The reason Ye Jingchen started chatting with his study companions about everyday matters was simply to use them as a way to teach these princes and princesses how to get along with their 'father'.

However, after chatting for a while, he realized that only the chaotic scene at Yun Shu's house had a tiny bit of reference value.

Xie Chang'an, this filial son, only ever told one story: Xie Shaoling was beaten by the old lady so badly that he couldn't get out of bed for three days.

Wu Zemin and Gu Beichen rarely communicate with their families after returning home each day.

One of them was the eldest son of the Minister of Rites, who was usually very self-disciplined and respectful of etiquette, with manners and rules ingrained in his very being.

One was the eldest son of a scholarly family, and also a world-renowned child prodigy who was obsessed with reading, spending his days reading nothing but books.

I've heard that the Gu family has a nine-story library that houses all the rare books in the world. Even if an ordinary person reads non-stop every day, they still wouldn't be able to finish reading it in a lifetime. Gu Beichen practically lives in the library.

Their daily interactions with their family were unremarkable and offered nothing of value.

While the 'filial piety' between Ke Yunshu and the Marquis of Zhongyong has some merit, their relationship is too chaotic, and this approach is not suitable for princes and princesses to emulate.

Unable to draw on his experience of tutoring his child, Ye Jingchen had to find another way.

After thinking it over, he actually came up with a good idea—reading storybooks.

In the bookstores large and small throughout the capital, there are countless legendary tales vying for attention, and one should be able to find some stories of loving fathers and filial sons, and brotherly love and respect among brothers.

Ye Jingchen sent a message to Zhizhi, asking them to help him find storybooks.

To Zhizhi and the others, the things their little benefactor ordered them to do became increasingly strange, whether it was recording the prices in the capital or finding storybooks.

They had initially thought the task would be easy to complete, but after searching every bookstore, big or small, in the capital, they couldn't find a single storybook about filial piety and brotherly love.

Most of the popular storybooks on the market are about scholars and ladies from noble families, courtesans, or even fox spirits and ghosts—in short, stories of beautiful women's passionate romances, with almost no other types.

"Big sister, we couldn't even complete the first serious task Xiao Engong gave us. Won't he think we didn't do our best?" Xiuxiu asked worriedly after searching everywhere.

"That's not the case, he doesn't seem like that kind of person." Zhizhi comforted Xiuxiu while seemingly lost in thought.

Since we can't find one, we might as well just ask someone to write it.

“I know a scholar who makes a living by writing storybooks. We can go to him and ask him to write a storybook about filial piety and brotherly love,” Zhizhi said thoughtfully.

"That's a great idea!"

"Big sister is so smart!"

The scholar's name was Liu Wenxuan.

The place they stayed was not far from their house; it was a dilapidated little courtyard.

Liu Wenxuan and his mother depended on each other for survival.

His mother supported his education by doing needlework and washing clothes for others. She worked hard for half her life, which ruined her health. Now she has to take medicine every day to recover.

To save his mother, Liu Wenxuan had to make a living by copying books or writing storybooks to earn money to buy medicine for his mother and help her recover.

Zhi Zhi found Liu Wenxuan and made her request.

This was the first time Liu Wenxuan had ever encountered such a bizarre request since he started writing storybooks. However, Zhizhi gave him five taels of silver as a deposit, and since he needed the money, he agreed.

Ye Jingchen was soon informed of this.

Customized storybooks were quite popular in their time, but the fact that Zhizhi could come up with this idea shows that she is quite quick-witted.

If Liu Wenxuan has the talent to write vernacular stories, then he could certainly put it to good use.

After all, those popular storybooks still have a significant influence.

Since it was a custom order, Ye Jingchen added many more requirements, and of course, he paid the full amount.

He didn't require the story to be too convoluted or bizarre; he just wanted it to depict the warm and cozy daily life of a family. The most important thing was that it had to be authentic, not too exaggerated, and it didn't need to be a melodramatic love story.

Liu Wenxuan was very efficient; seven days later, Ye Jingchen received a copy of the storybook.

Liu Wenxuan was a smart man and understood Ye Jingchen's meaning. The storybook was written exactly according to Ye Jingchen's requirements.

The story is about a wealthy man who owned thousands of acres of fertile land and raised his four sons to adulthood.

The wife of the wealthy man passed away from illness shortly after giving birth to their fourth child. The wealthy man had a deep affection for his wife and did not choose to remarry, but instead raised the four children himself.

These four children have distinct personalities, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The wealthy man raised them with a balance of gentleness and firmness, and the children both respected him and were very close to him.

The four brothers also had a very good relationship. The elder brother loved and cared for the younger brother, and the younger brother admired the elder brother. They were friendly and respectful to each other and united as one.

What pleased Ye Jingchen the most was Liu Wenxuan's superb writing skills. He depicted the daily life between the wealthy man and his four sons in a very warm and loving way, to the point that it made people envious.

Because of this storybook, on his day off, Ye Jingchen specially asked Zhizhi to take him to see Liu Wenxuan.

Liu Wenxuan has a handsome appearance and an air of scholarly elegance, making him someone who instantly gains favor upon meeting.

He was a scholar who had failed the provincial examination a year ago, and his next attempt would be in two years.

Ye Jingchen gave him one hundred taels of silver as payment for the storybook and asked him to continue writing similar stories.

Ye Jingchen printed nine copies of the storybook, one for each of his brothers and sisters, and also specially sent one to the emperor.

Upon receiving the storybook, the emperor was puzzled.

It's one thing for the unfilial son to secretly read miscellaneous books himself, but to actually give them to him to read? Is this an attempt to bribe him with miscellaneous books and make him an accomplice?

"Father, this book is really interesting, you must read it!" Ye Jingchen repeatedly urged when he gave the book to his father.

The emperor had no interest in reading storybooks, nor did he have the time for it, but given that the storybooks were a gift from his rebellious son, he still intended to take a few glances at them, just to give them a token of appreciation.

Who knew that once I started looking, I would get so engrossed in it.

When the emperor got tired of reviewing memorials, reading about the heartwarming interactions between a wealthy official and his four sons in a storybook made him feel less tired.

Although this was just a storybook and the stories described were not true, the emperor still felt that the process of the official educating his children and his attitude towards them could still serve as a lesson.

He also wanted to be closer to his child.

This is probably why the unfilial son specially gave him this book.

Even the emperor found storybooks novel, so they were even more interesting to others who had never read them before.

The day after we gave them the storybooks, several of them developed shadows around their eyes, were lethargic in class, and yawned constantly.

Ye Jingchen was all too familiar with their appearance; it was exactly the same as when he used to stay up all night reading novels!