Marrying the Crown Prince

One book after another, and soon more than a dozen were gone.

If you ask why they were approved so quickly, it's because half of them were greetings and petitions; the other half were memorials, but what were they about?

You asked me to tell you how much rainfall Kyoto has received recently. No, the Imperial Palace is located in Kyoto. Do you think Emperor Chenze and the Crown Prince wouldn't know if it has rained recently, and what kind of rain it has?

There are also reports on the recent price fluctuations of essential commodities such as grain, oil, and salt, which are actually quite interesting. However, there must be fluctuations. If the price fluctuates by a mere penny, what's the point of reporting it?

Then there were the memorials sent by officials outside the capital, which were also several thousand words long, only to get to the point at the end, saying that the officials had a fruit called mango, which was sweet, tender and juicy, and offered it to the emperor.

To all these tedious and meaningless reports, Li Ziyan would simply reply, "I understand."

Yeah, you know now, don't you?

Zhou Zhou smiled and continued writing, stroke by stroke, in a formal script, "I understand".

After finishing writing, Zhou Zhou separated the memorials to the emperor from the memorials to the emperor's affairs, and then picked up a new one, his eyes lightly scanning the words on it.

After reading the contents, her leisurely expression turned serious.

"It is a memorial submitted by Lord Yang Chong'an, a fifth-rank official in charge of remonstrance. He said that the recent continuous rains seem to be harmless, but the rice harvest will be in half a month. If the weather continues like this, the grain yield will be low, and countless farmers will go hungry and lack food and clothing."

Speaking of this, Li Ziyan sighed, "Indeed, such continuous drizzle usually happens in early spring. How come it's still raining after the summer solstice? It's really worrying."

"Then...should we reply to this memorial?" Zhou Zhou asked tentatively.

“No need, just leave them,” Li Ziyan replied. “Put them aside for now. After you’ve finished revising them all, I’ll have Changyi take these memorials to the Imperial Study.”

In the past, Li Ziyan would personally deliver these memorials.

However, there are exceptions. Today I am sick and naturally cannot go to the Imperial Study, so I can only ask Changyi to deliver it to me.

Hearing him say that, Zhou Zhou closed the memorial.

Li Ziyan wasn't in a hurry to ask her what the next book was about, but instead inquired about Zhou Zhou's opinion.

Zhou Zhou thought for a moment, "Half a month is neither a long nor a short time. I feel that the recent continuous rain must have prompted Father to ask the Imperial Observatory how long the rain would last."

"However, we can't completely trust the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's prediction that the rain will stop. We must make preparations, such as whether the granaries and warehouses have enough grain, and whether the national treasury has enough silver. If the harvest is poor, how will we replenish the national treasury, and where will the provisions for the soldiers on the frontier come from?"

Li Ziyan nodded, "Actually, it all comes down to the same thing—money."

Money makes the world go round, but without it, you can't move an inch.

However, unlike ordinary people, who might starve to death on the streets if they had no money, emperors, at most, would only be criticized in the historical records if the national treasury was empty.

After the conversation ended, Zhou Zhou opened a new memorial, which was still the same kind of memorial before, reporting even the smallest things.

Li Ziyan replied as usual, "Understood."

Finally, after half an hour, Zhou Zhou had finished reading through all of this. Looking at the thick stack of documents, he realized that only this one was a proper memorial. He thought that Emperor Chenze and Li Ziyan were both quite good-natured. If it were him, he would have given any official who dared to write something like this a good scolding.

Li Ziyan knew what she was thinking and wanted to discuss the topic with her, but the effects of the medicine were kicking in and his eyelids were getting heavier and heavier.

He closed his eyes tightly and mumbled, "If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. You don't have to stay here all the time."

"Yes, I know." Zhou Zhou is not the type of person who would compromise herself.

"Don't overwork yourself," he muttered.

"Go to sleep." Zhou Zhou pulled the thin blanket up to cover Li Ziyan's stomach.

"Mmm," Li Ziyan responded softly, his breathing becoming heavier and longer.

Finally, he drifted off to sleep.

Zhou Zhou reached out and poked his cheek, thinking that this guy was really adorable.

The early morning is quiet and cool, with sunlight filtering through layers of mist and gently lifting the light fog of night.

Zhou Zhou opened her eyes first, then saw Li Ziyan still sleeping against the wall. She remained silent for a while, then her eyebrows curved into a smile.

Yesterday, Li Ziyan did not agree to her staying. It was only after much pleading that she finally agreed, but it wasn't without conditions—they couldn't share a blanket.

So Chang Yi brought over a new thin quilt. Li Ziyan wrapped herself in the quilt, rolled inside, and distanced herself from Zhou Zhou.

So, the two of them slept together last night, separated by a "galaxy".

She quietly got out of bed and went out, and the palace maid guarding the door hurriedly bowed.

"Shh—," Zhou Zhou gestured, "His Highness is still resting, don't wake him."

The palace maid nodded, not daring to speak.

"Take me to the side room to wash up," Zhou Zhou said again.

When she returned from washing up, Li Ziyan was still sleeping there; after having breakfast, he still had his eyes closed; and at some point, memorials from Mingde Hall were delivered, but he remained quietly curled up there.

Zhou Zhou reached out and touched his forehead, but didn't notice anything wrong, so...

Are you really that sleepy?

"Your Highness?" Zhou Zhou didn't care whether he was genuinely sleepy or for some other reason; he just wanted to wake him up first.

"Your Highness!"

Li Ziyan opened his eyes, squinted slightly, and his mood was not good.

"Your Highness, please get up and have your meal first," Zhou Zhou explained. "After you've eaten, you can take your medicine."

If there were really nothing important, she wouldn't wake someone up.

The thought of taking medicine made Li Ziyan's mouth taste bitter.

He rubbed his temples and replied, "Yes, call for water. I need to wash up."

After washing up, Li Ziyan used a little something and felt refreshed, as if he were fully charged. He then began sharpening his knife on the folded paper on the table.

Just like yesterday, Zhou Zhou also helped out; the difference was that Zhou Zhou was responsible for classification, and did not need to read or write any data.

With her help, Li Ziyan was able to read the memorials much faster; because Zhou Zhou, who could read ten lines at a glance, quickly separated the memorials.

The memorial to the emperor was nothing special; Li Ziyan simply took it and quickly wrote down "Good," "All is well," "Very good," and "I am well..."