The Emperor reached for Gu Chengrui's memorial book and flipped through the pages with distracted eyes. "It's been a long and arduous journey," he acknowledged.
"To be able to contribute to Your Majesty is an honor," Gu Chengrui bowed respectfully.
"I'm very grateful to hear that," the Emperor replied. "I understand you only returned to the capital yesterday. Take the next two days to rest before resuming your duties at the medical center."
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty," Gu Chengrui expressed his gratitude.
"In fact," the Emperor continued, "I had intended to promote you to Prime Minister. What do you think of that?"
"Isn't Minister Chen performing admirably in that role?" Gu Chengrui inquired after a moment of surprise.
"He unfortunately suffered a stroke before the New Year," the Emperor explained. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have considered replacing him."
