Chapter 1082: Royal Family Banquet, the Restless Prince

"My son meets Daddy and pays his respects to him!"

The two soft and sticky voices made Su Mingzhe hold back the curses that he was about to say.

Su Mingzhe looked closely and unexpectedly saw two young girls appearing behind Xiao Ai, looking very clever:

"Yongan, Yongning?"

"When did you come back?"

When Su Mingzhe saw his two daughters, his eyebrows began to smile.

Both girls were betrothed to men who were brothers - Yan Junjie's cousins.

The Yan family had strict traditions, requiring their children to follow monogamy, not take concubines, and not be extravagant.

It can be said that the Yan family's tradition is fully in line with the standards for marriage with the royal family.

Among them, Yongan’s wedding will be held after the prince’s wedding next year.

Yongning is still young, she will only be fourteen after the New Year, so her wedding will be held in a few years.

According to the customs of that era, after a woman got engaged, she had to stay simple and not show up in public anymore.

As princesses, Yong'an and Yongning were no exception.

As an emperor, Su Mingzhe did not want to keep his daughter in captivity.

After much deliberation, he decided to sponsor a monastery and send all the princesses who were about to get married there, so that they could participate in activities and study in the monastery and communicate with outsiders.

Now it is the end of the year and the Taoist temple has started its holidays, so the princesses finally have time to return to Beijing.

"Yong'an and Yongning still have more face!"

Qingping looked at the scene of the father and his two daughters reuniting with some jealousy.

Now that I've met my daughter, I naturally can't go strolling on this street.

The family returned to Shangyang Palace, talking and laughing along the way, it was very lively.

As for those guys whose hearts were pierced by the palace guards, someone would come to collect their bodies after a while.

The Han Dynasty ruled the country with severe punishments.

For example, to deal with petty thieves, if they were caught for the first time, their fingers would be cut off and they would be imprisoned for three months.

The second time he was caught, his hand was broken and he was exiled a thousand miles away.

If it happens a third time, he will be sent directly to the mine and spend the rest of his life in prison.

Even when dealing with petty thieves, the treatment is so severe. Naturally, the treatment will be even more severe for villains who bully people in the market and bully men and women.

The first time he was caught, even though the attempt was unsuccessful, he was also tattooed on his face and exiled a thousand miles away for ten years.

If you have committed a crime, the lighter punishment is to have your hands cut off, be sent to the mines, or spend the rest of your life in prison. In serious cases, you will inevitably be sent to the vegetable market.

These situations are the result of being caught by the government.

If a habitual thief or thug is caught by the victim while committing a crime, even if he is killed, his death is in vain.

Don't mention these disappointing things.

When Su Mingzhe returned to the palace with her two daughters, she found out that all the other princesses who were studying in Kun Monastery had returned.

Now that we're all back, let's get together and have a family dinner.

Su Mingzhe also wanted to enjoy family happiness.

The next day, it was New Year’s Eve.

In the Golden Palace, Su Mingzhe hosted a grand banquet.

Su Mingzhe, Cui Yingying, and Crown Prince Su Shaoan, the three of them sat at the top.

Looking at the concubines who had children, the concubines who didn't have children but also wanted to join in the fun, as well as the princes and princesses gathered together.

All three of them showed joy on their faces.

The Han Dynasty has been established for more than 20 years. Although droughts and floods are still common, under the diligent governance of Emperor Su Mingzhe, the country has always maintained a peaceful and prosperous situation.

Among the people, vagrants and bandits, as well as those who did not respect the king and whose numbers exceeded a hundred, were basically extinct.

A prosperous new era is about to come.

Su Mingzhe did not give other princes the opportunity to compete for the position of crown prince.

It can be said that everyone present basically behaved themselves and did not cause any discomfort to themselves or others.

Under such circumstances, there was naturally peace in the Golden Palace.

When the banquet began, Su Mingzhe began to give a toast, and after that, he invited everyone to have a drink together.

Afterwards, Cui Yingying, as the queen, also gave a toast and invited everyone to drink together.

