Under the unrelenting insistence of Prince Lu, Qin Yuanxi obediently began reviewing the memorials. The weather and whether he had breakfast or not were no longer important concerns. Despite this, Qin Yuanxi found himself in quite a dilemma. Having never been an emperor, he had no idea what to annotate on these memorials.
The strange thing was that he had put too much faith in the role of Emperor Qin Yuanxi. No, it should be said that his understanding of the puppet emperor had deviated somewhat. Subconsciously, he thought that being a good doll would solve everything. Little did he know, it wasn’t that simple. Now, it appeared that he had been negligent. Being a puppet wasn’t as easy as he had thought. If he had known he would be cornered by Prince Lu like this, he should have prepared better in advance.
Fortunately, in his efforts to copy handwriting, he had casually flipped through one or two memorials Emperor Qin Yuanxi had reviewed before. This prevented him from being completely lost. Taking a deep breath, Qin Yuanxi picked up his pen and entered the battlefield.
While he diligently attended to his task, Prince Lu, on the other hand, held a brush in his hand, lost in thought. A drop of ink dripped from the pen’s tip, staining the script on the paper.
Lu Bohuan regained his composure and glanced at Qin Yuanxi, who was fully engrossed in reviewing the memorials.
His head was lowered, and he seemed genuinely absorbed in his work. His expression showed a hint of difficulty as he supported his chin. Prince Lu opened the memorial in his hand and didn’t glance in Qin Yuanxi’s direction again.
It was too obvious. As long as you get suspicious, a closer observation will reveal the stark differences between the current man sitting in the imperial study and the previous emperor. Although their faces were identical, a closer look revealed a lively and vibrant person in front of him, with a sparkle in his eyes.
He dared to yell at him and express his opinions, and his character was both lively and interesting.
Most importantly, he uttered phrases like ‘the world belongs to the people.’ When Prince Lu first heard this phrase, he didn’t grasp its profound meaning. But upon careful consideration, he discovered the deep wisdom contained within. This seemingly simple phrase held a depth of meaning that only a few could truly understand.
Throughout history, many wise emperors and kings had based their actions on such principles. However, the fact that these words came from his mouth left Prince Lu speechless.
Not to mention his proposal regarding adaptive governance. If Emperor Qin had possessed such insight, Prince Lu would have enjoyed his leisurely days long ago. Such wisdom couldn’t be cultivated overnight. Furthermore, Emperor Qin was ambitious, and when Prince Lu tried to educate him, he either couldn’t understand or simply refused to listen. It was only due to Prince Lu’s influence and his control over the military that Emperor Qin had complied. In reality, Emperor Qin was neglectful and indifferent.
But this person was different. Take, for example, the matter of flood control. Prince Lu initially believed it would take some time to resolve, but this person immediately took a stance on his side, with a resolute attitude, leaving no room for rebuttal. Moreover, he was quite enthusiastic about trivial matters like copying books and taking medicine.
In stark contrast to Emperor Qin, on the outside, he appeared very polite to Lu Bohuan, the regent. However, in reality, he was a stumbling block for Lu Bohuan behind the scenes. Both the monarch and his minister had their own concerns in their hearts.
Lu Bohuan’s gaze shifted over to Qin Yuanxi, who had changed to another memorial. He saw Qin Yuanxi bowing his head, deeply engrossed in reading, occasionally making annotations with a pen. The depth of his eyes intensified, something quite unusual for Emperor Qin. Normally, he’d just give these memorials a superficial glance and make a few casual marks with a pen, not bothering to read them word for word.
For important state affairs, memorials would never be casually piled up like this. There was a separate channel for discussion between the cabinet ministers and the emperor, and those would be sent to the imperial study. Most of what lay here were trivial matters and daily greetings from local officials, not particularly meaningful.
In the past, Lu Bohuan would generally skim through them and sort out the important ones to present to Emperor Qin for a second review. At that stage, with Emperor Qin’s ability, he couldn’t discern much. He’d make some casual marks and return them to Lu Bohuan, essentially just following the procedure.
They both knew it was just going through the motions, so the process was quite casual. Seeing Qin Yuanxi reading every word so attentively was something that had never happened before.
“Prince, these bandits in the Minxi region are causing trouble for the people…” Qin Yuanxi was going through a stack of greeting memorials, feeling impatient, when suddenly he opened one and found a rather serious issue.
