189. When there are no enemies...

The little girl felt something was off, but she had no proof.

She shook her little head.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

-

Then, life went back to normal, everyone was fine, and it seemed like everything was in the past.

On this day, at the Wenhua Hall.

The little boy held the tracing book, his brows furrowed as he wrote each character carefully.

Finally, during the break, she immediately put down her calligraphy brush and rushed into the courtyard. The little princess, the little prince, and her second brother also ran outside in unison.

"Little Moon!" The little princess ran over and grabbed her hand. "Let's go play jacks under that tree over there!"

The second brother was the fastest, already squatting there rummaging through the pebbles. Soon he had several smooth pebbles in his hand, which he held up high happily: "Come quick! I found so many pebbles! The little prince didn't find a single one!"

The young prince also squatted down to look for pebbles, but unfortunately he couldn't find any small, round ones.

Upon hearing this, he immediately raised his head, stubbornly arguing, "Who said I was looking for pebbles? I was using pebbles to set up an array, you wouldn't understand!"

The little princess happily led the little dumpling over, and the group sat around under the locust tree.

To ease the embarrassment of not finding the pebble, the young prince spoke first: "Let me tell you, yesterday I overheard Father Emperor and the ministers chatting, saying that the Duke of Anguo and the Prince of Shu's residence got into a fight with the Prime Minister!"

The little dumpling blinked its big eyes and asked curiously, "They're fighting? Do adults fight too?"

The young prince chuckled: "It wasn't that kind of fight, it was a dispute in the court. They argued fiercely in front of Father, each saying the other was wrong!"

The little dumpling still didn't quite understand, but she looked at the little prince with admiration: "Little prince, you're so amazing! You even know what the emperor and his ministers are talking about!"

The little prince, flattered by the little dumpling's praise, became even more smug. He deliberately slowed down his speech and said mysteriously, "You don't understand, do you? The affairs of the court are very complicated. The Duke of Anguo and the Prince of Shu's mansion have joined forces, accusing the old prime minister of secretly mobilizing his private troops and plotting something nefarious. They also keep kicking the Prince of Zhennan's heir, who runs to the Duke of Anguo's mansion every day to make a scene. The old prime minister, on the other hand, accuses the Duke of Anguo and the Prince of Shu's mansion of forming cliques and trying to undermine Father Emperor's power."

"What is 'jie da yi si ya'?" the little dumpling asked, tilting its head, its face full of confusion.

"Ahem," the young prince began to put on airs, "The 'Collected Works of Zhu Xi, Memorial of the Year Wushen' states, 'The prime minister cultivates factions and pursues personal gain'..."

"Ah... I don't understand..."

The little princess punched him lightly: "Speak like a human being! Stop talking incomprehensible nonsense!"

When there are enemies, the little princess will stand up for the little prince.

But when there are no enemies, the little princess is the little prince's greatest enemy.

The young prince rubbed his arm, held back his anger, and finally swallowed it: "I'm just explaining this to you! Simply put, both the Duke of Anguo and the old prime minister want to be the highest-ranking official, so they're undermining each other and trying to make Father Emperor believe them!"

The little dumpling finally understood, her little mouth slightly open, and she whispered, "So that's how it is... That Duke Anguo is a bad guy. He even wanted to send Big Sister away before. Yue'er hopes the Prime Minister can win!"

The young prince shook his head: "Little Moon, don't think like that. The old prime minister isn't a good person either. He takes advantage of his seniority and even tries to bully Father! Especially when Father first ascended the throne, he took advantage of Father's young age and led the court officials to disobey Father, trying to control him!"

"Huh?" The little dumpling's eyes widened in surprise. "Then...then are they all bad guys?"

“They’re all bad guys,” the young prince said with certainty. “They’re fighting each other because they’re all fighting for their own interests. The Duke of Anguo wants to climb the ranks by relying on the power of the Prince of Shu’s mansion, while the old prime minister wants to protect his own position.”

The young prince added, "I think it would be best if they both suffered heavy losses, so that Father could better control the court and not be controlled by either side!"

Having been exposed to these things since childhood, and with Wei Xiuming's deliberate cultivation, he understood more about the balance of power in the court than other children his age.

