Usually, writing letters to people isn’t a big deal, but if the other party gathers all those letters together in one place… that really causes an indescribable awkwardness and shame.

Wei Yu was exactly like that.

He was thin-skinned. His dad’s move both made him feel very embarrassed and gave him a sense of reliving being a primary school student whose homework was being corrected by the teacher.

Those places marked in red ink—tsk, just looking at them made one scared.

The old man wouldn’t make him rewrite all the homework, would he?

Following his dad’s instructions, Wei Yu opened the box and looked at the letters one by one, baring his teeth. The more he looked, the worse things seemed.

These one or two characters circled, what do they mean? Are they saying his handwriting looks bad?

And these lines under one or two lines of text, is there something wrong? He thought it read pretty smoothly, nothing wrong at all!

It must be his dad who has a problem.

Wei Yu glanced sideways at Emperor Wei and, trembling with the letters in his hand, asked, “Dad, you want me to look at these, what do you mean?”

Emperor Wei didn’t even look up and said, “Look at the characters you wrote. They’re unbearable to see. Don’t say you’re my son—being a prince and not even able to write properly.”

Wei Yu glared, brows raised, scanning the letters from top to bottom, then firmly retorted,

“That’s not true. My characters have edges and corners, with the spirit of braving frost and snow, standing proudly like cold plum blossoms! If you think they’re bad, that’s because you’re comparing them with your own handwriting. Your handwriting? How could it be compared to ordinary people’s? You are like a towering mountain, and I am just…”

“Shut up. Stop flattering yourself!”

Emperor Wei looked up with displeasure, glanced at him disdainfully, and threw a memorial booklet to him. “Look at the calligraphy of the top scholar. Look at their handwriting, that’s real spirit.”

Wei Yu refused, “I won’t look. That’s against the rules.”

Emperor Wei chuckled directly, “You still care about rules? Have you ever been good at following rules? If I tell you to look, then look. Don’t try to act cute in front of me. Whether you like it or not, you have to practice your writing today!”

Wei Yu: !!

This is inhuman!

The old man really is being inhuman!

Practicing calligraphy is not something that can be done overnight.

Wei Yu didn’t want to practice under his father’s watch, because it was hard to slack off. So he often acted cute and promised to practice seriously after returning home.

But Emperor Wei wouldn’t listen.

He knew his son’s nature very well—this lazy kid was hopeless. Sending him home to practice calligraphy was just like letting a tiger loose, pure nonsense.

So every day after court sessions, Emperor Wei would summon him to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and keep an eye on him, making sure Wei Yu practiced writing well.

Emperor Wei was satisfied with this arrangement, but Wei Yu’s dark circles under his eyes grew darker day by day.

He was never a person who liked to sleep early.

For over ten years, he played on his tablet until eleven or twelve at night, always goofing off. Now that he had a job, fine, but after work he still couldn’t rest! He had to be watched practicing calligraphy?!

Is this something a human being could do?!

Wei Yu couldn’t take it anymore.

He felt he couldn’t continue living like this and wanted to have a serious talk with his dad.

In a side hall, putting down his brush, Wei Yu stormed up to his dad, pointing at the dark circles under his eyes and sincerely asked,

“Look at these bruises under my eyes, don’t they look like the little lifespan that has recently leaked out from your son?”

Emperor Wei, who was grading memorials: …

Emperor Wei was somewhat speechless, “What little lifespan? Stop talking nonsense!”

Wei Yu sighed deeply and flopped onto his dad’s desk, starting to act spoiled, “Dad, I really don’t want to practice calligraphy anymore~ I’m tired. I can’t sleep well every day. My hand even started trembling. Don’t you feel sorry for your son?”

Emperor Wei stared at Wei Yu for a few seconds.

Then he suddenly dropped his shoulders, lowered his head, and sighed in a rather sorrowful and pitiful manner.

“Little Nine, your father actually does feel sorry for you. But whenever I think you are my son, my most beloved youngest son, I feel I must train you to be the best. Ah, it’s just my wishful thinking.”

Wei Yu was stunned.

He stared blankly at his dad, really wanting to ask how the old man suddenly self-taught himself tea ceremony skills?

How was he supposed to act now?

Father-son acting together?

Who would be better??

Emperor Wei didn’t look up, picking up an ungraded memorial and getting ready to continue grading, “You don’t want to improve, I understand. When a person improves, problems multiply. Look at me, just turning around in this small palace all day. There’s always memorials piling up on my desk. Ah, your father is tired too.”

The old man’s words sounded like he was playing the victim, but the truth was undeniable.

Wei Yu stood up straight, glanced at the thick stacks of memorials on the desk, and couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for his dad.

“Dad, have you ever thought about finding someone to help you grade them?”

Emperor Wei asked back, “Find who?”

Wei Yu blinked, “You could have the Bureau of Ceremonial supervise and filter the memorials first, sorting them into categories: official affairs, greetings, thanks, and congratulations. Except for the official affairs, the less important memorials can be handed to others to grade.”

Emperor Wei looked at him oddly, “You’re quite good at delegating.”

Wei Yu smiled dryly, “Not really.”

Emperor Wei smiled, pointed at the piles of memorials, and said to Wei Yu, “These memorials have already been approved by the Bureau of Ceremonial before being presented. Long ago, some ancestors didn’t like grading memorials themselves and delegated some approval authority to the Bureau…”

Wei Yu’s brow twitched. Why did this scene feel strangely familiar?

Which history book was that from again?

Emperor Wei sighed, “This way of handing over state power to others can’t last. Back then, the Bureau of Ceremonial had too much power. Some eunuchs abused it for private gain, causing local affairs to be neglected, leading to chaos in the country. Fortunately, later ancestors realized this and took back the power from the Bureau.”

Wei Yu nodded, “So you’re afraid of repeating the same mistake and would rather tire yourself out than give power to others?”

Tsk.

Emperor Wei frowned.

Why did this unfilial son sound so off?

Emperor Wei snorted coldly, “I am the emperor. The whole world belongs to me. Even if I die from exhaustion, I won’t let others take it!”

Half an hour later.

Beside Emperor Wei’s desk, a small side table appeared.

Wei Yu sat behind it, legs crossed, holding a pastry in one hand and a brush in the other, writing on the memorials.

Emperor Wei quietly peeked in.

Hmm… not bad. Although the kid’s handwriting isn’t pretty, the words “Read” (已阅) are written quite like his own.

Not bad, today he can save quite a bit of time.

The memorials Wei Yu was reading were mostly greetings and thanks, containing no important content, basically just asking “Is Your Majesty in good health?” and “Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace.”

Honestly, even though the main idea was just that, after reading the long texts, Wei Yu had immense admiration for the literary skills of the various officials.

Pure fancy flattery!

Damn, luckily he’s not the emperor. Otherwise, reading so much meaningless rambling every day would probably blind him.