Chapter 715

The first thing the Great King did upon returning victorious was to cancel the victory banquet proposed by the officials; he's not someone who just throws victory banquets casually, is he?

The stingy Emperor only holds banquets for a purpose—do you think he'd let you eat and drink for free? No way!

Speaking of the victory banquet, how many of those who fought desperately with him on the grassland are qualified to attend the hall? With a wave of his paw, the Great King cancelled it. That night he just went to the rear palace to eat with his aunt and sisters, giving the jewels he'd picked from the spoils to the ladies as keepsakes.

However, this guy isn't completely unresponsive—he gave the soldiers who participated in this expedition ten days off to go home and rest.

Upon hearing this, Xie Yuan felt something was wrong—would he also have to take a break?

Sure enough, the Great King blatantly skipped the morning court at Ming Guang Hall the next day.

His excuses are ready-made; the Great King told Zhao Bao that he's a growing child who needs to rest after overexerting himself, or else he won't grow tall.

When Zhao Bao left, his mind was full of 'child' and 'overload'; not understanding the individual words doesn't matter, but delaying the Great King's growth is absolutely unacceptable. He immediately sent someone to send a message to the former dynasty: the Emperor needs rest most of all, and will appear at court once he's recovered.

Upon hearing this, Xie Yuan thought, 'Impressive—this time he didn't even set a leave date.'

The Great King slept until broad daylight, finished breakfast, played with Wei Ni for a while, enjoyed family bliss, and outside the sun was already high.

He lay sprawled on the bright window of Suiyu Hall, looking out at the square, muttering: 'What fierce sun, what high sky… It's not that I'm crying wolf—will there be another drought this year?' He doesn't even have money to buy a spring; every penny goes to grain. …No, drought would reduce grain yield, making shortages worse… This is truly a dilemma!

He lay there sighing; when Tong Chen saw the Emperor's low spirits, he finally thought of a good idea.

"Your Majesty, I've thought of a great place! When you were on campaign, the renovation of Cheng Guang Hall wasn't finished, with barriers up all around. After you ascended the throne and were busy for a few days, it was finally completed last month! When the overseer handed over to my master, I went along too—the renovated Cheng Guang Hall is even more majestic and impressive than before!" He couldn't describe it; it was already the most impressive sight he'd ever seen, and now it's even more so.

Upon hearing this, the Great King became interested and decided to bring his attendants to go see the former dynasty's sights.

「His Majesty has returned now; we can pick an auspicious day to move back to the new hall for court, I heard from my master that the pillars inside that hall have all been replaced... 」 Tong Chen and those behind actively mobilized the atmosphere, this guy is also lazy.

「Not urgent. 」 The King thought he needed to rest properly and take care of the matter of the four fat ones.

The weather is hot, this guy couldn't be bothered to walk; nimbly he climbed onto Xiao Jin's back, letting the auspicious beast carry him as he strolled through the palace.

Previously, the auspicious beast enjoyed doing this job, it happily carried the King, not bothering with you little eunuch guiding the way; that's definitely Xiao Jin wanting to go wherever he pleases!

It led the King left and right, running up and down, scrambling wildly through the garden, utterly excited.

Bai Ze, seeing their posture, directly split forces, turned and headed straight for Chengguang Hall on his own. Wei Ni followed behind Xiao Jin for a while, discovered that this guy wouldn't take the road even when there was one, charging into every thicket to have a look. Some paths Xiao Jin could leap over with his long legs, but that didn't mean the clumsy bear could do the same; Wei Ni glanced back at the distant Bai Ze, then decisively turned and ran back.

The golden-haired monster refuses to take the ordinary path!

Even though the King is neglecting his duties, the court can still operate normally; surely someone is shouldering the burden for him.

In the King's absence, the temporarily altered audience at Mingguang Hall was changed to a small court held in the side hall, the scale the same as when the King was present, only the presiding officials changed to the King's three trusted aides—Xie Yuan, Xue Lin'an, and Dong Fu.

Even though the King is absent, today they still held the meeting as usual, even spending half a day researching how to manage the newly captured grassland territory.

This busyness lasted until midday; after Xie Yuan and the others finally left, just as they stepped out of Mingguang Hall, they saw Xiao Jin swaying out from the eastern corridor. Up close they discovered it wasn't the auspicious beast itself; there was a patty spread on its body…

The King lay flat on Xiao Jin's back, hooking only with his calves, lying completely limp, with a small twig he'd just plucked between his teeth, almost humming a little tune.

The three big shots stood in a row, watching the two sway over; Xiao Jin was also bold-hearted, seeing people still swaggering past with their noses in the air right in front of them…

The King was happily basking in the sun when suddenly Xie Yuan's big face appeared above his head, and the King let out a startled scream…

「Ahhhhh—! 」

Xie Yuan: ……

He instinctively touched his own face, thinking, "Do I really look that bad?!"

「Cough! Greetings, Your Majesty! 」

His Majesty scrambled to sit up, a sudden thought struck him, and he asked: "Have you eaten?"

The three grandees: "Not yet." "The court just adjourned." "Has Your Majesty eaten?"

Upon hearing Dong Fu's last question, the King felt greatly relieved: "I haven't eaten either; isn't this about inspecting Chengguang Hall? We'll eat after we're done." He said while glancing at Xie Yuan, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that? I'm going to inspect the new hall, not lazing around all day!"

Having sustained too many injuries, even a blink of his eye and Xie Yuan could guess roughly. As soon as the King finished speaking, Xie Yuan said: "Your Majesty, having just returned from campaign, must be exhausted; I heard Steward Zhao say you need to rest a few days? That's excellent! I've also been busy lately, and I'll take the opportunity to relax in Your Majesty's glory."

The King instinctively felt this wasn't good; what nice way to relax could Xie Yuan have—could he take him for a stroll along the Spring River Flower Moon Night?! In a flash, before he could think of how to interject, Xie Yuan continued: "... Reading, which not only brings inner joy but also has a relaxing function. I could bring Your Majesty to read for an hour this afternoon to relax, how about that?"

A bolt from the blue!

The reward for just coming back from battle is to go to school?!

What a human tragedy!

Who rests by reading?! Xie Yuan, hear what you're saying! The King stared pleadingly at Xie Yuan, "I'll give you a chance to say it again!"

Xie Yuan had already decided on the time himself: "Your Majesty still needs an afternoon nap, and I have other matters, so let's set it for the Wei hour. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty doesn't think it's that good." The King felt hopeless, he was unhappy—nothing like the Majesty who just moments ago was dangling a twig and swinging his legs.

Xie Yuan didn't care how he replied; seeing the King's expression, he decided that as long as the King was in Youzhou, his studies had to be intensified. This guy had no shortcomings besides studying, so he needed to push harder, driving the King to meet the sage king's standard.

"Your Majesty, don't speak in anger; then we'll take our leave, and we'll await you promptly at the Wei hour in Lantai Hall."

The King was furious: "Why do you keep asking me over and over?! Pointless!"

Xie Yuan stroked his beard calmly, "I won't ask the other students, but I still need to ask Your Majesty." To show respect.

The King gritted his teeth and called out to the three leaving: "Wait! Summon Xie Tu; I need a reading companion."