Chapter 45: Retreat

He really dares to say it…

The Sixth Prince originally thought that he knew his younger brother well enough, but he never expected that he could always easily fall below his bottom line.

Not to mention the Sixth Prince, even the Fifth Prince next to him was so shocked that he was speechless for a long time, and he didn’t even have time to reveal his signature gloating expression.

The little prince covered his mouth tightly, fearing that he would scream out.

The Ninth Uncle is so brave…

Looking at Lord Cen standing by, his hands were shaking so much that they were about to leave afterimages, and he was so angry that he couldn’t even breathe: “Ridiculous! Absurd!”

It looks like it won’t work.

Fortunately, Ye Shuo didn’t hold out too much hope, fearing that he would upset the young master in front of him, so he quickly apologized, “Master Cen, I’m sorry, please don’t be upset, I just said something wrong.”

In fact, Ye Shuo’s attitude was quite sincere when he admitted his mistake, and it was obvious that he was sincere. But when Lord Cen thought about the fact that he admitted his mistake but did not change, he felt that his face was even more hateful.

“Put your hand over here!!”

Perhaps because he was so angry, Lord Cen was particularly ruthless today, making Ye Shuo finally feel what pain was.

But, it still can’t be compared with the previous life.

It’s really pitiful to be a teacher to the prince. You can’t touch him, hit him, or scold him. If you meet someone who is thick-skinned, there is nothing you can do.

Without any awareness of being a nuisance, Ye Shuo sat down, spread out his book, and glanced over today’s study content. It took him no more than a cup of tea before he lost his patience and began to look at the scenery outside the window.

The voice of Master Cen, who was lecturing the princes, changed significantly.

Soon, in less than an hour, Ye Shuo’s “wise words” spread throughout the palace, and even the Duke of Zhen had heard of it.

Facing the ridicule and sarcasm from the civil officials next door, the Duke of Zhen was thinking in his heart, how come the Ninth Prince inherited this problem from their family?

As everyone knows, no one in their family, even their daughter, likes to read. They get annoyed and have a headache when they see a book. Therefore, Duke Zhen not only did not vent his anger on her, but felt a little guilty instead.

Obviously, even the Duke of Zhen knew what it meant for a prince to be unable to read.

As for the harem, the concubines were naturally happy to watch the joke again, especially those who had sons, they were so happy that they could die.

After the Crown Prince’s tutor heard what he said, he felt more sympathetic towards his old rival, and even stopped laughing at him behind his back recently, because he really felt that it was immoral and embarrassing.

Emperor Jingwen was the first to know the news. Although he already knew his son’s nature, he still couldn’t control himself when he first heard it, and his eyes went dark.

It’s the kind of situation where one can still get angry even though one has said that one’s heart is calm.

“More! Keep adding more!”

He just doesn’t believe it, let’s see who can cure whom!

At the emperor’s command, the punishment for being late in the Shangshufang was doubled sixfold, from three boards at the beginning to 18 boards now. Ye Shuo, by his own efforts, made the already strict rules of the Shangshufang even more terrible in just two days.

The key point is that other people were unlucky, but Ye Shuo himself was not hurt at all.

As luck would have it, the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince lived the farthest from the upper study. They were not as active as the Sixth Prince in going to school, so although they would not be late, they still gave themselves at most two cups of tea.

With this rule, the two of them had to get up a quarter of an hour earlier, otherwise they would be in trouble if they encountered any unexpected situation one day.

A quarter of an hour! When the Fifth Prince heard about this, he immediately cursed Ye Shuo in his heart.

What about Ye Shuo? I don’t know if he anticipated that his cheap father would have to change his words, or if he felt that the three extra beatings he received the day before were not worth it and wanted to earn them back, so he delayed his arrival for another two hours.

Okay, just finish your lunch and come right after the afternoon class.

Why! Why can he do this! ?

Although the eighteen blows hit his hands hard, it didn’t seem to hurt at all, and there was no effect at all!

This thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and when he came to his senses, the Fifth Prince realized what he was thinking.

“Oh, you’re jealous already?”

Turning his head, he met Ye Shuo’s teasing gaze. The Fifth Prince’s mind suddenly buzzed, and he immediately exploded: “Huh?! I’m jealous of you? I’m jealous of you, an unlearned person?”

I didn’t expect him to get angry so easily. Ye Shuo found it very interesting: “It’s okay as long as you’re not jealous. After all, if you admit it, you have three requirements.”

The fifth prince suddenly calmed down: “Oh, I tell you, you will never have this opportunity in your life!”

It’s only been two days.

Ye Shuo smiled and said nothing.

On the third day, the number of boards had accumulated to 36, and Ye Shuo even waited until the end of the night before coming, truly fulfilling what he had said unintentionally at the beginning.

Every day he just waits to get the board and leave.

