Chapter 3202: Attack on the Small Court Meeting
Seeing the eunuchs waiting anxiously, Zhou Man didn't dare to take the bread with him.
She snatched the two paper bags of snacks from Xibing's hand, stuffed them into her sleeves, ran out, took the reins from Daji's hand and mounted the horse.
"Why did Your Majesty suddenly summon me to a small court meeting?"
The eunuch who came was Gu Zhong's man, so he explained in detail: "His Majesty summoned all the gentlemen to a small court meeting early in the morning, and you were on the list at that time. However, the eunuch who notified them went to the Imperial Hospital but couldn't find anyone. He then went to the Chongwen Hall, but still no one. Finally, he went to the Imperial Medical Bureau..."
Zhou Manxin was so disappointed that she just slept in...
She rode her horse towards the imperial city, but she didn't dare to whip it too fast. She ran to the palace gate at a reduced speed. As soon as she got off the horse, she threw the reins to Daji, and ran towards the Taiji Hall as soon as she entered the palace gate.
Patrolling guards and passing eunuchs: ...
If I run like this in front of them, will they catch me or not?
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Man had already run to the steps of Taiji Palace and started running up. The guards turned a blind eye and pretended not to see.
Humph, do you think it’s easy to run up the stairs of the Taiji Hall?
When Zhou Man arrived at the Taiji Hall, she was out of breath. She took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her face, leaned against a big pillar, waved to the guards who were looking at her, and pointed to the door of the study.
The guard kindly told her, "The court meeting has been going on for almost an hour. Please go in."
Zhou Man shook his head, taking a deep breath and swallowing to moisten his throat, "Let's go in and report."
What if the emperor doesn't want her to attend the small court meeting?
Seeing that she refused to move, the guard did not dare to force her and turned around to go in and report.
Gu Zhong came out quickly and saw Zhou Man leaning against the pillar. He couldn't help but laugh, then lowered his voice and said, "Sir, it would be disrespectful to enter the palace like this. You should go to the side hall to freshen up."
Zhou Man nodded repeatedly, wishing for more.
Gu Zhong took Zhou Man to the side hall and asked someone to bring a basin of warm water.
Zhou Man poured herself a glass of water and felt better after drinking it. She glanced outside and asked softly, "Master Gu, why did His Majesty suddenly remember to summon me to a small court meeting?"
Gu Zhong smiled and said, "Master Zhou, have you forgotten what you told His Majesty about the Imperial Medical Bureau yesterday?"
Zhou Man slapped his forehead. "I thought these matters could be discussed with Xiao Yuanzheng and Luo Shucheng. Why did you have to look for me?"
After all, she is only the director of Qingzhou Medical Bureau in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Gu Zhong lowered his voice and said, "There are other government matters that His Majesty might want to ask about."
Zhou Man was thoughtful. "This isn't a matter related to the Imperial Medical Bureau. If I were to ask about politics, wouldn't the ministers in the court object?"
Gu Zhong didn't say anything. After the hot water came up, he wrung out the cloth for her. Zhou Man immediately came back to his senses and quickly took it. "Thank you, Master Gu. I can do it myself."
Gu Zhong smiled slightly and took a step back.
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only a few would call him Lord Gu, and Zhou Man was one of them.
Zhou Man wiped his face, tidied his hair, put on his official hat, poured himself a glass of water and drank it. Then he straightened his back and went in with Gu Zhong to meet the emperor.
The emperor raised his eyelids and looked at her. "Lord Zhou, where have you been so early this morning? I sent three groups of people to look for you but couldn't find you."
Zhou Man knelt down and admitted his fault. "Your Majesty, I was lazy and did not report to the yamen. Please forgive me."
The ministers sitting below were silent. Some knew that Old Lord Tang had a good relationship with Zhou Man, especially since there had been rumors behind the scenes recently. They thought that Old Lord Tang must have heard some rumors from Zhou Man, which allowed him to have a stronger advantage when the emperor asked for advice, and thus reap the fruit of the Left Prime Minister.
When the Wei family was offering condolences, many people saw the two of them walking together. Although they only walked for a distance on the road, who knows what they said?
Old Lord Tang sat there motionless, but as a former doctor of the Censorate, he did not accuse Zhou Man of neglecting his duties.
Yang Heshu, who was sitting next to Minister Liu, bowed and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, Lady Zhou has been busy with government affairs since returning to the capital. Today is a rare opportunity for her to have a day off. She usually only attends major court meetings, so it's understandable that she didn't know about the summons for the minor ones. Moreover, she is an exiled official."
It is also a rule that officials who have been sent out do not need to report for work when they return to Beijing.
Zhou Man knelt obediently.
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice said, "I remember that Lord Zhou was still a compiler at the Chongwen Academy. He wasn't an exiled official."
He said, "Lord Zhou is usually in Qingzhou, so he has no business taking care of the compilation work at Chongwenguan. But since he finally returns to the capital, he should at least take care of the government affairs of Chongwenguan, right?"
Zhou Man said honestly, "Your Majesty, I have never been negligent in compiling medical books for the Chongwen Academy. I have already submitted this year's manuscript."
Dean Xiao immediately said, "Yes, Chongwenguan has already submitted the manuscript to our Imperial Hospital for review by the imperial physicians. If there are no problems, it can be printed. This year, Mr. Zhou has already submitted two volumes, and the first volume of the medical book has been printed for the students to use."
The emperor wasn't particularly angry to begin with, as Zhou Man had indeed been summoned by him at short notice. So he raised his hand and said, "Stand up, sit down, and listen. We'll discuss the restructuring of the local medical bureau."
The Crown Prince suddenly said, "Father, Lady Zhou has returned to the capital after being exiled. She has no constraints. I don't know where to find her next time I need to attend a court meeting. It would be too much trouble. Why not order her to attend court meetings every day? That would save a lot of manpower."
Zhou Man: ...
The emperor nodded, thinking that this was a good idea, and gave the order on the spot.
Zhou Man could only bow his head in agreement, then stood up and walked to the seat next to Yang Heshu and sat down cross-legged.
Lord Tang and Minister Liu curled their lips and had no objection to this matter.
Minister Li glanced at Zhou Man, about to speak, but stopped himself. The emperor had already said, "Go on. Where were you?"
Old Master Tang said, "The Salt Transport Bureau entered Jiangnan and changed the salt production method."
Zhou Man's brows jumped, and he lowered his eyes and listened attentively, but what Gu Zhong had just said couldn't help but come to his mind.
Do you want to ask about politics?
She had been an official for many years, but she basically did not participate in other government affairs at the court meetings. Unless the emperor asked her specifically, she basically did not speak except for medical matters.
Because she knew that many people in the court had objections to women participating in politics. The reason why she could stand safely at the court meeting was that since it did not involve medical matters, she basically did not take the initiative to speak.
Zhou Man habitually listened to their political discussions. She sat in her seat, listening and thinking at the same time.
She knew what the prince meant. He was ostensibly reprimanding her, but in reality he was letting her into a small court meeting.
Not everyone can attend the emperor's small court meetings. Even Xiao Yuanzheng is not included three or four times out of ten.
Is this to allow her to participate in other political affairs as well?
I don’t know how Bai Shan felt after knowing this. Hehehe, it seems like she is one step ahead of him again.
Just as Zhou Man was daydreaming, she heard the emperor talking about the reform of the local medical bureau. She immediately sat up straight and looked up at Xiao Yuanzheng and Lord Luo who were sitting diagonally opposite her.
Good night
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(End of this chapter)
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