Chapter 107: The Climax of Fine Wine

Throughout the morning, quite a few people arrived, including even Zhu Gaoxu's teacher, Song Lian.

This was something Zhu Gaoxu had not expected.

However, seeing his father's unsurprised expression, he knew it must have been his father who invited him over.

It must be said that he also had moments of oversight, but fortunately, his father clearly had a great deal of experience in dealing with such matters.

He knew exactly who should be invited and who should not.

He would not leave anyone out, and even less would he invite an extra person.

Those who came were all people familiar with Zhu Di, mostly military generals, with the Huai-Xi faction making up the majority.

There was no helping it; that was indeed the case among the people Zhu Di associated with.

After all, he had previously come out of the Huai-Xi region alongside Lao Zhu.

And Zhu Gaoxu's only subordinate at present, Yan Zhenzhi, had of course come as well.

Upon seeing Zhu Gaoxu at this moment, Yan Zhenzhi's mindset had shifted somewhat, and for the first time, he referred to himself as "this subordinate."

"Hearing that Your Highness is hosting a banquet, this subordinate has come specifically to offer congratulations."

As an old hand in the imperial court, although Yan Zhenzhi's rank had been lowered.

And it was lowered quite significantly, directly from the second rank to the fourth rank, he did not feel the slightest bit of anger.

What is meant by a demotion in name but a promotion in reality?

This was a textbook case of a demotion in name but a promotion in reality.

Nowadays, each ministry had several Ministers, and the Ministry of War even had over a dozen.

Moreover, he had been the most inconspicuous Minister of Works among them.

Now that he followed Zhu Gaoxu, although he was only a fourth-rank official, he reported directly to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Furthermore, besides Zhu Gaoxu, he held the highest authority, and he simultaneously belonged to both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works.

No matter how you calculated it, although his position was a bit lower, his power and decision-making authority were clearly much higher.

On top of that, anyone with a discerning eye now knew that it was impossible for Zhu Gaoxu to remain merely a small fourth-rank official.

Following the red-hot favorite before his eyes, was he afraid he wouldn't be promoted?

Thinking this way, Yan Zhenzhi was actually very satisfied inside.

And both Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu gave Yan Zhenzhi plenty of face as well.

Firstly, Yan Zhenzhi belonged to Zhu Gaoxu's direct subordinates and had to be well-maintained.

Secondly, no matter what, Yan Zhenzhi had previously been a Minister of Works, and his reputation was not small.

Both men were very polite to Yan Zhenzhi; although Yan Zhenzhi was now just a small fourth-rank official, the treatment he enjoyed was exactly the same as before.

Next, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di received several more high-ranking officials, until the arrival of one person, which made Zhu Di attach extraordinary importance to him.

Clearly, the person Zhu Di had been waiting for all this time had finally arrived.

Tang He had arrived!

As a sedan chair was set down, Zhu Di trotted over to the front of the chair.

"The Duke of Xin has arrived; this nephew failed to welcome you from afar!"

A large man was seen slowly stepping out from the sedan chair.

He immediately laughed aloud: "Little Four, don't give me this useless formality. I didn't come to see you today; bring that little monkey of the Emperor's over for me to see."

Zhu Gaoxu now had experience, so without needing Zhu Di to speak, he consciously stepped forward and said: "Grandson pays respects to the Duke of Xin."

"Hahahaha, not bad, not bad. Little Four, you really have raised a good son."

Tang He stretched out a large hand to pinch Zhu Gaoxu's little face, then scooped Zhu Gaoxu up.

From this, one could see that the relationship between Tang He and Lao Zhu and the others was indeed extraordinary; he was worthy of being a sworn brother.

And Zhu Gaoxu referring to himself as a grandson did not have the slightest intention of overstepping the rules.

"I was busy a while ago, and occasionally went to the palace to chat with the Emperor. He always spoke of that little monkey of his. Although I hadn't met you, you were already known to us old fellows long ago."

As he spoke, Tang He used his large hand to rub Zhu Gaoxu's cheeks again, only then setting Zhu Gaoxu back down.

At this time, Zhu Di also took the opportunity to say: "The Duke of Wei has already arrived and is waiting for you. Please."

"Third Brother is here? Good, let's go inside."

This time, Zhu Di took Zhu Gaoxu and invited Tang He directly into the Wangfu, and then never returned to the entrance.

Clearly, Zhu Di had stood there for so long just to wait for Tang He alone.

With Tang He's arrival, Zhu Di announced that the banquet had officially begun.

Various dishes were served one after another, and Zhu Gaoxu sat at the head table together with Zhu Di.

It could be said that there was not a single ordinary person among those who could sit at this table.

The Duke of Xin, Tang He; the Duke of Wei, Xu Da; Song Lian, known as the number one scholar of the founding of the dynasty; the previous Chief of the Office of Transmission, Lord Li; plus the father and son, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di—exactly six people.

Seeing that the dishes were already on the table, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu exchanged a glance and immediately stood up to clap their hands.

Then, a group of maidservants brought the fine wine brewed by Zhu Gaoxu and placed it on the table.

Zhu Di also took this opportunity to say: "Gentlemen, you may not know this, but this Prince obtained a batch of fine wine some days ago. It is not that this Prince is exaggerating, but even having lived for so many years, I have never tasted such a vintage."

"Today, this Prince will drink this fine wine with you all; it can be considered a fine story."

As he spoke, Zhu Di filled the wine cups, then raised his cup from afar and drank it all in one gulp.

The other ministers were also curious about what kind of fine wine it was that could make Zhu Di praise it so highly.

Seeing this, the group of ministers exchanged glances and then all raised their cups and drank.

As soon as the fine wine entered their mouths, the eyes of the ministers widened.

Then, after a moment of silence, a minister suddenly shouted: "Good wine!"

Following this shout that broke the silence, the crowd also called out one after another: "Good wine!"

The banquet had just begun, but because of Zhu Gaoxu's fine wine, it had already reached a complete climax.