Volume 2 Chapter 69 Night Banquet "Love Rivals" Fill the World

  Tang Guan gazed at the elegant man in front of her, and suddenly felt amused. Tang Rui Zong actually appeared at this time, it's really worth savoring.

  Tang Guan was facing the emperor for the first time, Wu Zetian's eyes were somewhat cold and stern, Li Dan still bowed his head, and the atmosphere suddenly became a bit eerie.

  After a long time, just when these princes were getting impatient, Wu Zetian finally spoke up and said: "Let him off."

  Li Dan straightened up and smiled at Tang Guan beside him. Tang Guan also smiled slightly when he saw this.

  Wu Zetian saw this and directly turned around, pulling Tang Guan into the palace. The eunuch then shouted: "Enter the banquet!"

  The emperor walked in slowly, and the officials followed closely behind him.

  Wu Zetian loosened her grip on the Tang crown and said softly, "You sit there."

  Tang Guan looked at where she was pointing, his heart skipped a beat, "Why didn't you let me die!"

  Only to see where Wu Zetian pointed was actually a side seat under the imperial case, and it was also an imperial case.

  As expected, Li Dan's face sank upon hearing this, but he immediately put on a smile again.

  "Your Majesty."

  "I am your child."

  "Come with your mother."

  Li Dan's expression finally eased up, and he sat down in the first place with Wu Zetian.

  Tang Guan let out a subtle breath of relief as he could guess that the seat Wu Zetian had him sit in was originally supposed to be Li Dan's!

  When the princes and nobles rushed in, after they took their seats with men on the left and women on the right, they found that Tang Guan was still standing in his original place.

  Princess Taiping covered her mouth and smiled, knowing that he was in trouble again. The only seat left in the entire hall was the one belonging to her imperial brother.

  Ke Li Dan has already sat with his mother.

  After a long time, Tang Guan let out a soft sigh and said, "Alas, I'm just eating a meal, do we have to be so tense?"

  She immediately felt relieved and walked towards the imperial desk. Princess Taiping was taken aback for a moment, then puffed out her small mouth.

  "The empress actually let him take the emperor's throne!"

  This seemingly casual move fell into the eyes of the people present, but they were all secretly shocked, until Tang Guan sat down with a thud, these people were still secretly stunned.

  Wu Sansi's expression changed, and then he seemed to smile but not quite smiled as he looked at Tang Guan.

  Until everyone sat down, the palace maids rushed in and lined up. The first one, Yingying, bowed slightly and stood behind Wu Zetian. Seeing this girl, Tang Guan smiled at her again.

  This woman was indeed Shangguan Wan'er. The banquet was set up in the Qilin Hall, and it was rare for a minister to receive such an honor, let alone on this scale, with almost all members of the imperial family present.

  Tang Guan swept his gaze over the women on the right side and, apart from Taiping Princess, discovered several faces that seemed familiar. However, not all the women on this side were imperial princesses.

  Tang Guan suddenly found several women in their forties, whose seats seemed to be as particular as those of the princes and princesses. For example, Princess Taiping was sitting at the head of the young women, with a middle-aged beautiful woman beside her.

  Tang Guan said with a dark expression: "The Emperor is treating us to dinner, but he didn't bring his wife along, it's really not worth the cost."

  Tang Guan slightly scanned and knew that the group of middle-aged women must be the family members of the Wang Gongguo pillars present, it can be confirmed that they are either not wearing the title of Mrs., or they were princesses before marriage.

  Tang Guan immediately withdrew his gaze and looked towards Wang Gong on this side. Most of them were old and frail, but at the end of the seat, two familiar faces appeared again.

  It turned out that it was Liu Jingxian and Guo Shihou, the two prime ministers who had great power of speech in the imperial court, but here they could only sit at the end.

  Liu Jingxian raised his head and exchanged a glance with Tang Guan, nodding slightly. Tang Guan also nodded lightly in response.

  Deep down, Tang Guan naturally leaned towards Pei Yan's group, and without saying whether they were good or bad as officials, at the very least, it was easier to get along with them without having to use so many tricks.

  Dealing with Wu Sansi and Wu Chonggui, these kinds of treacherous officials, although Tang Guan found it interesting, he had to be constantly on guard.

  At this time, Wu Zetian finally spoke up and said: "You are all my royal relatives, the pillars of the state. Today, I am delighted to have obtained a good talent, and hold a grand feast for all officials. You all share the joy with me!"

  "Your subjects congratulate Your Majesty on this joyful occasion! Congratulations to the wise and sagely Emperor!"

