Zheng Peng and Li Linfu, even if they were on the tip of the needle to Mai Mang, they spoke with a needle, no one was convinced, after a-for-tat, the two had a tacit understanding and no longer spoke, but walked away separately, at this time less than half an hour before the official banquet, many invited guests had also arrived at the scene, not afraid of no one to accompany them to talk and chat.

They are all smart people, they know that quarrels are useless, winning or losing is still up to their means, there is no need to tear their faces here and lose their worth.

At the end of the day, the birthday banquet began, and Zheng Peng, under the leadership of the palace maid, came to a table in the imperial garden and sat down.

"General Zheng, your position is here, the birthday banquet will start soon, please feel free to enjoy the wine and pastries on the table, if you have any orders, just call it." The palace maid said respectfully.

"There is labor." Zheng Peng looked left and right, and said with some surprise.

The Tang Dynasty emphasized respect and humility, from the point of view of the layout, it is easy to see which one is the upper seat, Zheng Peng thought that his position was stopped, which corner would be arranged, but he did not expect that the arranged seat was only two seats away from the upper seat, in terms of location, it was very good.

"Don't dare, general, please take care of yourself." After the palace maid finished speaking, she quickly stepped aside.

Just sat down, Zheng Peng saw Lu Shu and Lin Xun'er walking here under the leadership of a palace maid, and just wanted to say hello, Lu Shu's eyes were sharp, and as soon as he saw Zheng Peng, he immediately walked in.

"Husband." As soon as she saw Zheng Peng, Lu Shu's pretty face immediately smiled.

Lin Xun'er also walked over, and said with a smile: "I'm afraid that I won't find my husband, so I'm sitting here." ”

Zheng Peng said with concern: "Are you all right, how are you talking in Penglai Palace?" ”

The second daughter was often taken to Penglai Hall by Sun Zhong, and she didn't know if she was used to it, Zheng Peng was most afraid that the second daughter would be wronged.

Lu Shu smiled slightly, and said happily: "It's good, Concubine Hui serves our sisters very well, not only invited us to eat a lot of snacks that only the palace has, but also received a set of jewelry from Concubine Hui, don't do it, but it's beautiful." ”

"Concubine Hui is really beautiful, like a fairy, and she is kind and friendly." Lin Xun'er echoed on the side.

Zheng Peng nodded and said, "It's good if you're happy, sit down first, and the birthday banquet will start in a while." ”

Goodwill? That's what you haven't seen her, but don't tell the second daughter about this kind of thing, it's too dark.

This birthday banquet is set in the Imperial Garden, which is a family banquet, not a state banquet, the invitation is not to invite individuals, but to invite a family, of course, even a family has a limit on the number of people, each family is arranged to sit at the same table, the table is a square table, that is, four people are seated.

Like Li Linfu, there are fifty children alone, plus wives and concubines, how many seats do you have to prepare?

Lu Shu and Lin Xun'er answered and sat down together.

"Sit down, don't make any noise." At this moment, a familiar voice came from the adjacent table.

Zheng Peng turned his head and looked at it, and immediately smiled bitterly, it is really a place in life where we don't meet, it's not that enemies don't get together, I just wanted to take Li Linfu as an example, but I didn't expect Li Linfu to sit next to him.

Li Linfu and his entourage of four, Li Linfu and his wife, and then two sons, Li Xiu and Li Yu, Zheng Peng noticed that Li Yu was holding a box wrapped in silk cloth, if he guessed correctly, there was a chance that it was a birthday gift for Concubine Hui, and in the imperial garden, many people were holding gift boxes of different sizes, all of which were congratulatory gifts for Concubine Wu Hui.

When Zheng Peng was looking at Li Linfu and his party, Li Linfu was also observing Zheng Peng, just now when Zheng Peng and the three of them were talking, he pricked up his ears to listen, and when he heard that Lu Shu and Lin Xun'er were rewarded by Concubine Hui, he was red and envious: he spent so much money to please Pei Wu's family, and even he "sent" it out, and the blessing of the identity of the clan, so he sat in the third row, and Zheng Peng was suspended, and he could still be here, his wife and concubine were received by Concubine Wu Hui before the banquet, and even the reward was given.

The gap is too big.

"General Zheng, what a coincidence."

"Yes, I didn't expect to sit with Li Shilang, coincidentally" Li Linfu pretended to be careless and said: "Concubine Hui's birthday banquet, I don't know what congratulatory gifts General Zheng has prepared?" ”

There is no registration for this birthday banquet, so congratulatory gifts must be presented in public.

In order to shine at the birthday banquet, Li Linfu prepared a special congratulatory gift, and when he saw Zheng Peng empty-handed, he couldn't help but ask.

Li Linfu, who has read countless people, can't guess Zheng Peng a little, but for some reason, when he meets Zheng Peng, he always feels like he is being pressed by him.

"Yes, General Zheng, what kind of congratulatory gift did you prepare this time?" Zhang Jiuling on the side also echoed curiously.

