The young emperor and Wuzhi's schedule for the next month was as follows; wake up at dawn, engage in physical training for three hours, bath and breakfast, kingship lesson until lunch, lunch, kingship lesson until tea, tea, cultivation lessons until dinner, dinner, and retire to bed.
It was a gruelling and time-packed lesson, unthinkable for a boy of thirteen years of age. Nonetheless, Alexandros gritted his teeth and stuck to the schedule. He did not complain. He did not cry. He rigorously stuck to the schedule and sometimes even went beyond it.
During this period, Wuzhi stuck to Alexandros akin to a lamprey. He did everything that the emperor did; trained the exact training that the emperor trained; ate the exact amount that the emperor ate; and slept the exact period that the emperor slept.
He was akin to the emperor's shadow and was just as unnoticeable.
The emperor's schedule and activities did cause a few waves within the imperial palace, among the maids, guards, and various ministers. However, apart from paying little mind to the youth's sudden change in character, there was no mention of his activities.
For the people of the empire were preoccupied with another matter; the war in the continent had once again intensified.
It went without saying that Luna Roseland, the ravishing female merchant, had long since left the ground of the imperial palace and unto other distant ventures.
In her departure, she had left a gaping void in the hearts of many noble ministers, including the Lord Regent; who had unfortunately failed to ensnare the young beauty into his bed. Whether he realised that he had been ensnared in her web, remained to be unknown.
Of course, during this period, she kept her promise and exchanged classified information with Wuzhi. The method by which she did so, happened to fascinate Wuzhi more than the information itself; for their exchange, the female merchant employed the services of a Wild Beast, a tame Opal-Tailed Eagle, that acted as a message carrier. She had this bird carry the information that she wished to exchange with Wuzhi, arrive before him at irregular intervals.
Wuzhi, who had found himself fascinated by this method –specifically the bird—, soon had his attention diverted to the information itself; which, obviously, was encrypted. Having not shared the cipher with Wuzhi prior, the female merchant meant this as a test of her secret partner's ability.
Should he crack the encryption, decipher the message, and send her an appropriate reply, she would acknowledge his ability, in hand with his intelligence, and grow more interested in their exchange. However, should he fail to prove himself, she would abandon the deal and move on to greener pastures.
Wuzhi, as a genius on top of being the inheritor of the Heaven Scheming Devil's life's work, took approximately thirty seconds to break the cipher. Had it not been for him growing distracted, playing with the bird, partway through the process, it would have taken him even less time.
Still, having proven his ability, their secret exchanges continued. The pair strictly adhered to their deal and only their deal, not sparing a single thought to growing their relationship or discussing other matters. They were not friends or even acquaintances, but strictly business partners.
Luna's information enabled Wuzhi to better understand the current situation in the continent and the forces of the other factions. This, in turn, enabled him to calculate better, improving the efficacy of his schemes and strategies.
With Wuzhi's aid, on the other hand, the female merchant found herself sinking under gold and silver. His providing of precise targets and interest groups, allowed Luna to identify the most desperate and able buyers for her wares. This, once again, cautioned Luna on how capable of a snake her secret exchange partner was.
And finally, just as a month had passed, Wuzhi finalised his first scheme in service to the empire; he would acquire them a port city!
---
Inside the emperor's study, Alexandros was away busily scratching at the pieces of parchment sprawled on the table before him. His face held a serious, puckered expression as he routinely paused in thought before carefully wording his answer onto the sheet.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
On the other side of the room, Wuzhi sat leisurely on a recliner. Held in his hands were a book and a warm cup of tea. The young scholar indolently read the book while sipping on his tea every now and then.
Knock! Knock! The door to the emperor's study was knocked, previewing the appearance of a timid, little maid's head. She leaned in, peeked a glance at the study, and was about to enter cautiously when Wuzhi called her.
"Tia," Wuzhi whispered, startling the little maid.
The little maid, having grown familiar with Wuzhi over the past month, glared at him with a mean face and silently entered. In her hand, was a tray filled with delicious pastries and biscuits.
After placing the tray carefully on the table beside Wuzhi, she quietly explained her visit to the young scholar. "Venerable Emperor and you failed to appear for tea. Thinking that yourselves might be busy, I took it upon myself to bring forward the snacks."
