Chapter 2629 Calming Down
Manbao was startled by the emperor's expression and quickly lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Wei is unwell."
Wei Zhi lowered his sleeves, straightened his clothes slightly, and then bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am fine. It is Lord Zhou's concern that has disturbed me."
Manbao frowned slightly and looked up to speak when she caught a glimpse of Lord Wei's warning gaze. She paused slightly, her heart startled, and she stopped for a moment.
Bai Shan, who was sorting the new memorials in the side hall after receiving them, heard something strange, so he picked up the two more important memorials that had just been returned and went over to look for them. He just happened to see the emperor running out barefoot.
He also caught Wei Zhi's gaze, and after a pause, he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is an urgent message from Yingzhou. It says that there's a conflict between Goguryeo and Silla. A Goguryeo army has entered Yingzhou territory and is harassing the local people."
The emperor's grim expression finally eased slightly. He sat on the dragon throne and said sullenly, "Present the memorial."
Bai Shan then presented the letter in his hand.
Gu Zhong hurriedly took out shoes and clothes from the back, squatted down and put the emperor's shoes on. When he put on one and was about to put on the other, the emperor was so angry that he threw the memorial out and kicked the half-put-on shoe away with his foot, shouting angrily: "Why are you wearing clothes in such a hot weather? Get out of here——"
Gu Zhong knelt on the ground, not daring to say a word, holding his clothes and backing away with his back hunched.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne with a face as black as a pot. He did not wear any outer clothes and only wore one shoe. However, the very disciplined Minister Li did not reprimand him. Even Wei Zhi, who was always self-disciplined and polite, pretended not to see the emperor in disarray and sat back in his seat.
Manbao saw the memorial that fell at his feet, and saw Gu Zhong sweating profusely as he was about to step forward to pick it up, so he bent down to pick up the memorial and handed it to Baishan casually.
Bai Shan: ...
He looked up at Manbao, and Manbao gave him a wink.
Bai Shan reached out to take it and raised his eyebrows at her, "You owe me a favor."
Manbao lowered his eyes slightly and said, "Go, go, I'll return it to you another day."
Bai Shan took the memorial and handed it back to the emperor, bowing slightly and saying, "Your Majesty, the Yingzhou Governor has requested to dispatch troops to Goguryeo. This is a serious matter, so the Ministry of War has submitted it directly to us. Do you think it is necessary to summon the Ministry of War to discuss this matter?"
Duke Zhao was in charge of guarding the capital, and only one assistant minister from the Ministry of War followed him.
The emperor flipped through the memorial with a gloomy expression and said in a deep voice, "Announce it."
"Yes." Bai Shan immediately bowed and backed away, and pulled Zhou Man when passing by.
Manbao could only bow and leave with the medicine box.
As soon as she left, the atmosphere was still a little stagnant, but not as tense as before. Gu Zhong lowered his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
After a while, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War came in with Bai Shan, and everyone started discussing the memorial. The atmosphere relaxed. Except that the emperor was barefoot and looked a little sloppy in his underwear, this court meeting was not much different from previous ones.
The poor Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War joined in midway and had no idea what was going on. But when he saw the emperor's expression, he knew that he had just lost his temper, so he was very nervous and didn't dare to say a word.
The emperor felt that he could not answer any of the questions he asked, and he was very angry. He stood up with one bare foot, pointed at him and started cursing.
Yes, he cannot scold ministers in the court without reason, but he can scold them if there is a reason. Who is afraid of whom?
The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War wiped his face and almost couldn't help but resign in anger, but after thinking about it, he held back. Forget it, the emperor was in a bad mood today, and he would not argue with him.
Wei Zhijian sighed and had to interrupt the emperor and speak for the Ministry of War.
The capable ministers nowadays would not have a bad temper. If he continued to scold, the emperor might really have to find a new right assistant minister of the Ministry of War.
We don't need the royal salary, nor are we from poor families who cling to the reputation. Therefore, we really put aside fame and fortune. If the work is not going well, we can just resign and retire. How difficult can it be?
