Chapter 3256 Xiaochao Meeting
When Zhou Man went out, it was already daybreak. Daji had prepared the carriage, and Xibing took the medicine box to the carriage. "My lady, shall I go to the palace with you?"
"No need," Zhou Man said, "There are medical assistants in the Imperial Hospital. It's inconvenient for you to go in and out of the palace. I will ask them to do it if there is anything."
Xibing agreed and did not go into the palace with Zhou Man.
Zhou Man left home early, and when she arrived at the palace gate, there were not many officials entering the palace. She first delivered the medicine box to the Imperial Hospital on the way, and then slowly walked towards the emperor's study while enjoying the winter scenery of Taiji Hall.
Most of the time, the small court meetings were held in the emperor's study.
When Zhou Man wandered over, several adults were already waiting there. They were all acquaintances, including Minister Han, Minister Li, and Minister Liu, and even Yang Heshu had come.
Zhou Man walked over and saluted everyone. Minister Liu pointed at Minister Cui and said with a smile, "Master Zhou, you haven't met Minister Cui and Minister Zhang yet, right? This is the new Minister Cui of the Ministry of Personnel, and this is the new Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Justice."
Minister Cui smiled and said, "I met him at lunch yesterday. Mr. Zhou is indeed worthy of his reputation."
Zhou Man had a smile on her face and was modest in her words, but she was confused in her heart. Did she demonstrate her medical skills yesterday?
Minister Zhang looked at Zhou Man and smiled, "This is the first time I've met Lord Zhou, but we two have a strong connection."
"Oh?" Zhou Man looked at Zhang Shangshu curiously. He didn't have much impression of him, but he looked a little familiar.
Yang Heshu, standing by, said with a smile, "You must have met Minister Zhang. Minister Zhang was once the governor of Jiannan Road. During that time, you, Bai Shan, and Bai Cheng studied in Yizhou."
Zhou Man suddenly remembered, "Oh, Duanwu, that, I have indeed seen him. It has been many years since we last met, but Master Zhang hasn't changed much, he is still so young."
Minister Zhang burst into laughter upon hearing this and said, "Mianzhou is also under the jurisdiction of Jiannan Road. As the Jiedushi, I can barely be considered as a parent official to Lord Zhou, not to mention the events of Yizhou back then. Although we have never met, we have collaborated on many occasions, so I say we are destined to be together."
"Yes, yes, I didn't expect that..."
After a few pleasantries, Gu Zhong came out and invited them in, and the others also arrived.
Zhou Man took a look around and found that except for the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Medical Bureau, which had three people coming, all other departments only had two people coming.
So there weren't many people, and everyone sat down in groups after entering the house.
This time the ranking was based on actual positions rather than titles, so Zhou Man sat below Xiao Yuanzheng, and below that was Lord Luo.
In here she was much closer to the emperor than at the grand court. There were only two rows between them. She could see the emperor as soon as she raised her head, and the emperor could see her just by raising his eyelids.
The worst thing was that the prince was sitting in the first seat opposite her, not very far away from her, and he could see her as soon as he looked up.
So Zhou Man didn't dare to doze off and just sat obediently after entering.
Fortunately, today's topic was the establishment of pharmacies in various departments of the Imperial Medical Bureau, so Zhou Man had something to say and was not sleepy.
She was so energetic throughout the morning court that even the emperor was surprised.
Zhou Man had been slacking off and sleeping during the grand court meetings for several years. He was not blind. Even though he was far away, he sat high up. He could not see everything that was going on below clearly, but he could still notice it after watching for so many years.
But because Zhou Man was only interested in medical skills and the Imperial Medical Bureau, she basically did not interfere in other state affairs. Her identity was somewhat special, and if she did not speak, the officials in the court would feel more comfortable, so the emperor often turned a blind eye and let it go.
It was only when he was in a bad mood, or when the results of the officials' discussions were not what he wanted, that he would call on Zhou Man to come out and speak, both to ease his mood and to disgust the officials.
Even without his roll call, she was able to listen to the morning court session attentively, which was rare.
The emperor glanced at Zhou Man, waved his hand, and announced the adjournment of the court. Everyone should go back to their work. Today's small court meeting ended here.
Zhou Man stood up and was about to leave with Xiao Yuanzheng when Gu Zhong trotted up and said, "Master Zhou, please wait. His Majesty wants you to discuss matters."
Lord Luo glanced at Zhou Man, then glanced at Xiao Yuanzheng, whose expression remained unchanged, and turned to leave.
Yang Heshu smiled at Zhou Man and followed Minister Liu away.
The prince also left, and suddenly only the emperor, Gu Zhong and Zhou Man were left in the room.
The emperor rolled up his sleeves and held out his hand. Zhou Man took the opportunity to feel his pulse and asked, "Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?"
The emperor lowered his eyes and glanced at her, "Detoxification."
"Oh, Your Majesty, that needle is too painful and damaging to the body. You can't get it too often. You have to wait at least half a month between each one."
"Where's the detoxifying soup?"
"We haven't figured out the ingredients in his elixir yet, so it's hard to formulate an antidote. We do have a universal antidote, but it's a bit toxic, and it's only moderately effective. It might even leave some toxic residue, making things more complicated. So, it's best not to use it." Zhou Man reassured the emperor, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I'll research the elixir as soon as I have time, and I'll definitely come up with an antidote as soon as possible."
The emperor frowned and asked, "Are you busy now?"
Zhou Man sighed and nodded.
The emperor said, "Go and take over your duties, and then hand over the matter to Dean Xiao and Lord Luo. You can focus on the detoxification work at the Imperial Hospital."
Zhou Man agreed. The emperor's health was naturally the most important thing, so...
Zhou Man glanced at the emperor secretly.
The emperor looked at her and asked, "What else?"
"Your Majesty, what do you plan to do with Narasavara?"
The emperor raised his eyebrows and asked her, "How do you want me to deal with him?"
"Your Majesty, no matter how you deal with him, whether it's imprisonment, torture, beheading, or something like that, before that, could you let me draw some blood from him so I can study his body?"
Emperor: "...Do you really believe he lived for two hundred years?"
Zhou Man was even more surprised than him, "...Your Majesty, you don't believe it?"
The emperor glanced at her calmly and said, "I have no intention of arresting him, nor of killing him. He remains in the Changsheng Temple. If you want his blood or something from his body, find a way to get it yourself."
Not only did the emperor not touch Narasava, he also ordered people to treat him with the utmost courtesy and not to neglect him.
Even Zhou Man, who prided herself on being so smart, couldn't figure out what he was going to do. She quietly discussed this with Xiao Yuanzheng, "Even if the poisoning can't be publicized, he has harmed His Majesty after all. There are still many ways to deal with him."
She snorted and said, "He refines one, two, three pills in one furnace. You can tell with your toes that he intercepted a lot of medicinal materials."
"With so many precious medicinal herbs, a simple check of the accounts would reveal his corruption. This method would expose him, not to mention the possibility of accusing him of spreading false information and misleading the public. Why doesn't Your Majesty punish him? Instead, he's treated so gently and politely."
Xiao Yuanzheng signed for her while saying, "Maybe it's to paralyze him so that you can take action against him later?"
"Luo Er is just one person, not from some aristocratic family. Why do we need to paralyze him?" Zhou Man said, "Just arrest him. Is there anyone who will come forward to speak up for him?"
(End of this chapter)
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