Chapter 2524 Plum Blossom Appreciation
Manbao got into the carriage that came to pick her up, took the heater that Bai Shan handed over, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Shan also held one in his hand, and he looked at Man Bao curiously: "I heard that you and Minister Liu were fined one month's salary for neglecting your duties? You are neglecting your duties?"
Minister Liu wouldn't know either, but he's also a well-known hardworking person.
Manbao felt a little guilty and asked in a low voice: "How did you know this? Did many people know this?"
Bai Shan knew it was true at first glance, so he said, "Well... not much, right?" He said uncertainly, "The Ministry of Personnel passed by our Hanlin Academy when they were delivering the list to the Ministry of Revenue, and someone asked about it, so we found out."
Man Bao: "...Your Hanlin Academy is behind the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Revenue is right next to it. Why would the Ministry of Personnel go through the whole circle and go to your Hanlin Academy first when delivering a bill?"
The Hanlin Academy is a place for compiling books and history. It is full of Jinshi (imperial examination candidates) and has two library buildings storing books and materials, so quiet is very necessary. Therefore, the Hanlin Academy is located behind the Six Ministries and occupies a very large courtyard.
This is also one of the reasons why Hanlin considers himself to be more noble.
Bai Shan looked at Man Bao silently, "What do you think?"
Of course, that's to let him know.
Manbao was discouraged and muttered that they were really gossipy. Then she briefly described what happened this morning. She said, "Minister Liu is very busy. He usually stays at the Ministry of Revenue when he has nothing to do. He only comes to the palace to see His Majesty. How can he have time to chat with me?"
"I was busy too. I had to go to the Chongwenguan to repair books this afternoon, so I waited for him after the grand court meeting. We talked for a while, but I had such bad luck that His Majesty caught me."
She said, "If it was just His Majesty, it would be fine. He's easy to talk to. Minister Liu was the only one who pleaded for us. But Old Master Tang was also there. He was in charge of inspecting all officials, so we ran into him directly."
Bai Shan understood that the punishment was probably not because they talked about private matters during working hours, but because the two of them spoke ill of the emperor and Lord Wei. Otherwise, even if Lord Wei did not plead for mercy, the emperor would have been able to get away with it with his lenient character and would not really punish them.
However, Bai Shan did not point it out, but nodded and said: "I understand. Next time if you have something to say, you should talk to Minister Liu after leaving the court."
Manbao nodded sympathetically. One month's salary was not a small amount.
Bai Shan found it funny and couldn't help asking, "So do you really know why you lost your salary this month?"
Manbao had of course thought about it, and then he sighed and said, "I didn't say anything bad about Lord Wei and His Majesty. I even felt sympathy for Lord Wei."
However, under the circumstances at that time, the listener was also gossiping.
However, Manbao only felt sad for a moment and quickly put the matter behind him because there were more important things to do at the moment.
"The matter between Li Ru and Liu Huan is half done." Man Bao told her what Minister Liu had said in confidence.
Bai Shan felt something was wrong. "Minister Liu is so open-minded."
Manbao hadn't expected this either, and he sighed solemnly, "We've misunderstood Minister Liu before."
Zhou Liru hadn't expected the Liu family to be so open-minded. So when she received the gift Liu Huan had sent her, she didn't return it but accepted it. This surprised Liu Huan, who had been defeated time and time again. He couldn't help but ask her, "Why don't you refuse me?"
Zhou Liru looked up at him: "...You want me to reject you?"
Liu Huan immediately came back to his senses and shook his hands repeatedly, "No, no..."
Liu Huan scratched his head. He was used to being rejected, so he was a little unresponsive when the other party accepted his gift.
Zhou Liru's eyes wandered for a moment, and he tapped his toes, blushing slightly as he said, "By the way, my aunt said she's going to Huguo Temple to appreciate the plum blossoms after the imperial court seals it up. Are you going?"
Liu Huan had no idea that this was an agreement between the two families. When he heard about going out to play, he immediately nodded and said quickly, "Go, go."
He also asked, "Who are they? Do you want me to invite some more friends?"
He now works in the Ministry of Industry and has made a few new friends. They get along very well and can have fun together.
Zhou Liru looked up at him and said after a while, "Go back and ask your grandfather."
Why did they ask his grandfather when they went out to play?
The Huguo Temple was right inside the city, so his grandfather wouldn't have forbidden him from going to such a small place. Besides, he was now an official, so his grandfather didn't care much about him anymore.
Liu Huan didn't want to ask, but when he got home, he happened to see his grandfather coming home from overtime work, so he couldn't help but ask one more question, and then he was beaten.
Liu Huan felt that he had been wronged and had no idea why he was beaten. Not only did they not tell him the reason, but they also framed him with false charges, saying that he was fined one month's salary because of him.
Heaven and earth are my witnesses. He has been very well behaved recently and hasn't gotten into any trouble. I haven't heard that his grandfather was impeached for failing to manage the household properly and for having unfilial descendants.
Although Liu Huan worked in the Ministry of Works, his position was low. Mainly, people would not discuss such matters in front of the family members of the parties involved, so he did not know that his grandfather was fined for gossiping with Zhou Man in the palace.
By the time he found out the reason, he was already in the Huguo Temple.
Manbao thinks that things like blind dates should naturally be discussed by the elders, and the younger generations should find other places to play, so as to avoid awkwardness.
So she brought Bai Shan and Bai Erlang along as well.
When they arrived at Huguo Temple, Lady Liu, the Minister of State, shook Qian's hand and said with a smile, "I've wanted to invite you to Huguo Temple for a while, but there's never been a good opportunity. Now that we've met, it must be fate."
Qian also said yes and took Feng to meet her. The elders of the two families went to worship Buddha first, while the children went to appreciate the plum blossoms.
Qian seldom worshipped Buddha and was unfamiliar with many things, so Lady Liu Shangshu taught her, and the two quickly became familiar with each other.
Manbao and the others entered the plum grove. As soon as they entered, they felt at ease. "The plum grove at Huguo Temple is really beautiful. It's not much worse than ours."
Jie Chen, whose peace was disturbed, turned around and left while thinking, since the plum forest in the mansion is so beautiful, why should I come to Huguo Temple to appreciate the plum blossoms?
Jie Chen's footsteps were so light that no one noticed he had been there. Koko glanced around and felt that he had not touched the line automatically reported by the system, so he remained silent.
Jie Chen returned to his master's courtyard and clasped his hands together, saying, "Master, Donor Zhou and Donor Bai are here."
Zhiren opened his eyes and saw that he had nothing in his hands, so he asked, "Where are the plum blossoms I asked you to pick?"
Jie Chen paused for a moment, then continued calmly, "Master, flowers and plants all have life. The plum branch is growing well, why did you break it off?"
Zhiren: "Because your master hasn't completely seen through the mundane world, and since it's so rare for the donor from Jiangnan to come visit, I wanted to leave him a calligraphy work. If you want something, you must give something in return. The plum blossoms I asked you to pick are for the donor. Jiechen, are you really not picking the plum branches because all flowers and plants have their own destiny?"
Jie Chen quickly admitted his mistake and said he would go and break it right away.
He didn't want to meet Zhou Man and Bai Shan, especially Bai Shan. He had been practicing martial arts with him for some time, and Jie Chen was annoyed by him.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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