Chapter 13

The four characters "Qinzhou Liu Jun" had already left a deep impression on people in the martial arts examination. After passing the civil examination, some people who were foresighted had realized that the "Qinzhou Liu Jun" in the first round of the civil examination and the young man who shined in the martial arts examination were most likely the same person. So not long after Pang Jun sent Yang Yue away, Sun Chenggao came to report that Sima Pingbo, the right-hand man of Prince Zhao Yang Sheng and a guest official of Prince Zhao's mansion, came to visit.

　　After some polite conversation, Sima Pingbo handed over an invitation and said to Pang Jun, "Young Master Liu is a man of both civil and military talents, and he is a pillar of the country in the future. His Royal Highness the Prince of Zhao is eager to see talents, so he specially ordered me to visit and invite Young Master Liu to attend a dinner at the Prince of Zhao's mansion tonight. His Royal Highness the Prince of Zhao is already waiting in the mansion, and he said that if Young Master Liu shows up tonight, His Royal Highness will give him a special gift."

　　"Oh? A special gift? Do I know what it is? Besides, I am just a commoner. How can I deserve Your Highness to spend money on me? Mr. Sima, go back and tell Your Highness that I will be there tonight and thank you for your invitation." Pang Jun thought that since he had nothing else to do tonight, he might as well go and take a look, so he accepted the invitation.

　　After Sima Pingbo left, Pang Jun called Sun Chenggao and asked, "Captain Sun, I want to know all the information about this King Zhao. He invited me to a banquet tonight."

　　Sun Chenggao laughed and said, "Haha, it seems that His Royal Highness the Prince of Zhao attaches great importance to the Dharma Protector. Generally speaking, it is on the first day of the announcement of the civil service examination results that various forces will begin to learn about the information of the successful candidates in detail, and then decide on the key targets to recruit. They will not start the banquet until the second day, and they will invite everyone to the dinner at once. The Dharma Protector was invited individually on the first day. It seems that the Prince of Zhao is determined to get the Dharma Protector."

　　He paused and continued, "Speaking of this Prince Zhao, his surname is Yang, his name is Sheng, he is twenty years old this year, and he has a son and a daughter, both of whom are born to the current emperor's concubine, Concubine Nan. He is the emperor's second son, and he has been smart and ambitious since he was a child. His mother, Concubine Nan's family is a famous and prestigious family in Dajin, and has always been a strong challenger to the prince."

　　"What about the prince?" Pang Jun asked.

　　"The prince's surname is Yang and his given name is Zhi. He is the son of the emperor's former concubine, Li. However, five years ago, Li passed away, and the Li family fell into dormancy, failing to provide strong support to the prince. As for the prince himself, he has a somewhat cold nature, but he is no lack of imperial methods. He has become even more outrageous since his biological mother passed away, and his relationship with Prince Zhao is somewhat strained. There are rumors in the court that Concubine Nan was behind Li's death. Because he is the legitimate prince, the ministers in the court, headed by Grand Tutor Nie Xingyan, are all his strong supporters." Sun Chenggao explained.

　　"What about the King of Wei?"

　　"King Wei? As the emperor's biological brother, King Wei controls the military power of the Goshawk Corps, one of the three major standing armies of the Great Jin Dynasty. He has always been a detached force in the court. Apart from trying to keep him stable and curry favor with other forces, there is almost no force that has a problem with him. He has not clearly supported any prince, but he cannot be ignored."

　　In addition to the border troops, guards, imperial guards and garrison troops, the Great Jin also has three standing legions, namely the "Goshawk Legion" commanded by King of Wei Yang Tong, the "Emperor Lion Legion" commanded by the Grand Marshal Xu Xiao among the Three Dukes, and the "Imperial Dragon Legion" commanded by the Emperor himself. Whenever there was a major war, either Yang Tong would lead the troops or the Emperor would order a general to lead the troops. At that time, the Grand Marshal would temporarily hand over the military token of the "Emperor Lion Legion" to the general who led the troops and return it after the war was over. King of Wei Yang Tong was in charge of the power of an legion all year round, so naturally no one dared to go against him.

　　"Are there any other forces that we need to pay attention to?"

　　"Of course there are. The power factions in the court are complicated. In addition to the three factions of the crown prince, the king of Zhao, and the king of Wei, there are also the king of Qi Yang Man and the king of Song Yang Jie. They have their own government offices and their own power. Of course, the largest faction is the emperor's faction. Since the emperor's prestige is unmatched, the various factions dare not engage in any acts of oppression."

　　"Well, okay, I have a general understanding. It's almost time, and I should set off." Pang Jun had a general understanding of the current forces in the court. He had already made up his mind and was ready to set off.

　　In the evening, Pang Jun came to the Zhao Palace in a carriage and handed over the invitation. When the Zhao guards saw the gold-plated invitation, they knew that the young man in white was the honored guest of His Highness. They hurriedly said to Pang Jun respectfully, "It turns out that this is Your Highness's honored guest, Young Master Liu. Your Highness has told me to wait here. Please come in, Young Master Liu."

