Chapter 1948 Duty
Manbao told them this story vividly while eating, not only including what each adult said, but also describing the expressions of the adults and the emperor that she could see at that time.
It was clearly only a game of about four quarters of an hour, but she managed to finish it until everyone's break was almost over.
But everyone listened with great interest.
After listening to this, Zhao Liulang pushed the food box forward with a sense of unsatisfied feeling, and finally asked the eunuchs to take away the dishes and chopsticks that had already been eaten and turned cold.
Before they knew it, the students sitting nearby also stood up, and only then did they realize that their lunch break had passed without them noticing.
Manbao was also thirsty from talking, so he drank the water beside him, stood up and said, "I'm going to find the master."
Mr. Zhuang had already learned from Kong Jijiu what happened at the grand court meeting, and his colleagues in Chongwenguan envied him for having a good apprentice.
The main reason is that this official's promotion is so enviable.
Mr. Zhuang stroked his gray beard and smiled, "Yes, I didn't expect that I would be blessed with an apprentice even in my old age. Hahahaha..."
When his colleagues saw Mr. Zhuang's half-white hair, their jealousy subsided a lot and they were filled with envy. When they saw Zhou Man again, they smiled at her.
Manbao ran to find Mr. Zhuang and said, "Sir, everyone is so weird today."
Mr. Zhuang put the book on the bookshelf with a smile and asked, "What's strange?"
"Everyone smiled at me." Manbao wasn't too bothered by the matter. He was just afraid the master might have questions, so he came over to explain the inside story. He also said, "The master needs to receive his official uniform again, and he can also receive a new salary next month."
Manbao suddenly remembered, "We're so lucky. We got promoted before August, so we should be able to catch up with the land distribution this year."
Mr. Zhuang: ...His apprentices’ focus is always so strange. Is the promotion for the official land?
But Old Zhou believed that promotion was really for the sake of official land.
After hearing that Mr. Zhuang had been promoted and would be allocated a lot of official land, Old Zhou asked Zhou Wulang to go to the market to buy two chickens and kill them, and asked Xiao Qianshi to prepare a special sumptuous meal to celebrate.
Of course, this dish had nothing to do with Manbao. She just swallowed silently after hearing about it from her husband.
Just when Mr. Zhuang was successfully promoted and received his new official uniform and seal, Lord Wei and his men, unafraid of danger, went to the Empress Dowager's palace every day to give her advice.
They seemed to have arranged themselves in order, from Lord Wei, Minister Li, Lord Tang, and then Minister Han. Even Lord Yin went there in person. After everyone went there once and found that there was no effect, they went there together again. Finally, the Empress Dowager called Xiao Yuanzheng from the palace.
Wei Zhi and others were afraid that the empress dowager would be angered to death before she even left the palace. In addition, the emperor was also alarmed and insisted on obeying the empress dowager's wishes. After discussing it with several ministers, they had no choice but to agree.
However, there were some changes. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor decided to reduce the rewards given to Xuandu Temple by 30%, and security along the way was strengthened.
Unfortunately, the road from the palace to Xuandu Temple is all within the jurisdiction of Lord Tang, so Lord Tang has been very busy these days.
The appearance of the capital is only one aspect; the most important issue is public security.
Fortunately, his immediate superior, Lord Yin, was very capable and directly transferred a team of troops from the imperial guards to take over. Lord Tang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Imperial Medical Bureau was also very busy. Although the distance from the palace to Xuandu Temple was only a short one, they did not dare to be negligent. They had to bring emergency medicines and emergency doctors.
As a female imperial physician, Zhou Man took on the task of always being by the Queen Mother's side.
Since the Emperor accompanied the Empress Dowager, it was not appropriate for the Empress to go as well. Even Princess Mingda and Princess Changyu did not go, for fear of adding burden to the court.
Finally, the emperor and the prince accompanied the empress dowager to Xuandu Temple.
Early in the morning, Manbao put on his official uniform and went to the Empress Dowager's palace to pick her up. Together with everyone else, he carefully lifted her onto the sedan chair, then carried her all the way to the ceremonial guard and helped her onto the carriage.
Manbao and the senior palace maid who served the empress dowager followed the empress dowager, kneeling on the left and right of the carriage. They glanced at the eunuchs and palace maids standing outside and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Queen Mother leaned on the pillow, glanced outside the curtains, and asked, "When will we set off?"
The maid then asked the person under the carriage, who ran forward to ask. After a while, she came back trotting and reported, "Your Majesty has arrived and can leave immediately."
The emperor also rode in a carriage, and the prince escorted them on horseback.
Many people knelt along the way to watch the excitement. Manbao originally thought that she would be very happy, but the Queen Mother's breathing was not steady along the way, which frightened her so much that she was very worried. She was only concerned about looking at the Queen Mother's expression and had no time to pay attention to the situation on the street.
When they arrived at Xuandu Temple, the whole temple was on alert. The abbot and a group of people were waiting at the foot of the mountain gate. The empress dowager was helped onto the sedan chair, and the emperor and the prince each held one side of the sedan chair to escort the empress dowager up the mountain.
Manbao followed behind and couldn't help but whisper to Xiao Yuanzheng, "Is it the same when your Majesty goes to Huguo Temple?"
Xiao Yuanzheng replied softly, "It's even worse than that."
After all, many ministers opposed the warning this time, so the expenses were reduced a lot.
Manbao thought, no wonder Lord Wei and the others would object.
She looked back at the road that she had walked many times from the foot of the mountain to the top. Not to mention the officials, eunuchs and palace maids following behind her, there were guards every five steps on both sides of the road. She thought to herself, I wonder how much manpower and money this trip would cost.
If I could come here more often every year...
Manbao suddenly remembered, yes, although the Empress Dowager and the Emperor mostly used their own private money to give rewards, the money for travel was paid by the national treasury.
Manbao pouted and followed the empress dowager's carriage to the main hall.
Manbao immediately stepped forward, and the prince was tactful and gave up his seat to her.
Manbao and the emperor supported the empress dowager while secretly feeling her pulse.
The Empress Dowager trembled as she stepped down from the sedan chair and leaned weakly against the Emperor. She looked up at the statue of Laozi in the main hall and asked breathlessly, "When was this statue of Laozi made?"
The abbot who was following behind immediately stepped forward to explain.
The empress dowager nodded slightly after hearing this, and then she sat on the cushion with the support of the emperor and Zhou Man. However, she was not stable on the cushion, so the senior palace maid took two quick steps forward and knelt down, reaching out to hold the empress dowager's waist, directly taking half of her strength.
Manbao also felt tired of squatting, so he simply knelt down and put one hand on the empress dowager's hand.
Queen Mother: ...
The posture of the three people huddled together made the Queen Mother very uncomfortable, especially Zhou Man, whose hand was stubbornly clasped in hers.
She shook it off twice but failed. The two of them secretly competed for a while, but Zhou Man's hand was still firmly on her pulse. The empress dowager had never seen such an annoying imperial physician. She couldn't even have a good conversation with the abbot.
Xiao Yuanzheng stood by and saw this, nodding with satisfaction in his heart. Fortunately, there was a female imperial physician, otherwise, if it were them, who would dare to hold the empress dowager's hand all the time?
Not to mention the Empress Dowager, even the Emperor could chop them off.
A friend came from afar, so I was delayed accidentally. I can't add more tonight. I'll add it tomorrow. Good night.
(End of this chapter)
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