"Snapped!"
The cup shattered the moment it hit the ground. The broken pieces showed the owner's anger. The people around him knelt down almost at the same time, not daring to breathe. Although Emperor Liang Ping smashed the cup to vent his anger, when he saw the memorial in his hand, he still wanted to tear it into pieces.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty's health is the most important!" Xu Hai knelt on the ground and tried to persuade him tremblingly, fearing that Emperor Liang Ping would collapse in excitement.
The palace was very hot and stuffy in the summer. Although there was an ice basin, it could only temporarily relieve the heat. You couldn't use too much ice, otherwise it would become damp and hot once the ice melted. In such an environment, most of the masters in the palace suffered from summer heat, and Emperor Liang Ping hadn't had a proper meal for two days.
As a close confidant of Emperor Liang Ping, Xu Hai's entire glory depended on him, so naturally he cared more about his health than anyone else. Seeing that Emperor Liang Ping was angry because of the memorial, Xu Hai was worried and secretly cursed the ministers who submitted the memorial in his heart. He didn't know what they wrote in the letter to make the emperor so angry.
Emperor Liang Ping took a deep breath and said, "Stand up, everyone else, leave."
Soon, only Emperor Liang Ping and Xu Hai were left in the upper study. Xu Hai walked forward cautiously and poured another cup of tea for Emperor Liang Ping.
"Your Majesty, you must put the dragon's body first."
Emperor Liang Ping took a sip of tea from the cup, then sighed: "I don't want to be angry, but some things make people angry! Do you know what is written in this memorial?"
"I don't know."
"This memorial was submitted by Lin Jun, the prefect of Chengtian Prefecture. It talks about the affairs of Cangzhou."
When Xu Hai heard this, he instantly connected this place with a person in his mind.
"If I remember correctly, isn't Cangzhou the place where Prince Pei, Duke of Zhongguo, holds office? But Prince Pei made a mistake while in office, causing Your Majesty to be so angry?" In Xu Hai's imagination, when a boss reports on his subordinates, it is usually for the purpose of impeachment. And for someone as unconventional as Prince Pei, it should be reasonable for his boss to impeach him.
Emperor Liang Ping was stunned, and then showed a helpless expression: "You, you, do you think I will get angry because of Pei Che?"
Xu Hai immediately slapped himself lightly on the mouth: "I was wrong, I deserved a slap on the mouth. Your Majesty, you are as broad-minded as the sea, you will definitely not bother with Prince Pei. So what is your reason?"
Emperor Liang Ping was interrupted by him and was not as angry as before. He said: "Lin Jun said in his memorial that a mine was discovered in Cangzhou. After inspection, it should be an iron mine."
Upon hearing this, Xu Hai hurriedly said, "Isn't this a great thing? Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Iron tools can be used in more than just weapons and farm tools; they can be used in almost every aspect.
Emperor Liang Ping said solemnly: "This is not a new discovery. People have been digging for seven or eight years."
"What?" Xu Hai couldn't help but exclaimed, "This is a serious crime of confiscating the property and exterminating the entire family. How could someone dare to do this? What are those officials in Cangzhou doing?"
"They are abusing their power, enjoying themselves, and seeking personal gain! In short, they are not understanding the people's feelings, not enforcing the law impartially, and not working hard for the world of Daliang!" This is what makes Emperor Liang Ping most angry. There have been people who are daring and take risks in every dynasty, but there are very few who act under the eyes of the government, let alone for seven years! The last time those people were deceived by two charlatans, they should have been executed!
"Your Majesty, calm down!" Xu Hai quickly poured another cup of tea for Emperor Liang Ping. "Fortunately, the matter has been investigated now, thanks to Prefect Lin's sharp eyes."
Emperor Liang Ping smiled bitterly, "It wasn't him... It was Pei Che who discovered and found out, and they just gave face to their superiors by letting him submit the memorial." Lin Jun was not a stupid person, and he was probably very clear about Pei Che's background, so he said a lot of good things about him in the memorial, and he would never dare to take the credit for this matter on himself.
Xu Hai: “…”
"Now I understand why the late emperor praised Pei Shijie time and time again..." How can a young man who is full of vigor and good-looking, and also has strong ability to do things, be disliked
"Your Majesty..." Xu Hai didn't know what to say.
"He wrote in his memorial that he also brought the suspect's image with him. Send someone to take a look and tell them to bring it up after they find it. Then send someone to summon the Minister of Justice to the palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Xu Hai retreated to the steps, then turned around and went out to instruct his men to do their job.
Soon, the image was found, and the Minister of Justice also hurried over. Emperor Liang Ping informed him of the matter and ordered him to send more people to draw the image, and then distribute it to various government offices across the country to issue a nationwide wanted notice for these people. In addition, he also sent another person to Cangzhou to bring the people involved in the case to the capital for trial.
The Minister of Justice agreed and was about to leave when Emperor Ping of Liang called him back.
"You don't have to bring all the people who were held captive here. Just find three or two brave ones to come and testify."
"Yes, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is kind-hearted and truly a blessing to the people!"
Emperor Liang Ping watched him leave, and suddenly thought of something important. He said, "Xu Hai, pass on my order to have the ministers of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War come to the palace immediately."
"The Emperor, by order of Heaven, orders that the suspects in the Cangzhou mine case be brought to Beijing as soon as possible to await trial. This is my decree!" "Long live the Emperor!"
