Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan

Chapter 227 ‘Shengji’ of the Zhongyong Hou Mansion

On November 7, everything went well.

The promotion banquet of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery was scheduled for this day. At about 3:30 in the morning, guests arrived one after another.

There were far more people coming today than when Wei Yuan got married.

Almost all the officials above the third rank in the court came.

Wei Yuan even stood outside the mansion to receive the guests in person.

The Sheng family was not qualified to attend an occasion like today.

Wei Yuan only asked his eldest sister Wei Shuyi and Minglan to come and see the excitement.

Sheng Hong really wanted to come, but the promotion banquet of the Wei Mansion was no longer a simple promotion banquet since it was valued by the emperor.

Even if a low-ranking official like him came, he could not find a table to sit down openly.

The purpose of this promotion banquet was clear to all officials. They came not to give face to Wei Yuan, but to give face to the emperor.

At this moment, Wei Yuan, who was standing outside the gate of the mansion, saw Han Xiang's sedan chair slowly approaching from afar. He did not dare to hesitate and immediately went forward to greet him, "Han Xiang, you are here too." Hearing this, Han Zhang, with the help of his servants, slowly walked out of the sedan chair. Seeing Wei Yuan standing by and bowing, he stroked his beard and smiled: "The emperor has granted permission and the invitation has been personally issued by the Ministry of Rites. How can I not come?" After a pause, Han Zhang looked at the four big characters "Zhongyong Houfu" written by the emperor himself, and murmured: "In the past twenty years, no one can be more prominent than your Wei family." Wei Yuan hurriedly said: "Han Xiang, you are too kind." Too kind? Han Zhang smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. We'll know in twenty years, but I don't know if I can live to that time."

Wei Yuan said calmly, "You are in good health. Not to mention twenty years, even after another sixty years, you can still drink and chat with others."

Han Zhang laughed twice, "Age makes a demon. I will be satisfied if I can live to the time when your Wei family is at its peak."

Wei Yuan didn't understand what he meant by that.

He wanted to keep a low profile more than anyone else about the promotion banquet.

But when he wanted to keep a low profile, the emperor was unwilling. What could he do?

"Prime Minister Han, please take a seat inside."

Wei Yuan stopped talking nonsense with him and personally took him to the palace.

When the guests who had already arrived saw Han Zhang, they all stood up and bowed deeply to him:

"Greetings to the Prime Minister."

"Greetings to Prime Minister Han, you are here today too."

"Greetings to Prime Minister Han."

"."

Han Zhang's prestige today is second only to that of Fan Wenzheng back then.

Needless to say, the civil officials, even the sons of military merit, when they see Han Zhang, have to respectfully address him as 'Prime Minister Han'.

More than half of the young civil officials in the court say that they are 'Prime Minister Han's disciples', as if this is politically correct and a talisman for themselves.

After everyone paid their respects to Prime Minister Han, they began to discuss privately,

"What do you think the emperor means? Letting a military hero hold such a grand banquet, isn't it clear that he wants to let the military hero build up his reputation?"

"How can we guess what the emperor is thinking?"

"Say less, Prime Minister Han is here, let's make the best of it."

"."

Wei Yuan took Han Zhang to an attic in the front yard, from where he could overlook the scenery of the entire Loyal and Brave Marquis Mansion, and it was relatively quiet, without too many officials coming to disturb him.

"There will be a stage troupe coming later, and you can see it from here. If Prime Minister Han is not satisfied, I will change the place for you, how about it?"

Han Zhang shook his head and said, "This place is good, just sit here."

Wei Yuan nodded, "Mr. Bao and others should be on the way. If Prime Minister Han needs anything, let the servants in the mansion know. Then "Han Zhang calmly seated and said:" Wei Houye is interested. " Wang Huaji said ‘Fu Shangshu Province’. His Majesty of the Emperor Taizong did not respond. Now, the official family suddenly wants to be a province. Is the one who is far away from Henan government? " Han Zhang nodded. "Wei Houye is busy, the old man is waiting for Xiaosu here." Wei Yuan said with his punch. Wei Yuan frowned when he saw Gu Tingye, "Your Gu family is not having a good time now, why are you so extravagant?"

The latter bowed and said, "These are all my father's insistence. Please accept them, Wei Hou."

Wei Yuan nodded slightly, "How is your father's health?"

