Lord Liu nodded and said, "I planned to take this book back to the Court of State Ceremonial for translation, but the Emperor did not agree."
He feared the book would be lost, so he asked me to arrange for someone to enter the palace and wait until the book was translated before leaving.
It seems that Translator Ma will be staying in the palace for several days to translate this book for the Emperor. This is a rare honor, and Translator Ma's future is bright.
Lord Liu's words aroused the envy of everyone. They only regretted their lack of knowledge and skills, otherwise they would have had the opportunity to enter the palace and serve the emperor.
Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Lord Liu couldn't help but smile and said:
"When translating for this trip to the palace, the interpreter Ma must bring everything he needs, as entering and leaving the palace is not an easy task."
If the preparations are not done well and the emperor is displeased, that would be a bad thing.
"Whom does the translator need to help you? Tell me now, and I will have him accompany you to the palace to lend you a hand."
"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Liu. I will bring enough translation materials and reference books. Translating books is a mental task, and no one else can help me. I can go to the palace alone, so I won't trouble my colleagues."
"That's settled then. Translator Ma will be going to the palace to translate books, which will take several days. Shouldn't you go back and let them know first?" Lord Liu reminded him.
"Of course I have to go home and tell them. There are some things at home that I need to arrange. If I don't go home for several days, my family will think I've lost me."
Lord Liu smiled and said:
"The translator is right. Why don't you go back now and make the arrangements? Once you've made the arrangements, return as soon as possible, and I will escort you to the palace."
The Emperor will give you specific instructions regarding your upcoming visit to the palace; you must remember them well.
"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Liu. I will remember it. Well then, I will go back now, arrange things at home, and come over this afternoon."
"Then it's settled. We'll go to the palace together to meet the Emperor this afternoon."
Ma Sibei nodded, beaming, and left for Honglu Temple amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.
After Ma Sibei left, his colleagues began to whisper among themselves. Seeing this, Lord Liu slowly spoke up:
"It's alright, everyone disperse and do your jobs well." With that, he left.
In the afternoon, Ma Sibei arrived at the Honglu Temple early, looking radiant.
To his surprise, Lord Liu arrived even earlier than him. It seemed that Lord Liu hadn't gone home for lunch, and that he took the matter assigned by the Emperor very seriously.
At this moment, Lord Liu's expression changed from that morning, and he became very serious.
"Is Interpreter Ma ready?"
Although Ma Sibei was a little surprised, he didn't think much of it; he was still very excited at the moment.
"Reporting to Lord Liu, I am ready. When shall we enter the palace?"
"Of course we'll go now. The Emperor is probably already waiting for us. Let's take our things and head to the palace immediately."
Carrying a large bag of translation materials and reference books, Ma Sibei followed Lord Liu into the carriage, which headed towards the palace.
At this time, the palace was heavily guarded, with fully armed guards everywhere. Upon seeing Lord Liu, they immediately let him pass without saying a word.
Ma Sibei thought to himself, it seems the Emperor has given instructions on this matter. Everyone in the palace knows that he is to translate foreign books for the Emperor, and they are allowed to enter the palace at this time.
Under normal circumstances, meeting the emperor required a rigorous examination, sometimes even a body search, in order to ensure the emperor's absolute safety.
Soon, Ma Sibei was led to a palace, where several fully armed guards stood. The emperor's residence was under extremely high security.
Ma Sibei looked up at the words on the palace and was shocked, sensing something was wrong.
"Imperial City Guard"
Three large characters came into his view. This was no palace at all; it was the management department of the Imperial Guards, where important matters of the palace were handled.
Didn't I say I came to the palace to translate books for the emperor? How did I end up here? Could I have gone to the wrong place?
He looked at Lord Liu, who was even more serious, and the kind and smiling face he had shown that morning was nowhere to be seen.
"Go in, His Majesty is waiting inside." After saying this, Lord Liu walked into the hall, and Ma Sibei had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in.
The scene inside terrified Ma Sibei. It was nothing like what he had imagined; it was a solemn interrogation room, and the person in the main hall was not the emperor, but the Fourth Prince.
The Emperor was also there, sitting to the side of the Fourth Prince.
It seems that the main character today is the Fourth Prince, while the Emperor is just a supporting character. In addition, the main officials of the six ministries of the court have also come.
This isn't about translating books; it's clearly about being interrogated.
At this moment, Ma Sibei was terrified, but he tried his best to remain calm.
The Fourth Prince, sitting in the main hall, was furious; it was unclear where his anger came from.
Seeing that Lord Liu had brought Ma Sibei to court, he suddenly grabbed the gavel on the table and slammed it down.
A loud crash nearly smashed the table, startling everyone. Ma Sibei was so frightened that he immediately knelt down.
"Who are you here? State your name."
The Fourth Prince spoke.
Ma Sibei looked around. After Lord Liu brought him here, he stood next to several ministers.
It seems that the Fourth Prince's shout was directed at him.
"Ma Sibei, an official of the Court of State Ceremonial."
"Do you know why I brought you here today?"
"As instructed by Lord Liu, I have come to the palace to translate books for the Emperor."
The Fourth Prince sneered and said:
"Ma Sibei, are you really not clear-headed, or are you just pretending to be confused? Would translating books for the Emperor have led you here?"
This is the Imperial City Guard, not the Imperial Study. Be honest, what have you been doing in the Court of State Ceremonial all these years?"
At this moment, Ma Sibei was sweating profusely. He knew that his secret might be exposed and that the secret of the "Listening to the Rain Pavilion" teahouse had been discovered.
However, he still held onto a sliver of hope. The teahouse had been operating for so many years without anyone discovering its secret, and he had hidden it very well, so he shouldn't be found out.
Perhaps I was brought here today for some other reason.
"I have worked diligently in the Court of State Ceremonial for so many years. Apart from doing my job well, I haven't done anything else."
Seeing that Ma Sibei was still even more confused, the Fourth Prince didn't want to beat around the bush with him and asked directly:
“Ma Sibei, I’ve come to ask you, what’s the deal with that ‘Listening to the Rain Pavilion’ teahouse in the western suburbs of the capital? You can’t be completely unaware of it, can you?”
When the Fourth Prince brought up the matter of the tea house, Ma Sibei immediately collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.
Ma Sibei still tried to deny it and made a last-ditch effort, but the Fourth Prince didn't waste any words and directly ordered all the instruments of torture to be brought out and piled up in front of Ma Sibei.
Ma Sibei completely broke down and began to honestly confess.
As Ma Sibei continued his confession, one deal after another began to be exposed, and the truth left everyone stunned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
