Chapter 50

Six Palaces in East Garden.

Dahei pulled the two children to a stop in front of the school, walked to the corner to park the car with great self-management ability, and then pulled out a big bone from the bag of snacks hanging under the car.

After sending the cubs to school, Dahei lay leisurely beside the car and ground his teeth.

They wasted quite a bit of time having breakfast. Although they were not late, the other princes had already arrived.

The fifth prince bowed and said, "My brothers are well, and my sixth brother is well."

After saying that, he walked silently to his seat behind the Sixth Prince. Qu Watanabe experienced an unprecedented feeling of being surrounded by the enthusiasm of his brothers.

To be honest, his relationship with the sophomores and juniors is average, but his relationship with the fourth, fifth and sixth students is good.

The eldest prince and the second prince were relatively gentle and friendly to him. At this moment, their enthusiasm towards him increased exponentially, and they were very attentive to him and cared about him.

Even the Third Prince, who disliked him, could smile at him as if he were his own son.

——My dear royal brothers, you are just over ten years old. This is really creepy.

The eldest prince: "I was going to visit you a few days ago, but I was too busy with schoolwork and didn't have time. You look so thin, I'll send you some pork elbows later. This is the fastest way to grow meat."

"It's better to eat light," the second prince said with a smile, "Xiao Qi often goes to Shunning Palace, right? My mother, Concubine Ruan, is in Jiangyun Palace, and Shunning Palace is in the East Six Palaces, diagonally opposite. You can go there when you have time. Mother likes children very much."

The Third Prince: "What are you talking about, second brother? If you want to talk about closeness, Weiyang Palace is right in front of Shunning Palace."

As Qu Dubian went to Shunning Palace day after day, everyone gradually began to assume that he would live there in the future.

The eldest prince raised his eyebrows. In terms of the location of the palace where his mother lived, he was indeed not at an advantage.

But it doesn’t matter, he is the eldest son of his father, and he believes in his personal charm.

They were so enthusiastic that Qu Dubian almost couldn't resist, like a kitten surrounded by big dogs.

In the end, it was the Fourth Prince who rescued him. The Seventh Brother was always sick, and it was not easy for him to come to school, so he couldn’t let the other Imperial brothers monopolize his time.

He pulled Qu Dubian's arm and walked back. Qu Dubian hurriedly said, "Fourth brother, wait a moment."

He stopped at the Fifth Prince's seat and blinked: "Fifth brother, can we even change seats?"

The eldest prince patted his desk and said, "Seventh brother, come here. The view here is better."

Qu Dubian gestured at the height of the table and sighed: "If my brother goes there, he can only listen to the teacher's lecture from under the table."

The eldest prince said proudly: "I will hold you." His mother had said that younger brothers and sisters born in the future would be no different from sons and daughters, and the older he got, the more he had to act like a big brother.

Qu Watanabe: “…”

Not necessarily.

The Sixth Prince was not willing to see his elder brother snatching people away. In his opinion, his Seventh Brother was on their side and he could not let his elder brother and his elder brother control him.

So he immediately asked the Fifth Prince to move to the last table to make room for Qu Dubian.

The fifth prince loosened his grip on the book, quietly packed up his things, moved to the last seat at the back, and secretly cast a grateful look at his seventh brother.

His brother who took his place was nothing short of a hero.

Qu Dubian took out his own book and placed it on top.

The Fourth Prince did not make any comment about their change of positions. After all, no matter how they changed, he would still be next to his sleeping partner.

Qu Dubian used chatting to attract the Sixth Prince's attention so that he would forget about his fifth brother.

After the Sixth Prince threw the task of endorsement to the Fifth Prince, he did not even think about it: "You slept with the Fifth Brother yesterday? When will you come to see me? My bed is so big."

The Third Prince interrupted, "Sixth brother, our Seventh Brother has lived in the Purple Palace for a long time. Is there any place bigger than the Dragon Bed in the Purple Palace?"

