"Zhang Shunde, what's that noise outside?!" The emperor's displeased voice came from inside the bedchamber.
Zhang Shunde felt a chill run down his spine, but he had no choice but to go in and give a reply.
"Your Majesty, it was His Highness the Crown Prince leading the palace maids from the Eastern Palace to catch butterflies in the Imperial Garden," he said cautiously.
The emperor was taking a nap when he was awakened by the faint sounds of laughter coming from outside the palace walls. He was already in a bad mood, and when he suddenly heard that Ye Jingchen was leading people to catch butterflies outside his palace, he became even angrier!
"That unfilial son! Didn't he have a fever all night? How did he have the energy to run to the Imperial Garden to chase butterflies today?!"
"Change your clothes! I'm going to go and have a good talk with him!" The emperor stormed out of Chengqian Palace and headed straight for the Imperial Garden.
Without the soundproofing of palace walls, the laughter and chatter in the Imperial Garden were even more noticeable.
However, the emperor's appearance brought all the cheers to an abrupt halt, and the palace maids were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
"You unfilial son, weren't you sick? Why are you here?" The emperor didn't even let the palace servants get up, and asked coldly.
"Your Majesty, I brought my younger brother Jinghe to the Imperial Garden to reward him for reciting the Three Character Classic in its entirety," Ye Jingchen said calmly.
Ye Jinghe: ?
He looked at Ye Jingchen in surprise.
Did his brother bring him to the Imperial Garden as a reward for memorizing the Three Character Classic?
"How is that possible? He's only been to school for a few days and knows a few characters. How could he possibly recite the Three Character Classic?" The emperor simply didn't believe it.
"Jinghe, little brother, hurry up and prove yourself to Father!" Ye Jingchen smiled and patted Ye Jinghe's head, encouraging him.
Ye Jinghe didn't want to take the blame.
He didn't want to prove anything to the emperor, since the emperor didn't care about him anyway.
"You can't even come up with a better excuse for being playful, and you even want to use your younger brother as an excuse, which makes your crime even more serious!" Seeing that Ye Jinghe was still silent, the emperor became more convinced that Ye Jingchen was bluffing him, and his anger rose higher and higher.
"I can recite it." Ye Jinghe was very unhappy to see the emperor yelling at his brother, so he stood in front of Ye Jingchen and spoke with a stern face.
After saying that, he ignored the emperor's expression and began to recite it.
"At the beginning of life, people are inherently good. Their natures are similar, but their habits are different..." Ye Jinghe recited fluently, his pronunciation clear and his voice unhurried.
The emperor was initially skeptical, but as he listened, his anger gradually subsided, and a look of joy appeared on his face.
Under the watchful eyes of his brother, the emperor, and a host of palace servants, Ye Jinghe calmly recited the Three Character Classic without a single mistake, without pausing for a moment.
"Father, I didn't lie to you, did I? Isn't my little brother Jinghe amazing?" Ye Jingchen asked proudly.
For the first time, the emperor began to take this son, whom he had previously ignored, seriously.
He never expected that Ye Jinghe would be so intelligent.
Moreover, he is able to remain calm and composed at such a young age.
"Get up, all of you." He finally spoke, allowing the palace servants who had been kneeling for half a day to rise.
“Come with me,” he said to Ye Jingchen.
He hadn't forgotten how disheveled Ye Jinghe looked when he saw him in the Imperial Garden a while ago.
Ye Jinghe was indeed very intelligent, but if Ye Jingchen hadn't brought him back to the East Palace and taught him diligently, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to show his intelligence.
Compared to Ye Jinghe's intelligence, what the emperor cared about more was Ye Jingchen's genuine devotion to his younger brother.
He originally thought that Ye Jingchen kept Ye Jinghe in the East Palace just to amuse him, but he never expected that Ye Jingchen was actually teaching him with all his heart and had taught Ye Jinghe so well.
For a moment, he was filled with emotion and wanted to ask Ye Jingchen what he was thinking.
Upon hearing this, Ye Jinghe hugged his brother tightly and looked at the emperor warily.
Sensing his hostility, the emperor was not angry at all, but instead laughed out loud, "What a wolf cub that knows how to be grateful and protect its food!"
Ye Jingchen couldn't help but think to himself: This is your son, he's a wolf cub, and what are you?
"Jinghe, are you going to wait for your brother here or go back to the East Palace first?" Ye Jingchen asked, affectionately pinching Ye Jinghe's little cheek.
The little guy really made him proud!
Ye Jinghe: ...
He didn't want to choose either of these options!
He neither wanted his brother to go with the emperor, nor did he want to just wait for his brother!
But his brother only gave him one of the two choices.
"I'll wait for my brother here," he said sullenly.
Why can't we bring him along?
Is there anything he can't hear?
Ye Jingchen followed the emperor back to Chengqian Palace.
"Father, Imperial Physician Zhang has determined that my younger brother Jinghe has been poisoned by a poison called the Drunken Heart Flower. There is no antidote for the Drunken Heart Flower poison, but if he is not stimulated, he will not easily take effect and will be no different from a normal person." After arriving at Chengqian Palace, Ye Jingchen spoke before the emperor could speak.
The emperor was initially lamenting that Ye Jinghe was so intelligent, but unfortunately, he had been poisoned and was no longer of great use.
Hearing Ye Jingchen's words, she became more interested and asked, "How can we ensure he won't be agitated?"
"For now, we only know that this poison is affected by musk. If Father Emperor could order the concubines and palace maids to stop using perfumes, fragrances, and incense containing musk, Jinghe and his younger brother would be much safer in the palace," Ye Jingchen suggested.
Anyway, musk isn't a necessity.
On the contrary, while the perfume made from this stuff is very effective and has a slight aphrodisiac effect, it is not suitable for prolonged contact, especially for women, as it may hinder their ability to have children.
"I can grant your request, but—"
"Father, do you know who poisoned my brother Jinghe?" Before the emperor could say anything, Ye Jingchen leaned closer and asked mysteriously.
"Isn't it Tao Zhi?" the emperor asked.
"The poison was administered by Tao Zhi, but Tao Zhi was acting under orders. Otherwise, why would he risk the extermination of his entire family to poison a prince when he had no grudge against Jinghe's brother?" Ye Jingchen said.
"Do you know who ordered it?" the emperor asked.
His people couldn't find out, so how did Ye Jingchen know?
"It's Fangzhi." Ye Jingchen didn't keep him in suspense any longer and said directly.
“However, this was not something I discovered through investigation, but merely something I deduced,” Ye Jingchen added.
"You deduced that?" Before the emperor could even get angry, he was amused by his words. "What use is your deduction if it can't be used as evidence?"
"Then, Father, would you like to hear how I deduced that?" Ye Jingchen asked earnestly.
"Go ahead and tell me," the emperor said dismissively.
He didn't think an eight-year-old could say anything logically sound, but as a father, he felt it was necessary to listen to his child's innocent words occasionally.
"This was inspired by Mr. Qin."
Ye Jingchen first found a scapegoat for what he was about to say. Qin Feng, as his head tutor and a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and a Tan Hua Lang (third-ranked scholar), was the most suitable person to be brought out at this moment.
"Mr. Qin told me that when a conspiracy seems unsolvable, you might as well try to deduce the process from the outcome. The ultimate beneficiary is definitely the most suspicious person, no matter how innocent they may seem!"
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