The next morning, Gu Qingyan, still half asleep, felt someone shaking him. He frowned and almost lost his temper.
Yingzhi was so frightened by the sight that his heart trembled. He spoke in a very low voice, "Your Majesty, it's time for the morning court session."
In the past, he would wake the Emperor from outside, but today His Highness Prince Chen was sleeping right next to the Emperor. If he were to wake His Highness Prince Chen as usual, Yingzhi dared not imagine what consequences awaited him.
Gu Qingyan lay down for a while before suddenly sitting up straight. "Did I miss the time for court?"
"No, Your Majesty, would you like to wash and groom yourself?"
Gu Qingyan nodded, then glanced at Gu Qingchen, who was fast asleep beside him, and suddenly said, "Tell me about you, walking up to my bedside to cricket. You're lucky, otherwise I would have chopped you up with one chop."
The unintentionally unhushed voice sent a shiver down Yingzhi's spine, and he instinctively looked at Gu Qingchen. This...
What happened next almost made Yingzhi's eyes pop out. From washing up to getting dressed, Gu Qingyan made no attempt to be quiet at all. Instead, he made more and more noise until Gu Qingchen started to move and pouted as if he was about to cry.
"Wet nurse, quickly call the wet nurse to feed Achen, Achen is hungry."
Gu Qingyan's expression suddenly relaxed, and he slowly said to Yingzhi, "Go and tell the officials to wait for me for a while. Tell them that Achen has woken up and I can't get away for the time being."
Yingzhi walked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, completely bewildered.
Why did His Majesty... deliberately wake Prince Chen?
Half an hour later, when Yingzhi and the court officials saw Gu Qingyan holding a baby, everyone couldn't help but twitch their lips. A bizarre thought began to form in Yingzhi's mind: Could it be that the Emperor...
Gu Qingyan held Gu Qingchen as they sat on the dragon throne, and even teased Gu Qingchen quite easily.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"Shh." Gu Qingyan glared at those around him. "You all better watch your words during the morning court session. If you dare to disturb Prince Chen, I'll have you all flogged."
Indeed, the Emperor was using Prince Chen as a shield.
Yingzhi's anxiety finally subsided, and he began to pray that the Empress Dowager would return soon, otherwise he was afraid that Prince Chen's health... wouldn't be able to take it.
Zhuo Yi and Kui Ruo below exchanged a glance, a look of helplessness spreading across their eyes.
Thus, the entire court experienced the most unique morning court session of their lives.
Almost no one dared to speak casually. The only sounds in the entire hall were Gu Qingyan teasing Gu Qingchen and Gu Qingchen's babbling responses.
Those courtiers who reluctantly spoke up were practically risking their lives, speaking in extremely soft voices and presenting their cases in a concise and fluent manner.
After a morning court session, Gu Qingyan was in such a good mood that he ate two extra bowls of rice.
......
The Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"Is Your Majesty planning to use this tactic to deal with those court officials?" Kui Ruo glanced at Jiang He, who was hugging and coaxing Gu Qingchen on the other side, and couldn't bear to look at him.
Look at Jiang He's expression, he's acting like he's coaxing an ancestor.
He didn't even have the chance to hug His Highness Prince Chen.
“Of course not.” Gu Qingyan leaned his head back in his chair. “I can’t bear to make my brother get up so early every day.”
After saying that, Gu Qingyan chuckled, "I will issue an edict in a moment, and from now on, all morning court sessions will be conducted in the same manner as today's. Those who are talking nonsense should keep quiet, and those who are talking about important matters should get to the point."
“Those people wouldn’t listen to you,” Kui Ruo said with a smile. “They would love to talk endlessly in front of Your Majesty to show how different they are.”
“If anyone disobeys, I will have Yingzhi carry Achen over. However, the crime of waking Achen... I think a beating is too lenient.”
Hearing this, Jiang He couldn't help but look down at Gu Qingchen in his arms. What a pitiful little guy. His parents went out to play by themselves, and his brother is unreliable. Sigh!
Gu Qingchen had already fallen into a deep sleep, and a slow smile played on his lips as he dreamt of something.
"Your Majesty's move is excellent."
Kui Ruo nodded. "If His Highness Prince Chen is disturbed, not only the Emperor, but also the Emperor Emeritus and the Empress will not let him off easily. I think no one will dare to act as they did before."
"but......"
Wei Ruo changed the subject, and Gu Qingyan also looked over curiously, "But what?"
"I believe that Your Majesty should first consider how to explain the events of this morning's court session to the Emperor Emeritus and the Empress Dowager."
After all, it was Your Majesty who personally woke me up today.
Gu Qingyan's expression stiffened upon hearing this, but he forced a smile and said, "Thank you for the reminder, sir."
The Empress Dowager can escape, but the Emperor...
Oh no, I think I got a little too excited.
......
Because she was really worried about Gu Qingchen, Jiang Yu rushed back after going out for three days and hugged Gu Qingchen as soon as she got back.
"Ah Chen, have you missed your mother these past few days?" Jiang Yu kissed Gu Qingchen's little face. This little guy, even when she went out to play, she was still thinking about him.
"Why does Ah Chen not seem to have gained weight?"
Jiang Yu tossed the little one in her arms. Logically, children at this age usually gain a few points every day. Whether it was psychological or not, Jiang Yu felt that Gu Qingchen had suffered while she was away playing.
Hearing Jiang Yu's words, Gu Qingyan's right eyelid twitched. "Mother, Achen has been eating and sleeping well these past few days. Look at his chubby little face. I think it's just that you haven't seen Achen for a few days and miss him too much."
“Ayan is right.”
Jiang Yu was amused by her own words and quickly handed Gu Qingchen to the wet nurse before going into the inner room to change.
"If I were to tell your mother that you deliberately woke Ah Chen to attend court..."
Gu Lin's threatening voice rang out, and Gu Qingyan's expression changed drastically. "Father, how could you speak ill of me behind my back?"
“I’m not complaining behind your back, I’m complaining to your face,” Gu Lin said leisurely. “Besides, I told you beforehand.”
Gu Qingyan immediately became anxious, "What do you want?"
"Take Achen to the Hall of Supreme Harmony more often."
Hearing Gu Lin's words, Gu Qingyan was so angry that he laughed. Did God really not feel guilty for giving him such a father?
“Achen is so young, how can he be separated from his mother for a long time?” Gu Qingyan said through gritted teeth. “I can only guarantee to take Achen to the Taihe Palace for one hour every day. I can’t guarantee any more time.”
“An hour will do.” Gu Lin said calmly, showing no sign of threatening anyone.
He can spend an hour with Ayu every day, which is quite good.
"Okay, it's settled then. You're not allowed to tell on me."
"What are you two talking about?" Jiang Yu walked out of the inner room with a smile, completely unaware of the "swords and shadows" that the father and son had just witnessed.
"I've missed my father a bit since I last saw him a few days ago."
Gu Qingyan said with a forced smile, "I really want to!"
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