After the court session ended, His Majesty left immediately, leaving the ministers who were waiting there somewhat at a loss.
The group exchanged glances, realizing that His Majesty's earlier intention to summon them to the study was not just one person's misperception, and they felt even more confused.
Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has been exceptionally diligent and responsible.
Even if the matter is not particularly urgent, it will be dealt with as soon as possible, and I will try not to delay it until the next day.
I wonder what happened today that made His Majesty, who is usually so diligent, temporarily put aside state affairs.
Chapter 75
Wei Yutang hurried back excitedly, but couldn't help feeling a little resentful that the carriage was too slow.
The Grand Eunuch serving beside him, sensing the Emperor's eagerness, gave a wink to the palace servants.
If it were any other matter, it wouldn't matter, but since this matter concerns the Queen and the young Crown Prince, it cannot be delayed in the slightest.
These officials have served His Majesty for quite some time and know very well that there is only one reason why His Majesty could lose control like this.
When Chu Qing was resting in his palace, he originally thought that it was because the dynasty was good that his bedroom was so magnificent.
But after visiting the Emperor's palace, he discovered that the reality was not as he had imagined.
His Majesty must have truly loved the original owner to the core, which is why he did his best in all these matters.
As the ruler of a country, this palace, even less luxurious than the Queen's, can still be considered unprecedented.
Those who serve His Majesty are very perceptive. At this moment, they took the initiative to order someone to fetch some snacks that the Empress and the young Crown Prince like from the Imperial Kitchen.
Chu Qing picked up one of the pastries and tasted it. Perhaps because he didn't have much of an appetite, he felt that these things were just average no matter how he tasted them.
Xiaxia isn't picky about food. Seeing these exquisitely crafted and delicate pastries, she ate half of them in no time.
If it weren't for the nanny serving him mentioning at this moment that the young prince shouldn't eat too much as it would cause indigestion, he probably would have continued eating.
Upon hearing the old woman's words, Xiaxia abruptly stopped in her tracks, her outstretched hand aimed at the pastries.
She subconsciously turned to look at her father. If her father said she could still eat, then she could definitely eat another piece.
Chu Qing stared at the little guy's envious look, forcing herself to turn her head to the side, refusing to look into his seemingly expressive eyes.
Although I really wanted to agree, I also knew that children are inherently fragile and difficult to raise, not to mention that in ancient times, medical conditions and other aspects were very backward.
We need to pay attention to these little things.
Since the old woman said that, it must have been true. No matter how much I want to love this little guy, I absolutely cannot be soft-hearted on these matters.
"Okay then, I won't eat it."
After realizing that his father and nanny were on the same side, the little guy quickly changed his tune.
Although the pastries in Father Emperor's palace are really delicious, nothing is more important than making Father happy. I can always come back tomorrow and use paying my respects to Father Emperor as an excuse to sneak in a couple more pieces.
Wei Yutang could vaguely see the two figures, one large and one small, waiting for him inside the hall from within the courtyard.
Chu Qing tilted her head and leaned closer, seemingly talking to Xia Xia.
This seemingly ordinary scene was something he had longed for, something he had dreamed of countless times, and now it was unfolding before his eyes.
No matter what he wants to say to me in the future, he will agree without hesitation.
"What's wrong? Why did you rush over to see me? Is something the matter?"
After Wei Yutang went in, he pretended to be calm and sat down to the side, trying his best to make his gaze towards the father and son less greedy.
The little boy looked at his father with a hint of eagerness in his eyes. Although his father had promised not to let the tutor teach him too much today, the little prince was still a little worried.
After all, his studies had been mostly decided by his father, and now that his father had come to plead for him, he was afraid that his father might take his anger out on Fu Wu.
As long as he had the idea that this was a possibility, the little guy even felt that it wouldn't be a problem if he had to work a little harder.
He will definitely not be lazy like before, but will finish the homework assigned to him by his father and son early and then come to play with his father.
"Today I realized that Xiaxia is learning a lot more than he should be doing, considering how young he is."
Upon hearing this, Wei Yutang understood Chu Qing's meaning. He stepped aside, put his hands behind his back, and glanced at the innocent-looking little prince.
While there's some truth to that statement, how could a crown prince not learn things earlier than others?
If we don't study hard now, how will we be able to shoulder the responsibilities of an entire country in the future?
Wei Yutang had many thoughts on his mind, but he didn't utter a single word.
After a long pause, he nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense." Then he instructed the head eunuch serving him to tell the fathers and sons that they no longer needed to assign the crown prince too many lessons.
He really couldn't bear to disappoint Chu Qing, who had taken the initiative to come to him.
"Father is so good, but of course Father is even better."
Xiaxia went over and hugged her father, her eyes squinting happily.
He had mentioned to his father more than once that he felt he had too much schoolwork and no time to rest each day.
But every time he said that, his father would repeat his status as the crown prince with great righteousness.
It seems that I still can't do this myself; I have to have my father repeat it to my father.
At this moment, the young prince suddenly realized that it would be slightly inappropriate for him to appear too happy.
