Yifei had been living with the Fifth Prince and had received news last night.
She would be wary of women who could steal her favor; not everyone was targeting her, and as soon as Fang He entered the room, she had assessed her clearly.
Her complexion could barely be considered fair, her voice not delicate enough, and she had a bit of a clumsy charm, clearly not the type favored by the emperor.
If she wasn’t favored, then she must be useful to the emperor.
As for what kind of use, Yifei didn’t dare to inquire, but they never skimped on kindness towards those who were useful to the emperor.
Fang He lowered her gaze and squatted down, silently thanking Yifei for her praise, which earned her a nod of satisfaction from Yifei.
Not someone who liked to stand out, that made her more pleasing to the eye.
Fang He was not someone who worked hard and then hid away; she understood that to be promoted, one had to take the opportunity to build relationships while reporting to the leaders.
With Yifei present, she had prepared a little speech before speaking, “Replying to Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince is kind, and he explains the meanings of the characters clearly. In just one morning, he had me memorize the first five sentences of the ‘Three Character Classic.”
Both Kangxi and Yifei were momentarily taken aback.
If he were an ordinary child, five sentences would be acceptable, but Fang He was already twenty-two, and the Fifth Prince had been learning for three years…
“You… are quite proud?” Kangxi rarely showed a puzzled expression.
For a moment, his expression even resembled that of Yin Zhen, looking somewhat dazed.
Fang He explained slowly, “The servant is older, and my memory is far worse than that of the princes, so I thought that diligence could make up for my shortcomings.”
“With the Fifth Prince’s guidance, I have thoroughly understood the first five sentences, recited them one hundred and twenty times, and I ask the Fifth Prince to repeatedly test me, having memorized thirty characters.”
“From now on, I will be tested daily, gradually adding more, and once I finish, I will be able to recite the entire book fluently and apply it in practice.”
Hearing her explanation, Yifei couldn’t help but nod again.
Five sentences weren’t many, but thirty characters were quite a lot, and if Fang He could recite them fluently, then the little Fifth Prince, who could barely manage to read them…
She smiled and spoke for Fang He, “I think that makes sense. One can’t be greedy and try to learn too much at once; it’s better to spend a little more time and learn it well.”
“Aren’t you teaching Little Five that slow and steady wins the race? We women don’t need to take the imperial examination to hold office; being able to turn knowledge into our own is enough.”
She even shot a teasing glance at Kangxi, smiling subtly, “I find Fang He quite pleasing; you really know how to teach.”
“If you’re not satisfied, why not have Fang He serve by my side? I can take better care of people than you.”
Fang He’s heart raced for a moment.
If she served beside Yifei, flattering the Fifth Prince might give her a chance to be released from the palace… but unfortunately, Master Kangxi never made a losing deal.
As expected, Kangxi smiled faintly and nodded at Yifei.
“I only have a few useful ones in front of me, and you all are keeping an eye on them. Hurry up and leave; Little Five is probably still waiting for your praise. I won’t keep you greedy ones for lunch.”
Yifei confirmed her earlier guess and didn’t mind being sent away; she stood up with an even brighter smile, squatting to bow to Kangxi.
“I knew you didn’t like me; Sister Hui has served you lunch so many times. I think there’s no need to praise Little Five anymore; I’ll go find Sister Hui to become her student.”
Fang He quite enjoyed this kind of playful banter between couples, but she knew this wasn’t the place for her to ship them, so she quietly lowered her presence and stood in the corner.
Kangxi was amused by Yifei’s teasing, personally escorting her to the door and even making a promise.
“I’ll wait for you to finish your studies; when I have free time at night, I’ll have you come over and show off your skills.”
Fang He thought to herself, wow, there’s a pillar here, and they’re flirting in broad daylight… if only she could hear more.
Unfortunately, Yifei, with her rosy cheeks, only playfully left behind a bundle of autumn spinach, not racing with Kangxi, and swayed away from the dragon boat.
Kangxi collected his smile and glanced at Fang He, sitting back on the soft couch by the window, leaning against the soft pillow, continuing to read the secret memorials sent from various places.
Some were about the disturbances caused by the lifting of the maritime ban, testing his attitude as emperor, while others sought to probe his travel routes.
As he left the palace, the secret memorials from the southern tour were more frequent than the ones for greetings, making his eyes dizzy.
After lunch and a short break, he suddenly remembered Fang He, who had been obedient all morning, and called her to the bedside.
“Before the royal carriage returns, let me see your skills. If you can’t recite the ‘Three Character Classic’ fluently, don’t even think about going to Yifei; go to the Xinzhiku and experience what it’s like to be a night fragrance lady.”
Fang He was taken aback; she hadn’t shown any expression earlier, and he could see through it?
She squatted with a bitter face, “… Servant has noted it!”
Night fragrance? What other smell could there be besides the stench of excrement and urine!
Earlier, when he called for her to show her skills, it was all fun and games, but now, standing before him, every word felt like a knife; men can be so ruthless, ha…
She wasn’t jealous; she was angry, and the joy of slacking off had flown away, sobbing with a sense of urgency, until the dragon boat stopped in Jiangning, Fang He didn’t dare to slack off, coaxing and deceiving the Fifth Prince, trying every means to catch up.
Yet, there were still people coming to cause trouble.
News from the palace spread quickly if not deliberately concealed.
In the first few days, the eldest prince Yin Zhen and the crown prince Yin Rang were still arguing about whether to prioritize sending meals to their elder brother or discussing seniority.
Upon learning that Yin Qi’s teacher was doing well, they stopped arguing and went together to the Fifth Prince’s small study to see Fang He.
Four bright titanium alloy eyes scrutinized Fang He without any politeness; after sizing her up, the two brothers seemed to ponder something.
