Chapter 269

At noon, the sun came out.

The climate in the Capital City was warm, suitable for growing bamboo.

There was an extremely beautiful bamboo grove in the imperial palace.

When the wind blew, the bamboo branches swayed.

At midday, The Emperor dined in a crystal pavilion in the middle of the bamboo grove.

A long table was set out.

The food was mostly meat dishes.

The Emperor was not a vegetarian enthusiast.

Vice Minister Jiang, being pleasing to the eye and pleasant to listen to, was granted the special honor of dining with The Emperor.

Otherwise, he would typically eat a work meal alone.

The Emperor always felt that Jiang Er was very amiable.

He thought it was because of his father, Grand Preceptor Jiang.

Grand Preceptor Jiang was also a modest gentleman, but unfortunately he was too clever and too blunt. The ruler and minister could have become a beautiful story, but in the end, he preferred exile to admitting his mistake.

It had been a long time since he had recalled this person.

He thought the memory had faded.

But unexpectedly, when he recalled it, the impression was very vivid.

The Emperor didn't like to reminisce about the past.

Especially about deceased people, as it made him feel lonely and old.

Some people lived in his memory, forever young.

In recent years, there were fewer and fewer old friends from the past.

Looking at the person before him, in the prime of his life, Jiang Bai must have been about this age back then.

"You have an older brother, don't you? I remember."

The Emperor recalled that Jiang Bai should have had three children, the second one was a girl. Hui Yun liked that girl, who often played in the palace, and later married Old Seventh.

Dining with The Emperor was actually much more tiring than eating alone.

It was like dining with a superior. Most people barely ate a few bites, having to answer questions in between.

They had to think.

It wasn't convenient to eat foods with bones, especially chicken feet. Otherwise, when the leader asked you a question, you'd open your mouth to spit out bones, one, two, three, four pieces, never-ending...

The leader might even be holding his chopsticks waiting for you to finish spitting out bones, which was also very awkward.

Fortunately, Jiang Changtian didn't like meat dishes, so he just picked at the vegetables in front of him, taking small bites.

He couldn't eat too fast either. If he ate too quickly and put down his chopsticks, it would make the other diners uncomfortable.

Jiang Changtian spoke slowly and methodically: "My elder brother is a devout believer in Buddhism, he has converted to Buddhism."

"Oh?"

The Emperor was surprised by this answer, not expecting that a man would be so determined.

Many people believe in Buddhism, either by inviting Buddha into their homes to worship, but it was relatively rare for men to actually become monks.

"When I came to the capital, I went to see my elder brother. He was in the process of having his head shaved. He has wholeheartedly converted to Buddhism. He said that from now on, there is no Jiang Huaisheng in this world. He even wrote a divorce letter for my sister-in-law and asked me to bring it to the capital."

Home.

Hug wife.

The next day.

The newly appointed Vice Minister Jiang went to see Minister Lu early in the morning.

Because he had seen The Emperor yesterday.

Apart from the eunuchs, not even Minister Lu had the honor of spending an entire day by The Emperor's side.

Minister Lu had thought that Jiang Er would come to report to him after leaving the palace.

He waited for a long time at the office, until it was dark, when someone told him that Jiang Er had already gone home.

Minister Lu: ...

Early in the morning.

Vice Minister Jiang came to see him.

Normally, he would definitely make this ignorant dog wait for a while.

But when it came to matters concerning The Emperor, nothing was trivial.

Minister Lu still let him in.

When Jiang Changtian arrived before Minister Lu, he saw the plump, landlord-like Prime Minister. Perhaps from frowning too much at people, there was a deep furrow between his eyebrows.

He didn't actually look like a kind person.

Especially in this big room.

He looked like a fierce judge of the underworld.

With a wave of his hand, he could decide life and death.

Jiang Changtian reminded himself not to frown casually. It's not a big deal, things outside are all small matters. If he frowned every day, wrinkles would form between his eyebrows, which would be very ugly. Xia-mei would dislike it.

Minister Lu opened his mouth and asked, "Vice Minister Jiang, did The Emperor give any instructions?"

Jiang Changtian respectfully said, "The Emperor instructed this official to thoroughly study the rules, regulations, and laws."

The corners of Minister Lu's mouth turned up slightly.

He knew it. After so many years with The Emperor and the court officials, they had this much tacit understanding.

The Emperor wouldn't disregard his face.

After all, he worked very hard and understood The Emperor's thoughts well.

People outside cursed him as a treacherous official, but in reality, he bore more than half of the blame for The Emperor.

"So how is your study going?"

"This official has finished reading. The Emperor thinks Minister Lu's method of having people study laws, regulations, and rules is very good. He praised it and instructed this official to organize all officials to study the laws, regulations, and rules together, preferably memorizing them in full. After leaving the office yesterday, this official dared not sleep, diligently worked through the night, and compiled all the laws, regulations, and rules. Starting from today, we can have everyone begin memorizing, a total of eighteen chapters."

Jiang Changtian held out a thick stack of books to Minister Lu.

Minister Lu's face turned green.

Looking at the lunatic in front of him.

He wanted to curse out loud.

But he heard him say seriously, "Everyone in the court must memorize all the laws, regulations, and rules. The Emperor will conduct random checks at any time!"

...