88. Stroking the Emperor Against His Own Grain
The next day, Xie Wenling recovered from his illness and went to court, and offered to take Jin Lanyue to school.
However, the atmosphere inside the Wenhua Hall was somewhat somber today.
Qu Zijin was summoned to the Imperial Study and did not return. Inside the Wenhua Hall, the young prince sat alone in a corner, his eyes red like a little rabbit.
The little dumpling, the little princess, and the second brother looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.
Finally, the little dumpling tiptoed over: "Your Highness..."
The young prince looked up and forced a smile: "Little Moon."
The little princess and her second brother also came over.
The little princess, unusually considerate, handed over a handkerchief: "Here, wipe your tears."
"I...I didn't cry!" the little prince stubbornly insisted, but then took the handkerchief and blew his nose hard. "My mother has done so many bad things...I shouldn't be sad..."
His second brother patted him on the shoulder: "Your Highness, don't say that. She is still your mother."
The little dumpling took out a piece of candy from her purse: "Your Highness, eat some candy, and you won't cry."
The young prince took the candy, tears welling up again: "I'm sorry... my mother almost killed you, and she also harmed your uncle..."
“It’s not my fault, duck,” the little dumpling tilted its head, its little braid swaying with the movement, “Greetings, Your Highness!”
The little princess also came over and put her arm around the little prince's shoulder, saying, "That's right! From now on, I'll protect you!"
"Thank you...you are so kind..." the little prince said, crying.
"We're best friends! Forever best friends!" the little dumpling said firmly.
"Mmm! Good friend!"
The four children huddled together, without any barriers between them.
-
The Imperial Study.
Wei Xiuming flipped through the memorials with frustration.
Qu Zijin stood calmly before the desk, his hands hanging down.
"The more I think about it, the more I feel cheated," Wei Xiuming suddenly threw down the memorial. "That Xie Wenling kid, he's already a third-rank official at the age of twenty! The entire court now thinks he's my confidant!"
Qu Zijin neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply stated the matter at hand: "Your Majesty, Lord Xie shielded you from a calamity, and you should be compensated accordingly."
"But isn't he perfectly fine now? He looked perfectly healthy at court today. Ha, and there was even a bunch of people flattering and fawning over him..."
"So what?" Qu Zijin raised his eyes. "His recovery is due to his good fortune. Moreover, both Your Majesty and I have read his examination papers and seen his strategies. We know he is a rare talent. Now that he has recovered and can serve the court again, it is a good thing for the court. Your Majesty should not act impulsively and judge good and bad based on your own likes and dislikes."
Wei Xiuming became increasingly uncomfortable as he listened.
While it's true that honest advice, though unpleasant to hear, is beneficial, we can't completely go against it or go against all the rules.
He then narrowed his eyes and glanced at Qu Zijin: "My dear minister, you seem to admire him quite a bit?"
Qu Zijin remained neither humble nor arrogant: "I only admire those who can serve the court and those who can bring benefits to the people."
"Hmph," Wei Xiuming curled his lip, "Well, what can I do now that it's done? I can't just kill him because I don't like him..."
He was at least a wise ruler.
Qu Zijin didn't go along with it, so he tried to reason with him internally.
It's alright, it's alright, look how nice he is.
That scoundrel Qu Zijin always said things against his will, yet he still listened to him and adopted his advice.
There have been few emperors as virtuous as him throughout history.
After smoothing things over like this, Wei Xiuming felt much more at ease: "By the way, how is the child, the Princess of Fukang, doing these days?"
Qu Zijin suppressed the words of complaint that were about to spill from his mouth and changed the subject: "The county princess is innocent and carefree, and gets along very well with the little princess."
"That's good. I was really worried that she would be traumatized. Xie Wenling got all this good fortune for nothing... This kid is really lucky."
The topic has circled back to itself.
"Your Majesty, Lord Xie Wenling requests an audience," a palace attendant reported.
Wei Xiuming, who was chirping crickets at Xie Wenling, stopped and exchanged a glance with Qu Zijin.
Qu Zijin, who had just been speaking up for Xie Wenling, now lowered his eyes and stepped aside, his face as cold as frost.
"Announce." Wei Xiuming, on the contrary, had a warm smile on his face.
You'd think Qu Zijin was the one who spoke ill of Xie Wenling, and that he was the one who spoke up for him.
The palace doors opened slightly, and Xie Wenling stepped into the imperial study.
The ground was covered with a snow-white cashmere carpet. As he walked, his clothes fluttered, and his red skirt trailed behind him like red plum blossoms falling in the snow: "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Please rise quickly, my dear minister," Wei Xiuming said with a beaming smile, personally rising from his seat to help her up. "Are you feeling much better?"
Qu Zijin watched coldly, not wanting to pay any attention.
I don't want to deal with either of them.
Xie Wenling stood up and said, "Thanks to the county princess's good fortune, I am now out of danger."
Qu Zijin ignored him, but he took the initiative to turn to Qu Zijin and greet him: "Lord Qu".
Qu Zijin reluctantly turned around to return the greeting, his gaze sweeping across that beautiful, flawless face like an icy blade.
"You have rendered a great service, my dear minister, and I am deeply gratified," Wei Xiuming said warmly, pulling Xie Wenling to sit down at the lower end of the table. "I wonder what your plans are for the future?"
"Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty."
"Good! Good!" Wei Xiuming appeared pleased, but there was no smile in his eyes. "Having a young talent like you, my dear minister, is truly a blessing for the court!"
“However, Lord Xie has just recovered and should not overexert himself,” Wei Xiuming said with concern. “My dear minister, you should first familiarize yourself with your current position and take good care of your health.”
Without giving him a chance to explain or refuse, Wei Xiuming moved on to the next topic: "Speaking of which, you seem to be quite close to the Princess of Fukang County?"
Xie Wenling remained unmoved, as if he were being led by the topic: "Your subject and the Marquis are cousins. Both the Marquis and the County Princess have been kind to me, and the County Princess has saved my life. Naturally, I must do my best to live up to the County Princess's kindness."
"Is that so?" Wei Xiuming smiled warmly, but he didn't listen at all. "Speaking of which, you are now a third-rank official, and I have also bestowed a mansion upon you. It is probably not appropriate for you to always live in the Marquis's mansion, is it?"
He turned to Qu Zijin: "What does the Grand Tutor think?"
Qu Zijin, who was suddenly called out, was a little speechless. If His Majesty doesn't like something, he just doesn't like it. Why does His Majesty have to drag him into it?
But he couldn't help but reply: "It's only natural for relatives to visit each other. However, it's really against etiquette for Lord Xie to still be living in the Marquis's residence."
Well, he doesn't approve of it either.
“Yes,” Wei Xiuming suddenly said seriously, “Xie Aiqing, this won’t do, it will be criticized. I’m only doing this because I’m sincere towards you and I’m afraid your reputation will be damaged.”
The implication is—you better not be ungrateful and move out right now!
---
The little dumpling has something to say:
Little Dumpling: (Happy) Hello, beautiful sisters! It's the moon again today~ (*^▽^*)
Little Dumpling: (Leaning closer) Sister, do you have any little friends you like? You can bring them over to play, and adults can too.
Little dumpling: (Nervous) (Expectant) Just one five-star review would be great, please please~
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