This action shocked Lord Cen and the Sixth Prince as much as what he said three days ago.

Now they have finally broadened their horizons.

“Crash”, when Wang Ziquan walked from outside to the Qinzheng Hall, he heard the sound of cups breaking inside. He probably understood that the emperor’s plan still did not work today.

“Add! Add another hundred!”

Facts have proven that when people become too popular, they will really lose their rationality, and Emperor Jingwen, who was known for his rationality, was no exception.

Wang Ziquan’s heart tightened, and he said with a bitter face, “No, Your Majesty, this will really cripple the Ninth Prince.”

Emperor Jingwen said nothing, but just said: “He asked for it.”

As soon as Emperor Jingwen said this, Wang Ziquan was shocked beyond words.

But what Wang Ziquan didn’t know was that Emperor Jingwen regretted his decision the moment he turned around.

It is not easy for even an emperor to bear the thought of crippling his own son’s hand.

But the emperor’s words were golden and could not be changed once they were spoken, so Emperor Jingwen successfully suffered from insomnia and could not sleep the whole night.

After reviewing memorials at night and not sleeping all night, Emperor Jingwen had a layer of dark circles under his eyes and was not in a good mood.

The next morning, just as Emperor Jingwen was hesitating whether to send the guards to Qiuwu Palace and force him to go to the study, after all, in this way, it would not be considered as breaking his promise.

Before Emperor Jingwen could give any more orders, Wang Ziquan hurried in and said, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince—”

Have you finished beating 136 boards?

Emperor Jingwen suddenly felt that he couldn’t breathe, but the next second, he heard Wang Ziquan say: “Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince has now arrived at the upper study!”

Looking up at the sky, it was indeed the Mao hour.

I’m afraid the sun will rise from the west today.

Emperor Jingwen couldn’t help but laugh: “I knew he would not be able to hold on sooner or later.”

Because of Ye Shuo’s schooling, everyone in the palace was in turmoil.

Seeing him sitting in his seat on time, Lord Cen’s eyes almost popped out. He was originally wondering how to punish him today.

It would certainly not work if he really beat him, because by then the prince would be crippled, the emperor would regret it, and he, as his teacher, would be the one who would suffer. But he couldn’t be beaten too lightly, because if he was beaten lightly, he wouldn’t remember it.

As a result, everything is fine now, and he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.

Lord Cen felt the urge to cry for the first time in a long time.

Not to mention him, even the Fifth Prince had an expression as if he had seen a ghost when he saw his younger brother.

However, just when everyone thought he had no choice but to give in, unexpectedly, after the first get out of class, he disappeared again.

“What? Gone?” After listening to the little eunuch’s words, Lord Cen suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.

But how could it be possible? After the first class, the Ninth Prince really walked out of the study room in a swagger.

After all, Ye Shuo had studied it and found out that there was no such thing as leaving early in the study room, which meant that as long as he showed up and then left, he would not be considered late.

“Your Majesty…” God knows how scared Wang Ziquan was when he told Emperor Jingwen the news.

Sure enough, the next moment, Emperor Jingwen exerted force with his hand and broke the brush he had been using for many years.

Wang Ziquan lowered his head deeply, unable to bear to look any longer.

Of course, Ye Shuo certainly couldn’t do the same as before, taking advantage of every opportunity to take advantage of the situation, otherwise the punishment would increase dramatically within three days. So in the days that followed, he played around with skipping classes, leaving early, and asking for leave, making sure that his cheap father couldn’t figure out the pattern.

Anyway, as long as his stepfather doesn’t show up in person, Ye Shuo won’t be afraid at all.

There was nothing that could be done now that he was there. After all, his stepfather was the emperor, and he could not go too far.

As for why his cheap father hadn’t shown up until now, Ye Shuo could probably guess a little bit, he probably just wanted to deal with it coldly. He didn’t think this would work, didn’t he?

Then, from time to time, this scene would be played out in the study room:

If the temperature suddenly dropped or the sky suddenly darkened, Ye Shuo would definitely just walk away. In his words, he didn’t have enough clothes to wear and the eunuchs who accompanied him didn’t bring any. What if he caught a cold or got sick?

There is also the rain. Although I have an umbrella and a raincoat, I will still be splashed by water vapor. What if I get a fever from the rain? Is there any special medicine?

Seeing how he took care of himself, the princes were speechless.

Especially the little grandson of the emperor, the envy in his eyes was almost overflowing.

He also wanted to be as cool and carefree as the Ninth Prince…

But when he thought that even his own mother would not agree, the little prince became completely discouraged.

Ha, pretending. Seeing him like this, the Fifth Prince couldn’t help but sneer in his heart, but for some reason, his handwriting was a little messier than usual when he wrote.

Also, the weather cannot be too bad, nor can it be too good. After all, in Ye Shuo’s opinion, such good weather is for playing well, and one should not waste the good time on reading which can be done at any time.

