Chapter 1945 Regret (March Monthly Ticket Plus 8)
He couldn't help but look at Zhou Man.
Manbao immediately lowered his head and stared at his toes.
When the emperor saw this, he was so angry that his breathing became heavy. It was clearly her fault!
"emperor--"
The emperor came back to his senses and immediately grasped the empress dowager's hand, saying sincerely, "If you want to go, go ahead. Otherwise, I'll ask the crown prince to go. Which Taoist temple did you make the wish at?"
The Queen Mother fell silent after hearing this. After a while, she sighed and said, "If you hadn't asked me, I wouldn't have noticed. I didn't even make a wish myself, so how can I fulfill it?"
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had gotten over the matter. Suddenly, the empress dowager grabbed his hand and said, "Emperor, I need to go to Xuandu Temple."
The emperor glared and quickly advised, "If your mother has any wishes, why not let the prince go on her behalf? How can you go in person?"
The Queen Mother said with a resolute gaze, "No, I must go in person. If your heart is sincere, your wish will come true. If your heart is not sincere, how can you expect the gods to visit you?"
emperor:……
He turned his head and glared at Zhou Man.
Zhou Man had no choice but to step forward and persuade him under his gaze, "Madam, you are not in good health to travel."
The Queen Mother, however, firmly believed that "sincerity is the key to success" and insisted, "I must go there in person."
Even Mingda tried to persuade her, but it was of no use. She didn't know what Zhou Man said that provoked her. She had to go there in person to show that she was not just a fan and didn't believe, but a fan and a believer, and was very pious to the gods.
Manbao was very sad, and the emperor was even sadder, because at the end, the empress dowager simply held his hand and called him "cat slave". Tears welled up in her eyes, and the emperor could not say no, so he agreed in a hurry.
He just agreed, and he regretted it in his heart even though the words seemed to still linger in his ears. But the Queen Mother was already nodding happily and saying repeatedly: "I know that cat slaves are the most filial."
The emperor didn't even have a chance to regret.
It was already a quarter of an hour later when the emperor, his ministers and his daughter stood at the palace gate. The empress dowager knew when to stop. While asking people to prepare things for the trip, she said that she was tired and needed to rest.
The emperor helped the empress dowager to rest, and then left with Zhou Man and Mingda.
Standing on the bluestone path at the entrance of the palace, Manbao and Mingda lowered their heads together.
The emperor stood before the two men, glaring at one and then looking at the other, not knowing who to blame.
After all, both children had good intentions at the beginning. Mingda was filial, and Zhou Man was friendly. Regardless of the results, her heart was good. Hoping that Mingda and the Queen would be healthy and live long is a very beautiful wish.
So the emperor took a deep breath, suppressed his anger and couldn't help but secretly blame the empress dowager in his heart. Zhou Man said that we should believe in gods and Buddhas but not be obsessed with them. Why doesn't his mother understand this?
Mingda quietly winked at Manbao, asking her to step back, then asked, "Father, are you really going to let the Empress Dowager go to Xuandu Temple?"
"Your Majesty, your words are not joking. How can I regret it?"
It is possible. If the emperor does not care about his face, he can just face the empress dowager's scolding a few more times. Anyway, the court officials will definitely stand on the emperor's side this time.
However, after weighing the pros and cons, the emperor decided to fulfill his promise.
After all, the empress dowager had just expressed her desire to go, and the emperor didn't want her to leave with regrets.
He thought this was also filial piety, but the court officials obviously did not think so, and many of them wrote letters to express their opposition.
Even Xiao Yuanzheng rarely wrote a letter, in which he discussed everything from the Empress Dowager's pulse diagnosis to the current weather conditions. In short, he strongly opposed the Empress Dowager's trip.
Otherwise, who will be responsible if something happens outside?
The reasons for the court officials' opposition were even more complicated.
In fact, many court officials had opinions about the empress dowager's superstitious behavior in the past six months, but because the empress dowager was seriously ill and dying, and what she used were all her and the emperor's private possessions, they did not have an outburst.
But now that the Queen Mother was about to drag her sick body out of the palace, the pent-up dissatisfaction of the court officials suddenly erupted.
Even Tang He and Magistrate Guo of the neighboring Wannian County could not help but express their opposition in a letter.
It is generally believed that the emperor should bear half the responsibility for this matter. Do you think that obeying the empress dowager is filial piety?
As children, you should do your best to advise the Empress Dowager about her poor health. Do you think you are being filial by giving her stars if she asks for them?
wrong!
And it was totally wrong, so the court officials first criticized the emperor by quoting classics about filial piety, and then talked about their suppressed dissatisfaction during this period.
Do you think the superstitious activities carried out by your imperial family are your private affairs?
wrong!
The royal family has no private affairs, especially those involving the belief in gods and Buddhas. As atheists, Wei Zhi, Old Tang and others not only opposed the empress dowager's charity and Taoist temples, but also opposed the emperor's related activities.
They believe that the emperor bears a considerable responsibility for the current predicament.
What the superiors like, the subordinates will like even more. You superiors want to go to Huguo Temple and Xuandu Temple to burn incense as soon as you open your lips, but you don’t know how many ordinary people are flocking to temples and Taoist temples.
Once temples and Taoist temples become more popular, more problems will inevitably arise.
What should temples and Taoist temples do if they are short of staff and need to recruit people?
What should we do if people think that being a monk or a Taoist priest is profitable and all of them want to become monks or Taoist priests?
What should we do if monks and Taoists take advantage of their power to bully the people?
Have you, the royal family, ever thought about these questions?
The data submitted by County Magistrates Tang and Guo gave everyone more reason to criticize.
In the first half of this year, due to the relief tents set up by the Empress Dowager at the foot of Huguo Temple and Xuandu Temple, criminal activities and various disputes around Huguo Temple and Xuandu Temple increased by 60% compared with last year. That would have been a big deal, as the overall crime data of the two counties was also nearly 30% higher than last year.
Excluding the impact of last year's drought, this year's crime data is still ridiculously high.
County Magistrate Guo might not have thought much about it at first, but Tang He had a special liking for the Ministry of Justice. After researching it, he found that this had a certain influence on the Empress Dowager's obsession with gods and Buddhas over the past six months, so he dragged County Magistrate Guo to write a letter together.
The emperor was criticized all morning, and finally had to tell the empress dowager about Zhou Man's advice that day. He said that they had all advised her, but the empress dowager insisted on doing so. If you have the ability, go and ask the empress dowager to take back her decision.
As long as the Queen Mother said she couldn't go, he would immediately not go.
Courtiers: ...Who dares to face the Queen Mother at this time?
But… Wei Zhi raised his head and looked directly at the emperor, his eyes piercing as he asked, "Your Majesty, what Zhou Man said makes sense. So, Your Majesty, do you believe in gods and Buddhas but not be obsessed with them, or do you believe in them and be obsessed with them?"
The emperor felt a little pain on the top of his head, and remembered that in previous years, whenever he offered rewards to the Huguo Temple, Wei Zhibi would write a letter to express his opposition.
He felt a chill down his spine, and regretted shifting the focus to Zhou Man. He didn't expect that in the end the focus would still be shifted to him.
Among all the officials, Manbao lowered his head silently, trying hard to pretend that he did not exist.
See you tomorrow
Emperor: I want some psychological comfort, please give me some monthly tickets
(End of this chapter)
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