jdhmnovel Chapter 121: Exhausted
Chapter 121: Exhausted
The emperor was not really angry at first. He just felt good after being flattered a few times, so he just backed down.
"Since you say it's so good, I'll go take a look when I have time. As for when to go, I won't tell you. I want to catch them by surprise and see if they are really as good as you say."
"Your Majesty, you can rest assured. People who work hard to make a living always perform very well."
"So you told me so much, what exactly do you want to say?"
Mu Sheng: "...I would like to ask for leave again."
The emperor almost couldn't control his hands and threw the memorial in his face.
"Don't even think about it. During the few days you were absent, the court officials were secretly thinking about you. A good general suddenly didn't attend the court, and people said all kinds of things. The most infuriating thing is that some people even said that I don't tolerate people, that the war is over, and I'm going to get rid of the donkey after it has done its work."
Mu Sheng: "...cough cough..."
He had never expected this to happen. He really just wanted to be lazy.
And isn't this speculation too far-fetched? Although he didn't attend the morning court, he went out to the government office every day as usual, and behaved openly.
His Majesty the Emperor gnashed his teeth and said, "If I were really that intolerant, I would drag out those who say such things and chop off their heads!"
Although he said harsh words, he was not too angry in his heart, and he knew very well that he would never and could not do this. First, he had always advocated openness of speech since he ascended the throne, and he could not delay his policies just because someone said something unpleasant; second, his news did not come from a legitimate source. The news was heard by the eunuchs he sent to serve in the Tailou Courtyard, who secretly reported it to him.
The eunuch also said that he had overheard the gentlemen chatting quietly. He thought that this matter could be a big deal or a small one, and it might affect the reputation of His Majesty, so he came to report it.
Since no one had submitted a memorial to the emperor or openly accused him, he could only pretend he didn't know. Otherwise, wouldn't his information channel be exposed?
Although it is not a formal channel and no serious information was obtained, it is all the ministers' quiet chats about family matters and personal privacy, but it is still very interesting to listen to.
He thus knew which adult was henpecked, which adult's child was obsessed with a prostitute and wanted to break off the engagement with his fiancée, which adult's brother was not ambitious but was protected by his elderly parents...
After hearing about other people's troubles, the emperor felt better and his tolerance for the concubines' competition for favor increased a lot.
Mu Sheng said: "Your Majesty is wise and magnanimous. It is the ministers who misunderstood. But because of this, Your Majesty should grant me leave. Once everyone gets used to it, no one will say anything."
The emperor had a heart attack.
"Shut up and come to the morning court honestly. However, if you really want to openly not get up early, you can formally submit a memorial, talk about the matter of attending the morning court every few days, and come up with a specific plan. If what you say is reasonable and meaningful, I am not an unreasonable person, and I will definitely call the ministers to discuss it."
It was impossible for him to take the initiative to propose changing the frequency of court attendance. Emperors have always been diligent in their work. In order to win a good reputation for themselves, they had to be diligent not only themselves, but also to drag the court officials to be diligent as well. It was obvious that the first emperor was diligent enough, but the later ones wanted to make themselves even busier on this basis. They had to find things to do to make themselves even busier, and each generation was busier than the previous one.
To put it bluntly, except for a few emperors who were lazy and just lived from day to day, all other diligent emperors died of exhaustion.
Otherwise, they are emperors, they eat the best, have the highest status, the best medical care, and can do whatever they want to a certain extent. They can get angry whenever they want, and they don’t have to hold it in. They enjoy the best of everything, so why don’t they live long? It’s all because of exhaustion! They work so hard, so they die early!
Mu Sheng understood the emperor's hidden meaning and knew that he would not be able to take leave today. He also knew that the emperor himself wanted to rest, but he couldn't say it out loud. It was time for him, as a subject, to share the emperor's worries.
He stood up and responded, "Yes, I will go back and prepare the memorial."
Preparations need to be made, but he cannot be the one to write it. This matter needs to be discussed for a while. There will definitely be some pedantic old guys who will go all out and criticize anyone they catch.
Therefore, he should find a few colleagues to do this matter. When the problem is raised and the emperor starts to convene people for discussion, he can just stand in line.
Mu Sheng became busy all of a sudden. Not only did he have to attend the morning court, he also did not go home for lunch. Mu Jinyan was brought back by the wet nurse and maids, and he had to stay in the study for a long time at night.
A few days later, Yun Xi asked him curiously, "Has anything big happened recently?"
"No."
"Then why are you so busy? With this situation, I thought there was going to be another war."
Mu Sheng laughed and said, "We are indeed at war, a war of words with others. Recently, your husband has been scolded badly by those old stubborn people."