There is less than a month left for the Queen Mother's birthday. It sounds like there is plenty of time, but in fact it is really not enough at all.
Everyone in Xijing City was busy celebrating the Queen Mother's birthday. Officials from all ministries were so busy that they wished they could live in the yamen every day. They rarely went home. A quick glance showed that everyone had lost at least a certain amount of weight. .
Officials at all levels of the ministry were especially grateful to the Queen Mother for her wisdom. They issued an edict early not to accept birthday gifts from local officials or tribute from subordinate countries. Otherwise, they would have been so busy that they would not even need to sleep. , it is very possible for a few people to work hard.
Song Jue supported the Empress Dowager's decision and issued an edict at the same time. Except for officials and generals who were summoned to Beijing by decree, no vassal kings or officials were allowed to leave their own territories. If any officials were found to have been summoned to Beijing, the officials would The local dismissal will be investigated and dealt with, and the vassal king will send it directly to the clan mansion.
At the same time, Jingzhao Mansion, under the instruction of Song Jue, issued a curfew in Xijing. Starting twenty days before the Queen Mother's birthday, a curfew was implemented in Xijing City. After the order, no one was allowed except for patrolling soldiers. Loitering on the street will result in heavy fines.
Even if it is a heavy fine, many people are taking chances and think that as long as they are careful and careful, they will not be caught by the Forbidden Army or the people from the patrol camp. Therefore, in the first three days of the curfew order, The Forbidden Army and the patrol battalion arrested many people who violated the rules. Taken together, there were almost two to three hundred people. Among the two or three hundred people, there were ordinary people, ministers, servants of wealthy businessmen, and occasionally a few officials who were late on duty and did not want to sleep in the yamen. The last kind are usually treated kindly and sent home personally by the soldiers of the Forbidden Army or the patrol battalion.
Commander Bai has been having a very difficult time these days, and there are deep shadows under his eyes. If he hadn't gone to the Duke's Mansion every night to complain to Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, he would have exploded long ago. Even so, Bai Meng's resentment is still very deep, and she always complains that these people in Xijing are too ignorant, which has caused them a lot of trouble.
"Let's talk about it. It's also a curfew. Why can the people at the border comply with it so easily? Look at these bastards in Xijing. The curfew seems to be killing them. If they are caught, they still won't admit it honestly. It’s wrong, and they keep jumping the gun and saying that it’s wrong to issue such a ban.”
"Don't be impatient. Next time there is such a person, you can ask him if he will regret it if he really loses his life because he failed to comply with the curfew." Shen Cha glanced at Bai Meng lightly, " Commander-in-Chief, you must understand that the Border Pass is different from Xijing. The people at the Border Pass, even the children, know that when the moon is dark and the wind is high, it is a good time to kill people and buy goods. Almost all craftsmen from various countries come out to do their activities at that time. The curfew just ensures the safety of people at the border."
"And the people at the border say that those who go out after the curfew are all evil-minded. Even if they are killed by mistake, they are not worthy of sympathy or pity." Song Qiyun, who had always been depressed, yawned and looked at The two cushions next to him were unused, so he stretched out his hand and pulled them over, placing them under his head. After lying down, he said, "But the people in Xijing have always lived and worked in peace and contentment. There are no hidden unknown dangers, and there is no need to worry about their lives." When will it end inexplicably? For them, the curfew will only be a trouble for them, and it will indeed have a certain impact on their normal lives. Commander, don't complain, you need to give the people a The process of adaptation.”
"Your Highness is right. I am impatient." Bai Meng sighed, "It is because I have been so busy during this period that I am very irritable. I cannot tolerate their behavior at all."
"Fortunately, we don't have to receive those foreign envoys, otherwise we would be even more busy." Song Qiyun yawned, "I'm so hungry."
"Didn't you just eat? Why are you hungry again?" Bai Meng looked at Song Qiyun carefully, "Your Highness, have you lost weight in the past few days? And you don't seem to be in good spirits. Have you lost weight in the past few days? Sleep well?"
"Not only did he not sleep well, he was exhausted these days." Shen Haolin threw a blanket to Song Qiyun and asked him to cover it to keep him from freezing. "The birthday banquet procedure set by the Ministry of Rites is too complicated. This boy is a bit Unbearable."
Song Qiyun nodded towards Bai Meng and flattened his mouth, looking really aggrieved.
