As the year drew to a close, various holidays approached.
Government offices had essentially come to a standstill.
Only staff on duty remained.
Everyone had lost interest in work.
They were all just waiting for the New Year.
However, Imperial Secretary Jiang continued his duties as diligently as ever.
He showed no change whatsoever after discovering that his birth mother was a princess.
On this day, Vice Minister Jiang entered the palace.
He was there to report on his work.
In fact, since taking office, he had only undertaken one task: organizing officials to memorize laws, regulations, and detailed rules.
Although there had been a small hiccup in the process, with Minister Lu suddenly retiring due to illness.
But work must have a beginning and an end.
He entered the palace again.
The Emperor's feelings towards Jiang Er were actually quite complex.
Before knowing the truth, it was fine; he thought Jiang Er had a friendly appearance and was exceptionally beautiful.
He had even joked with Wenxin, saying that Kan'er Village must have good feng shui to produce such beautiful people.
Wenxin's appearance was also extremely good.
Jiang Er's looks were even more outstanding.
But he never imagined that Jiang Er would turn out to be his own nephew.
The Emperor knew that Heir Apparent Han was not the princess's biological child. At that time, after Hui Yun gave birth, she suddenly fell seriously ill, often going mad, constantly mistaking people, her memory in disarray.
For the sake of Hui Yun's condition, the Imperial Son-in-law had adopted a child.
The Emperor was aware of this matter.
Moreover, he had always felt guilty towards Hui Yun.
By a twist of fate.
It had led to these consequences.
If it hadn't been for his hatred of Jingjue back then, and his falling out with Hui Yun, others wouldn't have had the opportunity to take advantage.
So Jiang Er's tragic life was partly the Emperor's fault.
The Emperor felt somewhat guilty.
Some people, when guilty of small mistakes, might think not of how to make amends, but of using a bigger mistake to cover it up. If the person they feel guilty towards dies, then they no longer need to feel guilty.
The Emperor's heart was very guilty towards Jiang Er at this moment.
But there was also an indescribable feeling.
When Jiang Changtian entered the palace again, he showed no different demeanor.
He remained the same as before.
This made the Emperor feel more at ease, yet also somewhat puzzled.
"I heard that after you met Madam Zhou, she committed suicide."
Some people make many mistakes, but once they die, it seems all debts are settled, making those still alive seem heartless. At this moment, the Emperor felt this way, wondering if Jiang Er was too cold. After all, no matter how wrong Madam Zhou was, she had raised him.
Jiang Changtian heard the Emperor's question.
He was silent for a moment before speaking: "Mother!~~Madam Zhou, when she last saw me, was very remorseful. She said she regretted her actions, but she felt that if she didn't die, she would implicate the Seventh Prince Consort, so she chose to end her life."
The Emperor patted his nephew's shoulder.
Then he saw Jiang Er raise his head again, tears in his eyes: "Mother said she was wrong, so in fact, I have already forgiven her."
After this emotional exchange between emperor and subject, Jiang Er continued as before, reporting on his work achievements.
He had implemented the task of memorizing laws, regulations, and detailed rules across all departments.
Each department had a list of three people to reward and three to punish, which he also handed to the Emperor, quite seriously.
To be honest, the Emperor had already forgotten about such a small matter.
He hadn't expected Jiang Er to still remember it, especially after discovering his identity as the princess's son.
The Emperor couldn't help but sigh; if nothing else, his nephew was extremely diligent in his work.
He couldn't help but praise him, even though the task he had assigned wasn't really useful, but the attitude was commendable.
He had taken every word of the Emperor's to heart, treating even a casual remark as a major task, seeing it through from beginning to end.
Jiang Changtian earnestly replied: "Your humble servant has had few opportunities since childhood, so I especially cherish every chance, developing a somewhat impatient nature. Although I know it's not good, I can't change it, always fearing that if I miss an opportunity, I'll never have another chance."
The Emperor: Guilt +1, Moral sense +1, Sympathy +1...
"But Your Majesty need not worry about your humble servant. I have always known that carrying yesterday's burden to chase tomorrow will exhaust one in the present. So yesterday's matters are already yesterday, past, and I no longer think about them. Tomorrow's matters are also only for tomorrow, not yet happened, so I don't think about them either. I only care about the present, doing well in the present, cherishing the people before me, living well the days at hand." (Note 1)
The Emperor had been somewhat unhappy about the downfall of his old companion Minister Lu, after all, no matter what, Lu was actually an obedient old dog.
Those people rushing up to tear at Minister Lu looked too ugly, like beating an old dog he had raised, it was very disrespectful to him, and he was quite displeased.
Fortunately, Old He handled things rather tactfully and fairly, without taking advantage of the situation, which made the Emperor feel a bit better.
And now Jiang Er's words finally made the Emperor let go.
What's past is past, no need to be unhappy.
Focus on the present is what matters.
So in the afternoon, the Emperor took Wenxin and Jiang Er to watch a play together.
Being able to sit with the Emperor in the theater to watch a play meant a special honor of intimacy.
Because at this time, the Emperor was least guarded, his mood was quite good, it meant you might have entered his inner circle.
On the stage, the martial actor performed energetically, the elderly female role sang earnestly, scene after scene, one after another.
In the viewing area, the Emperor watched attentively, occasionally tapping the table.
Eunuch Yan watched attentively, occasionally handing the Emperor a cup of water.
Jiang Er watched attentively, really attentively, very engrossed. He rarely had time to watch plays, he usually performed in plays himself, being on stage. So this is what the people on stage were like. Jiang Er watched very carefully, it was less watching a play and more observing, learning. Every movement, angle, speech - life is like a play, it all depends on acting skills. Today was another day of progress.
!!
...
...
(Note 1: "Carrying yesterday's burden to chase tomorrow will exhaust one in the present" is sourced from the internet, shared for mutual encouragement.)
