diskusbooks Chapter 385 Memorial
Chapter 385 Memorial
For three consecutive days, Luo An confined himself to the Imperial Study, overwhelmed by a mountain of memorials piled on his desk. He ate and slept there, never setting foot in the Xi Zhai, neither visiting the Emperor nor seeking out An Liangchen.
Nan Hua, however, would visit him in the Imperial Study every day. Nan Hua would first exchange a few pleasantries with Luo An, and then talk about An Liangchen's illness, mentioning that he had coughed a few times today and whether he was feeling better; they would also chat about some miscellaneous matters in the palace, which palace maid had made a small mistake, and which eunuch had received a reward.
On the fourth day, Luo An felt that reviewing memorials in such a disorganized manner was too inefficient, so he asked Li Mo, the head of the Hanlin Academy, to send over a few meticulous and reliable scholars.
Standing before the mountain of memorials, he solemnly addressed the scholars, saying, “Divide these memorials into four categories: memorials on official business, memorials of peace, memorials of gratitude, and memorials of congratulations.” With that, he personally picked up a memorial and demonstrated how to classify them. He then instructed the scholars to find labels and affix them to the classified memorials before neatly placing them on the shelf.
Luo An's gaze fell on the two-foot-tall memorials, his brow furrowed slightly, and he said to the scholars, "Then classify the memorials according to their importance and urgency, and label them accordingly. Put the less important ones on the shelf, and the more important ones on the table."
After the urgent and important memorials were sorted out, Luo An said to the head of the academy, Li Mo, "I trouble the scholars to come every day and classify them in this way. The head of the academy will then send the urgent and important memorials to His Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Li Mo hesitated, thinking to himself: "His Majesty hasn't been involved in politics for many years, and besides, he's been bedridden lately. Even if this memorial is sent, he probably won't be able to handle it." But he dared not speak his mind and remained silent.
Luo An seemed to see through his thoughts and said, "The Crown Prince has overworked himself and needs at least half a month to rest. There are many affairs in the court now, and they cannot be left unattended."
Li Mo then realized what was going on and tentatively asked, "Is Young Master not coming tomorrow?"
Meanwhile, An Liangchen was sitting in the courtyard of Fanghua Palace, playing a jigsaw puzzle with An Yuxuan. Today, he wasn't wearing his usual yellow python robe, but rather a loose white casual outfit, making him appear gentle and refined.
He patiently picked up the puzzle pieces one by one, assembling them into different shapes—numbers, animals. Each time he finished a piece, An Yuxuan clapped excitedly, his little face beaming with a bright smile. The father and son were engrossed in their game, neither noticing Luo An standing by the door.
When Nan Hua returned with Yang Hua, Yang Hua immediately saw Luo An leaning against the door with his arms crossed and called out from afar, "Young Master, what brings you here?"
Hearing the voice, An Yuxuan looked up and saw Luo An. His eyes were full of surprise, and he politely greeted him, "Uncle."
Luo An walked into the courtyard, came to An Liangchen's side, and said, "Let me take your pulse."
An Liangchen stretched out his hand, and Luo An carefully took his pulse before putting his hand down.
An Liangchen looked at Luo An and smiled, "I will follow the doctor's orders without the slightest negligence."
Nan Hua then held up a peace charm: "This is something I got from the temple on my behalf."
An Liangchen took the amulet, a warm feeling welling up inside him. He got up and followed Luo An to the room, asking, "Is there something you need?"
Luo An sat at the table and told An Liangchen about the more important memorials submitted in the past few days, such as the fire in the Yuzhou granary that destroyed all the stored grain, and the flood in Yiyang that submerged the crops and turned the area into a vast expanse of water.
Luo An had previously helped An Liangchen review memorials, but they were usually trivial matters. He was naturally lazy and would simply imitate An Liangchen's handwriting to write the character "阅" (read). Now that he was actually handling matters himself, he realized how complex they were, and couldn't help but feel more respect for An Liangchen.
An Liangchen listened quietly, his face expressionless, and he didn't ask Luo An how he handled it.
After Luo An finished speaking, he took a sip of tea, looked at An Liangchen, and recounted how the scholars had divided the memorials: "I had the scholars categorize them, and put the unimportant ones aside for now. Tomorrow at Shenshi (3-5 PM), I will come with Dean Li to bring the urgent memorials and read them to you. I am not familiar with the people and matters involved."
An Liangchen nodded: "Okay."
Luo An was silent for a while, then suddenly brought up the story of when he left the mountain: "When I left Heaven and Earth, it wasn't because I wanted to go out and have fun."
He remembered what he said that day: "If Luo An wants to go out and have fun, then go ahead." An Liangchen couldn't help but smile: "I know."