Chapter 12
After the regent left, Ji Qingzhou carried Little Li Cong in his arms and headed towards the palace school.
Thinking about the person he was holding being the emperor of the entire Dayu Dynasty, Ji Qingzhou felt momentarily dazed. But when he looked down at the sleeping face in his arms, he realized that despite the titles, Li Cong was just an innocent child.
Li Cong seemed to sense that the embrace around him was no longer as broad and solid as before. Half-asleep and half-awake, he felt a bit uneasy and reached out his arms to cling to Ji Qingzhou’s neck, trying to sleep more soundly.
By this time, the sun was already quite high. Worried about the child being exposed to the sun, Ji Qingzhou quickened his pace. By the time he arrived at the palace school, he had unknowingly worked up a thin layer of sweat.
Li Cong did not sleep deeply and woke up as soon as Ji Qingzhou stopped.
Ji Qingzhou looked down and was caught off guard by Li Cong’s clear, bright eyes.
He had expected the child might cry or fuss upon seeing someone unfamiliar holding him, but instead, Li Cong smiled at Ji Qingzhou and then tugged at his own sleeve, lifting his hand to wipe the sweat from Ji Qingzhou’s forehead.
Ji Qingzhou was taken aback and felt a surge of emotion. Despite being a ruler, Li Cong showed no arrogance or detachment from his privileged position and was even more approachable than many other children.
In the original book, Li Cong’s favorite person to be close to was Ji Qingzhou. Unfortunately, in the story, Ji Qingzhou betrayed this pure trust, using Li Cong as a bargaining chip and becoming increasingly reckless… Eventually, not only did Ji Qingzhou die a miserable death, but he also caused a rift between Li Cong and his uncle, Li Zhan.
Seeing Li Cong’s innocent eyes now, Ji Qingzhou felt a pang of pity for the child.
Lu Tingyi had arrived early at the palace school and began the lesson once the little emperor was seated.
Ji Qingzhou initially intended to stay nearby, but Li Cong kept turning his head to look at him, making it difficult for him to focus on the lesson. Eventually, Ji Qingzhou had to step outside under Lu Tingyi’s gaze.
“Ji Gonggong, if you’re tired, you can rest in the side hall,” said a young eunuch named Xiao Tang. “Once His Majesty has finished the lesson, I will come to call for you.”
Because of Yao Chang’an’s promotion, Ji Qingzhou had been given a blue robe upon entering the palace. Though he had not been officially promoted, his status was already higher than that of the gray-robed eunuchs. Since he had become the new attendant to the little emperor, it seemed only a matter of time before his blue robe would be changed to red. Thus, everyone showed him considerable respect.
“You’re Xiao Tang?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“Yes, I’m Tang Yi. Just call me Xiao Tang,” the eunuch replied with a smile.
Ji Qingzhou recalled that in the original book, Tang Yi was a capable assistant by his side. However, he could not immediately determine whether the morally dubious actions attributed to Tang Yi in the book were influenced by Ji Qingzhou or were his inherent nature.
Regardless, Ji Qingzhou knew he needed to keep a close watch on this person to avoid potential troubles.
Meanwhile, Yao Chang’an was summoned to the imperial study.
He was puzzled along the way, wondering why the regent, who usually did not involve himself with the inner palace affairs, had suddenly called for him.
Was it due to the previous rumors, and was the regent planning to reform the inner palace?
Or was it a matter of settling accounts, holding him accountable for any shortcomings as the head of the inner palace?
“Chief Eunuch Yao, I have summoned you today for two matters,” Li Zhan said, sitting behind the desk, marking documents with a red brush while not looking up.
“Please instruct me, Your Highness. I will certainly relieve you of your worries,” Yao Chang’an replied.
After finishing the document in hand, Li Zhan set aside the red brush and said, “The late emperor passed away suddenly and appointed me as regent to assist His Majesty. Many things were not arranged in time, so we continued to follow the late emperor’s practices. But now that everything is on track, it is no longer appropriate to delay things.”
Yao Chang’an was taken aback, not understanding the meaning behind these words.
“This study should have been His Majesty’s place; now that he’s of age, it will be used,” the regent said. “Before next month, have someone clean up the vacant palace behind the study. Starting next month, all documents and meetings with officials should be moved there.”
Yao Chang’an was surprised by this request and was unsure if the regent’s decision was meant to avoid suspicion or for some other reason. The vacant Yinghui Pavilion behind the study could serve both as an office and a residence, so it would make sense for the regent to move in once it was cleaned up.
However, this was not his concern; he would follow the regent’s orders.
“The second matter…” Li Zhan looked at Dong Dong, who understood and handed a folded piece of paper to Yao Chang’an.
Yao Chang’an unfolded the paper and saw a list of names, all of them eunuchs.
“Once the Yinghui Pavilion is ready, arrange for these people to be stationed there,” Li Zhan instructed.
Yao Chang’an was startled, wondering why the regent, who had always disliked having eunuchs around, was suddenly changing his stance.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Dong Dong asked, “Chief Eunuch Yao, is there a problem?”
