Work overtime

Chapter 692

When I saw the Prime Minister, he was drinking tea calmly in the study, no longer as cold and sharp as before.

When Mrs. Meng saw her husband's white hair, she was still shocked even though she was mentally prepared.

She had laughed at Mrs. Xie's hair turning white overnight because of her daughter's coma, and she found it incredible. Now that it happened to her husband, she felt heartbroken.

She choked up and said, "Prime Minister, what's wrong with you?"

Meng Xiang raised his head with a faint smile on his face, and gestured to the seat opposite him, "Are you here? Sit down."

The moment their eyes met, Mrs. Meng was stunned. She saw the gentleness and affection in her husband's eyes that she had not seen for a long time.

"What is going on?" Mrs. Xie looked worried and concerned.

Meng Xiang shook his head, raised his teacup, and saluted Madam Xie, "The new emperor is moody and unpredictable. I have been feeling very tired recently. After thinking about it, I think it is better to retire."

"So that's how it is. It's better to retire." Mrs. Meng felt relieved after hearing this.

Over the years, people outside have said that Prime Minister Meng is cruel, tyrannical, and obsessed with power. Only Madam Meng knows how Prime Minister has been so exhausted from planning for the country that he has lost his appetite.

Is there any righteousness in it? Yes, there is. Is there any selfishness in it? Yes, there is.

Mrs. Meng felt sad for her husband's gray hair and couldn't help but comfort him, "It's good that you retired. You've worked so hard for so many years, it's time to have a good rest. After Zhao'er is made a concubine, we will go back to our hometown to take care of her."

"Okay." Meng Xiang responded with a smile.

He felt relieved and thought that the luckiest thing in his life was to marry a virtuous and sensible wife.

After a moment of silence, he looked at Madam Meng solemnly, "Madam, I haven't asked you for anything in all these years. I want to ask you something."

Mrs. Meng's heart skipped a beat and she asked, "What's the matter?"

Meng Xiang lowered his eyes and patted the non-existent dust on his thighs. "When I return to the world after a hundred years, I hope you can treat the mother and son of the Yao family well."

Madam Meng's expression changed instantly. Her face was stiff and her heart was bitter. "Is the Prime Minister really in love with Yao?"

Meng Xiang did not shy away from saying, "It is not easy to have children in old age, I hope I can take good care of them. Madam is a Buddhist, kind and virtuous, I believe she will not make things difficult for them."

Men always just want to enjoy the happiness of having two wives. They are always annoyed by jealousy and such. What they can expect is that the wife will be broad-minded and take good care of the concubines.

Madam Meng felt uncomfortable after hearing this, but the intention of Prime Minister Meng to entrust her son to her was too obvious, so she was more concerned about her husband's safety. "What happened?"

Prime Minister Meng seized Madam Meng's weakness and sighed, "If I don't retreat, the emperor will probably charge us with treason. If Yun'er is implicated, she will probably die."

Yun'er is Meng Qing's nickname.

"It's so serious," Mrs. Meng sighed, "Then retreat."

Li Beichen was very surprised when he received the letter and asked Meng Qing what was going on. Meng Qing said that his father had planned to resign and retire a long time ago. He was overworked last night and fell ill in bed. So he came to submit his resignation early in the morning.

Li Beichen's first reaction was to visit Meng's mansion, but when he thought of Concubine Yi's unexplained miscarriage and Jiang Yuebai's repeated reminders, he stopped thinking and ordered the Imperial Hospital to send the imperial physician to the Changping Marquis's mansion for treatment and report the situation to him in a timely manner. First, find out the truth before making plans.

The Meng family has been doing well recently and is at its peak. There shouldn't be any huge blow that can make Prime Minister Meng's hair turn white overnight. So the imperial physician was shocked to see Prime Minister Meng with white hair.

