Chapter 3183 Exceed
The emperor could only call Gu Zhong in and said to him, "Send someone to Daming Palace and quietly tell the empress that I am leaving the palace incognito. If I am quick, I will be back tonight. If not, I will definitely be back tomorrow morning."
He paused and then said, "This matter is not trivial. Tell the Crown Prince that if I don't come back tonight, let him guard the Daming Palace."
Now only the emperor and the crown prince live in the Taiji Palace. The empress and several princes' daughters moved to the Daming Palace as early as the summer began. The emperor occasionally takes a boat to visit the empress. In fact, it is because of the affairs in the south of the Yangtze River this year. It is too complicated and it is inconvenient for court officials to travel to and from the Daming Palace. Otherwise, the emperor and the crown prince would also go to the Daming Palace to escape the summer heat.
The Taiji Hall is located in a low-lying area, which is both humid and stuffy. Every summer, the emperor would feel irritable and restless when staying here, and he would rather live in the temporary palace.
Gu Zhong responded and left.
The emperor changed into a new set of clothes that was convenient for traveling. When he came out, Yin Li was already waiting for him in casual clothes with his guards.
"Your Majesty, the carriages and horses are ready."
"No need for a carriage. Let's ride as fast as we can and see if we can get back to the palace by sunset."
He was the emperor, so it was okay for him to sneak out and play from time to time, but if he didn't come home at night, that would make people scared and worried.
Yin Li naturally knew this as well. He nodded to his subordinates behind him, and everyone mounted their horses.
Mr. Zhuang: ...
Wei Zhi, who looked sick, also got on the horse, and everyone looked at Mr. Zhuang.
Mr. Zhuang, who always rode in a horse carriage, a mule cart, an ox cart, or a donkey, looked at them silently. It had been more than twenty years since he had ridden a horse.
Mr. Zhuang climbed onto the horse relatively smoothly. The emperor was worried, so he said to Yin Li, "Have someone drive the carriage back. Lord Wei is not feeling well, so he and Minister Zhuang will ride in the carriage together."
Wei Zhi immediately said, "There is nothing wrong with this minister. He can ride a horse. However, Minister Zhuang is old, so he should really take a carriage."
Mr. Zhuang said, "I can ride a horse too. Your Majesty and the others, please don't worry about me. Just go ahead and I'll ride slowly."
The emperor waved to the guards and said, "Lord Wei and Minister Zhuang, please take the carriage."
Several guards immediately dismounted and asked for help. Mr. Zhuang dismounted without resistance, but Wei Zhi argued for a long time and was finally carried to the carriage by the guards.
The emperor was satisfied and rode off. "You protect Lord Wei and Minister Zhuang. We will go ahead."
Wei Zhi pulled aside the curtains and watched the emperor and Yin Li and the others run away. He couldn't help but beat his chest and stamp his feet, "I wonder if His Majesty has honestly gone to Putian Village."
Mr. Zhuang hesitated and said, "The matter of grain is so important that Your Majesty will not be negligent. Your Excellency can rest assured."
Wei Zhicai was worried.
The emperor and Yin Li rode their horses out of the imperial city at full speed. After entering the inner city, there were more people around and they couldn't ride faster, so they ran forward at a slower pace.
As they ran, the emperor slowed down his horse and said to Yin Li, who was half a horse's length behind him, "I remember the wontons I ate when I left the palace last time..."
Yin Li: “…right in front.”
The emperor immediately said, "Let's go eat a bowl of wontons first. I haven't had lunch yet. Let's go."
Yin Li silently led his men to follow.
The wontons at this stall are delicious, so although the stall is small, there are many people eating there. In addition to eating at the stall, there are also people taking away. There is not enough space at the stall, so some people buy wontons and then squat on the roadside to eat them.
Yin Li paid for the wontons. Since they were already wrapped in advance and he had three pots cooking at the same time, he was not slow and served them quickly. He said apologetically, "Sir, our stall is small and there is no room for you at the moment. Please see..."
A guard took out a piece of silver and said, "Tell them to clear out a table."
"Hey," the emperor stopped the guard with his hand and said with a smile, "How can you be such a spendthrift? How much is a bowl of wontons? You can buy out the stall with this piece of silver."
The startled stall owner nodded repeatedly and quickly declined, "I can't afford so much money."
The emperor picked up his wontons, took a pair of chopsticks, and said with a smile: "We can eat it on the roadside. Eat quickly, don't let Wei Zhi catch up. If he knows that we are eating wontons on the road, it will delay our journey..."
The emperor squatted on the side of the road, and Yin Li also squatted beside the emperor with a bowl of noodles.
The two ate with gusto, sweating all over. Yin Li wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, then took out another and handed it to the emperor. Seeing the emperor's expression up close, he frowned slightly, "Master, are you feeling unwell?"
The emperor ate contentedly. After handing him the bowl, he smiled and said, "It's just hot, and I feel a little stuffy. It's nothing serious."
Yin Li nodded, took the bowl and went to the store to get a bowl of warm water. "Master, please drink some warm water. Master Zhou said that we should drink more warm water in summer and autumn."
The emperor took it, drank it all in one gulp, shook his head and said, "It seems that Yin Qing has also received her medical advice. Let's go, we will be back soon."
The group mounted their horses and left.
Wei Zhi and his men had already left the city earlier. Their carriages were galloping on the official road. The emperor caught up with them from behind, looking straight ahead as if he saw nothing. He kicked his horse's belly and quickly overtook it with his men.
Wei Zhi had been resting with his eyes closed in the shaking carriage, but because of the rapid sound of horse hooves, he couldn't help but look out the window, and saw the emperor and Yin Li, along with a group of guards, galloping past his carriage.
Wei Zhi: ...
The guards guarding the carriage: ...
If they hadn't been trained so strictly, they would have almost abandoned the carriage and followed the emperor and Yin Li.
The two teams "reunited" and then separated again without saying a word, and the guards guarding the carriage pretended not to see anything.
The emperor and his entourage rode fast and arrived at Putian Village first.
It was already the afternoon, after the sun was at its hottest, and many farmers had gone out to work in the fields, either harvesting rice or tying and carrying rice. There were also many people carrying baskets and picking up scraps in the fields.
The emperor slowed his horse down to a trot and looked at the golden fields. He couldn't help but smile, "It looks like this is indeed a good harvest."
Yin Li also smiled, "Congratulations, Your Majesty."
The emperor felt in a good mood and no longer felt bored. After running for a while, he happened to see people harvesting rice in the rice fields by the roadside, so he stopped his horse and got off.
The tenants in the fields also looked at them curiously, because people from the Zhou and Bai families often came here, and Zhou Silang's caravan made two or three trips back and forth every year. The villagers were accustomed to seeing horses and carriages entering the village.
The most noble ones have seen the crown prince and princess, and the prince consort is even more common. Although these people look rich, no matter how rich they are, can they be as valuable as the crown prince, princess and prince consort?
So although the tenant farmers looked at the emperor with curiosity, they were not timid. Instead, they stood up straight, holding their sickles in their hands and asked loudly, "Where are you from, my lord, and where are you going?"
Treat them as people asking for directions.
(End of this chapter)
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