"Wait." Jiuzhu stopped the concubines who were holding incense and preparing to worship: "Ladies, when offering incense to the heaven, you should hold the incense with your right hand, cover your right hand with your left hand, and hold the incense to your forehead."
The ladies were so pious, how could she bear to watch their sincerity go to waste?
"Jiuzhu." Concubine Su smiled and said, "Go and give them a demonstration."
After taking the incense, Jiuzhu calmly bowed to the altar and lit three incense sticks.
The fragrance of the mist was lingering, and the concubines looked at the girl who was burning incense. They felt that her every move was free and natural, and she had the demeanor of an otherworldly master.
After inserting the incense into the incense burner, Jiuzhu bowed and turned to look at the concubines: "Ladies, please."
"Do you understand everything?" Concubine Su raised her soft hands and the maids brought the incense to her: "Follow Miss Ming's movements and do it again."
The concubines looked at the incense being brought before them, and dared not be angry or say anything.
"What are you all standing there for?" Concubine Su looked at them with a half-smile, "There are only twelve hours in a day. If you keep dawdling, you may have to stay up all night copying scriptures to show your sincerity."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reminder." Concubine Ning smiled gently, took the lead in picking up three incense sticks, and stepped forward to burn them. Seeing that Concubine Ning was about to succumb to Concubine Su's tyranny, the other concubines had no choice but to step forward obediently.
Jiuzhu was moved by the concubines' piety and turned to Concubine Su and said, "Your sincerity is really touching."
"Yes." Concubine Su nodded slowly: "I am also moved."
Other concubines: "..."
I'm so moved, why don't you two come and copy along? !
Who cares whether you are touched or not? !
"Miss Ming knows so much at such a young age." After offering incense, Concubine Ning said in a gentle tone, "It seems that during these years of foster care in the Taoist temple, you have not only recovered your health, but also learned a lot."
Jiuzhu looked at the beautiful woman who was speaking, and was not quite sure of her identity.
"This is Consort Ning Zheng, the mother of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi." Consort Su added, "Marquis Pingyuan's concubine sister."
When Concubine Ning heard the word "Shu", her hand holding the pen paused slightly, but the gentle smile on her face did not change.
"Hello, Concubine Ning." Jiuzhu knelt down and bowed to Concubine Ning: "Thank you for your praise, your majesty. My master also said that I have learned well."
With a plop, ink dripped onto the paper from the tip of the pen, and Concubine Ning's hand holding the pen was trembling slightly.
"Oh, my Goddess!" Jiuzhu reminded in a startled voice: "The scriptures dedicated to God must not be tainted."
"Thank you Miss Ming for the reminder." Concubine Ning put down the brush, smiled and crumpled the paper into a ball. She rubbed so hard that her knuckles turned white.
Shut your mouth now!
At the grand court meeting, officials from the six ministries were arguing fiercely. Officials from other departments such as the Dali Temple and the Hanlin Academy joined the battle from time to time. The tablets were waved in the air from time to time, and the scene was very lively.
Looking at this heated scene, Emperor Longfeng not only did not get angry, but he changed to a more comfortable sitting position on the dragon throne and watched them quarreling with great patience.
The Imperial College Priest said: "Your Majesty, the Imperial College is a place to train students, how can you keep using a worn-out desk?"
Minister of Revenue: "The Ministry of Revenue has no money."
The Minister of War said: "Your Majesty, the selection of military officers is imminent. I would like to ask when the Ministry of Revenue will allocate funds?"
Ministry of Revenue official: “…”
It's almost the end of the year, and all departments are actively striving for funding for the coming year.
Since entering the court, Minister of Rites Li En and Minister of Revenue Zhao Boshen have often had political disagreements. When they were angry, they once smashed their tablets at each other.
At this grand court meeting, the Minister of Revenue Zhao Boshen rarely targeted Li En. He just glanced at Li En from time to time with a gloating look, which made Li En furious.
"Sir, calm down." Zhou Rui secretly grabbed Li En's sleeve and whispered in his ear: "The Ministry of Revenue is here now, and the King of Qi is here."
