Since the controversy surrounding admissions based on connections, Royal College has been operating smoothly in an extremely harmonious yet slightly eerie atmosphere.
Crown Prince Xiao Mu'an, surrounded by his "honest and simple" study companions and showered with praise from Grand Tutor Wang, spent a confident and joyful first year of school.
And under the tacit cooperation of the Emperor and Empress, the Liang Dynasty became increasingly prosperous and peaceful. The wars and turmoil of the past seemed like distant memories of a bygone era. Now, the court was harmonious and the people were at peace.
Time slips by quietly in this peaceful and warm atmosphere.
In the blink of an eye, it's already deep winter.
After a heavy snowfall, the entire palace was covered in a thick layer of silver, a magnificent sight, with its jade-like buildings and shimmering white walls.
However, even the most beautiful snowscape cannot ward off the biting cold.
On winter mornings, the sky always seems to brighten exceptionally late.
Inside the sleeping quarters of Kunning Palace, the underfloor heating was burning brightly, making it warm as spring. Thick, bright yellow curtains kept out all the cold air and light from outside, leaving only a peaceful, dim space.
On the dragon bed, Xiao Che pulled the blanket up a little, revealing only his still tightly closed eyes.
He had been awake for a while.
As an emperor, his biological clock, ingrained over many years, caused him to open his eyes precisely at dawn every day.
But today, he doesn't want to move.
The bed was so warm, and his wife's breathing was steady and warm beside him, with a comforting fragrance filling the air. But the thought of leaving this warm "haven" to face the cold dragon throne in the Golden Palace and a group of old ministers who might argue endlessly over trivial matters brought an unprecedented sense of weariness to his head.
He didn't want to get out of bed.
He wanted to... take a break.
Once this thought popped into my head, it spread like wildfire and could never be extinguished.
Lin Wanwan was fast asleep and had no idea that the diligent and benevolent emperor beside her was currently engaged in a battle of wits between "responsibility and laziness."
She was just sleeping when she subconsciously turned over, snuggled closer to his warm embrace, and let out a soft, satisfied moan.
This unconscious action became the final straw that broke Xiao Che's will to be diligent in his duties.
He sighed resignedly, pulled the blanket tighter, and gave up struggling completely.
Lin Wanwan didn't see that at this moment, above her husband's head, a fluffy, chubby cartoon bear was curled up in a ball, hugging a pine cone, covered with a small leaf, drooling as it slept, with a line of text full of wintery feeling next to it—【Don't want to go to work.jpg】.
Just as Xiao Che closed his eyes, preparing to linger a little longer, the cautious urging of the head eunuch came from outside the palace gate.
"Your Majesty... It's past 3:45 AM, time... time to get up and go to court."
Xiao Che's brows furrowed in displeasure.
He knew he couldn't delay any longer. For an emperor, refusing to hold court without cause was a grave taboo, sure to cause an uproar in the court and among the people, and invite countless unnecessary speculations.
He was agitated and struggling, preparing to throw off the covers and say a final goodbye to the warm bed.
However, at that moment, a faint whimper, filled with dissatisfaction, came from the small crib next to it.
"Mmm...uh..."
The voice was soft and sweet, like a kitten that hadn't woken up yet, full of the most direct accusation against this cold morning.
Xiao Che paused on the spot.
He turned his head sharply and looked at the crib made of golden nanmu wood and covered with layers of gauze curtains.
Prince Tuanzi had woken up sometime earlier. He didn't cry or fuss; instead, he curled up in the warm silk quilt, his little brows furrowed tightly, his little mouth pouting in dissatisfaction, and his little hands and feet twisting and turning inside the quilt, refusing to come out.
He seemed to feel the chill of the winter morning; every cell in his body seemed to be saying the same thing: I don't want to get up! I want to sleep!
That stubborn, pouting look on his face, not wanting to get out of bed, was exactly like Xiao Che on the dragon bed!
Xiao Che was stunned when he saw this scene. Then, his deep dragon eyes suddenly burst out with an extremely bright light!
