Chapter 1

Chapter 1

At three o’clock, the eunuchs outside my door began calling me to wake up.

“Your Majesty, it is time.”

Annoying. Just hearing that voice annoyed me.

“Your Majesty, it is time.”

I had not slept enough.

“Your Majesty, it is time.”

After the third call, I sprang upright. Three calls meant I had to get up; that reflex had been carved into my bones.

Hearing movement inside, the eunuchs and palace maids filed in to help me wash up and dress.

After that, I was supposed to go to Yongshou Palace to pay my morning respects to Imperial Mother.

Why so early?

I did it on purpose.

Technically, I could pay my respects after morning court.

But ever since Imperial Mother shoved me onto the throne, I had not been happy.

And since I could not say anything about it, I could only drag Imperial Mother into waking up early with me to vent the resentment in my heart.

I did not want to be emperor in the slightest.

I was the Late Emperor’s sixth son. I had five elder brothers ahead of me.

I thought, since my brothers were all so strong and sturdy, surely the throne would never fall to me.

So when I was young, I set my heart on becoming an idle prince who wandered mountains and rivers to his heart’s content.

Who would have thought that being sturdy and dying young were not mutually exclusive?

Eldest Brother unfortunately died of illness.

Second Elder Brother was struck dead by lightning.

Third Elder Brother choked to death while eating.

Fourth Elder Brother drowned.

Fifth Elder Brother stayed up too late and died suddenly.

In short, whoever became crown prince died.

After Fifth Elder Brother died, the Late Emperor no longer dared to appoint another crown prince and prepared to pass down the throne directly instead.

They always say succession should favor the legitimate heir first and the eldest second.

Seventh Younger Brother and I were the same age, only two hours apart, but Seventh Younger Brother was born to Imperial Mother. No matter how one looked at it, Seventh Younger Brother should have been the one to inherit the throne.

But after Imperial Mother saw how the Late Emperor had toiled his entire life, and then watched one crown prince after another die, she suddenly achieved enlightenment and decided that life was more important than the throne.

So she forced me onto it.

“This son kneels and wishes the Empress Dowager peace and good health.”

Hearing my greeting, Imperial Mother struggled to open her eyes and responded with a sound of acknowledgment.

Then came the usual exchange of polite concern, displaying the profound affection between mother and son to the fullest.

At last, Imperial Mother was so sleepy she could barely hold on. Only after she urged me three times did I rise and prepare to go to morning lessons.

Before leaving, I even thoughtfully reminded Imperial Mother,

“This son will come pay respects again tonight.”

Seeing Imperial Mother, like me, not daring to be angry or say anything, filled me with immense pleasure.

After leaving Yongshou Palace, I did not take a sedan chair. Instead, I walked to Yangxin Hall.

Was it because I loved taking walks?

No.

I simply did not want to go to morning lessons that early.

Ever since I turned six, excluding my birthday, New Year’s Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Lantern Festival, I had to attend morning lessons at six o’clock every single day.

One year on my birthday, the Late Emperor asked me what birthday gift I wanted.

I said I wanted one extra day off.

After that, my wish became to hurry up and turn fifteen, so I could move out of the imperial palace and establish my own residence.

By then, no one would be able to control me, and I could skip lessons as recklessly as I pleased.

Morning lessons consisted of studying the Four Books and Five Classics, histories, sacred instructions, policy questions, Tang poetry, calligraphy and painting, and the Classic of Filial Piety in rotation.

After that, under the supervision of the Imperial Tutors, I still had to recite two passages from the Book of Documents, three from Mencius, one from the Great Learning, and write sixteen characters.

When I was a child, I could not understand it. It was not as if I had to inherit the throne. Wouldn’t it be enough for Crown Prince Elder Brother to study alone?

I only wanted to be an idle prince.

What kind of idle prince studied bitterly every single day?

But after watching my elder brothers die one after another, I understood.

In the future, all of my imperial children will start morning lessons at five o’clock every day from the age of five.