There are many people who are reluctant to resign like Wei Zhi, but there are also people who are more free-spirited like Yu County Lord. Unfortunately, the current Right Vice Minister is a bit free-spirited. He is someone who can sneak away and leave the yamen early just to grab a jar of good wine.
Manbao left the Changshou Hall, thought for a while while holding the medicine box, then turned and went to the Imperial Hospital office downstairs.
Pushing open the door, Doctor Zheng was dispensing medicine. Seeing her, he stood up and saluted, saying, "Doctor Zhou, you are finally here. Many of the nobles suffered from the heat yesterday, and they wanted to stay cool last night, so many people are sick."
Manbao asked: "Is it serious?"
"It's not serious, I just need some medicine. We have limited staff, so please help me."
Man Bao nodded, put down the medicine box, and went in with Doctor Zheng, carrying the pulse chart he had written down, to get the medicine. He asked, "When was the last time His Majesty took your pulse? Was Xiao Yuanzheng the one who went there as well?"
Doctor Zheng thought for a moment and said, "It was Doctor Liu who went there five days ago. No, it seemed like seven days ago."
"Doesn't Your Majesty always take the pulse every three days?"
Doctor Zheng asked, "What can we do if Your Majesty is unhappy?"
He said, "Your Majesty has been very irritable lately. Xiao Yuanzheng said it was the summer heat, and the capital is indeed suffering from drought. I heard that there has been so much rain in Jiangnan that several rivers have been flooded. The government is not going well, and Your Majesty is a little irritable. Xiao Yuanzheng and Imperial Physician Liu have already instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare a sour soup for Your Majesty to relieve the heat."
Manbao curled his lips and said, "That soup isn't tasty at all. It's not even as good as sour plum soup. If it were me, I would rather not drink it."
Having said that, she paused slightly. Would the emperor stop drinking because of this?
Doctor Zheng asked, "You just came down from the Changshou Palace? What happened to His Majesty?"
"He has heatstroke," Manbao said sullenly, "but the most serious problem is Lord Wei."
She asked, "Has no one gone to check on Lord Wei's pulse?"
Doctor Zheng said, "It depends. Generally speaking, for a great man like Lord Wei, we in the Imperial Hospital only call him once a month. But sometimes we're too busy, and sometimes they're too busy, and they're not sick themselves, so we naturally won't bother to go. But generally, we'll go and take his pulse once every six months."
He thought for a moment and said, "The last time Lord Wei took my pulse seemed to be before the New Year."
Manbao asked, "Who invited you?"
"I." Doctor Zheng looked at her. "What's wrong? What's wrong with Lord Wei?"
Manbao sighed, "Master Wei is not in good health."
Doctor Zheng was shocked.
Manbao and Doctor Zheng have prepared the medicines that all the distinguished guests need. In fact, the cold evil is still on the surface and is not very difficult to treat. The medicines they prescribe are also kept as simple as possible to avoid affecting the efficacy, which would be detrimental.
Man Bao thought for a moment and then said, "Tell the people who come to collect the medicine to pay attention to their diet. Eat a light diet for the next two days and keep the palace cool. After taking the medicine, the summer heat in the body will dissipate within two days."
Doctor Zheng responded.
Manbao thoughtfully prepared the medicinal moxibustion for the emperor. Doctor Zheng sat beside him, dazed. "I took Lord Wei's pulse before the New Year. Although Lord Wei seems a little overworked, he's not seriously ill, is he?"
Manbao said, "It might not be a big deal then, but if you work too hard for a long time, it will get worse at a certain point. This year hasn't been very good. Since the beginning of spring, there have been all kinds of things going on, which has taken a lot of mental effort."
Doctor Zheng was worried. "Your Majesty will summon us soon, right? Sir Zhou, do you have a good treatment?"
Manbao nodded and said, "Yes."
Doctor Zheng's eyes lit up, and Man Bao said, "Master Wei, please put aside your political affairs and start recuperating from now on. You will probably be able to recover after two or three years of rest."
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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