Around five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun had set, but the sunlight outside was still bright, with no sign of setting. However, Zhu Ping'an had already left work early in Taicang.
"Leaving so early? Haha, I guess he can't hold on any longer and needs to go home and rest."
"I think if we can hold on for one more day at most, Zhu Ping'an will sign and seal the audit."
After Doctor Zhao and others escorted Zhu Ping'an out of Taicang, they laughed and teased him. In their opinion, Zhu Ping'an could not bear it any longer, so he went home early to rest. If he continued like this, Zhu Ping'an would probably only be able to pretend to hold on for another day before signing and sealing the inspection of the Taicang silver vault.
In this way, a lot of whiteness will emerge.
As a result, Taicang’s late-night restaurant became lively again.
After leaving Taicang, Zhu Ping'an, Liu Mu and Liu Dadao rode back on horseback. After arriving at Xicheng, Zhu Ping'an went to the Imperial Observatory first.
As a central government agency of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Observatory had its own independent office, just like the Six Ministries. It was located very close to the Six Ministries, just to the east of the Ministry of War, behind the Ministry of Rites, south of the Honglu Temple, and north of the Imperial Medical Service.
Unlike other government offices that face south, the gate of the Imperial Observatory faces west, probably due to feng shui considerations.
Signing in at the entrance is a common rule in all government offices, and the Imperial Observatory is no exception.
When signing, Zhu Ping'an glanced at the entire sign-in page inconspicuously. There were not many officials from the outer courts who came to the Imperial Observatory for official business, only three or four people a day. One sign-in page included the signatures of all the officials who visited for three days.
After looking at this sign-in page, you will know which officials came to the Imperial Observatory during these three days.
There was a familiar name on this page of the sign-in book, which immediately attracted Zhu Ping'an's attention.
"Taicang Jia Xu".
Zhu Ping'an immediately noticed Jia Langzhong's sign-in. Looking at the time, he was the last one to sign in yesterday.
It is easy to guess the purpose of Doctor Jia's coming to Taicang, which is nothing more than to find an auspicious day to replace the warehouse door.
Zhu Ping'an knew what was going on, but his face remained calm.
After signing in, Zhu Ping'an placed his brush on the pen holder, greeted the gatekeeper with a smile, and then entered the gate of the Imperial Observatory.
The internal layout of the Imperial Observatory is similar to that of the six ministries. The main gate also has three bays. A plaque with the words "Imperial Observatory" is hung in the center of the main gate. Inside the main gate is a shadow wall, and then there is a large courtyard with an observatory, a celestial platform, and Taoist decorations. Further in is the second gate, which is the ceremonial gate.
After entering the ceremonial gate is the main hall of the Imperial Observatory, where officials of the Imperial Observatory handle official business. It was also here that the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, Zhu Ping'an, was received.
"Wulian Tianzun... Mr. Zhuangyuan is here to change the date of the Taicang warehouse door, right?"
The deputy director of the Imperial Observatory was a fat and big-eared Taoist priest named Zhang Siming. He wore a gray and white Bagua Taoist robe, but gave people the feeling of Maitreya in Buddhism. He was smiling all the time. The Taoist robe made him look a bit out of place, and shouting out the Taoist name would make people lose interest in the show in minutes.
"Lord Zhang is very observant and hit the nail on the head. He guessed Ping'an's purpose at once." Zhu Ping'an complimented.
"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it... I'm the top scholar in charge of inspecting Taicang. I came to the Imperial Observatory the other day to ask for an auspicious day to replace the warehouse door. Naturally, I came here today for this matter." Zhang Siming smiled and shook his head.
"Excuse me, Lord Zhang, has the auspicious date for replacing the warehouse gate been decided?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
"It has been decided. There are two dates for the top scholar to choose from." Zhang Siming nodded and smiled.
"Which two days are they?" Zhu Ping'an leaned over and asked with great interest.
"The first is Ding, the second is Kun, the third is Ren, the fourth is Xin. The fifth is Qian, the sixth is Jia, the seventh is Gui, the eighth is Gen. The ninth is Bing, the tenth is Yi, the Zi, Xun, and Chou see Geng. The sixth month is Jia, the seventh is Gui, the heavenly virtue Jia takes Ji, the heavenly virtue Gui takes Wu. Taicang belongs to metal, earth produces metal, metal produces water. Therefore, the auspicious days are June 20th, three days later, and the other is the 18th of next month. These two days are bright and auspicious days for repairing the door and breaking ground."
Zhang Siming stretched out his hand, made a few seals, muttered something, and slowly told the auspicious day for replacing the door of the Taicang Silver Vault.
It was said that there were two auspicious dates for him to choose from, but Zhu Ping'an knew in his heart that there was actually only one, and that was June 20th, three days later.
As for the 18th of next month, it is still a month away from today. It will be too long. The inspection will be delayed for a month, which will affect the work of Taicang. Emperor Jiajing does not have the patience.
"When I went up there today, the Ministry of Works replied, saying that the fine iron warehouse door will be cast in another day. These two auspicious days will not be affected. I will issue a document to decide whichever one you think is suitable." Zhang Siming was not in a hurry. He looked at Zhu Ping'an calmly, waiting for Zhu Ping'an to choose a day.
Zhu Ping'an knew that this auspicious date must have been made possible by Doctor Jia. They definitely hoped to replace the warehouse door as soon as possible, so that they could feel at ease as soon as possible.
A guilty thief always worries that the longer the night goes, the more dreams he will have.
"Then let's set it for three days later."
But it doesn’t matter, three days are enough, Zhu Pingan said softly, his ink-black eyes flashing with confidence and determination.
"Okay, then it will be scheduled for three days later. I will have someone issue the document right away, and it will be sent to the six ministries, Taicang and other government offices tomorrow after it is stamped."
Zhang Siming had expected Zhu Ping'an's choice. After hearing the selected date, the smile on Zhang Siming's face became even more intense. He thought that he had done his best to fulfill the trust of others and this way he had not let them down.
"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Lord Zhang." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his gratitude.
After the date for replacing the warehouse door was confirmed, Zhu Ping'an bowed and said goodbye, left the Imperial Observatory and headed towards the Western Garden.
After entering the West Garden, Zhu Ping'an went straight to Wu Yi'an. It seemed that Wu Yi'an was very busy today. Almost all the officials of Sizhi were writing at their desks. They were very serious and meticulous, and they were very dedicated. Even when Zhu Ping'an entered Wu Yi'an, almost no one noticed.
After entering his own Sizhi room, he found that Li Chunfang was not there. He asked the officials who served with him and learned that Li Chunfang and several other officials who were good at Qingci and Pianwen were called to Tongshou Palace with Yan Shoufu and Xu Ge Lao to create. They went there in the morning and have not returned yet.
The official from Sizhi was obviously more attentive to his subordinates' articles than to Zhu Ping'an. After saying a few simple words, he lowered his head and devoted himself to his work.
Apparently, other officials of Wu Yi were also engaged in creative activities.
Another Qingci for fasting and offering sacrifices? Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yan, Qingci has become the top priority of Wu Yi's work...
Zhu Ping'an pulled the corner of his mouth speechlessly, sat down, picked up a pen, wrote a memorial requesting an audience with Emperor Jiajing, and prepared to have the eunuch deliver it to the Wanshou Palace to request an audience with Emperor Jiajing.