“Jingyu, since the teacher has left, you don’t need to attend your morning classes. How about your royal brother takes you to play?” Some things are better left unsaid, so Ye Jingchen changed the subject and said with a smile.
Ye Jingyu's eyes lit up when he heard the word "play".
He had always wanted to play with peers, but unfortunately, his mother only had him as her child and wouldn't allow him to play with his other brothers and sisters. Ever since he almost fell into the water last time, she had kept a close watch on him, not letting him go anywhere except the Weiyang Palace and the Imperial Academy. He was almost bored to death.
"Where are we going?" he asked excitedly.
"Father won't let us go anywhere else, for fear of encountering danger. Are there any fun places in the Imperial Academy?" Ye Jingchen asked him.
Only at the Imperial College—
Ye Jingyu felt a little disappointed, but then he thought that the Imperial Academy was very large, which was better than him being confined to the East Garden.
Besides, he's not alone today. He has his elder brother, the Crown Prince, his beautiful elder sister, and so many other people to play with, so he shouldn't be bored.
"Then let's go to Xiyuan!" Ye Jingyu said after thinking for a moment.
The Imperial College is divided into four gardens: East, South, West, and North. The East Garden is an academy exclusively for princes and grandsons of the emperor, and he is currently the only one among them.
But even if the second prince doesn't leave, it will just be the two of them.
But that second prince—
It's too boring, too serious. He doesn't like it, we can't have fun together, it's the same whether he has it or not.
They used to study together, but they hardly ever spoke to each other.
Almost everyone in the North Garden and South Garden knew him and that he was a prince. Whenever he went to these two gardens, many people would surround him, flattering and fawning over him, which he disliked.
Although he liked hearing people praise him, those people's praise was too fake, not as sincere as his elder brother, the Crown Prince, and it made him feel uncomfortable.
The only place he had never been was the West Garden.
But I've heard that Xiyuan is the most fun place in the Imperial College.
Unfortunately, his mother had specifically instructed him not to go to the West Garden, and the people following him kept a very close watch on him, so he had no chance to go at all.
Now that he has his elder brother, the Crown Prince, to help him, his mother's people certainly won't dare to stop him!
West Garden?
Ye Jingchen had done his homework before coming. As the highest institution of learning in Dayuan, the Imperial Academy was no exception in this era of strict hierarchy. It divided the students studying there into different classes using the four gardens of the east, west, south and north.
The princes and grandsons of the emperor, being the most prestigious students, occupied an entire section of the East Garden.
Dongyuan is also the closest to the palace.
Beiyuan only accepts sons of noble families.
The students of Nanyuan were all sons and grandsons of officials in the imperial court.
As for the West Garden, it recruits scions of aristocratic families or descendants of wealthy merchants who can afford to pay exorbitant tuition fees.
Children from ordinary families, no matter how well they study, cannot even enter the Imperial College if they don't have money.
The most complex place in the Imperial College was the West Garden.
After all, when it comes to playing and enjoying life, how can the children of noble families and officials compare to the sons of aristocratic families and merchants?
“Your Highness, the West Garden is rather special, and given your noble status, I fear it might be offensive. There happens to be a Cuju (ancient Chinese football) match between the North and South Gardens today. Would you be so kind as to take you and the other princes to watch the match?” The steward who was leading Ye Jingchen and the others asked with trepidation.
Last night, the chief eunuch Zhang, who serves His Majesty, suddenly visited and brought His Majesty's decree: His Highness the Crown Prince will be visiting the Third Prince at the Imperial Academy today, accompanied by the princess, princes, and several of his companions.
Because of this imperial edict, the chief minister and several clerks and officials who knew the truth stayed up half the night.
Although the Third Prince is indeed studying at the Imperial Academy, if His Highness the Crown Prince wants to visit him, why not just go to Weiyang Palace? Why go to such lengths and make such a big fuss to come to the Imperial Academy?
Could it be that His Majesty's visit to the Third Prince was a pretense, and that he intended to use this incident to reprimand the Imperial Academy?
The emperor's heart is unfathomable. They pondered all night but still couldn't figure out why His Majesty wanted the Crown Prince to come to the Imperial Academy.
In order to prevent His Highness the Crown Prince from finding the Imperial Academy boring, they specially gathered students from both the North and South campuses early this morning and announced that they would be holding a Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition.
Ye Jingchen was far more interested in the students of the West Garden than in those of the North and South Gardens, but he was not alone today, so it was indeed not appropriate for him to go to the West Garden.
"Jingyu, have you ever watched a Cuju (ancient Chinese football) match? Isn't it exciting?" Ye Jingchen asked Ye Jingyu.
If his elder brother, the Crown Prince, had directly asked him if he wanted to watch the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) match, Ye Jingyu would have hesitated. After all, Cuju matches were something he could see often, but he didn't have many opportunities to go to the West Garden.
But the Crown Prince asked if the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) matches were exciting.
Has the Crown Prince never watched a Cuju (ancient Chinese football) match?
That makes sense; how could there be a Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition in the palace?
Even the Crown Prince hadn't seen it, so it goes without saying that the Imperial Sister, being a girl, hadn't either. The Fourth and Fifth Princes, those two little guys, certainly hadn't seen it either.
Ye Jingyu thoughtfully decided that he should sacrifice himself and accompany his elder brother, the Crown Prince, his elder sister, and his younger brothers to watch the Cuju match!
He was only slightly curious about the endless stream of strange and unusual things in Xiyuan!
"It's very lively! The South Garden and the North Garden have always been at odds, and they always want to win in everything, so it gets particularly intense," Ye Jingyu said.
Upon hearing this, Ye Jingming glanced at Ye Jingyu.
They had been taking classes together for a while, and he only knew that Ye Jingyu didn't really like reading and couldn't sit still, but he hadn't realized that Ye Jingyu's perspective on problems was so insightful.
"Then let's go watch the Cuju match. We can go to Xiyuan another time if we have the chance." Ye Jingchen said, taking the opportunity to pat Ye Jingyu's head discreetly.
Ye Jingyu did not show any aversion to his action, so it seems that he no longer dislikes him.
The Cuju (ancient Chinese football) match was held at the racecourse in Beiyuan.
Unlike the spacious East Garden, the North Garden was bustling with activity.
Even from a great distance, you could hear the desperate shouts.
The cheerleading squads and slogans popular in modern competitions are already taking shape here. Some people shout "Beiyuan will win!" while others shout "Nanyuan will be number one!" Even the shouts are competing with each other.
Led by the person in charge, they avoided the enthusiastic students and went up to the high stands, where they took their seats in turn.
The higher you sit, the farther you can see. The stands are designed specifically for watching the game, offering excellent views.
Although Ye Jingchen had never watched a Cuju match, he had watched countless football matches. As the predecessor of football, Cuju was actually very similar in terms of gameplay and rules.
This is a sport that tests physical fitness and stamina to a great extent. Not only are participants excited, but spectators are also thrilled.
However, when a group of children participate in this sport, the scene looks more than just exciting.
It has passion, but it's mostly adorable.
Especially when a child kicks the ball too hard and accidentally falls and rolls with the ball, leaving his teammates dumbfounded and unable to find a foothold.
The chanting of slogans turned into uproarious laughter and good-natured mockery.
"So this is Cuju! It looks quite interesting!" Ye Jingshu exclaimed, her voice filled with a hint of eagerness.
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