Chapter 337: Who Bullied Her? Climbing onto His Lap
The tightly shut doors of the Diligent Governance Hall opened.
The two ministers inside let out a short breath as Little Dongzi immediately led the palace attendants in to refill their tea.
Lu Juan, seated to the right, looked utterly exhausted. The crease between his brows was etched deep, and heavy, dark circles hung under his eyes—a clear sign of his recent toil.
He glanced over at Duan Mingfeng beside him.
The head of the Imperial City Envoy seemed to be in surprisingly good spirits, though with Duan Mingfeng’s naturally dark complexion and perpetual, gloomy scowl, it was hard to tell for sure.
Lu Juan’s gaze shifted to the Emperor on the dais. Emperor Wu Su was bent over a memorial, studying it intently.
He hadn’t rested since returning from his secret visit to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, yet his face showed no sign of fatigue.
He hadn’t been able to hold morning court today, so he had summoned his ministers to the Diligent Governance Hall instead.
Lu Juan couldn’t help but marvel to himself, ’Some men are just born to be emperors. His stamina and energy alone are beyond what any ordinary person could possess.’
"Bring me the dossiers from the past few years on officials appointed by Su Fengyue."
Emperor Wu Su’s voice was detached and cold.
Lu Juan snapped out of his thoughts, gathered a large stack of dossiers from his side, and placed them on the Emperor’s desk.
"Your Majesty, I’ve marked the sections of concern and separated them with slips of paper."
Zhao Mingyan nodded. "The two of you may go to the side hall and have a meal."
Lu Juan said, "Your Majesty should eat something as well."
"There’s no need. I’m not hungry."
Zhao Mingyan had already reached a key section of the dossier. "Besides Lingzhou," he said gravely, "there is also Longzhou in the Northwest. Most of the officials there were promoted by Su Fengyue. We need to find a new batch of men from the court to send over."
Lu Juan said, "Precisely. The local Magistrates and governors in those two provinces are almost all Su Fengyue’s clients and protégés."
Lu Juan understood why the Emperor had summoned so many ministers. He was using this opportunity to see who still possessed the will to serve the nation and was willing to accept a provincial post.
If Qingrong weren’t pregnant, making it impossible for him to leave her and their child, he would have been willing to help Emperor Wu Su with this urgent problem.
Zhao Mingyan waved a sleeve. "Ziyou, you and Ming Feng can go have a meal." He glanced at the water clock. "Take half an hour to rest. Be back at the Hour of Wei. Go on."
At their current pace, they would likely be busy until at least evening.
Lu Juan was indeed exhausted. His work involved the mentally draining tasks of vetting personnel and arranging deployments, and he desperately needed to step outside for some fresh air.
He bowed low. "This subject takes his leave."
When Duan Mingfeng heard the Emperor call his name, he quickly stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I’m not hungry, and I haven’t finished this deployment map. I will remain here in the hall with you."
Emperor Wu Su gave a slight nod, his gaze already fixed intently on the document in his hands.
Lu Juan froze on the spot. The legs that had been about to retreat suddenly refused to move.
His once-drowsy eyes flew wide open. He glared at Duan Mingfeng’s back, as if trying to burn a hole right through his soft armor.
’Is this the time to pledge loyalty? To see who can endure hunger the longest?!’
This put Lu Juan in an awkward position. It felt wrong to leave now, but if he stayed, he doubted he could withstand working at such a high intensity without a break.
Emperor Wu Su had stamina far beyond that of an ordinary person. As for Duan Mingfeng, he had his family’s secret technique; having grown up in hardship, he could go for days without food or water without issue.
But he was a mere mortal who had lived a pampered life since childhood.
Among the three of them, he was the only one with a wife at home. Realizing how long it had been since he’d seen Qingrong in the daylight, Lu Juan heaved a long sigh, his chest tightening with a boundless sense of sorrow.
"Hungy!"
A small, sweet voice piped up from the entrance of the hall.
Lu Juan, being closer to the door, turned to look. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes—the little girl looked vaguely familiar.
Looking closer, he almost thought he was hallucinating from hunger.
Otherwise, why would his wife’s little sister’s child be in the Imperial Palace, especially at a time like this?
Unlike Lu Juan, who was openly surprised, Duan Mingfeng merely cast an impassive glance toward the door before turning away as if he’d seen nothing, continuing to sort the maps in his hands.
Having been assigned by the Emperor to protect the "little master" once before, Duan Mingfeng already knew the girl’s true identity.
He was, however, surprised. ’Why is the little master here alone? Where is Ji Qingwu?’
Seated high on his throne, Emperor Wu Su remained engrossed in the dossier, his posture unchanged. His lowered lashes cast a dark shadow across his face.
He was clearly deep in thought, planning something, and hadn’t noticed the disturbance at the entrance.
Seeing that no one was paying her any mind, Jiu Jiu’s dark eyes turned to the two adults standing in the hall.
She scampered inside on her short little legs, and Li Yuzong didn’t dare stop her.
Both men in the hall were handsome. Jiu Jiu glanced at each of them before running to the one she found more familiar, tilting her little face up to look at Lu Juan.
Before Jiu Jiu could speak, Lu Juan glanced back at the Emperor, then lowered his voice. "Let’s go outside first. This is where grown-ups do important work. How about your uncle takes you out to play, hmm?"
’Perfect,’ he thought. ’Now I have an excuse to get some fresh air.’
Hearing that Lu Juan immediately wanted to shoo her away, Jiu Jiu blinked her big eyes and deftly darted away from him.
She ran to the rear right of the hall, stopping before Duan Mingfeng, who stood at a table covered in a mess of blueprints.
As Jiu Jiu got closer, she realized this man’s face was very stern. He looked short-tempered and not to be trifled with.
The little girl felt a bit nervous. ’He wouldn’t hit a kid, would he?’
Their eyes met. The little girl’s were bright and round, full of an innocent charm. Duan Mingfeng froze for a second before averting his gaze and humbly lowering his head.
’She is the little master, after all,’ he thought. ’Staring is disrespectful.’
Jiu Jiu thought he didn’t want to look at her. She pouted sadly, gave a little sniffle, and turned to run away again.
This time, she charged straight for the man seated on the dais several steps up.
Emperor Wu Su had just picked up his Imperial Brush and a memorial, and was about to make a mark when someone tugged on the hem of his bright yellow sleeve.
The ink on the tip of the fine, wolf-hair brush dripped down, smudging the script on the memorial into a messy blot.
Zhao Mingyan turned his head, and the piercing coldness in his eyes instantly vanished.
In a flash, his gaze grew warmer than the midday sun in spring.
Jiu Jiu’s lip trembled as her little hand clutched his sleeve even tighter.
Seeing her pitiful, teary-eyed expression, Zhao Mingyan looked up, his gaze sweeping over the other two men in the room.
"Did you two bully her?" he asked.
At first, Lu Juan had been worried the little girl’s actions would anger the Emperor in the middle of his work. Now, it seemed...
...he should be more worried about his own safety.
Emperor Wu Su’s gaze fell upon the hall’s entrance, but he didn’t see the figure he was hoping for.
Jiu Jiu’s ability to read the mood and press her advantage was not to be underestimated. Seeing that someone had her back, she used both hands and feet to clamber onto the Emperor’s lap, leaving a trail of tiny footprints on his bright yellow Dragon Robe.
Her antics captured Zhao Mingyan’s full attention. He tossed his Imperial Brush aside with his right hand, pushing away the memorial along with it.