The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 669

After Zhou Chu left, fearing that Yun Jin and Lin Yao might refuse food and drink out of politeness, he specifically instructed Chunlan.

"Don't worry, sir, I know."

Chunlan bowed and said.

Zhou Chu was relieved and turned to go into the hall.

At this time, Jiajing, the Empress Dowager, Lu Song and his wife, and Tang Bohu and his wife were all sitting at the same table. Originally, the banquets at the Zhou and Lu residences should have been held separately, but since the two families were too close, they were simply held together. There were banquets on both sides, so anyone who came could eat. However, most of the Lu family's relatives ate at the Lu family's side.

After all, the Zhou family was mostly composed of high-ranking officials and nobles, and ordinary people would feel a lot of psychological pressure when facing such people.

The banquet at the Princess's residence was held separately. Princess Deqing had to stay at the Princess's residence to oversee the overall arrangements, while the brothers Lin Lu and Lin Zhi came along to see her off. The main reason was that both of them wanted to witness Lord Zhou and their sister get married in person.

As for Princess Renhe, although she also wanted to come to the Zhou residence, according to the order of kinship, she should go to Princess Deqing's residence. However, apart from her eldest son Qi Liang who was in Japan, all of Princess Renhe's sons had gone to the Zhou residence.

Lin Lu and Lin Zhi, along with several sons of Princess Renhe, and Lu Wei and Lu Bing, sat at one table.

The princes and princesses of the vassal states sat at several tables.

Yang Yiqing, Yang Shen, Jia Yong, Han Jie, Zhang Cong, and Wang Xian, these high-ranking officials in the court, sat at one table.

Many people's eyes lit up when they saw the Chenwang wine on the table.

Although Chen Wang Niang, produced by Zui Xian Lou, cannot compare to those famous wines, it is still in high demand and short supply. Nowadays, a jar of Chen Wang Niang is being sold for around 500 taels of silver, and even so, it is very difficult to buy.

After all, the production of Zuixianlou is limited, which is the result of Zhou Chu's intentional control. Anything becomes worthless once it becomes abundant.

However, today is Zhou Chu's wedding day, and there is plenty of Chen Wang Niang (a type of Chinese liquor). No matter how much you want to drink, there is plenty. Many officials who love wine stared at the Chen Wang Niang on the table, their eyes glued to it.

"Gentlemen, there's plenty of Chen Wang's brew. We won't leave until we're drunk tonight."

Yang Shen was also a lover of wine, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to Zuixianlou every few days. After the maids serving them filled their cups with wine, Yang Shen picked up his wine cup.

"I never expected that we could have such a good drink at the very end."

Jia Yong was also a great lover of wine, but he was always cautious and prudent as an official. Although he had some money, it wasn't much. He only went to Zuixianlou occasionally, and it would be too expensive for him to go every day.

As for invitations from others, he would not go. He was about to land smoothly, so naturally he wouldn't ruin his reputation in his later years.

During this period, Jia Yong had been planning to retire, and he had mentioned it to Jiajing several times in court, but Jiajing had not approved it for the time being.

Jia Yong is different from Yang Yiqing. As long as Yang Yiqing works hard, he will definitely stay in the Zhenwu Hall and make a name for himself in history. Jia Yong knows very well that he has never had much presence in the cabinet and his abilities are indeed average.

When he was young, Jia Yong made many mistakes. At that time, his teacher gave him a piece of advice: "Do less, make fewer mistakes."

From then on, Jia Yong became self-aware and just muddled along without thinking about getting ahead. As he muddled along, he eventually made it into the cabinet.

This made Jia Yong even more cautious, fearing that he might make a mistake and be doomed.

For Yang Yiqing and others, the Zhenwu Hall was an opportunity, full of temptation, but it held little appeal for Jia Yong. Jia Yong knew very well that he did not have the ability to be among them, and even if he squeezed in temporarily, he would be squeezed out by others in the future. It would be better to retire gracefully and leave with dignity.

"Grand Secretary Jia, as colleagues, I would like to offer you a toast."

Yang Shen knew what Jia Yong was thinking, and raised his wine glass to speak.

Jia Yong was unpretentious; after clinking glasses with Yang Shen, he drank it all in one gulp.