Why hasn't Wei Shuang, the broken mirror spirit, entered the palace to help me review the memorials? ...

Xiao Yu sat leaning against the dragon bed, with an old-looking tiger plush toy beside his pillow. The embroidered golden eyes were exactly the same as Xiao Yu's expressionless face.

Wei Shuang couldn't help but take a second look.

Xiao Yu quietly hid the plush toy next to her pillow under the covers.

The imperial physician knelt tremblingly beside the dragon bed. He found no signs of poisoning, but diagnosed a stomach ailment. The tiny secret medicine that had already dissolved in his stomach cried out that he was innocent.

"Your Majesty's diet has always been light. Now that you wish to take supplements, you must do so gradually and not be too hasty. I will prescribe some medicinal meals to nourish your stomach." The imperial physician had already learned about Xiao Yu's condition on the way here, so he was able to make a diagnosis with ease.

Xiao Yu's pulse showed no other abnormalities, and the unusual heat in his body gradually subsided after Wei Shuang suppressed the scent. Xiao Yu clutched his stomach and said coldly, "I was not in a hurry. Apart from what the Regent gave me, I only drank a small bowl of soup yesterday."

Xiao Yu understood that one cannot become the Regent in a single bite.

He wasn't in a hurry to surpass Wei Shuang.

Okay, things are getting a bit urgent now.

Thinking of Wei Shuang's offense just now, Xiao Yu pursed her lips and fiddled with the crimson tassels hanging from her clothes.

“Add three large pork knuckles as well,” Feng Shun added.

Xiao Yu snapped out of her daze and retorted unhappily, "Two and a half."

"You only ate three..." Wei Shuang noticed the fierce glare Xiao Yu gave Feng Shun, and smoothly changed her words before she could finish, "You only ate two and a half pork knuckles, so you got sick from hunger?"

In Wei Shuang's mind, Xiao Yu, at her age, should be pampered in the palace where she had no worries about food and clothing, and should eat three large bowls of white rice every meal, four meals a day.

At this crucial time for growth, how come you only ate two and a half pork knuckles?

The fact that the emperor's diet was treated so poorly makes one wonder if the national treasury was empty.

Wei Shuang's face darkened: "The servants who are close to His Majesty are about the same age as him. They eat five meals a day without being watched, with three bowls of rice at each meal. They also devour meat and vegetables. His Majesty's diet has been reduced to this extent. Who is in charge of the palace's meals?"

Xiao Yu clutched the blankets in shock.

Three...three bowls of white rice, and you still have to eat five meals?

Wei Shuang wanted to stuff herself to death.

Growing up to be like Wei Shuang is indeed extraordinary, so Xiao Yu gladly gave up.

But Xiao Yu hid his ulterior motives well. He stared intently at Wei Shuang, his expression darkening. "...The Regent is even interfering with my food. Isn't that a bit too much?"

"I am not interfering, but I am worried..." Wei Shuang had just started to speak when Xiao Yu impatiently interrupted her.

"As you can see, Imperial Uncle, I am fine. It's just a minor stomach ailment, which will be cured with a couple of days of medicinal meals." Having been ill for a long time, Xiao Yu was well aware of the symptoms of a stomach ailment. The inexplicable fever was clearly due to the medicine. Either the imperial physician couldn't diagnose the medicine, or the imperial physician was Wei Shuang's man. Xiao Yu gritted his teeth and coldly gave the order to leave, "Since I am fine, Feng Shun, escort Imperial Uncle out of the palace."

Seeing the atmosphere in the room becoming increasingly tense, Feng Shun hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Your Highness, please listen to this old servant. His Majesty is in a bad mood. Please come another day."

"Your subject takes his leave." Wei Shuang wanted to say something more, but after glancing at Xiao Yu's pale face on the dragon bed, he followed the lead offered by Feng Shun, bowed and took his leave with a rather unpleasant expression.

After the performance at Yangxin Hall, Wei Shuang placed her hand on Feng Shun's shoulder: "Please take good care of His Majesty, Eunuch. If there is anything, please send someone to the General's Mansion."

Feng Shun's shoulders slumped heavily, and he nodded in agreement, drenched in sweat.