Gu Tingye shook his head and said, "Not very good. My father asked me to bring you a message. If you are free, please come to the mansion for a chat. My father wants to say a few words to you."

Wei Yuan thought for a while and said, "I will visit Gu Hou the day after tomorrow if I have nothing to do."

Anyway, he was able to successfully become the commander of the Palace Front Department thanks to the note opened by Gu Yan.

"Go in quickly. A seat has been arranged for you. There are more people coming today. Drink less."

Wei Yuan was worried that young people like Gu Tingye were arrogant and would make mistakes easily if they drank too much.

Gu Tingye clasped his fists and was led into the mansion by the servants.

Zhang Fu and his wife came early in the morning.

They were also arranged in the attic where Han Zhang was, but the two did not sit at the same table.

It was a big taboo for civil and military officials to have a banquet at the same table in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The banquet held by the Wei family this time fully demonstrated Zhang Guifen's ability.

Although Mrs. Zhang helped a lot, she is now the mistress of the family after all. When others see that the mansion is so orderly, they will only praise her for being capable.

After a while, the six ministers came one after another.

First was the Minister of Personnel Wang Anshi, then the Minister of Punishment Liu Hang, the Minister of Rites Su Che, the Minister of Works Hai Zhong, the Minister of War Cao Yaoheng, and the Minister of Revenue Ouyang Yongshu.

The banquet held by the Wei Mansion today, like the ministers of various ministries and the adjutants of various departments, except for a few, such as Fan Chunren and others, the rest were not qualified to come.

After all, the three ministers, the Privy Council and many other bigwigs were not those ministers at the level of people who could accompany them to sit at the table.

The more people came, the more lively the whole mansion became.

Wei Yuan only hoped that nothing would go wrong today.

"Huairen, Zhaoyuan, you guys, you will sit with the envoys from Liao and Xia later."

"If they dare to make trouble in the mansion, don't give them a good face."

Wei Yuan saw the envoys from the two countries slowly approaching, and immediately instructed the brothers around him.

They nodded one after another.

Wei Yuan had never seen the envoys from the two countries who came this time, and they could even be said to be strangers.

However, they were not unfamiliar with Wei Yuan.

When they came to the Great Zhou this time, Li Liangzuo and Yelu Xinxian had both told them to be careful of Wei Yuan.

Therefore, the envoys of the two countries did not dare to despise Wei Yuan. When they saw him, they bowed to him one after another. Then, the Liao envoy asked, "Your Majesty is still seriously ill, and your mansion is hosting such a banquet. Isn't it inappropriate?" Wei Yuan chuckled, "Serious illness? Our Majesty has recovered from his illness, but the imperial physician said that he still needs to rest for a while, so he did not personally handle government affairs." "Since your Majesty is no longer seriously ill, it is naturally inappropriate for this marquis to host this banquet." Hearing this, the two Liao and Xia envoys frowned and thought to themselves: "Is it really okay?" —— The women and relatives who came today were basically women of honor and nobility, and there were very few so-called children of clean officials. I think that for those civil officials, they came just to take care of the face of His Majesty the Emperor. But there is no need for the civil and military families to have too close exchanges, so they did not let their families come with them. At this moment, in the backyard of the marquis' mansion. Zhang Guifen was sitting in the main seat, and some younger noble ladies praised her one after another, "When I came, I saw that there were quite a few people in the Marquis' Mansion, both civil and military officials came. It took Mrs. Zhang a lot of effort to arrange so many people." "Yes, in recent years, I have heard that only your Marquis' Mansion can have such a style, and even officials above the third rank in the court can come." "The Marquis' Mansion of Loyalty and Bravery is really prominent." "." They all said the truth. Except for the promotion banquet of the Marquis' Mansion of Loyalty and Bravery and the banquet for Di Qing's opening of the mansion a few years ago, I have never heard of anyone who can summon officials from both the civil and military factions at the same time. After Di Qing opened the mansion banquet, Wen Yanbo found an excuse to demote Di Qing out of the capital. The so-called excuse was, "Nothing else, the court is suspicious." The honest and upright Di Qing did not dare to meet Zhao Zhen and say this to him in person. It was because Wen Yanbo saw through his mind that he could unite with Han Zhang and others to drive him out of the capital during his reign. Then, there was a party struggle that lasted for several years.

"How can our mansion have such great ability to invite all the pillars of the court?"

"This is the will of the emperor. Some people can come only for the emperor's face, not for the face of our mansion?"