He was used to using sarcastic language when talking to the boss, and it gradually became ingrained in him. Sometimes when he said something normal, he wouldn't even notice that there was something else behind his words.

The Sixth Prince immediately said angrily: "My bed is very big, the biggest."

The second prince coughed lightly: "Be quiet, the master is coming."

Sure enough, a few seconds after he finished speaking, Master Fang came in. He caught a glimpse of the puppy cart outside and guessed that it was the Seventh Prince. However, he was still surprised when he actually saw him squatting there obediently.

Why did this child come here suddenly?

Qu Duan put two thick cushions under the table so that his whole body would not be buried under the table. He stood up with his brothers and saluted the teacher. He sat down and began to flip through the book. I wonder what he has learned so far.

"Okay, let's start with the routine questions before the lecture."

The Sixth Prince froze, and suddenly remembered that the Master wanted to ask him a question alone. He immediately turned his head. The Fifth Prince sat quietly at the back.

"!!!"

It’s over!

It was he who personally brought the Fifth Prince to an end!

The Sixth Prince felt very uncomfortable and said anxiously in a low voice: "Seventh Brother, please switch with the Fifth Prince, quickly."

Qu Watanabe said innocently, "It can't be changed, Sixth Brother."

The Sixth Prince's eyes revealed despair, and he asked eagerly: "Seventh Brother, can you recite "Si Zuo"?..."

Of course.

The Analects of Confucius is a required text in the nine-year compulsory education.

But the Seventh Prince, who had never learned it, would not do that.

Qu Watanabe: "What is that?"

The Sixth Prince looked at his brother's clear eyes that revealed a hint of stupidity and was completely desperate. "It's over. You are young and illiterate."

Bang!

The ruler was placed on the table.

Master Fang: "Don't move."

The Sixth Prince turned his head tremblingly, opened the Analects and recited frantically. They had not yet learned this part, and Master Fang asked him to recite it alone, which was indeed difficult and a punishment.

Master Fang: "Sixth Prince."

Finished.

The Sixth Prince supported himself on the table with his hands, lowered his head, and stood up slowly.

I racked my brains to utter each word at a time, and repeated the only sentence I remembered over and over in my mouth.

Just as he was about to raise his hand to get hit, Qu Dubian reached out from under the table, opened the page of the Analects of Confucius that he had just opened, and pushed it to the feet of the Sixth Prince.

The Sixth Prince: “!”

His eyes widened immediately.

He lowered his head and recited it haltingly.

After finishing reading, he looked up with a sense of relief, and saw Master Fang's smiling face in front of him.

The Sixth Prince: “…”

Master Fang: "I was also in charge of the military in my time. You two are doing these little tricks right under my nose. Do you think I can't find out?"

"Stretch out your hand."

The Sixth Prince was hit hard. When he reached Qu Duan, Grand Tutor Fang snorted, "Even if he's young, he still needs to be beaten."

The ruler was raised high, and when it finally landed in his palm, it actually had no force, it just sounded a little loud.

"Sit down."

After one round of discussion and finishing the class, it was time to get out of school at noon.

"Brother," the Sixth Prince said with tears in his eyes, "you were beaten by the Master for helping me. You are so kind."

Qu Watanabe began to deceive, "Sixth brother, in this case, do you owe me something?"

The Sixth Prince: "You say!"

Qu Watanabe: "For the next month, you have to take good care of Fourth Brother."

The Fourth Prince was suddenly named, and the two enemies simultaneously showed looks of disgust.

"Fourth Brother can tell you to do anything you want, you need to do it," Qu Duan said, "Whatever Sixth Brother told Fifth Brother to do, you should tell Sixth Brother the same way."

Then he said in surprise: "Sixth brother, are you going to go back on your word?"

The Sixth Prince subconsciously retorted: "Of course not!"

Qu Watanabe: "Where's the fourth brother?"

The fourth prince yawned and said, "It's all right."

"Okay, then it's settled," Qu Dubian pulled the fifth prince over, "Everyone come and witness it. If he changes his mind, everyone will laugh at him."

