Chapter 3246 Imperial Decree
Zhou Man returned to Beijing with only one carriage and five riders. Zheng and Xiao Qian took Bai Jingxing to the county town to wait for Zhou Silang to come back.
Bai Shan sent her out of the city, glanced at the busy official road, and warned her: "Be careful when you return to the capital. Now that we are grown up, our words and actions will no longer be regarded as childish words."
Zhou Man nodded and said, "I know, don't worry."
Bai Shan helped Zhou Man get into the car and nodded to Daji who was driving.
Zhou Man opened the curtain and waved to him, "Okay, go back now."
Although Bai Shan was told to go back, she kept looking out. Xibing knocked on the car wall, asked Daji to drive, and then poured Zhou Man a cup of tea. "Madam, would you like some tea to moisten your mouth?"
Zhou Man glanced back again and withdrew his gaze. "What kind of tea is this?"
"Almond brown sugar tea."
"...What a unique tea," Zhou Man stared, "Why haven't I heard of it?"
"Oh, Madam heard it from the Master, saying that almonds are good for pregnant women, so Madam had almonds ground and boiled into tea. Madam drank it and said it wasn't tasty, so she added brown sugar to it. Madam, try it."
Zhou Man took a sip, his eyes lit up, and he drank two sips carefully and said, "You know what, it tastes quite good."
Zhou Man and his crew's journey was not slow, but not particularly fast either. Daji kept a close eye on the itinerary, ensuring they could find a place to stay every time they stopped. They returned to the capital on the ninth day.
It's two days slower than riding a horse.
But people in the capital don’t know.
According to the old rules, normal official handovers, plus home leave, etc., are counted together. As long as the position change does not require expedited, each official has one month.
So although Zhou Man's arrival was not early, it was not late either. The court officials were quite satisfied with Zhou Man's speed as he only took five days to complete the entire handover.
When officials come to Beijing to report on their work, they must report to the Ministry of Personnel as soon as they arrive.
Zhou Man was the same. While she asked the guards to take her documents to the Ministry of Personnel to queue up for reporting, she was thinking about going home to wash and change clothes first, as she might be summoned by the palace later.
As a result, just as the guards with the documents left, before she could even return to Chongyuanfang, eunuchs and palace guards came chasing her on horseback, "Master Zhou, please stay!"
The carriage stopped, Zhou Man opened the curtain and looked at the people who came, "What are you doing?"
The eunuch held up an iron order and said, "The Empress has ordered Zhou Man to appear before the Emperor."
Zhou Man couldn't help but glance at Daji, and after a moment's thought, he nodded, "Let's go to the palace first, Daji. Go back to the mansion and report that I'm safe, so that they know I'm back."
"yes."
Daji jumped out of the carriage and asked another guard to drive.
The eunuchs and the imperial guards escorted the carriage forward. Daji watched the carriage leave and immediately got on his horse, taking the rest of the people back to Chongyuanfang.
Zhou Man helped Xibing get out of the car and looked up at the palace gate. Three years had passed since she last left, and the gate of Taiji Palace had not changed at all, except for the guards guarding the gate.
Zhou Man turned to the biscuits in the car and said, "You guys should go back first. There's no need to wait here."
Xibing and the guard agreed.
Zhou Man followed the eunuch into the palace, but not to the harem, but to the front hall of Taiji Hall.
Zhou Man couldn't help but take two quick steps to catch up with the eunuch leading the way and asked in a low voice, "What's your name, sir?"
The eunuch bent down and said, "I dare not address you in that way, Your Excellency. My name is Fulai."
Zhou Man praised: "What a nice name! I have never seen Lord Fulai in front of the Empress before. Has Lord Fulai only come to the Empress's side in the past two years?"
Fulai chuckled softly and said, "I used to be a small eunuch doing odd jobs in the Taiji Palace. It was only because my name was nice that His Majesty gave me to the Empress."
Zhou Man nodded and asked, "Is the Empress in the front hall now?"
Fu Lai shook his head and said, "It's the time for the court officials to discuss matters, why is the Empress in the front hall?"
Zhou Man: "...Didn't you say that Her Majesty summoned me to an audience?"
Fulai raised his head slightly, glanced at Zhou Man, and whispered, "Since you have returned to the capital to report on your work, shouldn't you come to see His Majesty?"
Zhou Man: ...
Something must have happened in the palace, no, something must have happened in the court, otherwise the queen would not interfere in the affairs of the court officials.
Zhou Man lowered his voice and asked, "Master Fulai, what happened in the court?"
"It's nothing, Master Zhou, don't worry too much," Fu Lai paused and said softly, "But it should be lunchtime soon. His Majesty has had a good appetite lately and always likes to keep the ministers in the palace to eat together. Calculating the date, today is the day when Master Na Luoer will present the elixir. After lunch, Master Na Luoer will help His Majesty take the elixir, and then he will meditate for a while in the afternoon. So Master Zhou, you have to hurry, otherwise you might not be able to finish your duties today after His Majesty has gone to lunch."
The eunuchs and maids in the palace were all very smart. Even though Zhou Man was popular, few of them could find out so much information at once.
When you don't give them money, they speak one sentence at a time. When you give them money, they speak one word at a time, and refuse to say a single extra word.
Zhou Man felt that such a long passage was definitely not what Fulai wanted to tell her, but the Queen Mother behind him.
As Zhou Man followed Fu Lai to the Taiji Hall, his mind began to wander. What was going on with the elixir? Who was that master?
Zhou Man asked, "Then what about Master Luo Er, he's not from the Central Plains?"
Fulai whispered, "Nara Sabo is from India. He returned to the capital with Lord Wang years ago."
"Which Lord Wang?"
"The newly appointed Imperial Court Official, Lord Wang, was previously on a diplomatic mission to India and was robbed by Central India. He then borrowed troops from Tubo and Nepal to annihilate Central India. Last year, he escorted the Central India king and his dignitaries back to the capital to present them as captives. Hasn't your Excellency heard of this?"
Zhou Man suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I've heard of it. It's quite famous."
Last year, Bai Erlang was so attracted to the storytellers' favorite story in the teahouses and restaurants in Beihai County that he left his government affairs and went to listen every day. As a result, he was beaten up by Bai Shan and Yin Huo.
"He also brought back a...master?" Zhou Man asked. "Tianzhu, could he be a Taoist priest?"
"No," Fulai said in a lower voice, looking around and almost inaudibly, "He's a monk."
Zhou Man: "Monks also make elixirs?"
Fulai had rarely left the palace, and the words he was about to say today were all taught by someone, so he didn't know, "Don't monks make elixirs?"
"I haven't studied this seriously. I'll go to Huguo Temple and ask Master Zhiren. Maybe it's a school of Buddhism. Taoism and Buddhism both have many schools." Zhou Man brought the subject back and asked, "So the Empress asked me to come and see the elixir?"
Fulai smiled and said, "I don't know about this."
Having said so much, it's up to you to decide.
(End of this chapter)
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