The once bustling grand hall, which was filled with heated commotion, took on a completely different tone after Qin Yuanxi finished speaking. As he sat there, Qin Yuanxi let out a sigh of relief. Although the sigh wasn’t all that relieving, he soon noticed something peculiar. While the people had stopped arguing, they were all discreetly sizing him up.
Their glances were so subtle that unless you paid close attention, you wouldn’t even notice. However, since Qin Yuanxi was lounging above with nothing much to do, he observed them too. Apart from Prince Lu, every person he could see had looked at him multiple times.
Up until the end of the morning court session, Qin Yuanxi hadn’t quite figured out what was going on. But he could guess that there might be an issue with his earlier speech, even though he wasn’t quite sure where the problem lay.
Regardless, it didn’t matter much. Having woken up so early, Qin Yuanxi was quite hungry by now. His stomach growled loudly, and he was in dire need of replenishing his energy. If possible, he even wished for a quick nap.
“Your Majesty, the study is this way.”
As Qin Yuanxi started heading towards the direction of his chambers, Prince Lu interrupted him rather bluntly, “After the morning court, Your Majesty has to attend council. Don’t you remember?”
“Hehe,” Qin Yuanxi chuckled, “I remember, but I’m hungry. Can’t I grab a bite before going to the study for discussions?”
“The ministers from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites are waiting. Your Majesty, it’s better to attend the council first,” Prince Lu said with a stern expression. “After meeting with the ministers, you can have breakfast.”
Qin Yuanxi’s eyes showed a hint of resentment.
His steps, which had moved forward, came to a halt. After all, Prince Lu’s reasoning was sound. As an emperor, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to let his officials wait in the study while he went back to have breakfast. Not taking his prescribed medicine was already a significant fault; if he let his officials wait, it would be neglecting his duties even more. How could a nation be run like this?
Prince Lu had a way with words. If Qin Yuanxi were to truly go back and have breakfast, he would probably be condemned for eternity in the next moment.
Unbearable offense, indeed.
Thus, the hungry Emperor, wearing a face of discontent, continued on to the study.
Prince Lu watched the Emperor’s reluctant expression, a deeper shade of discontent in his eyes.
Since ascending to the throne, Emperor Qin Yuanxi had fulfilled all the duties expected of a monarch from every angle. He held timely morning court sessions and followed them up with discussions in the study with his ministers. After the discussions, he would proceed to review memorials. Aside from the role Prince Lu played in this, Emperor Qin Yuanxi was quite diligent. Unfortunately, diligence alone could not make up for a lack of innate talent. Emperor Qin Yuanxi tried hard, but his efforts bore no fruit. He simply wasn’t cut out for governing the country, a fact everyone knew. Without Prince Lu’s dedicated assistance over the years, there wouldn’t be the present era of peace and prosperity. Thus, the puppet emperor dutifully played his role, attending the morning court and discussions without indulging in extravagance or whims, for he knew the courtiers wouldn’t tolerate a ruler who lacked competence and yet acted arrogant. The emperor’s incapability and pretentiousness could only lead to his replacement.
The emperor, though diligent, is essentially a figurehead. A figurehead naturally does what a figurehead does.
This matter was raised by Lu Bohuan during the early days of spring. The delay till now was solely due to the emperor’s comment in court that there’s no need to waste labor on this, instead, money could be used to relocate the disaster-stricken people to prosperous areas, even suggesting moving them directly to the capital city. It’s absurd, but precisely due to the emperor’s words, Lu Bohuan’s flood resistance plan couldn’t launch.
The people along the river span several provinces, without river management, where is there space for relocation? Not to mention, the riverside region is already rich; once managed well and dangers resolved, the people can naturally settle and prosper.
Prince Lu is the regent, but not the true throne occupant. There’s always the next in line beneath the court, hoping to replace Prince Lu and become the true ruler. This led to some opposing voices.
Emperor Qin Yuanxi is just a thought; the ones below have many ideas. Especially the scholars, skilled in talking on paper1‘Talking on paper’ is when something seems good in theory but doesn’t work out as well in reality. Like a plan that looks great on paper but doesn’t go as expected. if not practical work. They can provide a feasibility analysis from one to three, even when asked for five. This has given Lu Bohuan a major headache. Originally, he planned to deal directly with these opinionated individuals if the matter wasn’t resolved. Unexpectedly, a turning point arose in today’s morning court.
Because of the emperor’s objection, the opposing voices were initially bold. As the words came from Emperor Qin Yuanxi himself, he couldn’t retract them. So, the matter remained stuck. But today, Qin Yuanxi spoke decisively, as though the person who opposed the flood control and suggested relocation wasn’t him at all.
All these occurrences truly piqued Lu Bohuan’s curiosity about him.
This person doesn’t seem to be aligned with Emperor Qin Yuanxi. Who is he, and what are his intentions?
In the imperial study, Qin Yuanxi yawned and rubbed his eyes. Truly, he hadn’t worked this hard even during the college entrance exams. He thought the emperor’s study might at least have some snacks or something, something to fill his stomach. But no, there was nothing. Just a bowl of strong tea. Qin Yuanxi drank two bowls on an empty stomach, which slightly recharged him.
They call it a discussion, but it’s just people below talking while Prince Lu listens. He doesn’t know why he’s here. If this were a modern office meeting, Qin Yuanxi might be a voice recorder. Just there to jot down the meeting, don’t ask him why, it’s because Prince Lu is a dog, since he dragged him to the meeting, he’ll surely have to present a solution afterward. That’s the eternal process bosses love to follow. So, in that sense, Qin Yuanxi might be slightly more advanced than a voice recorder. He could be an intern.
Intern Emperor then yawned again, unfortunately, he was caught in the act by Manager Lu, who then spoke again.
