Fang He felt that she was not yielding to Master Kang’s manipulation.
The Emperor simply hoped she could be a bit more outstanding, to earn more money and leave the palace; what was wrong with that?
The mistake lay with those who wanted to be lazy before even starting!
She, Fang He, was definitely not the kind of fish that didn’t know what was good for her, blindly walking down a dark path!
So, when she entered the school with the Fifth Prince, who was named Xiao Xiansheng but was essentially a primary school student, she unconsciously displayed a bit of her motivational skills.
“Fifth Prince, if you can finish writing a hundred big characters today, Fourth Brother will definitely look at you in a new light; otherwise, he will surely mock you!”
“Fifth Prince, if you can memorize the third section of ‘Youxue Qionglin’ today, the teacher will definitely be shocked by you!”
“Fifth Prince, if you also memorize ‘Shengly Qiming’ in advance, when the Emperor comes to test you, you will definitely be the brightest one in the crowd!”
Scholar.
Come on, let’s work hard together!
At first, the Fifth Prince, Yin Qi, was indeed motivated by Fang He and was very spirited, but gradually he started to lose momentum.
Not only did it take a lot of time away from play, but mainly, Fang He was also present when the teacher was teaching him.
Hearing the teacher ask questions he couldn’t answer, after a while, Yin Qi, feeling embarrassed and angry, held back tears and didn’t even want to be a student anymore.
Fang He reflected on the little prince’s self-esteem issue to the teacher.
Fortunately, Kangxi had found the most easy-going Tang Bin from the Hanlin Academy for the Fifth Prince, and Tang Bin knew that his responsibility was not to produce a scholar but merely to enlighten the Fifth Prince.
So he tactfully reserved time for the Fifth Prince to be with the teacher every day.
Compared to the other princes, Yin Qi only needed to study with the teacher for one hour in the small study each day, and in the afternoon, he could follow Kangxi around outside the study or learn archery.
This unique arrangement excited Yin Qi.
Upon learning that it was Fang He who suggested it to the teacher, he planned to bring out his hidden talents to teach the students.
One morning, Yin Qi arrived even earlier than Fang He, sitting in the teacher’s seat, urging Fang He to start studying quickly.
“Today, you must finish writing the entire ‘Hundred Family Surnames’ as instructed by Father; you can’t be lazy!” Yin Qi said cheerfully, giving her a meaningful look, “I will keep an eye on you!”
Fang He: “
..” Little brother, this is what you call biting the hand that feeds you, right?
Alright, anyway, studying with the Fifth Prince, Kangxi and Yifei would definitely remember her kindness.
Ever since Yifei came to Jiangning, she had completely changed from her previous flamboyant demeanor, even when the Cao family sent two particularly beautiful maidservants to serve in front of the Emperor, Yifei didn’t say a word; it was as if she had seen a ghost.
Fang He thought carefully; aside from being pregnant, there didn’t seem to be any other possibility, right?
It was likely that those who were observant had tacitly understood, and Kangxi hadn’t summoned Yifei to his bed since then, only visiting her a few times during lunch.
It seemed that the Fifth Prince and the Ninth Prince had a younger brother who wouldn’t live long.
Regardless of how long he would last, if Yifei could give birth to a third prince, while the mother of Yong Xiaosi hadn’t even started, then Yifei would be the top woman in the harem.
At such a time, taking good care of the Fifth Prince would yield a ready-made good relationship (and generous rewards).
So she happily sat in the Fifth Prince’s seat, seriously posed, took out the ‘Hundred Family Surnames’ and the best Xuan paper for the Fifth Prince, and began to trace the characters.
Feeling that her writing was getting better, Fang He happily called over the restless little prince.
“Fifth Prince, look, isn’t my writing much better now?”
Yin Qi leaned over to take a look, “Let me see, Zhao Qian Sun Xiao Li… who do you think you are?”
Fang He’s nodding suddenly stopped, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the Fifth Prince.
“Fifth Prince, what are you saying?!”
“It’s a rhyme; isn’t it easy to remember this way?” He shook his head, looking as if he was sharing a secret with her.
“Also, there’s more, Zhou Wu Zheng Wang, little dog wetting the bed, haha… isn’t it interesting?”
Fang He’s expression gradually went blank; she knew this was a rhyme, but how did it come out?
Yin Qi was already happily reciting, “Feng Chen Zhu Wei, wolf heart dog lungs, Jiang Shen Han Yang, mud on the wall…”
In a moment of panic, Fang He couldn’t care about rank; she lunged to the side, covering the Fifth Prince’s mouth, her face anxious.
“Fifth Prince, where did you learn this? How could you learn such a rhyme?!”
Teaching the prince bad things, if this got out, it would be disastrous!
Yin Qi struggled in confusion, “I didn’t tell anyone; I’m just teaching you…”
Fang He looked exhausted, no need for that, really, just shut up would be fine.
Just then, a cold laugh from outside made Fang He shiver; she stiffly turned around and knelt down with a thud.
