Chapter 1791 It’s Not the Time
The prince was silent for a long time, and finally nodded and waved his hand to let Zhou Man go.
Manbao collected her things and left. Seeing her emerge, Eunuch Wu immediately smiled and said, "Little Doctor Zhou, His Highness has brought back many gifts from Jiangnan, including two pieces of colorful satin. His Highness specifically wants to give them to you. Do you think I should send them to the Chongwenguan or your home?"
Manbao didn't expect that he would receive a gift, so he immediately said, "Let me see."
Eunuch Wu then took Zhou Man down to see the colorful satin.
The colored satin of Jiangnan is very famous. The satin is very thin, and I don’t know how it is woven and dyed, but it is so colorful. One of the pieces is woven with a colorful butterfly, with its wings folded and spread. When Eunuch Wu gently shakes it, the satin rises and falls, and the butterfly looks as beautiful as if it is spreading its wings and flying.
Manbao was really enlightened and was amazed.
Eunuch Wu smiled and said, "These two pieces of colorful satin were personally selected by the Crown Princess. She said that since you are young, such patterns would be more lively."
Manbao was amazed and could only nod.
She reached out and touched the colorful satin and said happily, "I'll have to trouble Eunuch Wu to have someone send it back home for me. I can't leave this thing in the palace."
Eunuch Wu smiled and said, "No problem, no problem."
Manbao searched around and found the purse, trying to give it to Eunuch Wu, but Eunuch Wu pushed it back. He said with a smile, "Little Doctor Zhou, why are you being so polite to me?"
He said with a hint of meaning, "The weather has been cold lately. I haven't seen your disciple come to the palace for acupuncture in a long time. My old illness has come back..."
When Zheng Gu and others entered the palace, Eunuch Wu didn't let them get acupuncture.
Manbao understood instantly. He glanced outside and saw that no one was around. He folded his sleeves and said, "Come, let me show it to Eunuch Wu."
Eunuch Wu was happy and immediately gave his apprentice a look, then sat on a chair and took Manbao's pulse.
Eunuch Wu's apprentice closed the door, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Manbao took his pulse and then gave Eunuch Wu acupuncture. He had many problems. It should be said that all eunuchs have injuries, but Eunuch Wu's are more serious than theirs.
After Manbao finished acupuncture and removed the needle, he said, "You have a lot of cold in your body. I'll prescribe you a prescription. Why don't you take it and soak your feet to drive away the cold?"
Eunuch Wu hesitated and said, "This is not good. It's not easy for our family to buy medicine from outside, from the Imperial Hospital..."
That's not convenient either. After all, I need to enter the archives, and it's a taboo to have medicinal smell on my body.
Manbao said, "Take some time to go to the Imperial Hospital tomorrow and I'll put it on file for you. The herbs used for foot baths are not expensive. If you give a prescription some money, the assistant doctor in charge of the pharmacy will turn a blind eye."
Eunuch Wu felt a dull ache in his waist and knees, and a slight tingling in his lower body. He hesitated for a moment before nodding, "I wonder when Doctor Zhou will be at the Imperial Hospital tomorrow?"
Manbao said, "From 5 p.m. to 5 p.m., I'm on duty."
Eunuch Wu understood and thanked Zhou Man with a smile.
Manbao took a last reluctant look at his colorful satin, then left happily.
The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess were unaware of what had transpired between Eunuch Wu and Zhou Man. As soon as Zhou Man left, the Crown Princess brought a bowl of soup to the Crown Prince and asked, "What did Zhou Man say?"
The prince drank the soup and said, "Grandmother doesn't have much time left."
Although the Crown Princess had already guessed, she couldn't help but remain silent for a moment, then asked, "Should we visit the Dou family more often?"
The prince was silent for a moment and then shook his head. "No need, our father is here. If he wants to show favor to the Dou family, it should be his father who comes. We can just visit the Empress Dowager from time to time."
The Crown Princess nodded.
The prince was sad for a while. When he knew the empress dowager's physical condition, he roughly understood his father's current mood.
So he put down the bowl and stood up, "I'm going to see the emperor."
The Crown Princess didn't ask him how he did on this mission. She just responded and helped him out.
Eunuch Wu had just finished giving the acupuncture and when he saw the prince about to go out, he immediately stepped forward to serve him.
The prince strode towards the gate of the East Palace. Halfway there, he noticed Zhou Man walking slowly ahead of him and asked, "Why is Zhou Man leaving now?"
Eunuch Wu: ...
He swallowed and lowered his head and said, "Little Doctor Zhou just went to see the colorful satin that His Highness rewarded her."
The prince was speechless for a while. She was indeed a woman, as she could stare at a piece of colorful satin for so long.
The prince turned and walked towards the Taiji Hall with his hands behind his back.
Wei Zhi also washed, changed his clothes and went to the palace to report to the emperor.
This time when they raided Jiangnan, they still got a lot of information from there.
The salt fields, farmland and some shops left by the Yang family in Jiangnan were all confiscated. Wei Zhi and the prince also took the opportunity to investigate the situation of other families in Jiangnan.
The situation is not optimistic.
Just from what they saw and their private calculations, they could conclude that the taxes reported each year were at least half less, and the situation of hidden households in the Jiangnan area was even more serious.
From this we can see that, together with the part that they cannot see, those families have concealed a lot of taxes that should have been paid to the court.
However, Wei Zhi and the prince did nothing. They just took note of the confiscated items, placed people in the court, and returned.
Wei Zhi reported everything to the emperor, then said, "Since the Sima family, Jiangnan has been isolated and under the control of various clans. It wasn't until the establishment of this dynasty that the clans returned to their own clans, but most of them remained in Jiangnan. Currently, military, political, and financial power in Jiangnan's key cities is largely in the hands of the Cui, Wang, and Lu clans. Even if the court sent officials there, within two years they would either become closely associated with the various clans or be recalled elsewhere. Your Majesty, I'm afraid it will be difficult to bring order to Jiangnan."
The emperor was also troubled. "Other things are fine, but salt is the foundation of people's livelihood. In recent years, salt taxes have been reduced a lot, and private salt is rampant. People in salt-scarce areas can hardly afford salt."
Wei Zhishen agreed with this. He thought that the issue of hidden households from aristocratic families could be tolerated for the time being, but the issue of salt was intolerable.
Wei Zhi asked, "Your Majesty, do you wish to investigate Jiangnan?"
The emperor looked at the prince and asked, "What do you think?"
The prince thought for a moment and said, "Now is not the right time."
The emperor then looked at Wei Zhi.
Wei Zhi had been feeling anxious ever since he went to Jiangnan, but he had to admit that the prince was right and that it was indeed not the right time.
Once the investigation is completed, the aristocratic families that are currently only slightly united may be stimulated to unite more closely, and by then the gaps they have just torn from the Yang family will probably be eaten away by them.
So he nodded frustratedly, indicating that now was indeed not the time.
The emperor frowned and sighed, then said after a while, "Leave the affairs of Jiangnan to Yin Li. Since the time is not right yet, we will wait for the right opportunity."
Wei Zhi and the prince agreed together.
After finishing the official business, the emperor finally remembered to talk about personal matters, so he said to the prince: "You should go and see your grandmother. She hasn't seen you for a long time and she must miss you."
The prince agreed, bowed and walked out.
After he left, the emperor said to Wei Zhi: "Qing Wei, I heard that your youngest son has returned from Quyang?"
As soon as Wei Zhi met the emperor's sharp gaze, he became nervous and felt that something bad was going to happen.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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