The Sixth Prince felt vaguely strange. He owed his Seventh Brother something, so why did the matter fall to the Fourth Brother?

But at this time, both parties had already agreed, and he said stubbornly: "I won't regret it. If I regret it, I'm a puppy."

Qu Watanabe nodded with satisfaction.

In this way, the conflict between the fourth brother and the sixth brother may be eased after more contact, and it will also allow the sixth brother to experience the difficulties of the fifth prince in daily life.

Only by experiencing it personally can one empathize with Sixth Brother, a child who has been spoiled and used to being domineering.

They were going back to the palace for dinner, and Qu Dubian said goodbye to them, saying that he had something to ask Master Fang.

"Master, how long will it take for my grandfather to come back?"

Master Fang stroked his beard and said, "He will definitely arrive before the New Year. He will arrive by fast horseback in seven to ten days. Are you curious about your grandfather?"

Qu Watanabe: "After all, I haven't seen it. Empress Xuan told me a little bit about it."

Master Fang: "Do you know why your three brothers are so enthusiastic about you today?"

"Did you see it?"

"It's too loud, I heard it."

He smiled and said, "During the time between your grandfather's return to the capital and his departure again, no one will show disdain to Your Highness."

For some people, being close at hand and being far away at the border are two completely different concepts of deterrence.

To give an inappropriate example, when a nanny is at home looking after the children, some nannies will have completely two different expressions depending on whether the owner is at home or not.

Qu Watanabe: "Master, do you know why my grandfather came back?"

He was really confused about this issue. To maintain power while lowering the emperor's vigilance, staying in the Northern Frontier was the only option. Moreover, with him making connections in the palace, the Marquis' Mansion would always be able to survive.

He lowered his eyes, "If you can come back, why didn't you come back earlier?"

-

Purple Palace.

"When Concubine Yun passed away, my brother sent six golden orders to the northern border, ordering Marquis Chijian to stop outside Lilang Mountain. He drove the wolves up the mountain and looked north for seven days before returning to the city."

At that time, the capital was in a tense situation and the Zhennan Pass was on alert. If there was any change in the northern border, the Nanning Kingdom would definitely launch an attack.

The parties were in a stalemate until the Sword-wielding Marquis came down from Lilang Mountain, and then the officials breathed a sigh of relief.

Prince Ming shook his head. "Now that we have joined forces with Ah Xiang and have just stabilized the situation in the northern border, a report on my work has been sent here in an expedited manner over 800 miles. As you can imagine, it is very aggressive. I thought that my brother would refuse, but I didn't expect that he would accept it."

Ah Xiang was the daughter of the late emperor, a princess sent to the northern border to marry.

"The rift between me and the Sword-wielding Marquis is not just the last time," Emperor Chongzhao said indifferently, spreading out a large piece of paper, dipping the tip of the brush into ink, and writing a word -

wait.

"According to the Marquis's personality, he will hate the Zhang family very much."

"Are you talking about the Zhang family, or me?"

"Brother Emperor, you are joking. How can a subject hate you?"

Emperor Chongzhao said calmly: "The festering and corrupt wounds must be cut out before they can heal. In the game, some people lose and some people win. Since we are at this table, we must have some courage."

Prince Ming stopped talking, and the atmosphere became vaguely solemn.

A palace servant came in from outside and said, "Your Majesty, this is the list of punishments for today's school."

Emperor Chongzhao put down his pen and unfolded it to take a look. "Xiaoqi? He actually went to school today. Why was he punished?"

The palace servant explained the reason, "The Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince were each punished with a ruler, and the teacher said that this kind of cheating in the school must never happen again."

"He was punished with a ruler?"

The heavy atmosphere dissipated instantly.

Emperor Chongzhao suddenly became unhappy, threw the note on the desk and snorted coldly.

"I have never been willing to hit him, but that old man hit him! He came to me to cry after he got swollen. Can he still comfort me?"