Chapter 124 Opening
Concubine Jing's words made Emperor Tai'an consider choosing a Crown Princess, but he did not say much. He left Ningxin Palace and returned to the warm room, thinking about the right family in his mind.
The brazier in the warm room burned brightly, and the aroma from the gilded double-dragon incense burner was a bit pungent. Emperor Tai'an rubbed his brows and ordered the chief eunuch Liu Chuan, "Call Mr. Wang over."
Liu Chuan responded respectfully and quickly sent someone to invite Master Mingxin.
Soon, Master Mingxin came with the eunuchs and saw Liu Chuan. He nodded politely and said, "Eunuch Liu."
"Mr. Wang, please come in. The emperor has been waiting for you for a while." Liu Chuan smiled, but felt uncomfortable in his heart.
He had expected the old prince to be kept in the palace, after all, he knew the lost art of acupuncture for pain relief. But he never expected that the old prince would win the emperor's favor with his unique massage skills.
These days, whenever the emperor feels his head is heavy, he will ask Lao Wang to give him a massage, and he has become almost dependent on him.
This made Liu Chuan alert.
Could it be that this old guy is going to steal his place in the emperor's heart?
Zhenren Mingxin walked in and saluted Emperor Tai'an.
"Mr. Wang, come and give me a head massage."
Immediately, a palace maid brought a basin of water, soft towels and other things to help Master Mingxin wash his hands, and then handed him a hand warmer to warm his hands.
Master Mingxin was very familiar with this process. He performed it smoothly and then walked behind Emperor Tai'an to massage his forehead.
Emperor Tai'an quickly relaxed his expression.
Liu Chuan looked at it again and again, and became more and more confused.
It was obviously an ordinary skill and seemed like he could learn it at a glance, so why was it that when he tried to give the emperor a massage, the emperor told him to get lost?
Liu Chuan lowered his eyes and decided to stop learning because out of sight, out of mind.
After a while, Emperor Tai'an felt his mind was much clearer and he heaved a sigh of relief: "Thanks to Mr. Wang, my old headache has been relieved a lot."
The throne was not easy to sit on, and those years were the time when the Qi people were at their most rampant, with internal and external troubles. Over time, he began to have headaches. Although it was not serious, it was still annoying from time to time. I didn't expect Mr. Wang to have such a skill.
"Mr. Wang, how is the prince's hand recovering?"
When Emperor Tai'an asked this question, the other palace people retreated, leaving only Liu Chuan and two highly skilled internal guards present.
Unlike the hesitant and hesitant person he had been when he asked the imperial physician about his condition, Master Mingxin said calmly, "It doesn't look like things are going well at the moment."
Emperor Tai'an looked a little unhappy.
At present, the officials have not noticed anything unusual about the prince's left hand. If they did, they would discuss it.
Although the clumsiness of the left hand does not have a big impact, it is still a defect.
"Mr. Wang is so talented, don't you have any solution?"
"Your Majesty, you are overly kind. I only know a few tricks, not superb medical skills. Your Highness the Crown Prince's left hand still needs to be slowly healed under the guidance of the Imperial Physician. This cannot be rushed."
Emperor Tai'an sighed in disappointment, "The Crown Prince is causing me so much worry. The Qi people have been making more and more small moves lately, and there are often reports of harassment on the border, which makes me worried."
When it came to state affairs, Master Mingxin was tactful and did not respond.
A burst of hurried footsteps was heard, Liu Chuan walked over, took the urgent report and presented it to Emperor Tai'an.
Emperor Tai'an opened the report and threw it onto the table, his face livid with anger: "How can this be possible!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down and don't let your health be damaged by anger." Liu Chuan advised.
"How can I calm my anger?" Emperor Tai'an pointed at the report. "The Qi people are too arrogant. Not only have they looted the property of a village on the border, they have also abducted dozens of women. Liu Chuan, you must immediately summon the six ministries and nine officials to the palace to discuss this matter."
Liu Chuan took the order and left. Emperor Tai'an paced a few steps with his hands behind his back before he remembered that Master Mingxin was still present.
"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Mr. Wang."
Ming Xin Zhenren bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, your words are very embarrassing to me."
"Has Mr. Wang ever been to the north?"
Master Mingxin shook his head: "I have never been there."
"Mr. Wang has never witnessed the barbarity and brutality of the Qi people. After a few battles in the early years, the Qi people became more obedient, but in the past two years, they have been thinking about attacking the Great Zhou again."
"I don't quite understand these. I just remember that there were many casualties in those wars in the early years." Master Mingxin said this, but in fact he admired Emperor Tai'an for daring to go to war with the Qi people.
When there is no way to retreat, paying compensation and ceding territory will only bring more greed. Only bloodshed can defend the country and the people. It's a pity that the monarch does not understand.
Mingxin Zhenren was loyal to Emperor Pingle, but he did not agree with Emperor Pingle's approach of seeking peace through compromise.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Tai'an's eyes darkened, his expression filled with helplessness and anger: "Without casualties, how could we have had peace and stability over the years?"
He recalled the difficulties he had faced when he insisted on fighting, and then thought that there would be more people in favor of peace and fewer people in favor of war at the meeting later, and the headache that had just been relieved came back.
"Mr. Wang, give me another massage."
Master Mingxin quietly massaged Emperor Tai'an, and his mood became complicated.
Ministers arrived one after another, and Emperor Tai'an allowed Master Mingxin to leave. The discussion lasted until the lights came on, and Master Mingxin was summoned to give a head massage. The lights in the warm room stayed on almost all night.
Not many people knew what was happening in the court, and the capital was still shrouded in the joy of the New Year.
On the ninth day of the first lunar month, an inconspicuous restaurant opened.
The restaurant is quite spacious, with no private rooms. The hall is filled with square tables and benches, and the tables and chairs only look 70% new.
Lin Hao looked at the person who brought her here with mixed feelings: "Prince, is it difficult for us to raise funds to open a shop?"
If she had known this, she would have paid two hundred taels.
Qi Shuo was wearing a blue cotton gown made of ordinary material today. He looked at Lin Hao, who was dressed as a teenager, and smiled slightly. "With Miss Lin as a partner, funding is not a problem. However, the customers of this restaurant are mainly ordinary people. They feel at ease if the tables and chairs are a little old."
When Lin Hao heard this, he nodded involuntarily: "The prince is really thoughtful."
As the firecrackers crackled, many people stopped to watch. A waiter with a white towel draped over his shoulder shouted, "A bowl of mutton bone soup and two large steamed buns for only three cents. Come and try it if you're passing by—"
A bowl of soup and two steamed buns cost three cents, which was neither expensive nor cheap. People were curious and wanted to watch the fun, but no one wanted to be the first to try it.
The waiter was not discouraged and shouted even louder: "We have both clear and spicy mutton bone soup. The clear soup is delicious, and a bowl of spicy soup with steamed buns can warm your body all day long. We also give you two cloves of pickled garlic..."
Many people swallowed subconsciously after listening to the waiter's description.
It sounds delicious, would you like to try it?
At that moment, several people walked in, swept away the plain (shabby) environment in the lobby, and felt relieved.
It doesn't look like they would rip off customers.
"Give me a bowl of spicy mutton bone soup and two steamed buns." The first person to speak was a burly man, who reminded me, "Don't forget to pickle the garlic."
The waiter responded with "OK" and quickly brought the food over.
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