A Grand Banquet at the Marquis's Household

Zhang Xuezhou had attended banquets hosted by the Marquis of Pingyang and also banquets hosted by Zhao Tianhua.

Limited by the conditions of social productivity, the banquet at the Marquis of Pingyang's residence mainly consisted of hot pot, and the ingredients were not luxurious. However, the Marquis of Pingyang's residence arranged entertainment such as singing and dancing, acrobatics, and archery to be interspersed throughout the banquet. The number of people involved in the banquet exceeded one thousand, which can be regarded as a grand banquet of the upper class of the Great Han Dynasty.

Zhao Tianhua's banquet was held at the Golden Palace, a venue reserved for the wealthy and powerful. The banquets there were also very large in scale and included drinking games, betting, and other activities.

These two banquets left a deep impression on Zhang Xuezhou.

And now, another banquet that left a lasting impression on Zhang Xuezhou has arrived.

Tian Fen was not hosting a family banquet for a few dozen people, but rather a treasure appreciation feast.

Zhang Xuezhou and his entourage arrived at the Marquis of Marquis of Wu'an's residence by carriage, where they were greeted by a variety of antiques displayed along the way.

These antiquities include stone tools, pottery, bronzes, gold and silver artifacts, porcelain, lacquerware, jade, handicrafts, calligraphy and paintings, and ancient documents. The antiquities, large and small, are displayed along the banquet hall of the Marquis of Marquis of Wu'an's mansion, involving at least three thousand items.

Regardless of what was eaten and drunk at the banquet, the antiques arranged by Tian Fen were clearly quite impressive, making it a banquet worthy of being a treasure appraisal event.

"Was the banquet you attended a few days ago the same?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in a low voice.

"In the past, banquets weren't this extravagant. The prime minister only took a scroll of bamboo slips to ask for its interpretation, another person took a set of array artifacts, and yet another person took a box of old items," Divine Lord Zhenyuan replied in a low voice.

"I thought you guys were identifying thousands of antiques at every banquet you attended!"

Zhang Xuezhou muttered something under his breath, confirming that Tian Fen's scene was a large-scale operation.

These artifacts did not belong to Tian Fen alone; many of them were categorized and marked with bamboo slips indicating their respective objects.

This was clearly an invitation from Tian Fen. Regardless of the value and worth of these antiques, the fact that Tian Fen could mobilize so many people to give face and bring antiques to the banquet undoubtedly demonstrates his immense influence.

"Look around more, try to find a bargain!"

Zhang Xuezhou's gaze swept over the various objects.

Li Shaojun possessed a vast amount of knowledge; although he was not an expert in any one area, he knew a little about everything, while Zhang Xuezhou was extremely lacking in this regard.

He could only watch Li Shaojun's antics, and then instructed Divine Lord Zhenyuan to simply point out any useful items he had discovered.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't good at discerning, but if something caught his eye, he could acquire it through normal means such as purchasing or using personal connections.

I'll do my best!

Divine Lord Zhenyuan nodded.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan has been in Kunlun for hundreds of years. All he knows about is the Heavenly Court's writing and objects. How could he possibly know about the things from the past of the Eastern Land Dynasty?

When Divine Lord Zhenyuan attended the banquet with Li Shaojun, he was merely an observer.

The sheer number of ancient artifacts before him dazzled Divine Lord Zhenyuan, who could only stare wide-eyed, trying to discern whether any hidden array formations or artifacts were unknown to others.

"Marquis of Wu'an, you are the host of the banquet, you are a little late!"

"Marquis of Weiqi, I am truly ashamed. I had a long talk with Daoist Li at the Yunyi Daoist Temple, and I have kept you all waiting!"

Following Tian Fen into the main hall of the Marquis's residence, a host of distinguished guests came into view.

Sitting at the very front was Marquis of Weiqi, Dou Ying.

This was the prime minister initially appointed by the new emperor, but he was dismissed and forced to abdicate by the Empress Dowager.

Zhang Xuezhou was familiar with Dou Ying. He had even acted as an intermediary and communicated with Dou Ying's Yang Soul. He obtained the Nine Cauldrons Technique from Dou Ying to evade the Empress Dowager's inspection. He also tricked Dou Ying into trading the Spirit Jade Essence with powerful demons like Lu Baibai using the Qin King's Imperial Seal. He also passed on the Yang Soul Transformation Technique to Dou Ying.

Although the deal ultimately failed, Zhang Xuezhou still remembers Dou Ying and is well aware that many people in the court have different identities, representing different parties vying for power.