The imperial physician did not dare to conceal the results of the examination and reported everything to Li Beichen immediately. Jiang Yu personally went to the Changping Marquis's Mansion and came to the same conclusion as everyone else: Meng Xiang was overworked, had not had enough rest for a long time, was overthinking, and had kidney deficiency. He had no symptoms of poisoning and only needed to rest and recuperate.

Li Beichen asked Jiang Yu about Meng Xiang's resignation. Jiang Yu said that Meng Xiang's health was seriously depleted and he was not suitable for long-term hard work.

After hearing what the chief expert said, Li Beichen approved Meng Xiang to recuperate at home first and sent an imperial physician to take care of him in the mansion. As for the matter of retirement, it would be discussed later.

The imperial edicts passed down one after another showed the favor shown to the Meng family.

In the dead of night, Mrs. Meng sat alone in an empty room, and could not help but sigh at Prime Minister Meng's foresight. Every step of the emperor was within his prediction.

She believed what Meng Xiang said. The emperor was very suspicious of them. After all, he heard that Meng Xiang's hair turned white overnight, and he did not come to visit and comfort him in person. He was probably afraid that they had set an ambush in the mansion.

Meng Xiang stayed alone in the study, quietly flipping through the "Historical Records". After closing the book, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

I felt the pain tearing through my internal organs.

He still had a lot of attachment to the world and this country in his heart, and he was reluctant to die.

The emperor ordered to keep the news of Meng Xiang's resignation from Zhen Fei hidden, but Zhen Fei still found out. Not only did she know this, but she also knew that Chan Juan seduced Dad after returning home, causing Dad to indulge in excessive sexual activities and turn his hair white overnight.

It was the eighth month of the lunar calendar, and the weather was not as hot as July, especially at night. A cool breeze blew in, the candlelight flickered, and the shadows were fragmented.

Concubine Zhen cried heart-wrenchingly in her room. She always felt that she had harmed her father. If she had not sent Chanjuan back to the Meng Mansion, would this not have happened?

Until Qingying brought her the letter that Meng Xiang handed to her.

"Zhao'er: Daddy's greatest wish is for you to be safe and happy. Take care of yourself."

After reading the letter, Concubine Zhen cried so hard that her stomach hurt. Li Beichen was very nervous and put down the memorial in his hand and rushed over to visit her, which made Concubine Zhen burst into laughter.

Concubine Xie was eating ice watermelon in the pavilion and said disdainfully, "Why didn't it fall off? It would be better if it fell off. Tsk."

She didn't care if there were any spies among the palace maids or eunuchs around her. She had already established a fierce personality. No one dared to do anything to her after she said something.

Jiang Yuebai sighed after hearing the news from Prime Minister Meng. This is indeed a powerful official of two dynasties, a real old fox. Choosing to retreat at the height of power is not a choice that ordinary people can make. The happiness that power brings to people is like Viagra. Once you start taking it, you can't stop. The feeling of being tall, mighty and lasting is really good, making people feel omnipotent.

Once Meng Xiang stepped down, his mediocre, cowardly and lustful son Meng Qing was easy to control and no longer a concern.

Before we knew it, the osmanthus flowers in the palace had bloomed, and the air was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus.

This always reminds Jiang Yuebai of Suzhou. Every time this season comes, the city is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus. She feels at home, yet sad at the same time.

For her, every day is full and passes quickly. For others, every day feels like a year, and they open and close their eyes every day in longing and yearning.

There was an imperial physician stationed in the Changping Marquis' Mansion to take care of Prime Minister Meng, and Meng's physical condition and medication status were reported to the palace every day.

Apart from gray hair, poor sleep and weak body, he did not show any other problems.

Under the supervision of the imperial physician, Meng Xiang took medicine and practiced Tai Chi every day. His complexion gradually became rosy, but his hair was still mostly white with a few black hairs. He was energetic and seemed to have regained his youth.

