Seeing Zhao Defang in such a big formation, she stood there in a daze for a moment. When she heard this loud voice, she immediately turned around.
Zhao Defang, who stood rooted to the ground, looked in the direction of the voice. He saw a round table covered with golden silk cloth placed five feet to the left in front of him. Based on the geographical location of this table, it should be in the middle of the entire second floor hall. The person sitting in the middle of the table facing him was his father, Zhao Guanjia. He was smiling at him and waving at him.
It could be said that in front of the emperors of the past dynasties, whether it was the courtiers, concubines, or even the princesses and princes, they had to abide by a principle of sticking to the rules-to come and go at will. At this moment, to the Fourth Prince, Zhao Defang, he was no exception.
He saw the official Zhao sitting upright, wearing a crown on his head, a square round neck crimson gauze robe, a gold and jade belt around his waist, white socks and black shoes, and a jade ribbon hanging on his feet. Zhao Defang was dumbstruck. Before this, he had seen his father dressed in a simple and elegant light yellow dragon robe. But today, he saw the Zhao family dressed in court clothes. Immediately, he felt as if he had entered a hundred ancient dramas that he had watched in his previous life.
Zhao Defang, who was standing rooted to the ground, calmed herself down. She looked ahead and walked over with her head held high. When he carefully and unhurriedly walked to the front and back of the Zhao family, he bent down, cupped his hands, and respectfully sang a promise, saying,"This child Defang greets Imperial Father. This child is late and requests Imperial Father to punish me.”
As Zhao Defang was not yet an adult and did not have any achievements, the Zhao family did not confer any real titles on him. Therefore, he could only call himself a "child" and could not call himself a "son."
However, today was his 16th birthday, and he was about to enter the ranks of ancient men. Earlier, the Zhao family had promised to give him a huge reward at his birthday banquet. If he guessed correctly, he was going to be crowned king.
The civil and military officials sitting at the other tables were still looking left and right as they whispered in fear of disturbing the Zhao family. However, after Zhao Defang graciously pleaded guilty to his father, Zhao Guanjia, the entire hall on the second floor instantly fell silent.
"Son, it's good that you're here. Today, you are the little birthday boy here. There is still more than two hours before the banquet begins. My son, you are not too late.”The Zhao family official, who was not sitting on the chair, saw that his fourth son, who was wearing a new dress, was so respectful and polite. He was very pleased and immediately waved his hand with a smile.
After Zhao Guanjia paused for a moment, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He looked left and right with his tiger-like eyes for a moment before continuing to smile. He pointed at the few burly men in court clothes at the same table as him. Without being noticed, he winked at Zhao Defang, who was standing in front of him, and said with a smile," I am happy today. If I want to punish you, I can't hold my liquor. Later, my son, you have to give a few more cups of wine to your uncles sitting beside me. These uncles of yours are now stationed at the border to guard this piece of pure land of the Great Song. In order to attend your birthday banquet, they have worked tirelessly and rushed hundreds of miles to come. My son, you must take good care of these uncles of yours.”
At the table where the Zhao family was sitting, other than himself, there was also Prince Jin Zhao Guangyi sitting opposite him, as well as six other generals who had come from afar to guard the border. In terms of kinship, Zhao Guangyi was the official's brother, while the other six generals were just his brothers of the opposite sex. It was obvious who was close and who was distant.
However, the Zhao family, who was in their prime, did not instruct his fourth son, Zhao Defang, to toast more to his brother, Zhao Guangyi. Instead, he asked Zhao Defang to toast more to the other six generals and repeatedly reminded them. In his previous life, Zhao Defang, who was studying in the United States, relied on his IQ and EQ. Without the reminder of the Zhao family, he already knew what the Zhao family wanted to express.
"Father's words, I will remember them in my heart. Father, please rest assured. After the banquet begins, I will definitely not disappoint you.”Zhao Defang, who raised her head and stood up straight, also inadvertently winked at Zhao Guanjia, who was sitting in front of her. She cupped her hands and bowed, and agreed without hesitation.
