Chapter 2689: Requesting Forgiveness

Lady Cui pondered for a long time, then she bowed to Zhou Man and said, “Thank you for your guidance, Lord Zhou.”

Seeing her leave, Bai Shan approached without asking what she wanted with Manbao, and directly took Manbao’s hand and said, “Come, let’s enjoy the moon.”

Manbao nodded repeatedly.

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in the palace also involves eating, drinking, and moon-gazing.

It’s just that there are more people in the palace. After admiring the moon, the two held hands and returned to the main hall, only letting go before entering.

The emperor was still enjoying the song and dance with everyone, eating and drinking.

Palace maidens brought out mooncakes made in the palace, one per table, with large ones cut into small pieces.

Manbao took a piece to eat and thought the palace’s ingredients were indeed good. Although the other dishes had gone cold and weren’t tasty, the mooncakes were still very nice.

Bai Shan also found them good.

Most of the dishes at the palace banquet were cold. While some grilled dishes and soups were good, they didn’t compare to when they were hot at home.

So the two didn’t eat much.

However, they still ate more than half of their food.

They couldn’t help it; the two were growing and had a big appetite.

This made many people envious, such as Minister Liu and Lord Tang sitting beside them.

Lord Tang couldn’t help it and turned to Bai Shan, saying, “I wonder if you’ve heard a certain rumor.”

Bai Shan: “What rumor?”

“Pray to Zhou Man, donate military supplies, gain merit,” Lord Tang smirked and said, “There’s talk in the palace that once you gain merit, all your wishes come true.”

Bai Shan: …

He turned to look at Zhou Man.

Manbao also heard and quickly said, “At that time, the crown prince’s wife and the two princesses were also there; they can testify for me. It was just talk spun from talk, and furthermore, it’s a bit off from reality.”

Lord Tang reminded, “The rumor has spread throughout the palace. You should go and plead with His Majesty after the banquet ends.”

Manbao drooped her head and said, “Understood.”

Why is it always me apologizing?

The palace banquet lasted late into the night. Once everyone had enough of the performances, eaten and drank their fill, and socialized, an inner court official reminded the somewhat drunk emperor that it was getting late.

So the emperor led everyone out to look up at the moon for a moment, talked for another half hour, and then they all dispersed.

Manbao had been waiting, so once everyone had left, she went with Bai Shan to catch the emperor, planning to admit fault before things escalated.

The emperor, already half-drunk, was stopped midway as he was carried in the palanquin. He lifted the curtain to look outside. Although many lanterns lined the road, it was still difficult to make out figures.

Gu Zhong quickly said, “Your Majesty, it’s Lord Zhou and Lord Bai, saying they’re here to plead guilty.”

Upon hearing this, the emperor couldn’t help but hiccup and asked, “Plead guilty for what?”

Gu Zhong, the emperor’s eyes and ears, had naturally heard the rumors circulating in the palace that night, so he smiled and said, “Perhaps they are worried their words caused trouble, so they especially came to plead.”

Upon hearing this, the emperor knew it wasn’t something significant. If it were, it would have caused a scene at the banquet. Since it didn’t, there was no need for a serious pursuit. Still, since when have the two children become so timid that they specifically come to plead?

But he was feeling a bit dizzy now and didn’t want to bother, so he waved his hand and said, “Since it’s just careless words, forget it. They know their mistake, let them leave the palace and go rest.”

Gu Zhong agreed with a smile and went to relay the instruction.

Manbao hadn’t expected the face-conscious emperor to forgive her so easily and repeatedly confirmed, “Did His Majesty really say he won’t blame us?”

Gu Zhong did not confirm further, only repeating the emperor’s words.

Manbao felt that the words weren’t very confident, but it was already late at night, and with the emperor being drunk, it wasn’t the time to stick around. Otherwise, it would be counterproductive to annoy him.

Bai Shan thought the same, so he tugged on Manbao’s sleeve, and after bowing together, they stepped aside to respectfully bid the emperor farewell.

As the emperor’s palanquin passed, they loudly said, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your forgiveness.”

The emperor waved dismissively.

So, Manbao and Bai Shan merrily ran off.

The next day was supposed to still be a day of rest since there was a three-day holiday for Mid-Autumn Festival, but this time the situation was special. Early in the morning, someone from the Imperial Hospital came to inform Zhou Man to return for overtime and attend a meeting with the Ministry of War and Ministry of Revenue to discuss medicinal and medical supplies.

Bai Shan, however, received no notification, yet he still obediently returned to work overtime himself.

When he entered the palace, the other five Hanlin scholars were already there. Clearly, everyone was very diligent.

Consequently, the capital, still in the festive heat of the Mid-Autumn period, erupted with a big news: The emperor was going to personally lead a campaign against Goguryeo!

The proclamation was directly posted on the bulletin board in front of the capital prefecture and at each city gate. Anyone entering or leaving the capital could see it at a glance.

Before it was announced, the Honglu Temple dispatched soldiers to detain the Goguryeo delegation staying at the courier station, not letting a single person leave.

Well, except for the two people who had just left with a message the day before.

At this moment, the two were racing back, presenting a letter to Yin Li.

Yin Li carefully opened the letter, scanned it quickly, slightly raised an eyebrow, and after some thought, sealed it up and gave it back to him. “Send it back without letting them notice.”

“Yes, their people are currently hindered and moving much slower. I’ll catch up within a day’s time. Sir, are we not replacing the letter?”

Yin Li shook his head, “It’s best not to replace it. Since the letter already conveys Great Jin’s intention to negotiate peace, there’s no need to replace it. Send it back, and for the rest of the journey, do not obstruct them. Let them ride swiftly back to Goguryeo.”

At this time, State Duke Zhao also had a dispatch sent to the prefect of Yingzhou through the Ministry of War, “Instruct the prefect of Yingzhou to withdraw troops, saying the court here wants to negotiate with Goguryeo, and for now, do not engage.”

But at the same time, all departments were preparing for the emperor’s personal campaign.

Gao You and his party were directly put under watch, and even a fool could notice something was off. They kept causing a commotion, demanding to stir up trouble, but the Honglu Temple was unafraid and separated them from the Goguryeo guards, warning that causing trouble would lead them to the dungeon.

Gao You angrily yelled, “Even in times of war, the envoy should not be executed. On what grounds are you detaining us?”

“Don’t worry, Prince Gao, we won’t execute the envoy. We know our courtesies, but to prevent you from colluding with Goguryeo against Great Jin, you’ll need to stay here for now. Rest assured, we’ll send you back to Goguryeo.”

Sending them back also means sending, but Gao You and his party would accompany the campaign army.

Gao You was nearly sick with rage.

The emperor was also nearly sick with rage. Although it was still supposed to be a holiday today, he still summoned many ministers for a small court meeting. After discussing important matters, they unanimously told the emperor they would contribute a little to the military campaign, understanding that the treasury was not wealthy and that the emperor wasn’t flush with cash either. We all understand.

But using the pretext of divine intervention to extort money from ministers’ families is not right, is it?

This behavior is quite undesirable; even philosophers say we should not speak of strange forces and gods…