Chapter 205: I, The Emperor, Strike the South Mountain Retirement Home with My Fists! (2 / 2)
The emperor puffed up with pride. “Them? Ha! Blood spilled within five steps? Even if they all came at me, they wouldn’t stand a chance. I only held back this time because their wailing was too much to bear—so I took pity on them. With those old arms and legs, if I’d put in even a bit of effort, they’d have been sprawled on the floor!”
Empress Dou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
A sixty-something emperor personally brawling with a group of seventy-something ministers —how could that sound dignified if word got out?
Her thoughts drifted back to the matter of compiling history, and she couldn’t help but voice her concern.
“You mean you assigned Xu Yanmiao to compile history? He’s too young for such a task. Even though the other compilers wouldn’t bully or ostracize him, they probably won’t respect him much either. Isn’t it too soon for him? He hasn’t even come of age yet.”
Hearing this, the emperor suddenly looked radiant. “Empress, this is one of the wisest decisions I’ve ever made! Xu Yanmiao is just lazy—he needs to be pushed. Take that issue with the bound feet custom, for example. Who would’ve thought he’d come up with the idea to incite resistance through rumors and rally the scholars to critique and attack it? Assigning him to compile history is just my way of keeping him active. I’ve heard he sleeps until the sun is high every time he gets a day off. He’s only 19, and he’s already that lazy! Unacceptable!”
Empress Dou: “…”
Sometimes, she wished her husband could be a bit more humane. The poor kid had been working hard for nine days—was it so wrong to want to rest on the tenth?
The emperor, oblivious to the complicated look on his wife’s face, continued, “As for whether Xu Yanmiao can handle the pressure…”