Chapter 374 The Truth Behind the Truth (asking for monthly votes)
Minister Zhan: "The Minister of Dongtai in the Ministry of Personnel."
"Wei Shuyi?" Master Chu asked again, "Is this what the sage meant?"
Minister Zhan did not comment: "It is true that he did not say it explicitly... He went to the Ministry of Revenue in the afternoon to do some work under the order of the emperor, and he also mentioned this matter... Now everyone knows that Minister Wei Shuyi of the Eastern Palace is increasingly trusted by the emperor, and his influence is second only to that of Lord Ma Ling."
In other words, Wei Shuyi's words can sometimes be regarded as the opinions of a saint.
Things like preparing military pay had to be done, it was just a matter of priority - after the morning court, according to the wishes of their Minister of Revenue, they might have to deal with the military pay request from Duke of Korea Li Xian first. After all, this request was sent back together with the victory report, and the emperor's delighted attitude during the morning court was also obvious.
But in the afternoon, the Minister Wei came in person and mentioned the military pay in Jiangdu, and elaborated on the distinction between the priorities: "...naval warfare and land warfare are different. For example, once the soldiers go out to sea, they will not return for many days, so the requirements for timely and coordinated storage of food and grass are higher. Another point is that after the fall, the sea will quickly become cold. Soldiers at sea must spend the winter earlier than those on land. Cotton clothes and other cold-resistant items must be prepared in advance, otherwise it will definitely delay the war..."
Minister Zhan roughly recounted the story and then said, "After leaving our Ministry of Revenue, Minister Wei seemed to have gone to the Ministry of War again..."
It was probably also for the purpose of replenishing the military equipment in Jiangdu.
In short, since Minister Wei, who represents the emperor's will to a large extent, has spoken, the Ministry of Revenue has to give more consideration and attention to the issue of giving priority to Jiangdu military pay, not to mention how.
As for the officialdom, at a time when money and food were in short supply, military pay was being urged everywhere. It was one thing if there were people in the court who helped to keep an eye on it, but it was another thing if no one helped to keep an eye on it.
"This Wei Zi Gu..." Master Chu pondered for a while, then said in a low voice: "I have found him to be quite pleasing to the eye recently."
In his opinion, Wei Shuyi's actions today might not be prompted by the empress, or might not be entirely prompted by the empress... It's more like he's using his status as a close minister of the emperor to help his students?
But he had watched coldly over the years, and found that this cunning young man was very smooth and flawless in his dealings with others, and was also the best at guessing the emperor's mind. It was clearly not the kind of person who would take the initiative to do things... Why did he go against his usual behavior this time and take the initiative to help his students?
This boy is being so attentive for no reason, I'm afraid he is either a traitor or a thief... What he wants to "steal" is a question worth thinking about.
While Master Chu was thinking, he heard Minister Zhan trying to ask, "Teacher, why are you suddenly concerned about the military pay in Jiangdu? But is there any important implication that I haven't thought of?"
The teacher doesn't even want to do his own official duties, so he would never ask about the Ministry of Revenue's official business for no reason... What was the connection that made the teacher specially ask him to come out and talk?
Master Chu glanced at him and said, "Is it not okay for me to care about my students?"
Minister Zhan was shocked when he heard this, and after he came to his senses, he almost shed tears of emotion - he had already considered so many interests involved in such a short moment, but he never expected that what really worried the teacher was just him, Zhan Mian!
For the first time in his life, Minister Zhan felt the taste of being favored by his teacher. He was moved and ashamed and said, "Teacher has already worked so hard. How can I be so worthy of being a student to make you worry so much..."
All the hardships of taking care of a baby and the pain of losing hair during these days disappeared in an instant.
The poor, thin, bald Minister Zhan was like a child who finally got the attention of his elders. With red eyes, he said shamefully, "To be honest, teacher, when I came up to you just now, I was worried that you would scold me."
Unable to bear the thought of seeing him acting like this at his age, Master Chu swallowed back the curse he was about to say: "..." Being so stupid, he was in a difficult situation.
Minister Zhan was so happy that he drank two more cups of tea and talked to Master Chu for a long time. It was not until Master Chu's limited patience showed signs of running out that Minister Zhan pulled back from the brink and left with satisfaction, taking his teacher's favor and a belly full of tea.
…
As it was getting dark, Wei Shuyi returned to Duke Zheng's mansion and, as usual, went to the small Buddhist temple to burn incense.
When Wei Shuyi arrived, he saw a girl in a lilac skirt kneeling devoutly in front of the Bodhisattva statue, with her hands clasped together, muttering with gritted teeth: "... Bodhisattva, oh Bodhisattva, you must make sure that all those Japanese pirates die without a burial place..."
