5. Chapter 5

"Good fortune and misfortune go hand in hand"

The Third Prince was so frightened by Kangxi's anger that he couldn't even cry. He kept hiccuping with his mouth open. When Kangxi saw this, his heart softened a little.

Normally, this son was a good student and quite clever. Seeing that he was terrified, he softened his expression and asked, "Do you realize your mistake?"

The third prince sobbed and replied, "Khan Ama, I know I was wrong."

Kangxi said, "Then tell me, where did you go wrong?"

The Third Prince groaned. He didn't know what he had done wrong, but he was frightened by Kangxi's majesty and just admitted his mistake obediently.

Kangxi's anger gradually began to fade. He looked at Qi You, who was standing blankly beside him, and said, "Seventh Brother, tell me where the third brother went wrong."

Qi You's mind raced as he carefully answered, "I didn't join forces with outsiders to bully my third brother. Besides, Yang Dan isn't an outsider; he's a brother from the same clan as us."

Kangxi was delighted to hear this; at last there was a sensible boy. They formed cliques in the school, and when their brothers quarreled, it was a laughing stock. It was truly disgraceful.

Although he was relieved, Kangxi was still very depressed that the Third Prince was not as sensible as the little kid Qi You. He frowned and asked, "Third Prince, do you know where you went wrong now?"

The Third Prince choked up and replied, "Khan Ama, I know my mistakes. I shouldn't have said Yang Dan was an outsider, and I shouldn't have quarreled with my Seventh Brother."

Seeing that the Third Prince had acknowledged his mistake, Kangxi stopped pursuing the matter and said, "Since you've made a mistake, you should accept the punishment. I was going to spank you, but I'll let you off today. When you return, write a hundred long-character essays and hand them in. Since you missed today's archery practice, I'll double the amount!"

Pulling the bow was very tiring, and he had to write a hundred long articles after returning. The Third Prince's tears immediately flowed like a river, and he agreed to take his leave while crying.

Kangxi glanced at Qi You, who stood there blinking, his chubby cheeks red, full of childishness. He couldn't help but laugh and said softly, "You did the right thing today. You can't fight with your brothers."

Qi You smiled and said, "Yes, Khan Ama, I understand. I can't beat my brothers."

Kangxi was amused by Qi You and nodded at him a few times. Then his smile faded and he pretended to be angry and said, "I can beat you even if I can't. If you dare to fight, I will still beat you with a stick."

Qi You nodded heavily, "Well, I don't fight. Gentlemen don't fight."

Kangxi wanted to laugh again, so he waved his hand and said, "Go down, and remember to study hard."

Qi You respectfully took his leave and left the East Warm Pavilion to return to the prince's residence. After leaving from the Qianqing Gate and passing through the Inner Left Gate, Qi You was blocked by the angry Third Prince at the corner as soon as he turned the corner.

The Third Prince's eyes were blazing with anger as he stared at Qi You and said angrily, "Seventh Prince, I'm busy today. You'll have to wait for me tomorrow after school!"

Because the Third Prince was very angry, but he didn't dare to speak too loudly, he lowered his voice and grumbled. His front teeth were loose, and his voice was hoarse after crying. A big snot bubble came out of his nose, which made him look particularly ridiculous.

The Third Prince probably felt that this was a loss of dignity, so he took out a handkerchief and wiped his face hard, his cheeks turning as red as a monkey's butt.

The Third Prince sniffed hard, glared at Qi You, and emphasized, "Don't run away tomorrow. If you run away, there will be another time!"

Qi You really wanted to laugh, but he was afraid that if he laughed, Third Prince would get even more angry, so he suppressed his laughter and asked, "Third brother, after school tomorrow, are you going to beat me again?"

"Who said I was going to hit you? Seventh brother, stop talking nonsense. I don't want to hit you!" The Third Prince was stunned for a moment and quickly looked around, fearing that he would be caught by Kangxi again.

The Third Prince was so anxious that he kept spinning around. He couldn't think of what to do with Qi You. However, the unyielding and angry feeling in his heart was too strong. He was anxious and angry, his face flushed, and he kept repeating: "I didn't mean to hit you, don't talk nonsense, do you hear me!"

Qi You nodded and said he understood, and deliberately reminded him: "Third brother, why are you still here? You still have to draw the bow twice later."

"Not only do I have to draw the bow twice, I also have to write a hundred big characters!" The Third Prince raised his fist angrily, but he didn't dare to hit Qi You, so he could only wave it in the air.

