Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 73 Wedding Banquet
East Palace.

Lai Fu took the food box from the palace maid in the Food Bureau and opened it to take a look.

The three-layered sandalwood food box is filled with the prince's favorite cakes and pastries.

He nodded and said, "Thank you, Dean Shenlang, for your hard work these past few days."

The maid bowed slightly and whispered, "You are too polite, sir. The chef said that if there is anything that is not thoughtful, please send someone to inform us so that our chef department can think of a solution as soon as possible and make sure that His Highness is satisfied..."

After saying that, seeing that there was no one around, she quietly took out a small purse from her sleeve and stuffed it into Lai Fu's pocket.

Lai Fu stretched out his arm to stop her, with just the right smile on his face, which neither embarrassed her nor was very determined.

"We don't follow this kind of thing here. We all serve His Highness and do our best to serve him. As long as His Highness is satisfied with the food, it is our blessing."

He turned and went into the house and closed the door.

These days, there has been unrest both inside and outside the palace.

The people were full of grievances and complaints to the emperor were numerous.

Not only is the atmosphere in Huayi Palace tense, but isn't it the same in the Eastern Palace?
There are more and more rumors in the palace...

Some people have said that Princess Pingle wanted to poison the prince's wine that day, but she accidentally drank the poisoned wine, which led to such a ridiculous incident...

Everyone in the East Palace feels insecure.

He also didn't want to make things difficult for his subordinates, so he did everything he could to take care of them.
-
In the Chongwen Hall, today's lecture has just ended.

Opposite Li Zhao's desk sat the prince's tutor E Xu and the prince's guest Mei Ruhui.

Lai Fu walked in with the lunch box and heard E Xu's voice.

"The matter of the Ministry of Finance is already a difficult one, and now it is getting more and more serious, involving the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel. The entire court is in turmoil."

"This morning, during the Chongzheng Hall meeting, the Imperial Censor Zhou Zhongping once again filed a complaint from the people, wanting to investigate the hundreds of acres of fertile land occupied by the princess in the suburbs of Beijing. Isn't that like looking for lice to crawl on your head? Everyone knows that the princess is not feeling well, and His Majesty is worried and irritated."

"Sure enough, Censor Zhou's words aroused the emperor's wrath. His Majesty was furious, and after a lecture, he ordered a strict investigation of corruption and fraud in this year's exam. I heard that Zhou Zhongping's nephew had a top scorer in this year's exam. This is really reasonable and hard to explain. When the city gate is on fire, the fish in the pond will be affected!"

Mei Ruhui glanced at the prince and smiled slightly.

"Your Majesty is a king and a father. It is human nature to pity the princess."

Hearing him say this, E Xu shook his head disapprovingly.

"The people are the foundation of the country. A solid foundation means a peaceful country. The people's support is related to the rise and fall of the country. Seizing good farmland is not your Majesty's business. If you can stop the mouth of the censor, how can you stop the mouths of the people? Zhou Zhongping dared to criticize the current ills and speak out. I admire his backbone. He pleads for the people and sticks to the right path. He deserves the title of 'Iron-faced Censor'..."

Some things are hard to say openly.

Mei Ruhui looked at Li Zhao again.

expressionless.

So he smiled and said, "Lord E is upright and incorruptible, which makes me admire him."

He stroked his beard and leaned over to pour tea for E Xu.

"But to navigate the officialdom, you have to learn from Shangshu Xue. Write a letter to apologize and avoid suspicion, and protect yourself."

E Xu smiled: "Marquis Jingyuan's fame has been ruined by his son."

Mei Ruhui nodded and said, "The Jingyuan Marquis's mansion is deserted. All those flatterers and curry favor with the powerful in the past have disappeared. This shows how fickle people are. Jingyuan Marquis gritted his teeth and sold his property to raise funds. He even sold his ancestral property in Qingzhou, but he didn't ask for mercy from Your Majesty."

E Xu seemed to be thinking about something.

