The concerns of women in the inner chambers naturally differed from those of men, and Lu Nianfu, unsure how to explain, changed the subject. "Where are Yao'er and Xiao Er?"
"Granny Xu is feeding the Eldest Prince his lunch, and the Youngest Prince has already fallen asleep."
"It's that late already? Prepare the meal then." In recent years, Situ Yan had often complained about the increasing volume of memorials, leaving him with insufficient time. She had therefore proposed accompanying him for lunch, saving him an extra trip.
Situ Yan readily agreed, expressing immense envy for his wife, who, having entered the palace, seemed to have more leisure time.
Lu Nianfu led several eunuchs in single file, and soon, a five-dish, one-soup meal was laid out on a newly installed round table in the Imperial Study. Situ Yan was in the midst of reviewing memorials, opening one, signing it with a flourish without even reading it, then moving to the next – his efficiency was truly remarkable.
Lu Nianfu asked curiously, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"
"Reviewing memorials. Wait a moment, I'll be done with these shortly."
Lu Nianfu estimated there were still about thirty-odd more. "Let's eat first. It's cold, and the food is only warm in the food warmer. It will get cold if we delay any longer."
"Then why is the Imperial Kitchen located so far away?"
"The Imperial Kitchen is in the central part of the palace, so that meals can be delivered to all the palaces in a timely manner!"
"But now only the Qian Yuan Palace needs them to deliver meals, and I see that Qian Yuan Palace has a small kitchen. Why not transfer a couple of people to cook directly in the small kitchen? It would save us the great expense of eating cold food every day." As a man, he didn't care much about food temperature, but he had his wife and children to consider.
Lu Nianfu replied, "I will arrange it later."
"No rush. There are so many things that need to be changed in the palace, you can take your time with the arrangements."
Situ Yan washed his hands and sat down to eat. They spoke without unnecessary words, nor did they force conversation, making the meal very comfortable. After the meal, Situ Yan returned to reviewing memorials, still signing them as he opened them. Soon, he stretched and declared his work finished, then took Lu Nianfu to stroll in the garden.
It was a rare sunny day, but the accumulated snow had not yet melted, so it was still quite cold outside.
Situ Yan wrapped her fox fur coat tighter and had Li Wang fetch two hand warmers. "We can't let you freeze."
Lu Nianfu's thoughts, however, were still on the memorials. "Your Majesty, you just sign them like that, without even looking at the content?"
"Those are just 'Greeting Memorials'. Each memorial has thousands of characters; how could I possibly read them all? These have all been roughly reviewed, and I just need to sign them."
"May I take a look?"
Situ Yan casually picked up a few and handed them to her. "Take a look, they're all much the same. I don't know where they find the time to write these."
"The subordinates do it for them. Which household doesn't have a few advisors? Didn't you also ask Chang Dong to help you refine your memorials in the past?"
"You're very right. I should have found someone to help with this a long time ago. I'll have Chang Dong come in tomorrow."
Lu Nianfu: "......Your Majesty, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
"In the past, Father only asked me to help, but Yao'er and Xiao Er are too young."
"My meaning is, wouldn't it be a waste of talent to have Chang Dong do this? And if those censors found out, they might impeach him. What logic is there for the Minister of Justice to review memorials? At least a Grand Secretary should have such an honor."
Situ Yan stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "The Empress is indeed quick-witted. I think Grand Secretary Qu would be quite suitable for this task. Tsk, it would be even more convenient if he could imitate my handwriting."
Lu Nianfu had already seen Situ Yan's vermilion endorsements, which were not "Approved" or "Granted," but simply "Noted."
While down-to-earth, the disdain and annoyance were vividly displayed in these three words, almost as if he were telling them to stop writing.
Lu Nianfu couldn't help but laugh. "Your Majesty, why not have someone carve these three words of yours into a seal? Then Grand Secretary Qu can use the seal to stamp them."
Situ Yan froze abruptly, his face quickly falling.
Seeing his crestfallen expression, Lu Nianfu asked with concern, "What's wrong, Your Majesty? Did I touch upon some taboo?"
"No, I just regret that if I had known about your method back then, and had Father's handwriting carved into a seal, how many characters could I have saved?" He recalled that the first memorials Emperor Chang Wu had him practice on were these damned greeting memorials. He was truly on the verge of vomiting from writing "Noted" repeatedly.
He pondered for a moment and felt that Lu Nianfu's idea was exceptionally brilliant. He pulled her face towards him and kissed her soundly. "Wife, you are truly the Zhuge Liang of our generation."
Lu Nianfu didn't blush at the praise. "Let's just say these words between us in private. If they were to get out, it might be seen as a laughing matter."
"I'd like to see who dares."
"They wouldn't dare openly. Your Majesty, are all memorials like these greeting ones?" She had flipped through a few casually. Tsk, they were long and tedious, like an old woman's bound feet. It was merely a greeting, yet how did these people manage to expand it into thousands of characters?
Moreover, such memorials seemed unnecessary.
Situ Yan picked out a few more. "There are some that are less verbose. Look at these two; they are simply greetings, and also offer congratulations on my ascension."
A few dozen characters, saving much ink, concise and to the point. Situ Yan remarked, "If all the memorials reporting matters were like these, I would have much less worry."