"I was punished by Khan Ama to do so much homework, and it's all because of you!" The Third Prince was overwhelmed with grief, tears streaming down his face. He squatted down against the wall and sat on the ground.

The ground was too cold for his butt, so he stood up again and leaned against the wall, complaining inexplicably and sorrowfully: "It's all because of you that I got punished."

Qi You looked at the Third Prince, whose face was covered in snot and tears and who kept wiping it with a handkerchief, and asked in confusion, "Third Brother, how did I offend you?"

"You haven't offended me yet, how dare you say you haven't!" The Third Prince was instantly furious. He approached Qi You and yelled, "Khan Ama used to only praise me for my good grades and study. After you started school, now he doesn't just praise you, he also blames me for not studying hard enough and asks me to learn from you. I have learned the Four Books up to the Doctrine of the Mean and the Five Classics up to the Book of History, and you are only still learning the Thousand Character Classic. What can you compare with me?"

So that’s it!

Qi You was surprised. He had become the unlucky child of other people's families in the eyes of the Third Prince, and the Third Prince had become his control group, the kind that he wanted to beat from time to time.

But, this feeling is really great!

Qi You smiled slightly, stepped forward and said mysteriously: "Third brother, I am also studying the Four Books and Five Classics. I have almost finished memorizing "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "The Book of History."

The Third Prince's mouth opened wide, his eyes wide open as he stared at Qi You, his face full of disbelief. His lips trembled as he finally squeezed out, "What?!"

Qi You just smiled and said nothing.

The Third Prince cried even harder, "Wow, Seventh Prince, you are so bad!"

Qi You kept his achievements and fame to himself, and was so happy that he almost wanted to laugh out loud.

However, it is better to resolve a feud than to create one. The Third Prince is just a toothless kid, so just let him be bullied.

Qi You moved his left foot and said slowly: "Third brother, my legs and feet are not good, so I can only study. This is probably the compensation given to me by God."

The Third Prince looked at Qi You's left leg, his tears gradually stopped, and after a moment he grinned: "Yes, you can never be better than me in riding a horse or shooting a bow."

Qi You echoed, "I'm definitely not as good as you. I can't even compare to my elder brother and the others."

The Third Prince thought of the eldest prince's sturdiness and pouted, wanting to cry again. But he didn't dare to offend the eldest prince. He snorted angrily, wiped the tears and snot from his face, rolled his eyes, glanced at Qi You, and said vaguely: "I want to write a hundred big characters, Seventh Prince..."

Qi You immediately understood that the Third Prince wanted him to help with his homework. He was short on time, so he wouldn't help the Third Prince. Besides, if Kangxi found out, they would both be in trouble. He said, "Third Brother, I just learned to write big characters not long ago."

The Third Prince's face immediately fell, and he said unhappily, "That's right, our handwriting is different, Khan Ama will be able to tell the difference right away."

Qi You pointed to the sky and said, "Third brother, it's getting late. Wai An Da might have to punish you later."

The Third Prince cried out, waved at Qi You, and ran away happily.

Qi You looked at the Third Prince running away, quickly retracted his gaze, and slowly returned to the Prince's residence.

This leg is still very useful. Although the Third Prince was so jealous, as long as the leg was mentioned, his knot in his heart would be immediately untied.

Even if he rose to prominence again, the prince and his men would not consider him a rival. Perhaps this leg was God's compensation for him.

On his way back to the Prince's Residence, he would pass by Dai Jia's residence. Even though she had given birth to a son, Dai Jia was still a concubine without a title or status. She couldn't even live in one of the six palaces, and was squeezed into the West Second Residence next to the Prince's Residence with Kangxi's other concubines without a title or status.

Qi You looked at the plaque with white characters on a blue background. In front of him was Dai Jia's gentle but never-closed brows. He was silent for a moment and continued walking forward.

He had to become stronger so that Dai Jia could move out of West Second Prison and soothe the sorrow and bitterness in her eyes.

The next day after school, Dai Jia sent someone to call Qi You over. As he entered the room and was about to greet her, Dai Jia quickly stepped forward to support him and said, "Your legs are not working well, so please don't be so polite. Are you injured anywhere? Let your mother take a look."

Seeing Dai Jiashi's pale face and red eyes, Qi You couldn't help but look gloomy and asked, "I'm not injured, I'm fine. Enie, what's wrong with you? What happened?"