******
Qin Mu got up early in the morning to practice the art of breathing. Just as he finished, Han Zanzhou came up and said, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Changshan is kneeling outside the Meridian Gate with his bare arms, asking for forgiveness."
"Hmm? To ask for forgiveness by carrying a thorn stick on one's back? What is Ai Nengqi trying to do?"
Han Zanzhou bent down even lower to hide the strange expression on his face: "I don't know, but... I heard the report and went out to take a look. The Marquis of Changshan... cough cough, his body was blue and purple from the cold, his teeth were chattering, and he looked... "
"Old Han, you confiscated his money, right?"
Han Zanzhou was terrified, and quickly replied with a sad face: "Your Majesty, I am fortunate to serve you, and I have no shortage of food or clothing. How can I accept his money..."
"Alright, alright. If you confiscate it, then confiscate it. Don't look so sad so early in the morning. Come on, follow me out and take a look."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Qin Dynasty held court every three days. Qin Mu would not be like Zhu Yuanzhang, who held court meetings every day. Why go through all the formalities? Not only did he make all the officials suffer, but he himself also suffered a lot.
In fact, having more people at a court meeting does not mean that things will be handled faster. On the contrary, more people will lead to more disputes.
The issues discussed at court meetings often involve a limited number of officials and departments. Officials from some departments have nothing to do with their work and can only waste time in the court, which delays the affairs of the government office.
So no matter from which angle, holding court meetings every day is unnecessary. Qin Mu doesn't want to suffer that.
There was no court meeting today. When the officials entered the Imperial Street from the Daqin Gate, eunuchs were waiting at the Daqin Gate with the rosters of various government offices. The officials had to sign on the roster of their department, which was similar to the clocking in in later generations.
If you didn't come to Daqin Gate after the deadline, sorry, the eunuchs had gone back to the palace and didn't sign the book. Your salary would be deducted at the end of the month. So even though there was no court meeting, officials didn't dare to be careless and came to the yamen on time to do their work.
On this day, all the officials went to the government office as usual. When they entered the Imperial Street, they saw something new and strange. Who was that? Who was that
Ordinary people were not allowed to approach outside the Meridian Gate. Only officials could kneel here.
Everyone gathered around with curiosity to see who it was but Changshan Hou Ai Nengqi.
Well, the muscles on the body are well developed, but they don’t meet Mr. Rabbit’s standards.
Uh, there is too much firewood on my back. Are I going to set fire to the palace
It was the coldest time of the year, and early in the morning, everyone was wearing cotton-padded clothes but their hands and feet were numb from the cold. Ai Nengqi was so cold that he was kneeling with his bare arms and a bundle of firewood on his back. His body looked like a dyeing factory, with patches of blue and purple.
Most officials didn't understand what was going on and chose to stand by and watch.
Huang Zhenlin, the director of the Ministry of Works, got out of the car with his cloak covering his face, and saw many officials gathered in front of the Meridian Gate. He squeezed in and took a look. Wow, what is going on today
"Marquis Changshan, it's so cold. Why are you kneeling in front of the Meridian Gate?" Huang Zhenlin kindly took off his cloak and wanted to put it on Ai Nengqi, but his sympathy was in vain. Old Ai was carrying a pile of firewood on his back.
Everyone has heard of the story of carrying a bundle of thorns to ask for forgiveness, but not many people have actually seen it. Ai Nengqi had not read much and was a rough man, so how could he have studied this in detail? Others just carried a few twigs as a token of their respect, but he carried a huge bundle, and the cloak could not cover it, so it looked like a flag.
Ai Nengqi twisted his frozen chin a few times and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Huang Zhenlin, the director of the Ministry of Works. Marquis of Changshan, what is going on? You should get up first."
"Mr. Huang... Mr. Huang, I will remember this favor. You... don't worry about it. I am guilty and have come to Your Majesty to apologize. If Your Majesty is unwilling to forgive me, I will kneel... down." Ai Nengqi was so cold that his teeth chattered when he spoke.
Xu Yongshun, who had been watching the excitement outside, had roughly guessed the cause of the incident after some inquiries. This was his brilliance, otherwise he would not have known in advance that Qin Mu was going to Yanziji to review the navy in the morning.
Originally he didn't want to get involved in this matter, but when he saw that Huang Zhenlin was a good man and what he did was worth it, he weighed the pros and cons and felt that this matter could not only do him a favor for Marquis Changshan, but also express his loyalty to the emperor.
So he squeezed out, took off his mink coat and covered Ai Nengqi with it, and tried to help him up, saying in rapid succession, "Marquis Changshan, get up quickly, get up quickly, you came here to apologize for your loyalty, and His Majesty must have known about it, get up quickly."
"You, you... who are you?"
"I... ... uh, I am a humble person, and I dare not offend the Marquis of Changshan. My Lord, please listen to my advice. Your Majesty is a wise ruler throughout the ages, with virtue throughout the world and benevolence towards all things. Whenever the people in the world are cold and hungry, it will all concern your Majesty. You came to the Meridian Gate to apologize so early in the morning. If you get frozen, not only will your Majesty not want to see it, but it will also undermine your Majesty's benevolence. If you don't know, you might think your Majesty... .. well, you know."
Ai Nengqi really understood what was said. His face was already blue and purple from the cold, and now it was flushed, which was really a spectacle.