Yao Chang’an quickly composed himself and replied, “I will certainly carry out the task diligently, but there is one person on this list…”
“Don’t worry about him. Just make the arrangements,” Li Zhan said coldly.
Yao Chang’an promptly agreed and bowed to Li Zhan before leaving.
After Yao Chang’an departed, Dong Dong couldn’t help but ask, “Your Highness, are these people truly trustworthy?”
“I have my own measures in place. You don’t need to worry,” Li Zhan replied, glancing at him. “How are the tasks I assigned you progressing?”
Dong Dong replied, “The young lady from the Qiu family has been ill since the palace banquet and has not been seen. It may take a bit longer.”
“That’s fine. The Empress Dowager’s birthday is in early May, and she should be recovered by then,” Li Zhan said casually. “For now, withdraw the people to avoid drawing too much attention.”
The rumors about the eunuchs had subsided since one of them had supposedly “committed suicide,” and the situation was gradually calming down.
The Qiu family would likely relax their vigilance as time went on…
Ji Qingzhou waited in the corridor outside the palace school for nearly two hours before Lu Tingyi finished the lesson.
When he went in to fetch the little emperor, he found him already asleep at the desk, though it was unclear how long he had been sleeping.
Ji Qingzhou: …
The lesson seemed unnecessary; the child looked so pitiful.
Who would have thought that the ruler of a nation would have to endure such hardships every day?
Seeing Li Cong sleeping soundly, Ji Qingzhou reached out to pick him up, but Li Cong woke up after rubbing his eyes.
“Your Majesty, it’s time for lunch. Would you like me to carry you?” Ji Qingzhou asked, crouching down.
“No need,” Li Cong waved his little hand and smiled, saying, “I don’t want to make you work too hard.”
Ji Qingzhou: …
Is this how an emperor should speak to an attendant?
Ji Qingzhou’s duty was to accompany the little emperor to class in the morning and help with his homework in the afternoon. He diligently noted down all the assignments given by Lu Tingyi and, after finishing, couldn’t resist lighting a candle for the little emperor… thinking that being an emperor was indeed not an easy job!
“Sir, His Majesty is only five years old, yet he is tasked with reciting poetry and copying scriptures. Isn’t the workload a bit too heavy?” Ji Qingzhou couldn’t help but ask Lu Tingyi.
Lu Tingyi looked at Ji Qingzhou with disbelief, as if questioning how an attendant could meddle in the emperor’s academic affairs. However, upon remembering that Ji Qingzhou was the former Grand Tutor’s younger son, he felt that perhaps this person did have some right to speak.
Still, he could not appear to lose his authority in front of this young man. He said, “If you find it inappropriate, you can speak to the regent. If the regent orders me to make changes, I will certainly comply.”
Ji Qingzhou: …
Using the regent as a means to pressure others is hardly impressive.
Ji Qingzhou naturally did not dare to offer suggestions to the regent; he would rather avoid him altogether. However, when Li Cong finished his lesson and pulled him towards the study, Ji Qingzhou had no choice but to follow. As expected, upon entering the study, he saw Li Zhan sitting at his desk, reviewing documents.
“Uncle!” Li Cong ran straight to the desk and climbed onto Li Zhan’s lap before the regent could react.
Li Zhan, caught off guard by the little emperor’s embrace, felt a bit awkward and asked, “Why aren’t you going to have lunch?”
“I missed you, Uncle. I want you to have lunch with me,” Li Cong pleaded.
Seeing the eager face of the child, Li Zhan’s irritation dissipated, and he nodded in agreement.
Dong Dong then instructed someone to bring the lunch for both the regent and the little emperor to the study.
“How was His Majesty’s study today?” the man’s cold voice inquired, and Ji Qingzhou felt a gaze fall upon him. He dared not look up and simply said, “His Majesty…… was very diligent, but the workload is quite heavy.”
Li Zhan had asked the question casually but was surprised by the answer and looked at the young man a bit longer.
“Half a day of lessons is not too much,” Li Zhan said lightly.
Ji Qingzhou responded with a simple “yes” and said no more.
At that moment, an attendant carrying tea entered the room and stopped right in front of Ji Qingzhou. He reached for the tea cup to hand it to Li Zhan but, when he looked up inadvertently, he saw the person was none other than the missing Gao Liang!
Ji Qingzhou was startled, almost dropping the tea cup. He managed to regain his composure quickly, keeping hold of the cup, but inadvertently spilled some of the hot tea on his hand.
Ji Qingzhou endured the pain on his hand and placed the tea cup in front of Li Zhan. The man’s gaze briefly flicked over the young attendant’s hand, noting the red burn on the pale skin.
“There’s no need to serve now. After lunch, return to assist His Majesty with copying the scriptures,” Li Zhan instructed.
Ji Qingzhou bowed and exited the study, followed by Gao Liang.
In the study, Li Zhan touched the tea cup lightly and felt a sharp pain in his fingertips.
Looking at the tea, he frowned as he recalled the young man’s reaction upon seeing Gao Liang earlier.
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