He, Lin Zimo, was twelve years old.
Today was his birthday, and also the day of his enthronement.
Of course, his father, the Emperor, had not passed away.
Not only was he in excellent health, but his appearance had even improved compared to before.
But in his aunt's words, his father might have some hidden ailment, as he hadn't taken any more concubines into the harem besides his mother in all these years.
As a result, in this vast imperial palace, besides him and his Imperial Grandmother, there were no other masters.
And his Imperial Grandmother had returned to Putuo Temple two years ago to see a handsome monk, oh no, to chant scriptures and pray for the Great Xia Kingdom.
As for his father, who had fatherly love but not much of it, he had eagerly gone to find his mother several years ago, becoming her shadow.
Honestly, he sometimes felt that his father was quite a wise person, but whenever it involved his mother, he seemed to transform into someone else.
What was that term…
Right, lovesick!
In his aunt's words, his father was terminally ill with love sickness, beyond any cure.
Speaking of his aunt and mother consort, he actually held some resentment.
Because ever since he returned to his ancestral clan, he seemed to no longer be his aunt's nephew, nor his mother consort's beloved son.
They seemed to have completely forgotten him, running back to Changzhou County to live a life of leisure and joy.
Fortunately, his aunt and mother consort were somewhat conscientious. They returned half a year later to visit him once, handing over all the properties of the Lin Mansion and the Shangguan family to him.
After that, every six months, his aunt and mother consort would come to the capital for a short stay.
This continued until his aunt and mother consort's last visit to the capital two years ago.
His aunt said she was tired of the Great Xia Kingdom and wanted to see the world outside, so she had the tenth imperial uncle, also known as Advisor Hua, help her build a super, super large ship.
However, according to his Grand Tutor, also known as Master Murong, it was actually because too many people had died in Changzhou County and even Fengtian Prefecture in recent years.
If his aunt stayed any longer, they might all become extinct.
Thus, the idea of building a ship to send his aunt out of the Great Xia Kingdom arose.
According to Constable Yan, their first stop at sea was the Eastern Ying Kingdom.
He wondered if the people of the Eastern Ying Kingdom would be enough for his aunt to contend with…
However, before leaving, his aunt had secretly asked him if he didn't want to take that position, she could take him away with her.
But he had refused.
He was no longer a child who needed his aunt and mother consort's protection.
Perhaps the outside world was wonderful, but only by him occupying that position could he truly protect his aunt.
When he was very young, his father, not the Emperor, but the father who had brought him back to Dalin Village, had repeatedly instructed him.
He told him that no matter what, he must become the most noble person in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, so that he could protect his aunt without worries for a lifetime.
He hadn't understood it when he was young, but now he did.
So, he stayed.
"Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live, ten thousand years!"
The deafening cries of obeisance brought his wandering thoughts back.
After several rounds of imperial examinations and exceptional recommendations, the court had seen a considerable influx of new blood.
The Left and Right Prime Ministers had also been replaced.
The current Right Prime Minister was Xu Siyun, the first female top scholar of the Great Xia Kingdom.
The Left Prime Minister was Zhou Zeli, who had become a top scholar a year later than the Right Prime Minister and had since risen through the ranks.
The two formed their own factions and often argued fiercely in the grand hall due to differing political views.
This had once made his father want to bestow marriage upon them.
As for his Aunt Yongning, after being invited to visit by Prince Andrei of the Cile Kingdom a few years ago, she had become infatuated with foreign scenery. Now, as the Great Xia Kingdom's diplomatic envoy, she was active on the border.
Meanwhile, Xu Siyun and Zhou Zeli, who had iron-willed determination to dedicate their remaining lives to the Great Xia Kingdom, had rallied all the civil and military officials of the court to sign a petition vowing never to marry in this life.
It was unclear how the two had managed it, but the first name on the petition was Elder Su, followed by the Tenth Imperial Uncle and Prime Minister Feng.
Oh right, he could no longer call him Prime Minister Feng, but rather Regent Feng.
Although the position of Regent was usually held by the Crown Prince, he was not yet of marriageable age, so his father had directly disregarded Prime Minister Feng's wishes and appointed him as Regent.
He was to be dismissed from his post when he turned sixteen and could govern independently, depending on the situation.
He remembered Prime Minister Feng standing outside the Imperial Study that night, cursing the whole night…
After the tedious enthronement ceremony.
He led the civil and military officials to the Imperial Garden. A group of officials, as accustomed, took out silver from their sleeves and handed it to the eunuch stationed at the entrance to collect money, before stepping inside.
When his aunt had visited him in the palace before, she had felt it was too desolate and had suggested a few ways to increase the liveliness.
One of these was to open the Imperial Garden, which was originally planted with various famous flowers and exotic plants, to the public. Officials and their family members, as well as descendants of noble families, only needed to pay a certain amount of silver to enter and roam the Imperial Garden.
If the payment was sufficient, refreshments would also be provided.
Those with more wealth could even book the entire garden to host various banquets.
In addition, the idle concubine dormitories had also been renovated by him and transformed into royal academies.
After all, it was unfair for him alone to study diligently from dawn till dusk.
Therefore, he had invited Dean Ouyang Xiu from the Hanlin Academy along with all the tutors, and under his father's name, he had issued a public announcement across the country.
Anyone who passed the entrance examination for the Royal Academy, or the descendants of noble families and merchants who donated a sufficient amount of silver, regardless of gender, could enroll.
Those with particularly outstanding academic performance could even qualify to observe court sessions.
The news caused quite a stir.
Some merchants were willing to liquidate their family fortunes just to send their young sons to the academy.
Unfortunately, the spots were limited.
Therefore, he came up with another method.
He would practice calligraphy for half an hour every day, and during this time, one person was allowed to watch him, thus having close contact with him, the true Son of Heaven.
Of course, as usual, it would be awarded to the highest bidder. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The recollection ended.
He raised a finger and pointed to the collection of items neatly arranged in the Imperial Garden, smiling brightly:
"My dear officials, here are the bowls and chopsticks that朕 (I) usually use, the calligraphy and paintings that have accompanied朕 for many years, and some other small objects that朕 particularly favors.
Feel free to browse, my dear officials."
That night.
Having earned a fortune, he, carrying a pre-prepared bag, asked Master Ling Han to escort him out of the palace.
But as soon as he left his chambers, he was intercepted by Regent Feng, who was waiting there.
"Your Majesty, where are you going with so much silver?"
"朕 heard that the wild flowers outside the capital have bloomed, so I wanted to go and see them."
"Oh~
I wonder what kind of flowers are so noble that Your Majesty, the Emperor, must personally go to admire them?"
Seeing that he couldn't escape, he could only grab the other person's sleeve and act spoiled:
"Uncle Feng, please let Mo'er go~
Mo'er promises you, Uncle Feng, if you can hold on for another ten years, Mo'er will definitely find a way to bring back a child to take over your position and bear the heavy responsibility of governing the country for you!"
"Your Majesty, the empire belongs to your Xia family, not to this minister."
Feng Qingchen said this verbally, but in the end, he chose to turn a blind eye and let him leave.
However, there was one condition: he had to return once every six months to show his face.
After leaving the Imperial Palace.
He did not go to find his aunt and mother consort, nor did he return to Changzhou County, but chose to head south.
After all, his story had just begun…