“Does Your Majesty think this plan is feasible?”
Qin Yuanxi couldn’t suppress his yawn anymore. He glanced at the chaotic notes he just jotted down—various proposals from these people. There were several sets, but Qin Yuanxi wasn’t a water engineering expert, so he couldn’t comprehend, let alone understand them. Being questioned now was like a pop quiz. The intern emperor responded: not possible.
“What does Prince think?”
Well, he’s just an intern. Can’t he respond with a counter-question? He can, and he did, confidently and righteously. Not at all timid.
After all, Prince Lu is the regent, and this is his job. Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to make me look bad. I’m just a puppet emperor, how would I know anything?
Lu Bohuan couldn’t fool him. He closed the papers he was holding and placed them in front of Qin Yuanxi. “After the New Year, Your Majesty will be twenty, almost at the age of assuming power. Matters of the court also require decisions. While I assist Your Majesty per the decree, this kingdom is ultimately yours, and its people are yours too. Your Majesty should decide for the kingdom’s welfare.”
Qin Yuanxi nearly choked on his own spit. He always knew that Lu Bohuan wasn’t a good guy; he certainly lived up to his reputation with this grand display of flattery.
Feudalism was a curse. When did the kingdom become solely the Emperor’s domain? When did the people become his subjects?
“The world belongs to its people, and the people belong to the world. I am just…” Qin Yuanxi felt something was off when he got to this point. Not only did Prince Lu have a strange look in his eyes, but also the ministers below. Qin Yuanxi realized he had said something he shouldn’t have.
“I’m just following the will of heaven,” Qin Yuanxi added, quickly changing the subject: “I think the proposal from the Ministry of Works is great. If the Regent Prince has no objections after reviewing it, we can proceed accordingly.”
Speaking without thinking made him feel guilty. He thought it was over at this point, but Prince Lu had dug a pit and was waiting for him to fall in.
“I believe this proposal is not feasible.”
Qin Yuanxi had a stern face, looking at the assistant minister from the Ministry of Works. Don’t think I didn’t see the Regent Prince giving you a signal just now. Is it not a bit too much for so many of you to bully a young man like me?
“Then, Assistant Minister Yu, what do you think?” Qin Yuanxi calmly replied.
He wanted him to come up with an idea? That’s impossible. Leave such professional matters to professionals. He’s the emperor, a decision-maker, not an engineer. Why let the leaders handle everything, and you underlings do nothing?
Moreover, he wasn’t even a proper leader!
“I think the riverbed should be widened and then…” Qin Yuanxi wasn’t even listening, he had said before he couldn’t understand. He was looking at Prince Lu, secretly assessing the expression of Prince Lu to see if there were further instructions. But he waited until the assistant minister finished speaking, and Prince Lu still had that stern face.
Not cute at all.
“Your Majesty?”
Qin Yuanxi snapped back to attention and gave a careless glance: “Assistant Minister Yu’s suggestion is also good.”
“Well, Regent Prince, what do you think?” Since you all have good opinions, just go ahead and implement them as needed.
“Your Majesty, what do you think?”
Prince Lu looked at His Majesty expressionlessly, as if he was determined to force him into making a decision.
“I think…,” Qin Yuanxi felt something was off about this matter.
Didn’t the book say that Emperor Qin Yuanxi was a puppet emperor, with Prince Lu holding all the power? How could he possibly be allowed to come up with ideas? But now the situation was that Prince Lu had been forcing him to make decisions, as if sincerely wanting to see him make a fool of himself. Was that the case? But it didn’t really seem like it; there was nothing to be read on Prince Lu’s stern face.
“I think that both of these proposed plans have shortcomings and are not the best options.”
If that’s the case, then don’t blame me. It’s all because you’ve pushed me into this. Originally, I didn’t want to get involved in these matters, but since you’ve sincerely invited me, then I’ll say a few words.
“I think that the matter of water management should be tailored to local conditions, analyzed specifically, and the best plan can only be derived from combining theory with actual circumstances.” Qin Yuanxi sat up straight and began to recite what he had learned in political class: “The ministers’ plans are all good, but are they really suitable for the specific conditions on the ground? Let me give a random example. Here, it’s mentioned that sandbags should be used for fortification. But I ask you, if sand is scarce in this area, where will you find these things? Here it says to widen the riverbed, then I ask you again, if the riverbed on both sides cannot be expanded any further, what will you do then?”
“I feel like these proposed solutions we’re seeing now are just accumulated wisdom from our ancestors. This wisdom is valuable and useful, but we can’t just apply it as is. We should consider the specific circumstances. Have any of you been to the local area? Have you analyzed the trends of the river, the varying water currents, and the people living along the banks?” Qin Yuanxi closed the memorial: “There’s nothing of the sort. It’s all just theory on paper. What I mean is, for water management, we should send someone who’s well-versed in this field. Let them take these plans and ideas with them. When the time comes, they can adapt and act according to the situation.”
“We’re here discussing all this in the study, but it might not necessarily apply on-site.” Qin Yuanxi finished speaking and turned to look at Prince Lu: “And what does Prince Lu think?”
Then he noticed that Prince Lu was lost in thought, clearly distracted. That appearance seemed somewhat… well, never mind. My heart hurts.
“Prince Lu?” Qin Yuanshi said again, “I’m done speaking. Do you have any opinions?”
“According to Your Majesty’s words,” Prince Lu returned to his senses, his expression as cold as ever: “Let everyone go back and come up with a list of candidates. We’ll discuss further in tomorrow’s morning court.”
Qin Yuanxi blinked. Just as he was about to stand up, Prince Lu pushed a stack of memorials toward him, showing no intention of letting him go.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
