Chapter 138 Chapter 138
[Chapter 138]
The other adults looked at each other with their eyes and noses, but they were all clear in their minds.
It is not known whether Lord Ji is trying to hide his incompetence or is truly ignorant, but the Yellow River floods are an old problem left over from the previous dynasty. This dynasty has been experiencing unrest year after year for three years, and the people have been displaced. Everyone understands that this is a hot potato, so naturally they will not say much.
But the Lord Ji in front of him was different. It was said that in his answer sheet for the imperial examination, Lord Ji wrote an article about floods, which caught the eye of the chief examiner. When it was presented to the emperor, it completely caught the emperor's eye.
This year, the Emperor intends to select young men from poor families, which is why Lord Ji's career is so smooth now.
When Yan Shiyu heard Ji Juebai's words, his eyes opened and he withdrew his hand from tapping the table. He said coldly, "I have seen your test paper, and it doesn't say that."
Ji Juebai's throat was rolling. His mind was in a fuzzy state and he couldn't remember anything.
Yan Shiyu withdrew his gaze from him, "Wei Maoyuan!"
Wei Maoyuan had been with the emperor for so many years, so he could not tell that this was a sign of the emperor's anger. He walked to Ji Juebai's side and said respectfully, "Master Ji, this way."
Ji Chebai was frightened by the emperor's rage and could only follow Wei Maoyuan away and into the side hall, blocking out all the sounds from the outer hall, leaving only Ji Chebai's heavy breathing.
He rubbed his brows and saw the eunuch bringing him some hangover-relief tea, which he drank in one gulp.
An hour later, the sound of conversation in the outer hall faded away, and the two adults who were scolded bitterly walked out of the Zichen Palace with their pants down and their urine streaming.
As the cold wind blew outside, the sweat they had just produced in the inner hall now stuck to their official robes. However, the two gentlemen dared not complain. They just looked at the eunuch Yuqian who escorted them out and asked:
"Eunuch Wei, what happened to the emperor today?"
Wei Maoyuan looked embarrassed, glanced at the side hall and said, "Your Majesty is also worried about the Yellow River flood."
When the two gentlemen heard this, they looked at each other and hurried to discuss countermeasures. Otherwise, who could bear to face the emperor like this every day?
Wei Maoyuan was also in great trouble and looked towards the side hall with complicated eyes.
Young Master Yu did not leave. "Your Majesty, it seems that the reason you came to visit Master Ji today is not just because of the Yellow River flood?"
Young Master Yu had never said this before, and he dared not to try to understand the emperor's mind. Yan Shiyu looked up at him, and Young Master Yu knelt down and said, "I have spoken out of turn. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Yan Shiyu put down the pen in his hand and rubbed his brow, "Today you are not a court official, but just my best friend."
"sit."
He bent his fingertips and knocked on the table, and the young prince Yu sat down next to the emperor.
Seeing that the emperor looked unhappy, Prince Yu's words were stuck on his lips, and it took a long time before he said: "Your Majesty is worried about the flood of the Yellow River?"
Yan Shiyu raised his hand and stopped Young Master Yu from talking immediately. He asked about something unimportant, "How is Madam Tai doing these days?"
Speaking of his grandmother, Young Prince Yu was relieved. "She is much better than before. She even said that she plans to go to the manor to soak in the hot springs in winter."
Yan Shiyu had no intention of caring about Young Master Yu's family affairs, but Young Master Yu could see through it when he asked casually.
No matter what the emperor said, he and the emperor were monarch and subject after all. Since the emperor didn't say anything at this moment, he wouldn't say anything casually.
Thinking of Ji Juebai who was still imprisoned in the side hall, Yan Shiyu asked, "How is the official assessment going?"
Talking about business, Young Master Yu said solemnly: "The Ministry of Personnel has given me the list. I will be able to sort it out in the next two days and present it to the emperor."
Yan Shiyu did not ask what happened, but asked one person first:
"Ji Juebai from the Ministry of Rites in the side hall, sort out his rules first."
