"Is the Marquis not up to it?"
Cui Ming let out a soft exclamation.
"Shh, keep your voice down," Hongye hurriedly covered Cuiming's lips and whispered, "This is just my guess..."
Such a big thing couldn't be kept to herself, so Hongye poured out all her confusion to Cuiming.
Cui Ming's expression changed from shock to embarrassment, and finally she managed to calm down.
"You're worrying unnecessarily. The Marquis wouldn't do that. Have you forgotten that Miss studied medicine with Li Lang? If it didn't work, wouldn't Miss know?"
Hongye was starting to be convinced.
...
"What? The Marquis of Dingbei injured his manhood in the northern frontier?"
The Emperor was shocked and sat up straight. The memorial in his hand fell to the gold brick with a "thud". Old Wang whispered in his ear, "This is the news from the Imperial Physician. I heard that the Marquis of Dingbei's sister-in-law is seriously ill. It's only a matter of days. The Imperial Physician goes to check her pulse every day, but the Marquis of Dingbei stops him from seeing her."
The Emperor sighed, "Is the Marquis of Dingbei's line truly going to die out?"
Old Wang moved a little further away and said, "Your Majesty has forgotten that Sixth Master Gu is also a member of the Gu family."
The Emperor turned to look at Old Wang, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Isn't Sixth Master Gu trying his best to become a famous scholar? After writing poetry for so many years, he has finally figured it out and made it understandable to people. He... I'm afraid his child won't be able to go to the battlefield."
Old Wang's lips twitched involuntarily.
The Emperor read the collection of poems that the Crown Prince brought back from the Marquis of Dingbei's residence and praised several of them, especially those written by Scholar Qin. The Emperor read a few lines from one of the poems over and over again, as he still remembered them.
"This servant thinks that Master Gu's poems are now fluent and easy to understand, and quite good. Moreover, Master Gu's illustrations are also exquisite. It is said that talented young men and women from other provinces want to buy them for collection."
"oh?"
The Emperor raised his eyebrows and looked at Old Wang.
Old Wang straightened up, flicked the whisk in his hand, and said, "I heard that the new wife of the Marquis of Dingbei dotes on her younger brother-in-law, and of course, she also wants to promote her cousin. She had a collection of poems printed at her dowry shop. Originally, she only intended to give it away as a gift, but she didn't expect to sell so many. The Emperor also saw it. The printing is quite elegant and exquisite, and the embroidered portraits are also beautiful. It is very popular among young ladies, and many scholars from other provinces also want to buy it to collect."
He glanced at the Emperor's expression and lowered his voice.
"Doesn't that poetry collection also contain works by the Minister of Rites and the Provincial Education Commissioner?"
The Emperor understood, and after pondering for a while, he sighed, "The Lady of Dingbei did a wonderful job. I never expected that old-fashioned Qin Jijiu could have such a daughter. I heard she's a stunning beauty. What a pity. Is she living the life of a widow?"
Old Wang sighed, "...What...what can we do?"
Everyone has their own destiny.
He didn't want to become a eunuch.
The Emperor frowned and asked slowly, "Did the head of the Imperial Medical Academy... say... whether it can be cured?"
Old Wang shook his head.
If your manhood is damaged, how can it be treated?
It's not like you have kidney deficiency; drinking some tiger penis wine and taking some aphrodisiac pills will be fine.
Can missing parts grow back?
You shouldn't go to the head of the academy; you should go to the Taoist priest.
If the Marquis of Dingbei could grow taller, he would also like to try growing taller.
The Emperor remained silent for a long time, then sighed deeply and said softly, "Why do I find it hard to do this? Based on Gu Jinghui's merits, he should have been granted the title of Duke, but I dare not. Treating the Marquis of Dingbei's family well is an ancestral precept passed down from our ancestors. If it weren't for the Crown Prince... sigh... the Marquis of Dingbei's family has been guarding Daxing for generations."
