Chapter 263 Even the Emperor Wants a Two-Day Weekend

"You're right," Zhao Huajing said with a smile.

"Xiangruizhuang delivered these this afternoon. I had them stir-fried and they taste pretty good. Would you like to try one?"

She peeled a shiny chestnut. It wasn't very big, but the flesh was plump and smelled of caramel and the sweet aroma of chestnut.

"Roasted chestnuts, I haven't seen these in years." The Emperor took a chestnut from Zhao Huajing's hand and ate one. These chestnuts were not as dry as he remembered; instead, they were quite soft, yet still retained the flavor of chestnuts.

The emperor ate a few, then stopped.

Eating too much late at night is hard to digest, and if someone's stomach is upset, a whole bunch of people from top to bottom will suffer. He doesn't want to bother anyone and is too lazy to be willful.

"Jingjing, I also want a day off." The Emperor looked at Zhao Huajing pitifully, as if he could rest as long as Zhao Huajing asked for it. "Your academy allows two days off on five days, so it shouldn't be too much for me to change it to one day off on six days, right?"

"Your Majesty, take it slow. It's currently a one-day-out-of-ten-days-a-year system. Changing it too quickly will make them unable to adapt." When Zhao Huajing first entered the palace, she also thought this system was ridiculous.

When she was studying at the academy, she had two days off every five days, and could always sleep in every few days; but once she entered the palace, every morning at six o'clock, there were concubines waiting at her palace gate to pay their respects to her, and there was no rest all year round.

Today there's one wave, tomorrow there's another, and every two weeks there's another full-scale mobilization.

Don't they sleep?

You look so energetic!

Fortunately, she was the empress, and there was no empress dowager above her, so she didn't have to pay her respects to others.

However, she is kind-hearted. She would have people waiting outside to greet her at around 6 a.m., which made her unable to sleep well, so she would have to go out by 7 a.m. at the latest.

Think about those people who come to pay their respects at six o'clock every morning. That means they have to get up at five o'clock, wash, dress, and put on makeup. After going through the whole process, they come to pay their respects to her on an empty stomach. If she is in a good mood, she will keep them for a meal. If she is in a bad mood, she will come to say a few words and then go back to her own palace to eat!

Is this something a human being would do?

But that's the rule; all empresses have gone through this process.

Only then did Zhao Huajing understand why Yuan Hongqu had said meaningfully, "She's suffered," after learning that she had been chosen as empress.

Fortunately, her superior was quite reasonable, which made Zhao Huajing feel that life in the palace wasn't so unbearable. Moreover, the Empress's salary and allowances were really high!

Zhao Huajing was very satisfied.

Especially now that she doesn't have to treat the emperor as her superior or follow so many rules, Zhao Huajing feels comfortable.

"How about Your Majesty, you first implement a five-day holiday with two days off in the inner palace?" the Emperor tentatively suggested.

"Your Majesty's words are law, and I obey your decree." Zhao Huajing was overjoyed; she dared not disobey her superior's orders!

The Emperor looked at Zhao Huajing and saw that she was radiating joy from head to toe. It seemed that every strand of hair in her eyes and brows was about to leap with happiness. He couldn't help but be infected by her joy and felt that being tricked earlier was not so infuriating anymore.

As expected, the fire at Kangshou Palace has occupied most of the time in the past few days' court sessions.

The officials simply said that the strange celestial phenomena that night were probably a sign that Heaven was displeased with the Emperor, and that the retired Emperor had taken the blame for him.

The Emperor should issue an edict of self-reproach to give an explanation to Heaven and comfort to the retired Emperor.

The emperor was so angry he laughed when he heard this.

The fire at Kangshou Palace was caused by the retired emperor himself, who, having nothing better to do, was imitating others by brewing tea around a stove in his room. Unexpectedly, the stove suddenly exploded, burning down the bookshelves. Due to the dry weather, the fire grew larger and larger, eventually becoming uncontrollable.

What does this have to do with him!

Looking at the official's serious and fearless expression, the emperor felt a strong urge to kill him.

But then he remembered what the Empress had told him last night: "Those officials must be thinking, 'Your Majesty, please kill me! Kill me! If I die, I'll be remembered in history forever...' You must not be fooled by them."

Thinking of the Empress's expression at that time, a smile actually appeared on the Emperor's lips.

The officials below were dumbfounded.

What's wrong with His Majesty? Usually, when they offer such advice, he would be ready to kill them. Has he taken the wrong medicine today? He's even smiling at them.

They were considering whether to administer a drastic measure when they heard the King's message.

The King said that the reconstruction of the West City has been completed, and there are no dangerous houses left. The people of the West City have been moving back home one after another. In gratitude for His Majesty's hard work and dedication to the people of the West City, the officials have donated money to the West City. All the people of the West City have made a "Ten Thousand People Umbrella" for His Majesty. In addition, they wish to build a shrine for His Majesty in the West City. Please grant His Majesty's permission.

The more the Emperor listened, the more interesting his expression became. However, the expressions of the group of officials were not so good. They glared at Prince Xian like angry warriors. Prince Xian was not afraid of them and immediately glared back. As a military general who had been on the battlefield and killed people, none of the officials could withstand his gaze.

Looking at the Emperor, he was smiling, but inwardly he was already unable to contain himself: Going to such lengths, building a shrine to the dead? Who came up with this idea?

The censors would definitely stop the construction of a shrine to the living emperor. No emperor in history has ever dared to do such a thing. Can the achievements of the current emperor compare to those of the sages and ancestors? After their deaths, they only have an imperial tomb to receive incense offerings from their descendants. This is not right! The emperor is not even a hundred years old yet, and he is already going to receive incense offerings from the people. This is inappropriate, really inappropriate, and unreasonable!

Once this incident came out, the matter of the fire at Kangshou Palace was simply swept under the rug.

The officials were genuinely afraid that the emperor, in a moment of impulsiveness, would agree to let the people of the western city build a shrine for him.

The most urgent task is to calm His Majesty down and reduce the heat in the West City; we can't let it continue like this.

"Mr. Yuan's 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' tactic was truly brilliant." Zhao Huajing smiled and personally poured Yuan Hongqu a cup of tea.

"Senior Sister Empress, this wasn't a scheme by the Master. The people of the Western City genuinely want to build a shrine for the Emperor. When we arrived, they were already starting to choose a site." Daiyu didn't quite understand the situation. Why would the Empress say that it was a scheme by Granny Yuan?

These days, a temple fair is being held in Xicheng. This time, it is to celebrate that most of them have new houses to live in, and the streets are much wider than before. Xicheng is no longer the same as before, a representative of all sorts of people, the poor and the lowly.

No one knows who mentioned that this was all thanks to the Emperor, and the word spread like wildfire. Within a few days, the "Umbrella of Ten Thousand People" appeared, and the idea of ​​building a shrine to the living also spread.

"Junior Sister, come and take a look. These are newly presented tributes from Silla. Take them back and string them into beads to play with." The Empress handed a box of pearls of various colors to Daiyu.

She knew that if she wanted Mr. Yuan to be happy, she had to be good to her junior sister Daiyu. If her junior sister was happy, Mr. Yuan would be happy.

Although this realization made the Empress feel a little bitter, she thought about how she had hurt her husband and caused him so much suffering, and how he had even lost his "beloved". She felt that supporting her junior sister was nothing.