Yin Zhen: “Hmm…” Not young, not good-looking, not a future favorite of Father Emperor, no need to win her over.
Yin Rang: “Indeed…” He knew his father was quite bold when it came to women… even if he occasionally wanted to change his taste, he wouldn’t deprive himself and didn’t need to be overly cautious.
Fang He and the Fifth Prince stood on the same side this time, one subtly, the other openly showing their indignation.
What are you waiting for? Indeed, what a load of nonsense!
The two brothers didn’t hear Fang He and Yin Qi’s inner thoughts and left after watching the commotion.
Yin Zhen then pulled Yin Rang over.
Yin Zhen kept pressing Yin Qi to explain the meanings of the “Three Character Classic,” while Yin Zhi excitedly circled around Fang He several times.
After being pulled away by Yin Zhen, Yin Zhi was still muttering, “Good bone structure, what a pity, what a pity…” At his age, he couldn’t wait for him to establish his own household.
Fang He felt numb; if she were in the numbers group, she would have to fight for her life too.
These kids were too infuriating.
In fact, seven of the gradually growing princes, aside from the overly pampered Fifth one, were not particularly clever; they were just naturally intelligent.
With a glance, they could roughly guess why Fang He was here learning characters.
Even if they had something to say, they would only discuss it privately and wouldn’t leave any verbal evidence for others to know.
Although Yin Qi was indignant, he wasn’t a fool growing up in the palace; if he couldn’t figure it out, he could just ask his mother later, and soon he returned to the joy of being a teacher.
Only Fang He was left, feeling anxious from being watched like a monkey, yet she didn’t dare to ask, so much so that she ended up eating several more plates of snacks in frustration.
Unable to bear this grievance, since she couldn’t slack off, she might as well wash away the humiliation she had faced in front of Kangxi.
On November 2nd, Kangxi, accompanied by the eldest prince and the crown prince, paid respects to the tomb of the Ming Taizu, even writing a blessing and having Cao Yin read it in front of the tomb with the officials from Jiangnan.
The old officials and literati from Jiangnan were moved to tears, prostrating themselves and shouting long live the emperor, refusing to get up for a long time.
For a moment, the literati of Jiangnan wished they could hug Kangxi and kiss him a few times; after all, Fang He had heard from Wei Zhu that the poems and essays circulating were probably this affectionate.
Kangxi was particularly pleased with this, wearing a smile for several days.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Fang He reported that she had finished learning the “Three Character Classic,” thinking that perhaps she could earn a reward.
Speaking of which, along the way, Kangxi summoned his concubines numerous times, but because Fang He wanted to attend school, she had never spent a night in the palace.
She couldn’t even listen to the action movies that had become tiresome, let alone expect any rewards.
Although her monthly allowance had increased from two taels to four taels, the income was still significantly less compared to that of the imperial tea house.
Yet, after following the southern tour, in order to live a bit more comfortably, both she and Wei Zhu had saved very little money.
Her savings were about to drop to two digits; if it weren’t for the warning about the poisoned wine pressing down on Fang He, she would have started to panic long ago.
In front of Kangxi, she recited the “Three Character Classic” clearly and even imitated the Fifth Prince’s mannerisms, shaking her head and bobbing her brain to amuse the emperor, taking it very seriously.
“Look! I finished it in ten days!”
Isn’t it reasonable to reward me a little?
Under Fang He’s slightly burning gaze of expectation, Kangxi only asked lightly, “Can you write it?”
Fang He’s heart skipped a beat; you didn’t even ask me to write!
She steeled herself to explain, “Replying to Your Majesty, since I can recognize it, I should be able to write it, but I have never written it before…” Kangxi didn’t let her finish and instructed Liang Jiugong, “Prepare paper and ink, let her write and show me.”
Liang Jiugong had completely abandoned any thoughts of opposing Fang He and had been very kind to her in front of the emperor.
As for Li Dequan, after receiving a severe beating and being scolded by his godfather, along with a warning to not let it happen again, he had suddenly realized his mistakes and was now treating Fang He like a revered ancestor, leaving Wei Zhu with no chance to snatch any work.
Upon hearing the emperor’s command, Liang Jiugong immediately took Li Dequan to prepare quickly.
A zitan wood table was brought over, fine Xuan paper was laid out, and the expensive ink was personally ground by Li Dequan.
Liang Jiugong picked up the brush and smiled at Fang He.
“Miss, please.”
Fang He thought, “……” Well, is there a possibility that she prefers something a bit firmer?
A fountain pen was out of the question, but what about a quill?
A quill was impossible.
She steeled herself, awkwardly recalling how calligrapher clients wrote, and held the brush fairly well, diligently writing each stroke.
Kangxi strolled over to take a look, and just as he reached Fang He, he abruptly turned around.
“Stop! Even a dog’s paw would write better than her, don’t waste my ink and paper!”
Fang He: “…If you have the ability, let the dog walk a few steps and see!”
She should have anticipated this; why did she rush to humiliate herself in front of this dog of a man who loved to praise himself?
Kangxi felt his eyes had been sullied and didn’t even bother to be harsh again, just waved his hand at Fang He.
“You go, get the Fifth Prince’s writing manual, start practicing with tracing the red characters. I don’t expect you to write well, just… be about as good as the Fifth Prince.”
After a pause, since he had no expectations for her writing, he added—
“Since you’ve already finished the ‘Three Character Classic, at this speed, memorize the ‘Hundred Family Surnames’ and the ‘Thousand Character Classic’ as well, and recite them to me after we return to the capital.”
Fang He numbly squatted down to respond, too tired to feel angry.
She had anticipated that this dog of a man would not give up on squeezing her, and had already prepared a crash course, but without money, she hadn’t even prepared for the brushwork lessons.
This man must have been reborn from an oil workshop in his past life, right?
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