He swallowed hard a few times, not knowing whether to kneel or stand up. If he stood up, he was afraid that the emperor would say that he was not sincere in his apology. But if he continued to kneel, he was afraid that he would be suspected of threatening to commit suicide.
Fortunately, at this moment, a loud shout was heard: "Your Majesty has arrived!"
"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!" The officials watching outside the Meridian Gate hurriedly paid their respects.
Qin Mu had just finished practicing breathing exercises and hurriedly put on a cloak before coming out. It was a bit indecent to take off his cloak, so when he saw Xu Yongshun, he immediately said, "Xiao Shunzi, give your coat to Changshan Hou."
"I obey your command!" Xu Yongshun answered quickly, as if he was afraid that Qin Mu's words would fall to the ground. God has eyes, this time all my efforts were not in vain, and I did not take the wrong side. His Majesty called me Xiao Shunzi in front of all the officials. God has eyes, this is such an intimate name!
Xu Yongshun was so happy that he wanted to help Ai Nengqi take off the big bundle of firewood. If he didn't, he couldn't put on the coat.
Ai Nengqi then knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I was... reckless and ignorant before, and I said something disobedient that offended Your Majesty. Your Majesty not only did not blame me, but also granted me the title of Marquis. I feel guilty. Your Majesty is a gentleman and treats me with great kindness. I think about it. If I care about my face and do not confess my guilt to Your Majesty, how can I stand in this world... Today, I sincerely come to plead guilty. Please punish me for my disrespect."
Qin Mu stepped forward to support him and said, "Marquis Changshan, there is no need to do this. Everyone makes mistakes. It is a great virtue to correct them! Marquis Changshan, please get up quickly. If you get frozen, the Great Qin will lose a capable and skilled general. I still hope that the Marquis Changshan will continue to fight for the Great Qin and guard the four directions."
As Qin Mu spoke, he personally helped him take off the firewood on his body. Xu Yongshun and Huang Zhenlin on the side also hurried up to help. There was no other way. Ai Nengqi probably felt that the more firewood he carried, the more sincere he would be. It was such a big bundle. If he didn't hurry up to help, how could it be reasonable to let the dignified Emperor of Qin carry a bundle of firewood
After the firewood was untied, Qin Mu personally took Xu Yongshun's mink coat and put it on Ai Nengqi. Ai Nengqi didn't know whether he was cold or moved, tears flowed down his cheeks and he choked up and said, "Your Majesty, I... wish to die. Please punish me, otherwise I will be uneasy."
"Okay, then I will punish you and ask you to do good deeds to atone for your sins. In the future, General Ai must do more for the country to atone for his previous sins."
"Thank you... Thank you, Your Majesty." Ai Nengqi bowed his head and kowtowed again.
After Qin Mu helped him up, he looked up and saw that they were all very smart. Except for Xu Yongshun and Huang Zhenlin, the officials who had been watching had all used the Eight Steps to Chase A Cicada Kung Fu and quietly slipped away.
"Come on, help Marquis Changshan to the Imperial Hospital and have him diagnose you and prescribe a treatment for your style."
"No, no, no, Your Majesty, I'm fine. I... ... ... If Your Majesty continues like this, I will be ashamed. I have disturbed Your Majesty's peace, and Your Majesty has shown mercy by not punishing me. How dare I cause more trouble for Your Majesty? I will return home now." Ai Nengqi said, and then knelt down and kowtowed again.
Finally, Qin Mu asked Han Zanzhou to arrange a carriage to send Ai Nengqi back home.
Although the matter ended like this, it became a hot topic of discussion in the court and the public. Even Li Dingguo had not expected that Ai Nengqi would do this. He only asked Ai Nengqi to take the initiative to apologize, but he did not expect that this guy would do this and cause such a mess... Well, it's good, it's good this way. I hope that Ai Nengqi's actions can really eliminate the grudge in His Majesty's heart.
In front of the Meridian Gate, Qin Mu looked at Huang Yongshun and Huang Zhenlin for a long time without saying anything, which made the two of them feel uneasy!
"I will go to Yanziji to inspect the Royal Navy in a while. You two should come with me."
"ah!"
"Xu Yongshun, what are you talking about?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am flattered. Yes, yes, I am flattered." Xu Yongshun's mind raced. He was indeed flattered to get such an opportunity, but what about his sister? He thought quickly, gritted his teeth and continued, "Your Majesty, I had an appointment with someone today. We were going to Yanziji to enjoy the river view together. I will ask someone to cancel the appointment now."
Qin Mu saw that he was in trouble, so he asked casually, "Who do you have an appointment with?"
"This... Your Majesty, he is not an outsider, but a family member of mine. He said he was feeling depressed these past two days, so I plan to go to Yanziji with him to relax."
Qin Mu had no doubts. He asked Xu Yongshun to accompany him to Yanziji because he wanted to learn about Longjiang Shipyard. He said, "Since it's on the way, let him come along."
"Your Majesty, ah... Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty. I will go home and prepare, and will be back here to wait for Your Majesty immediately." Xu Yongshun was overjoyed. After paying his respects, he ran away. This made Qin Mu a little stunned. What happened to this guy today
"Huang Qing, you don't have someone else who wants to go with you, do you?"
"Your Majesty, you are joking. I am on duty now, so how can I have an appointment with anyone?"
"Ha ha... ... .
***************************
ps: Please vote for me, I just want to ask for my monthly ticket! This is too quiet!
.(To be continued..)
...