"In the past few days, I have to work with all of you, Uncle Wang, Brother Wang, and Brother Wang, and follow the people from the Ministry of Etiquette to familiarize yourself with the entire process of the ceremony and birthday banquet. Every step you take and every action you make has strict requirements and must be very standardized. . Uncle Wang and others only need to sit aside and watch us, but we juniors must follow the standards set by the Ministry of Rites." Song Qiyun stretched out his thumb and index finger, "You don't know, the Ministry of Rites The process is actually written in such a thick and verbose way that I couldn’t understand it even after reading it all night.”
"I have seen the procedures of the Ministry of Etiquette. It is indeed too complicated." Shen Cha nodded, "Actually, people like Brother Yaojia and the others who live in Xijing all year round can participate in many such important ceremonies and are accustomed to these. But not Xiaoyun. He and Xiaojiu left Xijing and went to Jiapingguan City when they were very young. During the years at the border, there were almost no times when they returned to Xijing and caught up with such major ceremonies. They finally There is nothing wrong with the basic and most commonly used etiquette, but it is definitely difficult to adapt to such complicated etiquette."
"That's it." Song Qiyun turned over holding a cushion, "Besides, the people in the Ministry of Etiquette don't know what they think. They practice for a whole day and are not allowed to eat during the break. If it wasn't in the way of everyone, Uncle Wang is here, I really want to kick them to death!"
"Not allowed to eat?" Shen Haolin and Shen Cha looked at each other and frowned at the same time, "Why is this? Uncle Wang is not allowed to eat either?"
"Of course not, we are the only ones who don't give us food." Song Qiyun curled his lips, "They say they will feel sleepy after eating and it will be difficult to concentrate."
"Didn't you tell Your Majesty about this matter?" Seeing Song Qiyun shake his head, Bai Meng's brows furrowed deeper, "Your Majesty, don't be anxious, I will raise this issue with Your Majesty when I enter the palace later. The people in the Ministry of Rites are really You’re going crazy!”
"They are really going crazy!" Shen Cha's face also darkened, "Will the people from the Ministry of Etiquette be responsible for starving them? They have a heavy responsibility and don't want to make mistakes at birthday banquets and ceremonies. We can all understand. But you can’t pay that price.”
"There's nothing worse than this!" Song Qiyun curled his lips, "We all know that once I'm too hungry, my temper is not very good, and my complexion becomes worse. They don't dare to say anything to me in person, and they will whisper about me behind my back. , they said that I was squeamish, but I didn’t look like someone who had ever led a soldier or fought in a war. They thought they said it very quietly, but I have good ears, so I heard them all.”
"Commander, I will come with you to the palace." Shen Cha closed the file he was reading, "No matter what, I must seek justice for Xiaoyun today."
"Boss, there's no need to go to such trouble!" Ying Thirteen pushed open the door and came in from the outside, saluted to several people inside the room, and said, "Those guys from the Rites Department were reported by Prince Lian and are now in the prison of the Punishment Department."
"Oh?" When Song Qiyun heard this, he immediately became energetic. He sat up and looked at Ying Thirteen, "What's going on?"
"Prince Lian told all about the situation in the past few days. His Majesty Long Yan was furious and directly sent his brothers in Beijing to raid the homes of those officials." Ying Thirteen sneered, "From their respective Huge amounts of property were confiscated from their homes that were seriously inconsistent with their salaries. The largest one had one hundred thousand taels of gold and more than three million taels of silver, not counting antiques, paintings, and gems."
"A few of their seventh-rank officials, actually have such a high net worth?" Song Qiyun snorted, "The Ministry of Rites is not some oily yamen!"
"What His Highness is saying is that His Majesty has ordered Shadow's brothers in Beijing to conduct a strict investigation, with the assistance of the Forbidden Army and Patrol Battalion!" Ying Thirteen looked at Bai Meng, "The Commander-in-Chief can go directly to the Criminal Department now."
"knew!"
"Sure enough, evil people have their own destiny. If they weren't so excessive, they wouldn't have caused such a big trouble!" Song Qiyun stretched, "Well, I am in a slightly better mood now."
"There is one more thing that can make His Highness feel better." Ying Thirteen smiled slightly, "There is news from the palace that His Highness can take a day off and does not have to go to the Ministry of Etiquette to study tomorrow."