It was as if she saw a cup… a pot of poison slowly approaching her, accompanied by the Cao family father and son, several high-ranking officials, along with the eldest prince and the crown prince.
The sharp gaze of the Emperor fell on her first, not even glancing at the mischievous Fifth Prince. Fang He: “……”
Kangxi had just returned from Suzhou, still carrying a heavy aura of severity.
As he looked down, Fang He knelt obediently, and even Yin Qi didn’t dare to struggle anymore, shrinking his neck to greet Kangxi.
Cao Yin laughed from the side, “I heard the Fifth Prince reciting a rhyme that is quite catchy; if we could ask the teacher to compose some… elegant rhymes, it might really help enlighten the young children.”
“Indeed, indeed.” His father, Cao Xi, echoed, even subtly flattering Kangxi.
“If we could have the literati of Jiangnan compose some rhymes beneficial to the court, when they practice, some families might be scared enough to lose sleep.”
The eldest prince and the crown prince stifled their laughter, also pleading for their younger brother.
As for the Third Prince, Yin Zhi, he was already covering his mouth, whispering to his younger brother, chuckling, which made Yin Zhen elbow him in annoyance.
Seeing this, Kangxi’s expression softened considerably; he was just a bit embarrassed.
Previously, the military stationed in three regions had been quite useful, and the grand spectacle of the military parade, with the shouts of “Long live the Emperor” echoing, had scared the sounds of silk and bamboo from the Jiangnan gentry into silence, which was particularly satisfying.
On the way back to Jiangning, Kangxi had already set a return date, insisting they must reach the capital before the minor New Year.
Before leaving, considering that the crown prince and his brothers had been subtly complaining for a while about not being able to properly explore the southern region, even just Jiangning city would be fine.
Kangxi spoke in a joking tone, praising the crown prince and several princes’ studies, without even changing his armor, directly bringing the two over to test the children’s knowledge.
Naturally, part of the reason was that Kangxi wanted the crown prince and the eldest prince to see just how impressive the golden armor they had been begging for was.
The eldest prince and the crown prince were fine; given their ages, they had studied a few more years than their younger brothers.
Especially the crown prince, who had received news early from Suo E Tu and had prepared well to be tested by the Emperor, which made Kangxi quite pleased.
The Third Prince, Yin Zhi, had decent knowledge, and although the Fourth Prince, Yin Zhen, was younger, he was disciplined and not lacking in knowledge.
Who would have thought that the Fifth Prince would drop the ball?
Cao Yin and Cao Xi had already racked their brains to praise him, and honestly, seeing the Fifth Prince so… lively, they felt relieved.
If there wasn’t a single wastrel in the family, that would be too scary.
Yet there was still someone blind and foolish, muttering from the side, “It must be that Tang Bin didn’t teach him diligently, which is why the Fifth Prince is so unlearned.”
“Your Majesty still wishes for Tang Bin to teach the crown prince; with his abilities, he might not be able to handle it, so please think twice, Your Majesty!”
Cao Xi and Cao Yin frowned slightly, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly quieted.
Yin Qi tightly gripped Fang He’s hand, sensing that he seemed to have caused trouble, but he didn’t know what trouble he had caused that made Suo Zhongtang speak so harshly.
He felt wronged and wanted to cry but didn’t dare to.
Fang He was internally lamenting while cursing Suo E Tu; this fool was afraid that Master Kang wouldn’t be wary of him, right?
Did he really think of himself as a close relative?
Kangxi looked at the tearful Yin Qi, and the crown prince and the eldest prince immediately squatted down, trying to comfort the Third and Fourth Princes beside them… although Yin Qi cried even harder, Kangxi was still very satisfied with the brotherly affection displayed by the crown prince and the eldest prince.
He ignored Suo E Tu, only smiling, “Ziqing’s suggestion is good; later, you can discuss with the governors of the three provinces about having the stationed soldiers learn more characters; it wouldn’t hurt.”
“I heard that the Gu family is hosting a literary banquet at Wangjiang Tower tomorrow? My family’s few unworthy ones haven’t seen much of the elegance of literati, Ziqing, arrange it so we can go see it before we return to the capital.”
From the eldest prince to the crying Yin Qi, everyone perked up.
If they could go out to play… well, if they were unlearned, they were unlearned; the Fifth Prince quickly comforted himself, thinking he would learn again later, hee hee-
Seeing that Suo E Tu seemed to want to say something more, the crown prince avoided Kangxi’s gaze and shot a glare at his third uncle, managing to stop Suo E Tu’s words.
Tang Bin was a familiar face to the Gu family; if he wanted to seek a great virtue as a teacher later, he might still need Tang Bin’s face, so he couldn’t let Suo E Tu offend everyone.
Yin Reng had a vague sense that ever since Nalan Mingzhu was favored by the Emperor, Suo E Tu had become increasingly muddled, which was not a good sign.
However, watching Kangxi take Yin Qi away, Yin Reng’s eyes flickered.