"You talk as if there are no princes in our Ministry of Rites." Li En looked at Zhao Boshen's smug face and couldn't calm down: "He is the only one who is amazing."
Zhou Rui thought, if there hadn't been a prince coming to our Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Revenue probably wouldn't have looked at their Ministry of Rites in this way.
"Sir." Ming Jingzhou reminded: "Repairing the Ministry of Rites is urgent."
"You're right." After hearing Ming Jingzhou's reminder, Li En came to his senses, suppressed his anger, raised his chin proudly at Zhao Boshen, and turned his head away from him.
Minister of Revenue Zhao Boshen: "..."
The devil has gone to their Ministry of Rites, why is Li En still being so arrogant?
"Your Majesty." Li En stepped out, bowed, and began to recount the efforts of the Ministry of Rites over the past year, from presiding over the imperial examinations to a certain official sending an old man home. In the end, he concluded that the Ministry of Rites was good and great, and it would be even better if Your Majesty was willing to allocate some money to renovate the dilapidated Ministry of Rites office.
Emperor Longfeng looked at the Minister of Rites who was talking big. If he remembered correctly, when the Minister of Rites took part in the imperial examination, he seemed to have won the second place in the first class. No wonder he was so eloquent.
"Prince Chen." After Li En finished speaking, Emperor Longfeng looked at Prince Chen who was standing in front of the team and said, "You have been in the Ministry of Rites for several days, asking for advice from the gentlemen. What do you think?"
All the officials of the Ministry of Rites looked at Prince Chen. At the critical moment, Prince Chen had to stand on the side of the Ministry of Rites.
Li En asked Ming Jingzhou in a low voice: "Tell me, did he understand what I hinted to His Royal Highness Prince Chen last time?"
Ming Jingzhou said calmly, "Sir, I don't know."
"Alas." Li En sighed, "I should have been more straightforward last time."
The scorching gaze almost penetrated Prince Chen's back. Without turning around, he knew that the people staring at him must be those from the Ministry of Rites.
"Father, I have not been in the Ministry of Rites for ten days, so I don't understand it well enough."
The officials of the Ministry of Rites withdrew their gazes in disappointment. They were wrong. They should not have counted on Prince Chen from the beginning.
The King of Qi glanced at the King of Chen, then glanced at the official from the Ministry of Rites behind him, and then looked away.
"But in my humble opinion, the officials in the Ministry of Rites are dedicated to their duties and do not seek enjoyment. Although I have only been here for a few days, I have learned a lot and I admire them."
Ministry of Rites official: Hmm?
The Prince of Chen actually praised them at the grand court meeting, and they seemed... a little flattered?
"But the Ministry of Rites still has many problems?"
Ministry of Rites official: They are happy too early!
"Oh?" Emperor Longfeng seemed to be particularly patient with Prince Chen: "What's the problem?"
"The walls are peeling, the table legs are uneven, and there are even places where tiles are falling off." Prince Chen frowned: "As one of the six ministries of our dynasty, the Ministry of Rites is really too shabby. The people of Dacheng live and work in peace and prosperity. Isn't it a disgrace to Dacheng if the office is so shabby?"
The officials from the Ministry of Rites nodded quickly. His Royal Highness Prince Chen was right. There were still many shortcomings in their Ministry of Rites.
"What does Prince Chen mean?" Emperor Longfeng smiled.
"I think that we should allocate appropriate funds to repair the dilapidated parts of the Ministry of Rites."
"Yes." Emperor Longfeng nodded: "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. The Ministry of Rites not only needs to handle many important domestic affairs, but also needs to receive foreign envoys. It would not be beautiful if the office was dilapidated."
"Is the Minister of Works Lin Zhongling here?" Emperor Longfeng looked at the Minister of Works standing next to Zhao Boshen.
Zhao Boshen had a bad feeling in his heart.
"I'm here." Lin Zhongling stepped out with a tablet in his hand.
"Starting tomorrow, we will have craftsmen repair the Ministry of Rites. There should be no delay." After making the arrangements, Emperor Longfeng turned to the Minister of Rites, Li En, and said, "Lord Li, my son is young and ignorant. If he does something wrong, feel free to punish him. Don't worry."
