After Zhang Shunde took the flower down, he immediately found a skillful palace maid to try to open the petals without damaging the flower.

However, as soon as the flower was opened even slightly, a sharp-eyed palace maid spotted the dense swarm of aphids on its stamens and was so frightened that she almost threw the flower away.

Zhang Shunde glanced at it and felt a chill run down his spine.

"Eunuch Zhang, what should we do now?" The palace maid held the flowers as if they were a hot potato.

"Find a clean flower to grow. If His Majesty asks, just say the flower has bloomed." Zhang Shunde wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and made a decision immediately.

At the dinner table, Ye Jinghe showed no remorse for doing anything wrong and focused solely on eating.

Ye Jingchen also showed great respect for the imperial cuisine.

Food tastes better when everyone is eager to eat it. Inspired by the two of them, the other princes also worked very hard and competed to be the first to eat, which pleased the emperor.

"Father, my third sister also loves reading. Can she study at the Wenhua Hall like us?" Ye Jingshu asked, seizing the opportunity.

It took the emperor a while to remember who the 'third sister' Ye Jingyu was. Ye Jingyu was simply too unremarkable; from her birth until now, the emperor had only seen her a handful of times.

"Go if you like it. I've said it before, princes and princesses can all study in the Wenhua Hall," the emperor said.

“But Consort Liang seems unwilling for Third Sister to study. She thinks that it’s useless for women to study. Father, can you persuade Consort Liang? Third Sister is so smart, it would be a pity if she didn’t study!” Ye Jingshu pleaded.

"Absurd! How can my daughter not study?!" The emperor was probably hearing this for the first time and was somewhat angry. "I will immediately order Jingyu to study at the Wenhua Hall!"

As for advising Consort Liang?

What a joke! Why would an emperor need to advise his concubines?

All he does is lecture!

He felt that Consort Liang really needed to be reprimanded!

"Thank you, Father! You are mighty, Father!" Ye Jingshu said happily.

"Why did you only mention Jingyu? What about Jingyan? I remember she was two years older than Jingyu." The emperor asked with some doubt.

When he was thinking about who his third daughter was, he also thought of his second daughter.

“Jingyan is too timid and doesn’t dare to go to Wenhua Palace. I’ll go and talk to her first. Once she’s willing to go to Wenhua Palace, I’ll ask Father to talk to Consort Wen as well,” Ye Jingshu said.

"Does Consort Wen also think that studying is useless?" The emperor narrowed his eyes, his expression somewhat dangerous.

"Consort Wen doesn't think studying is useless. She doesn't want Jingyan to enter the Wenhua Palace for other reasons, but her reasons aren't much better than Consort Liang's." Ye Jingshu sighed.

"Then why don't I just issue a direct order for both of them to study at the Wenhua Hall? I imagine Consort Wen and Consort Liang wouldn't dare say anything then," the Emperor said.

"That won't do!" Ye Jingshu refused without even thinking. "Third sister wanted to study on her own, but we haven't found out why second sister didn't want to study. We'll decide whether to let her go to Wenhua Hall once I find out the reason. After all, studying is her own choice, and it should be up to her."

Hearing Ye Jingshu's words, the emperor sighed with admiration, "You've really grown up!"

"These principles were all taught to me by my younger brother, who is the smartest one!" Ye Jingshu took the opportunity to boost Ye Jingchen's favorability in front of the emperor.

"He—" The emperor glanced sideways at Ye Jingchen, "As the crown prince, he still has a lot to learn!"

"Father, rest assured, your son will definitely study hard!" Ye Jingchen quickly replied.

"The others must not slack off either. You are my sons, and you cannot be inferior to anyone else!" the emperor said, glancing at the other princes.

"Your subject obeys!" Ye Jingming said, and Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingyu quickly echoed.

After the meal, the emperor personally tested their studies.

He was fully aware of the learning progress at Wenhua Hall, and the questions he asked were exactly what they had all learned. Ye Jingshu, Ye Jingming, and Ye Jingyu had always been serious about their studies and answered fluently.

Although Ye Jingyu's answer was somewhat hesitant, it was still considered correct.

Ye Jinghe had an excellent memory, and his answer was exactly the same as the explanation given by the teacher during the explanation, word for word.

As for his own understanding, he didn't say a word.

Faced with his cheating behavior, the emperor was helpless. After all, people with such a good memory are rare in the world, and it was his own skill.

Overall, the emperor was very satisfied with the examination. He encouraged each of them and bestowed many gifts upon them before instructing the palace servants to escort them back to their respective palaces.

At the same time, the imperial decree ordering Ye Jingyu to study at the Wenhua Hall, as well as the reprimand of Consort Liang, were delivered to Consort Liang overnight.

Consort Liang was both shocked and furious. She summoned Ye Jingyu and questioned her, but no matter what she asked, Ye Jingyu remained silent, using silence as her defense.

She raged for a long time, but all she got was a pain in her chest.

After returning to the East Palace and dismissing the palace servants, Ye Jingchen also planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with Ye Jinghe.

Recently, Ye Jinghe seems to have finally believed that he would not be easily abandoned again, which has revealed a lot of his true nature.

Ye Jingchen saw all of this and felt both gratified and somewhat worried.

It's gratifying that Ye Jinghe is willing to reveal his true nature in front of him, which shows that Ye Jinghe trusts him and is willing to be his true self in front of him.

As for concerns—

That was naturally out of concern for Ye Jinghe's nature.

His experiences and the neurotoxins he was exposed to prevent him from being as innocent, pure, and kind as a normal child.

If every child is born as a blank sheet of paper, then Ye Jinghe's paper has a background of black and gray, and perhaps even scarlet.

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