173. Old Deng's face was repulsive.

The palace servants dared not delay and immediately rushed to find the imperial physician.

Xie Wenling handed Qu Zijin over to the palace servants beside him for care, then turned to look at the four children in front of him who were also startled, squealing and looking completely innocent.

He crouched down and asked the little girl, "Princess, tell me, what does 'male concubine' mean? Why would you want me and Grand Tutor Qu to be your 'male concubines'?"

The little dumpling answered him earnestly: "Thank you, brother. A 'male concubine' is someone who plays with Yue'er and reads to her!"

The second brother nodded in agreement: "That's right! We think you guys are amazing, so we want you to be our male concubines. That way you can play with us every day and help us write and recite!"

Xie Wenling suddenly realized.

He was both amused and annoyed. He reached out and patted the little dumpling's head, saying, "Princess, you've misunderstood. Male concubines are not playmates. This term cannot be used casually, especially not to refer to me or Grand Tutor Qu."

Xie Wenling organized his thoughts and tried to explain in a way that the children could understand: "If you want someone to play with or study with, that's called a 'playmate' or 'book boy.' Grand Tutor Qu is your teacher, who teaches you to read and write. I am your cousin, Princess, and I can also play with you. These are all very normal things."

He emphasized: "But this cannot be called 'male concubine,' nor can we be described as 'male concubine.' Don't use this word again until you grow up, understand?"

The little dumpling blinked her big eyes and nodded as if she understood: "Oh... that means Brother Xie can play with Yue'er, but Yue'er can't call Brother Xie 'male concubine,' right?"

The little princess tilted her head and asked, "If I want the Grand Tutor to play with me, what should I call him? Should I still call him Grand Tutor?"

"Yes." Xie Wenling nodded.

The young prince still didn't understand: "Then why would Father use that word?"

"There may be some misunderstandings, but I think this is definitely not His Majesty's original intention."

Although the four children still didn't quite understand, seeing Xie Wenling's serious expression, they obediently nodded and said in unison, "We understand."

Xie Wenling escorted the four children back to Wenhua Hall, instructing them to read obediently and having palace servants stand guard at the door before turning to walk towards the side hall.

After examining Qu Zijin's pulse, the imperial physician reported that he had only fainted temporarily due to a sudden surge of anger and would be fine after a short rest.

As soon as the door was opened, Qu Zijin was seen sitting on the couch, his face pale, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, looking like he had lost his soul and had no will to live.

"Grand Tutor Qu, how are you feeling?" Xie Wenling stepped forward and handed him a cup of warm water.

Qu Zijin remained motionless, like a broken rag doll.

Xie Wenling casually put down his water cup, found a seat, and said, "Grand Tutor Qu, please don't take it to heart. The children are young and don't understand the true meaning of 'male favorite.' They just think of it as a playmate. Perhaps they accidentally misunderstood His Majesty's meaning, which led to this misunderstanding."

He recounted to Qu Zijin what he had just clarified with the children, adding, "I have made things clear to the children. They will not misuse words or mention this matter again. You can rest assured, Grand Tutor."

Qu Zijin was stunned for a moment, his eyes gradually changing from empty to clear, from despair to anger.

He sat bolt upright: "A misunderstanding? This kind of misunderstanding is utterly absurd! No, I must go to His Majesty and demand an explanation!"

Xie Wenling pressed him down: "Grand Tutor Qu, this is inappropriate. Your accusations are likely to embarrass His Majesty. Why not wait a few days, until things have calmed down, and then I'll gently bring it up for you. Wouldn't it be better to downplay the matter?"

Given that Qu Zijin spoke up for him yesterday, he was willing to offer him some kind words of advice today as well.

"No!" Qu Zijin slapped his hand away, his tone firm. "I teach and nurture people, and what I emphasize is upright conduct. As the role model for all people, Your Majesty should be even more so! If this matter is not clarified today, wouldn't it cause even greater trouble if the children are misled in the future? Even if Your Majesty wants to blame me, I will speak up!"

"Why bother? This is just a misunderstanding; there's no need to escalate it. You haven't suffered any real loss. You've inadvertently angered the Emperor, and instead..."

"As a loyal subject, I must advise Your Majesty! This misunderstanding should never have occurred in the first place! I am not afraid of offending Your Majesty, but I am afraid that Your Majesty will make one mistake after another!"

