The first time Zhang Shou entered the palace, he was picked up by a sedan chair sent by Qingning Palace to meet the empress dowager. The second time, he was suddenly summoned by the emperor from the Lu family to attend court. Now, when he entered the palace for the third time, when Zhang Shou walked into the Qianqing Gate, he felt calmer than the previous two times. He went through the Bei'an Gate, just in time to avoid the team of officials leaving the court. When he saw the Qianqing Gate, he also took a look at the imperial carriage that was withdrawing.
It was obvious that the emperor had just returned to the Qianqing Palace from the Fengtian Hall.
The eunuch who led him today was Lu Chan, a familiar face whom he had met once in the outer court of the Imperial Household Department. He had just talked about the past and the present and was very talkative. Now that they had entered the Qianqing Gate, they were no longer as casual as before, and dared not say a word. They led Zhang Shou to the bottom of the steps, reported inside, and soon heard a sharp voice.
"The emperor is changing his clothes, Dr. Zhang, please stay for a moment."
Although the wind was a bit strong at the moment, Zhang Shou's official robe was specially made for the Duke of Zhao's Mansion and was padded inside, which was enough to keep out the cold and keep warm in weather like this. Zhang Shou saw that Lu Chan hesitated for a moment after hearing what he said, as if he didn't know whether to go in. He simply didn't urge him or ask. He lowered his eyes, stood there calmly, waiting, and ignored the scrutinizing eyes around him.
Taking advantage of this free time, he thought about the prototype of the spinning jenny that he saw when he went to the blacksmith shop last night. Although he had not really tried the machine, Zhao Si also said that it still needed fine-tuning. Luo Xiaoxiao had not yet completed several iron components, but they were not far from what he remembered. As for whether it could be used, he would probably have to go back and ask Wu for help.
Although weaving and spinning are not in the same field, his mother is always better than a pure layman like him.
He waited like this for quite a while, even getting distracted out of habit, when he suddenly heard a voice behind him: "Why let Dr. Zhang wait outside the door in the wind?"
Zhang Shou turned around and saw that it was Chu Kuan, the secretary of the Imperial Household Department, who was walking towards him from the Qianqing Gate. He nodded in greeting, but Chu Kuan only smiled and returned the greeting. He glanced at Lu Chan next to him with a little anger, and then quickly walked up the stairs. Soon, a middle-aged eunuch came out quickly, with a bit of anger on his face, but before he could say anything, Chu Kuan sprayed him back.
"Liu Feng, it's true that you are the steward of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, but Dr. Zhang was specially invited by the emperor, and he is also the teacher of the third and fourth princes. Is this how you treat court officials so poorly?"
Liu Feng, the manager of the Qianqing Palace, wanted to retort. He was just a sixth-rank official. How could he be considered a minister of the court? Especially when he saw Zhang Shou standing there calmly and not paying any attention to the dispute between him and Chu Kuan, he felt even more unhappy, but more of it was because he felt guilty. After all, the emperor only ordered Zhang Shou to wait a little longer, but he didn't tell him to wait outside the Qianqing Palace!
He was not the Queen's man, so he had no reason and no courage to show his displeasure to Zhang Shou because the man in Kunning Palace was still under house arrest. If he hadn't heard by chance that the Queen Mother in Qingning Palace didn't like Zhang Shou very much, and didn't like him to get involved in royal affairs, he wouldn't have hinted to others to let Zhang Shou stay outside to get some information.
Therefore, he could only bite the bullet and say, "It was just a momentary negligence of the person who delivered the message. It's just a small matter. Why does Eunuch Chu have to exaggerate it?" As he said that, he immediately forced a smile and greeted Zhang Shou, "Dr. Zhang, please come in. I will definitely teach that idiot who couldn't even deliver a message a lesson!"