Zhang Guifen looked at everyone and said truthfully.

Just for the guests who came today, the mansion already has face.

There is no need to make it solid.

Otherwise, it will decline after prosperity, and I don't know how many people will step on the loyal and brave mansion.

But no matter what, whether Wei Yuan and his wife agree or not, after today's promotion banquet, people will use the word "prosperous" to describe the Wei family.

As for whether it will decline after prosperity, it depends on the fate of the Wei family.

Some younger noble families, although they are also the eldest ladies in the mansion, they are all suppressed by their mothers-in-law, and it is impossible for them to be housekeepers as soon as they come like Zhang Guifen.

For example, the wife of the current Fuchangbo Rongxian, originally after the old Fuchangbo passed away, Rongxian became the head of the family, but it was difficult for Rongxian's wife to touch the power of the housekeeper, and it was still Rongxian's mother who led these things.

Therefore, many of them envied Zhang Guifen,

"You are a legitimate lady of the Marquis's Mansion. You have held this banquet so successfully today. I am afraid that many people will praise you for being a good housekeeper and a good daughter-in-law tomorrow. It's not like us, alas"

"Sometimes we really envy you, sister Zhang. You just got married and there is no pressure from your parents-in-law. You are the real mistress of the family."

"."

Some older noble families went to another main hall and were entertained by Mrs. Zhang.

Mainly to deal with those smart people, Mrs. Zhang was worried that her daughter's experience would be slightly insufficient.

It was more than enough to deal with these young noble families.

While everyone was talking, Minglan ordered someone to bring the tea show made by Mrs. Zhao and others, and nodded to the noble female family members and said:

"I've met a few ladies. This is a tea show specially made by my aunt. I don't know if it suits your taste. You can try it."

After that, the maids who were responsible for carrying the tea brought the tea to them one by one.

Zhang Guifen felt relieved when she saw Minglan coming over. To be honest, she was still not used to interacting with the people in front of her, but as the eldest lady of the Hou family, these things and human relationships would be unavoidable in the future. Fortunately, Minglan Came at the critical moment,

"Minglan, come and sit next to me."

"Let me introduce to you, this is"

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zhang Xiumei, the wife of Yuan Wenchun, the eldest son of the Zhongqin family, who was sitting at the bottom:

"Sheng Minglan of the Sheng family, who in the capital doesn't know about it now?"

"My second brother's wife Hualan is Minglan's eldest sister."

Several more people said one after another:

"Does your Uncle Zhongqin's Mansion still have such a connection with the Hou Mansion?"

"What does it mean to have such a connection with the Hou Mansion? It means having a connection with the Sheng family."

"I have met Minglan several times. According to legend, the most beloved junior of our Marquis Zhongyong is Minglan, his niece."

"."

Hearing this, Zhang Guifen also smiled and said: "This is true, Minglan is also my most beloved niece."

"Minglan, come and sit next to me."

After Minglan sat down, she looked at Zhang Xiumei and asked:

"I remember I sent an invitation to my eldest sister in the Marquis Mansion. Why didn't I see her come today?"

Zhang Xiumei said: "I came here with my mother-in-law. She should be at the back. I guess it's time to come."

As soon as she finished speaking, Minglan saw Hualan's figure outside the main hall and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

"Sister, I finally waited until you arrived."

At this time, Hua Lan had been married for about a year and was not considered a bride. Her face looked haggard, as if she had not slept well for many days.

"There are so many people. We'll talk about it later. I'll go see Aunt Wei first."

Minglan nodded.

Afterwards, Hualan, accompanied by Minglan, came to the main hall and solemnly bowed to Zhang Guifen:

"I've met Aunt Wei."

Zhang Guifen said: "I have often heard Minglan talk about you. Come to think of it, this seems like the first time we have met?"

Minglan smiled and said: "On the day you and your uncle got married, my eldest sister also came, but there were too many people that day, and my aunt was holding a gauze fan, so she didn't pay attention."

Zhang Guifen nodded and said with a smile: "Sit down quickly, Minglan will be extremely happy to see you coming."

Hua Lan said: "Thank you Aunt Wei."

Then, guided by the orb, she sat on an empty seat.

Ming Lan was a junior and could not sit in the same row as Zhang Guifen in front of outsiders, so she simply sat next to Hua Lan and said warmly:

"I haven't seen you for many days, why does your complexion look so bad?"