Pei Che stood up, took the imperial edict and handed it to the yamen runner beside him, telling him to take it in and carefully enshrine it. After giving the order, he turned to the officials of the Ministry of Justice who were waiting on the side and said, "Sir, it's getting late today. If we hurry, we may have to sleep in the wilderness. How about leaving tomorrow?" After saying that, he looked at the other two and said, "Let me show my hospitality as a host and entertain you all."
Lord Li said, "Since Lord Pei has invited us so kindly, how can we not give him face? Brother Han, Brother Gao, what do you think?"
Han and Gao both said, "It would be disrespectful to refuse."
Pei Che smiled and invited him into the inner hall, where several tables of wine and food had been set up to entertain them.
The guests and hosts were all having a great time at the banquet. After three rounds, everyone became much closer when talking, and they were no longer as restrained as at the beginning. Pei Che took advantage of the wine and asked around, and found out a lot of things. Of course, he also deliberately revealed some things related to Cangzhou. After all, Han and Gao were from the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War respectively, and they would be stationed here to mine in the future. They didn't know how many years they would stay here, so they naturally wanted to find out clearly first.
The drinking party ended late at night. Pei Che hadn't drunk so much in a long time. He was rocked by the carriage and vomited as soon as he got back.
Jiang Miao took off his clothes with a look of disgust and threw them away, then poured him a glass of water to rinse his mouth, and went to the kitchen to bring back the cooked hangover soup for him to drink.
The drunk Pei Che was powerless to struggle. He was forced to drink a cup of ginger-flavored hangover soup while his nose was pinched. His eyes turned red from the spicy smell and he called out "A Miao" in grievance.
"Why are you yelling? You're still feeling aggrieved after coming back drunk? Do you know that in modern times, you can't even get through the door?" Jiang Miao said viciously, holding a cloth in his hand to help Pei Che wipe. This guy is so clean, if he is not cleaned up, he will get up in the middle of the night to take a shower.
Pei Che had a headache and couldn't understand what was said. He only heard Jiang Miao's voice in his ears, and then he called out "A Miao" pitifully.
Jiang Miao softened his heart after being called out by him, and his hands became much lighter, but he still couldn't help but mutter: "Okay, alcohol is indispensable for social events, and drinking a little is inevitable. But don't you know how much you can drink? You know it's uncomfortable when you drink too much, but you don't know how to pour some secretly when you drink. Why are you so honest?"
Pei Che felt comfortable with him, a bright smile bloomed on his face, and he called him again foolishly.
“… I’m scared of you. Now that you’re done, go to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow!” Jiang Miao lost his temper, changed his clothes, pushed him into the bed, and got up to clean up the mess.
The next morning, Pei Che opened his eyes, and the scenes that happened last night rushed into his mind. He was annoyed at his drunken behavior, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel a little happy. He leaned to one side, supported his head with his hand, and looked at Jiang Miao who was sleeping soundly.
Even though he was in such a mess, Miao did not despise him at all. Although he complained, he never asked anyone else to take care of him. He even prepared a hangover soup in advance, just in case he fell asleep drunk and woke up with a headache in the morning.
He should be the happiest person in Daliang, right? Pei Che raised a smile and prepared to go over and kiss Jiang Miao.
"What are you doing? Why are you so awake so early in the morning and scaring people with your eyes wide open?!" Jiang Miao vaguely felt someone was looking at him in his dream. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Pei Che's face, which was very close to him. He was so scared that he quickly leaned back.
Pei Che's smile froze on his lips. He said aggrievedly: "I just wanted to see you..."
"Haven't you seen me before? Why do you have to lie next to my pillow and look at me early in the morning? What's wrong with you?" Jiang Miao was very angry and punched him directly. He kept me awake in the middle of the night yesterday, and he came to make trouble again early in the morning. Does he have the right to do whatever he wants just because he is good-looking? !
"Hiss... I was wrong, A Miao." Pei Che didn't feel any pain, because Jiang Miao didn't use much force. But he already understood one thing, that is, it was meaningless to argue with A Miao. In the end, he would have to apologize no matter if he won or lost, so he might as well apologize first. This would not only resolve the other party's anger, but also bring some benefits to himself.
Jiang Miao punched the cotton, and after calming down, he felt that he had overreacted and was too aggressive. So he said awkwardly: "It's good to know, I won't do it again next time... By the way, what do you want to eat in the morning? I'll make it."
Pei Che said: "A Miao, I'm not picky about food. I love whatever you cook... It would be even better if I could have the small flower rolls from last time."
Jiang Miao turned over and got out of bed, walked away without looking back, and only raised one hand to make an "OK" gesture. Pei Che didn't understand this gesture at first, but after Jiang Miao popularized it, he knew that this gesture meant "OK".
Pei Che would feel inexplicably happy every time he saw this kind of gesture, the meaning of which only the two of them knew. This meant that he was one step closer to the true Jiang Miao. He never pointed out Jiang Miao's flaws, and occasionally helped Jiang Miao to save face when he showed his true colors, just to let Jiang Miao be himself without any defense in front of him.
Pei Che actually had guessed about Jiang Miao's origins, such as disguise, twin brothers who looked exactly the same but were separated since childhood, etc. The most outrageous one was that he was actually a mountain spirit or a ghost, who used the method of borrowing a corpse to come to the human world.
However, no matter what the speculation is, no matter what Jiang Miao's true identity is, since he has married him, they will be together for the rest of their lives.
(End of this chapter)