Old Wang didn't respond. He lowered his head and pondered for a while before carefully saying, "Daxing will have no war in the future, and there will be no need for the Marquis of Dingbei. Madam Gu wants her children and grandchildren to study and take the imperial examinations. In the future, the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion will only have an empty title to pass down."
Moreover, it was passed down to Master Gu's bloodline.
The Marquis of Dingbei's mansion exists in name only, so what is there to worry about?
Upon hearing this, the Emperor felt relieved and thought for a moment before saying, "Go and have Editor Xia approve Gu Jinghui's memorial and forward it to the Ministry of Personnel so they can discuss how to handle it. Since the descendants of the Marquis of Dingbei will all be taking the imperial examinations in the future, we can't afford to offend all the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers."
Old Wang smiled and flattered, "Your Majesty is truly wise and benevolent, considering the long-term interests of your subjects. With a master like Your Majesty, who wouldn't be willing to give their life for the Great Xing Dynasty and for Your Majesty?"
"You old fool, you only say what I like to hear."
The emperor laughed heartily.
Old Wang said, "Then this servant will go and deliver the decree immediately."
The emperor was in a good mood and waved his hand, saying, "Go."
Old Wang shuffled to the west-facing warm pavilion and asked Editor Xia to find the memorial Gu Jinghui had previously submitted, reply to it, and forward it to the cabinet.
Xia Bianxiu was writing something. Upon hearing this, he put his pen to his ear and rummaged through the pile of folders on the table.
"The memorials submitted by the Marquis of Dingbei are all being kept in the palace and not issued. I wonder which one it is?"
Old Wang said, "The most recent one is about the imperial examination system in the capital."
"oh oh,"
Editor Xia found it, flipped through the memorial, and laughed, "Everyone says that Marquis Dingbei only knows how to fight, but in my opinion, he probably has some skills in the court as well. You can't write such words and phrases without spending a few years in the officialdom."
Old Wang snorted, "I'm afraid it's just a lucky guess. I watched that kid grow up, what kind of knowledge could he possibly have?"
Editor Xia then fell silent.
Old Wang watched as Xia Bianxiu took the pen off his ear, dipped it in ink, and put it into the pile of documents awaiting processing. Only then did he say, "I heard that the Marquis of Dingbei's residence may be holding a funeral soon. It's likely that the imperial decree will be issued after the cabinet has discussed it thoroughly. If those who don't understand the situation think that the emperor is mistreating his subjects because of this, then it would be your dereliction of duty."
Editor Xia grinned, thought for a moment, and said, "Do we really have to wait for him to finish in forty-nine days?"
Old Wang glared at him. "Just pass on the message. The old ministers in the cabinet all know what to do, understand?"
“I understand,” Editor Xia asked. “Anything else?”
“That’s it,” Old Wang turned around dejectedly, and only after leaving the warm pavilion did he snort, “What a piece of trash, he’ll probably be a clerk his whole life.”
Inside the warm room, Editor Xia spat out, "You old eunuch."
Old Wang didn't return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. He took a few steps, gave a few instructions to the eunuch guarding the gate, and then went back to his own courtyard.
As soon as he entered, the young eunuch who was guarding inside rushed out to greet him, saying, "Grandpa is back."
Old Wang nodded and was helped to sit in a rocking chair under the tree.
Immediately afterwards, a pot of tea that was neither too hot nor too cold was placed on the small table next to it.
"Grandpa, have some tea first, then I'll bring you your meal."
Old Wang took the tea, took a sip, and said, "Not bad, my throat is parched. I've been guarding the Hall of Mental Cultivation all day and haven't even had a sip of water."
Without something to hold your urine, you can't hold it in; if you drink too much water, you'll need to urinate.
They kept coming and going, afraid of bothering the emperor.
The young eunuch quipped, "Grandpa, you've worked hard. You seem to be in a good mood today. Did you receive a reward from the Emperor?"
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