Chapter 337 Who bullied her? Climbing onto her thigh
After the tightly closed doors of the Qin Zheng Hall were opened.
The two ministers in the hall took a brief breath, and Xiao Dongzi immediately led the palace servants in to add tea and water.
Lu Juan, sitting on the lower right, looked exhausted. The wrinkles between his brows were deep, and he had dark circles under his eyes, a testament to the hard work he had been doing these past few days.
He glanced at Duan Mingfeng beside him.
They found that the Imperial City Envoy was in good spirits, but Duan Mingfeng's complexion was naturally dark, and he always had a gloomy and sour face, so they couldn't tell anything about him.
Lu Juan's gaze then turned to the emperor in the hall, who was looking down at the memorial in his hand.
He hadn't rested since returning from his nighttime raid on the Prime Minister's residence, but there was no sign of fatigue on his face.
I didn't have time to attend court today, so I summoned the court officials to the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Lu Juan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Some people are born to become emperors and kings. Just in terms of physical strength and energy, they are beyond the reach of ordinary people.
"Bring over the files on the officials appointed by Su Fengyue in previous years."
Emperor Wusu's voice was cold and distant.
Lu Juan gathered his thoughts, picked up the large stack of documents beside him, and placed them on the desk in front of the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I have marked the problematic areas and separated them with paper pads."
Zhao Mingyan nodded: "You may have your meal in the side hall first."
Lu Juan said, "Your Majesty should also eat something."
"No need, I'm not hungry."
Zhao Mingyan had already flipped through the key parts of the file and said in a deep voice, "Besides Lingzhou, there is also Longzhou in the northwest. Most of the officials there were promoted by Su Fengyue. We need to find a group of new people from the court to go there."
Lu Juan said, "That's right, almost all the prefects and governors of these two states are Su Fengyue's retainers and disciples."
Lu Juan understood that the reason why the emperor summoned so many ministers was to take this opportunity to see how many of them still had the ambition to serve the country and were willing to be sent to serve as officials in the provinces.
If it weren't for Qingrong's pregnancy, which prevented him from leaving her and the child, he would have been willing to solve this urgent problem for Emperor Wusu.
Zhao Mingyan flicked his sleeve and said, "Ziyou, you and Mingfeng go down to have your meal first." He then looked up at the water clock and said, "I'll give you two quarters of an hour to rest. Come back at 1-3 pm. Go now."
At the current pace, we should be busy until at least the evening.
Lu Juan was indeed feeling exhausted. He was dealing with maneuvering, personnel management, and personnel deployment, which was extremely mentally taxing. He needed to get some fresh air outside.
He bowed deeply and said, "This humble subject takes his leave."
Upon hearing the emperor call his name, Duan Mingfeng quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I am not hungry yet, and the defense map in my hand is not yet finished. I will stay in the hall with Your Majesty."
Emperor Wusu nodded slightly, his expression focused on the object in his hand.
Lu Juan stood frozen in place, his legs, which had intended to retreat, unable to move at all.
His originally sleepy eyes were wide open as he stared at Duan Mingfeng's back, as if he wanted to stare a hole through the soft armor on his back.
Is this the time to show loyalty and see who can withstand hunger the longest?
This put Lu Juan in a difficult position. He couldn't leave, but if he didn't, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand such a high-intensity, non-stop work schedule.
Emperor Wusu possessed extraordinary physical strength, unlike ordinary people. Duan Mingfeng had a family secret technique and had grown up enduring hardship; he could go for days without food or water without any problems.
But he was only a mortal, and had lived a life of luxury since childhood.
Of the three, only he had a wife in his house. Thinking that he hadn't seen Qingrong during the day for a long time, Lu Juan sighed deeply, his chest filled with endless sorrow.
"Hungry!"
A childish voice came from the entrance of the palace.
Lu Juan was closer to the door. He turned his head and looked over. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. This little girl looked somewhat familiar.
Upon closer inspection, he felt as if he was about to hallucinate from hunger.
Otherwise, why would the fifth sister's child appear in the palace, especially at this crucial juncture?
Unlike Lu Juan's surprise, Duan Mingfeng glanced at the door without showing any emotion, then turned back as if he hadn't seen it and continued organizing the blueprints in his hands.
Because Duan Mingfeng was sent by the emperor to protect this young master last time, he already knew the girl's true identity.
He was also surprised that only the young master came by himself, and he did not see Ji Qingwu.
Emperor Wusu, seated high on his throne, was engrossed in the dossier in his hands, his posture unchanged, his lowered eyelashes casting shadows on his face.
Clearly preoccupied with something, he didn't notice the commotion at the door.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Qiuqiu looked at the two adults standing in the hall with her dark eyes.
She ran in with her short legs, and Li Yuzong didn't dare to stop her.
Both men in the hall were handsome. Qiuqiu glanced at them twice, then ran to the one she was more familiar with and looked up at Lu Juan with her little face.
Before Qiuqiu could speak, Lu Juan turned around and glanced at the Emperor, then lowered his voice and said, "Let's go out first. This is where the officials conduct their business. How about your uncle takes you out to play?"
Perfect, this gave him a reason to go out for some fresh air.
When Qiuqiu heard Lu Juan say that he wanted to kick her out, she blinked her big eyes and nimbly ran away from him.
They arrived at the right rear, in front of Duan Mingfeng, who had a pile of blueprints on a table.
When Qiuqiu got closer, she realized that this person had a fierce face and looked like he had a bad temper and was hard to mess with.
The little girl felt a little uneasy. Would he hit the child?
Their eyes met. The little girl's eyes were bright and round, with a touch of naivety. Duan Mingfeng was stunned for a moment, then looked away and humbly lowered his head.
The person in front of me is, after all, the young master; to look directly at him would be a rude reaction.
Chiu Chiu thought he didn't want to look at her, so she pouted sadly, sniffed, and ran away.
This time, they went straight for the man several steps up.
Emperor Wusu picked up his imperial brush, took a memorial, and was about to make a note when someone grabbed the hem of his bright yellow robe and pulled it down a bit.
The ink from the tip of the purple-gold wolf-hair brush also flicked downwards, making the writing on the folded paper a mess.
Zhao Mingyan turned his head away, his cold and sharp gaze immediately vanishing.
His gaze instantly became even warmer than the midday sun in spring.
Chuchu pouted and gripped his robe sleeve even tighter with her little hands.
Seeing her pitiful, tearful appearance, Zhao Mingyan looked up and glanced at the two people in the room.
He asked, "Did you bully her?"
Lu Juan was initially worried that the little girl's behavior would anger the emperor who was handling state affairs, but now it seems...
You should consider your own safety.
Emperor Wusu's gaze fell on the palace entrance, but he did not see the figure he wanted to see.
Chiu Chiu's ability to read people's expressions and seize opportunities is not to be underestimated. Seeing that someone was backing her up, she used both her hands and feet to climb onto the emperor's lap, even leaving her footprints on the bright yellow dragon robe.
Zhao Mingyan was drawn to her actions, and threw down his imperial brush with his right hand, pushing the memorial aside as well.
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