Chapter 4 [Higher Difficulty]

5:30 am.

above the hall.

Many ministers secretly covered their faces with their long sleeves and took the opportunity to yawn.

The same is true for Li Chengqian.

The morning court is boring and uninteresting, making people very sleepy.

Perhaps, many people know that early morning court sessions were required in feudal society, but they are not very clear about the specific time.

In ancient times, the time and frequency of morning court sessions varied from dynasty to dynasty.

The time for court sessions is usually early in the morning, and the specific time varies depending on the specific circumstances.

However, most of the time, the morning court session takes place around dawn or daybreak, which is around five in the morning.

6:00 in spring and winter, 5:30 in summer and autumn.

Civil and military officials above the ninth rank were required to attend court on the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month, while officials above the fifth rank and some special officials were required to attend court every day.

As for the frequency of attending court, different dynasties had different regulations.

During the reign of the previous emperor of Qing State, a system of daily court attendance was established.

Now, with Emperor Qing ascending the throne, the court session has been changed to once every three days.

Of course, if there are special circumstances or emergencies, the court time will be adjusted.

In order to attend court on time, officials needed to get up in the early morning (4:00), and sometimes even in the middle of the night (2:00-3:00), and travel across half of the capital to the palace.

They would wait outside the palace gate until it opened and then enter to prepare for court.

As for the time of leaving the morning court, it is usually at Chenshi, which is between 7 and 9 in the morning.

This morning, Li Chengqian was still asleep, holding Zhou Gong's daughter and studying her physiological structure, but he was awakened for no reason.

Chunchan saw that he had not gotten up for a long time and it was almost time for the morning court, so she had to wake him up.

In the hall, Li Chengqian yawned three times in succession, sleepiness sweeping over his whole body.

On the other hand, the second prince was much more sober, probably because he was used to it.

Moreover, he has always been good at disguising himself in front of others, being kind to others, being relaxed with himself, and pretending to be free and easy.

"Your Majesty, this year there is a severe drought in many places. The people have no harvest and their lives are miserable. Now there are refugees everywhere, and many are pouring into the capital."

This is the special event of today's morning court session.

The Kingdom of Qing is a great country in the world, and it has its own corresponding procedures for dealing with such natural disasters.

The Ministry of Revenue allocated funds, and officials from all sectors performed their respective duties, provided relief to the victims, and settled the country.

But the situation this year is different.

The drought-stricken area covers not just one state or one city, but most of the Qing Kingdom.

Therefore, the Ministry of Revenue has appeared to be struggling.

Now, a large number of disaster victims are pouring into the capital, and the situation is becoming more serious.

The top priority now is to calm the people as quickly as possible to avoid unrest.

For a time, civil and military officials in the court expressed their opinions one after another.

However, someone must take the lead in disaster relief.

The most suitable candidate is naturally one of the crown prince and the second prince.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to help the victims and appease the people!"

The second prince spoke first and wanted to take charge of the matter.

Looking at Li Chengqian again, he had no reaction, but yawned.

Seeing this situation, all the civil and military officials in the court became increasingly disappointed with the Crown Prince.

The second prince, on the other hand, remained calm, composed, daring, responsible, and had the demeanor of an emperor.

At this moment, sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Qing glanced at the Second Prince who was kneeling on the ground to ask for orders. Out of the corner of his eye, he just happened to catch a glimpse of Li Chengqian yawning.

After weighing the matter for a moment, he agreed to the second prince's request.

"Is the Crown Prince in a bad mood today?" Emperor Qing suddenly asked.

For some reason, he keenly discovered that Li Chengqian today seemed a little different from before.

But when I think about it carefully, I can’t put it into words.

"Your Majesty, I was discussing the truth of life with my aunt last night, so I went to bed late."

It was no secret that Li Yunrui had been to the East Palace yesterday and stayed there for a long time.

Therefore, there is no need to cover up too much, otherwise it will appear deliberate and arouse suspicion.

Emperor Qing nodded and did not ask any more questions. "You should also pay more attention to the disaster relief and help the second brother a little." Emperor Qing said.

What he meant was that he wanted to see who did better, the Crown Prince or the Second Prince.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian agreed neither humbly nor arrogantly.

The morning court ended and all civil and military officials left.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your courtesy!" Outside the hall, the Second Prince smiled at Li Chengqian.

This is a good job.

Not only can you gain benefits, but you can also win the hearts of the people, killing two birds with one stone.

If it were in the past, the two of them might have fought for power in the court.

But today, Li Chengqian said nothing and allowed him to obtain the right to provide disaster relief without any effort.

The second prince felt a little surprised.

In the entire imperial city, no one knows the Crown Prince better than him.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "You're welcome. Since we are doing this for the country and the people, it doesn't matter whether we do it or not."

The cool breeze in the early morning ruffled a strand of hair on the second prince's forehead.

He looked at the prince in astonishment, seriously suspecting that he was hallucinating.

He had no way to refute this.

But, if you say so, how about giving me the position of Crown Prince...

He vaguely felt that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seemed to have become different.

This change came so unexpectedly that the second prince felt somewhat uneasy.

"Xie Bian, do you think the prince is acting strangely today?" The second prince shook the hair on his forehead and looked at Li Chengqian's back.

Her walking posture was much more steady than before, and less artificially dignified.

The second prince was pondering this carefully in his mind.

In his impression, the prince always acted dignified and serious no matter what he did.

But today...

"His heart beats slower than before." Xie Bian said coldly, holding the sword in his arms.

Second Prince: "What do you mean?"

"He can live longer than before." Xie Bian said concisely.

It is not surprising that a ninth-rank master can hear other people's heartbeats.

The second prince disagreed. If he succeeded in ascending the throne in the future, he would ensure that the prince would not live past three o'clock in the morning.

“Your Majesty’s intention today is to use the disaster relief to test the talents and abilities of the prince and I.

But now, since I am in charge of this matter, the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue will naturally be handed over to me, and the credit will all be in my hands.

I want to see how he can provide disaster relief when he has no money..."

Li Chengqian had just returned to the East Palace when he saw Li Yunrui already waiting there.

She has a charming figure, plump and sexy, with her collar half open, revealing her cleavage.

Without waiting for him to speak, Li Yunrui spoke first:
"Why don't you fight for disaster relief, Prince?
This is a great opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the people.”

As Li Yunrui spoke, he walked towards him. The unique scent from his body immediately hit his face, bringing with it a hint of warmth.

Li Chengqian looked her up and down, then called out, "Aunt, I have my own arrangements for this matter."

Li Yunrui pondered for a moment. The word "Aunt" seemed to have another meaning at this moment.

Moreover, after last night, the Li Chengqian she knew seemed to be different from before.

In the past, Li Chengqian always listened to her words seriously and never refuted them.

And today...

This was the first time Li Chengqian spoke to her in this tone.

It seems that I must make him see clearly that without my support, his position in the Eastern Palace will be in jeopardy.

Thinking of this, Li Yunrui snorted coldly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has finally grown up and has his own opinions. Very good, very good."

Having said this, he turned and left.

She was in charge of the inner treasury and controlled most of the wealth in the world.

Now, without her support, Li Yunrui wants to see how Li Chengqian will get the money for disaster relief!

Li Yunrui felt gloomy in his heart.

(End of this chapter)