HMAM CH 38 Discoveries And Changes
The snow was not heavy. It snowed and stopped occasionally. The palace servants would get up early to sweep away the snow with brooms. Inside, faint rustling sounds could be heard coming from the courtyard.
It was a rest day, but Jing Ye couldn't laze the day away. Last night, the guards came into the palace and reported that the old Prime Minister Gu had stayed at an inn outside the capital and entered the city gate early this morning.
A highly respected elder official from the imperial court had returned to the capital after several years outside. Not mentioning his students and disciples in the capital, those who have received favors from him, those who have been promoted by him, and those who have always respected him, could likely fill the entire city gate.
Jing Ye sat on the couch, his hand resting on the low desk. Gu Hong leaned over to tie Jing Ye's black mink embroidered five-clawed golden dragon cloak, and said with a smile: "Actually, Your Majesty does not need to go outside the city in person."
Jing Ye blinked and said, "Everyone in the world thinks zhen should go."
He would be seeing the other anyway. Jing Ye looked at the graceful gongzi in front of him. No matter how fearsome the father-in-law was, he still had to go over and say his greetings.
Gu Hong raised his eyebrows and said, "Father-in-law?"
Jing Ye: "...No, nothing."
"Your Majesty." Gu Hong looked at the embarrassed look on his slightly red cheeks. His slender jade-like fingers slipped through the knot and reached into the lapel of his clothes, stroking the delicate skin of Jing Ye's collarbone.
Jing Ye's hair exploded, and he stuttered backwards: "This, this, this, this is inappropriate. We have to pick up old Lord Gu..."
"What's inappropriate?" Gu Hong chuckled, as if recalling some scenes from last night, his voice became hoarse, "It's still early, Your Majesty, let's sleep a little longer..."
Jing Ye still wanted to speak, but unfortunately his mouth was blocked.
Ye Mao hurriedly waved his hand quietly, and the maids withdrew with blushing faces and closed the door.
“Alright, wait outside." Ye Gonggong flicked his horsetail whisk, "Let's wait for another hour or so.”
An hour later, Jing Ye stepped onto the imperial chariot with light steps. The master of ceremonies coughed lightly and reminded: "Your Majesty, the hems of your clothes must be straightened."
Jing Ye's face was expressionless, and the palace maid hurriedly stepped forward to tidy it up for him.
The palace maid secretly raised her head and saw that the corners of the emperor's eyes were faintly red, his eyelashes were long and soft, his features handsome and gentle, and she couldn't help but blush.
His Majesty… was quite beautiful.
When Jing Ye's imperial chariot arrived outside the city gate, there were already hundreds of people standing outside the city. When they saw the imperial chariot coming, they all knelt down and said, "Paying respects to Your Majesty."
"It's cold and snowy, all may rise quickly."
Jing Ye got out of the chariot. As soon as he leaned over, he felt a pain shoot up his waist, and his face suddenly twisted.
The ministers stood up as instructed.
Jing Ye took a few steps forward, a hand held bronze heater in his hands. It had just snowed all night, and the snow crunched when he stepped on it.
There was silence, except for the sound of the flag blowing in the wind.
After waiting for a while, a few small black spots appeared in the snow in the distance, slowly revealing the outline of a carriage.
The carriage stopped not far in front of Jing Ye. The coachman opened the thick curtain and helped an old man over sixty years old out of the carriage.
The old man had a kind face and a gentle expression. Although he was old, his smile similar to Gu Hong displayed his identity.
Some of the officials already shouted: "Lord Gu!"
Prime Minister Gu took a few steps forward steadily, brushed his clothes and was about to kneel down: "Your Majesty, Gu Shan, pays respects."
"Prime Minister, rise quickly." Jing Ye hurriedly put down the bronze heater and stepped forward to help him up, "The Prime Minister was a close friend of zhen's grandmother back then and is zhen's elder, so there is no need to perform such a grand ceremony."
Lord Gu stood up and said, "The etiquette cannot be discarded." He turned sideways and said, "This is my son, Gu Yun."
Gu Yun knelt down on one knee and said, "Paying respects to Your Majesty."
Jing Ye looked him over. Gu Yun's features were more similar to Prime Minister Gu, and they were less elegant and more worldly and casual.
Jing Ye smiled and said: "Rise. Zhen has held a small banquet in the palace to welcome the Prime Minister and wash away the tiredness of travel."
Prime Minister Gu cupped his hands and said, "Thanking Your Majesty."
The accompanying palace attendants led the father and son into the prepared carriage, and all the servants of the Gu family followed behind the accompanying carriage.
The guard ran to Gu Yun and whispered something. Gu Yun's eyebrows jumped, got in the carriage and sat across from Lord Gu, and said: "Father, Mei'er followed us."
Lord Gu let out an "en" and said, “With how your mother is like, I don't expect her to be able to control her. Where is she?"
"Apparently she has been following us the whole way, but after being discovered by the guards." Gu Yun couldn't help but laugh, "I don't know where she is now."
Lord Gu said slowly: "Then she must still be here, probably hiding in the carriage of those maids. Forget it, let her be."
Behind their carriage, in the carriage where the servant girls sat, Gu Mei was squeezed between several maids, her finger pressed to her lips: "Shh, shh..."
The maid said: “My lady, if you run out without permission, the master will be angry."
Gu Mei said with a smile: "There are many things that make him angry, not least of which is this one."