"Marquis Jingyuan is a tough guy! He knew that the matter of Jinbusi could not be done by Gu Wulang alone, but he did not bite anyone else. But His Majesty has become less and less willing to listen to honest advice in recent years."

He didn't dare say that the emperor was senile because he was not old yet.

Emperor Chongzhao has been in power for many years. When he ascended the throne at a young age, he worked hard to govern the country and reformed bad policies. Although the current prosperity of all industries in Daliang and the people's well-being are based on the virtue of Taizu, it cannot be denied that Emperor Chongzhao has made a contribution to the preservation of the business, but it is obvious that the emperor has become stubborn and self-willed in recent years.

But as a minister of the Eastern Palace, there are some things I cannot say.

E Xu was also looking at the expression of the prince opposite him.

Very peaceful.

Very peaceful.

Over the years, people have said that the Crown Prince lacks moral character and will not achieve great things, and that he will be replaced by Prince Duan sooner or later.

It was strange, but the Crown Prince stood firm, competing with Prince Duan, yet just a little bit inferior to him...

I don’t know what the mystery is here. As the prince’s tutor, I cannot ask too much.

He was only responsible for explaining the scriptures to the prince.

"Master E, please go down first."

Li Zhao suddenly spoke, his eyes fell on the exquisite food box, he looked away and waved his hand.

"Take this back and give it to your youngest son."

E Xu was overjoyed, he stood up and bowed repeatedly: "Thank you for the reward, Your Highness."

Lai Fu watched E Xu happily leave with the lunch box and sighed in his heart.

The prince has no appetite.

I have no idea how to taste the food.

Others didn't know why, but he, as an attendant, knew something about it.

The prince looked calm but felt miserable.

Li Zhao wanted to know if there was anything wrong with Xue Liu, if there were any signs of the "love thread" or "love thread poison" acting up, and if he was also like him, having times when he couldn't control his emotions.

However, how could a spy find out what was going on in a girl’s room?

The prince was reluctant to say it clearly, because every time the spy came to report, there was nothing unusual.

Miss Xue Liu got up early every morning, took a walk to appreciate the flowers, practiced calligraphy and took care of the children at night. While she was recuperating in the mansion, she did not go out and was as peaceful as usual.

How could the prince be willing?

Of course, this was just Eunuch Lai Fu's private speculation, but he dared not say a word.

Li Zhao and Mei Ruhui sat down and played chess for a long time, and then asked someone to call Zhang Huaicheng. "I have something to ask of you."

Zhang Huaicheng was very respectful and bowed.

"Please give me your instructions, Your Highness."

Li Zhao pursed his lips slightly and stared at the chessboard intently. He was wearing a moon-white brocade robe with cloud patterns, which made him look tall and straight, cold and deep. The black chess piece spinning on his fingertips was like a living thing, which was his unique posture when he was in deep thought.

Mei Ruhui and Zhang Huaicheng did not disturb him and waited quietly.

After a while, Li Zhao raised his eyes and gave Lai Fu a look.

"Bring me the business card from my desk."

Name card?

Lai Fu was stunned for a moment before he remembered the papers with names written on them.

After Lai Fu presented it respectfully, Li Zhao took out a piece and placed it on the chessboard.

Zhang Huaicheng understood it at a glance.

This is a list of the current imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Service.

Zhang Huaicheng was affiliated with the Eastern Palace Medicine Bureau, but he often interacted with the Imperial Medical Bureau. They were all in the same industry, and they would often discuss the medical skills of Qihuang and consult each other about any difficult and complicated diseases.

Zhang Huaicheng asked: "Your Highness, what do you want me to do?"

Li Zhao pointed with his fingertips.

"Who among these people is the most at odds with Hu Qifang?"

Zhang Huaicheng thought for a moment and pointed at a man named He Yuanzhi.

"This is He Yuanzhi, the Imperial Doctor He."

Then, without waiting for Li Zhao to ask, he told him the gossip he had heard with a smile.

