The next day, at five o 'clock.
Zhangsun Palace.
"Your Majesty, I should help you dress and wash up. It's almost time for morning court."
Zhangsun's hair was messy and her cheeks were pink. She propped herself up and looked at Li Er as she spoke softly.
Li Er happily stretched his waist and legs, then took Zhangsun in his arms and sighed with emotion.
"I haven't slept so deeply in a long time. I didn't expect the aftereffects of the Drunken Immortal to be so strong. I've been sleeping from yesterday afternoon until today. I really want to just lie here and not get up."
Zhangsun lay on Li Er's body and laughed, "Your Majesty, don't joke. Get up quickly, or else Wei Zuocheng will admonish you again."
Li Er rubbed his head and said with a headache, "Even if I didn't go late today, I'm afraid I'll still be scolded by Wei Xuancheng. I haven't read yesterday's memorial yet."
Zhangsun laughed lightly, "Your Majesty has been working hard on state affairs and resting for half a day. I'm sure Wei Zuocheng won't say anything, right?"
Li Er sneered, "Guanyin Maid, you think too highly of that old fellow. He wants nothing more than for me to spend all 24 hours a day busy with state affairs. That's right, where did Chengqian get the Drunken Immortal and the Land of Warmth from yesterday? "
He thought to himself that the names of these two wines were really good. When immortals get drunk, they can't help but lie down in the Land of Warmth. If Li Zexuan knew what Li Er was thinking, he would definitely spit out a mouthful of blood. That wasn't his original intention.
Zhangsun replied, "Your Majesty, after you fell asleep yesterday, I sent someone to inquire. It's said that Li Zexuan borrowed Duke Lu's winery to make this wine. He already started selling it at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant yesterday."
Li Er glared and said angrily, "It's this kid again. He's even more comfortable as a baron than I am as an emperor. He studies eating, drinking, and playing every day. I have to find something for him to do. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of his talent? "
Zhangsun covered her mouth and laughed, "Hearing Your Majesty say this, I also feel that I should arrange something for this child to do. I see that Chengqian, Changle, and Qingque all have a good relationship with Li Zexuan. Why don't we have him come to the palace every day to accompany Qingque and the others to school? "
Li Er thought for a moment, then shook his head in the end. "This kid has learned a variety of things, and is definitely not of the Confucian school. Don't lead Chengqian astray. As for Li Zexuan, I have my own plans. Guanyin maid need not worry.
However, this kid sure is slippery. He used Cheng Zhijie's family's winery to privately brew wine to avoid the laws of the court. We can't let him off so easily. Later, have Chengqian send a message to this kid. In the future, he will provide the tribute wine in the royal palace. As for the price, it will be half the market price. "
Zhangsun couldn't help but laugh. "Your Majesty, aren't you going to ask Li Zexuan to pay compensation? Alright, it's getting late, Your Majesty should get up. "
Li Er missed the Drunken Immortal quite a bit. He got up and smacked his lips, saying proudly,
"Who asked that kid to like to take advantage of loopholes? I have to make him lose the guts to delve into eating, drinking, and playing."
.....
Inside Taiji Palace, morning court.
To be honest, Li Er was feeling a little guilty going to court today. After all, he hadn't finished his work yesterday. The other officials might give him some face, but if Wei Zheng knew that he was drunk and messed up state affairs, he would definitely point at his nose and call him a fatuous ruler.
However, Li Er was very lucky today because Wei Zheng was having trouble protecting himself. How could he have the time to care about Li Er?
"Minister Wei, why are there so many wounds on your face? Did someone dare to beat up an important official of the court? "
After going through the necessary etiquette of the morning court, Li Er glanced guiltily at Wei Zheng. It wouldn't have mattered if he didn't look, but what he saw shocked Li Er. He saw that there were three or four slender bloody wounds on Wei Zheng's face. One of them had almost reached the corner of his eye, so Li Er couldn't help but ask curiously.
