In the Ganlu Hall, Emperor Wen Sheng held the gold-inlaid jade buckle around his waist and walked back and forth, his brows beaming with joy and high spirits.
"This old guy is a sensible person, at least he is not as good-natured as he appears." Emperor Wen Sheng's tone was also obviously overjoyed, like a child who got his favorite toy.
In such a large palace, there are only two masters and servants, one emperor and one eunuch, so naturally they will not tell others. Cai Donglai was very sensible and didn't say anything, but just laughed in agreement.
"Teng Wuji has stayed in the palace all his life. When he followed the late emperor, he stood by his side and knew everything. At first, because his boy had an unpleasant quarrel with the Night King's Mansion, in fact, the patron king didn't take it seriously at all. Teng Wuji It's not that Wuji didn't know. The situation is now clear. Whether it's to scare the monkeys or to scare the tigers, the old guy understands very well. Now he is eager to distance himself from the backer king, which shows his understanding of the current situation. In this way First, it shows that he is still useful."
Cai Donglai still frowned and lowered his head, grinning and saying nothing.
"These people just want to fight with each other, like crickets in a jar. No matter how powerful they are, in the end, don't they have to be trained by me with leaves of grass?"
Cai Donglai still said nothing, just smiled.
He also knew Cai Donglai's boring Emperor Wen Sheng, but now he was in such a moodless mood that he was so uninteresting that he suddenly felt that his interest was waning. The smile on his face fell and he said: "I am urging you to register at such an old age. Donggong, how many examples have there been in the past dynasties? Setting up a prince as early as possible will only lead to endless clique fights for power. In the end, no one will be happy, and it will only make outsiders laugh, but it will make people laugh. I have been idle for no reason, but how long has it been since I lived a stable life? These people only have one mouth to talk about, so it is not that easy to say something simple but to do it."
Regarding Emperor Wen Sheng's complaints, Cai Donglai, who had stayed in the palace all his life, naturally knew that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. Sometimes the wrong words would arouse the suspicion of the saint, and the consequences would definitely be unpleasant.
So Cai Donglai still didn't say anything and just laughed dryly, just to tell the saint that he was listening and not distracted.
Cai Donglai's expression was met with a cold snort from Emperor Wen Sheng, who cursed "old man". He casually flipped through the memorials across the royal table, but there was no important matter, so he stretched his muscles and ordered to move to the inner garden to enjoy the scenery. In this warm spring weather, it is the best thing to steal half a day of leisure and take a look at those green and spring-filled places.
However, someone just ruined the scenery and ruined the good thing. Before Cai Donglai even raised his feet, Xiao Huangmen stepped in with his body low, knelt down and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the Central Secretary ordered Mr. Chen Xiuchen to see you. "
Just having fun with the eunuch who had been with him for many years, the Yaxing that he finally brought up was disturbed again. Emperor Wen Sheng frowned and said impatiently: "What's the matter, why can't I have a rest?"
From the time when the Holy Emperor first entered the East Palace, when he was granted the title of king and built the palace, to now he has been the great treasure for seven years, and has been serving for forty years. The eunuch has now become one of the most favored ministers in the inner palace. He has lived alone for several years within the palace walls where the undercurrent is the most turbulent. Being so favored by the Nine-Fifth Saint, he naturally has excellence that cannot be matched by others. .
For example, observe words and emotions.
Observing words and expressions sometimes does not mean being flexible and adaptable, but it means being able to help the master immediately when he needs you to speak, so that the master who can decide his life or death can look at him when he needs it most. It is enough to realize that you are most indispensable compared to others.
For example, now.
Emperor Wen Sheng's complaint was naturally beyond the reach of the small Huangmen who carried the message. Of course, this complaint was just a complaint, but what should be done after a complaint was made? Zhongshu Ling Chen Xiu's visit was impossible to miss. . At this time, only Cai Dong could appease Emperor Wen Sheng.
Before he opened his mouth, Cai Donglai grinned. He bowed slightly and said, "Master Chen seems to have something important to do at this time, otherwise he wouldn't have come so soon after the court. Your Majesty, why don't you take your time first?" Garden, it’s not too late to listen.”
Emperor Wen Sheng glanced sideways at Cai Donglai and scolded: "Why do you, an old man like you, still talk too much?"
Speaking of which, Cai Donglai and Emperor Wen Sheng were about the same age, and they were both at the age where karma knew their destiny. However, this person's physical disability caused his growth to be different from that of ordinary people, and it was reasonable to age prematurely. Regarding Emperor Wen Sheng's scolding, although his expression was more impatient with Cai Donglai's talkative words, there was no anger in his tone at all, and even others felt doting upon them.
