The Prodigal Son

The Imperial Palace.

Qin Yu was very upset.

It felt like he was sitting on needles, making him uncomfortable all over.

He had indeed read some military books, and having been exposed to them since childhood, he had some understanding of military tactics and formations.

Asking him to write a detailed manual would be a death sentence for him!

This is a drill manual!

From major daily training matters to minor details like how to dig a latrine, everything falls under the scope of the training manual!

If he could write this down, people in later generations would probably have to call him "Master Qin".

There was also the matter of appointing officials in Min.

Make the best use of everyone's talents, ensure mutual checks and balances, and prevent any one entity from becoming dominant!

It sounds simple, but it's really hard to do!

The key is that you also have to write down the reasons why you chose this person for this position!

This is clearly a task that belongs to the entire Ministry of Personnel, but the female demon dumped it all on me!

Even though Qin Yu patiently did things he wasn't good at, it was getting dark outside and he hadn't even finished one-tenth of the work.

Qin Yu became increasingly irritated and slammed the brush on the table.

"Let whoever wants to do it do it! I'm not putting up with it anymore!"

Qin Yu was furious and simply lay down and gave up.

Screw him!

Just consider it as being held captive by the female demon!

With that in mind, Qin Yu simply closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Before long, he heard light footsteps.

Qin Yu heard footsteps, but did not open his eyes.

The Empress Dowager walked in and was slightly taken aback when she saw Qin Yu lying on the ground.

The maidservant beside the Empress Dowager was about to step forward to wake Qin Yu, but the Empress Dowager raised her hand to stop her.

The Empress Dowager slowly walked to the table and picked up what Qin Yu had written to read.

Looking at the manual written by Qin Yu, the Empress Dowager nodded in approval.

Although she didn't understand how to lead troops into battle, she could still see the ingenuity of the strange and unusual training methods Qin Yu had written down.

However, when the Empress Dowager picked up the list of officials appointed in Min County written by Qin Yu and the reasons he gave, she kept shaking her head.

This stuff is utterly nonsensical!

Mutual checks and balances do not mean letting them undermine each other!

With his arrangement, these people will be fighting amongst themselves all day long, and they won't have the mind to govern the area.

However, although Qin Yu's writing was utter nonsense, the Empress Dowager's smile was exceptionally bright.

It's better if it's utter nonsense!

This shows that Qin Yu completely misunderstands politics!

He was skilled in both literature and martial arts, had no desire for power, and knew nothing about politics!

This is simply the best son-in-law that God has chosen for Him!

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager was even more pleased, and at the same time coughed lightly, "Ahem..."

Judging from the cough alone, Qin Yu couldn't tell that it was the Empress Dowager's voice.

But he also noticed that the cough sounded somewhat different.

So, taking advantage of the opportunity to turn over, he secretly opened a slit in his eyes.

Holy crap?

Upon seeing this, Qin Yu almost performed a "resurrection" act for the Empress Dowager.

Empress Dowager?

How could it be her?

What is she doing here?

Qin Yu's mind raced, and he yawned, "groggily" opening his eyes. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at the Empress Dowager.

The next moment, Qin Yu suddenly stopped.

After a moment of stunned silence, Qin Yu quickly got up. "Your humble servant Qin Yu greets the Empress Dowager! I had just fallen asleep and neglected Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

"fine."

The Empress Dowager smiled kindly, "I was just about to go see His Majesty when I heard that after His Majesty stripped you of your title and dismissed you from your post, you were asked to handle some business here, so I came to visit you on the way."

"oh oh."

Qin Yu smiled ingratiatingly and asked, feigning seriousness, "How long has the Empress Dowager been here?"

"I just arrived recently."

The Empress Dowager smiled and pointed to the items on the table. "Did you write all of these?"

"Um."

Qin Yu smiled apologetically, "After the court session, His Majesty assigned me to write these things. But I'm really not good at this kind of thing. I racked my brains for a long time, and my head was spinning. Plus, I just came back from Yuyang and I'm exhausted. I really couldn't take it anymore, so I thought I'd lie down and rest for a while, but I ended up falling asleep without realizing it..."

Listening to Qin Yu complain to her, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

He's laid the groundwork pretty well.

As expected, his next step will be to ask me to plead for him, begging Luan'er to let him go and stop him from doing these things.

"That girl Luan'er is really something, how can she use people like that?"

The Empress Dowager looked at Qin Yu with "heartache," saying, "You've been fighting for months, and then you rushed back after a long journey, and I didn't even let you rest properly. I just kept putting you through this..."

Hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Qin Yu was almost moved to tears. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's status, he would have wanted to hug her and kiss her.

He genuinely wanted to bring Zhao Luan over and let her hear what he had to say.

That's what a human being would say!

How can there be such a huge difference in the character of a mother and daughter?

Qin Yu mentally complained, then sighed and said, "This humble subject is not afraid of being tired, but these things are indeed not my forte."

"Yes, I can see that too."

The Empress Dowager nodded and smiled. "By the way, don't you still owe me a debt?"

what?

Qin Yu was slightly taken aback.

Owes a debt? When did I ever owe the Empress Dowager a debt?

Isn't it always the other person who owes you a debt?

Qin Yu thought hard for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and immediately smiled ingratiatingly, "Your Majesty is referring to fireworks, isn't she?"

The Empress Dowager nodded and smiled, "I thought you'd forgotten!"

"How could I possibly forget the promise I made to the Empress Dowager?"

Qin Yu said, his face filled with helplessness, "It's just that I really didn't have the time or the money to make this before. Yesterday, I received His Majesty's reward, and I was thinking of making the fireworks before the New Year so that I could show them to the Empress Dowager and make her happy during the New Year! But His Majesty has arranged so many things for me, I really..."

As he continued speaking, Qin Yu sighed repeatedly.

The meaning couldn't be clearer.

"If you want me to plead for you, just say so. Why all this fuss?"

The Empress Dowager chuckled and glared at Qin Yu, then asked with some anticipation, "Today is already the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month, and there are only a few days left until the New Year. Can you really finish making the fireworks before the New Year?"

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Qin Yu immediately perked up and vowed, "As long as I return to do this now, I will definitely have the fireworks made before the New Year! If I fail to do so, I will accept any punishment from the Empress Dowager!"

The Empress Dowager smiled, waved her hand gently, and said, "Alright! Then you should hurry back and take care of this matter now!"

"real?"

Qin Yu almost jumped up with excitement, and tentatively asked, "What about His Majesty...?"

"I will speak to His Majesty on his behalf."

The Empress Dowager smiled casually, "Go back in peace! It was I who let you go, how could His Majesty punish you?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! This humble subject takes his leave!"

Qin Yu was overjoyed and quickly made his escape, fearing that the Empress Dowager might change her mind.

At that moment, the Empress Dowager was simply his angel!

Just for this reason alone, we should make more fireworks to show the Empress Dowager!

Seeing Qin Yu leave in such a hurry, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but smile.

Ever since she had that thought, she's been looking at Qin Yu like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law—the more she looks at him, the more pleasing he becomes…