CH 70

Recipe - How could he be unhappy? (2)

"Your Majesty!"

When the palanquin landed outside the gate of the palace, he quickly stepped forward and bowed his hands slightly, wanting to loudly scold the guard who had stopped him just now, but before he could say anything, he was frightened by Xiao Kezhi's cold gaze.

There was no warmth, let alone respect, in those sharp and indifferent eyes, which reminded him of the bloody events at the previous funeral.

He shivered suddenly, stopped inexplicably, and followed behind the Emperor into the hall.

The hall was warm and bright, which made him slowly come to his senses, and only then did he realize that Xiao Kezhi was only wearing a loose robe, with his hair wet, and there seemed to be a red mark on his neckline.

This look was obviously the one of someone who came out of the hot springs pond.

But the Emperor's royal pond was behind the Feishuang Palace, so why did he come back from outside?

Qi Mu couldn't help but glance at the red mark on his neckline again, feeling a little suspicious.

"What reason does the Grand Chancellor have to visit me at night?" Xiao Kezhi said coldly while sitting on the platform.

Qi Mu paused for a while, then remembered the purpose of his visit, and his anger that had been  interrupted came out again, "I take the liberty to ask Your Majesty why none of the officials on the lists handed over by the Ministry of Officials have been accepted?"

Xiao Kezhi raised his eyebrows and seemed to be patiently waiting for him to continue.

Qi Mu also stood up straight and said loudly, "Your Majesty is wise. The list from the Ministry of Officials contained all the ministers, colleagues from the Zhongshu Province. The people were chosen by the Minister of the Ministry of Officials after several discussions and repeated screenings, and only the best ones were selected. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and he has never participated in the administration of the government in the past, so he might not be familiar with the individual officials. He shouldn’t not listen to others.”

His remarks were almost a direct accusation of the Emperor's decision.

Xiao Kezhi took a sip of tea, looked at him blankly, and said coldly, "Since the Grand Chancellor said that the list of officials was selected after several discussions and repeated selections, then you might as well explain to me why so many Qi family members and in-laws are among them. There are people who have been serving as foreigners emissaries for a few years, but have always achieved mediocre political performance, and there are even people who bought positions for their children and grandchildren."

Others thought that he was ignorant of political affairs, but in fact, starting many years ago, he had secretly made friends with officials who had bountiful talent and ambition but were not valued because of their humble background. Although he could not say that he was thoroughly familiar with most of the officials in his court, he at least knew a little bit about each. Some he even knew the exact secret details of.

It was for this reason that he was able to point out the unclean people in the hands of Xiao Yu and Empress Dowager Qi without hesitation.

Qi Mu didn't expect that the other would be able to reveal the stains on those people at once, so he couldn't help but be speechless, "Your Majesty—this, there are some reasons for this—"

Xiao Kezhi put the teacup down heavily and tsked, interrupting the others’ sentences.

"Is the Grand Chancellor teaching me how to be the Emperor?" He got up from the seat and looked down at the other. His exceptionally strong figure due to his years of practice in martial arts blocked most of the candlelight and cast a large oppressive shadow on Qi Mu's body.

Qi Mu pursed his lips and did not speak. The anger in his heart was not quelled in the slightest, but facing such an Emperor, he was inexplicably frightened.

"This citizen dares not."

"It's better if you don't dare." Xiao Kezhi said coldly, behind his hands.

"Don't forget, Chancellor Qi, the Emperor of Great Liang's surname is Xiao, not Qi."

This sentence was meaningful and full of contempt, sending a shiver down Qi Mu’s back.

For the first time, he clearly realized that this new emperor, who had no foundation in the court, was completely different from the former Emperor Xiao Lian. What he wanted was not only the dignity and status of the emperor, but also to regain the power that had been firmly held in the hands of the Qi family for the past few years.

Could it be that the Qi family had to give in blindly just to appease him temporarily?

He was shocked and angry in his heart, but he didn't dare to reveal it, so he could only suppress his thoughts and said, "I have never forgotten this."

The confrontation between the monarch and the official was ended by Xiao Kezhi like this.

He watched Qi Mu's back disappear into the night. Then, he closed the door, turned to the inner room, and changed into a clean shirt. Today's soaking in the Crown Prince’s pond was enough, so his royal pond here was useless.

After a while, Liu Kang came in from outside and said, "Your Majesty, the soup for Her Highness has been boiled and sent."

Xiao Kezhi frowned when he heard those words, turned his head, and asked, "What kind of soup?"

Liu Kang was stunned for a moment, then raised his head in surprise, "Just now, Cui He sent a recipe, saying that it was the soup that Her Highness wanted to drink. Every time she sees Your Majesty, in the future, she will need a bowl of this soup..."

He thought it was the Emperor's order, but now he realized that he was wrong, and he hurriedly took out the prescription from his sleeve and presented it respectfully.

Xiao Kezhi remembered how cunning that woman was and was suspicious in his heart. He took the prescription, glanced at it, and pondered, "Let Feng Yu come over and take a look."

Liu Kang knew that he wanted Feng Yu to see this recipe, so he rushed outside.

The man walked out quickly, and after a while, Feng Yu hurried over, took the recipe, and looked at it carefully. He said, "Your Majesty, this is indeed the contraceptive soup that women can use."

Sure enough.

Xiao Keyi didn't know whether to say that she was considerate and sensible, and even such details had been arranged properly, or that she was very scheming, and leaving the matter of making the medicine to Liu Kang saved her a lot of trouble.

Feng Yu continued, "This recipe has a few herbs altered to reduce the damage to the female body, but the effect is almost the same as that of ordinary recipes. It should be a recipe prescribed in the palace."

"Does this medicine damage the female body?" Xiao Kezhi ignored his other words and grasped this point.

Feng Yu obviously did not expect him to ask such a question, so he quickly explained, "No matter how the recipe of the contraceptive soup is adjusted, it will always damage the female body, but Your Majesty can rest assured that as long as one don't drink much and takes care of the body later, a recovery can be made.”

Xiao Kezhi didn't speak. He sat under the lamp and thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did the East Palace request a pulse check recently?"

This remark confused Feng Yu again. He thought back and shook his head, "Since the prince left the capital, there have been no summons."

It seems that this recipe had already been made a long time ago. Xiao Kezhi held this seemingly-transcribed recipe in his hand and felt a little heavy for some reason.

He was silent for a while, then waved Feng Yu off, but instead of handing the recipe back to Liu Kang, he took out a wooden box on the table by the bedside.

In the wooden box originally were two folded silk handkerchiefs and a torn undergarment, and now, there was an additional recipe.