Work overtime

To Li Beihong's surprise, the emperor didn't ask much about the kitten or Concubine Jianing, but instead asked about the burial of the two old cats.

Li Beihong told the emperor truthfully that he didn't think much about it at first, but the two old cats were buried under a tree next to the main hall of Cining Palace.

Li Beichen believes that these two Persian cats are extraordinary and the story of their loyalty is worth making a fuss about. The other cat may not have deep affection for the female cat, but his unswerving devotion to the Queen Mother and sacrifice his life for her.

He asked his younger brother to contact the Inspectorate, Hanlin Academy, Ministry of Rites, and Guangji Temple, and inform these departments of the legendary deeds of the two cats who followed the Queen Mother without eating or drinking, and left the rest of the matter to them.

Then, pottery figurines of the same size as two real cats were made and sent to the mausoleum as funerary objects.

Talking about this, Li Beihong couldn't help but ask, "Brother Emperor, has Qin Tian Jian previously calculated when his mother will be buried?"

In the Ming Dynasty, great emphasis was placed on filial piety. The funeral of the Queen Mother is different from the funeral of ordinary concubines. It is a major event related to the destiny of the country, and every emperor attaches great importance to it.

Three best days need to be picked over a period of three years. The requirements for this day are extremely strict. It cannot fall within the twenty-four solar terms, it must not be rainy or snowy, and it must be sunny and windy. It should not only be beneficial to the Queen Mother herself, but also beneficial to the national destiny.

The most recent day in Li Beichen's memory was the 16th of this month, but he was not sure whether he remembered the date accurately. "You can call someone from Qintian Prison to ask."

He casually ordered Liang Xiaobao to declare the order and ask Qin Tianjian to ask questions.

Li Beihong reported to the imperial brother several major matters that had been handled in the past half month, and not long after, the Qintian Supervisor arrived in a hurry.

This time a middle-aged man and a young man came. Entering the hall with a cloud of mist.

This is the dry ice that old Yuan Tianshi left for them. He told them that they must use it every time they appear on stage to enhance the atmosphere of the scene.

The man is thin, looks to be in his twenties, tall and slender, and is wearing a Taoist uniform. He has a Chinese character face, sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, and an expressionless face. He looks a little childish but very handsome. He is a handsome boy. Although he looks handsome, he gives people a feeling of being insecure and arrogant.

The other man is chubby, in his thirties, and is also wearing a Taoist priest's uniform, but the color of the young man's clothes is dark blue, while the color of his clothes is much lighter. He has a round face, slender eyebrows and eyes, fair and rosy skin, raised corners of his mouth, and a cheerful expression.

Only then did Li Beichen remember that he had heard that the old Yuan Tianshi was going to resign and return to his hometown to retire, and he had already taken his successor to familiarize himself with the business.

The young man in his twenties in front of him is probably the genius boy who Yuan Tianshi praised so much that he is comparable to Yuan Tiangang of the Tang Dynasty.

After Li Beichen ordered the two of them to get up, the young man reported that his name was Yuan Diqi, that he was the descendant of the "Heaven and Earth Qinglang" generation in the Yuan family, and that he was the only direct disciple of the old Yuan Tianshi. Old Yuan Tianshi has traveled all over the world, and he will take over the work of Qin Tianjian.

The man next to him is named Yuan Langfeng. He is a descendant of the "Lang" generation in the Yuan family who is talented in observing astronomical phenomena and divination. He was recommended by the old Yuan Tianshi as the deputy supervisor to assist him in his work.

At present, both of them are temporarily performing their duties in Qintian Prison, waiting for the emperor to officially canonize them after the change of dynasty.

After the question and answer, there was a long silence.

Li Beichen had a good impression of the new supervisor. He was very talented at a young age and had a high seniority. He had the feeling of being a young hero and cherished each other.

After looking at it for a while, he asked with interest, "How old are you?"

Yuan Diqi replied calmly, "Reporting to your Majesty, I have four out of twenty this year."

Li Beichen nodded slightly, "Where is your deputy?"

"Go back to the emperor, Lang Feng is actually forty-eight."

Li Beichen's face remained calm after hearing this, but he was a little surprised in his heart.

He looked Yuan Langfeng up and down, and found out that he was probably in his early thirties, with thick black hair, a rosy complexion, and no wrinkles. I sighed secretly in my heart, it seems that Taoist health preservation is really well-deserved.

