Xia Zhengqi shouted angrily and walked towards the fifth prince in two steps.
"Your sister is less than 4 months old, and you actually want to feed her lamb kebabs?!"
"Where's your brain? She's so small, can she eat meat?"
Xia Zhengqi grabbed the fifth prince's belt and lifted him up like a chicken.
"Father! Father! I mean well!" The fifth prince was so frightened that tears came to his eyes.
"I just wanted my sister to try some meat since she hasn't eaten it yet!"
After hearing the fifth prince's explanation, Xia Zhengqi instantly softened his heart.
He has always liked children. He has been a father for nearly 20 years and has never hit a child. Today, he loved his daughter so much that he couldn't control himself for a moment.
Xia Zhengqi slowly put the Fifth Prince down, calmed himself, and said in a slow tone, "My sister hasn't grown teeth yet. If you give her meat, she won't even be able to chew it. She'll choke."
"I know I was wrong, and I won't do it again next time." The fifth prince said while wiping his tears.
Xia Zhengqi was just about to bend over to hug his daughter when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the afterglow of the setting sun and his mind skipped a beat.
"Huh? That's not right. What time is it now?" Xia Zhengqi looked at the palace maid and asked.
"Your Majesty, it is now approximately two quarters past midnight," the maid replied with her eyes lowered.
"Your chief monk, school usually ends at 2:15 pm on weekdays, but you've already come to Kunning Palace with mutton skewers!" Xia Zhengqi stared at the fifth prince as if he had suddenly realized something.
“Your son…your son…” The Fifth Prince’s face turned pale instantly and he stammered, unable to speak.
"Well, Xia Chengshun, you dare to skip school!" Xia Zhengqi roared angrily.
"I've been busy lately and haven't been to the main hall as often, so you dare to skip school, right?"
Xia Zhengqi's face looked as ugly as a freshly steamed crab, and his big eyes looked scary.
"Father!" The fifth prince was so frightened that he burst into tears.
Although Xia Zhengqi has a gentle personality, he has always attached great importance to his children's education. He himself suffered academically when he was young.
When he was young, Empress Dowager Jiang rarely asked about his studies. As the unappreciated second son, he had no great ambitions, so he was careless in his studies.
It was not until he was pushed to the throne by circumstances that he realized that his academic deficiencies were a fatal weakness.
In order to avoid being looked down upon by the court officials, he had to study hard in secret, and it was only with great effort that he finally made up for this shortcoming in his studies.
So when it comes to his own children, he is very strict with their academic performance.
[Wow, Daddy is mad! He looks so scary! Is the Fifth Prince going to get beaten?]
Xia Miaoyuan sat on a rattan mat, staring blankly at Xia Zhengqi and the fifth prince.
For a moment, the anger he felt from seeing the Fifth Prince feeding his daughter lamb skewers and his anger from skipping school combined together.
Xia Zhengqi only felt his head was in a mess and a breath was pressing against his chest.
Xia Zhengqi picked up a wicker fly swatter nearby, grabbed the fifth prince by the collar with one hand, raised the fly swatter and hit him hard on the butt.
"You're nine years old, and you're still skipping school!"
"How dare you skip school!" Xia Zhengqi roared and spanked the fifth prince hard on the butt.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Don't let your anger damage your health!" Eunuch Debao, who was standing by, was frightened by Xia Zhengqi just now. He reacted at this moment and hurried over to dissuade him.
Several eunuchs and palace maids came over to persuade him.
"All of you go away, I don't want you to bother me!" Xia Zhengqi shouted angrily.
"Oh, what's going on? Why are you beating the child for no reason?" The queen was preparing dinner in the small kitchen in the backyard, and she rushed over when she heard the noise.
When she realized that it was Xia Zhengqi beating the Fifth Prince, she hurried forward to stop him.
When the palace maids saw the queen coming, they consciously made way for her.
"Your Majesty, please stop! Chengshun is only nine years old and can't handle being beaten like this. If he gets hurt, he'll need medical treatment."
[Do I need medical treatment if I'm injured?]
So, are you trying to persuade Dad not to have sex because you're worried about the medical expenses?
【Mother, you are really good at persuading people.】
Xia Miaoyuan watched with great interest as Xia Zhengqi beat the fifth prince.
The queen stepped forward and reached out to grab the fly swatter in Xia Zhengqi's hand.
Xia Zhengqi finally stopped, but his left hand was still clutching the Fifth Prince's collar, cursing angrily.
"Your Majesty, what happened?" A gentle female voice suddenly came.
Everyone looked up and saw a beautiful woman in dark green palace dress hurriedly walking in.
"Greetings to the Empress Shufei!" All the eunuchs and maids in the palace said in unison.
Concubine Shu bowed to Xia Zhengqi and the Queen and said, "I just discovered that Chengshun had brought skewers of meat to Kunning Palace. I was worried that he might be naughty, so I hurried over."
"What's wrong with Chengshun? Has he been naughty?" Concubine Shu looked at the fifth prince who was being grabbed by the collar by Xia Zhengqi, her face a little embarrassed.
[Empress Shufei, you've wronged the little fool. He was beaten before he even had time to act naughty!]
Xia Miaoyuan covered his mouth with his chubby little hands and laughed secretly.
When Xia Zhengqi saw Concubine Shu coming, his anger subsided a little.
Shufei and he were considered an old married couple. When he was a prince, he had already married Shufei. At that time, the empress was the principal wife and Shufei was the concubine.
Shufei had a calm temperament and was not competitive. When she was in the prince's mansion, although she and the queen did not have close contacts, they treated each other with courtesy and lived in peace.
At that time, the prince's mansion was peaceful and warm. Xia Zhengqi was truly a leisurely prince.
Later, Xia Zhengqi ascended the throne and became emperor, and his two concubines became empress and concubines.
However, life changed drastically after they moved into the palace. Xia Zhengqi suffered from the power struggle and confrontation with court officials, while the queen was caught up in the annoying palace fighting. Only Shufei remained calm and indifferent, and did not join any palace fighting camp.
In Xia Zhengqi's heart, although he did not have too much admiration for Concubine Shu, nor any passion, he had a unique warmth and trust for her.
He respected her character, envied her heart, and was grateful for her non-troublemaking.
As for why Concubine Jiang was deposed and the fifth prince was handed over to her for upbringing, it was also based on this reason.
"I found out that he was playing truant from school, and I was so angry that I beat him." Xia Zhengqi loosened the collar of the fifth prince and threw the fly swatter to the ground.
The long handle of the wicker fly swatter had been bent.
The fifth prince covered his buttocks and cried inconsolably, his little face covered with tears and snot.
"Empress Shufei, save me!" cried the fifth prince.
"It's all my fault for not educating my son well. Your Majesty, please punish me." Concubine Shu lowered her eyes, her voice filled with some fear and uneasiness.
The Queen held Xia Zhengqi's arm and said softly, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you today? You actually hit the child."
"It's common for children to be playful, so we just need to keep an eye on them."
"Hey, forget it, tell the two maids to take the Fifth Prince back to apply medicine. Concubine Shu, please stay and have dinner with us. It's been a long time since we've had dinner together."
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