Lin Rongrong saw Su Muqing approaching and quickly went to meet her with gifts. She had wanted to stay and help at noon, but it turned out she was needed elsewhere.
Since Su Cuiping had successfully given birth, and Su Muqing was using modern childcare methods, Lin Rongrong couldn't offer much assistance if she stayed.
Therefore, Su Muqing had Lin Rongrong return to the palace to attend to her own matters, and also to bring over a portion of the gifts and tonics she had prepared for Su Cuiping. As for the other gifts, they would be bestowed upon the child in front of everyone when they celebrated their full month.
The few of them sat together for dinner. Madam Wang's mood was very low, and the tear tracks on her face were visible to everyone at the table. Su Minghui was unaware of what she had done to the baby later, believing she was still saddened by Su Cuiping's illness.
Seeing Madam Wang's dejected state, Su Muqing felt uneasy herself. She hadn't meant to scold her just now; she had simply lost control of her emotions for a moment.
If it weren't for Madam Wang's adherence to old customs, causing the baby such suffering... Never mind, it was all in the past, and dwelling on it would be useless.
Su Muqing planned to have a good talk with Madam Wang after dinner. She worried that if Madam Wang didn't abandon these old customs, there would inevitably be major conflicts between mother and daughter.
Madam Wang was preoccupied with her thoughts and ate her meal without tasting anything. Su Muqing had intended to have a good talk with her, but Madam Wang put down her chopsticks, said nothing, and returned to Su Cuiping's room.
In front of Su Cuiping, Su Muqing felt it was inappropriate to continue discussing the matter and would have to find another opportunity to talk to Madam Wang.
This night, the General's manor was exceptionally busy. Among the crowd, Su Muqing and Leng Kui were the busiest. The child was temporarily entrusted to Lin Rongrong's care.
Although Madam Wang did not speak or offer further assistance, she remained in Su Cuiping's bedroom, her eyes not closing in rest for almost the entire night.
After smoothly getting through a day and a night, Su Cuiping only shed tears when her abdomen was pressed. She didn't cry out as much even when turning over, all thanks to Leng Kui.
When Su Cuiping was in too much pain to turn over, Leng Kui would directly hold her and position her on her side, greatly reducing the chance of her movements pulling on her wounds. Although this passive method wasn't the best, seeing how worried Leng Kui looked, Su Muqing ultimately acquiesced.
Seeing that Leng Kui was now adept at changing Su Cuiping's dressing, Su Muqing was finally able to relax. Therefore, she returned to the Imperial Palace early the next day, while Lin Rongrong continued to stay at the General's manor to assist Leng Kui.
The previous day, all the ministers knew the Emperor had returned. They had prepared summaries of their work for the past half-month and submitted them to the chief steward.
Su Muqing's workload was already heavy, with her schedule packed every day. Now, after over ten days of inactivity, her workload had increased dozens of times over, making her extremely busy.
After the court session, she had only one hour of rest before Su Muqing, yawning profusely, forced herself to get up and handle state affairs. Despite being the ruler of a nation, holding supreme power and being supported by all her people,
while others had time to eat and sleep, she, the Emperor, had to work overtime, living a life of rising earlier than the roosters and sleeping later than the dogs.
"Your Majesty, why don't you rest for a while before attending to state affairs! Stop drinking this bitter water; what's so good about it, like traditional Chinese medicine. Look how red your eyes are; it's clear you haven't rested well. If the Prince were to know you don't cherish your health like this, he'd blame us for not taking good care of you."
Seeing Su Muqing downing cup after cup of strong coffee, Madam Zhou, who was by her side, felt a pang of heartache. Knowing she couldn't persuade Su Muqing, she finally resorted to mentioning Huo Qiyuan. This method had always been effective when the Emperor was working day and night.
Su Muqing put down her vermillion brush and looked at Madam Zhou, who seemed a little displeased. "Alright! I know my own health, so don't worry, my good嬷嬷! I'm not foolish; how could I overexert myself? If I feel tired later, I will go rest. Is that acceptable?"
Madam Zhou poured her another cup of clear tea, replacing the dark, burnt-smelling black coffee. "Your Majesty is the ruler of a nation; your word is absolute. Alas! This嬷嬷 doesn't want to nag you, but seeing you work so hard truly pains my heart..."
"I know you care about me, my嬷嬷." Su Muqing held Madam Zhou's hand affectionately, acting like a young girl, nothing like a dignified Emperor.
After finally appeasing Madam Zhou, Su Muqing resumed her high-intensity work. Fortunately, not long after her ascension, her father and mother had gone on a trip with Tianji Laoren and others. Otherwise, there would have been several more people to nag her.
Su Muqing quickly perused the memorials in her hands, occasionally writing and drawing. By noon, a pile of memorials, categorized into three levels of importance, had been reviewed on her left.
She thought she could finally relax, but when she looked up, she saw that the pile of memorials, which had been slightly lower, had now piled up higher than a mountain.
Su Muqing patted her stiff neck. Sitting for too long made her entire body ache, and she felt dizzy and faint. She couldn't go on like this; she might actually collapse from exhaustion!
"嬷嬷, please issue an order to have all the remaining memorials brought in at once. Don't bring them in little by little anymore. I want to see how many are left to be processed."
Madam Zhou opened the door to the Imperial Study and, seeing the palace servants lined up, holding memorials, said uncertainly, "Bring them all in? But there are still so many outside. I'm worried the tables won't be enough to hold them all."
Su Muqing didn't want to explain too much, lest Madam Zhou start nagging her again. "It's alright, bring them all in. If there's no space on the tables, just stack them on the floor."
Madam Zhou didn't know what Su Muqing intended to do. Although she knew of her mysterious treasure space, she was unaware of the five-fold time difference between the space and the outside world.
After all the memorials were brought in, Su Muqing asked everyone to leave. Madam Zhou had intended to stay and accompany her, but Su Muqing said she was going to the spatial realm to ask for help. Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou no longer insisted.
After dismissing the servants, Su Muqing waved her hand and took all the memorials into her space. Upon entering, she first took a bath to relax, then burrowed into the soft cloud-like bed she had specifically purchased from the future mall to catch up on sleep.
Although she had claimed not to be tired just now, as soon as she climbed into bed, she fell into a deep sleep. The spatial realm was filled with ample spiritual energy, and the temperature was very suitable. Su Muqing slept for a good three hours before waking up.