After County Magistrate Zhou was executed, it was a relief to everyone. Xie Jue began to reassign the governnt affairs of the prefectural office. The County Magistrate would certainly be appointed by the cabinet, and Du Fang could serve as the County Governor to assist the County Magistrate. Since he was soone Xie Jue had arranged himself, the County Magistrate would give him so respect and wouldn’t trouble him. As long as Du Fang could balance the lives of the Beiman and the local people, as long as there was no chaos, the people’s lives could easily stabilize.
Xie Jue worked until the third watch, past midnight, and he was still in the study looking at docunts. Fang Chuning ca in with a bowl of fernted rice wine. Xie Jue had little appetite for dinner and only had half a bowl of noodles. Although he was accustod to the northern noodles, he wasn’t particularly fond of them. Fang Chuning noticed this, knowing he’d been busy until late at night, and specifically made a bowl of the fernted rice wine. Just as Xie Jue was at his most exhausted, Fang Chuning ca in with the wine and saw Xie Jue rubbing his eyes, which made Fang Chuning’s heart ache, "Your eyes still have old injuries, why did you only light one lamp?"
Xie Jue had very poor vision at night and when in a bad state, couldn’t see anything, just a foggy blur. It was a consequence of poisoning years ago and ultimately an injury to the eyes. Many dicines were used afterward but it never improved. When Xie Xun ascended to the throne, he also worried about his eyes and had the Imperial Physician examine them, but dicine couldn’t cure it. He could only take good care of them, avoiding eye strain, so Fang Chuning was also afraid that Xie Jue would cry from sadness, which would be harmful to his eyes.
"It’s nothing," Xie Jue had an understanding of his own condition, his eyes rubbed red. He suddenly stopped, "How did you know about my eye condition?"
"Cui Lansong said you had an old eye injury and asked to persuade you to rest early and not work day and night. If you harm your eyes, the emperor would have his head chopped off, blaming him for not taking care of you. He couldn’t persuade you, so he ca to ." Fang Chuning brought up an excuse with a straight face, very logically, and Xie Jue didn’t suspect because Cui Lansong had indeed advised him to rest early, which he had ignored.
Fang Chuning lit another lamp and brought it to the desk, "Even if Cui Lansong didn’t say anything, having traveled together for more than ten days, I noticed you had poor night vision. I’m not blind, after all."
"...Oh!" Xie Jue mused to himself; so, he had always known.
"Since your eyes are not in good condition, don’t stay up late. Handle what you can after you get up early tomorrow. Have your late-night snack and rest early." Fang Chuning couldn’t bear for him to harm his health for official duties, as these should be matters handled by court officials.
"Understood."
The fernted rice wine was made by Fang Chuning himself. The taste was ordinary, just with so sweet osmanthus honey, giving it a very fragrant flavor, while Fang Chuning watched him dine.
Xie Jue raised an eyebrow, "Why don’t you go to rest?"
"When you go to rest, I will! Otherwise, I’ll stay here to watch over you. Who knows if you’ll pretend to agree but act otherwise?" Fang Chuning brought over a stool, with an experienced deanor, "Official business is never-ending. If you worry more, others will be more leisurely. The court doesn’t withhold salaries, so why work yourself to exhaustion for them?"
Xie Jue couldn’t help but smile, and softly said, "You forget, my younger brother is the current emperor."
"He’s the emperor, enjoying the nation’s salary. All the more reason for him to do the worrying. As the elder brother, you should be carefree and travel the world." Fang Chuning encouraged, "In fact, I quite want to explore the beautiful landscapes of Beining. Let’s not go to the Beiman. After the matter in Pingnan County is concluded, let’s travel the world."
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