"The two were originally from the same school, and it is said that they share the same blood and are closely related. However, in the Imperial Hospital, they were polite on the surface, but secretly competed with each other from time to time. I heard that the initial grudge was because of the "Xinglin Secret Book". The two of them worked together to sort out the difficult medical cases that their master had practiced for many years, and both put in a lot of effort for it. However, after compiling the book, they had a disagreement about whose name should be listed first."

"Hu Qifang thought that he was the senior brother, had more experience, and had made greater contributions in collecting medical records. He Yuanzhi thought that he had spent more energy. In the end, Hu Qifang won the battle and was given the position of judge..."

Li Zhao listened quietly, with a smile on his face.

"That's him."

Zhang Huaicheng took the order and went down. Li Zhao stared at Mei Ruhui and gave instructions to Lai Fu.

"Go find the eunuch and ask him to send a few more musicians and singers to Shaoyang Palace..."

Not only Lai Fu was stunned and had no reaction, even Mei Ruhui was shocked.

The day the prince came back from the Spring Flower Banquet, he felt so miserable, but he didn't even call the girl and just persevered.

My condition has improved after taking the medicine in the past two days, so why can't I get over it?

Li Zhao frowned slightly, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then smiled gently.

"E Xu's words reminded me. Your Majesty is just partial to Pingle, he is not confused."

Since he is not confused, he will definitely find out that Pingle is the one behind this.

The emperor may not punish Pingle, but he will definitely suspect him.

If the East Palace did not make some unusual moves to show that the prince was poisoned, the emperor would probably be uneasy.
-
It is now mid-March and the sun is getting hotter.

The warm sunlight poured down early in the morning, casting a light golden glow on everything in the world.

The wound Xue Sui suffered in his Tanzhong region had long since healed, but he still felt a little lazy.

She didn't know if it was the residual poison of love that made her feel uneasy sometimes. However, she took the medicine given by Yuheng and didn't have such wild thoughts like Li Zhao. She didn't know that the prince of the East Palace was already in a state of panic.

Xue Sui was making final preparations to leave the Xue Mansion and go to Prince Duan's Mansion.

That day, the old lady asked Xue Ji to talk to her, and it was indeed for the purpose of raising her status.

With Qian and Jinshu's encouragement, this matter came to fruition naturally, and Xue Qingzhi had nothing to say.

So Qian prepared several tables and planned to host a lively banquet for Xue Ji.

Xue Ji had long lost her color, and the affection Xue Qingzhi had for her in the past had long since disappeared.

He was just going through the motions at this wedding banquet, but Qian and Xue Sui did not want him to be so relaxed. The wedding clothes, wedding quilts, and bridal chamber were all prepared neatly. A group of people came to congratulate them on the new marriage. Xue Qingzhi was put on the spot and had to be the "bridegroom" again. Even though he was reluctant, he had to pretend to be happy.

The old lady now values ​​Xue Sui and also takes good care of Xue Ji.

She specially assigned a few maids and servants to serve Xue Ji in her room.

On the auspicious day, firecrackers were set off all over the Xue Mansion, and the crackling sound continued, creating a very lively atmosphere.

Mrs. Fu in Qinglan Courtyard could not hear the sound even with her head covered.

She looked angry and scolded the girl.

"Why don't you go and have a look, which damn servant is causing all this noise? Is he trying to piss me off to death?"

Xiu Gu stood beside the bed, looking helpless.

"Madam, there is a wedding banquet in the mansion today..."

Fu only knew that the old lady wanted to raise Xue Ji as her concubine, but she didn't know that the mansion was going to hold a wedding banquet for them.

Everyone in Qinglan Courtyard kept it a secret and dared not report it.

Upon hearing this, Fu sat up suddenly.

"Wedding banquet? Didn't we just have one? What kind of wedding is this?"

Xiu Gu lowered her eyes and sighed.

"The eldest master is going to welcome Xueji home. The old lady asked the third lady to prepare for it. She said that it should be a grand celebration to dispel the bad luck..."

It’s better to watch the second update during dinner~~