The Emperor personally attended the mourning, and Pri Minister Fan naturally dared not be negligent. By the ti he ca to greet Emperor Chu, the mourning hall had already been cleared, waiting for the Emperor’s arrival, with only a few young children kneeling there and weeping.
This was just for appearances; secretly, who knew how many Hidden Guards were watching, with countless pairs of eyes fixed solely on Emperor Chu. Even a fly coming too close would be scared away.
Pri Minister Fan personally picked up an incense stick and handed it to Emperor Chu. After the latter bowed three tis, he personally inserted it into the incense burner, then knelt down, thanking the Emperor for coming to mourn as a filial son would.
Emperor Chu sighed and helped this old minister up once more, expressing condolences to help him find solace in his grief.
Song Zhiyuan also autonomously picked up an incense stick to pay his respects, without looking at the remains, and accompanied Pri Minister Fan to join Emperor Chu in the outer study for tea.
It was ti to put on a show again.
The group each took their places, holding their tea as they conversed.
Emperor Chu rely touched his cup lightly before putting it down, looking at Pri Minister Fan and saying, "At this age, the Grand Madam’s passing is considered a celebratory funeral, so Pri Minister Fan should not grieve too much. Take good care of yourself. I still hope that when you return from mourning, you will serve Great Qing again. Great Qing cannot do without you." These words sounded pleasing, but those present were all aware that by the ti Pri Minister Fan returned from mourning, who knew what the situation would be?
Yet Pri Minister Fan would not disregard Emperor Chu’s face, displaying a deeply moved expression and bowing to the Emperor, saying, "How can I, a humble minister, deserve such concern and importance from Your Majesty? I am old and plan to personally escort the spirit back to my hotown, build a hut, and observe mourning there. By the ti I finish mourning, I will be sixty-three, and I fear I might not be able to work anymore."
"Pri Minister Fan, you jest. You are still hale and hearty; don’t abandon your post. There are still many things I wish to learn from you," Song Zhiyuan said.
Pri Minister Fan waved his hand, "Pri Minister Song is much more capable than this old minister. With you, Your Majesty, handling matters will naturally be much more efficient."
"As the saying goes, ’ginger gets spicier as it ages.’ No matter how capable I am, can I compare to an old minister who has eaten more salt than I’ve eaten rice? To be blunt, when you were in office, I was still wetting my pants!"
Pri Minister Fan wanted to continue the pleasantries, but Emperor Chu impatiently interrupted their back-and-forth playacting, saying, "Stop quarreling. You are both my trusted ministers, and I can’t afford to lose either of you. As I’ve always said, Pri Minister Fan, take good care of yourself; I still need you."
At this point, if Pri Minister Fan continued to say insincere words, it would only make things awkward. He feared the other might conveniently suggest his retirent, so he imdiately bowed and complied.
"This old minister asks for nothing else; rits and achievents are for the young to vie for. My only allegiance is to Great Qing, and even if I die, I would gladly die at the desk working for Great Qing. As long as His Majesty needs this old minister, I will definitely strive to my utmost until my last breath."
As he said this, he trembled and knelt down again.
Emperor Chu had to say so more pleasing words.
After this round of acting between sovereign and minister, Emperor Chu could not stay for long and was escorted out of the Fan Mansion by Song Zhiyuan.
Once in the carriage, Emperor Chu let out a heavy snort, "You see, I told you, he’s an old man clinging to power. Expecting him to retire voluntarily is probably not going to happen in this lifeti."
Pri Minister Song said, "Pri Minister Fan is still young."
He’ll be only in his early sixties when the mourning period ends, and since he maintains his health well, serving another ten years is not out of the question.
People, once they’ve held a high position for a long ti, do they easily retire?
Emperor Chu did not argue, only saying, "Let’s head to Wanshan Garden. I heard the sheep there co from Kazakhstan, fed on dicinal herbs and drinking Heavenly Mountain Snow Water; the at is particularly fine. Let’s have so mutton hotpot before returning to the palace."
Song Zhiyuan: "..."
Is there such a capricious Emperor? Wasn’t it agreed beforehand that we would only mourn?
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