The restoration of the Princess Mansion will take some time, so Princess Hongnong still needs to stay at the Fu Mansion recently.

The Little Emperor is very close to Princess Hongnong, so he keeps her for a meal. After eating, Princess Hongnong finds an opportunity to dismiss the servants around, so she can speak quietly with the Little Emperor.

"I see the palace eunuchs are quite obedient. Is Your Majesty free?"

The Little Emperor nodded and said, "The Great General is a bit strict, but he teaches me about state affairs. The palace eunuchs are very obedient."

Princess Hongnong bowed her head in apology, "I beg Your Majesty to forgive my offense."

The Little Emperor was puzzled, "What offense does the Imperial Sister have?"

"What is Your Majesty’s daily schedule?"

This is probing into the Emperor’s whereabouts, indeed an offense.

But the Little Emperor knows Princess Hongnong cares about him, so he doesn’t mind and starts to speak carefully about what he does every day, with a tone inevitably carrying some complaints.

No matter how mature he is, he is still a youth.

What youth likes to study, practice martial arts, read various political reports, and give opinions on handling them?

He doesn’t even have time for fun, and his sleep time has been compressed. The Little Emperor now feels nauseated when he sees reports and feels sleepy when attending court.

But everyone says Zhao Hanzhang is doing this for his own good, and as long as he does well, he can govern personally in the future.

But the Little Emperor has seen too much change in power and thinks that even if Zhao Hanzhang doesn’t intend to seize power now, she will change in the future.

Who can refuse the beauty that power brings?

Even lazy as he is, sometimes he thinks it would be great if he could be a true Emperor. Then, if he didn’t want to attend court, he wouldn’t have to, and if he didn’t want to review reports, he wouldn’t have to. Who could force him?

Princess Hongnong listened and was a bit surprised, not expecting Zhao Hanzhang to teach the Emperor so earnestly, which was beyond her expectations.

Hearing the Little Emperor’s complaints, Princess Hongnong furrowed her brows and said to him, "The Great General is earnest in teaching Your Majesty; Your Majesty should study diligently. When you govern personally in the future, the entire Great Jin will rely on Your Majesty to rule. The world has been in chaos for many years, and the people have long hoped for stability. Please do not disappoint them."

The Little Emperor, hearing this familiar advice, felt stifled. He suppressed the anger in his chest and turned his head aside. Everyone tells him to study well with Zhao Hanzhang.

But they never thought, would he still be able to live if he truly learned?

Furthermore, do they really think those things are so easy to learn?

He’s not a genius, having to listen to so many lessons daily and attend court discussions. How could he possibly remember all of it?

The atmosphere suddenly grew a bit stagnant.

Princess Hongnong didn’t have much memory of this young cousin, let alone the Little Emperor’s impression of her. The relationship between them depended entirely on blood ties and Princess Hongnong’s contributions to the Great Jin.

But these feelings, neither deep nor shallow, depend on how the individuals perceive them.

And at the Little Emperor’s age, he easily harbors rebellious feelings and doesn’t value kinship so much.

If it weren’t for Zhao Hanzhang speaking earnestly to him last night about Princess Hongnong’s contributions to the Great Jin and her difficult life over the years, he wouldn’t spend so much time visiting her.

Princess Hongnong is not foolish and naturally sees the Little Emperor’s indifference. She doesn’t advise further but rises softly, "The hour is late; Your Majesty might have lessons to tend to, so I shall take my leave."

The Little Emperor politely said, "I cannot leave the palace, so Imperial Sister, please visit me often."

Princess Hongnong agreed, promising that she would frequently visit the Emperor.

In truth, even if he didn’t invite, she would often visit the palace. Her glory in Luoyang comes half from Fu Tinghan and the other half from her Imperial identity.

Princess Hongnong bowed her head and left.

She leaned on Ren Hui’s hand and slowly headed towards the palace gate. The Imperial City was very quiet, except for the occasional patrol by the imperial guard.

But out of the Imperial City, it was different. The Imperial City was lively.

Zhao Hanzhang has set the central offices in the Imperial City. Except for some of her political affairs handled at the Zhao Mansion, the rest, including the central and local operations, take place here in the Imperial City.

Therefore, there are officials and clerks coming and going. When Princess Hongnong arrived this morning, everyone was nested in offices, but now, around 1:00 PM, is when officials are having meals and delivering documents, making the place lively with activity.

Princess Hongnong paused as she saw the stark difference in atmosphere inside and out.

Ren Hui also sighed and said, "It was rare to see the Imperial City so lively during the time of the last emperor."

Naturally, the last emperor referred to was Princess Hongnong’s father, Emperor Hui.

Princess Hongnong coldly said, "Liveliness is good. It shows the ministers are working. When Father was in power, the Imperial City was too quiet, and the palace too lively."

Ren Hui didn’t dare to make a sound.

Princess Hongnong didn’t need her to speak, lowered her eyes in thought, and then said, "Let’s go back and send a post to pay a visit to the Zhao Family."

Ren Hui breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, "We should indeed see the in-laws. The wedding date of the gentleman and the Great General is approaching."

Princess Hongnong said, "Previously, I misunderstood. She is not an ordinary woman, and naturally will not be an ordinary daughter-in-law. This marriage is not just between the Fu and Zhao families but also the Sima family and the Zhao Family."

"Since it’s a union among the three families, involving the Imperial Family, the Zhao Family, and the Fu Family, it needs to be clearly discussed."

Ren Hui felt tense and stuttered, "Discuss, discuss what exactly?"

Princess Hongnong said, "Of course, it’s about national stakes. Now that she sincerely teaches Your Majesty, I just hope she can, in the future, sincerely return governance to Your Majesty."

As long as the foundation does not change, it’s okay to temporarily overstep, although it’s a grievance for Ting Han.

Ren Hui felt anxious and sensed that Princess Hongnong was referring to a significant matter.

Princess Hongnong hurried back to the Fu Mansion, personally wrote a visiting post, sent it to the Zhao Mansion, and then asked, "Where is the gentleman?"

The servant reported, "The gentleman is out of the residence for business, saying it’s busy with year-end affairs, and cannot spare time to stay at home for long. However, he sent his trusted aide, Personal Guard Captain Shi Hongtu, back, saying the princess can summon him if needed." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Princess Hongnong frowned; it’s almost time for the marriage, yet he’s still so busy?

Despite this, she called Shi Hongtu, and upon learning that he is now a fifth-ranked General Yongyi, she felt puzzled but set aside her doubts for the moment and asked, "Where are my son’s account books and money?"

Shi Hongtu paused briefly, quickly said, "Minister Fu’s internal affairs are all managed by Fu An, the subordinate does not know."

Shi Hongtu paused again and said, "If the princess is missing anything, just tell the subordinate, I can help find it."

He knows, in fact, Fu Tinghan doesn’t have much personal property, his money is mostly mixed with Zhao Hanzhang’s, so expenditures mostly go through Zhao Hanzhang’s account.

As Fu Tinghan’s Personal Guard Captain, he also has the authority to disburse funds, though ultimately requires Fu Tinghan’s signature.

Princess Hongnong furrowed her brows, didn’t immediately say what she wanted, but rose and said, "Please, General Shi, go down for a while to rest."

Once he left, she immediately went to the backyard and found Fu Xuan who was deeply engrossed in books.