After all, he had served this master for thirty or forty years. How could Cai Donglai not understand the depth of Emperor Wen Sheng's words? Naturally, he was used to being treated as a favored nickname, so Cai Donglai smiled with his eyebrows lowered and said: "Your Majesty is so wise, I can't flatter you, because I am too talkative."
The Zhongshu Ling is responsible for conveying the imperial edicts and assisting the Holy Emperor in handling government affairs. Whether it is the instructions from foreign ministers to Heaven or the emperor’s decrees regarding people’s livelihood, they all must pass through the Zhongshu Province where the Zhongshu Ling is located. To put it bluntly, no matter what Whether the Sage wants to understand the sentiments of the people or whether local officials want to meet the Sage, it is not a matter of direct dialogue between the parties involved, but must go through the Zhongshu Province and the level-by-level review before each can know.
The most complicated thing is the imperial family.
At this moment, unless there was something urgent, Zhongshu Ling, who was over fifty years old and had served the emperor of two dynasties, knew the emperor's habits so well that he would not come to cause trouble.
Therefore, as soon as he entered the palace gate, Chen Xiu, the Zhongshu Ling who had devoted himself to the emperors of the two dynasties, almost buried his head in his chest. He covered up the fear and fear on his face with the hand gesture. He couldn't be more respectful and knelt down directly. On the ground, he first kowtowed and apologized: "The incident really happened suddenly. I came in a hurry without having time to draft a memorial. I hope your majesty will forgive me."
Emperor Wen Sheng waved his hand to indicate that this minister who had devoted his whole life for the Zhou Dynasty would be exempted from the courtesy and asked: "Why are you so worried that you came to me directly?"
Zhongshu Ling didn't dare to raise his head when he stood up. As he stayed by the king's side all day long, he was naturally extremely cautious. After all, based on his understanding of this saint, what he said next would probably offend this ninety-five-year-old. Zhizun's anger.
"The mayor of the capital city reported that the patron prince's palace, Ye Hao You, has returned in the middle of the night." After saying this, the Zhongshu Ling lowered his head in a flattering manner and buried himself deeper.
Of course, the expected thing did not happen. Emperor Wen Sheng just frowned and looked at Cai Donglai aside. This made the eunuch's favored eunuch bow slightly in fear, lowering his eyebrows and trembling with fear.
Emperor Wen Sheng withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at Cai Donglai so fiercely, and tried his best to maintain a trace of calmness as before, and asked: "When did it happen?"
After all, knowing the emperor's thoughts well is one of the lessons that these close ministers must learn. The more the saint did not take it seriously, the more uneasy Chen Xiu felt in his heart. He did not dare to raise his head and carefully answered: "Yesterday...yesterday."
As if it was the last straw that broke the camel's back, Emperor Wen Sheng's eyes seemed to flash with light. The invisible pressure made Chen Xiu shiver uncontrollably, and he became a little lower.
In just an instant, the unique pressure of the king dissipated, causing the Zhongshu Ling, who had been cautious for most of his life, to curse the Jingqi Chengmu from the bottom of his heart, and said quickly: "Your Majesty, forgive me, just because these two people have falsified their experience. Si Yanjun failed to detect it in time, if it hadn't been for the uproar..."
The more Emperor Wen Sheng listened, the more he frowned, "Are you making a fuss?"
"The subjects in both the capital and the capital are discussing this matter."
Chen Xiu's cautious answer minimized the tension in his heart and the power of the holy wrath caused by this incident.
What Emperor Wen Sheng was wondering about was naturally not why these two siblings became the talk of the capital. After all, for more than a month, not to mention in Chang'an City, Xibo, the most discussed topic in the whole world was probably the missing three people. These things happened after Nian's siblings suddenly appeared.
What he wondered was why these two people were so elusive.
There had been secret messages a long time ago that the two siblings were missing again. It was very strange. Why did they suddenly appear in the capital with a fake identity certificate? Could it be that there was some shady arrangement?
After the well-known incident that happened in Phoenix City more than half a month ago, he disappeared without a trace. All parties and forces tried to investigate and trace it to no avail. At that time, the government and the public were shocked about Phoenix City, and even the women in the harem were there. After dinner, we talked about the night that split the sky with a knife. It's just that the excerpt presented at that time was vague about what happened here. Many hidden secrets in it are probably all guesswork, and the fact that the person who was fully involved in it disappeared in the middle of the night caused even Phoenix who was involved in it the whole time. The city lord, the prefect, the captain, including the fourteenth prince all didn't know why.
