In fact, there is still some time before dinner.
Xu He was sitting in the side hall of Jiaming Palace. The young eunuch brought him in, served him some tea and snacks, and then he disappeared.
Xu He had been waiting for more than half an hour. He had already finished drinking the tea. It was his first time entering the palace and he didn't know if the place could be extended, so he could only endure it.
As for the snacks, he didn't even dare to touch them.
I heard that many things in the palace are just decorations.
It looks good on display, but you may not eat it.
Many of the furnishings are either for the benefit of the eunuchs, or are thrown away after they break.
When Xu He thought about it, he wouldn't even eat it.
Isn't it hateful to avoid the welfare of eunuchs for the sake of food? Also, what if this thing has been on display for ten or twenty days, and it looks good on the outside, but is actually rotten and spoiled on the inside, which will ruin your stomach. Searching for the toilet in the Forbidden City...
It’s exciting just thinking about it!
However, it was obvious that Xu He was overthinking.
When the young eunuch came to inform Xu He to accompany the emperor to dinner, he found that his mouth was dry and asked curiously: "Why didn't the young master ask Sajia to refill the tea? Sajia waited outside and never heard anything!"
Damn it!
You just said it now!
I also blame myself. Entering the palace is like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden. She is worried about gains and losses and is afraid of making a joke!
He smiled slightly and said: "I was thinking about something, but I forgot about it!"
The young eunuch admired: "I heard from my godfather that the young master is a literary star that your majesty likes. You must have been making a fuss in your mind just now. No wonder the young master is so powerful!"
Yes, yes, everything you said is right!
"Who is your godfather?"
"Back to the young master!" The little eunuch said in a low voice as he led the way, "This is Mr. Wang Mian, the eunuch of the ceremony, Mr. Bingbi!"
"Wang Mian?"
Xu He didn't believe that this little eunuch would mention "godfather" for no reason!
The people who serve in the palace have profound meanings in their words and deeds. It is impossible for him to mention his untouchable "godfather" in front of a foreign minister!
Thinking of this, he waited patiently for the next step of the little eunuch.
Unexpectedly, when I walked into the palace and saw the old eunuch just now, the young eunuch didn't say another word.
After bringing Xu He, he retreated.
The old eunuch smiled and said: "Xu Huiyuan, Wang Ji of the Sa family!"
So he is Wang Ji?
The leader of the unruly people in the harem, Wang Ji is commonly known as the "Inner Prime Minister".
Thinking of the tea-making incident last time, he also tried to let Xu Song take the path of this old eunuch. Haha, he was an old acquaintance.
"My lord, my students have admired you for a long time!"
Wang Ji said with a smile: "Young master, you're welcome. The Sa family is just a slave who works in front of the emperor. How can they talk about being famous?"
After saying that, he seemed to hear the movement, winked at Xu He, and went out to greet him.
Sure enough, Emperor Zhizheng walked toward the palace while wiping his hands.
Wang Ji smiled and said: "Today, the imperial dining room heard that Your Majesty was going to treat a guest, so it put a lot of thought into it!"
Emperor Zhizheng glanced at Xu He who was kneeling in the palace and said with a smile: "They prepare some good things for my treat, but on weekdays they treat me wholeheartedly, but they are really good slaves!"
Wang Ji laughed when he heard this and said, "No one inside or outside the palace knows that Your Majesty is diligent and thrifty. If it weren't for Mr. Xu, no one would dare to waste money!"
Emperor Zhizheng smiled and said, "Whose filial piety is it today?"
Xu He was dumbfounded in the audience. Whose filial piety? Of course what you eat is the support of the people in the world.
Unexpectedly, it turned out not to be the case. Wang Ji smiled and said, "It's Wang Mian!"
What Xu He didn't know was that Emperor Zhizheng was always very picky about spending money. On such occasions, several people from the Li Jian would always take turns to entertain guests.
It was a strange thing for the eunuch to spend money and the emperor entertained guests.
Emperor Zhizheng nodded after hearing this, put down the towel to wipe his hands and said to Xu He: "Get up!"
Xu He climbed up and sat down at the end of the table at Wang Ji's signal.
Even if you sit down, you can only sit half way down, not all the way, otherwise it would be disrespectful.
However, Emperor Zhizheng seemed to be in a rare good mood today. He waved and said, "Come closer so we can talk more easily!"
When Wang Ji heard this, he made another fuss, and Xu He finally sat down tremblingly under the presence of Emperor Zhizheng.
As soon as he sat down, he smelled the scent of sandalwood that is often found in Taoist temples from this middle-aged man.
Be careful and look at Emperor Zheng when he is not prepared.
Looking at him up close, he could see that the middle-aged emperor looked pale, his lips were bloodless, and his eyes were filled with black and purple bags.
Xu He didn't dare to look further, but his heart was already filled with turmoil.
Didn’t it mean that this person devoted himself to cultivating Taoism?
Why does his face look like he's overindulged?
Could it be...
He thought of something Xie Liangcai once told him.
Brother Defu once said that Lu Xixing is good at the Yin and Yang dual cultivation method...
Although the Taoist yin and yang dual cultivation is not what later generations understand.
But looking at the emperor's face, it seems...
Just when Xu He was thinking wildly.
There are little eunuchs filing in with dishes.
Xu He looked around and found that almost none of the dishes in front of him was something he had seen before.
When all the dishes were served, Emperor Zhizheng said to Wang Ji: "Put those meat dishes in front of him, and just give me some tofu and eggplant! By the way, let's have another bowl of porridge."
Xu He looked up and saw the old eunuch placing a bowl of green porridge in front of Emperor Zhizheng, then using chopsticks to pick up some tofu and eggplant that seemed to have no seasoning and placing them on the plate in front of Emperor Zhizheng.
At this time, a young eunuch half-hunched over took a pair of chopsticks and carefully put porridge, tofu and eggplant into his mouth in front of Emperor Zhizheng.
Emperor Zhizheng seemed to have been used to it and ignored him. He smiled and said to Xu He, "Are you eighteen this year? Do you have an engagement at home?"
Xu He quickly stood up, but Emperor Zheng pressed his palms and said, "Sit down and answer, be more casual!"
Xu He sat down and replied: "I'm not married yet!"
Emperor Zhizheng suddenly smiled again and said: "I heard that you were responsible for the training of the coastal defense camp? I didn't expect you to be well versed in military strategy!"
Just now I was asking him about his marriage, why did he suddenly jump to the topic of team training?
Xu He really couldn't figure out the emperor's mind.
Although Xu He knew that such a thing could not be hidden from the emperor at all, he still did not dare to tell the truth, so he replied: "I have only read some military books, just talking about military affairs on paper!"
When Emperor Zhizheng heard this, he said without comment: "If you become an official in the future, would you be willing to let me become a military commander?"
Xu He was stunned when he heard this.
Military general?
I worked so hard from the county examination to the general examination, and finally you said you want me to be a military commander?
Then my Xu family is originally a member of the military. If I had known that I would still study so hard and do nothing?
Seeing that Xu He was speechless, Emperor Zhizheng asked again: "What? Not willing?"
Xu He said: "No matter what, it's His Majesty's grace. I'm just afraid that I don't understand military matters and will ruin the affairs of the court!"
Emperor Zhizheng seemed to be thinking about something, and after a while he said: "Let's eat! I will think about this matter again!"
Xu He felt numb when he heard this.
He originally thought that Emperor Zhizheng just said this casually, but now it seems that the emperor really intends to let him take up a military position.
Hey, who's going to tell me what exactly went wrong?
