The students of Fengming Academy all have their hair in uniform buns and wear the same uniform. When they are still, they are gentle and polite, but when they move, they make people want to stay away.

After the academy guards' fearsome reputation spread, fewer people came to the academy gate looking for a beating, except for the students from the neighboring Imperial Academy's preschool.

How can a man who stands tall and upright be no match for a woman?

They were not convinced, so they fought and lost repeatedly, but they fought on despite repeated defeats.

They always arrive arrogantly and leave dejected, without exception.

Although the scholars of the Imperial Academy secretly encouraged these youngsters to cause trouble at Fengming Academy, they didn't dare to argue with them after the youngsters lost the fight.

After all, if they went, they would be facing a ruthless female guard.

As for the elders in the children's families, they dared not cause any trouble. It was common knowledge that the emperor doted on the eldest princess, so who would dare to cause trouble?

As they continued their back-and-forth fighting, the area in front of Fengming Academy became increasingly lively.

Every time the brats from the Imperial Academy came to cause trouble, some busybodies who were strolling around nearby would immediately spread the word, and soon idle commoners from the capital would come to watch the spectacle.

A bunch of little brats getting into a fight, or rather, the fierce little girls pinning the weak young masters to the ground and beating them up—the scene was even more exciting than a play performed on a stage.

"The Princess's Phoenix Cry Academy is not teaching female students at all; it's producing a bunch of tigresses!"

"Exactly! She's been this fierce since she was a kid, who would dare to marry her when she grows up?"

"How can a woman pin a man to the ground and beat him? It's outrageous! Outrageous!"

There were always whispers and discussions like this.

However, once the fight was over, and the young boys from the Imperial Academy had run away crying and shouting, the girls would dust themselves off, straighten their messy buns and clothes, and soon they would be back to their gentle and lovely selves.

"Fengming Academy is quite capable. These young girls have an air about them that is not much different from those noble ladies. If you didn't know their backgrounds, who would believe that they were all orphans in the orphanage before?"

"A person with a wealth of knowledge naturally exudes elegance! Otherwise, why would people say that of all other pursuits, only studying is noble?"

"I wish my daughter could go to school too..."

In this world, there are those cold-hearted people who favor sons over daughters and treat their daughters like slaves and servants, and there are also loving fathers and mothers who cherish their daughters and treat them like precious jewels.

Having witnessed firsthand the transformation of the orphanage girls after they started school, someone finally agreed to send their own daughter to the academy.

The fact that students were voluntarily enrolling in Fengming Academy was a good start. More and more people went there to study, and the academy's reputation gradually improved.

In the Wenhua Hall, even without Ye Jingshu and Wu Zemin, classes continued as before. However, as the children grew older, they began to think about their future.

Yan Xu would come and give them two lessons every month, sharing his own philosophy.

At first, he mistakenly thought that Ye Jingchen was the one who wrote him the letter, so he was most interested in him.

However, after attending a few more classes, he discovered that the ideas of the children in the Wenhua Hall were quite similar to his, and their ideas were even more unconventional and feasible than his.

Later, he discovered that although His Highness the Crown Prince shared his ideals, his personality was not to his liking.

Despite his young age, the Crown Prince lacked the vigor and vitality of a young person, as well as the dignity befitting a crown prince. Although he was intelligent, he always seemed lazy and unruly.

On the contrary, the second prince was calm, diligent, ambitious, and had his own principles, which suited him very well.

Ye Jingming felt that his situation in the palace was actually more precarious than Ye Jinghe's.

Although Ye Jinghe was neglected by his mother and father from a young age, he was at least favored by his elder brother, the Emperor. He lived in his brother's Eastern Palace and was well taken care of, and he was spared from any gossip.

Unlike him, although his mother was only imprisoned in Yichun Palace, she never spoke a word to him again after her bad deeds were exposed, not even a perfunctory word.

The palace servants outwardly treated him with utmost respect, but in private they gossiped and pointed at him.

He had long since stopped wanting to live in Yichun Palace, and it wasn't that he couldn't leave, but if he did, the palace servants might not take good care of his mother.

Therefore, he could only stay with his mother in that oppressive palace, unable to find relief.

But Mr. Yan's arrival gave him hope. Mr. Yan admired him and wanted to take him as his disciple.

If he could become Mr. Yan's disciple, he would not only be able to get involved in court politics ahead of time, but he might also be able to leave the palace and establish his own residence, thus leaving Yichun Palace earlier.

The palace servants of Yichun Palace dared to neglect the mother of a prince who had no one to rely on, but they would never dare to neglect the mother of a prince who had already entered the court and gained power.

However, whether or not he can become Mr. Yan's disciple is not up to him; he also needs the Emperor's approval.

Only if his elder brother agrees can he persuade his father, so that his father will not suspect him of colluding with powerful ministers and plotting rebellion.

His mother used to scold him for being like a block of wood, unable to please his father. In this respect, he was indeed far inferior to his elder brother.

However, my elder brother said that being yourself is the best thing to do, and you don't need to change yourself to please anyone. If someone likes you, it's because they like everything about you.

My brother is right. Even someone with such a dull personality has people who appreciate him, right?

"Mr. Yan wants to take you as his disciple? That's great! The Ministry of Personnel is also a good fit for you. Even if you don't mention it, I will take the initiative to find you when you are a little older and hope that you will go to the Ministry of Personnel," Ye Jingchen said happily to Ye Jingming.

In all dynasties, after princes came of age, they would typically begin their political careers by gaining experience in the Six Ministries.

He happened to have six younger brothers, each with a different personality and their own strengths, so he could send them to the six departments to gain experience.

Ye Jingming has a calm and composed personality and is well-suited for the Ministry of Personnel.

Ye Jingming's entry into the Ministry of Personnel naturally required the emperor's approval.

He told the emperor about this when he paid his respects.

"Jingming has no problem going to the Ministry of Personnel, but as the Crown Prince, your status is more special than his, and you are also older than him. When do you plan to enter the court?" the Emperor asked, not very pleased.

What displeased him was not that his second son wanted to bypass Ye Jingchen, the crown prince, and enter the court first, or even go to the head of the Six Ministries for training. What displeased him was that his second son had already considered entering the court for training, while Ye Jingchen was still comfortably staying in the Wenhua Hall reading his books, without doing anything!

He remembered that Ye Jingchen used to hate reading the most.

It's impossible that now that I'm older, I've suddenly developed a love for reading, right?

Having spent so many years together, the emperor believed he knew his son quite well. Ye Jingchen was intelligent, filial to his father, and caring towards his siblings—he was good in every way, except for one thing: he was too lazy!

But as the crown prince, how could he be lazy?