Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

Time flies like an arrow; a day has passed, and it is already June 24th.

As dawn breaks and a gentle breeze blows.

cabinet.

"Are all the congratulatory messages complete?" The Grand Chancellor asked cautiously, looking at the received congratulatory messages.

The matter of submitting congratulatory memorials involved many people, including members of the imperial family, civil and military officials, foreign envoys, local officials, and more than thirty junior scholars from the Hanlin Academy.

Not a single one can be missing!

If one portion is missing, the birthday celebration is incomplete, breaking the auspicious omen.

"Done!"

The chief officials of the Three Offices, Five Directorates, Six Ministries, Nine Temples, Censorate, and Remonstrance Office all nodded in agreement.

There's almost no such thing as "missing" a congratulatory tablet.

When officials celebrate a person's birthday, even if the official is seriously ill, they will still have time to write a congratulatory letter.

Only Han Zhang, the Minister of Rites, had a dark expression.

Grand Chancellor Fu Bi's expression changed slightly, and he realized something was wrong. He quickly asked, "Whose position is missing?"

"Huang Jing, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites!" Han Zhang answered truthfully.

"what?"

The wealthy young master's face darkened, looking rather unpleasant. "Why does it have to be his?"

Many officials looked at the senior ministers, somewhat surprised.

The meaning behind Grand Chancellor Fu Bi's words was essentially asking whether the missing congratulatory letter was from an unknown person.

The Grand Master had long been prepared for the lack of congratulatory messages, and probably even had several "fake congratulatory messages" written in secret for emergency use.

If what's missing is a congratulatory letter from an unknown person, then making a fake one to impersonate them is perfectly acceptable.

After all, the essence of a congratulatory scroll is to be "complete," emphasizing good fortune and auspiciousness.

By sending a fake congratulatory letter, the official who was missing the letter would not be punished, the minister responsible for collecting the letters would not be held accountable, and the emperor would not be furious about the missing letter.

good for everyone!

If one copy is missing, then make up for it.

Unexpectedly, what was missing was a congratulatory letter from a secretary in the Ministry of Rites.

These days, civil and military officials have all silently stopped advising on the establishment of an heir, but there are still one or two people who refuse to give up.

Huang Jing is the one who jumps around, without exception.

This ruthless man was no ordinary person; he constantly talked about "abdication" and "the stories of Yao, Shun, and Yu," which caught the attention of the officials and made them annoyed by him.

This is no nobody!

The emperor will most likely examine this person's congratulatory letter.

The key point is that Huang Jing's congratulatory letter is not easy to forge.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was a fifth-rank official in red robes. Although his official rank was not high, he was still qualified to attend court.

If you forge a congratulatory letter, and someone else pulls out a copy, and it really blows up, the emperor will be furious, and even the ministers of the six ministries will suffer, and even the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet will be held accountable.

This is deceiving the emperor!

In addition, Huang Jing has been submitting memorials to the emperor repeatedly during this period, which has made him more visible. The emperor must have a preliminary impression of his handwriting.

How could one forge something so convincingly real without deliberate study?

"Huang Jing?" Fu Bi frowned slightly and quickly asked, "Have you urged him?"

As the head of all officials, receiving congratulatory messages was only one of the matters he was responsible for. Although it was very important, there was almost no room for error in it, so he did not pay much attention to the matter of receiving congratulatory messages.

Unexpectedly, a major event suddenly occurred!

"I've urged him several times, and he always says he'll pay it on time. I guess we'll need someone capable to keep pushing him." Han Zhang's expression was not good, and he looked at Liu Hang as he spoke.

Fu Bi was taken aback, then understood what he meant and turned to look at Grand Secretary Liu Hang.

Fu Bi wasn't a fool, and he also believed that Huang Jing wasn't a fool.

It was already early morning, and if the congratulatory messages were not all submitted by the end of the morning, it would mean that they were not "complete".

Not a single one of the Emperor's ministers can be missing!

At this opportune moment, everything Huang Jing had done became clear.

He said, "How could anyone be so stupid as to incur the emperor's displeasure?"

Looking at it now, it's clear that Liu Hang had done something wrong.

If nothing unexpected happens, Huang Jing has already secretly sided with Liu Hang in order to make his presence felt, buy time, sacrifice himself, and make Han Zhang take the blame.

Huang Jingke was Han Zhang's subordinate.

Han Zhanghe's memorial was incomplete, missing a corner of the character "全" (complete), so he would inevitably be held accountable.

Of course, this matter can be big or small.

If Han Zhang shifts all the blame onto Huang Jing, then any blame he bears will be negligible.

After all, the main reason for the delayed collection was that Huang Jing was late or did not submit the documents, which was Huang Jing's problem.

However, it was precisely for this reason that Fu Bi frowned repeatedly.

If he doesn't receive a congratulatory message, Han Zhang can naturally shift most of the blame onto Huang Jing.

But he can't!