The conversation between Zhao Guanjia and Zhao Defang's father and son made the six generals sitting on the left and right sides of Zhao Guanjia's face turn ashen, as if they were sitting on needles.
After Zhao Defang finished answering, they looked at each other with bitter expressions for a moment before they stood up in unison. They walked to the front of Zhao Guanjia in fear and hurriedly bowed and cupped their hands. They pleaded for themselves in unison,"We can't do that. We still have to rush back to the camp after lunch. Please understand us and retract your order.”
The Zhao family, who had a pleasant expression just a moment ago, had a displeased expression on his face when he heard their unified request. However, it flashed by inadvertently and returned to his calm expression, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
"Brothers, why are you doing this? Today is the 16th birthday of my fourth son, Defang. Although we are now divided into monarch and minister, ever since I ascended the throne, I have always treated you as brothers. The reason why I ordered my brothers to rush over is because I treat you as family. Moreover, all of you have done a great job in guarding the border of the Great Song. Why don't you get drunk today and relax? Tomorrow, you can return to your barracks.”After Zhao Guanjia's expression returned to normal, he quickly stood up and helped the six border generals up one by one. He shook hands with them with a smile and said with concern.
"We are afraid. We dare not." After shaking hands with the Zhao officials, the six border generals heard the Zhao officials call them "brothers" and "relatives", which scared them so much that their faces turned ashen and their souls left their bodies. Panicked, they immediately bent down again and cupped their hands.
Originally, Zhao Guanjia thought that after his kind words of persuasion, the six of them, who he was going to remove their military power today, would be grateful. However, what he did not expect was that not only were the six of them not grateful to him, but they also repeatedly rejected his kind intentions. Immediately, his dragon face became unhappy.
"I am the ruler of a country, and my words carry nine tripods. Just now, I asked my four sons to toast to you, and you are only allowed to eat. I have made up my mind. If you dare to disobey, I will not forgive you.”Seeing that his six brothers had refused a toast only to drink a forfeit, the dark-faced Zhao official said in a dignified manner.
Seeing that the Zhao family, who had been speaking calmly just a moment ago, now had an unhappy and furious expression, the officials sitting at the other tables were all dumbfounded and frightened. They all kept quiet out of fear and broke out in a cold sweat for the six border generals who had refused to listen.
The six border generals were trembling in fear. They saw that the Zhao family usually treated them with consideration and never forced them. But today, it was so unreasonable. Now, as officials, they could only helplessly agree. They all cupped their hands and bowed."Since that's the case, I, we'll listen to the butler's instructions.”
At this point, the six of them obediently returned to their tables and continued to sit down. Zhao Defang, who had been standing behind Zhao Kuangyin and had yet to take a seat, called a palace maid to bring a brocade stool over and placed it beside Zhao Kuangyin.
In the huge hall on the second floor of Shengping Building, the words and actions of the slightly plump Zhao Guan's family had affected the heartstrings of all the civil and military officials present. No one dared to whisper anymore. They all sat in their chairs and waited for the birthday banquet to begin.
Zhao Guangyi, who was sitting opposite him, had been staring at his royal brother from the corner of his eyes. After seeing his royal brother's unusual performance today, he felt that something was going to happen. Moreover, he had a faint ominous premonition in his heart. However, after his royal brother ascended the throne, it was difficult to guess what the emperor was thinking. It was difficult to guess what his royal brother, who looked rough on the surface but had a meticulous mind, was thinking.
Not only Prince Jin Zhao Guangyi, but even Prime Minister Zhao Pu and Prince Wei Zhao Dezhao, who were sitting next to him, were also observing the Zhao family's every move from the corner of their eyes. Just like Prince Jin Zhao Guangyi, they felt that something big was about to happen. As for what would happen next, they also racked their brains but still had no idea.
