From seven to nine in the morning, Ji Zhaoxi began holding court in the Golden Throne Hall.
Mainly, the officials would present their memorials, and Ji Zhaoxi only needed to keep a cold face and say whether she approved them or not.
From nine in the morning to three in the afternoon, it was Ji Zhaoxi's time to review the written memorials.
One memorial claimed there was a severe drought this year and pleaded for a tax reduction, but Ji Zhaoxi noticed that the paper of the memorial was damp and even carried the musty smell of the southern plum rain season.
"Denied!" Ji Zhaoxi said angrily.
Xiao Yanchen was practically hanging off her body. His face was full of deep satisfaction, looking exactly like a bewitching consort who had enchanted the emperor.
He peeled a grape, brought it to Ji Zhaoxi's lips, and mimicked the soft voice she used to have: "Your Majesty is wise."
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at him and gave a light cough. "Mind our image. I am the emperor now."
Xiao Yanchen looked at her with red-rimmed eyes, his gaze full of grievance.
Ji Zhaoxi choked up for a moment, but still let him lean against her.
"Spoiled by favor."
Hearing her words, Xiao Yanchen felt a wave of comfort in his heart. He couldn't help but rub against her. He liked that phrase; it made him feel like she doted on him very much.
Ji Zhaoxi continued to review the memorials. One official had written thousands of words of praise for her, only to vaguely express in the final sentence that he wanted to build a small garden.
Ji Zhaoxi seriously wrote her ruling: Denied. If you have money, go repair the riverbanks for the common people.
There were also memorials reporting the local weather, which family's pig had given birth to many piglets, endless greetings from officials, and all sorts of other things...
When Ji Zhaoxi got tired of reading memorials, she would look at the case files from the Supreme Court. She still preferred being a master detective.
Ji Zhaoxi was extremely diligent when reviewing the memorials. She would read every single one carefully; otherwise, she felt it would be impolite.
It was a politeness carved into her bones.
At noon, when Ji Zhaoxi took her nap, Xiao Yanchen took over reviewing the remaining ones. There were many memorials impeaching Ji Zhaoxi. Xiao Yanchen simply drew a red circle on those memorials and wrote beside them: Death.
In the afternoon, Ji Zhaoxi continued reviewing. A few memorials from military generals made her head spin.
One general claimed to have studied the wild cursive calligraphy styles of Zhang Xu and Huaisu. The characters were so messy they looked like snakes jumping around. Ji Zhaoxi stared at it for a long time and couldn't recognize a single word.
Ji Zhaoxi ordered him to practice his handwriting, or else it would be considered deceiving the sovereign.
There were also old officials who, while reporting on their work, sneaked in their own private matters, hiding their sons' heights and weights within the text. If one didn't read carefully, they really wouldn't notice.
Xiao Yanchen didn't notice at first, but seeing Ji Zhaoxi reading so intently, he couldn't help but take a few extra glances, and his face instantly darkened.
From three in the afternoon to seven in the evening, Ji Zhaoxi had to attend the Classics Colloquium to learn the ways of a ruler. Ji Zhaoxi listened very seriously.
The Hanlin Academy scholars lecturing at the front were also very moved, because they hadn't expected Ji Zhaoxi to actually come and listen.
Previously, they had assumed Xiao Yanchen was going to ascend the throne and had already prepared themselves to be ignored.
Ji Zhaoxi was serious about being the emperor!
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly thought of Xiao Yanchen's childhood tutor. "Why haven't I seen that tutor in the palace?"
Xiao Yanchen, feeding her food, looked a bit confused. "He probably left the palace. I kind of miss the tutor too."
Ji Zhaoxi nodded in puzzlement.
After the Classics Colloquium ended, she could finally return to her bedchamber. She was so exhausted she was about to collapse.
At this moment, a palace maid walked up with a smile. "Your Majesty, it is time for you to flip a name tag."
Ji Zhaoxi opened her eyes and propped herself up. She complained, "Why is there only one tag?!"
What kind of emperor only had one tag!
