Capítulo 1815: Chapter 1790: Calm and Composed
The emperor also sighed. Zhou Man had a bowl of steaming noodles to eat, which he did not. After changing clothes, he casually tucked two pieces of snacks for himself and ca out from the rear hall, greeting the ministers in the court with a smile.
Then he engaged in cordial and friendly conversations with the ministers sitting in the front row on both sides, discussing so state affairs during the break.
Gu Zhong was even busier, personally overseeing matters. After three quarter-hours, he finally led teams of eunuchs into the hall to distribute al boxes.
Manbao, sitting at her own seat, also received a al box.
She was quite delighted. Although she had just eaten a bowl of noodles, after walking back from the rear hall and sitting for a while, she was still a bit hungry.
So, she opened the al box, and seeing two white stead buns, a small plate of pickles, a small plate of stead at, and a bowl of radish at soup inside, she happily took out her chopsticks and looked towards the emperor at the head.
The emperor also opened his al box, then holding his chopsticks with a smile, said, “My dear ministers, you must be hungry. Let us have lunch.”
Gu Zhong loudly announced, “The emperor grants a feast.”
Manbao, with her round eyes, slightly bowed together with the other ministers to thank the emperor. Only after the emperor had taken a bite did they start eating.
Manbao directly picked a piece of the seemingly delicious stead at and put it in her mouth. It was icy cold and greasy, with a peculiar taste. Manbao held it in her mouth for a mont, looked around to see everyone avoiding the stead at within the al box, only eating buns with pickles, and couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.
The County Magistrate Guo on her left caught her gaze, looked at her al box, noticed a missing piece of stead dish, and imdiately understood.
His eyes flashed with amusent. After nodding to Zhou Man, he said in a low voice, “Lord Zhou Junior, it’s not proper to be discourteous in the main hall.”
So, you have to swallow it.
Lord Tang from the left front and Lord Yang in the front turned back to look at her upon hearing the conversation.
Lord Tang smiled, his eyes curving, and whispered, “How is it? Does the palace work al have a unique flavor?”
Yang Heshu gave him a sideways glance, turned slightly, reached into Zhou Man’s al box to check the bowl of soup, then took her soup and exchanged it with his, smiling, “Drink it with the soup. Mine is a bit warr than yours.”
Upon closer inspection, Manbao realized that the bowl of soup from Yang Heshu still faintly emitted steam, whereas hers had not a trace of warmth.
Manbao took the soup, drank a mouthful, held it in her mouth for a while, unsure if it ward the at in her mouth, but she swallowed it whole anyway. She then rembered to ask Yang Heshu, “Scholarly Senior Brother Yang, is my soup also cold? I shouldn’t drink it, should I? It might upset the stomach.”
Yang Heshu laughed, “It’s not cold, just lukewarm, perfectly drinkable. Since you’ve already eaten noodles, eat less from the al box. The Grand Court Session will still go on for quite a while; it wouldn’t be good to be discourteous.”
Manbao agreed.
She stopped touching the stead at and soup and instead picked up a bun to eat with pickles.
Lord Guo, hearing their conversation, gave Zhou Man a surprised glance. Having sat in the sa row together through five or six Grand Court Sessions, they had developed quite a rapport, so he asked, “Did you eat noodles?”
Manbao nodded, sighed, and said, “I ate them in Princess Mingda’s hall. Originally, I was planning to have the work al, so I intentionally held back, eating a little less, but I didn’t expect this kind of work al.”
Lord Guo felt even his bun lost its taste, feeling rather depressed. If any one of them were to dine in the Prince’s palace during a break in the Grand Court Session…
After finishing the work al, the eunuchs filed in again to collect the al boxes, and the Grand Court Session continued.
The first half mainly involved questioning based on today’s morials, and the officials being nad had to stand up to answer questions.
Manbao was questioned three tis, and toward the end, she was getting quite agitated, feeling vaguely targeted. But after witnessing the number of tis the Ministry of Revenue was questioned, Manbao was instantly pacified.
Minister Liu and his two assistant ministers were continuously questioned, having to step out almost every third question. Curiously, no matter how sharp the questions were, or even when the remarks beca harsh, Minister Liu leisurely answered them without a trace of anger.
Manbao stared with wide eyes, watching them, occasionally glancing at Minister Liu, then at the questioning officials, thoughtful after a while.
Manbao was sowhat eager, hoping to be questioned once more so she could reply as calmly and composedly as Minister Liu.
But unfortunately, as the Grand Court Session neared its end and everyone began to heap friendly praises, no one questioned her again.
Sitting left and front of her, Lord Tang let out a long sigh, shifted in his seat, and whispered, “It’s almost over at last.”
Manbao was quite disappointed, mumbling softly, “I’m not even hungry yet; couldn’t they ask two more questions?”
Both Lord Tang and Lord Guo, upon hearing this, turned to look at her with a mix of disbelief and surprise, even Yang Heshu couldn’t help turning to glance at her.
The ministers at the front had already started to shift from complinting each other to lauding the emperor’s eminence, even a straightforward minister like Wei Zhi couldn’t resist praising the emperor, noting that although there were many small mistakes throughout the year, in major administrative aspects there were no problems.
Though the emperor didn’t fully agree with Wei Zhi’s complint, he still felt a little pleased deep down.
Of course, so were very adept at flattering, and with just a couple of words, made the emperor feel utterly gratified, so Manbao followed suit, standing up along with everyone, expressing her recognition of the emperor’s wisdom.
The Grand Court Session finally concluded.
First, the emperor departed, followed by the more senior ministers in the front, and then it was the turn for officials like them.
Manbao left the palace hall and dashed off after Minister Liu, leaving Lord Tang, who wanted to speak with her, only enough ti to extend a hand without saying a word.
Manbao darted away quickly; she was small, young, and nimble, soon catching up to the leisurely walking Minister Liu in front of her.
“Lord Liu, I have a question for you.”
Minister Liu felt a headache upon seeing Zhou Man. Earlier in the hall, she had a heated dispute with his Left Assistant Minister. Had they not been seated far apart, he suspected they might have started fighting.
Ah, youth; even argunts are loud.
Seeing Zhou Man now, he thought she was rushing up to argue with him again, quickly waved a hand, “The court session is over. If you had questions, you should have asked during the session; we’re not discussing state affairs now, not discussing state affairs.”
Manbao tugged at his sleeve to stop him, “I’m not discussing state affairs. I just want to ask you one question.”
Minister Liu helplessly asked, “What question?”
“Minister Liu, why can you stay calm while others argue with you and speak with them without getting angry?” Manbao said with starry eyes, “I find your calm deanor to be quite impressive.”
Minister Liu instantly stopped, his face breaking into a smile, folding his hands, and asking, “Is that what you think?”
User Comments
0 comments from readers