　　It has to be said that as one of the emperor's most accomplished sons, both the emperor and his biological mother, Concubine Nan, doted on Prince Zhao Yang Sheng. The location of the prince's mansion was also a rare and excellent location in the capital. Both the decoration and the house materials of the prince's mansion were first-class and high-quality building materials. In addition to being elegant and luxurious, the entire Prince Zhao's mansion also had a graceful design in the style of Jiangnan gardens, which was in line with the identity of Prince Zhao's biological mother, Concubine Nan, who was originally from Zhejiangzhou in Jiangnan.

　　Led by the guards, Pang Jun came to a hall. In the middle of the hall, there was a round table with many large and small plates of delicious food on it. There was also a jar of freshly opened wine. From a distance, he could smell that it was the best wine, Ambergris. A young man in a green python robe was sitting at the main seat of the banquet. When he saw Pang Jun, he walked up to him with a happy look and said, "I guess this must be Young Master Liu. I have admired him for a long time."

　　"Your Highness Prince Zhao values ​​me so much, I feel unworthy of it." Pang Jun said respectfully.

　　"No need to be so polite. I also went to watch the martial arts competition that day. Young Master Liu's fighting skills really amazed me. I didn't expect that Young Master Liu is also very learned. He also passed the first round of the civil service examination and became a Jinshi. It seems that our Great Jin will have another 'Tian Ce scholar'." Yang Sheng said happily.

　　"Tian Ce Xiu Shi" refers to Pang Yun, who was the top scorer in both the civil and military examinations. After making great contributions to the emperor in suppressing the rebellion, he retired from the court and left behind an awe-inspiring legend. Unfortunately, he died young.

　　Pang Jun's face showed an unnatural expression for a moment, but he quickly recovered and said modestly: "Mr. Pang, the 'Tian Ce Xiu Shi', is a role model for my generation. I can't catch up with him even if I flatter him. Your Highness, don't call me Master Liu. You can just call me Ziye."

　　"Haha, Ziye, come here, sit down first. Ever since I saw Ziye's amazing performance that day, I have been thinking about having a talk with Ziye, but Ziye was injured again. However, does Ziye know who the girl who took Ziye away is?" Yang Sheng asked Pang Jun tentatively.

　　Pang Jun smiled and said, "Ziye knows. That is Princess Yaoyue. She and Ziye met by chance in the West Market before."

　　"Oh, that's good. My cousin Yue'er has been doted on by not only the Emperor's uncle but also my father and the Empress since she was a child. We cousins ​​don't dare to mess with her for fear of angering that little girl. Haha, when I saw Yue'er taking you away that day, I didn't dare to step forward to help."

　　"Haha, Princess Yao Yue is innocent and doted on, but she has few friends. Ziye only becomes her friend occasionally, which is why she cares so much about him." Pang Jun only mentioned it in passing. If King Zhao knew that he often played with Yang Yue's delicate body, I'm afraid there would be a huge uproar.

　　"Ziye, don't worry. Yue'er really hasn't had many friends since she was a child. Ziye is also a rare talent. I believe Ziye will be Yue'er's good friend. Come, let me toast you a glass." At this time, Yang Sheng raised a glass of ambergris and toasted Pang Jun. Pang Jun hurriedly returned the greeting, and the two began to eat.

　　After three rounds of wine and five kinds of dishes, Yang Sheng gradually became a little drunk, not knowing whether it was true or not. He suddenly stood up and said to Pang Jun: "Ziye, I once sent someone to tell you that I have a special gift for you. Do you remember?"

　　Pang Jun cupped his hands and said, "Ziye is a commoner, and I don't deserve Your Highness to spend so much money on me."

　　Yang Sheng shook his hand and said, "It's free, just come with me." After saying that, he turned around and left the banquet without caring whether Pang Jun agreed or not. Pang Jun frowned, but had to follow him.

　　Arriving in front of a room, Yang Sheng said solemnly: "Ziye, you also know why I asked you to come here today. Do you know how much I value you? The gift I gave you is inside. I hope that after you receive this gift, you can give me a satisfactory answer."

　　Pang Jun was about to refuse when he suddenly felt a sense of danger. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be the capable men under King Zhao. In a one-on-one fight, they might not be his opponents. There was more than one dangerous aura. If he said something that made him unhappy, at best he would offend a prince, at worst he might be detained on the spot and have some handle on him. This prince might not be as approachable and amiable as he seemed.

　　Then Pang Jun bowed to Yang Sheng again and said, "Since Your Highness is so kind, I would be disrespectful to refuse."

　　With Yang Sheng's "please" gesture, Pang Jun walked straight into the room. The room was quiet, with classical and fresh decorations. The room was filled with a faint fragrance, a body fragrance that only mature women have! The inner room of the room was blocked by a curtain, and behind the curtain was a slender figure.

　　Pang Jun was thinking at this moment: Just as I expected, Yang Sheng's so-called special gift is a beautiful woman, but what kind of beautiful woman is this?

　　Curious, Pang Jun stepped forward and saluted the woman behind the curtain, saying, "Hello, young lady. I am Liu Jun from Qinzhou, paying my respects."

　　Then a sweet voice sounded: "Liu Jun, come in." The voice seemed familiar, but Pang Jun couldn't remember who it was.

　　"Miss, if you are interested, I will obey you." After saying that, he stepped forward, opened the curtain, and saw the person inside...