The eldest brother had previously reminded him that since Yifei came to Jiangning, she hadn’t gone out, which should mean she was pregnant.
Although the eldest brother didn’t mean well, the little fifth was raised by the Empress Dowager, but some of what Suo E Tu said wasn’t wrong; the Emperor was increasingly valuing Yifei, and there was also the Ninth Prince.
Yifei already had two princes; if she were to give birth to another prince… Yin Reng’s eyes darkened a bit more; Yifei couldn’t be guaranteed not to develop some inappropriate thoughts like Hui Fei.
This matter with the Fifth Brother might be well utilized.
Yin Qi, who was taken away by Kangxi, learned from the personal eunuch that the rhyme he had learned was quite unrefined.
Although it was easy to remember, if others heard it, they would only laugh at him for not being a good prince.
Yin Qi felt particularly wronged, kneeling in front of Kangxi, “Father, I actually don’t want to learn this, but this rhyme just keeps drilling into my ears; I can’t forget it even if I want to, I’m also very troubled!”
Kangxi: “…………” He shot a cold glance at Fang He again.
Fang He, with a bitter expression, knelt down, “… Your Majesty, it wasn’t me who told the Fifth Prince; I can swear to that!”
Yin Qi looked at Fang He in confusion, “I didn’t say it was you; I heard a little palace maid working on the dragon boat say it, and I remembered it after hearing it once!”
Fang He, exhausted, knelt there, half-raised, looking at Kangxi with her grievances.
Listen to this!
She had already said it wasn’t her; she wasn’t the troublemaker, so why did this lord instinctively blame her when something happened?
This was unreasonable!
Kangxi didn’t scold Yin Qi, only simply told him a principle while changing into his golden armor.
“If you can express yourself eloquently, with such talent that everyone admires, then today’s rhyme is merely a joke; otherwise, it means you are unlearned. Do you understand the reasoning behind this?”
Yin Qi simply didn’t like studying, but he wasn’t foolish; tilting his head, he pondered for a moment, then lowered his head sadly, “I understand, strength determines everything; before having strength, one must not act recklessly.”
Fang He: “.
..” This little student’s comprehension is impressive!
Kangxi chuckled lightly, “Good, you can go back now; this matter doesn’t need to be mentioned to your mother; it’s not a big deal.”
Hearing the Emperor say this, Yin Qi also set aside his worries, happily taking his leave, and even said goodbye to the student still kneeling on the ground.
Fang He: “……” So, the little student isn’t going to take a stand?
“I still have a few rhymes here; come help me listen.” Kangxi stood up, with Liang Jiugong assisting him in changing into casual clothes, finally having time to attend to Fang He.
“Who do you think you are?” Kangxi stepped forward, looking down at Fang He with a cold smile. “You’re everywhere.”
“Little dog wetting the bed…” Kangxi stepped forward again, “Big rat on the roof.”
“Wolf heart dog lungs…” Kangxi continued to step forward, closing in on where Fang He knelt, “Peeling skin to whet the appetite.”
“Mud on the wall, heaven wants you dead.” He lowered his head and tapped Fang He’s head, “How about that, catchy?”
Fang He covered her aching head, feeling a chill rising up, and quietly spoke-
“Your Majesty, please see, it really wasn’t me who spread it out…”
Kangxi sat beside her, taking the tea from Liang Jiugong’s hands, and asked her, “Did you come up with this?”
Fang He paused for a moment, struggling between confessing to a lenient punishment or resisting a severe one, and made a difficult choice.
“Replying to Your Majesty, I only thought of some silly methods to do well on the tasks you assigned; I never expected to be backstabbed by my own little teacher, and I’m quite distressed.”
“I dare swear on my life, I only murmured it to myself when I was alone in the room, and I never told anyone else!”
So, how did this rhyme get out?
It couldn’t be that the Fifth Prince heard it in his dreams, right?
“Considering you’re still somewhat honest, I’ll let you off this time.” Kangxi set down the teacup, pinching the bridge of his nose to slowly cover the smile in his eyes.
“I’m very busy and too lazy to fuss over such trivial matters.”
Leaning slightly forward, he lightly tapped Fang He’s head again, “You can escape the death penalty, but the living punishment is hard to avoid; in three days, we’ll set off back to the capital…”
Fang He covered her head, reluctantly replying, “I will definitely memorize the three hundred characters, without making a single word wrong.”
Kangxi said lightly, “What if you get it wrong?”
Fang He thought, isn’t this just being pedantic?
She couldn’t help but express her indignation, saying, “Then I will continue to reflect and guarantee that I will memorize it correctly the second time, not a single word wrong!”
Kangxi’s voice grew even more indifferent, “… Fine, I’ll give you two chances; you may leave.”
Once Fang He exited, Li Dequan and Chunlai had just stepped in when they saw the master and his godfather both laughing so hard their shoulders shook, leaving him utterly confused.
What’s going on? Is it sunny after the rain?