It was so serious that he couldn’t handle it himself and had to quickly seek Lu Bohuan’s help. Unexpectedly, when he lifted his head, he found Lu Bohuan looking at him.
“Why are you staring at me?”
Lu Bohuan’s gaze was a bit strange. It was a gaze he was somewhat familiar with, so familiar that he had almost forgotten about it. Back then, outside the palace, Zhao Tuo had looked at him with such eyes, those loyal and shining black eyes that truly stirred his heart. That’s why Qin Yuanxi couldn’t control himself and not only failed to control himself but also took the initiative to put himself in the other’s bed.
The result was that he was taken advantage of and then the other party denied knowing him, giving him a token of their love that had now become an unpredictable bomb, ready to explode at any moment, oppressing him mercilessly. How miserable could it get?
Why was he still looking? What was there to see?
Originally, Qin Yuanxi had softened a bit due to that gaze, but now he remembered that this guy had forcibly made him drink medicine. His face immediately darkened as he raised his chin in the direction of Lu Bohuan. “Why is the Prince not handling state affairs and staring at me?”
“Didn’t His Majesty summon me?” Lu Bohuan remained quite composed, withdrawing his gaze. “What’s the matter?”
There was absolutely no sign of guilt for being caught sneaking a look. Truly impressive. He was indeed the male lead, with skin as thick as steel!
Qin Yuanxi held back his anger, clutching the memorial by his temple. He walked over to Lu Bohuan’s desk and directly spread out the memorial in front of him. “Important matter, um, how do you think we should handle this? Should the court send someone to suppress these bandits?”
He came with a lot of momentum, as if he was coming to pick a fight. But surprisingly, after he came over, he really was only here to discuss serious matters with Lu Bohuan. This was quite unexpected to Lu Bohuan, but what surprised him even more was Qin Yuanxi’s actions. Massaging his temples, Lu Bohuan couldn’t help but hint, “Your Majesty, if you have doubts, you can just call me over. There’s no need to come by yourself.”
“It’s fine. Stand up and stretch a bit.” Qin Yuanxi hadn’t understood Lu Bohuan’s hint at all. The chair was too hard. He had been sitting for a long time and felt uncomfortable. Now that he got up and moved a bit, he didn’t feel anything wrong. Seeing that he completely hadn’t caught onto Lu Bohuan’s implied message, Lu Bohuan shook his head. He took the memorial, gave it a quick overview, and then said, “The Minxi region has a unique environment. The memorials say they’re bandits, but in reality, most of them are local refugees. They can’t be completely eradicated; this is a livelihood issue for the people.”
“So, what should we do?” Qin Yuanxi was genuinely listening and asking. This was the first time he was an emperor, with such a high position. A seemingly subtle decision could affect a person, or even an entire region’s destiny. He took it very seriously. If he could do something good for the country and the people, Qin Yuanxi was very willing to do so.
Lu Bohuan, hearing this, glanced at him and asked, “What does Your Majesty think?”
“Well,” Qin Yuanxi hesitated a bit. In truth, he had some personal thoughts, but in front of Prince Lu, he dared not speak freely. So, he chuckled and said, “I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking Prince Lu. Why is Prince Lu asking me again?”
“But it doesn’t matter.”
‘Who’s the emperor here? Can the regent act like he’s not an outsider? Can’t you recognize your own place? I’m the emperor, and you’re just a prince, for heaven’s sake.’
Taking a deep breath, Qin Yuanxi corrected himself, acknowledging his position as a puppet emperor and not daring to challenge the regent. He replied, “Since Prince Lu mentioned it as a livelihood issue, then let’s start by addressing livelihood. I think, why not change the local officials?”
Qin Yuanxi wasn’t skilled at handling state affairs, but he could probably discern some reasons why people became refugees and then turned into troublemakers. It boiled down to poverty, an inability to make ends meet. So why were they poor?
This question needed a thorough discussion, but it was clear that Prince Lu wasn’t interested in hearing him out. So Qin Yuanxi selected one manageable factor from the many possible ones. If local officials could truly empathize with the people, and the court provided support, easing poverty and assisting farmers wouldn’t be difficult. Wasn’t this precisely what our great socialist society was doing?
Though I may not be able to rule as emperor, I have grown up under the red flag, influenced by it for so many years. Can’t I offer some guidance? Learn something, follow me to take a big step from feudal society to socialism. I’m quite capable, you know!
“Your Majesty, come to your senses.”
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)
