Chapter 155: Birthday party in progress. (th update)

"Master Xiao Fan, I wonder if there is any auspicious meaning in this?"

The Queen Mother asked gently with a smile on her face.

But she couldn't help but wonder in her heart what the henchman was up to.

"Empress Dowager, this load of birthday gifts was sent by a foreign minister in his own name. The money and property sent by the envoys are not included in this list."

Fan Xian stood up, bowed and explained, "When I was young, I was happiest when I ate this bean paste birthday bun on my birthday. It is more sincere and pleasing than all the gold and silver!"

He gasped and paused for a moment. When he saw the noise in the room gradually died down, he smiled and continued, "Of course, in addition to this birthday package, I have other gifts for the Queen Mother!"

"Oh? That's interesting!" The Queen Mother looked elegant, spoke in a gentle tone, and opened her cold and beautiful red lips: "In that case, let me take a look!"

"Yes!"

Fan Xian smiled confidently and shouted loudly to the outside of the hall: "Master Shen, come in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Zhong walked into the hall with brisk steps. What was strange was that although Shen Zhong had a smile on his face tonight, this smile revealed a sense of ease that was different from the past?
Yes, it was that relaxed feeling that even made his steps more agile!

No wonder Lord Shen didn't show up on the Queen Mother's birthday today. It turned out that he had been waiting outside the door! But what does this have to do with the gifts from the Southern Dynasty envoys?

While everyone was thinking, Shen Zhong knelt on the ground, bowed solemnly, and said in a loud voice: "Shen Zhong is late, I hope Your Majesty and the Queen Mother will forgive me! I wish the Queen Mother good health and a long life!"

"Nonsense!"

The Queen Mother laughed and scolded, "Today is a happy occasion. You are a minister in the court, so there is no need to perform such a grand ceremony."

"Thank you Queen Mother!"

Shen Zhong stood up and stared at Fan Xian with a not very friendly look.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Fan Xian bowed slightly and said, "This is the second gift from the foreign minister!"

"Haha!" Zhan Doudou seemed to understand something, but she wanted to borrow Fan Xian's words to say it, and couldn't help but jokingly said: "Master Fan, this Lord Shen is an official of my Northern Qi, how come he became your gift?"

Fan Xian pretended to be indignant and explained with a slight distress: "I have heard some gossip in Shangjing City in recent days, all of which are saying bad things about Lord Shen. I feel indignant for Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and Lord Shen! So I changed my mind and went to Lord Shen's house to try my best to comfort him. Now that it has worked, I will naturally present it to you on the occasion of the Queen Mother's birthday!"

As soon as Fan Xian finished speaking, Shen Zhong knelt on the ground again and shouted, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, I have an unreasonable request. I hope Your Majesty and Queen Mother will grant it!"

The Queen Mother still didn't understand what was going on. She just glanced at the Crown Prince and smiled: "You can speak freely. Today is my mother's birthday. I will grant you any request you have!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Shen Zhong stood up straight, straightened his appearance, and abruptly took off his official hat. He said excitedly: "I beg Your Majesty to allow me to resign and return home!"

The place was silent, and even the ministers' breathing was deliberately lowered.

Marquis Chang'an looked puzzled, Marquis Changning was not interested, but Wei Hua seemed to be thinking about something.

Zhuang Mohan had a look of regret on his face. He sighed slightly but didn't say anything. He just glanced back and forth at Fan Xian and Li An's faces, as if he was confirming something.

Zhan Doudou on the stage, however, did not show any surprise. After thinking for a moment, he laughed and said, "Master Fan, Master Fan, your gift is really embarrassing!"

"Mother, what do you mean?"

Zhan Doudou's smiling face made Fan Xian's mouth twitch. You are smiling so obviously, but I don't see any embarrassment in you!
"It's all up to your majesty!"

Zhan Doudou nodded, and looking at Shen Zhong who was still prostrating himself on the ground, his voice became solemn and serious: "Mr. Shen has made great contributions to the country for half his life, so I will follow your wishes and prepare for him to retire and return to his hometown!"