The renovation funds, which had been debated for a long time, were finally obtained. For the first time, Li En felt how wonderful it was to have "someone above you".
"Your Highness Prince Chen is intelligent and motivated."
Although he didn't recite the list of successful candidates in the imperial examination that Ming Jingzhou gave him, at least he took it back home. Rounding it off, it's considered progress.
"Respect the wise and humble."
After Prince Chen came to the Ministry of Rites, he never deliberately made things difficult for anyone. Most importantly, he helped the Ministry of Rites obtain funds for renovations. Based on this alone, he can be considered half a member of the Ministry of Rites.
"I have eaten in the public kitchen with my colleagues from the Ministry of Rites and have never had any complaints."
Although the food was from Minister Ming's home, it was indeed prepared in the Ministry of Rites' public kitchen.
"I believe that with Your Highness's talent, you will be able to take charge of the Ministry of Rites affairs quickly and relieve Your Majesty of the worries." The funds for renovating the Ministry of Rites were in place, and Li En praised sincerely.
The praised Prince Chen: "..."
Perhaps, this is the flexibility, maturity and adaptability of the literati.
Other officials glanced at Li En sideways, wondering why he was praising Prince Chen so much just for the money to repair the Ministry of Rites. Li En, Li En, you shouldn't go to the Ministry of Rites to be the Minister, you should go to the Palace Music Bureau to set up the stage and perform for His Majesty.
Li En didn't care what others thought of him. Anyway, the Ministry of Rites had already taken the benefits, so what was wrong with saying a few more nice words?
After leaving court, Emperor Longfeng was in a good mood. If he had not heard someone crying on the way, he would have been in an even better mood.
"Liu Zhongbao, go and ask what's going on?" Emperor Longfeng listened to the crying sound coming from behind the flowers, without a trace of tenderness on his face.
After Liu Zhongbao inquired about the news, he quickly came back: "Your Majesty, the one crying is Concubine Liu."
"Talented Lady Liu?" Emperor Longfeng had no impression of this Talented Lady Liu.
"Liu Cairen is an old servant sent to the palace by Empress Dowager Pingxian in the 21st year of Xian De." Liu Zhongbao recounted Liu Cairen's origins: "She entered the palace in the same year as Concubine Su."
"Well, go on."
"She cried because... because the Imperial Concubine asked them to copy scriptures every day, and she was not good at writing, so her copying speed was not as fast as other noble ladies, so she cried." Liu Zhongbao knew in his heart that even if she really wanted to cry, she didn't need to cry here. It was obvious that she did it on purpose to let His Majesty find out.
"The imperial concubine asked them to copy scriptures?" Emperor Longfeng became interested: "What's going on?"
"Your Majesty, after the Queen passed away, she began to ask other ladies in the palace to copy scriptures." Liu Zhongbao saw the smile on the Majesty's face and continued, "I heard that the Queen even called Miss Ming into the palace today and asked her to supervise the other ladies copying scriptures together with the Queen."
"Copying scriptures is good for self-cultivation, which is very good." Emperor Longfeng nodded with a smile: "But it is very tiring for the imperial concubine to supervise them copying every day. Please send some nourishing and sleeping supplements to Mingyue Palace."
"As for Concubine Wang, since she finds copying scriptures too hard, she won't have to do it anymore." Emperor Longfeng said indifferently, "Send her to the Buddhist temple to recite Buddhist scriptures, and she is not allowed to appear in front of the imperial concubine in the future."
Liu Zhongbao did not remind His Majesty that this talented man's surname was Liu. He smiled and took the order and left.
Your Majesty has been accustomed to all kinds of schemes and tactics of the women in the harem since childhood, so how could you not see through the intention of Concubine Liu crying on the side of the road?
As soon as Liu Zhongbao received the order and retreated, he saw Miss Ming walking towards the pavilion where Liu Cairen was.
Seeing this scene, he stopped and faintly heard footsteps coming from behind him. He looked back and bowed, "Your Highness."
Prince Chen put his hands behind his back and glanced casually in the direction Liu Zhongbao had just looked.
Is that... the little girl from the Ming family?
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