After the diagnosis was completed, Feng Shun saw Wei Shuang off and then returned. The imperial physician wrote down the prescription for the medicinal diet and packed his medicine box. Just as they were about to take their leave, Xiao Yu lifted the curtain and reached out to grab the imperial physician's sleeve that was draped over the dragon bed.

"You stay here for now." Xiao Yu then looked at Feng Shun, "and invite Physician Li and Physician Zhang here as well."

Physician Li and Physician Zhang were two doctors who regularly came to treat Xiao Yu's health when she was living outside the palace.

Taking the pulse and treating the unfavored prince was a thankless and arduous task that brought neither reward nor honor, yet the two imperial physicians, Zhang and Li, came without fail, rain or shine.

The only thing that troubled the two imperial physicians was that Xiao Yu often disobeyed their medical advice.

"His Majesty's old ailment has flared up again, and he's asked me to invite Physician Li over," Feng Shun greeted him with a smile.

"Please wait a moment, sir, I'll get my medicine box." Physician Li put down the medical record in his hand, his expression turned serious, and he hurriedly turned around and picked up the medicine box from the table.

Following the eunuch behind Feng Shun, Imperial Physician Li entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Inside the room, Xiao Yu coughed weakly twice. Imperial Physician Li lifted his robe and stepped into the room, kneeling on the ground to pay his respects.

Xiao Yu smiled at Imperial Physician Li and said, "I ate the wrong thing this morning, and I have a stomachache and feel very uncomfortable."

After a brief pulse diagnosis, Physician Li also diagnosed only a stomach ailment.

A short while later, Physician Zhang also entered the inner room.

The same scene, the same dialogue, the same instructions.

Xiao Yu threw the blanket down in frustration and asked, "I've heard that the Imperial Medical Academy has a secret medicine that can ensure I'm divided into a male heir."

Physician Zhang suddenly realized and said, "There is indeed such a medicine, but if Your Majesty wants to use it, I'm afraid it will take ten days or so. The Imperial Hospital does not have the secret medicine on hand at the moment, so it will have to be prepared on the spot."

"Really..." Xiao Yu was taken aback, then suddenly looked up. He concealed the surprise in his eyes and asked gently, "Will my body experience any discomfort if I use it?"

"Your Majesty's childhood ailment will actually improve if it successfully differentiates into a 'Dry Lord' after taking the secret medicine. A strong 'Dry Lord' can suppress Your Majesty's cold ailment." Physician Zhang suddenly remembered that Xiao Yu now had Wei Shuang, who was also a 'Dry Lord,' and added, "Your Majesty must not take it on an empty stomach. Also, if you come into contact with the scent of other 'Dry Lords' within a day after taking the secret medicine, you will experience a fever similar to a 'predisposing period,' but it is not a true 'predisposing period.' It is just that the medicine is taking effect and rejecting the substance, so there is no need to worry."

Xiao Yu: "...Is that so? Then prepare one for me. How long will it take?"

Physician Zhang: "It will only take half a month."

"I understand. Minister Zhang, you may leave." Xiao Yu paused, then said to Feng Shun, "The tea is getting cold. Let the other two go back as well."

Feng Shun: "Yes."

The three imperial physicians gathered together, and Physician Zhang looked at his two colleagues drinking tea in the side hall with a puzzled expression.

Physician Li gloated and remarked, "As expected, Brother Zhang was also given tea."

"I won't drink anymore. Your Majesty, please have the three imperial physicians return to the Imperial Hospital." Feng Shun smiled and saw the three imperial physicians out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

As her drowsiness returned, Xiao Yu remembered the imperial physician's instructions and reluctantly picked up a piece of osmanthus-shaped pastry from the bedside table.

In just half a month, once you have the secret medicine, the truth will be revealed.

Xiao Yu clutched the blanket in frustration for a moment, chewed on some pastries, rubbed his sore cheeks, and then recalled that chillingly strong aroma of alcohol.

He pursed his lips.

Even if it is a misunderstanding, Wei Shuang deserves her punishment. Today she dares to force me to swallow a harmless secret medicine, tomorrow she will dare to force me to commit suicide.