"It's rare to see such a violent and murderous way of praying. Instead of praying to Buddha, maybe you'd be better off stabbing a villain."
Hearing his brother's voice, Wei Miaoqing turned around and said, "To make a figurine, you need the birth date and horoscope. Where can I get the birth dates and horoscopes of those Japanese pirates?"
It’s not that she doesn’t want to get the tattoo, it’s just that the threshold is too high.
"Have you really thought about it?" Wei Shuyi raised his eyebrows: "In the future, don't delve into these theories about witchcraft, evil spirits, and ghosts."
Wei Miaoqing stood up from the mat, straightened her dress and scarf, and then raised her face and said unconvincedly: "Brother, why do you only ask me to do this? If you don't believe in ghosts and gods, why don't you start with your brother?"
Wei Shuyi smiled and looked at the Buddha statue: "...Of course it's because my brother can't do it."
Fear of ghosts is the biggest weakness given to him by his mother.
Wei Miaoqing didn't know what was going on and said, "I think brother just can't help but miss Madam Chang, right? Before Madam Chang went to the battlefield, brother never burned incense and prayed for blessings every day."
Wei Shuyi did not argue, he just went to light incense.
"Brother, how can you just burn incense? Madam Chang is not a Bodhisattva, how can she know your feelings?" Wei Miaoqing said angrily, "Brother, don't just burn incense with your hands, write a letter too."
Although she had already put her disappointing brother down in her heart, she could not help wanting to bring her brother back to try again because Mrs. Chang was so kind! While complaining about the disappointing dice in her hand, she always wanted to play again - in this matter, Wei Miaoqing had some shadows of a gambler.
At this moment, the dice that had opened a little in her eyes finally showed signs of turning over -
As Wei Shuyi lit the incense, he said softly, "I should write a letter to her."
It's not that he didn't want to write to "her", he just hadn't been able to muster up the courage.
But this time, the Dong Luo might join forces with the Japanese soldiers to besiege her. She is in the middle of a war, focused on resisting the Japanese pirates, and might make mistakes... He thought that he needed to write a letter to remind her and let her be careful in responding.
Whether it is "she" or "he", in this situation, the battle situation and her safety are the most important.
When Wei Shuyi was writing a letter in the study, Changji walked in from outside with five or six books in his hands, saying that the girl had someone send them.
"Put it down." Wei Shuyi paused and looked over.
Because his sister had been talking about copying books recently, he also knew where they came from. These books were related to "her". She would rather be suspected by the emperor and criticized by the ministers than leave them as bright sparks for Jiangdu and students all over the world.
Time seemed to have suddenly slowed down for her. Even now, he often couldn't understand how she could have done so many things in such a short time.
The vigorous vitality and vigor in her are amazing and admirable, although her origin is extraordinary... However, based on the old stories about the late Crown Prince that he has learned in recent days, "her" extraordinary and glorious nature is not just innate.
In those years that he had never touched, "she" had already forged the most high-spirited, firm and fearless soul in those battles that burned people's bodies.
Perhaps, he shouldn't let gender alone restrict everything about "her"...but how to place his feelings is still unclear.
Wei Shuyi folded the letter carefully and meticulously, stuffed it into the envelope, and sealed it under the light. His movements were slow but revealed silent concentration.
After doing all this, the young man handed the envelope out and said, "Send it secretly to the Jiangdu army."
"Yes!" Changji took it with bright eyes and extremely capable movements.
Wei Shuyi glanced at his subordinates' retreating backs in confusion. They looked so excited that if someone didn't know better, they would have thought he had been assigned a mission to save the world.
There was a reason for Changji's excitement. During this period, whenever he thought of Cui Yuanxiang doing important work in Chang Niangzi's army in Jiangdu, he would feel anxious and uneasy as if he was left far behind.
At first, Cui Yuanxiang even wrote a letter to show off to him, and his hateful face was fully revealed between the lines.
Let's be frank. He could see that Cui Yuanxiang was showing off to him that Commander Cui was now closer to Madam Chang, and that his husband was no match for them in every way.
Changji couldn't swallow this, but his husband was not living up to his expectations. He waited and waited, and finally today he wrote a letter to Madam Chang. How could he not be excited?
Is that a letter he is holding? Clearly it is a bargaining chip that still has a chance to compete with Cui Yuanxiang!
Changji walked out of the yard quickly. Not long after he walked, he met Duan and her maid holding a lantern. He stepped aside and bowed: "Madam."