He was the head of all officials and the highest-ranking person in charge of celebrating birthdays and bringing good fortune!

Once the congratulatory message is gone, even if all the blame is placed on Huang Jing, he will still suffer and bear some responsibility.

This is the predicament of a prime minister!

It's not a pleasant feeling to be outsmarted for no reason, and Fu Bi's face darkened slightly.

He's one of the leaders of the gentry, how could he resort to such dirty tactics?

The key issue is that, not only were their methods dirty, but they were also incredibly audacious, daring to scheme even against the emperor's birthday celebrations.

Fu Bi, with a stern face, waved his hand and said, "Grand Secretary Liu, go and urge them on!"

"Huang Jing?" Liu Hang stroked his white beard and shook his head. "If I remember correctly, he's one of Minister Han's men, isn't he?"

The implication was clear: they were unwilling to go.

"No matter whose people they are, the number of congratulatory messages cannot be missing." Fu Bi looked at Liu Hang with a stern face; he was the head of all officials.

Each level governs the next, and Han Zhang was assigned to one of the six ministries, which allowed him to evade most of the blame. However, as the head of all officials, he had nowhere to evade responsibility.

If the number of congratulatory messages is incomplete, he would probably be the one who suffers the most besides Huang Jing.

"Your Excellency should let Minister Han go instead," Liu Hang refused again.

“No matter how you fight, not a single congratulatory letter from the Emperor can be missed. Han Zhang has already gone several times; this time it’s your turn.” Fu Bi’s tone became much firmer.

Liu Hang's expression changed several times before finally settling down: "Alright, the bigger picture is more important."

With that, Liu Hang walked out.

Han Zhang's composed expression relaxed.

The last time someone urged them was Liu Hang.

If Huang Jing really doesn't hand it over, even if he doesn't shirk his responsibility, at most he'll only share some of the blame as his superior.

Liu Hang, who was the one who last went to urge the submission of the congratulatory letter, would also bear some responsibility.

If one person is hit with a board, it's as if no one was hit at all.

This is the side carriage of Grand Chancellor Fu Bilai.

Of course, it was also his decision not to take responsibility for nothing.

In fact, what Han Zhang thought was that if he really couldn't receive any congratulatory messages, then he should simply not go and collect them at all; that would be the best way to break the deadlock.

At that time, all responsibility will be shifted to Huang Jing, who will not be able to bear any responsibility at all.

However, Grand Chancellor Fu Bi would certainly not agree to this approach.

Many of the civil and military officials looked around thoughtfully, but none dared to utter a sound.

Everyone below the Grand Secretary is a pawn, and it's difficult for outsiders to intervene.

However, Liu Hang's willingness to use the emperor's birthday celebration as a chessboard shows he was a ruthless man.

High risk, high reward!

Time passes minute by minute.

1:15 AM!

5:45 AM (卯时二刻)

3:45 AM (卯时三刻)

5:45 AM (卯时四刻)

"when!"

When the bell rang at five quarters past the hour of Mao (5:45 AM), Fu Bi became restless.

If a congratulatory memorial is not presented, then Han Zhang and Liu Hang will each receive a beating.

A slap on the wrist is an outcome that both Han Zhang and Liu Hang can accept.

However, as the head of all officials, he would certainly bear some responsibility.

He's not willing to take responsibility for nothing!

Fu Bi paced back and forth, his expression slightly somber.

Liu Hang left at the beginning of the morning. Even if he didn't see Huang Jing until the second quarter of the morning, he could still produce a rough congratulatory letter within those two quarters of an hour by using a template!

Once you get the congratulatory letter, you should return within a quarter of an hour, and be back in the cabinet by 5:45 AM!

what happened?

Fu Bi watched the water clock drip away, his hands clasped behind his back.

After a while, he could no longer contain himself.

"Let's go and wait outside the Chuigong Hall."

The congratulatory letter must be submitted by the end of the eighth quarter of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), and the timing must be perfect.

It takes at least half an incense stick's time to get from the Cabinet to the Chuigong Hall, so you have to go there in advance.

Han Zhang's expression was serious.

I just don't know if Liu Hang will be able to arrive on time.

Chapter 41 Jiang Zhao: I'll go get the congratulatory message?

Outside the Chuigong Hall, officials in full regalia stood on either side.

In the past, we could have had a chat at this point.

However, because it was the emperor's birthday celebration, the atmosphere had to be even more solemn, and almost no one spoke.

Jiang Zhao, dressed in a sixth-rank official robe and carrying an ivory tablet, stood respectfully at the end.

If nothing unexpected happens, the court assemblies these past few days have been unusually long.

It mainly involves the submission of congratulatory letters and messages. If the emperor were to take a look at them, it would take up a lot of his time.

Zhao Zhen's birthday is June 26th, but it is not unusual for congratulatory memorials to be presented a day or two in advance.

The next few days will be filled with sacrificial rites and a general amnesty, making it a very busy time.

"what?"

"One of the Grand Secretaries is missing!"