Although he was punished again, and this time it was because of bringing up old mistakes, the little guy was very unhappy and depressed.

However, recalling what his grandfather had said on New Year's Eve, Xiao Hongjing's eyes darted around before he decided to go find his mother.

But as his gaze swept over Xiao Hezi standing in front of him, he paused and pouted.

My father is really something. He clearly knows the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic by heart, and can even recite them from memory. Why does he still make him recite them every day?

Honestly, carrying all this stuff around every day is so annoying.

But this was his punishment, and he also had Xiao Hezi watching over him, so he couldn't slack off or not. Oh well, the sooner he memorized it, the sooner he could finish and go find his mother.

After thinking it over, the somewhat sullen little guy pretended to cheer up and said, "Let's begin!"

Xiao Hezi nodded and said earnestly, "Then Prince, please memorize it carefully. This servant is listening."

In this way, Xiao Hongjing memorized the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic three times.

When the last word of the third repetition was finished, the little guy jumped off the chair and ran outside shouting, "I'm done reciting! I'm going to find Mommy!"

Xiao Hezi didn't stop him, but sent someone to the front yard to report to the prince. Then, he followed Xiao Hongjing to see Jiaming.

"Mother!" Little Hongjing hugged Jiaming's leg and called out happily.

"Finished reciting?" Jiaming asked casually as she held Xiao Hongjing in her arms, picked up some snacks, and fed him.

Xiao Hongjing nodded, then took a big bite of the pastry, chewed it with his cheeks puffed out, swallowed it, and said, "Mother, I want to ask you something?"

Jiaming raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Little Hongjing asked curiously, "Mother, was Fourth Brother also very naughty before?"

Jiaming blinked. "What? Who said anything to you?"

"Mother, is that right?" Little Hongjing asked Jiaming sweetly.

Jiaming nodded. "Mother has answered you. Now it's your turn to answer Mother's question."

Xiao Hongjing was very interested and curious about how mischievous his fourth brother was, such as sneaking onto the carriage to go on the southern tour, and of course, his earlier mischief.

And she wanted to know immediately. However, she hadn't answered her mother's question yet. If she didn't answer, her mother might get upset and refuse to tell her what she wanted to know next, which wouldn't be good.

So, the little guy suppressed his burgeoning curiosity and answered Jiaming's question first: "When we were in the palace, Grandpa said that my fourth brother and I are both naughty."

"Oh, I see!" Jiaming finally understood why her two sons had been punished by the master again after returning from the palace, and why she, as their mother, had been exhausted that night.

She glared at Xiao Hongjing, who smiled ingratiatingly at Jiaming.

Jiaming patted his head hard in annoyance, messing up his hair.

Xiao Hongjing didn't care at all. He keenly sensed that his mother's attitude softened after she touched his head.

So, seizing the opportunity, she pressed on, "Mother, how naughty was Fourth Brother when he was little? Tell me about it!"

As he asked, the little guy also knew how to use the art of coquetry. Sure enough, Jiaming, who was very pleased, told Hongjing about Hongxuan's naughty things when he was a child.

Of course, thanks to Jiaming's excellent memory, she never forgot Hongxuan's mischievous acts from childhood to adulthood.

While speaking, Jiaming added some amusing stories about how Fourth Master got tricked by Hongxuan's mischievousness.

Xiao Hongjing listened intently, his heart pounding with excitement.

As Jiaming reminisced and was filled with emotion, she didn't notice her youngest son's expression and thus couldn't guess his current state of mind.

And so, one thing after another, Jiaming talked about Hongxuan from when he was a baby to when he grew up.

"What are you saying?" Just as Jiaming was about to finish speaking, Fourth Master arrived. Seeing the mother and son talking happily, he called out from afar.

Before Jiaming could answer, Xiao Hongjing excitedly shared with his father, "I was talking about how naughty Fourth Brother was when he was little."

When this was mentioned, Fourth Master recalled the frustrating incident of his fourth son's mischief and the resulting trouble he suffered, and his expression immediately became somewhat unnatural.

"There's nothing to say!" Fourth Master said somewhat perfunctorily.

"How could that be?" Xiao Hongjing's face turned red, and he stared at Fourth Master with wide eyes, retorting, "Fourth Brother was so interesting when he was little, I want to hear Mother tell you more."

When Fourth Master saw Hongjing like this and listened to his words, he immediately had a bad feeling.

With this premonition in mind, he continued to obstruct, saying, "Whether it's interesting or not is none of your business, you..."

"Why didn't you turn it off!" The little guy interrupted Fourth Master's words unwillingly, and then said with admiration in his eyes and words, "Fourth Brother is so amazing, I want to be like Fourth Brother too."

Ama was tricked by Fourth Brother, and tricked too many times, which is why he objected. Humph, he won't fall for it.

Of course, he wouldn't tell his father the truth, otherwise, he would definitely be punished by his father.

Just as the little guy thought he was being very clever, Fourth Master's face darkened.

He wants to be like his fourth brother. He thinks his fourth brother was naughty and very clever when he was young. Haha, he thinks he can mess with his father and make his father helpless, so he thinks he is powerful and wants to learn from him!

This is simply a dream!

"What do you want to learn? You think selling vegetables isn't mischievous enough? You want to learn to be even more mischievous?" Fourth Master squinted at Hongjing and said in a very oppressive tone.

Although Xiao Hongjing really wanted to be more mischievous and keep up with his fourth brother, under his father's threat, his strong survival instinct kicked in, and he quickly shook his little head in denial.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!