Dining room.
Kong Wenmin was starving. Seeing Chen Qingxuan taking out sweet and sour pork and pork ribs from the food box, his eyes immediately lit up. He quickly ordered the guards to serve him a small bowl of rice, and then he sat at the table and wolfed it down, finishing more than half of the rice. Only then did he slow down and noticed that Chen Qingxuan was still sitting at the table. He immediately felt embarrassed. Looking at the food that he had almost eaten up, he asked Chen Qingxuan awkwardly: "Qingxuan, have you eaten yet? Or... would you like to eat some more?"
Chen Qingxuan said with a dark face: "Why don't you just ask after you finish eating?"
"I'm really hungry." Kong Wenmin put down his chopsticks in a hurry, wiped his mouth casually, and stood up to walk out. "Qingxuan, wait a minute, I'll ask the chef to cook two dishes and bring them over."
"No need!" Chen Qingxuan hurriedly called Kong Wenmin, taking out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick cage and wiping them. He then casually took a bowl from the table and took a bowl of rice from the half bowl of rice that Kong Wenmin had left. Then he ate it while looking at Kong Wenmin who was still standing there in a daze. Chen Qingxuan pointed at the food on the table, "Hurry up and sit down to eat. It's almost cold, why are you standing there?"
"Qingxuan, you...why don't you dislike me?" Kong Wenmin sat down obediently. While picking up the chopsticks, he smiled at Chen Qingxuan.
“Or you could cook two more dishes for me.” Chen Qingxuan looked at his silly face. He wanted to laugh, but also felt inexplicably happy. He felt embarrassed to continue staring at him, so he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
"Next time I'll prepare eight dishes and eight bowls to entertain you. I'm sorry for letting you down this time," Kong Wenmin still smiled, glancing at Chen Qingxuan while lowering his head to eat his meal. When he spoke again, his words were vague, "Anyway, you don't dislike me."
Chen Qingxuan pretended not to hear and continued to eat. He was not full in the imperial study just now, so he followed Kong Wenmin to grab some leftovers and ate them with relish.
Kong Wenmin had nothing to do in the afternoon, and neither did Chen Qingxuan, so after dinner, no one was in a hurry to leave. The two of them sat in the dining room drinking tea and chatting. They both had heavy burdens on their shoulders now, and it was a rare opportunity to have half a day of leisure like today.
"The date for His Majesty's coronation ceremony has been set. I'm sure your Ministry of Rites will be very busy again, right?" Kong Wenmin asked.
"We don't have any horses in the Ministry of Rites, so where do all these people and horses come from?" Chen Qingxuan glared at him, took a sip of tea, and said, "It's not easy. I've just become the Minister of Rites. I don't know anything and I don't understand anything. And An Zishang is now a hands-off boss, so I have to carry all the heavy burdens by myself. Sigh!"
Ever since An Zishang poisoned his own daughter, Da'an, to death in Prince Rong's mansion, he has been traumatized and seriously ill, having been bedridden for more than two months. Zhong Mingwei has always disliked An Zishang, but if he dismissed An Zishang at this time, it would inevitably seem inhumane. In addition, it was well known that Da'an was once Zhong Mingwei's concubine, so it would be even more difficult for Zhong Mingwei to take action against An Zishang. Therefore, he ignored An Zishang and let him recuperate at home. Therefore, all matters of the Ministry of Rites are now handled by Chen Qingxuan.
"My master is intentionally training you. I'm afraid An Zishang is not going to make it. I heard that he can't even get out of bed now. I'm afraid he won't even make it through the end of the year. Once An Zishang is gone, the position of Minister of Rites will naturally fall to you," Kong Wenmin said slowly. While taking a sip of tea, he suddenly said silently, "I don't know if Madam Pang can make it back to the capital to see An Zishang for the last time."
The Madam Pang that Kong Wenmin mentioned was naturally Mrs. An. After Zhong Mingwei proclaimed himself emperor, he sent Kong Wenjie to Ningguta to deliver the message, instructing everyone to rush back to the capital after Mrs. An finished her confinement. According to the calculation, Pang Yi and others should be able to return to the capital before November, but it is not known whether Mrs. An Zishang can hold on until then.
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