The little princess waved her hand impatiently: "Alright, alright, let's not talk about these headaches! Let's play jacks, and whoever loses has to bark like a puppy!"

"Okay, okay!" The little dumpling immediately responded, putting aside the affairs of the court and only looking forward to playing the game.

The group squatted on the ground and started playing jacks.

The little prince was clumsy and lost after only two rounds. He tried to cheat by not barking like a puppy, and was chased around the Wenhua Hall by the little princess. The courtyard was filled with laughter.

However, happy times are always short-lived.

The break between classes ended quickly, and the group reluctantly returned to the classroom.

The little boy sat in his seat, looking at the words on the blackboard, but seemed a bit distracted.

She secretly glanced back at her second brother and whispered, "Second brother, if the Duke of Anguo and the old prime minister start fighting, will eldest sister be in danger?"

The second brother whispered, "Don't worry, Brother Xie will handle it. He won't let anything happen to Big Sister."

The little dumpling nodded, feeling less worried.

She believed in Brother Xie. He was so powerful that he could definitely protect her older sister and stop those bad adults from bullying others.

-

Recently, the young prince discovered a little trick.

That is—of the four children in the Wenhua Hall, only he understands politics!

Most importantly—whenever he talks about politics, the little dumpling looks at him with an expression of adoration!

The little prince has finally found a brilliant way to attract the little dumpling.

then……

On this day, during recess at school, the little prince had already taken up the stone table in the courtyard. When he saw the little dumpling, his second brother, and the little princess coming over, he immediately cleared his throat.

"Little Moon, let me tell you, the court was quite lively yesterday!" The little prince deliberately lowered his voice. "The Duke of Anguo is riding high now. The Prince of Shu's mansion is speaking up for him in front of Father Emperor. Father Emperor praised the Duke of Anguo for being reliable and even promoted him. Now, many ministers have to treat the Duke of Anguo with great respect!"

The little boy's eyes lit up instantly. He ran to the stone table, placed his hands on the surface, and looked up at it, asking, "Wow! Little prince, how do you know so much? What about the old prime minister? Didn't the old prime minister fight with the Duke of Anguo?"

"They fought! Of course they fought!" The young prince slapped his thigh and spoke even more enthusiastically. "The old prime minister said that the Duke of Anguo was backed by the Prince of Shu's mansion and had no real ability. As a result, he was rebuffed by the minister sent by the Prince of Shu's mansion! The old prime minister's face turned pale, but he had nothing to say. Who told the Prince of Shu's mansion to help the Duke of Anguo now!"

He paused, racking his brains for the last remaining information.

That's all he overheard; he doesn't know anything more.

But seeing the little boy's adoring look, he couldn't bear to stop, so he frowned and started making things up. He immediately cleared his throat and put on an air of "everything is under control".

"Little Moon, let me tell you, yesterday the Duke of Anguo and the people from the Prince of Shu's mansion discussed a major matter in the palace all morning!" The little prince deliberately lowered his voice, "They said they were going to launch a 'net of heaven and earth' plan specifically to deal with the old prime minister! They also said they were going to find a 'flying messenger' to send the message outside the city!"

The little dumpling's eyes widened: "A flying messenger? Like a pigeon?"

"Much more powerful than pigeons!" The young prince waved his hand, spouting nonsense without hesitation. "It's a giant kite that can carry people! It even has huge hidden weapons attached to it. Once it's flown at night, you can see it from far away! The Duke of Anguo said that when the kite flies to the old prime minister's territory, the lanterns will fall down and then explode with a 'bang bang bang'!"

Upon hearing this, the little boy exclaimed in amazement, "Wow! That's amazing! Little Prince, you even know this, that's incredible!"

The young prince, flattered by the praise, continued to fabricate stories as his mind raced: "There's something even more amazing! They also said they'd build a 'moving stone house,' filled with lightning from the sky. If the old prime minister dares to come, he can just press a button, and the lightning will roar out and smash the old prime minister's carriage to pieces!"

"Oh, right! Duke Anguo also said that he wants to ask a Taoist priest who can tell fortunes to curse the old prime minister! That Taoist priest is incredibly powerful; he can see words in water and even talk to the gods in heaven!"