She had always been free and wild, and had learned the habits of jianghu from her two traveling brothers. She often loved to joke with the maids in fun, so the servant girls did not shy away from her, and they all laughed and said: “My lady can really risk it all for Lu Gongzi. "
Gu Mei blushed and waved her hand: "Who came so far for him? I just want to come to the capital to see..."
The maids burst into laughter.
"And by the way... take a look at him." Gu Mei was a little embarrassed and simply said: "I also want to see what kind of person could make Lu Baizang leave behind those rotten peach blossoms and become a good man."
Gu Hong followed Jing Ye out of the palace, but did not go outside the city. Instead, he stopped in front of a tavern in the city.
The location here was chosen very well. Behind the tavern was a large plum forest left by the predecessors. There were no plum blossoms in bloom in early winter, but the branches were covered with snow, which appeared glittering and dazzling in the sun and was very beautiful indeed.
The scholar was sitting on a bamboo chair by the window. Hearing the sound, he turned his head and said, "You came early."
Gu Hong cupped his hands and said, “Sir is here early as well."
The scholar smiled and said, "I came here to take a look. After nearly four years, this place is still the same as before, unchanged at all."
Gu Hong raised his head and looked at that pair of eyes—long eyelashes lowered, eyes like rippling water.
The look was so similar to Jing Ye.
Gu Hong brushed his clothes and knelt down and said, "This subject is slow-witted."
The scholar raised his hand to signal him to rise, and said with a smile: "The identity and disguise were all arranged by your teacher. If you see through it at a glance, where would Old Man Qianji's reputation be?"
Gu Hong said: "This matter..."
"Not many people know about this." The scholar leaned on the wine table, "There are a few people in Pingyue City who know about it, including your father and teacher."
Gu Hong raised his eyebrows and said after a while: “And His Majesty?"
"To him, I am just an old face from the past." The scholar chuckled, "I came silently, and I should leave silently. He is very good now, and there is no need for a father who has come back from the dead."
He stood up and looked at the snow-white branches outside the window, "Back then, your teacher read the fortunes of several of my imperial children. He said that my imperial mother killed too much and this bad karma has passed down towards her descendants. The several of them will not reach the age of adulthood. Only Ye'er, in the first half of his life, he bears a fate of sin, but in the second half of his life, he will be a benevolent monarch... But I didn't believe it at the time." The scholar laughed at himself.
"Now, thirteen years later, it is clear who was right and who was wrong."
When Gu Hong heard these words for the first time, he couldn't help but be startled.
"Gu Hong." The scholar said slowly but forcefully, "Whether you are loyal to the Jing family because of the Gu family, or you are really… in love with him?" He let out a chuckle, "I hope you will respect him, love him and protect him from now on.”
Gu Hong's eyebrows curved, and he brushed his clothes and said, "Of course."
After the small banquet, Jing Ye returned to Ping'an Palace.
It was broad daylight at almost noon, but there was a faint fragrance floating in the room, and the doors and windows were closed.
"Ah…"
Jing Ye lay on the bed, twisting a corner of the brocade quilt with his long and delicate fingers, and whispered: "You... lighter..."
Lu Baizang leaned forward while moving fiercely, pressed against the side of his face, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, when will you meet my parents…?"
Jing Ye didn't answer, he just felt his vision gradually blurring, sweat flowing from his forehead to the tip of his nose, and then being licked away.
When he woke up again, Lu Baizang was sitting next to him, wearing only an inner robe, holding a stack of More memorials and reading through them.
When Jing Ye spoke, he realized that his throat was dry and hoarse: "What are you looking at?"
Lu Baizang snorted, and his tone was very sour: "Your Majesty cherishes old relationships very much. At this time, you still kept the token of love..."
Jing Ye reached out and took it over and saw that it was a greeting memorial from Feng Ling.
Lu Baizang reached out and rubbed his waist fiercely. Jing Ye's waist trembled and he told him in a hoarse voice not to move.
Lu Baizang turned over and pressed him down, "He is avoiding you now, but you still think about him?"
Jing Ye touched his face and said hoarsely: "It was nothing in the first place, it was just wishful thinking on my part."
In the Feng Manor garden.
"Brother Feng?"
"En?" Feng Ling came back to his senses, and Yang Yuying looked at him with a smile: "Did you hear me?"
Feng Ling lowered his head and smiled apologetically.
Yang Yuying didn't care at all and said with a smile: "It might be rude of me to say this. But I'm too curious to not ask."
Feng Ling said, "Go ahead."
Yang Yuying said: "I heard from my brother by chance that you often go to the palace to see His Majesty." She blinked, "I wonder what His Majesty is like? Does he often reprimand people?"
Feng Ling didn't expect that she would ask about this. After a long pause, he said softly: “His Majesty... is a gentle and kind person."
"Even though I did something wrong, he still treated me leniently."
Yang Yuying covered her lips and smiled: "The appearance of His Majesty..."
Feng Ling thought for a while, his eyes softening: "Very beautiful."
When Prime Minister Gu returned to the court, he gave reassurance to the pure official faction in the court. In addition, during the suppression of the Zhao faction, an astonishing amount of money was swept out of the seized official residences. On the second day after Prime Minister Gu returned to the court, Jing Ye ordered the Ministry of Revenue to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the money and food deficit.
All of a sudden, there was a lot of excitement.
According to Lin Xiaosheng's suggestion, imperial envoys were sent to various regions to conduct inspections, and select officials from previous years' imperial examination candidates. Once corruption charges were discovered, they would replace them on the spot.
The other imperial edicts were even more to the point.
The days flew by fast when busy, and finally it was almost the end of the year.