Chapter 2679: Asking for Guilt
Miss Cui thought for a long time, and finally bowed to Zhou Man and said, "Thank you, Lord Zhou, for your guidance."
Bai Shan came up when she saw her leave. Without asking her what she wanted to see Manbao, he took Manbao's hand and said, "Let's go and enjoy the moon."
Manbao nodded repeatedly.
Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in the palace also involves eating, drinking and appreciating the moon.
It’s just that there were more people in the palace. After admiring the moon, the two of them walked back to the hall hand in hand, and only let go of hands before entering the door.
The emperor was still enjoying singing and dancing, eating and drinking with everyone.
A palace maid brought up mooncakes made in the palace, one for each table, a big one for the boss, but fortunately it was cut into small pieces.
Manbao took a piece and ate it. He thought the ingredients used in the palace were really good. Although the other dishes were not tasty when they got cold, the mooncakes were still very good.
Bai Shan also thought it was good.
Most of the dishes in the palace banquet are cold. Although some grilled dishes and soups are good, most of them are not as good as those served hot at home.
So the two of them didn't eat much.
However, they still ate most of the meal.
There's nothing we can do. Both of them are growing and can really eat a lot.
This made many people envious, such as Minister Liu and Lord Tang who were sitting next to him.
Lord Tang couldn't help but turned around and said to Bai Shan, "I wonder if you have heard a rumor."
Bai Shan: "What rumor?"
"Pray to Zhou Man, donate to the army, and gain merit," Lord Tang said with a curl of his lips, "Some people in the palace say that after gaining merit, all your wishes will come true."
Bai Shan: ...
He turned his head and looked at Zhou Man.
Manbao also heard it and said quickly: "The Crown Princess and the two princesses were there at the time. They can testify for me. This is all said and done, and this summary..."
It's a bit off the mark.
Lord Tang reminded him, "It's all spread throughout the palace. After the banquet is over, you should go and apologize to His Majesty."
Manbao hung his head and said, "I understand."
Why is she asking for forgiveness again?
The palace banquet lasted until late at night. After everyone had enjoyed enough singing and dancing, eaten and drunk their fill, and bonded with each other, a eunuch reminded the almost drunk emperor that it was getting late.
So the emperor led everyone out, looked up at the moon, and talked for half an hour before everyone dispersed.
Manbao had been waiting, and after everyone had left, he and Baishan went to chase the emperor, intending to admit his mistake before things got out of hand.
The emperor was already half drunk, and his imperial carriage was stopped halfway. He lifted the hanging curtain and looked outside. Although there were many lanterns on the road, it was still difficult to see the figures clearly.
Gu Zhong quickly said, "Your Majesty, it's Lord Zhou and Lord Bai. They said they came to apologize."
The emperor burped when he heard this and asked, "What crime are you asking for?"
Gu Zhong, the emperor's eyes and ears, had naturally heard about the rumors in the palace tonight, so he smiled and said, "I'm afraid my careless words have caused trouble, so I've come here to apologize."
The emperor knew it was not a big deal when he heard it. If it was a big deal, it would have been a big deal at the palace banquet. Since it didn't happen, there was no need to pursue it. But when did the two children become so timid that they actually came here to apologize?
However, he felt a little dizzy at the moment and didn't want to waste time on them, so he waved his hand and said, "Since it was just a careless word, forget it. As long as they admit their mistake, let them leave the palace and go back to rest."
Gu Zhong agreed with a smile and went to convey the order.
Manbao didn't expect the emperor, who cared about his reputation, to forgive her so easily. She repeatedly confirmed, "Your Majesty, are you really not blaming us?"
Gu Zhong did not respond, but just repeated the emperor's words.
Manbao always felt that this statement was not very certain, but it was too late at night and the emperor was drunk, so it was indeed not the time to get entangled, otherwise it would be counterproductive to make him angry.
Bai Shan thought the same, so he pulled Manbao's sleeve, and the two of them saluted together and stepped aside to see the emperor off.
As the emperor's sedan chair passed by, the two men shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your forgiveness."
The emperor waved his hand nonchalantly.
So Manbao and Baishan ran away happily.
The next day was supposed to be a day off, as there were three days off for the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, the situation was special this time. Someone from the Imperial Hospital came to inform Zhou Man early in the morning, asking her to go back to work overtime and to attend a meeting with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to discuss matters concerning medicinal materials and various medical supplies.
No one notified Bai Shan, but he still obediently went back to work overtime.
When I entered the palace, the other five secretaries were already there. It was obvious that they were all very hardworking.
So, a big news broke out in the capital, which was still in the midst of the lively Mid-Autumn Festival. The emperor was going to lead an expedition to Goguryeo in person!
The official documents were directly posted on the public notice wall in front of Jingzhao Prefecture and outside each city gate, so that people entering and leaving the capital could see them as soon as they looked up.
Before the announcement was made, the Honglu Temple sent troops to directly detain all the Goguryeo envoys staying in the post station, and did not let a single one go.
Well, except for the two people they just delivered the letter to and left yesterday.
At this time, two people came back at full speed and presented a letter to Yin Li.
Yin Li carefully opened the letter, scanned it quickly, raised his eyebrows slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he didn't replace the letter. Instead, he resealed it, sealed it with wax, and handed it to him, "Send it back. Don't let them find out."
"Yes, they are now stuck and their speed has slowed down a lot. I can catch them in a day. Sir, are you not going to replace the letter?"
Yin Li shook his head. "It's better not to change it in the first place. Since his letter has already revealed that the Jin Dynasty wants to negotiate, there's no need to change it. Send it back. There's no need to stop them on the way back. Let them ride as fast as they can back to Goguryeo."
At this time, the Duke of Zhao had just sent a document through the Ministry of War to the Governor of Yingzhou, "instructing the Governor of Yingzhou to withdraw his troops and explain that the court wanted to negotiate peace with Goguryeo, and to suspend the fighting for the time being."
But at the same time, all the departments were making preparations for the emperor to lead the army in person.
Gao You and his group were taken into custody directly. Even a fool could have sensed that something was wrong, so they kept clamoring to cause trouble. However, the Honglu Temple did not back down on them at all. They directly separated them from the Goguryeo guards and locked them up in the Tianlao Prison if they made trouble.
Gao You shouted angrily, "Even when two countries are at war, they don't kill envoys. Why are you arresting me?"
"Don't worry, Prince Gao. We won't kill the envoys. We know this little bit of etiquette. But to prevent you from colluding with Goguryeo and doing anything that would harm the Jin Dynasty, you will need to stay here for the time being. Don't worry, we will send you back to Goguryeo."
They will be sent back, and Gao You and his group will follow the army that leads the expedition.
Gao You almost vomited blood.
The emperor almost vomited blood. Although today was a day off, he still summoned many ministers to hold a small court meeting. After the important matters were discussed, the ministers told the emperor that they would make some small contributions to the military funds for the Eastern Expedition. Knowing that the national treasury is not rich now and the emperor is not well-off either, we can all understand.
But you can't use the stories of ghosts and gods to cheat the families of me and others out of their money, right?
This is very bad behavior. Even Confucius said, "Don't talk about strange things, supernatural powers, or gods..."
See you at 7pm
(End of this chapter)
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