After saying that, he ignored Xie Wenling's attempts to stop him, got up and strode out.

Xie Wenling chased after him for a few steps, but Qu Zijin quickly left him behind. He could only watch as Qu Zijin angrily ran towards the Imperial Study, and sighed helplessly.

Forget it, I can't persuade them otherwise.

-

Qu Zijin walked quickly and soon arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Study.

He spoke loudly to the eunuch on duty: "Please inform His Majesty that I, Qu Zijin, have important matters to report and humbly request an audience with Your Majesty!"

Seeing his agitated expression, the eunuch dared not delay and immediately went inside to report.

Not long after, the eunuch came out, looking troubled, and said, "Grand Tutor Qu, His Majesty says he is unwell and cannot receive guests today. Please come another day."

"Unwell?" Qu Zijin laughed angrily. "Was I perfectly fine before I arrived, and suddenly became ill after I came?"

His anger intensified: "I think His Majesty is guilty and dares not see me! I must explain this matter to His Majesty face to face today!"

He was about to barge in when he was stopped by the guards.

Qu Zijin was both angry and anxious. Thinking of the grievances he had suffered today and how the children had been misled, he felt a surge of anger and blood rushing to his head.

He took a step back, looked at the door of the Imperial Study, and shouted loudly, "If Your Majesty refuses to see me, I will smash my head against the door of the Imperial Study today and let the world see how Your Majesty chills the hearts of loyal ministers!"

After saying that, he suddenly rushed towards the pillar next to him!

The palace servants and guards on duty were terrified and rushed forward, grabbing his waist tightly and stopping him.

"Grand Tutor Qu, please don't act rashly!"

"Yes, Grand Tutor, His Majesty must be very busy. He will definitely see you when he is done!"

The palace servants tried to persuade him, but Qu Zijin struggled and was held down by the crowd. He could only tremble with anger and his eyes were red.

Just then, the old prime minister walked over.

The old prime minister looked at the scene before him with surprise and quickly stepped forward: "What's wrong with Grand Tutor Qu? Why is he trying to kill himself out of the blue?"

Qu Zijin met the old prime minister, and paused in his struggling movements.

The old prime minister patted him on the shoulder and said with concern, "Grand Tutor, could it be that the children in the Wenhua Hall are too difficult to manage, and you've upset your health? It's true, the princes and princesses are precious and their temperaments are inevitably a bit spoiled. Grand Tutor, teaching and educating them is hard work. If you have any difficulties, you might as well tell me, and I might be able to help you."

These words, seemingly out of concern, actually contain a trap.

If it were before yesterday, Qu Zijin probably wouldn't have thought so much.

But things are different now.

He still remembered the conversation between Wei Xiuming and Xie Wenling yesterday, in which Wei Xiuming clearly conveyed the same message—the old prime minister and the Duke of Anguo had joined forces to kill Xie Wenling.

Qu Zijin thought Xie Wenling was a good person. Conversely, he did not think Duke Anguo was a good person.

The answer is obvious: the old prime minister who conspired with the Duke of Anguo to kill Xie Wenling was hardly a good person.

Therefore, Qu Zijin couldn't help but be somewhat wary of the old prime minister and had to think more carefully about what he said.

Therefore, he quickly realized a trap—if he went along with the old prime minister's words, wouldn't that be equivalent to saying in public that the four little brats in the Wenhua Hall were all unruly and difficult to discipline?

This is devastating to the reputations of the four children.

More importantly, two of these four children are princes and princesses.

He publicly belittled the princes and princesses; wasn't he trying to trample on the royal family's dignity?

It was said in front of the emperor's study... which is tantamount to directly slapping the emperor in the face.

From another perspective, this also implies that he couldn't even teach a few children properly and was unworthy of being the Grand Tutor.

Qu Zijin instantly came to his senses and found the old man in front of him utterly repulsive.

She deliberately chose a moment when he was angry, pretending to care and setting off this fatal trap; it was truly despicable.

Moreover, it is highly likely that after he responds, the old prime minister will pretend to be a good person and scold him for talking nonsense, feigning to cover it up for him, and then seize the evidence against five people in one go.

...If Qu Zijin had been any less foolish, he might have been grateful to Qu Zijin for reminding him in time and helping him "keep the secret" for a long time to come.

Qu Zijin took a deep breath, feeling that these old schemers in officialdom were truly dark.