A moment later, Wang Ao hurriedly arrived outside the Wenhua Palace and saw a chamberlain looking anxiously outside from a distance.
Wang Ao also knew this man. He was a trusted eunuch under Huai'en. His name was Li Rong. He often communicated orders to the cabinet for Huai'en.
After seeing his figure, the chamberlain finally breathed a sigh of relief and came over to greet him from a distance. He bowed his hands in a cursory gesture and then asked.
"Why did the Chief Assistant come just now? All the cabinet ministers are already here, and the Emperor is also waiting. Come in with our family quickly."
The words were spoken so hurriedly that Wang Ao couldn't get a word in, and he was really depressed.
However, it only took a moment for Wang Ao to calm down and become even more cautious. Although with his status, he did not need to pay too much attention to the mood of a young chamberlain.
However, if he only stayed at this level, Wang Ao's role as chief assistant would be in vain.
You must know that for eunuchs in the palace, it is a basic skill to smile at everyone, especially after the emperor ascended the throne, the eunuchs were very strictly restrained.
Even the notorious eunuch of a certain East Factory was polite and courteous in front of the important ministers of the imperial court. Although he was suspected of hiding his sword in his smile, it still represented the emperor's attitude towards eunuchs.
Under such circumstances, for an ordinary eunuch to be so impatient in front of one of his chief ministers can only mean that something happened that made the eunuch even more frightened.
And there is no doubt that in the entire imperial city, the only one who has such power of life and death over the eunuchs in the palace, and can make people tremble at the slightest thought, is the Emperor!
To put it bluntly, I am afraid that the emperor must be in a very bad mood in the Wenhua Palace today, otherwise, the eunuchs who serve him daily would not be so trembling.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Ao straightened his robe and steadily entered the Wenhua Hall under the leadership of the chamberlain.
As soon as he entered the palace gate, Wang Ao immediately felt the oppression in the palace.
On the throne, the emperor's face was gloomy, and he looked down coldly. Under the imperial steps, a group of ministers stood with their hands hanging down, with different expressions on their faces.
Zhu Jian was the calmest. He had obviously adapted to the atmosphere. Relatively speaking, the faces of Yu Shiyue and others were obviously not good-looking. Their eyes looking at Zhu Jian showed a bit of complaint and anger, and at the same time, they were mixed with have no choice.
"I'm late, please forgive me!"
After a brief glance, Wang Ao did not dare to delay, quickly stepped forward, prostrated himself on the ground, and said.
At the same time, several ministers nearby saw him and stepped aside one after another.
Mr. Wang was polite and respectful, and his posture was very low. He admitted his mistake as soon as he came up. But in this way, in fact, the emperor could not blame him.
After all, this kind of emergency summons requires someone to be found temporarily, so it is normal to delay for a while. Under normal circumstances, the emperor will understand.
When Wang Ao said this, he was actually expressing it euphemistically, hoping that the emperor would not hold him back.
Admittedly, this may make the emperor feel even worse.
However, Lao Wang has been in Beijing for so long and has become a monkey spirit. Of course he can see that the emperor is very angry at this time.
But the more this happened, the more cautious and respectful he became. Normally, he would just make a small mistake to make the emperor angry.
But now, maybe the emperor will really use him as a punching bag.
Therefore, Mr. Wang could only use words to argue with the emperor.
However, even so, the chief minister obviously miscalculated, because after he finished speaking, the emperor snorted lightly, and did not reveal the matter or reprimand him as he expected, but directly arrive.
"Since the chief assistant himself has admitted that he has made a mistake, Huai En, after today, you go to deliver the order. Wang Ao, the chief assistant of the cabinet, has delayed and neglected his duties. He has failed in his duties. He will be fined one month's salary as punishment!"
Ah this...
Mr. Wang raised his head, with a look of confusion in his eyes. This was different from the script!
He said that the sentence was just to show your attitude. Your Majesty, how could you just go along with it? Why don't you show your magnanimity as the emperor at this time?
However, no one, not even the ministers next to him, dared to speak a word to defend Wang Shoufu. Everyone just watched helplessly as Wynn handed over his hand to accept the decree.
"Okay, let's get up. Since the chief assistant is here, why not take a look at this?"
After getting angry, the emperor finally seemed to feel a little better. He picked up the memorandum beside him, handed it to the chamberlain next to him, and brought it to Wang Ao's eyes.
Poor Mr. Wang came all the way from the cabinet. He was scolded before he could figure out the situation. Now he just stood up and looked at the several pillars placed beside him, but he couldn't sit down. He could only take the ones in front of him respectfully. Please read the memorial.
However, after such a turn, the old man suddenly forgot about any fatigue, and only felt a surge of energy and blood, which was quite angry.
To put it bluntly, the drafting of the cabinet vote is to write a small ticket and attach the general content and handling opinions of the memorial to the end of the memorial.
Therefore, in order to save time, Wang Ao looked directly at the receipt at the back.
Then, he saw a long list of joint signatures and Zhu Jian's "righteous and awe-inspiring" voting opinions.
At this time, Mr. Wang finally knew why the emperor got angry with him when he came up.
"Delay and neglect are a breach of duty..."
These eight words seemed to mean that he did not enter the palace in time, but in fact they meant something else.
The cabinet chief is in charge of voting, while the chief assistant has the power to divide the votes. This is the biggest reason why the chief assistant is superior to the group assistants.
However, with power comes responsibility. Since the chief minister has the right to divide the votes, he must ensure that when he divides the votes, the ones he gives out are appropriate, at least not causing trouble for the emperor.
But now...
Looking at the memorial in front of him and remembering what Zhongshu Sheren said to him before entering the palace, Wang Ao immediately reacted.
This is because Zhu Jian intercepted the memorial sent by the Secretary of General Affairs, and then completed the draft of the vote first and sent it to the palace without dividing the votes.
No wonder the emperor is angry!
This is indeed true, because he has failed in his duties. Although Wang Ao is not very diligent, he also takes government affairs very seriously. Almost every day, he will finish the government affairs for the day before going to office.
Therefore, he was very sure that he had not seen this memorial before, so it could only be that it had just been sent by the Secretary of General Affairs.
If he was not late today, then theoretically, the memorial from the General Secretary should have been delivered to his office first.
In this way, he would not vote for such a major matter by others, at least, he would not assign it to Zhu Jian, but would vote for it himself, or at least let Yu Shiyue handle it.
There was no way it would have ended up like this.
After reacting, Wang Ao took a deep look at Zhu Jian who was standing aside. His expression was exactly the same as that of Yu Shiyue and others, with a trace of dissatisfaction in his helplessness.
As for the reason...
Before Wang Ao opened his mouth, he heard Zhu Jian said from the side.
"Your Majesty, it is right to have a cabinet in the East Palace. Even if the cabinet is discussed by the ministers, your lords will not have any other opinions. What's more, the cabinet is a group of assistants, and the ministers also have the right to vote. I wonder why your majesty is so angry? "
"If your Majesty really feels that the vote drafted by me here is inappropriate, all you need to do is reject it and re-draft it. I am willing to listen to your Majesty's advice!"