Chapter 1448 Don’t Interfere
Manbao pulled his hand out and considerately rubbed the mud to make it smoother.
She pulled her hand away, looked down at the already murky stone vat, turned to Mingda and smiled, "Wait a while until the mud settles and the water becomes clear."
Mingda stood on tiptoe to take a look, but could only see a little water at the top, which looked very turbid.
Manbao jumped off the stool, took down the stacked stools, and offered one to her.
Mingda also stepped onto the Hu stool and saw that the water was extremely turbid.
She was worried. "Can the water really be clear again? Should I change the water?"
"No need," Manbao said confidently. "When we were little, we went to play by the river. There was a lot of mud and sand in the river. It would become muddy after stepping in it. If you come out and wait for a while, the water will become clear."
She said, "The mud and sand are heavy. Given enough time, they will eventually settle."
Manbao lowered her sleeves and realized that she had been too close to the stone vat and her clothes were a little wet. So she thought for a moment and simply wiped her wet hands on her skirt. After drying them, she rubbed them together and said, "Let's go over there and take a look."
The emperor, who had been silent all this time, coughed lightly.
The two people still standing on the barbed turned their heads to the left. The emperor asked with a stern face, "Mingda, what are you doing?"
Princess Mingda happily jumped off the stool, returned the tuber in her hand to Manbao, and ran straight to the emperor, "Father, why are you here?"
As Mingda rushed over, the emperor's expression could no longer be maintained. He could not help but smile and held her hand, saying, "I came here with Prince Feng and the others to relax, and I saw you two being naughty here."
Manbao had already walked to the side and saluted, "Your Majesty."
The emperor waved his hand to let her stand up and asked with a smile, "Zhou Man, why did you dig up my lotus?"
Manbao: ...
She glanced at the tuber in her hand and said hesitantly, "Shall I plant it for you again?"
Now it was the emperor's turn to be speechless.
Mingda shook the emperor's hand and said coquettishly, "Father, I want to give it to Zhou Man."
The emperor tapped her nose and said, "It's still chilly in spring, and the water is icy cold. How can you touch it?"
"I didn't touch it, Zhou Man did it."
The emperor turned to Zhou Man and said, "I have also heard that you are good at growing flowers and plants. Since you like them, I will reward you with a vat of them."
Gu Zhong, who was standing by, took note of it and asked someone to send a pot of lotus flowers to Zhou Man.
Manbao quickly expressed his gratitude.
The emperor then led everyone down the corridor and walked over to the stone vat. Seeing that the water was still murky, but with mud floating in it, he shook his head, smiled, and said, "This vat of lotus has suffered a great loss. Let's keep it and choose a better one to send to her later."
Gu Zhong agreed.
The emperor looked at the lotus in the vase, wondering what was going on. After a long silence, he suddenly turned to Zhou Man and asked, "You broke the lotus tuber in half and only left this little bit for the lotus. Can it still survive?"
Manbao was stunned for a moment, then she realized that he had already seen it. After all, it was someone else's flower, so she felt a little embarrassed, "Is it okay..."
She racked her brains to think of something good to say. "The lotus not only emerges from the muddy water without getting stained, it's also very strong. I think if we don't interfere with it from now on, it will be able to survive on its own, and maybe even grow better."
There is soaking liquid buried next to the tuber. As long as no one thinks of changing the water and mud, she can guarantee that it will become a vibrant lotus again overnight.
The emperor stared at the wilted lotus in the stone vat, lost in thought, "Not intervening?"
Manbao nodded repeatedly. She also noticed that the lotus leaves in the stone vat had wilted a little because of their excessive strength just now. She immediately said, "This is just temporary. As long as you don't touch it, it will be fine in a day or two. Maybe it will even grow better and better."
The emperor thought about it for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "Okay, then I'll wait and see for two days."
The prince standing behind lowered his eyes and glanced at the lotus in the stone jar.
Minister Feng, Yin Li and the others looked at each other and stopped arguing.
That’s right, they had just had an argument in the study and almost fought in front of the emperor.
A thief broke into the Ministry of Justice last night, but the Ministry didn't catch the thief, and he was caught by the Jingzhao Prefecture instead.
Minister Feng had lost face and had been in a bad mood since the morning, but because Tang He persuaded him, he also felt that the Ministry of Justice was too negligent, so he suppressed his anger.
As a result, after attending court, not only did the censor impeach him, but even the Dali Temple came to join in the fun, stripping him of his true colors and trampling on his face. So Shangshu Feng couldn't help but quarrel with others, and by the way, dragged Yin Li into it to make the water even more turbid.
In addition, the prince had just submitted a letter of self-reflection, so everyone changed their position and started arguing in the study.
The prince was never a gentle person. Not only did he join in, he also fanned the flames. Before they arrived, Minister Feng and several others were arguing with each other, their faces red and their necks thick, and they almost started fighting in front of the emperor.
What Zhou Man said may have been unintentional, but it was exactly what the prince meant. The life and death of this lotus in the vat was now of great importance.
Manbao and Mingda knew nothing about this. Seeing that the emperor and his ministers all looked serious, they felt that they were not fun at all, so they found a chance to say goodbye and slipped away quietly.
When they slipped back into the Imperial Garden, Changyu and her group's guests had already arrived. Even Princess Yunfeng had come and was sitting alone with a sullen face.
She had just had an argument with Changyu. Of course, it was she and Changyu who had an argument, not Changyu.
The Queen had already told them not to get into conflict with Yun Feng.
Her wet nurse told her privately, "Things are different now. Before, when you and Princess Yunfeng quarreled, she had the Queen Mother's support, and you had the Queen's support, so no matter how fierce the quarrel was, it was fine. But if you quarrel with her again now, people will think you are bullying her if it gets out."
The nanny said, "The princess has reached the age where she will choose a prince consort in the next two years. She is a tile now, but you are a piece of jade. Why would you want to touch the tile with jade?"
Changyu felt that she was right, so even if Princess Yunfeng was looking for trouble, she would not argue with her even if she was angry.
The girls invited by Changyu and Mingda were not all their friends, but at least they were passable on the surface. They also didn't like playing with Yunfeng, so they left her aside.
The little girls could gather together to talk and play according to their preferences, but the Crown Princess could not, so she sat next to Princess Yunfeng and talked to her with a smile.
As a result, she had just said a few words when Manbao and Mingda came back hand in hand. When Princess Yunfeng saw them, her face darkened. She glared at Zhou Man fiercely and then got up and left without even saying goodbye to the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess's face darkened slightly, but after a moment, she smiled again. She waved to Mingda Manbao who came over and asked with a smile, "Look at you, your clothes are covered in mud. Where have you been?"
See you at 8pm
(End of this chapter)
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