Young Master Yu looked towards the side hall in surprise, and only realized his mistake when he looked away. He stood up and said, "Master Ji is a new Jinshi this year. The official assessment has already been conducted, but Master Ji has not been included."
Yan Shiyu folded his hands in front of him, sat back casually, and said something with a heavy pressure, "He has been an official in the court for almost half a year. If he doesn't have it, then go ahead and do it."
Young Master Yu heard the anger in the emperor's tone and immediately stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Yes, I will do it."
Yan Shiyu said "hmm" in a neutral tone, "Go to Yangzhou in person. I have something to tell you."
Under the puzzled gaze of Young Master Yu, Yan Shi opened his lips and uttered a few words slowly.
In a short moment, the expression on Prince Yu's face changed slightly. In the end, after some hesitation, he agreed to the deal.
Side Hall
When Wei Maoyuan entered, Ji Juebai was almost sober, but the strong smell of alcohol was still on his body.
Wei Maoyuan quickly adjusted his facial expression, walked over and said, "Master Ji, the emperor asked me to escort you out of the palace."
Ji Juebai nodded solemnly and spoke very slowly, "Thank you, Eunuch Wei."
Wei Maoyuan said politely, "I don't deserve it."
After sending Ji Juebai out of the palace, Wei Maoyuan only walked to the outside of the hall and did not go any further. He then asked Xiao Muzi to go there.
Little Muzi was also a smart person. After sending Ji Juebai out of the palace, he went to find his master, "Master, Master Ji has already left the palace."
Wei Maoyuan nodded to indicate that he knew. Little Muzi curiously asked, "Master Ji, does the emperor have a favorable opinion of him?"
Staring at Xiao Muzi, Wei Maoyuan said, "Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask, and don't say anything else."
After being scolded by his master for no reason, little Muzi had no choice but to stop asking questions.
Wei Maoyuan took a look into the inner hall and figured out something else.
…
Winter was coming very quickly, and the Queen's illness was taking a long time to recover.
The heater in Linxuan Palace was burning brightly. The cashmere blanket on Ruan Yun's body fell off. She listened to Chunqing telling her about the nanny in the West Third House:
"I have already found out that the first group that tried to throw Madam into the well was led by Lady Zhang, and the next group was led by Concubine De."
Ruan Jun glanced at him, then held Dongdong in her arms and patted him gently to coax him to sleep. She then placed her hand, which had taken off its armor, gently against his ear. Even though Dongdong couldn't understand now, she didn't want him to hear:
"Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
Chunqing leaned down even lower, "There won't be any mistakes, don't worry, Your Majesty."
Ruan Yun nodded to show that she knew, and turned to look at Ji Zhaoyi. Seeing that she was still so comfortable, she couldn't help but ask, "You've heard so much, don't you have anything else to say?"
Ji Zhaoyi was watching Ruan Yun's movements with tender eyes, and said, "Sister Ying has thought it through, but she still wants me to help."
The wet nurse took Dongdong away, and Ji Zhaoyi looked away, "Sister Ying, when are you going to take action?"
"You are good at dodging." Ruan Jun chuckled, but did not say that Ji Zhaoyi was wrong. "De Fei is very meticulous and hard to deal with. Concubine Zhang is getting worse and worse. It would be a good idea to start with her."
Since Concubine Zhang wants the nanny to die, the nanny must know Concubine Zhang's past secrets. If you want to make someone completely panic, the best way is to make her lose her mind.
Looking at the snow outside, Ruan Yun frowned and said, "I'm afraid I won't be at peace this year."
Ji Zhaoyi put some milk tea in Ruan Yun's hand and said, "Don't worry, Sister Ying. If it doesn't work, I'm here for you."
Ruan Jun thought for a moment, and after thinking it over, she still didn't tell her about Ji Jubai. Now was not the right time.
…
Shoukang Palace
The Queen Mother was reading Buddhist scriptures with a bad look on her face. Aunt Jingqiao was rubbing her shoulders.
