Complaints aside, when it came to covering up, everyone was more than eager.

Prime Minister Li was the first to rush over to share the emperor’s burden, saying, “Your Majesty, I also like these gloves. Look, they have no odor and are much lighter than those leather gloves.”

Prime Minister Wang raised an eyebrow, cursing inwardly: This bootlicker beat me to it again.

Prime Minister Wang had no choice but to step forward and play the dutiful straight man, saying calmly, “I agree. These gloves do have some clever design.”

The Crown Prince stepped forward, picked up Yuan Ruan’s gloves, and felt them: “The texture is warm and comfortable. Hmm, this material doesn’t feel like ordinary cotton, linen, or wool. General Wu, these must be quite expensive to produce, right?”

The court officials: !!!

Brilliant!

In critical moments, it’s always the Crown Prince.

He immediately brought up the key point.

General Wu Yi cooperated seamlessly, cupping his hands and replying, “This item… was merely woven from the fur of my beloved cat. It’s not expensive.”

The Crown Prince immediately asked, “Cat fur? How was it made?”

Wu Yi answered, “I collected the shed fur, twisted it into thread, and then wove it into these gloves.”

The court officials were all excited. This was the final step. Crown Prince, all we need now is for you to “suddenly realize” and say, “If cat fur works, wouldn’t wool work too?”

Among them, the officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue were particularly excited.

Ministry of Rites: The Xiongnu are a matter of foreign affairs. This lucrative task should fall under our jurisdiction.

Ministry of Revenue: Wool thread relates to industry and agriculture. Moreover, we are the treasury of Da Xia. This should be under our unified distribution.

The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue exchanged glances, each filled with disdain and wariness before turning their heads away.

But the Crown Prince didn’t speak.

He put on a thoughtful expression, then turned to the emperor and smiled, saying, “Father, the general truly has some clever ideas. I remember the cat, Yun Duo, who grew up with you, is getting old now.”

The emperor’s mouth twitched slightly. Where did this Yun Duo come from?

But the emperor played along, remaining silent for a moment before saying, “Yes, its time is nearly up.”

Wu Yi quickly cupped his hands and said, “If Your Majesty and Your Highness do not mind, you may entrust its long fur to me. I will promptly present the gloves.”

At this moment, inner voices chimed in simultaneously:

System: [Sigh, the Crown Prince didn’t make the connection to wool. Luckily, General Wu Yi is clever and offered to present the gloves. This task is half-successful.]

Yuan Ruan: [It’s not that easy to connect it to wool. Even General Wu Yi, who came up with cat fur yarn, didn’t react. If my nephew had immediately mentioned wool yarn, I’d honestly find it strange.]

The emperor and the Crown Prince nodded slightly.

The court officials: !!!

They were so anxious they hadn’t noticed this flaw.

The Crown Prince is truly impressive. His acting is flawless.

The Crown Prince noticed their expressions and his mouth twitched slightly: No need to praise me so much.

System: [True. So how do we get your brother to take this seriously?]

Yuan Ruan: [Don’t worry. Once General Wu Yi presents the gloves, we’ll see how my brother and nephew react. If they still don’t take it seriously, there are plenty of fur coats in the palace. I’ll pluck some fur, twist it into thread, and drop more hints about wool. Since Great Xia is currently in contact with the Western Xiongnu, I’ll drop more hints. They’ll have to take it seriously.]

The emperor’s mouth twitched, ready to go back to the palace and hide his beloved furs.

System: [Yay! Now all that’s left is to get your brother to attend court for a full day. How do we accomplish this task? We need to think of a plan! Your new divine ability is waiting for this moment.]

Yuan Ruan: [Hmm, I have an idea.]

Everyone: ???

What’s the brilliant plan? Do tell.

But Yuan Ruan yawned, rubbed her eyes, and didn’t continue.

Seeing this, the emperor carried Yuan Ruan back. Hesitating between the Yilan Palace and the Kunning Palace, the emperor ultimately took her to the Kunning Palace.

After settling Yuan Ruan, the emperor stepped out of the palace and happened to see the Crown Prince waiting.

The emperor asked, “Is there something?”

The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment before saying, “Father, Second Brother… the Second Prince’s reputation in Chen is quite bad. Should we do something about it?”