Hearing that his father was getting better, Meng Zhao's worries gradually dissipated and he felt relieved. He just thought that his father had worked too hard and needed to rest, and he would get better soon.

Before they knew it, it was the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, and there were still three days left before the ceremony of conferring the title of imperial concubine. Because Imperial Concubine Yi was in poor health, the ceremony of conferring the title of imperial concubine was tentatively scheduled to be held after the Chinese New Year.

The Shangfu Bureau sent the enthronement dresses to the empresses in advance for them to try on.

When they started to customize the dresses, their positions were the same, and the style of the dresses was the same. Now Jiang Yuebai is ranked among the four concubines, the highest position; Zhenfei and Anfei have titles, the second; Xiefei is the last.

Jiang Yuebai and Xie Zhili both had changes in their positions, and their formal dresses were only recently made.

Jiang Yuebai stroked the dress and felt touched.

This is a crimson peony skylark dress with an intricate and three-dimensional pattern. It presents different lusters as it sways and is embellished with round and regular pearls. At the same time, in order to take care of her pregnancy, it is also carefully tailored so that it does not appear too bloated.

The embroidery stitches above were obviously made by the second aunt. They were very delicate and gorgeous, and contained the second aunt's deepest love for her.

When she tried it on, she found the crimson color dignified and elegant, making her skin look even fairer and more translucent; the intricate embroidery and pearl embellishments made her look like a beautiful and noble bride, and everything around her was delighted.

This suit was heavily made, and its weight made it difficult for Jiang Yuebai to stand.

"Look, my queen! It's so beautiful!" Xia Zhi exclaimed happily.

Jiang Yuebai looked at the seventeen-year-old girl in the mirror, who was wearing gorgeous clothes and had a bulging belly, and was filled with emotion.

I touched my face and wondered if that beautiful woman in there was me.
She actually married the emperor and was pregnant and about to become a mother.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Looking at the bride dressing herself in the mirror, memories came flooding back, and Jiang Yuebai looked gloomy and felt extremely sad.

Dad used to laugh, saying who would dare to marry a girl as wild and strong as her. He also always laughed, saying which young talent in Jiangnan was worthy of the three golden flowers in his family?

Daddy, it would be great if you were still alive. I really wish you were by my side at that moment.

The eunuch from the clothing department was stunned because the queen was so beautiful. Seeing that the queen looked unhappy, he immediately knelt on the ground, fearing that his master was not satisfied with the dress.

"Your Highness, do you think this dress fits you well? Is there anything you are not satisfied with?"

Today, the Fashion Department brought the clothes over to try on the sizes, so that if there is anything you are not satisfied with or the size is not suitable, you can make fine adjustments.

Actually, there is not much that can be adjusted. It is nothing more than adding some gorgeous embellishments. For Jiang Yuebai, it is obviously unnecessary.

Seeing that the queen remained silent, the young eunuch flattered her again:

"The Emperor specifically ordered that the Empress' dress be flawless. Every pearl on it was personally selected for the Empress by the new chief. Each one is round and perfectly shaped, and exactly the same size. The other two Empresses don't have this."

The new Si Zheng is her second aunt.

Jiang Yuebai said calmly, "Thank you for your trouble."

He turned and gave Lichun a look.

Lichun immediately grabbed a handful of golden melon seeds and gave them to the two eunuchs who came to deliver the dresses.

Jiang Yuebai took out the jade hairpin from her head and handed it to the young eunuch, "Thank your new chief justice for me."

This is much more valuable than a new hairpin. It means that the queen has made the new Si Zheng her own.

The young eunuch was flattered and smiled happily.

Jiang Yuebai took off his gorgeous clothes and instantly felt a lot more relaxed.

Too heavy.

The two young eunuchs carefully put away the formal clothes, fearing that anything might go wrong.

At this time, Liang Xiaobao's apprentice came to pass on the message: The emperor came to Yonghe Palace for dinner and wanted to drink bamboo shoots and old duck soup.

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