liu Mingzhi's hand and kept nodding to Li Ye: "Yes, yes, your Majesty taught us a lesson, and we will definitely correct it in the future."
"Queen mother, uncle is here!"
Young Master Liu, who was following Li Ye towards the palace, trembled, his face stiffened, and he subconsciously glanced towards the palace.
Seeing Chen Jie sitting in the first place, Young Master Liu dodges his eyes, and his heart twitches violently, what the hell, why is Chen Jie here too.
Didn’t Xiao Dezi say that he was the only one invited to the banquet?
Then I thought about it, Xiao Dezi said that he was the only foreign minister, not that there was no one in the palace to accompany him.
Young Master Liu hesitantly followed Li Ye. He wanted to retreat, but he couldn't do it. He wanted to advance, but it was extremely awkward.
Chen Jie looked at Young Master Liu who was following behind Li Ye in a timid manner. She stared at Young Master Liu's figure calmly, as if the affair yesterday did not exist at all.
"The Ai family has met my brother-in-law."
"I...I, my brother, see the emperor's sister-in-law and live a thousand years."
"Mother, uncle, please don't be polite. This is a family dinner hosted by the children, so there is no need to be formal.
Uncle, please sit down quickly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Liu Mingzhi took a sneak peek at Chen Jie, who was sitting in the front seat across the street, and saw that she didn't look as shy and charming as she had after yesterday's spring night, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Since this woman can pretend that nothing has happened, she will naturally not take the initiative to expose the secret.
After working in the court for more than ten years, I still have this ability.
"Xiao Dezi, pour some wine!"
"yes!"
Xiao Dezi carried a pot and filled a glass of wine for each of the three people, and then stood aside with the pot to watch.
Li Ye cheerfully raised his glass of wine: "Uncle, these days, the child has been very angry because of the affairs of assisting the government and has been losing appetite. The mother is worried about the child's health, so she personally cooks porridge for the child every day.
Today I also came to deliver porridge to the child. The child thought that his uncle was coming to the banquet, so he left his mother behind and had a few drinks with his uncle to express our gratitude to your uncle.
Uncle, thank you very much for helping me solve the problem of marriage.
My child respects you."
After Li Ye finished speaking, he drank all the wine in the glass and gestured at the bottomed wine glass to Young Master Liu.
Liu Mingzhi looked at the drink in his hand tangledly, and then took a peek at Chen Jie opposite, who was half-covering her face with the sleeves of her phoenix robe, raising the wine glass and putting it into her lips for a brief taste, and hesitated.
To drink or not to drink.
Is there something wrong with this wine?
If yesterday's fairy dance happens again, I really won't be able to bear it.
Young Master Liu was a bit afraid of being bitten by a snake for ten years.
"Uncle, why don't you drink it? But this wine doesn't suit your taste? What kind of wine do you want to drink? I'll have someone change it for you immediately. There are dozens of kinds of wine in the palace, and there is always a drink that suits my uncle's taste."
"No, no, your majesty forgives me. I drank too much yesterday and was a little unconscious. I'm still drunk today. I really can't get drunk with your majesty."
I’ll stop here, I hope your majesty will forgive me.”
"So that's it. It seems that I can't have a drink with my uncle. In that case, it's fine for my uncle to enjoy himself."
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. I respect your Majesty and your wife."
"Xiao Dezi, pour some wine!"
"yes!"
Liu Mingzhi raised his glass to signal, took a sip and swallowed it, silently feeling if there was anything wrong with his body.
After a while, Liu Mingzhi breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it was just normal drinks.
However, Liu Mingzhi did not relax his vigilance.
Yesterday's drinks started out normally, but something went wrong in the middle!
Chen Jie Feng glanced secretly at Liu Mingzhi opposite, and put down the wine glass in her hand.
"Your Majesty, brother-in-law, Ai Jia will just accompany you for two drinks. You, the monarch and your ministers, will drink slowly, and Ai Jia will return to the palace first."
"Mother, this has just been served. It's not too late for you to fill your stomach with some food and wine before going back."
"No need, Aijia is not hungry, you two can just enjoy yourself."
Hearing that Chen Jie was leaving, Young Master Liu was eager to do so.
Seeing that Li Ye still wanted to persuade him to stay, he hurriedly stood by Chen Jie and agreed.
"Your Majesty, although the wine is good, being too drunk will harm your health. Since the Queen Mother does not want to drink more, Your Majesty, it is better not to force her to stay. The Queen Mother's phoenix body is important.
It would be bad if something happens to you while drinking.
Sister-in-law, my brother is right, right?"
Chen Jie listened to Liu Mingzhi's meaningful words and saw Liu Mingzhi's slightly strange eyes, and her delicate body trembled slightly.
I don't know what I thought of, my eyes dodge a little, and a faint blush appeared on my pretty face.
"Yes, what my brother-in-law said is that the Ai family is too drunk, so it is naturally not good to drink too much!"