What a coincidence, Li Linfu's seat is on the left and right, and Zhang Jiuling is sitting on the right, what is this, left traitor and right loyalty?

Zheng Peng said with a smile: "There is nothing lacking in the palace, and ordinary objects are not looked down upon, knowing that Concubine Hui likes to drink, and there are some good flower carvings in the wine shop, so I will offer two altars, and what congratulatory gifts will the two prepare for Concubine Hui?" ”

Zhang Jiuling smiled indifferently and said: "A certain relative, who walks around in Leizhou a lot, and gets a good Nanzhu in the middle of the world, so he asks for it to be dedicated to Concubine Hui." ”

"It turned out to be a treasure of the South China Sea, what kind of congratulatory gift did Li Shilang prepare?" Zheng Peng set his eyes on Li Linfu.

Li Linfu snorted and said casually: "Recently, there have been a lot of things at home, and I can't take care of it for a while, so I will send some ordinary women's supplies, ashamed, ashamed." ”

Zheng Peng glanced at Li Linfu from the corner of his eye, didn't say anything on his face, and sneered in his heart: A hundred-legged insect, dead but not stiff, Concubine Wu Hui's birthday banquet this time, the private nature is greater than official affairs, whether I invited the prince Li Ying is not clear, anyway, I didn't see Li Ying at the banquet, and Li Linfu, who was not eye-to-eye with Concubine Wu Hui, appeared here, and the position was still so high, needless to say, someone must have paved the way for Li Linfu, and the person who paved the way was Li Linfu's old friend Pei Wu.

According to the information sent by Huang San, Li Linfu has been a little close to Pei Wu's recently.

Unexpectedly, Li Linfu still had the ability to eat soft rice, and Zheng Peng was a little convinced of him.

At this time, more and more guests came to sit down under the leadership of eunuchs or palace maids, Zheng Peng also saw a lot of familiar faces, such as Shangshu Youcheng Han Xiu, the military department Shangshu Wang Xuan, the household department Shangshu Yang Chongli, Zhongshu Ling Xiao Song, etc., familiar people saw and greeted each other, Zheng Peng, Li Linfu and Zhang Jiuling all belonged to the kind of people who were very popular, from time to time someone stepped forward to greet the two, Zheng Peng, Li Linfu and Zhang Jiuling were busy socializing, and they didn't say anything, Lu Shu and Lin Xun'er couldn't sit still, Stand up and smile and greet the women who attended the birthday feast.

After tossing for more than two quarters of an hour, Zheng Peng's mouth was almost dry, so he dealt with those people, and after sitting down, he drank two cups of tea in a row, and then he felt that his throat felt better, and when he came back to his senses and looked around, Zheng Peng suddenly sighed again.

Listen to the palace maid said that this banquet opened one hundred and ninety-nine seats, invited are the emperor's relatives, the important ministers of the court, now is the night falls, the time of the lanterns, the original elegant imperial garden is hung with all kinds of exquisite lanterns, even the balustrade in the garden, the trees are also decorated with brocade, in the palace maid and the eunuch carefully dressed up, like a fairy scene.

Now is the time when the Tang Dynasty is prosperous, the treasury is full, the people are rich, and Li Longji can squander it wantonly, you must know that Li Longji likes pomp and circumstance the most, and his favorite concubine holds a birthday banquet, so he is naturally not stingy, how to live extravagantly, and the scene is splendid, but what Zheng Peng sighed is not a luxurious birthday banquet, but the open and inclusive atmosphere of Datang.

On openness, the Tang Dynasty can lead the way in history, the degree of openness, even later generations are not as good as it, like men and women on the street, leave contact information for each other, women divorce, widows remarry, these are not news at all, many Tang princesses after marriage, because of unsatisfactory life, early death of husbands, and demotion of the guilty and remarried a lot, in terms of women's clothing, the degree of openness is not comparable to later generations: women love light, the neckline is very low, revealing "half a ball" is the norm, and some women even bare-chested and exposed.

In the banquet hall, those noble ladies, as if they were competing, the necklines were opened lower than the other, and the whole venue could be infinitely bright, and those women not only dared to wear them, but also dared to say that they did not sit respectfully, but gathered together to talk and laugh, and were more active than the men.

In other dynasties, women rarely went to banquets, even when they went to banquets, men and women sat separately, however, these did not exist in the Tang Dynasty.

Zheng Peng thought about the reason, mainly related to the will of the ruler, many historians say that the Tang Li family has the blood of the Hu people, whether there is or not, it is not known, but the Tang royal family has a lot of Hu style on the issue of men and women, at the beginning of the Tang Shizong Li Shimin, after he launched the "Xuanwumen" incident and ascended the throne, he took his brother Li Yuanji's wife as his own, that is, the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui, and then Li Ming, the king of Lujiang, rebelled, and took his wife and concubine to the palace to serve around; Li Longji later came to Li Zhi, secretly hooked up with his mother-in-law Li Zetian, and finally made a Wu Zhou, almost lost the Tang Dynasty, that is, Xuanzong Li Longji, is also a merry son of heaven, Nakaki as a concubine, if history does not deviate from the track, he will "pick up ashes" later and rob his daughter-in-law......

