The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Chapter 1077: The Emperor Is So Willful This Time

The Emperor personally attended the mourning, and Prime Minister Fan naturally dared not be negligent. By the time he came to greet Emperor Chu, the mourning hall had already been cleared, waiting for the Emperor’s arrival, with only a few young children kneeling there and weeping.This was just for appearances; secretly, who knew how many Hidden Guards were watching, with countless pairs of eyes fixed solely on Emperor Chu. Even a fly coming too close would be scared away.

Prime Minister Fan personally picked up an incense stick and handed it to Emperor Chu. After the latter bowed three times, he personally inserted it into the incense burner, then knelt down, thanking the Emperor for coming to mourn as a filial son would.

Emperor Chu sighed and helped this old minister up once more, expressing condolences to help him find solace in his grief.

Song Zhiyuan also autonomously picked up an incense stick to pay his respects, without looking at the remains, and accompanied Prime Minister Fan to join Emperor Chu in the outer study for tea.

It was time to put on a show again.

The group each took their places, holding their tea as they conversed.

Emperor Chu merely touched his cup lightly before putting it down, looking at Prime Minister Fan and saying, "At this age, the Grand Madam’s passing is considered a celebratory funeral, so Prime Minister Fan should not grieve too much. Take good care of yourself. I still hope that when you return from mourning, you will serve Great Qing again. Great Qing cannot do without you." These words sounded pleasing, but those present were all aware that by the time Prime Minister Fan returned from mourning, who knew what the situation would be?

Yet Prime Minister Fan would not disregard Emperor Chu’s face, displaying a deeply moved expression and bowing to the Emperor, saying, "How can I, a humble minister, deserve such concern and importance from Your Majesty? I am old and plan to personally escort the spirit back to my hometown, build a hut, and observe mourning there. By the time I finish mourning, I will be sixty-three, and I fear I might not be able to work anymore."

"Prime Minister Fan, you jest. You are still hale and hearty; don’t abandon your post. There are still many things I wish to learn from you," Song Zhiyuan said.

Prime Minister Fan waved his hand, "Prime Minister Song is much more capable than this old minister. With you, Your Majesty, handling matters will naturally be much more efficient."

"As the saying goes, ’ginger gets spicier as it ages.’ No matter how capable I am, can I compare to an old minister who has eaten more salt than I’ve eaten rice? To be blunt, when you were in office, I was still wetting my pants!"

Prime Minister Fan wanted to continue the pleasantries, but Emperor Chu impatiently interrupted their back-and-forth playacting, saying, "Stop quarreling. You are both my trusted ministers, and I can’t afford to lose either of you. As I’ve always said, Prime Minister Fan, take good care of yourself; I still need you."

At this point, if Prime Minister Fan continued to say insincere words, it would only make things awkward. He feared the other might conveniently suggest his retirement, so he immediately bowed and complied.

"This old minister asks for nothing else; merits and achievements are for the young to vie for. My only allegiance is to Great Qing, and even if I die, I would gladly die at the desk working for Great Qing. As long as His Majesty needs this old minister, I will definitely strive to my utmost until my last breath."

As he said this, he trembled and knelt down again.

Emperor Chu had to say some more pleasing words.

After this round of acting between sovereign and minister, Emperor Chu could not stay for long and was escorted out of the Fan Mansion by Song Zhiyuan.

Once in the carriage, Emperor Chu let out a heavy snort, "You see, I told you, he’s an old man clinging to power. Expecting him to retire voluntarily is probably not going to happen in this lifetime."

Prime Minister Song said, "Prime Minister Fan is still young."

He’ll be only in his early sixties when the mourning period ends, and since he maintains his health well, serving another ten years is not out of the question.

People, once they’ve held a high position for a long time, do they easily retire?

Emperor Chu did not argue, only saying, "Let’s head to Wanshan Garden. I heard the sheep there come from Kazakhstan, fed on medicinal herbs and drinking Heavenly Mountain Snow Water; the meat is particularly fine. Let’s have some mutton hotpot before returning to the palace."

Song Zhiyuan: "..."

Is there such a capricious Emperor? Wasn’t it agreed beforehand that we would only mourn?