So whenever the weather was good, Ye Shuo would basically ask his mother to go with him, and they would have a picnic in the imperial garden, fly kites, etc. In the beginning, Concubine Rong scolded him, but gradually, she let him go.

After all, Ye Shuo said that he would grill the meat for her. It was the meat grilled by his own son. How could Concubine Rong resist such temptation?

Compared to other situations where they have stayed in the inner house for too long, and their sons despise them for being ignorant and annoyed if they say one more word to them, Concubine Rong naturally prefers this.

After all, kites can fly quite high and far. Ye Shuo swore that he didn’t do it on purpose, but it just happened that the Fifth Prince saw it.

The swallow-shaped kite was so conspicuous, and the colors were so bright, flying in the sky made people feel uncomfortable. The fifth prince felt that Ye Shuo was provoking him, and he tore off a corner of the textbook at hand.

asshole!!

The princes had been sitting for an hour and were already feeling extremely tired. Then they saw this scene, and they felt mixed emotions. They couldn’t help but think of the story of the rich businessman that Ye Shuo had told them before.

Actually, that story sounds reasonable…

Even the Sixth Prince couldn’t help but adjusted his position.

I don’t know if it was because he was angry or upset, or because the weather has been a bit unpredictable recently, but the Fifth Prince accidentally caught a cold.

In fact, the situation was not particularly serious. It was just a few mild symptoms, such as nasal congestion and dizziness. In the past, the Fifth Prince would not have taken it seriously at all. He would have taken two doses of medicine and endured it.

In fact, Concubine Shu’s attitude towards him did not change. After asking him about his well-being, she asked him to go to school as before.

After all, studying is the most important thing, and ordinary illnesses should not interfere with studying.

But today, maybe it was because sick people were particularly fragile, or maybe he had a severe cold and dizziness, but the Fifth Prince suddenly had a flashback of Ye Shuo coming and going as he pleased, and the Imperial Concubine never stopped him, always putting his health first.

This was even the case when that bastard was full of energy and nothing happened to him, and the imperial concubine didn’t say anything. But when he himself fell ill, his mother still asked him to go to the study.

Is studying really that important?

A sudden feeling of grievance surged in his heart, and the Fifth Prince’s tone was filled with unprecedented resentment: “Noble Concubine Rong would never call the Ninth Prince like this, and you, my own mother, would only tell your son to study, study, study.”

The moment the words fell, the entire hall fell silent.

On the other side, Qiuwu Palace——

There were still two quarters of an hour left before the Mao hour, when a man in a black robe appeared at the entrance of Qiuwu Palace. The owner of the robe stood at the entrance for almost a cup of tea before he stepped inside.

No one expected that such an unexpected person would appear here at this time. The palace guards were shocked and then thought about paying their respects.

However, the next moment, he was stopped by that man.

“No need, don’t alarm anyone.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Under the horrified gazes of the palace servants, the man in the black robe walked towards the side hall, and then… entered the Ninth Prince’s room.

Looking at Ye Shuo, who was still sleeping soundly even though it was almost time and had no intention of waking up, the owner of the black robe held the beads in his hand and took a deep breath.

Looking next to them, the son of the Minister of Works and the young eunuch on night watch were not much behind, the only difference was that one was on the chaise longue and the other was at Ye Shuo’s feet.

Oh, I forgot to mention that after such a long time, Xing Yucheng has completely fallen and completely forgotten his original persistence. He sleeps no worse than the prince he serves.

The veins on the forehead of the owner of the black robe twitched twice.

Seeing this, the attendants nearby could not help but remain silent.

“Just watch and see when he—”

“Forget it, just wake him up!”

As if he had thought of something, he quickly changed his words halfway through speaking.

Soon, Ye Shuo felt someone pulling his quilt: “Let go, let go…”

“Your Highness, Your Highness, it’s time to go to school.”

“Nonsense…it’s still early…sleep for five more minutes…”

The visitor could no longer bear it when he saw this: “Come here right now, right now!”

Ye Shuo was startled and sat up suddenly from the bed. At this time, Emperor Jingwen’s face was the same color as the sky outside. He might have been half asleep. Ye Shuo blurted out, “Dad, why are you here?”

Emperor Jingwen was about to curse, but after hearing these words, he was subconsciously stunned.

“What did you call me just now?”

Well, he is an emperor, but he is willing to come and bring only the eunuch Wang with him. The meaning is very clear. Ye Shuo is not so ungrateful, so he yawns and starts to shout repeatedly –

“father.”

“father.”

“father!”

Emperor Jingwen suddenly fell silent. Ye Shuo held his breath, waiting for his next words.

After about a dozen breaths, Emperor Jingwen spoke as if he had accepted his fate.

“Tell me, what do I have to do so that you can go to school honestly.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Shuo’s sleepiness was instantly scared away.