Wei Zheng's face was full of awkwardness. He was completely drunk yesterday, and after being dragged home by the servant, he couldn't remember anything. When he woke up, he felt a burning pain on his face. His wife was sitting to the side, her eyes red and swollen as she stared at him fiercely.
Wei Zheng's wife, Pei Shi, was born in a noble family. After marrying Wei Zheng, she had been living with her husband in that old and broken house. Every day, she would spin and weave cloth, working hard without any complaints.
The only thing that made her dissatisfied was that Wei Zheng loved wine. Although the Tang Dynasty's inferior wine was only 20 to 30 copper coins per liter, Wei Zheng had tasted all kinds of wine. Furthermore, he knew how to make wine himself. His taste had long been picky, and he would only drink good wine.
Yesterday, when Madam Pei saw Lai Fu supporting the drunk Wei Zheng back, she was a little unhappy in her heart. When she heard from Lai Fu that Wei Zheng's drink actually cost ten yuan and that he even gave money to people after he got drunk, Madam Pei's anger could no longer be suppressed.
She asked someone to send Wei Zheng back to his room, and then she followed in herself. Looking at her husband sleeping soundly on the bed, and thinking about how their family was poor to begin with, Wei Zheng had actually used up all of his money. The more Pei shi thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn't help but scratch her husband's body.
As she scratched, Pei Shi stopped and sat to the side, sobbing softly. When Wei Zheng woke up in the morning for a meeting, he saw that Pei Shi's eyes were red and swollen.
After Wei Zheng woke up, he remembered that he had gone to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant to drink yesterday. He was confident that he wouldn't get drunk after two liters and then win back the ten copper coins, but he didn't expect to get drunk in the end.
He knew that ten copper coins was a large sum of money for his family. When he saw his wife's red eyes, he knew that he was in the wrong. Thus, he ignored the burning pain on his face and got up to comfort his wife for a long time before rushing to the morning court.
Before the morning court, Wei Zheng had already been laughed at by his colleagues outside Taiji Palace. The news of Wei Zheng giving money when he was drunk had spread throughout Chang 'an. Now that they saw Wei Zheng's face full of scars, how could the ministers not know what had happened?
At the moment, in the court.
Wei Zheng, who had always dared to say anything, was embarrassed by Li Er's question. He mumbled for a long time and didn't know what to say.
He didn't say it, but someone else said it for him. In the early days of Zhen Guan, the court was relatively free and there were fewer rules. As long as it was not too presumptuous, no one would hold it accountable.
Cheng Yaojin came out of the crowd and laughed, "Your Majesty, I heard that Wei Zuocheng was drunk at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant yesterday and took the initiative to give money. I guess that the injury on his face was caused by a fall on the way home, haha!"
The ministers in the court were amused by Cheng Yaojin's obvious teasing words. Wei Zheng blushed and glared at Cheng Yaojin.
Li Er thought about it carefully and instantly imagined the whole thing. He couldn't help but find it funny, but he still had to hold back his laughter. Otherwise, it would be too hurtful.
Fang Xuanling was kind and didn't want to embarrass Wei Zheng too much. In fact, he also somewhat sympathized with him. His wife was the founder of "jealous" women. In fact, she was ten times or a hundred times more ferocious than Lady Pei. Fang Xuanling didn't know how much "domestic violence" he had suffered over the years.
"Your Majesty, these are just the family affairs of the ministers. It's really inappropriate to discuss it in the court. I suggest that we put this matter aside and discuss the state affairs."
Fang Xuanling came out of the crowd and bowed to Li Er.
Wei Zheng secretly cast a grateful look at Fang Xuanling.
Li Er held back his laughter and pretended to be serious, "Ahem, Minister Fang is right. Let's discuss the state affairs. If you have something to say, please report. If not, the court is dismissed."
But he was laughing in his heart. He didn't expect Wei Xuancheng to have such a day. It was really satisfying.
.....
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