Seeing the snow outside getting heavier, the empress dowager frowned and asked, "The emperor hasn't come yet."
Aunt Jingqiao also wanted to ease the relationship between the Queen Mother and her son. "Queen Mother, please wait a little longer. It's hard to travel in the snow. Besides, it's almost the end of the year. The Emperor is busy with state affairs, so it's possible that he's delayed."
Ever since Concubine Ying gave birth to a son, the Empress Dowager said that the Emperor had not entered the harem for a long time. Since then, the Emperor has never come to Shoukang Palace again.
Not to mention the Queen Mother, even Aunt Jingqiao could see why the Emperor didn't come.
But it is hard to change the emperor's mind. Such behavior made the empress dowager very angry, and she even said that the emperor was unfilial.
But the Emperor remained indifferent. He continued to do what he had to do. He visited Concubine Xian once a month, but it always seemed like he was trying to shut the Empress Dowager up.
The Empress Dowager has been ill for many years and the Emperor has never shown up. If today was not the Empress Dowager's birthday, I'm afraid the Emperor would not have come to Shoukang Palace.
The Empress Dowager had said that she wanted to hold a birthday celebration for the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager said that it was not necessary. The Empress did not know the reason behind it, but Aunt Jingqiao knew it very well. If a birthday celebration was held at this time, in front of the princes and ministers, it would show that there was a rift between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, and the royal family would lose all their reputation.
Aunt Jingqiao added, "Don't worry, Queen Mother. Since the Emperor has agreed, he will definitely come."
The Queen Mother closed her eyes and had a calm expression on her face, but her tightly pursed lips still revealed her emotions.
The imperial staff fell outside the gate of Shoukang Palace. Wei Maoyuan originally wanted to turn around and wait for the emperor to come down, but he saw the emperor's fingers gently resting on the edge of the staff, and he immediately dared not say a word.
The emperor has been in a bad mood recently, so he had to come to Shoukang Palace.
After a moment of silence, Yan Shiyu stepped down from the imperial procession and entered Shoukang Palace. He politely greeted the empress dowager, "Mother."
Seeing Yan Shiyu coming, the empress dowager finally put her worries at ease. After all, he was the prince who was raised by her, so how could she not love him?
But there was always a gap between the two because of the past events. The Empress Dowager softened her tone and said, "It's cold these days. The Emperor should wear more clothes. No matter how busy he is with government affairs, he should remember to eat."
Yan Shiyu sat beside the Queen Mother, lifted the curtain and looked at her, "Son understands."
The Queen Mother wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Yan Shiyu, "Your mother's birthday should have been celebrated with great fanfare. It's my son's fault."
The Queen Mother waved her hands and said, "It's not important to me. What's important is you. I'm very happy that you have this heart."
He gave a wink to Aunt Jingqiao, who immediately told her servants to serve the meal.
The Queen Mother said nothing more at the table, and the two of them had a very quiet meal.
After finishing the meal, Yan Shiyu washed his hands and was about to leave, but the Queen Mother stopped him, frowning and saying, "I know you don't like to hear me say this. You dote on Concubine Ying, and you have never been to other concubines except her. It's lonely in the palace. Have you ever thought about them?"
Yan Shiyu didn't say anything for a long time, then he stood up and said, "It's been a long time since I last visited Concubine Xian. It's time for my son to go and see her."
The Queen Mother showed a relieved smile on her face, and then she heard Yan Shiyu's next sentence:
"When your mother was favored by the late emperor, did you ever think of sharing your favor with others?"
"It seems that the Queen Mother's illness has improved a lot. After the busy year is over, the Queen Mother should return to Mount Putuo to practice in seclusion. The unrest in the palace always disturbs the Queen Mother."
Without waiting for the Queen Mother to speak, Yan Shiyu left.
The Queen Mother sat down, holding her chest with her hands, her eyes filled with sadness.
How could she and her prince come to this?
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