A kindred spirit!
His restless heart, agitated by having to get up early, was instantly healed in that moment. Looking at his son's complicit behavior, a strong sense of connection, a bond between father and son, welled up within him!
He wanted to slack off.
His son also didn't want to "go to work" (be dug up).
What does this tell us?
This shows that the father and son are of one mind! It's fate!
A brilliant, perfect, and irrefutable reason for dismissing the court, like a divine revelation, instantly descended upon His Majesty the Emperor's mind!
Outside the palace gates, the chief eunuch, seeing no movement from inside, could only steel himself and urge again in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's getting late... the prime minister and the others are probably already waiting outside..."
"Shut up!"
A loud, impatient shout came from inside the hall, startling the head eunuch, who immediately shut his mouth.
Immediately afterward, before he could even guess what the emperor was thinking, the palace doors were suddenly flung open from the inside.
Their emperor stood majestically at the door, wearing only a single garment and barefoot, his face bearing an exaggerated expression of worry and sorrow.
"Something terrible has happened!" Xiao Che exclaimed, his voice low but filled with urgent anxiety. "A major incident has occurred!"
The chief eunuch was terrified and knelt down with a thud, stammering, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty! Is it an urgent report from the border? Or...is something happening in the capital?"
"None of them!" Xiao Che shook his head solemnly. He turned around, pointed towards the crib in the hall, and announced in a tone of deep sorrow that could break the hearts of anyone who heard it:
"It's the Crown Prince! The Crown Prince is unwell!"
"Huh?" The chief eunuch was dumbfounded. His Highness the Crown Prince was unwell? He was perfectly fine last night, and even ate half a bowl of extra food!
Xiao Che didn't give him any time to react. He paced back and forth at the door with his hands behind his back, his "worried" expression becoming more and more convincing.
"Alas," he sighed deeply, his voice filled with the worry and helplessness of a father, "the Crown Prince has been frail since childhood, and this morning he was even more listless, groaning incessantly. This is a matter of national importance!"
He turned his head, looked at the completely dumbfounded Grand Eunuch, and issued the final decree in an unquestionable and sorrowful tone:
"I am deeply troubled and cannot eat or sleep! By my decree, court will be suspended for the day! I... must remain in the palace to personally care for the Crown Prince!"
After speaking, without waiting for the chief eunuch to react, he slammed the palace door shut again, shutting out all the cold wind and "official business".
Outside the door, the chief eunuch knelt on the cold ground, his mind blank.
Is the Crown Prince unwell?
Your Majesty is worried about the foundation of the country?
A day of suspension of court proceedings?
He connected these events together, and his mind was already uncontrollably conjuring up a tragic drama of "the foundation of the nation crumbling and the emperor's heart in turmoil."
So when he scrambled to the outside of the Golden Palace and announced the news to the civil and military officials who had been waiting for a long time, his voice was already trembling with sobs.
The entire court was in an uproar upon hearing this news.
His Highness the Crown Prince is ill?! So ill that His Majesty has even skipped the morning court session?!
For a time, all the ministers were filled with worry and discussion. The entire area outside the Golden Palace was filled with a somber atmosphere of "Heaven blesses the Great Liang" and "The foundation of the nation is of utmost importance."
No one expected that at this moment when the whole country was "worried" about it, the eye of the storm—the Kunning Palace—presented a completely different and warm scene.
Having successfully "gone on strike," Emperor Xiao Che contentedly crawled back into his warm bed.
Not content with that, he ordered someone to move the small crib next to the dragon bed as well.
Thus, the two most honored father and son of the Great Liang Dynasty, one lying on the dragon bed and the other in the crib, both wrapped themselves tightly in blankets, with only their heads showing.
One big and one small, both faces bore the same satisfied and contented lazy expression.
They successfully launched a "strike" in the name of "father and son united"!
Lin Wanwan watched this scene with a mix of helplessness and amusement, finding the father and son, who were "going along with each other," to be incredibly adorable.
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