The upper beam is not correct and the lower beam is crooked, the officials and nobles follow suit, the common people have the same example, the social atmosphere can be imagined, to say which dynasty is the strongest, there may be controversy in later generations, but which dynasty is the most open, the Tang Dynasty can be said to be expected.

"Husband, husband, what are you looking at, it's a joke." Lin Xun'er stomped her foot with a little blushing and gently pulled Zheng Peng.

Zheng Peng's eyes have been staring at a young lady with a very low neckline, revealing a large snow-white little lady, and she didn't blink her eyes for a long time, and the little lady also noticed Zheng Peng's eyes, she didn't think she was annoyed, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, but she stood taller with some pride, and threw a wink at Zheng Peng without a trace.

Xiao Lang's hooves, Lin Xun'er saw it, and she was so angry that she gritted her teeth, if she wore the same clothes, she would definitely not be worse than her, but Zheng Peng was very strange, and resolutely refused to let herself and Lu Shu wear that kind of clothes, and they usually wore clothes that were very densely covered.

was pulled by Lin Xun'er, Zheng Peng came back to his senses, and said a little embarrassedly: "Don't get me wrong, I was thinking about something just now, I was distracted, I was distracted." ”

Lin Xun'er said a little unhappily: "Peek at it, peek at it, dare not admit it." ”

Lu Shu laughed twice, and persuaded in a low voice: "Sister Xun'er, my husband was distracted just now, that little prodigal hoof is not as good-looking as my sister, what is there to see." ”

"It should be said that it is not as good as a little finger of Lu Shu, and the husband definitely can't look down on that kind of wild bee and butterfly, but he can't get used to seeing her coquettish, which makes people sick." Lin Xun'er still said indignantly.

The explanation is to cover up, Zheng Peng knew that this matter would only get darker and darker, so he just smiled and took care of himself.

Just when the atmosphere was a little awkward, I suddenly heard Gao Li shouting loudly: "The emperor has arrived, and Concubine Hui has arrived." ”

After waiting for so long, the main lord and the birthday star finally came, and the ministers hurriedly saluted Li Longji and Concubine Wu Hui, and then congratulated Concubine Wu Hui loudly.

After some etiquette, Li Longji sat on the upper seat with Concubine Wu Hui, and the imperial relatives, ministers of civil and military affairs and their families who saluted saw Li Longji and Concubine Wu Hui sit down, so they sat down together.

As soon as Li Longji and Concubine Wu Hui sat down, a richly dressed and heroic young man in the first row walked to the upper seat with a gift box in both hands, knelt down on both knees, presented the gift box with both hands, and said loudly: "The courtiers wish A-Niang happiness like the long flowing water of the East China Sea, and her longevity is better than the old pine of Nanshan." ”

Zheng Peng looked at the kneeling person, and couldn't help but light up: the first person to give a congratulatory gift to Concubine Wu Hui was none other than her son Shouwang Li Mao.

Li Mao is the most prestigious and controversial person in history, because he has a unique "green hat" on his head, of course, these things have not happened yet, I have to say that Li Mao cast a good fetus, from the emperor's family, the biological mother is still Concubine Wu Hui, Wu Huifei, who was deeply favored by Li Longji, and the children were loved by Li Longji, Li Mao was crowned King Shou in the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, and led the governor of Yizhou, Jiannan Jiedu envoy, when he was only five years old.

Now Li Mao, only 14 years old, is already a heroic and majestic young man, his biological mother held a birthday banquet, he was naturally the first to stand up to celebrate his birthday.

The relationship between mother and son is very good, and if you want to give gifts, you can send them privately, Li Mao gave gifts in front of everyone, which was actually the arrangement of Concubine Wu Hui, first, to show his filial piety, and secondly, to show his face in front of everyone to prepare for the forces of all parties.

Although Li Ying is said to be the crown prince, and Li Mao is still young, fortunately, Li Longji is in the prime of life, and Concubine Wu Hui has time.

The mother looked at her son, how to look at it, how pleasing to the eye, Concubine Wu Hui stood up, and with the support of Li Longji, she personally helped Li Mao, who was kneeling on the ground, and said happily: "Mao'er has a heart, the ground is cold, quickly stand up and speak." ”

"Xie A-Niang" Li Mao stood up and said loudly: "Today is A-Niang's birthday banquet, and the courtiers have prepared a congratulatory gift, please A-Niang smile." ”

Gao Lishi, who had already been instructed, hurriedly took it, opened it in public, carefully took out a golden longevity peach, held it high for all the guests to see, and sang loudly: "Shouwang presents a colorful longevity peach to celebrate the birthday of Hui Niangniang." ”

Colorful Fushou peach is a famous craftsman with gold to create, white jade as a support, jade as a branch, decorated with red, blue and green gemstones, exquisite workmanship, novel ideas, in the birthday banquet is also very appropriate, shining in the candlelight, attracting a cheer on the scene.