"Ministry of Rites, sort out the detailed rewards. I don't need to review them. Please hand them over to Shen Qing as soon as possible!"

An official from the Ministry of Rites stepped out from the crowd and bowed in response.

Shen Zhong, who had been crawling on the ground, finally straightened up his upper body and said sincerely, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" After that, he stood up and walked out of the hall without staying in the room to participate in the subsequent banquet.

The Queen Mother just frowned slightly and said nothing when she saw this.

Zhan Doudou saw that his goal had been achieved, so he struck while the iron was hot and said, "Since the Jinyiwei is now lacking a commander, why not let the Xuanjie School Lieutenant Wang Shisanlang take over temporarily? If there are other suitable candidates later, we can make arrangements!"

The ministers then understood that what the envoy Fan Xian had sent to the Queen Mother and His Majesty was not something heavy, but the Imperial Guards!
A clean and honest Jinyiwei who is completely under the command of His Majesty!

"This..." Wang Shisanlang hesitated slightly, and when he saw that Li An did not say anything to stop him, he stood up and walked out to the center of the table, bowing and answering like the officials of Northern Qi.

Time goes back to yesterday.

In the post house in Shangjing City, inside the Nanqing envoys' group.

"Fan Xian! Fan Xian, get out here!"

Ignoring the obstruction of Gaoda and others, Shen Zhong led a few people to rush into the delegation. Due to the interests involved, Gaoda was unable to take action, so he could not stop them.

"It turns out that it is Lord Shen who has come to visit! I wonder what may bring you here?" Fan Xian greeted him with a smile, not at all annoyed by Shen Zhong's rudeness.

"Fan Xian! Don't you dare set your sights on my sister again!" Shen Zhong was extremely angry. He could ignore the rumors in the city, but if they were directed at his sister, then he would not care!

His parents died early, and he had to depend on his younger sister since childhood. In addition, his family was not a wealthy aristocratic family, but came from a humble background. Naturally, his younger sister suffered a lot since childhood.

Now I am finally in a high position. Although I have to be away on official business for a long time, I can finally let my sister live a good life. I didn't expect these soft knives to come one after another!

Fan Xian said calmly and sarcastically, "It's your sister who is plotting against Master Yan!"

"You!" Shen Zhong was so angry that he had to say forcefully: "From today on, I will lock her in the house!"

"You can lock up a person, but you can't lock up his heart."

Fan Xian said quietly.

These words reminded Shen Zhong of the heated argument he had with his sister on the street not long ago.

She was hurt by Yan Bingyun, and in order to stop herself from looking for trouble with Yan Bingyun, she promised herself: "From now on, I will never look for Yan Bingyun again. I will dig him out of my heart bit by bit!"

The sight of her with tears in the rain made Shen Zhong feel helpless and heartbroken just by thinking about it!

At the same time, he hated Yan Bingyun and Fan Xian even more!
The two of them didn't come to any conclusion and ended up parting on bad terms.

What changed all this was that Li An visited Shen Zhong's mansion again.

He "read" a fortune for Shen Zhong and his sister, saying that if he did not retreat now, his family would surely suffer a tragic death, and his most beloved sister would also die, and die at his own hands!

It was an accident and a tragedy.

How all this will develop depends on Shen Zhong’s choice!
The answer was soon revealed, and the result was self-evident. Shen Zhong had done all this just to make his sister's life better in the future. Now that going forward would actually lead to his own death, there was no need to think any more about what to do.

This is why Shen Zhong went to the palace to resign tonight.

And before that, there was a sentence written on the note that Li An asked Wang Shisanlang to pass to Fan Xian: Shen Zhong is outside the palace.

This made Fan Xian understand what Li An had done. Not only did he convince Shen Zhong to change his mind, but he also made him do something extreme today.

I will immediately go with the flow and present this gift, which is the power of the Imperial Guard!
　A burst of updates, nearly 1.2 words, as a reward for the brothers who supported me before!

　　The author's brain is scattered, can readers give some help?
　　Stop raising books!

　　If I continue like this, the editor said he won’t let me go!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)