Chapter 3247 Sweet Talk
At this time, Zhou Man didn't take the elixir and Master Na Luoer seriously. As for the elixir, she knew about it. Not only had she seen the abbot and others in Xuandu Temple making it, but she also often watched the abbot Shouqing Temple and others making elixirs in her hometown. She had even made it herself. In fact, it was similar to the pills they made.
Some of the more precious elixirs require cinnabar, but that stuff is too expensive. Zhou Man has only watched Taoist priests refine them twice, once by the abbot of Shouqing Temple and once by the abbot of Xuandu Temple.
The other pills were actually similar to what Zhou Man and his team usually made. They were all made from herbs and used as medicine to treat diseases.
Therefore, Zhou Man felt that looking at elixirs was a very serious matter, and it could be considered her job as an imperial physician.
Until she heard the name of the elixir.
Fulai sent Zhou Man to the Taiji Hall and then respectfully withdrew, leaving Zhou Man to deal with it on his own.
Zhou Man looked down at her casual clothes and shoes, touched her hair, and finally sighed, "Forget it, it's still neat anyway. The emperor saw that she went to the palace to report on her work as soon as she arrived in Beijing, so he shouldn't punish her for her misconduct, right?"
Zhou Man bowed to the guards at the door and said, "Please announce that the Qingzhou Medical Bureau's Director Zhou Man wishes to see His Majesty."
The guard was an acquaintance. He glanced at her and then turned and went in.
After a while, Gu Zhong came out with a smile to invite her. As soon as he came out, he saw Zhou Man, who was dressed in plain clothes with only a pearl flower and a wooden hairpin on his head. He stopped and said, "Hey, Master Zhou, why are you not wearing official uniform?"
Zhou Man spread his hands and said, "What can I do? I just arrived in the capital... Oh, as soon as I arrived in the capital, I missed Your Majesty terribly. I have so much to say to Your Majesty, so I couldn't wait to go home and wash up and came to the palace first. Lord Gu, is Your Majesty free now to listen to my report?"
"Come in."
When Gu Zhong heard this, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, immediately stepped aside, bent down and respectfully saluted the prince who had stood behind him at some point.
The Crown Prince glanced at Zhou Man with disdain and said to Gu Zhong, "Go prepare lunch. Father wants to invite the court officials to dine together."
"Yes!" Gu Zhong glanced at Zhou Man secretly, and calmly winked in the direction of the prince.
Zhou Man understood what he meant and immediately followed the prince's footsteps, hugging his thighs tightly.
When we entered the hall, the meeting had come to a temporary halt and the emperor was sitting on the dragon throne chatting with his ministers.
In fact, there were not many ministers. Zhou Man took a quick look and found that most of them were familiar faces, only about twelve or thirteen people.
After taking a quick glance, Zhou Man walked to the center of the hall and knelt down to pay his respects.
The emperor's eyesight wasn't very good. He squinted at her for a long moment before saying, "Zhou Man, how come you've become so emaciated after just two or three years? Have you been suffering in Qingzhou?"
Zhou Man knew the emperor's preferences. He liked bright colors, especially gorgeous and luxurious ones.
In the past, when Zhou Man was in the palace, he mostly wore official uniform. When he was not wearing official uniform, his casual clothes were mainly brightly colored. It was rare for him to wear gray clothes like today, especially without even a decent ornament on his head.
But… who would dress up specially for riding in a carriage? If you sleep leaning against or lying down in the carriage, of course the less jewelry on your head the better;
As for clothes, when going out, even if riding in a carriage, there would be clouds of dust, so of course she should wear clothes that are resistant to dirt, and she just needs to wear something comfortable underneath. But could she tell these reasons to the emperor?
Zhou Man stood up and said solemnly and respectfully, "Your Majesty, I haven't suffered much in Qingzhou. The reason you think I've lost weight is because you haven't seen me for a long time. Do you miss me?"
"Actually, I missed Your Majesty, so as soon as I arrived in Beijing, I wanted to rush to the palace to see Your Majesty. I didn't have time to wash or change clothes. Please forgive my impropriety."
The emperor was delighted to hear this. Without waiting for her to kneel down completely, he waved his hand and said, "It's not a big deal. Why should I be so stingy? Get up quickly."
The emperor also sighed, "I miss Mr. Zhou too."
The ministers were already accustomed to the emperor's occasional sweet words, but what they were not used to was Zhou Man's sweet words.
He couldn't help but look up and stare at her, and only looked away after confirming that the person standing in the middle of the hall was really Zhou Man.
It turns out that speaking out is a touchstone. He has only been away for a few years, but he has become so smooth-talking after coming back.
The emperor was very happy to see Zhou Man. He had a seat added for her below Xiao Yuanzheng's. He said to his attendants, "Since Lord Zhou has returned to the capital today, we will not have lunch in this hall. Go, have Gu Zhong set up lunch in the garden."
The emperor smiled and said, "Lord Zhou, you haven't been back to the capital for a long time. I'm afraid you've forgotten the scenery of the capital. Let's have a meal in the garden today while enjoying the scenery."
He added, "We've invited Master Na Luoer to come over. Zhou Man, Master Na Luoer is also very skilled in medicine. You two could exchange ideas and perhaps gain something from each other."
Zhou Man loved exchanging medical knowledge with others, especially with a foreigner. This was a good opportunity to learn about foreign medical standards. So she nodded happily and promised, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely learn and exchange with Master Na Luoer."
The emperor nodded in satisfaction, but the ministers were choked by the tea and saliva. Learning and communication?
They asked her to come back to deal with Na Luoer, not to let them become a team.
Some ministers looked at Zhou Man in horror. Could it be that after being exiled for five years, Zhou Man not only learned to be smooth-talking, but also learned to be a treacherous minister?
But she seemed quite normal when she returned to Beijing three years ago.
The prince glanced at the ministers and looked away, too lazy to look at them. They were a bunch of cowards, so scared that they were afraid to persuade his father to take a pill. If it weren't for his wrong status and the fact that he couldn't say much about such things, he would have thrown all his father's pills into the water long ago.
The lunch location was moved to a bright garden. It was bright, actually. Although it was winter, there were still green trees and... flowers in the garden, well, mostly chrysanthemums.
But it's also very nice, most importantly the lighting is good.
Sitting in the open pavilion, the seats were rearranged, and Zhou Man sat below the Crown Prince, diagonally opposite Old Master Tang. She was extremely close to the Emperor, so close that the Emperor could finally see her face clearly. He couldn't help but smile and nodded, saying, "You have really grown up."
The emperor sat down in the main seat and said to her, "Okay, let's talk while we eat. If you want to report on your work, you can do so here."
She had thought of the performance report on the way back and had even written the form, so she didn't have to think about it and just started talking.
The emperor and his ministers had lunch while she was talking. It was a delicious meal and they gained a lot of knowledge after the meal.
(End of this chapter)
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