Zi Shou was in no hurry to leave. He leisurely wandered over to Shouxian Palace, cuddled Wu Geng, and had lunch with Daji before taking the Imperial Carriage to Epang Palace.
"Where is everyone?"
He abruptly discovered that, in the outer hall of the enormous Epang Palace, there were only a handful of people, including Wan Nian and Lu Xiong.
Zi Shou found it hard to believe. Had his strategy of having bad officials drive out good ones already borne fruit? Had these officials become so rotten that they would not even obey an imperial command?
The few people present cupped their hands in greeting when they saw Zi Shou.
Puzzled, Zi Shou asked, "Rise. Why are there only a few of you here?"
Wan Nian scratched his bald head. "We each came here after lunch rather than gathering in one place first. Perhaps the others went to the wrong place."
Understanding dawned on Zi Shou. Of course-there were two Epang Palaces. Although their names were pronounced differently, their plaques and exteriors were exactly the same.
Pinyin did not exist in this era, and this was the officials' first summons to Epang Palace. Unable to tell the two apart, they could hardly be blamed for going to the wrong one.
"Then let us leave it at that. Follow me into the inner hall first. They have only themselves to blame for going to the wrong place. If they arrive late, they will simply have to enjoy themselves later." Zi Shou nodded slightly and led the few men inside.
Wan Nian and the others were puzzled. His Majesty apparently had something to discuss. In that case, should he not summon the officials who had gone to the wrong hall as quickly as possible?
But Zi Shou had already started walking inside,