After glancing at his father, he looked at the Emperor, who stood there with a serious expression, doing exactly what the tutor had told him before.
Even when his father was away, when the emperor took him to some important banquets, the little prince's etiquette was nowhere near as refined as it is now.
"Father, I believe that as the crown prince of the country, I should be a little more diligent in my studies."
When Chu Qing heard this, he couldn't help but cough twice. The emperor, who was sitting there, clenched his fist on the table as soon as he heard the cough.
The head eunuch standing nearby had already begun to fetch the imperial physician.
The longer I serve His Majesty, the more I understand what is truly most important to him.
Who said that? You're only this age, why would you need to learn so much?
Even if you are the crown prince, there is no need for you to spend your days with nothing but these things when you can't even speak clearly and walk unsteadily.
From any perspective, just thinking about how this little guy will look like this in the future makes him feel a little heartbroken.
The original owner did not value this child, and although His Majesty had already named him Crown Prince, the title of Crown Prince brought more than just power and glory.
Similarly, many additional burdens were suddenly placed on this still young child. As time went by, Chu Qing was always worried that one day Xia Xia would not be able to bear it.
At this moment, Xia Xia subconsciously cast her very clever little eyes at her father, the Emperor. His Majesty, who was sitting there, saw that the fire was about to burn him, so he suddenly stood up and coughed lightly.
Have you eaten yet?
After Xiaxia realized that her father wanted to escape, she quickly nodded.
"It's alright if I go hungry, Father. Someone once told me that proper training can strengthen one's will."
The emperor who uttered those words stood there with his hands behind his back, glancing at the empress out of the corner of his eye, seemingly unintentionally.
Chu Qing also looked over at this moment, and her gaze met that of His Majesty, who was peeking.
Wei Yutang coughed lightly, intending to casually bring up a topic, but unexpectedly saw that Chu Qing's expression had begun to turn somewhat cold.
As the ruler of a nation, how could he bow down to people over such trivial matters? Even now that he has been pointed out, he feels that he has been a bit harsh on Xia Xia.
“Indeed, which teacher said such an outrageous thing? Xiaxia, come with me later and tell that teacher not to come tomorrow.”
Xiaxia is indeed not old yet; she's still a little prince who wobbles when she walks a little fast. But this little guy, who has been taught by the best teachers since she was a child, is incredibly cunning.
He could tell that his father was making an exchange with him through very subtle means.
The gist of it is that the teacher should take the blame for the emperor's mistake, and the emperor would give him the right to send away one of the teachers.
The young prince thought about it carefully and realized that there were indeed some tutors he disliked. He hadn't dared to mention it to his father before, but now he had the perfect opportunity to get rid of all the fathers and sons he disliked so they wouldn't be an eyesore in front of him.
"Father, you don't know how fierce those teachers in the school are."
Chu Qing had just thought that no one but His Majesty could have said those words about the young crown prince's identity, but now these words made him somewhat uncertain again.
After all, most people in ancient times respected the profession of teacher, so it makes sense to refer to him as a "Master".
"Did the father and son really say these words? How could a father and son go to such lengths?"
Xiaxia kept nodding his little head, convinced that the teacher he wanted to get rid of, whether or not he had said those words, could only have said them from that teacher from now on.
Chu Qing was willing to believe that they wouldn't conspire to deceive her, so she only said one thing: that kind of tutor could not continue to stay by the young prince's side.
He didn't want Xiaxia to become a useless heir when he grew up; he just hoped to secure more happiness and freedom for him while he was still young.
Wei Yutang couldn't quite understand why Chu Qing had suddenly started paying attention to the courses the young prince was taking.
However, for him, this was a good thing, as it showed that Chu Qing was willing to focus his energy and attention on these matters.
Chapter 76
Compared to his previous indifference towards everything in the palace, he is now much better.
Wei Yutang originally thought that this was already a pleasant surprise for him, but when he saw Chu Qing tilting his head to coax Xia Xia, saying that he would put more effort into choosing a tutor for him in the future, he couldn't help but hope for more.
When her father talked to her about her future teacher, Xiaxia nodded very seriously in agreement with every word her father said.
He was willing to believe that his father's judgment was definitely not as bad as his father's, and that the tutor he hated most often harassed the palace maids.
For the young crown prince, this was simply unacceptable, yet he didn't know how to describe it to his father. Before even reaching his father, he already knew how the tutor would try to justify himself.
I'm only this old now, so I definitely can't argue with that.
"Alright, let's talk about other things after we finish eating. What you said makes some sense. Xiaxia is still young, so there's no rush for her to learn too much."
His Majesty had previously heard from the servant who attends the Empress that Chu Qing ate much more at dinner yesterday because Xia Xia was with her.
There were some things he was unwilling to reveal to Chu Qing before, but the imperial physician had told him that if Chu Qing's appetite continued to be like this, and she couldn't eat anything all day long...
Even if there were countless expensive medicines in the palace to temporarily keep Chu Qing alive, she would definitely not live past 25.
With Xiaxia by my side, and if we can eat more, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put everything else aside for now.
After all, she is in good health now, and there is plenty of time to teach the young prince later.