Chapter 1820 New Year's Day
Xiao Yuanzheng also came. Everyone stood according to their official rank, and he stood not far in front of Zhou Man.
Because the court meeting was solemn and it was a grand court meeting on the first day of the new year, although the emperor and the three ministers were not present, everyone did not dare to gather together and talk as usual, but stood solemnly in their respective seats.
Manbao stared at Xiao Yuanzheng. Xiao Yuanzheng noticed her gaze and turned around to look at her.
Manbao winked at him, indicating that he should stay for a while, as she had something to say to him.
Xiao Yuanzheng barely understood the look, so he nodded slightly and turned back to stand still.
Civil and military officials stood in the square for a full hour before the emperor and the crown prince returned from the altar with the three dukes and ministers.
So everyone cheered and wished the emperor a long life, long-term peace and stability in the country, and happiness for the world.
The emperor happily accepted their blessings, expressed his gratitude for governing the country, and encouraged all civil and military officials to make persistent efforts in the new year, be loyal to the country and the monarch, jointly manage the world, and create eternal peace.
At the end, he continued to say that this year's reign title remained unchanged and was still the Dazhen Year.
All the civil and military officials knelt down again and said that the emperor was wise and they would follow him to ensure that the people of the world lived and worked in peace and contentment.
The emperor was very happy and raised his hand and said, "My dear ministers, please stand up. Come, give me a banquet."
Then the eunuchs came forward one after another, carrying low tables and seats and placing them in front of each official, while palace maids followed behind to serve the meals.
Manbao knelt at the table and opened the lid of her food plate in the cold wind of the first day of the Lunar New Year. Inside was a plate of Sheji Fushou noodles. She reached out and touched it, and breathed a sigh of relief. There was still a hint of warmth, at least it was not cold.
Next to them were small steamed buns made from other four grains, small snacks, etc. Manbao reached out and touched them, and they were still warm.
She smiled and looked at the emperor on the high steps in the distance, waiting for him to start eating.
The emperor was served the same food made from grains as that served to his civil and military officials.
The grand court meeting started early, and the ancestor worship was also early. Everyone was sitting here with empty stomachs, and now was the perfect time for breakfast.
The emperor signaled everyone to eat, then stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a mouthful of noodles. After the emperor ate it, the prince, the three dukes, and all the civil and military officials started eating.
Because everyone, regardless of whether they were in real or honorary positions, had to come to the palace to celebrate today, many more people had joined the crowd in front. Manbao was further away from the emperor and had no idea whether he was eating or not. He could only stare at his colleagues in front of him. When he saw them picking up their chopsticks to eat, he also picked up his chopsticks to eat noodles.
It is said that the grains given by the emperor are blessed by God, so everyone will eat them all on the first day of every year.
Although it was Manbao's first time participating, he found out everything.
She also wanted God's blessing, so she ate everything carefully. After finishing, she touched her stomach and found that she was not full, so she put down her chopsticks regretfully.
After everyone had finished eating, the emperor sat down at the table and lamented with his ministers about the difficulties of the previous year and the achievements they had made in difficult circumstances. Then he happily announced the end of the court session and left.
The crown prince and the three ministers followed the emperor away. These bigwigs had other things to do, so the other civil and military officials could disperse.
Manbao got up from her seat and was about to go find Xiao Yuanzheng, when the editors standing nearby greeted her with New Year greetings. "Happy New Year, Mr. Zhou."
Manbao quickly bowed in return, "Happy New Year, Lord Fang..."
The people around her also wished her a happy new year. Manbao returned the greetings repeatedly, bending over five or six times. When she stood up and went to look for Xiao Yuanzheng, she found that Xiao Yuanzheng was gone.
She stood on tiptoe and looked forward, and saw that everyone was greeting each other in a group. If she only looked at their backs, she couldn't tell who was who.
She scratched her head, then simply bowed and walked forward to find Xiao Yuanzheng.
She had only taken a few steps when someone grabbed her collar from behind.
She turned around and saw Yang Heshu slap away Tang He's hand that was pulling her.
Seeing her turn around, Tang He bowed and saluted, smiling broadly, "Happy New Year, Master Zhou."
Manbao was speechless for a moment, then bowed and returned the greeting, "Happy New Year, Master Tang."
Yang Heshu also smiled and solemnly wished her a happy new year. After receiving her return gift, he asked with a smile, "Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Xiao Yuanzheng."
Yang Heshu was about to help her find it.
Tang He smiled and said, "He is your superior. There is still a long time to go. There will be a time to pay respect to him. Why rush?"
Manbao said, "I have something to say to him."
Tang He remembered that she was on duty at the Imperial Hospital on New Year's Eve yesterday. Her smile paused, and she pointed towards the harem and said, "I just saw someone come to ask for Dean Xiao, but they've already gone to the back."
Manbao opened her mouth in surprise and turned her head to look. Through the crowds of people, she could barely see three backs, but they disappeared as soon as she turned the corner.
Tang He asked quietly, "Is it important?"
Manbao hesitated for a moment and then said, "Not really, I just wanted to talk to him."
Doctor Liu also passed by many officials and came over to pay New Year's greetings. Seeing that only Zhou Man was there, he asked, "Where is the director?"
Manbao pointed in the direction of the harem and said, "Let's go."
Doctor Liu was also startled and asked quickly, "Did you tell him?"
Manbao shook his head, "It's too late."
Doctor Liu was also dumbfounded. He looked towards the harem with her, and after a while he said, "I remember now. Doctor Lu is on duty today. Can we leave the palace now?"
Manbao, who had a thicker conscience, hesitated and said, "This isn't good, right? Shouldn't we wait for Xiao Yuanzheng to come out and talk to him?"
"It's all recorded in the medical records, and we can just tell Doctor Lu. We barely slept last night and are very tired."
When Manbao heard this, his conscience faded a little, so he nodded and said, "Okay, then let's go back and take over."
So the old man and the young boy were not in the mood to greet everyone. They only greeted the people they met along the way, and then quickly slipped back to the Imperial Hospital.
Yang Heshu and Tang He watched the whole scene, couldn't help but look at each other, smiled, and then went to greet other elders and colleagues.
Doctor Liu and Manbao rushed back to the Imperial Hospital, packed up their things, and waited for Doctor Lu and Doctor Zheng to come back.
As soon as the two imperial doctors returned from paying their New Year's greetings, the two men immediately took over from them.
Doctor Lu and Zhou Man weren't close, so they only spoke to Doctor Liu. Doctor Zheng found it strange that they were in such a hurry to make the handover, so he pulled Manbao aside and asked, "Everything was alright last night?"
Doctor Zheng was one of them, after all, so Manbao whispered to him, "Last night was relatively uneventful. Prince Gong had an upset stomach, and a few of the princes got drunk and acted crazy, almost getting into a fight. One fell, and two of the young princes caught colds, but they were all sent out of the palace, so it wasn't a serious problem."
It seemed like it was quite lively last night, Doctor Zheng thought, "Then..."
Manbao lowered his voice and said, "But yesterday was not peaceful. Princess Yunfeng is pregnant, and the baby is not looking good. Xiao Yuanzheng should be in the Queen Mother's palace by now."
Doctor Zheng pondered for a moment before coming to his senses. "Didn't you check with the director?"
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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