Chapter 261 261. Support each other and be inseparable
Dayouchao is the morning court session held on the fifth and tenth day of every month.
For example, on the fifth, tenth and fifteenth day of the lunar month, there are six morning court sessions in a month, starting at 7:00 in the morning, which is the beginning of the Chenshi hour, and usually ending at the Sishi hour.
"It's still good now."
Zhou Yi helped the still dazed Lei Li put on his court robes, smoothed his collar, and checked his belt. "Before the current emperor registered, even when the emperor was on the throne, the morning court session always started at 11:00 AM. So you have to get up and go out at 11:00 AM."
Mao time is from 5:00 to 7:00 in the morning, and Yin time is from 3:00 to 5:00 in the morning.
Originally, officials of all ranks in Beijing were required to go to work at the hour of Mao, and there was a special person to count the number of people and record their attendance, which was called "Dianmao".
The late emperor was very strict in this regard in his early years. He even changed the morning court session to once every three days. Those who were late for the court session would be fined or even beaten with a stick. This made the officials tremble with fear and had to go to work early.
As the late emperor aged, he gradually relaxed his grip on these minor details, no longer strictly enforcing crackdowns, and officials had more freedom over their working hours. This was especially true in less busy departments like the Hanlin Academy, where arriving late and leaving early became commonplace.
After Wanqi Xia ascended the throne, he directly changed the working hours of officials to Chenshi, and the morning court was at Maoshi. He also installed street lights on the way to the palace to prevent officials from not being able to see the road clearly and having accidents such as falling into the water or falling in the snow.
"It's early even at the hour of Mao."
Lei Li frowned and muttered, "I haven't slept for a few hours. I felt like I had just closed my eyes when you woke me up."
"I told you last night that you had to attend the morning court today. I asked you to go to bed early, but you didn't listen and stayed up late reading a storybook. You said it was okay and you could come back and take a nap after the court."
Zhou Yi sighed inwardly, feeling distressed when he saw the person who couldn't even open his eyes. If possible, he would like to attend this morning court session on behalf of Lei Li.
"I thought you were joking..."
Lei Li was depressed.
He has been the Marquis of Changning for more than half a month, and he never mentioned before that he would attend morning court. If he had known that he would have to attend morning court six times a month and get up early six times, he would definitely not have been the Marquis.
...It seems that disobeying the order is not an option.
Wanqi Xia, that damn brat, why did he set up the morning court so early? Since he had already disobeyed his father and postponed it for an hour, why not just postpone it to the afternoon and hold the morning court?
Otherwise, just cancel it directly. If there is something, just submit a memorial. If you need to discuss it with people, just call the officials from the relevant departments. People like him don’t know everything and don’t know what the purpose of attending the morning court is. It would be better for them to choose whether to go or not.
"I'm so dizzy just learning all those etiquettes, and I still have to go to the morning court."
Lei Li muttered resentfully, "If it weren't for the boss who said to keep everything simple, the palace rules alone would be enough to make me suffer. I'm afraid I would have made a fool of myself at the morning court without even realizing it..."
"No."
Seeing his face full of resentment at being disturbed from his sleep, Zhou Yi gently comforted him and said,
"Who would dare to embarrass the Marquis of Changning? You were promoted by the Emperor, and he will support you. I can't possibly embarrass you by slapping myself in the face."
"Besides, they all attend the morning court. Other families don't have high official positions like yours, nor are they as close as ours. They get up at dawn, eat breakfast, and then take a leisurely carriage to the palace gate."
"If they lived far away, especially ministers living outside the capital, they had to get up at 3 a.m. and rush to the palace gate. If the gate was not open, they had to stand outside and wait."
There are night watchmen in Beijing.
But the night watchman would only ring the bell in the city to tell the time at the top of every hour, and the night watchman was mobile, ringing the bell as he walked.
Officials who rushed to the morning court at this time might not meet the night watchman, so they could not be sure of the time. To avoid being late, they would get up much earlier and go out. Generally, they did not have time to eat breakfast and had to go hungry.
"Even if I go early, I still have to wait..."
Lei Li muttered complainingly.
Ever since he stopped struggling for a living, he woke up naturally in the morning. Especially after living a life of luxury for so many years and being spoiled by Zhou Yi, he went to bed later and later, and woke up later and later.
Mao hour...
If he were younger, he might still be making love right now.
"Need not."
Zhou Yi touched his face soothingly. "Let's take a carriage and wait at a distance. Have someone watch outside the palace gate. Once the gate is open, you can go over. You can even catch up on some sleep in the carriage."
"It's uncomfortable to sleep in the car..."
Lei Li's eyes were sleepy, and his voice was weak. "The last few times I slept in the car, my back hurt. Sitting on your lap also made me bump my head easily…"
Zhou Yi quickly covered his mouth, his ears slightly hot, and said sternly, "Stop talking about these nonsense... I'll bring two extra soft pillows later, and hold you while you sleep, so your back won't hurt."
"Alright."
Lei Li nodded lowly.
Zhou Yi tidied up Lei Li's clothes, but found that he had fallen asleep while sitting. It was a bit funny, so he gently woke him up and coaxed him to have breakfast.
The Marquis' Mansion was quiet at around five in the morning.
Lei Shengjiang was only a seventh-rank official, far from being qualified to attend the morning court. At this moment, she was sleeping soundly in the arms of her beloved husband.
Liu Ye'er and Lei Dashan are old and sleep less, but they woke up and had breakfast with Lei Li. Seeing him almost falling asleep while eating, they felt very distressed.
I thought about talking to the emperor and asking him to be considerate of the fact that his son Li Ge'er is old and doesn't need to attend the morning court anymore.