  These ministers were old and seasoned; Li Dan's appearance was somewhat abrupt, but they were uniform and consistent, as if they had been rehearsed beforehand.

  Tang Guan was also among them, pretending to be a mediocre person, although he knew that Wu Zetian's "good talent" referred to himself, but he had not yet reached the point of being "invincible when reaching the lowest level".

  Wu Zetian waved her large sleeve and took the lead in picking up the wine cup to drink, the officials seeing this also followed suit.

  The woman on the other side was no exception. Tang Guan subconsciously stretched out his hand to grab something, but grabbed nothing. Everyone else's table had wine, water, melons and fruits, while their table was empty.

  "What a scam!" Tang Guan cursed under his breath and had no choice but to give up.

  Li Dan seemed to have been quietly paying attention to Tang Guan all along, and he was close by on one side. Seeing this, he smiled slightly and picked up the wine cup in front of him, handing it over to Tang Guan's case and said softly: "Little Zhuangyuan, I'll give you this cup."

  The officials had just put down their wine cups and saw this scene, and they were all moved in their hearts. All the ministers present were uncles and elders of Ruizong, and they all secretly guessed why Ruizong, who had been living in seclusion in the palace and never left the house, would suddenly change his usual behavior today.

  Only a few people with deep understanding can appreciate the subtlety of it. Don't look down on Tang Guan, who is only a nine-year-old boy, but he was born out of constant compromise and negotiation among various forces, making him a "rare species".

  From the moment he entered the court, he was destined to become a special direction sign, and his movements determined the trend of the court. The big head is undoubtedly led by Pei Yan and the current empress.

  Now even Rui Zong, who has always been low-key and elegant, seems to have anticipated the rhythm of the stormy city, and also wants to join in.

  Tang Guan didn't stand on ceremony either, directly stretching out his hand to receive it, and said in a low voice: "Thank you for your imperial kindness!"

  Wu Zetian was on one side but remained unmoved, merely casting a glance.

  Tang Guan held up his wine cup and couldn't help but glance back over his shoulder with a hint of pride, but suddenly froze.

  He originally wanted to give Shangguan Wanyi a seductive "flirtatious glance", but unexpectedly, Shangguan Wanyi didn't even look at him. Tang Guan lightly raised an eyebrow and discovered that she was quietly paying attention to Li Dan, with unusual radiance flashing in her beautiful eyes.

  "What's going on!?" Táng Guān turned his head around, put down his wine cup, and suddenly felt a wave of doubt in his heart.

  Also saw Rui Zong in his middle age, white and clean, indeed with a elegant demeanor, couldn't help but feel a chill in my heart.

  "Isn't there still one leg left?"

  Fortunately, Tang Guan immediately came to her senses and denied this inference. At present, she has not yet taken power, and her political ambitions have not been stimulated. It is impossible for her to have a relationship with Wu Sansi and the like for this reason. Moreover, if following the orthodox history, the one she should have seduced would be Li Xian, the future Emperor Zhongzong of Tang.

  Tang Guan was a bit entangled and even started to wickedly think that maybe all the civil and military officials in the court had a leg with this strange woman.

  He immediately looked up at Wu Sansi on the seat, only to see him glance at Shangguan Wan'er as if unintentionally, with a strange smile at the corner of his mouth. Tang Guan saw this and shook his head secretly again.

  "That's not right, she may be favored now, but hasn't taken power yet, has she?"

  Just as Tang Guan was deep in thought, Li Dan smiled and watched him for a while, then whispered a few words to Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian raised an eyebrow and suddenly shouted: "No way!"

  Li Dan's face turned pale, and he hastily nodded in agreement. The officials who had been preparing to flatter him were taken aback by his words.

  Tang Guan was also slightly startled and didn't know what had happened.

  Fortunately, Wu Zetian calmed down immediately and smiled: "Today everyone shares the joy of Wenqu Xing's success in the imperial examination, don't worry about etiquette, let's drink freely!"

  Li Dan somewhat uninterestingly stretched out his hand to drink, but found that the cup had already been given to Tang Guan. Behind him, Shangguan Wan'er saw the situation and hastily took a new cup from the side, filled it up, and personally handed it to Ruizong.

  "Your Majesty..." At this time, only Shangguan Wan'er and Tang Guan were talking, with completely different expressions, somewhat shy.

  "Cut the crap." Tang Guan looked at him with a genuine expression and was taken aback.

  Li Dan didn't even glance at Wang Yu'er, took the wine and sipped a mouthful.