Naturally, Li Ye didn't know about the shameful sexual affair between his mother, Chen Jie, and his uncle, Liu Mingzhi, yesterday. Seeing his mother's reddish cheeks, he nodded lightly.
"Well, since the queen is too drunk, let's go back to the palace first. If the child wants to drink with his uncle, it would be rude not to see the queen off."
"It doesn't matter, the Ai family will leave first."
After Chen Jie finished speaking, she stood up directly, moved her steps lightly, and walked towards the outside of the hall with a slightly enchanting posture.
Li Ye took another surprised look at Chen Jie's retreating figure. He always felt that his mother and queen seemed a little different today than in the past.
He seems to be much younger, and even his walking posture is very different from before.
As the thought came together, Li Ye suddenly realized that his mother's face seemed to be much moisturized and smooth today, far from looking sickly like the previous few days.
Could it be that after he solved the matter with the assistant minister, his mother was happy for him and in a good mood?
As soon as Chen Jie left, Liu Mingzhi suddenly felt relieved, his uncomfortable feeling disappeared immediately, and he felt happy everywhere!
After all, what happened happened, Liu Mingzhi couldn't pretend that nothing happened.
The only thing that can be done is to be out of sight and calm down.
After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the drink, Liu Mingzhi took the initiative to raise his glass.
"Your Majesty, I would like to give you a toast."
"My child, please drink with your uncle!"
"Xiao Dezi, continue pouring wine for me and my uncle.
Uncle, let's try the skills of the imperial chef. There are only two of us, so I only asked the imperial kitchen to prepare six simple specialties. It's not too elaborate. I hope it will suit my uncle's taste."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Liu Mingzhi picked up his chopsticks and stared at the six exquisite dishes on the table in shock.
There are six dishes, three Jiangnan-style dishes and three Northern-style dishes. It seems that Li Ye is taking care of his own taste.
"Your Majesty has good intentions. Thank you very much, sir."
"Uncle, you're welcome. You are my child's great benefactor. How can I not pay attention to my child? Give it a try."
"Then I will be bold and rude."
Liu Mingzhi picked up his chopsticks, put a chopstick on the edge of each dish and tasted it.
Tasting the familiar yet unfamiliar flavors of the three Jiangnan dishes, I let out a faint sigh and suddenly felt deeply moved.
"It tastes like home, I would like to thank you again, Your Majesty!"
"Uncle, if you like to eat, eat more.
My uncle was born in Jiangnan, but he has been away from his hometown for a long time. It must be difficult for him to eat a meal from his hometown.
Seeing that his uncle likes him, the child feels relieved.
Uncle, go ahead and eat, no need to be rigid."
"Yes, thank you Your Majesty!"
"Uncle, now that the Northern Expedition has been successfully reported one after another, the idea of unifying the world is no longer just empty talk.
The future is bright, I feel very relieved, and I can't help but feel heroic.
The matter of the Assistant Minister makes me feel more and more that the court cannot do without your uncle's support. I urgently need your uncle's assistance.
My uncle is a trusted official appointed by my father. I hope that we can be as harmonious as my uncle, my grandfather, and my father. We can get along day and night, and tell good stories about our king and my ministers.
The king and his ministers join forces to develop a prosperous empire.
After the court ended yesterday, I returned to the royal study room and thought deeply about it for most of the night. I felt that I could not do without my uncle's assistance no matter what.
I hope that my uncle can always accompany the child and point out the child's shortcomings in being a king and the ways to be an emperor.
Therefore, after the world is unified, I hope that my uncle can return to the court to report on his duties.
My son is willing to treat me as regent, and I hope that my uncle can help me eliminate all shortcomings.
Except for the regent, there is really no position that can match my uncle's status as a lonely and important minister."
As Li Ye spoke, he picked up a piece of Jiangnan cuisine with his chopsticks and put it on Liu Mingzhi's plate, looking at Liu Mingzhi expectantly.
"What does uncle think?"
Liu Mingzhi's chopsticks holding the vegetables stopped in front of his chest, his pupils shrank slightly, and he continued to bring the piece of meat to his mouth and chewed it quietly.
well........
It’s not Hongmen Banquet, but it looks like Hongmen Banquet!
Liu Mingzhi lowered his chopsticks, picked up the wine glass, and tasted it.
"Regent?"
"Yes, Prince Regent!
The child heard from his grandmother that when his grandfather went to sea and his father, the Crown Prince, was in charge of the country, his uncle served as regent.
My uncle has experience, and I think that after serving as regent, he will be able to help me handle the government affairs.
If my uncle is satisfied, I will immediately draw up a decree and tell the world about this matter."
Liu Mingzhi raised his head, drank all the wine in the glass down his throat, dropped the glass on the table gently, and turned to look at Li Ye calmly.
"Your Majesty, are you so sure that the world will be unified so soon?"
"This...I have given the old Aiqing of Zhongwu King Yunyang three years, but no more than five years.
With the current national strength of the two countries, they won’t be able to sustain it for long.”