The Little Emperor and His Grand Tutor

I am the emperor’s only son. My father doted on me from the moment I was born, so it was only natural that I grew proud and spoiled.

Later, Father decided this was a problem. When I was twelve, he found me a tutor.

I rarely studied. When I saw my new tutor, dressed impeccably and wearing a stern expression, I couldn’t help taking a few steps back.

I thought that if I pleaded sweetly with Father, as I always had, I could avoid the misery of getting up early to study. Little did I know Father was determined to root out my bad habits.

Every day, I could only wipe away my tears as I went to the study hall. I studied for eight years, and I hated my tutor with all my heart.

No one in the land, not even Father, would dare lay a finger on me. But if I failed to finish my assignments, my tutor would smack my palm.

Everyone else offered me amusing stories and toys, but my tutor confiscated them all and made me copy texts for half a month.

When the palace attendants saw me tired from getting up early, they let me sleep a little longer. My tutor, on the other hand, kept to the schedule. If I was even half a quarter-hour late, he punished me.

I felt deeply wronged and resented him for never knowing how to read the room like everyone else.

But what could I do? Even if I made a huge scene in front of Father, I wouldn’t dare act up in front of my tutor.

It wasn’t that I had never considered sending people to intimidate him. But in the end, my tutor knocked a dozen strong men to the ground, then grabbed me by the collar and made me stand in the corner for the whole afternoon.

I gave up.

At last, after years of enduring hardship, I became the most powerful man in the land.

I... no, I, the Emperor, breathed a sigh of relief and imagined that at last I could hold my head high in front of my tutor.

But Father left behind a final decree: He appointed my tutor as my empress.

My vision went black, and the world spun around me.

At our wedding, my tutor dragged me through the ceremony while I wore a deathly pale expression.

On our wedding night, I sulkily recited my lessons to him.

I wanted to take concubines, but one look from my tutor scared me into backing down.

I... felt miserable inside.

Wen Zhaoxi is the heir to a family of renowned scholars. Half the scholars in the realm are disciples of the Wen family.

He had long heard that the crown prince was an idle wastrel, spoiled by the emperor and deceived by sycophants. At twelve, the boy was spoiled and unruly, could barely recognize a few characters, and was hopeless from the start.

So when the emperor asked him to become the crown prince’s tutor, he refused.

Later, the emperor said, "I hear half the scholars in the realm come from the Wen family?"

So he went.

At first, he disliked the boy. The prince was as spoiled and willful as the rumors said, and yet Wen Zhaoxi couldn’t punish him as he pleased.

What made him change his mind later?

Late at night, the sleepy boy lay sprawled over his desk, wiping away tears as he said, "I want to become a good emperor."

On the Lantern Festival, after making the first lantern of his life, the boy ran barefoot to the imperial study, smiling as he gave it to him.

Rain fell beyond the corridor. The boy nestled into his arms, lost and confused, and whispered, "Why do I always feel like no one is sincere with me? Does everyone want to make me stupid and foolish?"

When the boy turned twenty, he playfully wrapped his arms around Wen Zhaoxi’s waist from behind and said proudly, "I got every question right on today’s exam. Won’t Tutor praise me?"

Wen Zhaoxi’s fingertips trembled. He smiled gently and said, "Your Highness is the most clever of all."

Later, when the emperor was on his deathbed, he summoned Wen Zhaoxi alone and said, "I am leaving. Yao won’t be able to hold on to this empire. For the past two years, you’ve kept refusing to find him a wife. Could it be that you already have someone in mind?"

The emperor’s gaze sharpened. "Could it be someone from the Wen family? Well, given the Wen family’s influence today, they would be the best ones to protect him."

Wen Zhaoxi said nothing.

The emperor paused, as if something had occurred to him. "Could it be a man? There have been male empresses before."

Wen Zhaoxi said softly, "It is me, Your Majesty."

The emperor was stunned.

Notes:

1. The love interest is a protective, devoted type who has been loyal from the start, living only to protect the little emperor.

2. Before the recipient comes of age, their relationship is purely that of teacher and student. Their feelings only gradually turn romantic later, because of specific events.

3. The little emperor is a spoiled, catlike type. He is neither stupid nor bad, but is hiding his abilities and is very clever.

4. This is a free story, so I’m not fussed about the author’s notes. I write whatever comes to mind, for the love of it. This is also an expanded version, but you can read it without reading my previously completed work.

Theme: Treasure those who protect you from beginning to end.