Chapter 441: Chapter 441 Palace Banquet (13)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
He was panicking in his heart, however, because he felt as if someone was pinching his heart with their hands and he could die at any time.
Even now, he still felt a tightness in his chest, but he still forced himself to sit up straight and wave his hand. “Rise.”
“Thank you, Emperor.” After everyone returned the greeting, they sat back down one after another.
At this moment, the Emperor felt like the clouds had cleared and the sun had appeared. He relaxed a great deal; the Empress Dowager and the others saw that his expression had finally smoothed out and heaved a sigh of relief. They each sat back in their seats.
“I believe that all my beloved ministers know the purpose of holding this banquet today, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
After he finished speaking, he looked at Eunuch Li.
Eunuch Li understood his intention, so he had a young eunuch take out an imperial edict. “By the will of the heavens, the Emperor has decreed that King Xian has made outstanding contributions by quickly promoting winter wheat planting.
“Special reward, 1,000 taels of gold, cloth…
“His son, the son of King Xian, Yang Zeheng, will be transferred from the Imperial Academy to the Ministry of Revenue and serve as a fifth-grade councillor.”
“Thank you, Emperor. Long live my Emperor.” The father and son were delighted. They immediately went forward to bow and take the imperial edict from Eunuch Li’s hands.
Next was the Third Prince. Because of his contribution to promoting white sweet potatoes and quelling the rebellion, he was conferred the title of King Rui and given 10,000 acres of land.
The First Prince and the Fourth Prince were bestowed with the titles of King Hui and King Kang, respectively, also because of their contributions to quelling the rebellion.
There were also more miscellaneous meritorious awards given to various officials.
Eunuch Li took out the last imperial edict and read, “The Emperor has decreed that the design of the waterwheel and the planting technique of the sweet potato are from Gu Chengrui and his wife.
“He also led his clansmen and the Qian Clan to invent the first waterwheel and promote white sweet potatoes to the masses.
“The Gu family is hereby pardoned.
“Gu Chengrui will be adopted under Princess Ping Yang’s name and become the legitimate eldest son of the Gu family. He will regain his scholar status and be given a residence, a thousand acres of land, a shop, and a hundred pieces of cloth…”
“Student Gu Chengrui (Commoner Zhou Ying) thanks the Emperor for his reward. Long live my Emperor, long live, long live my Emperor.” The husband and wife stepped forward and bowed.
“Pfft…” The Emperor spat out a mouthful of blood, startling everyone.
Eunuch Li quickly supported him and said, “Emperor…”
The Empress Dowager, Empress, and other members of the royal family immediately surrounded him. The Emperor waved his hand and covered his chest. “It’s fine. I’ve spat out a mouthful of blood, but the tightness in my chest is gone now.”
After that, he held onto his chest and said to Gu Chengrui and Zhou Ying, “Both of you may rise.”
At this moment, Principal Zhou rushed over and retook the Emperor’s pulse.
“Thank you, Emperor.” The husband and wife stood up and returned to their seats with the imperial edict.
Although the officials did not say anything, they were muttering inwardly.
They were all worried that something was wrong with the Emperor’s body, especially the Fourth Prince’s faction. Their political power was far inferior to the First Prince’s, so they would die miserably if the Emperor passed now.
At the same time, Zhou Ying was also mumbling inwardly. Every time something happened to the Emperor, she could feel an invisible thing bouncing out of her body to attack him.
The first time might have been a coincidence, but she had to take it seriously after the second time.
But why…
After thinking about it, she came to a conclusion. Although she had not yet recovered her identity as Mother Goddess, the Emperor was a believer in Mother Goddess no matter the circumstances.
He couldn’t accept her showing respect by kneeling.
As for why the Empress Dowager and the Third Prince were fine, it was probably because she only bowed and did not kneel..
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