But when I thought about the fact that he was the emperor, the supreme ruler also had to attend the morning court, and the emperor was only a few years younger than Li Ge'er, he would definitely not let Li Ge'er rest.
The old couple both sighed in their hearts. When they heard that they would not be back until after noon, they could not help but persuade Li Ge'er to eat more and not starve.
"Here are some meat patties. Brother Li, take two and eat them in the car on your way back."
"I've prepared some meat and vegetable snacks in the carriage, and I've also filled a water bag so we'll have something to eat when we get back."
Zhou Yi replied.
The old couple finally felt relieved.
Looking at Zhou Yi helping Lei Li get on the carriage, Zhou Yi waved his hand and told them to go back. The old couple verbally responded but did not move. They kept watching until the carriage was in the distance, turned the corner, and looked for a while before returning to the mansion.
The carriage was slightly bumpy.
Lei Li took a short nap and was much more awake when he reached the palace gate. By the time he arrived at the court meeting, he had recovered his full attack power and was able to debate with the scholars on his own.
——Because the emperor wanted to let Marquis Changning take over the Meng Family Escort Agency and nationalize the logistics, but this piece of cake had long been coveted by many people, and the ministers naturally disagreed when Marquis Changning jumped out halfway.
Then the Eight Immortals showed their magical powers, and many ministers attacked Lei Li openly or secretly.
What Lei Li was least afraid of was talking nonsense. He attacked all the ministers who attacked him in their speeches. At one point, he almost attacked the emperor as well.
Wanqi Xia: Death Smile.jpg
After letting out a long breath, Lei Li felt refreshed. As soon as the morning court was over, he tried to escape, but was kept by the petty Wanqi Xia, who called him—
Discuss the logistics recovery plan of the Meng family.
certainly.
At that time, there was no concept of a plan. This was when Lei Li, who came back with a resentful look on his face, subconsciously learned Zhou Yi's wording when he recounted the story.
"This stingy guy knew you were waiting for me outside the palace, so he deliberately didn't let me out. He even wanted to keep me for lunch, but of course I refused."
Lei Li speculated maliciously, "I think he's just upset with the Queen, so he's here to bother me. He can't stand seeing other people showing off their affection right under his nose."
Lei Li's mouth was chattering so fast that Zhou Yi didn't have time to cover his mouth.
These words must have reached the emperor's ears, but this was not the first time Lei Li had teased him, so he must have gotten used to it... right?
Zhou Yi sighed inwardly, rubbed Lei Li's back to calm him down, and said,
"Don't be angry with him anymore. Anger makes you old quickly. Let's go back and have lunch and catch up on some sleep, okay?"
Because they had been discussing things in the palace for a long time, it was almost noon when they left the palace.
Lei Li was fine, as he had already had breakfast when he arrived. However, among the other officials who were discussing the matter, there was an old minister who had not eaten and was so hungry that he felt dizzy and dizzy.
"Now that you mention it, I'm hungry too."
Lei Li took a piece of meat cake and ate it in one bite, then took a big gulp of water. "Those ministers are really good at talking, like they're addicted to talking. Once they start, they can't stop. I really want to lock them up so they can stop talking."
Quitting addiction?
Zhou Yi thought, isn’t this a drug rehabilitation center?
"You're still so stubborn. You always question everything I say. You've made my throat almost smoke."
Lei Li grew angrier as he spoke, munching on a cake in one mouthful. "The guy above didn't say a word, just stood there watching us quarrel. When I asked him about it, he always said yes, then hesitated and continued to watch us quarrel."
“It’s so infuriating!”
“It’s really infuriating…”
Zhou Yi coaxed him and listened to his complaints for a long time. After eating the cakes and feeling sleepy, he let him nestle in his arms and said, "Sleep for a while. I'll call you when we get to the Marquis' Mansion."
"OK……"
Lei Li's voice was unclear due to sleepiness, and he fell asleep before he finished speaking.
—
It was already afternoon when Lei Li woke up.
He was already lying on the bed in the Marquis's room, with the setting sun shining outside the window.
Lei Li had a good sleep but was extremely hungry. He put on his shoes and clothes slowly, and when he went out, he saw Zhou Yi walking towards him.
"I guess you're awake by now. Are you hungry? There's porridge warming up in the pot, or do you want some noodles? There's broth hanging in the kitchen for you to cook."
"I want to eat noodles."
Lei Li held up two fingers and said, "I want two poached eggs with chopped green onions, and I want you to make them."
"good."
Zhou Yi nodded and walked to the kitchen with him, talking as they walked.
The servants of the Marquis' Mansion saluted them along the way, and watched without surprise as the Marquis and his wife entered the kitchen, washed their hands, put on aprons, and began to cook skillfully.
It was the Marquis' wife who washed her hands and cooked the soup.
The Marquis was watching from the side, his eyes wide open. In the end, it was just an ordinary bowl of chicken soup and egg noodles, but the pampered Marquis ate it with great relish.
"The Marquis and his wife have a very good relationship."
"Of course. They've been married for over twenty years, how could their relationship not be good?"
"Even couples who have been together for decades rarely have a good relationship."
"That's right, let alone the Marquis' Mansion, it's rare to see such a loving couple in ordinary families. Moreover, the Marquis and his wife only have each other... Even if other families don't take concubines, they will secretly go to brothels and keep mistresses."
"The young master and the young mistress have a good relationship. The young mistress and the young master have been childhood sweethearts, and she is eight years older than the young master!"
"How can we call them childhood sweethearts when they're eight years apart? Where we call them child brides..."
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