Chapter 338: Old Minister's Petition
The emperor raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that this little girl had hidden so many fresh snacks, all of which the palace had never seen before.
Naturally, the little eunuch in charge of poison testing came to inspect the food that the emperor brought into his mouth.
After making sure it was correct, the emperor picked up a piece of biscuit at random.
"Does this taste include milk?" the emperor asked curiously.
Niuniu said: "It should be goat's milk. I don't have cow's milk at home."
The emperor also tasted goat's milk, which had a strong fishy smell. He said casually: "I have never seen this kind of food before. What is its name?"
"This is goat's milk biscuit." Niuniu explained.
"Biscuits." The emperor just thought for a moment and understood the meaning of these two words, and said: "This name is quite appropriate. Judging from its appearance, it looks like the wide-focus cookies recorded in ancient books."
The wide-charred crispy dish was a delicacy that the emperor happened to see recorded in a book from the previous dynasty. However, the recipe was lost and is rarely seen on the market today.
"It's obviously goat's milk, but it's processed extremely well. Is it your cook?" the emperor asked.
When Niu Niu heard this, alertness immediately appeared on her face: "Is the emperor's uncle trying to steal our cook?"
When the emperor heard this, he couldn't help but laugh: "You are really protective of the food, you are so scared to ask!"
Niu Niu shook her head like a rattle and said, "Uncle Emperor, it's not that I'm stingy, it's that my cook is reluctant to leave me. She is determined not to go to someone else's house."
Niu Niu was telling the truth, but in the emperor's eyes, this further confirmed the little girl's temperament to protect food.
The emperor was getting older and didn't pay so much attention to his appetite. Although he tasted a few of Niu Niu's snacks and found them all very fresh, he didn't really want to ask the cook over.
Just teasing children, once it starts, it's hard to end.
The emperor said deliberately: "These foods are so delicious. I really want to take them all back and eat them slowly."
When Niuniu heard this, the confusion on her little face almost overflowed, but in the end she just reluctantly glanced at her precious snacks, and then said: "Uncle, if you eat my snacks, you must remember to promise me It’s something…”
The emperor thought that the little girl would be reluctant, but he didn't expect that his desire to see his father would eventually prevail.
His expression softened unconsciously and he said: "Okay, I promise you, if Mr. Wu is injured and needs to rest for a while, I will ask your father to come over and teach you your lessons."
Niu Niu was so excited that she wanted to jump up. She smiled and said, "Uncle Emperor, you are so kind!"
The emperor thought that the little girl would at least kiss him on the cheek, but he didn't expect that he would just say something nice.
Not only that, Niuniu is still making extravagant efforts.
"Uncle Emperor, can you agree to let Sister Ling take classes with us? She also really wants to take my father's class." Niu Niu made a request on behalf of her good friend.
In the past, every time her father took a new lesson, Shen Ling would always ask Niu Niu and Shen Changfeng.
Shen Ling was still taking a nap, and Niu Niu felt that if she got up, she would definitely make the same request as her.
The emperor didn't have much contact with his niece on a daily basis, so he didn't take it seriously when he heard this and said casually: "If she wants to go, then let her go."
Niu Niu became even happier. She suddenly turned around and ran back to her room like a happy puppy, carrying a large bag of things.
"You little girl, you are still hiding something!" The emperor did not expect that Niu Niu also hid a large bag of snacks.
Niu Niu giggled and said, "My family prepared two bags for me. I didn't hide them on purpose. You just said you were hungry, and you didn't ask me to bring out all the snacks!"
The emperor looked at the little girl's cute way of defending herself, and casually ordered Qian Rongsheng: "Keep all the goat's milk biscuits."
A look of surprise suddenly appeared on Niu Niu's face, and she looked at the emperor in disbelief.
The emperor stretched out his hand and flicked the little girl's smooth forehead: "You little greedy cat, do you think I know how to eat just because I am you?"
Niu Niu covered her forehead, not caring about crying out in pain, and said with a smile: "I just say that the emperor's uncle is the best, and he won't take my snacks at all!"
After coming out of Shoukang Palace, the emperor returned to Taihe Palace where he lived in a good mood.
But not long after he sat down, someone from the palace came to report: "Your Majesty, the chief minister wants to see you."
Naturally, the emperor would not let anyone wait outside, but said: "Let him come in. The chief minister is old and cannot bear the cold. Please move the ice out of the palace."
The emperor was extremely afraid of heat. As soon as summer came, ice was placed in the corner of the palace to cool down.
Even so, after the chief assistant came in, he still shivered with fear because there was no clear cool breeze in the palace.
After the salute, the emperor immediately gave him a seat.
The first assistant was a frequent visitor to the Taihe Palace, and the palace officials had already brought him his preferred tea.
As an old minister who was highly relied upon by the emperor and had the skills to promote him, Lord Chief Assistant always knew how to deal with the emperor.
"I am afraid that when I come here today, I will say something that will displease His Majesty." The chief assistant got straight to the point.
The emperor frowned slightly after hearing this, already vaguely knowing what he was going to say, and said, "I thought you wouldn't say these words."
The first assistant stood up, faced the emperor respectfully, and said: "Your Majesty, I am now seventy-two years old. Now I feel that my body is getting worse. This old bone can no longer do anything more for Your Majesty."
After hearing this, the emperor looked at the Prime Minister, who was now white-haired and hunched, and looked like he was about to die. The unhappiness in his heart gradually dissipated.
The Prime Minister continued, "Your Majesty, when the previous emperor was in power, I was just a small editor in the Hanlin Academy. I was favored by Your Majesty and was entrusted with an important task and sent to serve as an official."
When the previous emperor was in power, the Prime Minister had been unknown in the Hanlin Academy for ten years. After the emperor ascended the throne, in order to cultivate his confidants, he dug out the Prime Minister and first sent him to serve as an official. Later, because of his outstanding achievements, he was promoted all the way to the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi.
"Your Majesty took pity on the old minister's frailty and personally sent the imperial physician to Sichuan to accompany him and treat his stubborn illness. Later, he was afraid that I would die of old age in a foreign land, so he ordered me to return to Beijing to serve and enter the cabinet. I have been the Prime Minister until now."
When the Prime Minister said this, he burst into tears.
The emperor was also quite moved when he recalled the friendship between the emperor and his subjects.
"Your Majesty, it has been rare for people to live to be seventy since ancient times. I don't have many days left. My children are quite promising, so I have nothing to worry about. The only thing I am worried about now is your Majesty!"
The emperor looked at the prime minister and naturally understood that he was speaking from the heart.
The prime minister spoke sincerely: "I know your Majesty's knot, and I don't ask you to untie it in a short time. I just hope that your Majesty can make plans early, not to adopt immediately, but to select talents as soon as possible and cultivate them carefully, so as to avoid the disasters of the previous dynasty!"