A resentful voice drifted in from outside: "How many tags does Your Majesty want?"
The palace maid covered her mouth to hide a smile and quickly retreated.
Ji Zhaoxi wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled him. "I'm not flipping any tags. I'm so tired and I just want to sleep."
Xiao Yanchen's heart softened, and he kissed her on the cheek.
He naturally pulled back the blanket, lay down on his side, and pulled her directly into his arms. Stroking her hair rhythmically, he spoke softly.
"In the southern border, there is an old mansion. Every full moon night, the person painted on the folding screen would walk into the stables to feed the horses. The surrounding villagers all said it was haunted. Then, the renowned capital detective Xiao Xizi went to investigate, only to find a mechanism hidden inside the screen..."
Ji Zhaoxi listened drowsily, occasionally murmuring a rebuttal: "No, no... they definitely added medicine to the ink..."
Xiao Yanchen went along with her words and said softly, "Yes, Detective Xiao Xizi later had someone raid the ink shop..."
As the story drew to a close, Ji Zhaoxi's breathing evened out. She had completely fallen asleep, but her hand still subconsciously gripped Xiao Yanchen's clothes.
When Ji Zhaoxi first started learning how to solve cases, she only had a tiny bit of confidence. To boost her confidence, she made Xiao Yanchen change the names of all the protagonists in those detective stories to her name.
Master Detective Li, Master Detective Lin, they were all changed to Detective Xiao Xizi.
From then on, the only detective name that existed in Xiao Yanchen's mouth was Xiao Xizi.
Ji Zhaoxi managed to wake up at three in the morning every day for a month, and after that, she absolutely refused to get up.
The first time she skipped morning court, she claimed her stomach hurt. The next day, no matter how much the others called her, she pretended not to hear.
She couldn't get up in the morning, but by noon, she ran off to the Supreme Court.
The Deputy Minister of the Supreme Court was startled by her, but also very proud. Even the emperor couldn't bear to leave his Supreme Court behind.
Matron Song's expression remained calm, though her form of address changed from "you" to the respectful "Your Majesty."
Those old civil officials were extremely dissatisfied with Ji Zhaoxi at first, constantly citing how her actions went against etiquette and law, but eventually, they gave up.
One fearless old official finally waited until Ji Zhaoxi attended court and began worrying about Ji Zhaoxi's lifelong affairs, suggesting she take in an imperial consort and recommending many talented young men to her.
The old official spoke tremblingly, "The second son of the Vice Minister of Rites is stunningly handsome and has a gentle temperament. He will surely be considerate of Your Majesty."
Ji Zhaoxi sipped her tea, secretly peeking at the portraits attached to the memorial.
Xiao Yanchen sneered, "If the emperor encounters an assassin, would she have to save him instead?"
The old official glanced at Xiao Yanchen, his heart full of disapproval. Such jealousy!
Xiao Yanchen flipped through the portraits, his expression growing uglier by the second. "And this Young Master Li, his gaze is unfocused. One look and you can tell he constantly frequents the red-light districts."
The others silently distanced themselves. This old fool had chosen the wrong side three times, and now he was so blind as to try and select an imperial consort for the emperor.
Stared down by Xiao Yanchen, the official broke into a cold sweat and never dared to bring the matter up again.
After ascending the throne, Ji Zhaoxi had been constantly overturning murder cases hidden beneath corruption. She even established a Royal Review Jury responsible for trying major cases, as she was most interested in that area.
Within just three years, the domestic crime rate plummeted. Perhaps because of what she learned at the Supreme Court, her governing style was quite hardcore.
She also forcibly pushed through new laws, breaking the convention that women could not own property and stipulating that women had the right to be independent heads of households.
Every day, Ji Zhaoxi studied with the group from the Hanlin Academy, sighing as she learned. She really wanted to go solve cases.
Previously, she had also dismissed those bureaucrats who were just coasting along in the Ministry of Revenue and found experts dedicated to studying water conservancy. These people improved the rice seeds, allowing the granaries to double their reserves in just two years.
