On Zhou Gu’s first day as the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Housing, not only did he not manage to leave earlier than expected, but it was only until Ziye, together with several others from the Ministry of Housing, walked out of the ministry.
When they emerged, they were so exhausted that they didn’t even have the strength to speak.
During his time in Daliang, Zhou Gu had always imagined growing up to enter the imperial court, step by step until he became an auxiliary minister aiding the Crown Prince. However, he had never pictured himself working until midnight.
The moment he saw the moon hanging high in the middle of the night, he almost regretted coming to Nanchu with Su Rong.
He simply wished to spend a lifetime with the person he loved. But he never expected that the thing which almost made him regret wasn’t a fierce battle, but the enormous amount of work piled up in the Ministry of Housing.
This was just the first day, and it was twice as busy as the Ministry of Rites. He was afraid that he would prematurely age if this continued for a year or more.
Ziye who was following Zhou Gu was also drained. He ran himself ragged today and looked completely exhausted. Just yesterday, he was upset that Fen Ling was kicked out from the Princess’s side by the young master and sent to fill a vacancy in the Ministry of Rites. He thought that he was lucky to stay by the young master’s side, not having to fill any vacancies, and it would be much easier just following the young master.
Who knew that today would be a slap in the face. While the young master was exhausted like an Ox, he too was almost exhausted like a dog.
If this continues, he’s afraid one day he won’t even have the strength to wield a sword.
No wonder both Ye Xiang and Master Xie unanimously decided to send the young master to the Ministry of Housing. There’s a major shortage of people in the Ministry of Housing. The heap of pending issues was too much to handle, leaving problems unresolved everywhere. The tension in his young master’s eyebrows didn’t ease up even in the midnight after a full day’s work. Compared to the prickly matters discussed during the first day at the Council Hall between the Princess and the ministers, this was even more chaotic.
He felt that his young master was on the verge of drawing his sword to kill someone. If the Nangong family hadn’t escaped to Dawei, he guessed his young master would line them up and butcher them like watermelon slices.
Oh, just how weary he is. His life isn’t much better compared to Fen Ling’s.
When they returned to the Royal Palace, Zhou Gu dragged his heavy feet into Feng Hall. As he reached the entrance, he suddenly recalled that Su Rong might already be resting given the late hour. She too must be very tired. He shouldn’t disturb her sleep.
But he didn’t see her all day and missed her terribly.
While he was conflicted, the door suddenly opened from the inside. Su Rong, barefoot and wearing a thin dress, stood in the doorway and said softly, "Why are you standing outside? You’re not a door god".
Zhou Gu shook his head and said, "No it’s not that."
He reached out, lifted her by her waist, and began to walk inside. After two steps, he turned around and closed the door with his foot.
Su Rong emitted a low yelp, "Why are you holding me like this?"
This style of carrying reminded her of a bridal carriage.
Zhou Gu carried her into the inner chamber, walked to the bed, parted the curtains, and put her on the bed before saying, "The floor is cold. Aren’t you cold standing on it barefoot?"
Su Rong pushed him lightly, "I wasn’t standing for that long, I didn’t feel cold. Go light the lamp."
Zhou Gu nodded. The moonlight was coming in from outside, making the room not so dark after adapting. Nonetheless, he walked to the table, lit the lamp with the firelight, and suddenly the room lit up.
Su Rong rose from the bed and asked, "Why are you so late? Is there much work in the Ministry of Housing? But it shouldn’t be this late. It’s already past Ziye."
Zhou Gu poured himself a cup of water, sipped it by the bedside, and sighed, "The situation in the Ministry of Housing is pretty bad. I didn’t expect it until I went there. It’s ten times worse than I had imagined."
Su Rong frowned, "Is it really that bad?"
"Yes. Cases were piled up in three full rooms. There are hundreds of unhandled matters, all haphazardly organized." Zhou Gu downed the water and toyed with the cup, saying, "There are dozens of urgent matters. I’m afraid they won’t be resolved even in a year."
Su Rong gasped, "Is it that serious? Wasn’t the Ministry of Housing doing their work before?"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly remembered that this many pending matters in the Ministry of Housing were due to the Nangong Family. For personal gains, they had infiltrated the entire Ministry of Housing and made the Minister of the Revenue of the Ministry of Housing powerless. This was what she understood when Ye Guixue had mentioned it on her way back to the capital. Now, as the entire Nangong family had withdrawn, the ministry had collapsed. It was in complete chaos and had to start from scratch. Of course, having only the Minister of the Revenue was not enough.
She hugged Zhou Gu, "But you can’t be this exhausted. If you are done with work this late every day, you are not made of iron, how can you bear it? Look at you. You look terrible after just one day. Did you eat lunch and dinner?"
"I did." Zhou Gu carelessly threw the cup back onto the table by the bed, allowing Su Rong to hold him. He rested his chin on her shoulder, smelling the faint scent on her body, allowing himself to relax, "It’s just that the overwhelming amount of cases gave me a headache. I feel horrible just thinking about dealing with it for a year."
Su Rong could understand this feeling. On her first day of morning court, she found out that everyone had a petition and some even had two or three. All of these were urgent matters that needed to be addressed. She felt horrible back then and almost bore a hole in her father with her stare.
But she did not expect the Ministry of Housing to be this bad. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
Tonight, when Zhou Gu didn’t return on time, she thought that since it’s his first day in the Ministry of Housing, Ye Xiang and Uncle Xie both said that the Ministry of Housing needed people, so it didn’t seem weird if he was a bit late. But she never expected that he would only return after Ziye.
She hugged Zhou Gu and stated worriedly, "This can’t go on."
"It’s not that it can’t go on, I can bear it." Zhou Gu rubbed Su Rong’s neck with his chin, "It will be fine once I get all the matters straightened out."
"According to you, it would need at least three months." Su Rong said.
Zhou Gu nodded, "Indeed, that’s how much time it would take. But I can bear it."
He was simply startled and shocked by the situation at the Ministry of Housing. But now Su Rong held him, he felt refreshed and renewed.
Su Rong said, "This can’t be a solution. Even if you can bear it, what about the others in the Ministry of Housing? Were they also as late as you today?"
"Yes. Minister Sun stayed until everyone left. He’s older and after a day, he was swaying while walking." Zhou Gu thought of Minister Sun. He was initially excited like a chicken laying eggs, but at the end of the day, he didn’t even want to speak anymore.
Su Rong quickly thought to herself and proposed, "How about this, Zhang Yun can’t return. He must be left to manage, call for Xingzhi and Ning Ze to return to the capital. Let them both go to the Ministry of Housing to help you. With Zhang Mao, Jiang Zhu, and others supporting Zhang Yun, the subsequent issues of the peace treaty with Dawei should be manageable. On the other hand, I will discuss with the ministers in the morning court tomorrow to immediately start the Imperial Examination. We should be able to select new personnel within three months."
Zhou Gu thought about the difficult matters in the Ministry of Housing. Without any objection, he agreed plainly, "Alright."
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