Ever since Zhao Defang entered the Eastern Palace, she rarely went out. These few years, she had been imprisoned in the Imperial Palace like a prisoner. Naturally, her memories of the generals under her father's command had been diluted a lot. As soon as he landed on the brocade stool, he looked left and right at the six border generals on the left and right sides of the Zhao family, but he could not even remember a single one of them.
At this moment, the Zhao official, who had been watching from all directions, wanted to see how the officials in the hall would react after his actions just now. When he saw that no one stood up to raise any objections, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
In just a moment, Zhao Guanjia caught a glimpse of his fourth son, Zhao Defang, sitting beside him. He looked at the generals sitting in front of him, but his eyes were dull and he did not say a word. Only then did he, as his father, understand. I was wondering why Fang 'er only looked at these uncles who were sitting in front of him and wanted to toast him when they came back. It must be that he had long forgotten who they were. It seems that I have failed my duty as a father. I have to quickly introduce them to each other.
"Son, don't just look at it. You've seen these generals before when you were young. I'm sure you've forgotten about them now. Come, my son, I will introduce you one by one. This is General Shi Shouxin, the commander of the imperial guards 'personal army, Ma Bu Du; this is General Gao Huaide, the deputy chief inspector in front of the palace; this is General Wang Shenqi, the military governor of Wucheng Army; this is General Zhang Lingduo, the Marquis of Du Yu, the commander of the imperial guards' personal army, Ma Bu Du; this is the military governor of Jianxiong Army; this is General Luo Yan, the Marquis of Du Yu, the commander of Qian San. They are all my sworn brothers. My son, quickly meet these uncles.”
After hearing the introduction of Zhao Guan's family, Zhao Defang, who was secretly speechless, revealed a surprised expression that was not easily noticed by others. She secretly exclaimed, Aren't these six ministers introduced to me by my father the six founding generals of the Song Dynasty whose military power was cut off by a glass of wine in the history textbooks I read in my previous life? It was really better to see than hear. They were going to suffer this time. Wish the six of them good luck.
Following that, Zhao Defang bowed slightly to the six generals who were about to lose their military power. He looked at the six different faces in front of him and matched them with the six faces in his memory that he could not distinguish clearly.
Prince Jin, Zhao Guangyi, who was sitting opposite the Zhao family, looked as if nothing had happened. He looked at them with a smile but did not say a word. In fact, his two sharp eyes, which were like the claws of an eagle, were constantly staring at the Zhao family and Zhao Defang's father and son's every move. It could be said that everything was in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Zhao Pu, who was sitting at the next table, thought that Zhao Guanjia was someone he trusted and relied on. After seeing Zhao Guanjia's series of abnormal actions, he suddenly felt that the Zhao Guanjia standing in front of him at this moment seemed to have changed into a different person, making him feel a little unfamiliar.
The King of Wei, Zhao Dezhao, who was sitting opposite Prime Minister Zhao Pu, heard his father affectionately address his fourth brother, Zhao Defang, as " imperial son " in front of him. Immediately, his jealousy flared up. His eyes turned sour, and his heart also felt sour.
Because ever since his Imperial Father conferred Zhao Defang's birth mother, the Wang family, as the Empress, he had never had a chance to be alone with the Zhao family. He had never heard the Zhao family address him as " Imperial Son " in front of outsiders. Most of the time, the Zhao family would call him by his name and treat him with the courtesy of a monarch and his subjects in front of outsiders. This made him feel a lot more distant.
As time passed, the frozen air in the hall on the second floor of Shengping Building slowly returned to normal. The ministers began to whisper to their colleagues sitting next to each other in twos and threes.
As the ruler of a country, the Zhao family did not idle around either. They asked about the well-being of the six generals he had specially recruited for a while. Unknowingly, a month had passed between his fingers.
At this time, it was already noon. Zhao Defang's 16th birthday banquet was about to start!
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]