Li Beichen suppressed the slight smile on his face and said solemnly, "I sent you here to ask the Heavenly Master to estimate the date of the Queen Mother's funeral." Only then did Yuan Diqi realize that his master had told him not to act like an ordinary person in front of the emperor. People are always humble, but they should be neither humble nor arrogant.

Although the emperor stands at the pinnacle of power, he is just an ordinary person in front of heaven and earth. The role of the Heavenly Master is to observe and calculate heavenly secrets, and to warn and assist the emperor. Therefore, most emperors would treat the Heavenly Master with respect and courtesy.

Yuan Diqi took out a letter from his pocket, held it out with both hands, and said that this was a letter that old Yuan Tianshi had asked to be handed over to the emperor before he left, and that it contained the estimated date of the funeral.

The envelope uses a special ink pad from Qin Tian Jian, which is said to contain a spell. Only the emperor can open and read it. If anyone else peeks, they will die suddenly due to the curse within seven days.

After Li Beichen opened it, he took out a thin piece of paper with three dates written on it. The first date Li Beichen remembered was the sixteenth day of this month, the second date was April 27th of the following year, and the third date was the eighth day of August of the following year.

There are also eight characters, "Lucky stars shine brightly, blessing the Ming Dynasty".

Li Beichen thought of the previous predictions made by the old Yuan Tianshi, and they were absolutely accurate. None of the crises including military disasters, floods, or man-made disasters were spared, and the crisis was finally turned around as predicted, but the process was really tortuous and difficult.

I also remembered Yuan Tianshi's previous judgment that Jiang Yuebai was a lucky star. I thought about Jiang Yuebai's frequent help to the entire dynasty and himself in the past month, and I felt a lot of emotion.

Li Beichen was very satisfied with the work of old Yuan Tianshi, and was a little more polite to the young people in front of him.

The emperor gave a few words of encouragement to the two newcomers in the workplace, informed them of the personnel changes to be officially announced tomorrow at Qintianjian, and ordered them to prepare for their inauguration.

After the two left, Li Beichen told his brother the contents of the letter with a bit of joy. Li Beihong felt excited when he heard the eight words in his heart.

Li Beichen had just returned to the palace, and he still had a lot of business to deal with, so he couldn't help but talk too much about family matters with his brother. Let the younger brother rest in the room first and then have lunch together later.

Li Beihong bowed his head and respectfully sent the emperor brother off.

He was used to living in the small room next to the mourning hall, with simple food and a narrow hard wooden bed, and he didn't feel that the emperor's brother was neglecting him.

He actually didn't care where he lived. Although living in the Jin Prince's Mansion made him feel heartbroken and sleepless every night, it was not so urgent that he had to become a vassal immediately.

He had already said what he should have said just now.

In and out of words, he used the incident in Prince Jin's Mansion to tell the emperor that the princess was very important to him. What happened now was not her fault as a woman. He hoped that the emperor could help rescue the princess.

Li Beichen was thinking about Jiang Yuebai, but after leaving the funeral palace, he went directly to Kunning Palace.

He made a clear distinction between public and private matters in his heart.

Not only because he needed to follow etiquette, but also because he was grateful to the Queen and respected Mrs. Xie from the bottom of his heart. Thanks to the Xie family for their strong support in suppressing rebellion and resisting foreign enemies.

To him, Mrs. Xie was not only Mrs. Xie, but also a brave and skilled female general who could stand alone and achieve immortal feats.

Mrs. Xie suffered a stab wound in her abdomen during the battle at Juyongguan and had a high fever the day before yesterday. After returning to the palace, he did not follow him to the funeral palace, but returned to Kunning Palace in advance. Li Beichen was worried about Mrs. Xie's injury and ordered Liang Xiaobao to arrange for an imperial doctor to follow her to take care of her.

Mrs. Xie, who was kneeling in front of the mourning hall, looked surprised when she saw the emperor.

Li Beichen nodded and explained naturally, "I came over as soon as I finished handling the government affairs."

His demeanor and tone seemed like that of an ordinary son-in-law.

While taking the three sticks of incense handed over by Liang Xiaobao, he turned to ask the imperial doctor who was waiting with his hands down:

"How is Madam Xie's stab wound? Did you show Madam carefully?"