The emperor looked at the Crown Prince in surprise, then nodded and said, “The Crown Prince makes a good point. Go to the Imperial Clan Court and remove the Second Prince’s name from the jade register.”

Once removed from the jade register, he would no longer have the status of a prince.

The Crown Prince was stunned: …

The emperor narrowed his eyes: “Have you forgotten what he did to you? Are you feeling soft-hearted?”

The Crown Prince quickly shook his head: “Of course not. I was just thinking that the Little National Preceptor has a task to spank a prince. I thought we could make use of him…”

The emperor’s tone was dismissive: “It doesn’t matter. I have many sons. I’m not short of him.”

The Crown Prince’s mouth twitched slightly: …

At this point, the emperor suddenly looked at the Crown Prince and said, “I haven’t asked before. You only plan to imprison him? When will you execute the concubine and the bastard? If you can’t do it, I’ll handle it…”

“No!” The Crown Prince clenched his fingers tightly, took a deep breath, and said firmly, “Father, this matter should be handled by me. I shouldn’t dirty your hands.”

The emperor hummed in acknowledgment, giving the Crown Prince a deep look. As the Crown Prince of Da Xia, being too soft wouldn’t do.

…

Three days later.

During these three days, General Wu Yi worked tirelessly through the night to produce the knitted gloves.

To avoid appearing too deliberate, Wu Yi not only presented gloves to the emperor but also gave a pair to every court official and noble of equal or higher rank.

Seeing that the emperor had received the gloves, Yuan Ruan struggled to open her panda-like eyes and insisted on attending court.

The emperor indulged her.

On this day, as soon as Yuan Ruan entered the inner hall, she saw Prime Minister Li, Prime Minister Wang, and others all wearing knitted gloves.

System: [Wow, General Wu works fast. Ah Ruan, this is a great opportunity. The court officials are all wearing them. You can encourage the emperor to wear the gloves too.]

Yuan Ruan nodded slightly, babbling “yiya yiya” while waving her tiny gloved hands in front of the emperor. She then touched the emperor’s hand and said, “Fa… fa… have…” as she handed the gloves she had been holding to the emperor.

The Crown Prince, standing nearby, chimed in: “Father, Ninth Sister is worried about you. She’s afraid your hands are cold. Why not put them on?”

Yuan Ruan: [Nephew, you’re amazing!]

But the emperor shook his head: “We’ll talk after court.”

The Crown Prince was stunned: ?

System: [Ah Ruan, try harder.]

Yuan Ruan continued babbling “yiya yiya,” talking to the system: [My brother has a good temper, but he’s still the emperor. He can’t just do whatever a little baby says. If he immediately put on the gloves like some court officials, that would be strange. No rush, we still have a few days.]

System: [True…]

The Crown Prince suddenly realized that the emperor was playing the long game. He had been too hasty.

In the following days of court sessions.

Yuan Ruan would babble “yiya yiya” in her adorable baby voice, promoting the idea of the emperor wearing gloves during court.

The Crown Prince and some court officials also chimed in with lines like, “Ninth Sister is so filial!” “Your Majesty, why not indulge her?” “These gloves are really good. My fingers haven’t gotten frostbite since wearing them,” and so on, to help push the agenda.

The emperor continued to play hard to get.

Finally, seven days later, the emperor reluctantly gave in and put on the gloves, as if he couldn’t resist Yuan Ruan’s persistence.

The court officials were pleased, but they whispered among themselves:

“His Majesty won’t complete the task on the first day to maintain the ruse.”

“Ugh, it’s a bit hot. My hands are sweating. Let’s hurry this along.”

“Why the rush? This is a matter of national fortune. Let’s wait. His Majesty will probably drag this out a bit longer before completing the task of keeping the gloves on throughout the entire court session.”

…

System: [Yay! The task is almost complete! Now we just need to keep the gloves on for a full day of court to finish it. It’s been a bit hot lately. I’m not sure if these wool gloves will stay on. If all else fails, Ah Ruan, just throw a tantrum. If your brother takes them off, start crying!]

The court officials: …

A bit underhanded, but we can play along!

Yuan Ruan: [Crying alone won’t do much. Hehe, I have a clever plan.]

Everyone was both puzzled and eager: …

What’s the brilliant plan?