  At this time, Shang Guan Wan'er smiled at Tang Guan'er, and then retreated to the back with a serious expression, looking at Li Dan with a somewhat strange expression.

  This sudden change once again caught Tang Guan off guard, and the records of this female general in history are vague and unclear. If it can be said that Tang Guan was most unfamiliar with any figure of her time, it would be this woman.

  This banquet is different from the state banquet, and at the state banquet, the ministers naturally dare not be so presumptuous. But this banquet is not about dignity, but about celebration, with the sound of congratulations from the ministers never-ending in one's ears.

  The princess under the seat was glaring at Tang Guan on the seat with some anger, and Tang Guan also found this girl and smiled lightly at her. Princess Taiping was stunned by this.

  "This little girl is pretty, but unfortunately her temper..." Tang Guan shook his head secretly in his heart, and the strangeness of Shangguan Wan'er still made him a bit unforgettable.

  At this moment, an old man stood up from his seat and walked out with his head bowed.

  All the officials stopped their cups and looked over, Wu Zetian also looked over and said: "What's wrong with Minister Xue?"

  The old man bowed and said: "I have a matter to report to Your Majesty, may I be allowed to speak?"

  Wu Zetian smiled lightly and said, "The Xue family is related to the imperial family by marriage. This Xue Yu is also a son-in-law of the emperor. His youngest son, Xue Shao, is about to marry Princess Taiping. It's rare for him to make such a serious request."

  He nodded slightly and said, "This minister's family education is lax, his son Xue Shao is unlearned and untalented. Today, seeing the nine-year-old champion scholar, he felt a pang of emotion and wanted him to meet the young champion as well, to serve as a warning."

  At the mention of this name, Tang Guan furrowed his brow, "Xue Shao?"

  Wu Zetian heard this and smiled lightly: "What is it that I should be, Shao Lang is also a rare talent in our dynasty, let him come forward."

  "Thank Your Majesty for your great kindness, your humble subject's son is waiting outside the palace."

  Wu Zetian heard this and burst out laughing, saying: "So your family was prepared for this after all."

  Xue Yi's face also showed a smile, and he secretly took a glance at Princess Taiping, bowing his head and saying: "The young champion is talented and knowledgeable, I hope you can give some advice to my humble son."

  "What's with this sour feeling?" Tang Guan suddenly felt a strange sense of jealousy in his heart. Originally, the two women didn't have much to do with Tang Guan, but now one was staring straight at the emperor and the other was about to meet him face-to-face, making him feel somewhat uneasy.

  Tang Guan immediately threw off this inexplicable feeling, stood up and said: "General, your words are too kind, I have long admired Brother Xue's name."

  Xue Yi heard this and suddenly felt a bright light on his face, Tang Guan's praise was the most powerful, and he had personally witnessed Tang Guan's incredible talent, hearing him praise was a million times stronger than ordinary people's flattery.

  Tang Guan sat down after finishing speaking, took over the wine cup and lightly sipped a mouthful, with a smile still hanging on his face.

  Wu Zetian was secretly paying attention, as if she had discovered something. She glanced at Princess Taiping and then looked at Tang Guan, her eyelid suddenly twitching.

  Xue Yi returned to his position, and the officials continued to toast each other, as if it was just a minor interlude.

  The lovely face of Princess Taiping suddenly turned gloomy, if she was just mocking with her stare at Tang Guan earlier, then now she was completely melancholic.

  A woman next to her whispered, "Sister, that third son of the Xue family is quite good-looking, tall and strong. General Xue is also a relative of ours, don't be so unhappy."

  Princess Taiping was taken aback by the words, although she knew that she had been pushed into this marriage, but after all, she was a princess in the palace, and she really hadn't seen Xue Shao himself, only heard others talk about his various deeds.

  Ke Taiping Gongzhu was extremely arrogant and looked down on Tang Guan, who had passed the imperial examination at the age of nine. She didn't think much of Xue Shao either, and immediately fell silent.

  The woman beside him covered her mouth and smiled, then looked at Tang Guan on the case and said softly: "It's a pity this young man is not older."

  As soon as these words came out, Princess Taiping's heart moved, and she immediately showed a joyful expression, as if thinking of something, and looked at Tang Guan again.

  Tang Guan just happened to lift his head and saw her expression, which was out of the ordinary, and his heart skipped a beat.

  "She actually smiled at me?"

  Strangers on the road are like jade, how can they be easily obtained? Tang Guan's "love rivals" are countless, haha.