After more than half a month of downplaying the matter, it can be said that the matter has come to an end and no one has mentioned it again. The discussion about the two siblings who have disappeared without a trace is no longer as lively as it was at the beginning, but never let it go. No one expected that these two people suddenly appeared in the capital again. It was as sudden as a thunder explosion in the ground, which was really surprising.
"Where are the two siblings now?" Emperor Wen Sheng asked, but felt it was inappropriate, and then added, "Why is there no public notice on the other side of Panshan?"
Chen Xiu muttered: "It seems that they have not returned to Panshan, and no one knows where they are."
Emperor Wen Sheng's frown deepened, and it took him a long time to return to normal. As if nothing had happened, he said in a calm tone: "Are you so anxious about such a small thing?"
Naturally, he knew that His Majesty was trying to cover up his slight lapse just now. How could Zhongshu Ling, who had been guarding under the glazed tiles and green eaves all day long, not understand that it was a big deal but a small matter? Chen Xiu, the head of Zhongshu Province with a goatee, handed over a golden experience book in his hand, bowed again, and said, "Fuying is sending envoys to the court."
The brows that had just relaxed were wrinkled again, and Emperor Wen Sheng asked doubtfully: "Fu Ying sent envoys? Why were they not notified in advance? Where did they disembark? Which state and county received them? How many people came?"
There are several questions in succession, and these are all issues involved by the foreign envoys.
Usually some vassal states or envoys from foreign countries need to send people to the Great Zhou Dynasty in advance to report, and then the Ministry of Rites will submit the report. After the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty agrees, he will stamp the imperial seal and issue the customs clearance. So, below Only these countries that are dependent on the Great Zhou or interact with the Great Zhou can send people. Afterwards, when it comes to which state or county will receive the envoy, and when the mission is scheduled to rest, the local state or county must report the number of the envoy in a timely manner, so that the Ministry of Etiquette in Beijing can make arrangements for the reception as early as possible to avoid improper reception that will damage the face of the great country.
Chen Xiu's eyes showed some indescribable embarrassment and said: "There is only one person."
With doubts on his face, he accepted the customs clearance certificate handed over by Cai Donglai. The first one was the vermilion jade seal stamped by Fuying when he first ascended the throne seven years ago. The last one was the royal seal of Fuying. , confirmed without a doubt.
"I thought that Prince Fuying only came to study in our great Zhou Dynasty, so he was the only one."
Chen Xiu added another sentence.
After going through the customs clearance, Emperor Wen Sheng said in a bad tone: "Do you think you think, if it's all you think, there is still need for these complicated procedures?"
Chen Xiu shut up and dared not speak.
A few days ago, news came from Henan Prefecture that the Prince of the East Palace of Fuying had appeared in Kaifeng City. However, Fuying had been doing business with Dazhou. His Highness the Crown Prince did not bother to inform the people in advance, and he did not even disturb the people along the way. The government, therefore, did not pay attention to Chen Xiu and did not report it immediately. He only thought that it was Prince Fuying who was traveling around to study. However, he never thought that he would come to the capital not long after and wanted to meet the saint directly. This was true. Unexpected.
The upset Emperor Wen Sheng waved his hand to Zhongshu Ling to retreat, and then ordered Cai Donglai, who was standing beside him, to say: "Arrange to go to the Imperial Study Room."
The eunuch who had accompanied the emperor for thirty or forty years respectfully said yes, but Emperor Wen Sheng asked again: "Isn't it time to eat the Jiuji Fruit today?"
Cai Donglai still said only one word, "Yes."
"Show me the Imperial Medical Office." Emperor Wen Sheng took the lead and walked out. "I haven't been to the inner city for a long time. If you have nothing to do, come with me."
The natural answer is still one word, "Yes."
Emperor Wen Sheng, who was quite bored, waved his hand, but before taking two steps, he asked again: "How did that happen?"
Although he had no clue when he asked, Cai Donglai, who followed him and stopped immediately, understood the ambiguity inside. This was not the insight and meticulousness that he had learned from serving in the army for thirty or forty years, but it was about the majesty of the royal family and the twists and turns inside. Since the Dharma is not taught to the six ears, it cannot be taught to outsiders.
Cai Donglai bowed and said, "Everything is under control."
"Be sure not to miss the mark." Emperor Wen Sheng warned, "Give me an oral instruction and ask Yuejiu to send people to keep an eye on Panshan."
Emperor Wen Sheng, who was holding the golden and jade buckle belt around his waist, took a deep breath and seemed to be talking to himself, but he did not avoid the eunuch at all.
"That old immortal will not be able to survive even when he is about to die. Who is this person left behind?"
