Chapter 9: Prime Minister Qi Hosts a Banquet to Stop the Fighting

  The Eastern Qi is known for its ritual music and etiquette, with the imperial family revering Confucius as their ancestor. The Chancellor's Office, as the residence of the Prime Minister of Qi, naturally has an extraordinary atmosphere: a thousand-year-old cypress tree with a canopy like a Chinese parasol covers the main gate of the Chancellor's Office. A pair of crimson gates, three zhang high and wide, are adorned with forty-nine gold nails, arranged in a seven-by-seven pattern, along with a pair of majestic stone lions in front of the gate, demonstrating the noble status of the owner of the mansion, comparable to that of princes.

  Qin Lei got out of the carriage and stood at the bottom of the high steps of the Chancellor's mansion, looking somewhat constrained, with scattered and aimless eyes, and his body slightly hunched. Tieying handed the crumpled invitation to the doorman with a dark face, then stepped into the Wang Mansion without saying a word.

  Qin Lei finally came to his senses and hastily followed Tie Ying, but the hem of the Qi country's ceremonial robe was narrow and tight, and the steps of the Xiang Fu were high. The young master couldn't help stumbling and tripping, with a bitter face, he picked up his robes and chased after him.

  The guards at the mansion looked at each other in dismay, then whispered and snickered. After a while, they remembered their duties and sang in unison: "General Shi has arrived..."

  The mansion's courtyard was indeed deep and secluded, with layers of announcements still running ahead of the guests, entering the main hall for the banquet. At this time, the joyful feast had already begun, looking at those tipsy guests, it seemed like they had been drinking for three hours...

  Upon hearing the announcement, the hall immediately fell silent. The officials and nobles turned their heads to look towards the entrance, wanting to take a look at what this person, who was currently the hottest topic in the capital, looked like.

  The first to arrive was indeed a giant of eight feet tall, with a full beard and mustache, looking like a door god. It wasn't until the nobles saw the color of his guard uniform that they let out a sigh of relief. Reality and ideals are always far apart, and it's never easy to accept.

  The big Han stood still, clasped his fists and said in a loud voice: "The Grand General of the Qin Dynasty, the Fifth Prince's Mansion, respectfully congratulates the Prime Minister of Qi on the addition of a new son!" After finishing speaking, he stepped aside, and only then did everyone see that behind Iron Tower Han, a person had emerged. He was pale-faced, his eyes were wandering, his body was stiff, his expression was flustered, and he was being extremely cautious. This was right, this was the kind of unlucky appearance that the poor prince who had been imprisoned in Qi for sixteen years should have. The dignitaries' emotions calmed down, they put on their prepared expressions of mockery, disdain, or sighs, and turned back to continue drinking and having fun.

  Qin Lei bowed, and the people in the hall all looked at him. The thin old man with a white beard sitting in the main seat was probably Shangguan Lao'er, who was currently chatting with the first yellow-bearded fat old man on his left while holding a wine cup. However, their eyes kept glancing over from time to time, especially the fat old man, whose face looked unpleasant. The third person in the room that caught his attention was a bearded man in plain clothes sitting by the door, who appeared to be around thirty years old and had been quietly drinking alone without talking to anyone else, standing out awkwardly among the luxurious surroundings.

  It seemed that no one heard the iron eagle's report, and the host and guests were busy chatting with each other, without time to look towards the door. The two masters just stood at the door, their faces red and ears flushed.

  Just as Iron Eagle was about to erupt, he heard a faint cough in his ear and barely held back, his fists clenched with a cracking sound. With the corner of his eye, Iron Eagle glanced at the hall below, where he was slightly lowering his head, seemingly at a loss for what to do. But from Iron Eagle's angle, he just happened to catch the fleeting glint of mockery in the eyes of the person below.

  Since receiving the invitation, Qin Lei knew that his plan with Shen Luo had succeeded halfway. Shen Luo's countless small tricks and a few big moves finally led to this meeting. The Prime Minister of Qi wanted to see if the foolish Crown Prince was really useless, and if he couldn't pose a threat to Qi, then giving the Emperor and Empress Dowager some face while avoiding war would give Qi a few years of preparation time - what's not to like?

  Qin Lei confirmed Yuwen Yunhe's thoughts through his conversation with Shen Luo. In psychology, if a person wants something to develop in a certain direction, he will pay attention to the information that can prove his own reasoning and ignore the information that contradicts his reasoning, which is what people usually call "preconceived notions".

  As a child who started his life as a hostage in swaddling clothes, he really couldn't attract the attention of the giants of Qi State. If it weren't for Shangguan Yunhe's cautious nature, even meeting him was unnecessary.

  So from the beginning, Qin Lei had to follow the judgment of Shangguan Yunhe towards himself, naturally strengthening it as much as possible, and letting things develop in the direction that Shangguan hoped for. This would save a lot of trouble, and going with the flow is exactly what this means.

  With a clear mind, he won't be provoked by the laughter of those around him. Instead, he has a kind of pleasure in fooling others. At least Qin Lei is very pleased now.

  ~~~~~~~

  Shangguan Yunhe gazed at the poor prince standing at the gate, but his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. The state of Qi had been in a dire situation for years, plagued by severe droughts and economic hardship. However, the royal family members and officials were still reveling in the glory of their victory over Qin 15 years ago, indulging in extravagance and luxury every day. The national treasury was being drained by these parasites, leaving it empty and ineffective, forcing them to increase taxes and exploit the people, making life unbearable for the common folk, who were forced to sell their children, and occasional riots broke out.

  He wants to implement reforms, he has a large set of policies to clarify governance, protect agriculture, develop military equipment, and strengthen the army. He wants to suppress the backlash from vested interests, ensure the implementation of new policies, all of which take time!

  As a result, the state of Qi could not afford to go to war for ten years. Despite having the so-called "God of War" Bai Shenggong and the invincible Bai Sheng army, he still advocated for releasing the hostage prince back to his country. If it weren't for his own willingness, who else in this world could influence the attention of the great Prime Minister of Qi? Not even the Emperor himself.

  So he decided to let Qin Lei return to his country and shut the mouths of the Qin army. Of course, if Qin Lei was excellent enough, he wouldn't have let him return to his lair.

  It was a long time before he came out of his reverie, and it seemed that he had just seen the two men at the door. He burst into loud laughter and said: "So it's Lord Stop Halberd who has arrived! You're late, sir! Come in quickly and take your seat! Three cups of wine as a penalty!"

  The crowd of guests echoed in agreement: "Penalty of three cups of wine!" "How can you be late?" "Disrespectful, extremely disrespectful" and other nonsense.

  Iron Eagle is furious, you have deceived people too much. Your invitation said noon, we arrived half an hour early and still didn't catch up with the start of the banquet. Isn't this intentional teasing? What's even more infuriating is that when it says "entering the seat", where is the seat? Which one has an empty seat?

  His temples bulged with blue veins, and he was about to erupt. At this time, Qin Lei hastily explained to Shangguan Yunhe: "Don't blame me, don't blame me, it's all because of that black guy's dawdling. If you want to punish someone, punish him!" With a flustered expression, looking left and right, he finally found an empty seat next to the man in plain clothes, rushed over to sit down, and accidentally knocked over the man's wine jug, spilling it all over himself.