Dou Ying, before him, undoubtedly had two faces, and Zhang Xuezhou was wary of him.

"Master Li, Dou Ying has visited you many times but has never been able to meet you, which has always been a source of regret for him!"

Dou Ying stood up to greet Tian Fen, then bowed to those behind Tian Fen.

When he came into view of two Daoist priests, he was momentarily at a loss as to whom to pay his respects. However, considering that many people praised Li Shaojun for his otherworldly demeanor, he couldn't help but turn to the handsome Li Shaojun.

But Dou Ying also had many doubts.

The handsome Daoist's cultivation seemed strange, and he gave Dou Ying a feeling of weakness. The strangely-looking Daoist was filled with an extremely powerful aura. Whenever Dou Ying tried to probe him with his own energy, Dou Ying knew that the Daoist would definitely rebound.

This opponent is at least at the Sole Self Realm level, and may even be at a higher level.

After Dou Ying finished his greetings, he couldn't help but feel puzzled, sensing that there were many strange things about the two Daoist priests.

"This old Daoist is just a mortal, Marquis of Weiqi, you are too kind!"

Li Shaojun casually declined Dou Ying's polite words.

Dou Ying had heard this kind of talk at least ten times. These people's polite words shouldn't be taken seriously; if you take them seriously, you'll lose.

After giving his direct response, Li Shaojun led Cai Ma to an empty seat and sat down.

"Guards, prepare a seat for Marquis Zhouyang!"

When Li Shaojun looked for empty seats, he didn't sit in the rows according to the rules, so Tian Fen had to quickly smooth things over.

He glanced at Divine Lord Zhenyuan, who could instruct him on the art of flying, and couldn't help but move to a higher-ranking guest seat next to him.

"I don't know who this is?"

It's not surprising that Li Shaojun, unfamiliar with court etiquette, took Zhouyang Hou's seat. What is surprising is that Tian Fen later welcomed in another Daoist priest, who also took Qu Ni Hou's seat.

Dou Ying watched as Marquis Qu Ni, Chen He, entered the main hall of the Marquis's residence. Seeing the somewhat shocked and angry look on his face, he quickly asked him a question.

"The Daoist Master is a highly accomplished master," Tian Fen said. "I need to learn from the Daoist Master, as he is my teacher. I can only ask that Marquis Qu Ni be my humble servant!"

Tian Fen returned to the Marquis's residence quite late, and the seating arrangements were rather rushed.

He quickly introduced Divine Lord Zhenyuan, and then bowed to Qu Ni Hou Chen He to apologize.

"Since he is such a highly accomplished person, capable of serving as the commander of the Marquis of Marquis of Wu'an's army, my position should indeed be moved to the back!"

Qu Nihou nodded, took off the purple robe covering his body and handed it to his servant, then frowned and sat down behind Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

Once one person changes seats, many others will need to change seats as well, and the seat signs will keep moving to the back.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't care about the seating arrangement; as usual, he found a seat near the entrance of the main hall and sat down.

"Oh dear, Lord Dongfang, what brings you here!"

It wasn't until Tian Fen Tian Fen finished his work that he noticed Zhang Xuezhou sitting at the entrance of the main hall.

According to the official ranks of the imperial court, the position of Grand Master of the Palace was lower than the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, and also lower than princes and dukes, but this position was already extremely high, and the seat would generally be in the center.

Upon suddenly seeing Zhang Xuezhou sitting in the last row of the main hall, Tian Fen was taken aback.

He had met Zhang Xuezhou at the imperial court to reform etiquette. Although he had a good relationship with Zhang Xuezhou today, Tian Fen was afraid that Zhang Xuezhou would give him a good beating at the imperial court tomorrow and criticize him for his lack of etiquette, just like Zhuang Qingdi had done.

Zhuang Qingdi was from Anle Palace and could withstand criticism regarding etiquette.

However, Tian Fen was a member of the Empress Dowager's faction and had been dismissed from his post, so he had no real power. At the time, everyone was just giving him face.

If any troublemakers were to seize upon him and criticize him, Tian Fen was certain that no one in the court would speak up for him, and he might even be used as a typical example of upholding proper etiquette.

As a case study, it's unlikely that the person would be stripped of their title, but they would inevitably face penalties such as a reduction in their salary, and might even become a laughingstock.

This made Tian Fen's heart leap, and he quickly reached out and pulled Zhang Xuezhou to the front row.