Chapter 118
Not only was Xiao Chuchu stunned, but even Cheng Qian didn't expect it.
[What the hell, my brother cut off the Emperor Dad's beard.]
[So, this task has a reward, but the reward goes to my brother.]
Cheng Qian turned red upon hearing this.
[In addition to Jiu Xiao with 99 combat power, there are 107 other elite characters waiting to be collected.]
Xiao Chuchu clenched her fists excitedly, [Go for it, my brother!]
Cheng Qian took a breath, the road ahead was long, but as long as he didn't give up, there was hope.
He couldn't help but look at Jiu Xiao kneeling before him.
"Little Jiu, get up."
"From now on in the study room, you'll join us in studying."
Xiao Luzi: "!"
He felt a sense of crisis, what was going on?
"I'll practice martial arts at the training ground twice a day, and if you want to study more, you can come along."
Xiao Luzi howled warily, "Prince, you have me and that's enough!"
Jiu Xiao glanced at his incompetent body and mind.
Xiao Luzi felt a chill down his spine, "Huh? Why is it a bit cold today?"
Cheng Qian: "...Alright, Xiao Luzi, Jiu Xiao is new here, you need to take care of him. If you both perform well, I'll remember it."
"..." Xiao Luzi was speechless.
What's this, he's no longer Prince Cheng Qian's most beloved Xiao Luzi!
The sense of crisis immediately surrounded him.
Cheng Qian also glanced at Jiu Xiao, "You two get along well, don't argue, and don't... fight."
[Hahaha, Xiao Luzi has a combat power of 49, hahaha.]
[He can't fight at all~ Jiu Xiao could twist his head off, I'm dying of laughter.]
Xiao Chuchu was now relaxed, laughing heartily.
Liu Wenchang, the Imperial Tutor, also breathed a sigh of relief.
After confirming the completion of the reformation task, he felt refreshed and looked favorably upon all the officials.
"Old Liu, it's thanks to you and Concubine Liu."
Xiao Yunzhou did not forget the contributions of Liu Wenchang and Concubine Liu.
If it weren't for the investigation of palace maids, he might never have found the key to resolving the assassin's resentment.
Who could have thought that the other party wanted to leave him, the Emperor, and go to the next generation of the Jing Country's royal family to start anew.
"By the way, I've approved the decompression and counseling proposal you submitted, as well as the anonymous channel for officials to speak freely and make recommendations."
"Emotional counseling is essential." Xiao Yunzhou realized its importance after the assassin incident.
It's better to vent than to bottle up, just like a river.
Allowing everyone to speak freely will bring lasting peace to the world.
"I've already arranged for the Imperial Music and Dance Office to stage plays monthly for the palace staff and civil and military officials to watch regularly."
"I've also asked the physicians at the Imperial Medical Office to research ways to help people vent their emotional issues."
Xiao Yunzhou pondered, asking Liu Wenchang to discuss with the Ministry of Personnel and submit a detailed proposal later.
"The New Year's Eve break is coming up, you all can think about it at home."
From the first to the fifteenth, all civil and military officials will be on break, and the Emperor will mostly not work in the palace either.
In the midst of firecrackers and lanterns, Jing Country welcomes the new year.
After ancestral ceremonies, Xiao Yunzhou personally wrote many "Fu" (blessing) characters and gifted them to officials who had contributed and princes, consorts, and concubines that year.
Even the Empress Dowager received a couplet personally written by him this year, as he was especially filial.
On the Lantern Festival, the capital was adorned with lanterns and decorations.
While many citizens reunited, they also reflected on the big and small events in their families that year.
"Our money house earned three hundred copper coins this year, and with that unexpected money, I bought some pig offal to stir-fry and eat."
"Hey, our money house also earned four hundred..."
"I'm thinking, I don't know when, but once we save up a tael, we'll go to the restaurant and eat roast duck!"
"The new piglets are really hardy, no wonder they're raised by the Emperor's former prime minister tutor."
On the morning of the Lantern Festival, Xiao Yunzhou secretly wandered outside the palace walls to eavesdrop on people praising him.
At the palace banquet that night, he couldn't help but drink a few more cups, his face flushed red, "Gentlemen, in the coming year, I'll work together with you all to create a prosperous and flourishing era, and bring more peace and joy to the people!"
The civil and military officials all stood up and toasted him.
Xiao Yunzhou drank heartily, but for a moment his eyes caught sight of the Empress Dowager closest to the imperial throne.
His heart skipped a beat, although the reformation was complete, but seeing the Empress Dowager indeed closest to him, the Emperor, on the Lantern Festival palace banquet, everything was as his daughter had said, and he still couldn't help but twitch his eyelid.
Then, turning his head, Xiao Yunzhou looked towards the princes' seats and saw a thin figure standing between the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince.
"!"
Xiao Yunzhou's wine cup shook.
[Oh my god, everything is following the novel's plot.]
Xiao Chuchu was also observing the scene from her nursemaid's embrace.
[But now it has all changed, the assassin Jiu Xiao has become a member of Jing Country's elite collection roster.]
Xiao Yunzhou: "!"
Elite collection roster?
This was the first time he had heard of this.
[There will be no more assassination attempts on the Lantern Festival.]
[Hehe,] Xiao Chuchu was truly happy, [tough luck for the Elder of Earth and Moon Sect waiting for news at the teahouse on the second floor of the west gate of the palace today.]
Xiao Yunzhou stared wide-eyed.
[Woo, it's a pity I can't speak, otherwise I would have told the Emperor Dad or my brother.]
Xiao Yunzhou slammed down his wine cup abruptly.
He beckoned to the Minister of War.
"On this Lantern Festival, I must also protect the peace and joy of the people."
"Dispatch patrols, especially..."
Xiao Yunzhou lowered his voice, and even Xiao Chuchu could not make out the rest of his words.