Chapter 2666 - 2599: Major and Minor Court Meetings

Wei Zhi glanced at her, stuffed the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it. The taste was somewhat strange indeed.

If this thing hadn’t been personally brought by Zhou Man, he would have surely spit it out and dared not eat it.

Manbao saw him eat it and smiled with narrowed eyes, reminding him, "You should take this first. This is a five-day supply. After you finish these two bottles of medicine, you can take the ones prepared by the Imperial Hospital."

Wei Zhi was somewhat puzzled, "Aren’t we trying out the medicine? If it’s good, shouldn’t we continue with this formula?"

Manbao looked deeply into Wei Zhi’s eyes and said, "You use this first, and at that time, I’ll decide based on your pulse."

Wei Zhi thought her look was unusual, but he didn’t think anything bad of it and nodded in agreement.

Manbao mixed half a tube of the solution into the pill. The quantity was small, and it primarily served to gradually repair one’s five organs and six bowels, so nothing could be seen in a short period.

Five days later, after checking his pulse, Manbao gave Wei Zhi an acupuncture treatment. Once he fell asleep, she called the old servant who took care of him to go out and talk, "Have you finished those two bottles of medicine given to Lord Wei before?"

The old servant bent over and said, "There are still two pills remaining."

Manbao nodded, "After finishing them, switch back to the previous one."

She took out the pills from the medicine box and gave them to him, saying, "I took these from the Imperial Hospital. Before changing the medicine, there should have been three days worth of medicine left. It’s been a while, so the efficacy might have worn off a bit. Bring it to me."

The old servant agreed, took the newly received two bottles of medicine, left, and returned with a medicine bottle for her.

Manbao opened it, checked the quantity, and nodded at him before going inside to see Wei Zhi.

Aside from her and Bai Shan, no one knew that Wei Zhi had switched medicines.

The old servant didn’t find this odd. It’s common to change medicines when treating an illness.

But Wei Zhi found it strange indeed.

During the evening when taking the medicine, he carefully examined it in his palm.

Madam Wei, seeing him delay in taking it, approached and asked softly, "Is there something wrong with the medicine?"

Wei Zhi smiled slightly and said, "No, I just feel that the pills aren’t smooth enough. I wonder who made them."

He paused for a moment, then put the medicine into his mouth and swallowed.

Madam Wei couldn’t help but scold, "You’re concerning yourself with such things while taking medicine..."

She turned to make the bed and said, "Go soak your feet soon. I’ve noticed you’ve been sleeping better over the past few days. Did you change the foot soak herbs?"

Wei Zhi asked in surprise, "Have I been sleeping better these days?"

"Yes, although soaking your feet helped you fall asleep faster than before, you often woke during the night. Your sleep was light, but over the past few days, you’ve been waking up less at night."

Wei Zhi started thinking, holding the medicine bottle and pondering, but decided to take the last pill tomorrow.

However, after he woke up the next day and pondered for a while, he still didn’t take the pill. He cut one third of it, wrapped it in paper, called over his servant, and handed the medicine to him, saying, "Take a trip to Fengzhou and consult the best doctor there about this medicine."

The servant was stunned, not understanding why he needed to go all the way to Fengzhou instead of consulting a doctor in the capital, but he respectfully accepted it and bowed before leaving.

Not only the capital, but the doctors in Yongzhou are also in contact with Zhou Man. Now who doesn’t know he’s Zhou Man’s patient?

To avoid trouble for both parties, it’s better to go to Fengzhou.

Manbao was completely unaware of this; she was currently queuing at the palace gate to enter the palace.

Today was the Grand Assembly before the Mid-Autumn Festival. It was said that many envoys from foreign lands had presented tributes this year.

Therefore, there would be a palace banquet this Mid-Autumn Festival. It was uncertain whether Bai Shan could attend, but Zhou Man definitely could.

So she was pondering whether to wear a beautiful gown or official robes that night.

Manbao walked along with the crowd, lost in thought, heading straight up the very long steps of the Taiji Hall, when Tang He patted her on the left shoulder. She instinctively looked to the left, but Tang He stood on her right and asked, "What are you thinking?"

Usually, she wouldn’t be easily fooled like this.

Manbao came back to her senses and said, "I’m thinking about what to wear for the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, whether to wear official robes or have a dress made in accordance with the trends."

Tang He said, "Go with the official robes; they’re more appropriate for speaking up."

He smiled, "This year’s Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet is bound to be eventful, so you better bring Bai Shan along. Officials can bring their families to attend."

Hearing this, Manbao immediately asked, "Why will it be eventful?"

"Don’t you know? Recently, a Goguryeo envoy entered the capital seeking peace. Their Fifth Prince knelt outside the palace gates yesterday, asking to see His Majesty."

"No, I only heard that His Majesty was planning to lead a campaign personally. Did we defeat Goguryeo?"

Tang He wore a complicated expression, having climbed the steps, and caught his breath at the entrance of the great hall. He looked around and, seeing no one from the Ministry of War, said, "No, which is why His Majesty keeps insisting on leading a campaign."

Manbao:... Hmm, he’s been saying that since the summer retreat.

"So what peace are they seeking?"

"Because Silla and Baekje have united and are attacking Goguryeo from the south. They’re facing enemies on three sides, but this peace negotiation might not actually be for peace," Tang He said. "They have no credibility, and are fierce. This could be a deceitful peace offering."

The Emperor also thought so, which is why he was unwilling to meet with the Goguryeo envoy.

Sitting on the dragon throne, he coldly snorted, "The Gaoyis, Fuyu, and Mak people are notoriously treacherous and often faked peace deals during the time of the former dynasty’s last emperor, so they can’t be trusted."

The Emperor’s ambition was reignited as he considered for a moment and said, "Taking advantage of Silla and Baekje attacking, why don’t I lead a campaign personally and reclaim the lands occupied by Goguryeo?"

The implication was, let’s obliterate their kingdom.

Wei Zhi, still contemplating the salt tax reform, didn’t want a major conflict, so he stepped forward to express his opposition.

Furious, the Emperor turned to Duke Zhao and others, "What do you think, Duke Zhao?"

Duke Zhao expressed support, solemnly stating, "During the Han times, Xuantu and Lelang counties belonged to us Han people. Were it not for the Gaoyi, Fuyu, and Mack people taking advantage of the chaos to divide and seize it, Goguryeo wouldn’t exist. Besides, ever since the previous dynasty, they have nominally bowed to us but paid tribute irregularly and frequently violated our borders. Not giving due attention to us as a superior nation merits punishment to set an example for the numerous vassal states in the future."

The Emperor nodded repeatedly, "Indeed, Goguryeo is just a vassal state, and the lands they occupy were seized from the previous dynasty. Since I ascended the throne, they have seldom paid tribute and have repeatedly violated our borders; punishment is needed to appease public anger."

He stared intensely at the ministers below him, "What do you all think?"

The majority agreed, while a minority abstained, but those who supported believed that continuing to send troops to attack was sufficient, without the necessity of the Emperor leading personally.

The Emperor insisted he needed to boost morale personally.

This issue remained unresolved for the time being, but the Emperor still didn’t want to meet the Goguryeo people and thus didn’t intend to let them participate in the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet.

Wei Zhi had no strong opinion on this, and about a dozen ministers who had matters to report moved to the Imperial Study to continue the discussion.

Gu Zhong quietly intercepted Zhou Man, who was heading for morning tea after the court meeting, and whispered, "His Majesty requests you to join a small assembly."

Manbao was surprised, "I’m just a Doctor of the Imperial Medical Service; matters of the Imperial Medical Service should be addressed to Director Xiao."