Xiao Yu hugged the doll hidden under the blankets to her chest with great displeasure.

——

Xiao Yu, who had been cursing Wei Shuang at Feng Shun in the palace for two days, finally calmed down after the poison took effect.

With only one day left of the three-day rest period after the ceremony, Xiao Yu curiously went into the Imperial Study and accidentally saw the piles of memorials inside. His head immediately started throbbing.

"...Do I have to approve all of these?" Xiao Yu looked at the pile of memorials on the table in disbelief. Apart from a few greeting cards, Xiao Yu could hardly understand them.

Feng Shun smiled obsequiously from the side: "Logically speaking, it should be His Majesty's responsibility to handle this."

"What if it's not in accordance with reason?" Xiao Yu cleverly seized the opportunity to maneuver. "I haven't learned it either."

Doesn't this cause delays?

"The one who doesn't follow the rules is reflecting on his actions at home," Feng Shun said.

"...Hasn't it been saved yet? It's been two days." Xiao Yu slumped her head on the table.

“His Majesty hasn’t ordered an audience, so the Prince doesn’t dare to enter the palace.” Feng Shun was so happy to see his master put aside his grudges with that murderous god that he almost shed a few tears.

In Feng Shun's view, Xiao Yu was already a master with an excellent temperament, but Xiao Yu's upbringing, where the more tolerant he was, the more he was bullied, meant that Xiao Yu would find ways to retaliate whenever he had a grudge against someone. A couple of days ago, Wei Shuang offended this master first, and Feng Shun was living in constant fear, afraid that Xiao Yu would act impulsively in anger and then that the rumored god of death would get angry and kill both Xiao Yu and himself.

Now that Xiao Yu's anger has subsided, that's the best thing ever!

"I think he's just hot-tempered. The day he forced me to take the medicine, he didn't care about anything. Now he knows his manners." Xiao Yu pouted, resignedly pulled out a memorial of greetings, wrote it down in red ink, and silently piled it up on the table like building materials. "Do I have to beg him?"

“That is absolutely unacceptable. His Majesty is the supreme ruler; how could he bow down to a traitor?” Feng Shun cleverly echoed Xiao Yu’s words.

Xiao Yu frowned: "Feng Shun, you were advising me yesterday..."

“Your Majesty is now the Emperor. Although you do not hold real power, you are safe. Even if the Regent can overstep your authority, the court will be in chaos without Your Majesty’s reassurance. This old servant is used to being timid and prefers a peaceful life. To put it bluntly, if you just bow your head to the Regent and maintain the status quo, the Regent will definitely do everything he can to protect Your Majesty.” Xiao Yu repeated Feng Shun’s words word for word.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, please don't tease this old servant." Feng Shun smiled and served Xiao Yu a cup of milk tea with milk added. "Once you've calmed down, recall the Regent to get back to work."

"Hmph, I need to think about it some more." Xiao Yu was reviewing the memorials of greetings. The more he wrote, the more comfortable he became. Before long, he felt as if he were in a world of his own, and he felt that he could handle the remaining pile of memorials that he couldn't understand on his own.

What can be done?

The sheer volume of memorials to Xiao Yu astonished him. His wrist ached from writing, so he threw down his brush and buried his head in the memorial room to continue building his towering edifice.

Once we started, it was lunchtime.

Having spent the morning slacking off with a clear conscience, Xiao Yu carefully pulled his head out of the memorial room, stretched, admired his masterpiece, stood up, clapped his hands, and prepared to return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation for a midday rest.

After finishing his meal, Xiao Yu had just lain down on the dragon bed when, upon closing his eyes, a table full of memorials floated into his mind again.

Xiao Yu sat up with a dark expression, realizing that she had closed her eyes incorrectly.

Lie down again and close your eyes once more.

It was still that familiar pile of memorials.

There's something unclean in the palace!!!

A note from the author:

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[Dog head emoji] Several ways Your Majesty calls Wei Shuang.

Shout Wei Shuang when happy

When he's not happy and is being sarcastic, he calls out "Royal Uncle".

The only one who was particularly angry was the Regent.