"Heaven blesses your kind soul, Tia," said Wuzhi. "I was just thinking about how barren my tea felt. You have brought these accompaniments at the right time!"
As Wuzhi reached forward to grab from the tray, his hand was smacked by the little maid. Just as the young scholar turned towards the main with confusion, he found the latter glaring at him hatefully.
"How can you even think about having the first bite whilst in the presence of the emperor!?" she admonished him.
In little Tia's mind, Wuzhi was someone akin to her; he was her friend and a person in service to the venerable emperor. And as servants, it was only right by them to treat the emperor as one would a deity!
Wuzhi's action of reaching for the snacks, placed in an offering to the emperor, was simple blasphemy! By stopping and strongly admonishing him, Tia believed that she was saving Wuzhi from the fate of being beheaded.
Being as sharp-minded as he was, Wuzhi immediately saw through the basic thoughts of the little maid. While muttering some incomprehensible words, he reluctantly returned to his book and tea.
Meanwhile, Tia did not immediately leave the study upon the completion of her duty. Instead, she stayed behind and warmly watched the figure of the young emperor, busy with study.
The young scholar noticed her gaze and could not help but tease. "Fallen for the emperor, have we?"
"He's just so…" Tia, who had dreamily begun her words, quickly caught herself and heavily blushed. She then just as quickly paled with fright, cast an accusatory glance at the young scholar, and quickly dashed away from the study.
Having watched her reactions, Wuzhi once again giggled with amusement. Truly, it seemed that teasing other people was an incredibly satisfying experience.
Wuzhi, involuntarily, found himself tending towards a particular black-bellied teacher's nature. Unfortunately, he had yet to identify his proclivity. Would he be able to catch himself and correct his nature in time, remained to be seen?
Having teased away the little maid, Wuzhi returned to his reading. He did not touch the snacks placed on the table before him for he found an ounce of logic in the little maid's words. As such, Wuzhi chose to wait for the emperor to finish his task before sharing the sweet treats with him.
Time passed, and thirty minutes later, Alexandros raised his head and declared. "I have finished."
Wuzhi raised his gaze to check the time, before offering a smile and a compliment. "You have worked hard, your majesty. Do come and indulge yourself in these snacks."
The young emperor rose from his seat and stretched his body. Compared to a month ago, there was indeed some change in the young boy's countenance. Most noticeably, his cheeks had greatly slimmed down, lending him a more boyish charm to his other gorgeous appearance. His physique also seemed to have slimmed down a little but wasn't very clear as it was buried underneath his imperial robes.
After taking a seat near Wuzhi, Alexandros reached and partook in the snacks. He then noticed the tray to be full and asked, "Did you wait for me before eating? You really did not have to."
For Alexandros, Wuzhi was an elder whom he greatly respected. In fact, over this past month, he had come to consider the young scholar as a figure, second only to his father!
At the emperor's words, however, Wuzhi shook his head. "Your Majesty, a teacher I might be. However, I am first and foremost, a servant under your employ."
"If you recall Lesson Twenty-Two: Concerning the Secretaries of a Ruler, it states that…"
Alexandros interrupted. "Yes, yes, 'a ruler must finely divide himself and a servant.' I remember."
"Mere remembrance is not enough, Your Majesty. For the essence of these lessons lies in your understanding of them," Wuzhi patiently explained.
He then rose from his seat and walked to the emperor's table. "And on the topic of understanding, let this servant see how your majesty has fared."
Wuzhi read through the papers written by the emperor, and upon it was hatched a strategy still in its infancy; it was poorly construed and full of holes. However, for the work of a beginner, it was in fact excellent!
Still, it wasn't the work that Wuzhi was overly worried about. But rather, this work would act as the foundation for his scheme.
Hiding his calculations-filled eyes from the emperor, Wuzhi said, "Your Majesty, your strategy to acquire the port is rather well put together. You have aptly answered my question."
"Excellent work, Your Majesty," Wuzhi set the papers down and turned around, all while offering his most sincere compliments. "How about we head down to the dining room and celebrate this victory with a meal?"
The bait was thus set. It was now time for the fish to take a bite at it.