Unlike Su Mingzhe who was drinking with everyone, Cui Yingying's eyes were mainly on Hongniang who was not far away.

Hongniang sat alone at a table, and the other concubines avoided her as if she were a threat. However, many people looked at her with fear and a hint of admiration.

After all, Hongniang was the only person in the Han Empire who could remain safe even after scolding the emperor.

Afterwards, Su Shaoan, as the crown prince, also spoke a few words and invited everyone to drink together.

The emperor, the empress, and the crown prince are the nominal masters of the Han Empire.

The three of them finished speaking.

The chimes were then struck by the musicians.

The dancer entered the stage with small steps and slowly walked up to the central platform.

Everyone fell silent.

The Han Dynasty royal family banquet was of such high standard that it was second only to Su Mingzhe’s banquet for civil and military officials in the Han Empire.

In addition to singing and dancing, other performances include various acrobatics, magic tricks, and dramas.

It can be said that in this era, all the performance repertoires that can be called elegant have been moved here.

All the concubines, princes, and princesses present were watching the show attentively.

Su Mingzhe looked at it for a while and then lost interest.

He glanced at the whole place with the corner of his eyes, and began to calculate things out of habit.

There were too many children, the number of princes and princesses totaled more than two hundred and seventy.

As a father, it is inevitable that he may not be able to take good care of his children.

For example, the two more favored princesses, Yong'an and Yongning, both early on secured a husband with a good family background.

On the other hand, some princesses who are usually inconspicuous seem to be almost fifteen or sixteen years old, but have not yet been arranged to be in a husband's family.

"I shouldn't be partial to one and ignore the other. I should arrange some good families for these girls."

Su Mingzhe began to think again about which brave young men in the government and the country were qualified to be his son-in-law.

The family dinner lasted for nearly two hours before it ended.

Although Su Mingzhe kept smiling, people who knew him knew that he was distracted.

I finally waited for the family dinner to end.

Su Mingzhe first called Queen Cui Yingying to accompany him to the imperial study to discuss something.

After the matter was discussed, Cui Yingying returned to the palace to rest, and Su Mingzhe went to Shangyang Palace to play with the concubines.

As an emperor, life is so simple and unpretentious.

The Spring Festival passed quickly.

The prince's marriage was settled.

The He family, which was originally considered just an ordinary official family in Luoyang City, suddenly became very popular.

There is an endless stream of people coming to establish connections every day.

He Jingsi couldn't help but sigh, it is true that 'when you are poor in a busy city, no one cares about you, but when you are rich in the mountains, you have distant relatives'.

Our family has only become a relative of the emperor, but even such powerful people as the Nine Dukes and Sixteen Marquises want to make friends and build relationships with us.

These people are too realistic.

In a blink of an eye, it was the day for the lottery.

Crown Prince Su Shaoan came to visit with a pair of wild geese that he had shot a few days earlier.

He Jingsi did not dare to put on airs as his father-in-law, and respectfully welcomed the prince into the house and treated him well.

Su Shaoan's mind was not on the banquet.

Halfway through the banquet, he escaped under the pretext of being drunk and went to the backyard of the He family, wanting to see what his future bride looked like.

After all, he had only heard from others that He Zhenniang was gentle and virtuous, with a dignified and pretty appearance.

He had never seen her specific appearance.

Today is the day for the marriage proposal. After today, the two will be considered husband and wife in name only.

Su Shaoan drank a little bit of wine, and the alcohol started to take effect. His mind got hot and he really wanted to know what his wife looked like.

Unfortunately, He Zhenniang was a very obedient woman. After knowing that her marriage was arranged, she even refused to leave her attic.

Su Shaoan walked around the He family yard but found nothing.

Returning to the palace in disappointment, Su Shaoan, under the influence of alcohol, came to Qixia Palace, told his mother his thoughts, and then asked if there was any way to arrange a meeting between him and the future Crown Princess.

"Nonsense!"

Cui Yingying, who once pursued free love, scolded her son unceremoniously after hearing his words:
"Prince, you are the crown prince of the Han Dynasty. How dare you act so recklessly?!"

(End of this chapter)