As he bowed his head, Changji smelled the scent of incense in the air.
It seems that the lady just came from the Buddhist temple... Every day, the man, the woman and the lady take turns to burn incense, and he can't imagine how busy the Bodhisattva must be.
"Why are you in such a hurry at this hour?" Duan asked when she saw the envelope in Changji's hand.
"Madam, my husband has asked his subordinates to arrange for someone to deliver the letter." Changji bowed again while answering, and turned the letter in his hand so that the front of the envelope was facing outwards.
Duan subconsciously moved closer and took a closer look, only to see the five words "Personally written by Governor Chang" written on the front of the envelope.
Changji seemed to have just noticed her gaze and quickly withdrew his hand.
Not gossiping or talking too much was the biggest requirement of his husband - but he did not gossip or talk too much in front of his wife.
But when did the lady become so calm that she didn't even cover her mouth with joy and scream?
Duan was not happy at all, and even waved her hand with a hint of evasion: "Then go ahead."
After saying this, he quickly walked away with the maid.
Changji took a look and concluded that his wife must be secretly exclaiming in her heart.
This is indeed the case, but the content of the exclamation is different——
Why remind her? Why let her recall once again the absurd past when she dared to ask His Highness to be her daughter-in-law?
That was His Highness! What on earth was she dreaming about! She didn't even dare to think about how His Highness felt at that time, and how he looked at her! Duan closed her eyes, trying to stuff these memories back into the crack in the ground - at least one of the memories and her had to stay in the crack in the ground.
She had never wanted to lose her memory so badly that she almost went to the Rejuvenation Hall to ask for a possible solution.
"Why did mother come here so late at night?"
In the hall, facing her son's puzzled look, Duan waved her hand to send the servants away.
Seeing his mother in such a state, Wei Shuyi knew what topic she was going to talk about. He felt a chill on his back. The ice basin in the hall was redundant and he could take its place.
"... Zi Gu, you are more informed. Do you think Sui Ning... His Highness can really resist the Japanese army?" Duan said anxiously, "When I was burning incense just now, one of the incense sticks became darker and darker, and it even fell halfway through burning! How can this be a good sign?"
Facing his mother's suspicious and nervous look, Wei Shuyi said as calmly as possible: "The outcome of the war... no one can predict it."
Duan clutched her handkerchief anxiously, and after hesitating for a while, she said, "Then...then I'll go to Jiangdu!"
"…Why did mother go to Jiangdu?"
Duan's eyes were slightly red: "Your Highness finally came back... I'm afraid I won't have the chance to have a good talk with her, and I won't have the chance to see her again!"
Although she was afraid, it was not some other ghost, it was His Highness.
Wei Shuyi: "Mother, since you believe in karma, you shouldn't say such unlucky words."
"Yes...!" Duan nodded nervously, but then shook her head: "No, I am not cursing Your Highness, I am just... I am just afraid that I will not live long enough to see Your Highness' triumphant return!"
This shouldn't affect His Highness, right? "..." Wei Shuyi's eyes gradually changed as he looked at his mother, and he tried to ask, "Why does mother care so much about His Highness the late Crown Prince?"
My mother had some interactions with the late Crown Prince, but not many. The only person my mother was really close to was Princess Chongyue.
Duan was rarely alert: "You are still testing me. Didn't I tell you long ago that I swore an oath in front of my old friends... You little brat, are you hoping that I will be struck by lightning?"
Faced with his mother's simple and rude rejection and coercion, Wei Shuyi felt a lump in his chest, but he had to stop asking questions and instead persuaded his mother to be at ease for the time being, not to worry too much about the anti-Japanese war, and to give up the unrealistic idea of going to Jiangdu as soon as possible.
After finally calming his mother down and sending the person away, Wei Shuyi stood in the corridor in a daze.
What secrets is my mother keeping for her old friend? Is the old friend mentioned by my mother Princess Chongyue or the former crown prince? Is there another unknown truth hidden behind this shocking truth? Wei Shuyi looked up at the night sky. The night was dark, and the gray clouds were cut into pieces by the night wind, surging silently, revealing a strange atmosphere.
The clouds were reflected on the sea and were divided again by the swaying water.
"Coach!"
He Wuhu quickly walked up to the second floor of the ship and saluted the figure in a black cloak standing by the railing.
(Today is November 6th, and it has been a whole year since the release of this book. Thank you all for your company and support over the past year. It is your daily reading, voting and comments that have kept me from being alone on this road. I also hope that this book has brought you a little bit of meaningful companionship at some point.
Good night, lovely everyone.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
