"If she wants to fly, let her fly. I just want to stay by my brother's side." Ye Jinghe hugged Ye Jingchen's arm tightly, leaning against him, not wanting to walk at all.

He didn't care how high Ye Jingshu flew; the higher the better, preferably far away from him and his brother.

Seeing Ye Jinghe's indifferent attitude, Ye Jingchen sincerely felt that Ye Jingshu would probably never live to see the day when Ye Jinghe felt ashamed in front of her!

The two brothers were having their dinner when the emperor's reward suddenly arrived.

Zhang Shunde personally led the way to deliver it. Two palace servants carried an inconspicuous wooden box with some difficulty. When the box was opened, it almost blinded Ye Jingchen.

The box was filled with a dazzling array of gold, silver, and jade artifacts, as well as various toys that children might like. There were several sets of nine-linked rings made of gold, silver, and jade, as well as jade tangrams and gold Luban locks.

Ye Jingchen did send out quite a few things from his private treasury today, but compared to what the emperor was giving him under the guise of rewards, it was nothing.

Thanks to the emperor's gifts, his private treasury was suddenly filled to a great extent.

He witnessed once again just how much the emperor doted on his son!

Of all the gifts, Ye Jingchen's favorite was the set of Luban locks made of gold.

He had originally planned to bring Ye Jinghe a set of Luban locks the next time he left the palace.

Now it's much easier; the emperor has given him something ready-made, so he can just take it out and teach Ye Jinghe to play together.

Ye Jingchen used to be terrible at video games and was often scolded for being clumsy and brainless. He searched online for how to improve his finger dexterity, and Baidu told him that he could try playing Luban Lock.

Baidu says that playing with Luban locks can improve spatial imagination and logical thinking skills, enhance finger dexterity, and relax the mind and body.

He bought a complete set of Luban locks online, from easy to difficult, along with detailed diagrams and instructions.

Following the instructions in the blueprints, he started learning from the simplest parts. He worked for an hour, disassembling the parts quite quickly, but he couldn't quite get the hang of assembling them. He only learned how to assemble the three mortise and tenon joints.

It was during that hour that he fully realized how crippled his hands were.

As for relaxing the mind and body—

He, who usually wouldn't get angry even if someone insulted him to his face, was so angry that he wanted to curse during that hour.

So, this set of Luban locks was only interesting for an hour before he put it away to collect dust, and he also lost the blueprints.

Then one day, when he was in a bad mood, he saw that set of Luban locks again.

Although there were no blueprints, this time his brain didn't shut down; in fact, it worked even better than when he had blueprints.

Playing with it did bring some enjoyment. It does indeed improve spatial reasoning and logical thinking skills, and learning to assemble it is certainly pleasurable. However, as for improving finger dexterity—

Ye Jingchen didn't know if it worked for others, but when he played the game later, he was scolded even more.

His teammates scolded him, saying that even pig's feet or dog's feet are more flexible than his.

However, these were things he did when he was young, and he hadn't touched a Luban lock for many years. This was a good opportunity for him to get a feel for it again by teaching Ye Jinghe.

Inside the Eastern Palace, the two brothers played with Luban locks together, enjoying themselves immensely.

Inside Chaoyang Palace, Ye Jingshu stared at the golden nine-linked rings that were coiled into a flower shape, feeling utterly helpless.

Just like the result she got when she went to find Ye Jingyan and Ye Jingyu to study at the Wenhua Hall.

"The Wenhua Hall is full of men, and the Crown Prince's companions are all men from other places. Ayan is already seven years old this year, and she has reached the age where she should avoid suspicion. How can she show her face in front of men from other places?" Consort Wen, Ye Jingyan's mother, said to Ye Jingshu with great concern.

Consort Wen was gentle and mild-mannered. In front of Ye Jingshu, she always kept a low profile and carefully considered every word she spoke before daring to say it.

“Your Highness, I know that you want Ayan to study for her own good, but Ayan is different from you. She does not have His Majesty’s favor and is just an unfavored princess. If she goes to study in Wenhua Hall and mingles with her brothers and other men, she will be criticized by the world. When she reaches the age of marriage, this experience will also make her disliked by high-ranking families.”

Upon hearing her words, Ye Jingshu was so angry that she wanted to slam her fist on the table.

"No matter what, Ye Jingyan is still the Emperor's daughter, a golden branch and jade leaf. Which noble family can be superior to the royal family? Who would dare to look down on a princess?!"

"Furthermore, Ye Jingyan is just studying at the Wenhua Hall; she's not doing anything shameful. Why should she be criticized and condemned?!"

“Your Highness is the eldest princess, of noble status, and no one else would dare to question you. But Ayan does not have your glory, nor your courage, so we will not go to Wenhua Hall.” Consort Wen gently refused Ye Jingshu.

Throughout the entire process, Ye Jingyan hid behind Consort Wen, only occasionally peeking out to peek at Ye Jingshu. Whenever she noticed Ye Jingshu looking at her, she would immediately hide back behind Consort Wen.

From beginning to end, she didn't utter a single word or express any opinion.

As for Ye Jingyu, she was a quiet and reserved person, while her mother, Consort Liang, was very talkative and secretive.

Moreover, what he said was all things Ye Jingshu didn't want to hear.

"As the saying goes, a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. A girl only needs to know a few words, be able to read account books, and manage the household affairs. That's enough. What's the point of studying so many books? She can't take the imperial examinations anyway. What's the use?"

"Since ancient times, a woman's value has only been to bear children, raise them, and be a good wife and mother. Reading too many books is not good; it can easily lead to delusions and restlessness," Consort Liang said in a nonchalant tone.

As she said this, Ye Jingyu stood beside her, listening expressionlessly.

Ye Jingshu was furious after suffering a series of setbacks.

But the reason she was angry was not because her plans were thwarted, but because of the attitudes of Consort Wen and Consort Liang.

She was young when her mother passed away. Although she didn't have a deep impression of her, she always remembered that it was her mother who enlightened her when she was a child and taught her that she should read more so that she would become wise and not live a muddled life.

They're all mothers, so why is there such a huge difference between them?!

This night was destined to be another sleepless one.

The next day, Ye Jingchen noticed that Ye Jingshu had even darker dark circles under her eyes than the day before, and knew that she must have hit a wall.

When school ended, he specifically asked Ye Jingshu to stay behind and inquire about the reason.

Ye Jingshu said angrily.

The fact that Consort Wen and Consort Liang held such views was not because they were particularly ignorant, but rather a reflection of the times.

Even in modern times, when everyone is equal, there were still many women who held such views in the 1980s and 90s when people's minds were not yet fully liberated, not to mention men.

In this era of male supremacy and female inferiority, women are gradually tamed by the influence of the environment and the constraints of the established framework.

However, children are different. From birth, a child is a blank sheet of paper. Before being completely assimilated, they can be painted with any color they want!