Chengqian Palace.
After paying their respects to the emperor, starting with Ye Jingshu, the princes and princesses took turns submitting their written policy essays.
When it was Ye Jingning's turn, he was still playing with the Luban lock in his hand with his head down, showing no intention of handing in his essay.
"Jingning, it's your turn!" the emperor reminded him.
He looked up at the emperor, his face blank.
"Seventh Imperial Brother, haven't you written your policy essay yet? I told you about it yesterday!" Ye Jing'an stood next to him and asked him in a low voice.
"I...didn't write it..." Ye Jingning said slowly.
After saying that, he lowered his head and started playing with the Luban lock again, leaving the emperor standing there.
Ye Jinghe deliberately ignored the emperor, while Ye Jingning simply couldn't see the emperor's presence.
Even the emperor himself couldn't say for sure which son he found more troublesome!
"Zhang Shunde—" the emperor called out.
Without needing to say more, Eunuch Zhang understood the emperor's meaning and walked up to Ye Jingning.
Because this wasn't the first time Zhang Gonggong had done this, Ye Jingning became alert as soon as he approached her, and she gripped the Luban lock tightly in her hands.
"Seventh Prince, this old servant is sorry!" Eunuch Zhang said, reaching out to snatch it, but he failed on his first attempt.
"My..." Ye Jingning said through gritted teeth, gripping the Luban lock with all his might.
Now Zhang Shunde was in a dilemma. If he used too much force, he might hurt the Seventh Prince; if he didn't use enough force, he wouldn't be able to snatch him.
He tried several times without success, so he had no choice but to turn back and ask the emperor for help.
"Seventh Prince, let go, or I will order all your Luban locks to be confiscated!" the emperor said in a deep voice.
Ye Jingning's lips trembled, tears welled in her eyes, but her hand still did not loosen its grip.
"Jingning, I'll keep your Luban lock for you for now, and I'll return it to you later!" Ye Jingchen said to him with a smile as he walked over.
With a sigh of relief, Eunuch Zhang quickly let go of the emperor's hand and jogged back to his side.
Ye Jingchen extended his hand to Ye Jingning.
After a brief standoff, Ye Jingning took the initiative to place the Luban lock in Ye Jingchen's palm.
All his toys, including his favorite Luban lock, were gifts from his elder brother. His elder brother gave him many Luban locks with different designs. His elder brother is a good person!
"Good boy!" Ye Jingchen took the opportunity to pat Ye Jingning's head with his other hand.
Seeing this, the emperor was furious.
"Father, Jingning is still young and has no interest in politics. Please let him go!" Ye Jingchen pleaded on behalf of Ye Jingning.
"What's so fun about this pile of wood? He's a prince, how can he be distracted by trivial things?!" the emperor said with a dark face.
“You have seven sons and four daughters, so you don’t need Jingning, do you? Besides, what Jingning is playing with isn’t just ordinary wood, it’s a Luban lock. Most people can’t even figure it out! If you don’t believe me, try it and see if you can separate these pieces of wood.” Ye Jingchen said, handing the Luban lock to the emperor.
"I...my..." Ye Jingning tugged at Ye Jingchen's sleeve, reminding him softly.
The emperor's face darkened further. He refused to take the Luban lock, instead reaching out to Ye Jingchen and coldly asking, "Where is your policy essay?"
Even a simple Luban lock made of four pieces of wood would take him a long time to disassemble, so the emperor had no desire to try a lock made of more than a dozen pieces of wood.
With so many kids watching, is this unfilial son deliberately trying to embarrass him by making him dismantle this thing?!
"Father, please look at theirs first. I'll keep my strategy a secret for now and give it to you to review later!" Ye Jingchen said with a smile as he put away the Luban lock.
"Then I shall wait and see! If your strategy fails to satisfy me, I will hold you accountable!"
The emperor snorted coldly and first opened the policy essay written by Ye Jingyan.
It's not really a policy essay, because it only consists of a few sentences.
Following the section on how to ensure the loyalty and service of the soldiers, Ye Jingyan wrote that she would send trusted confidants to supervise them at all times.
Following the statement about the increase in national treasury revenue, she wrote about asking wealthy people for money.
These are two very simple sentences, but they are indeed a solution to the problem.
The emperor looked at Ye Jingyan, wanting to ask if she couldn't write a few more words. But then he thought that Ye Jingyan was a princess, and the youngest princess at that. There was no need to have too high expectations of her. Writing these two sentences was already quite good.
"It's acceptable," the emperor commented.
Ye Jingyan breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
When her father was looking at her just now, she didn't even dare to breathe. If her father looked at her any longer, she would suffocate!
The emperor began to read what Ye Jing'an had written.
Although Ye Jing'an was only one year older than Ye Jingyan, his policy proposal was quite long and he expressed his views very clearly.
His view was to control the families of the soldiers, arrange for them to live in one place, and ensure that they lived better than before.
This serves as both a deterrent and a favor to the soldiers, making them more loyal to the monarch.
"Jing An has written a very good piece, combining kindness and severity!" The emperor praised after reading it.
"Thank you, Father!" Ye Jing'an said happily.
"Jingning, Jing'an is only a year older than you, yet he can write such beautiful policy essays. What about you?" The emperor glanced sideways at Ye Jingning, who was fiddling with his fingers instead of playing with the Luban lock, and asked in a deep voice.
Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable!
Unable to play with the Luban lock, Ye Jingning finally looked up at the emperor when he heard him call his name.
"You play with wood all day long, what have you come up with?" the emperor asked, changing the subject.
This time, Ye Jingning didn't ignore him. Instead, he answered his question, and his speaking speed was just like a normal person's, without any pauses.
"The Luban lock is made up of many pieces of wood, and each piece of wood has its own place. If one piece is placed incorrectly, the Luban lock cannot be assembled. Only when each piece of wood is in the correct position will the Luban lock be stable."
"Clap clap clap—Jingning, your answer was excellent!" Ye Jingchen applauded for him.
Seeing Ye Jingchen clapping, Ye Jingyu also clapped, and then Ye Jingyan clapped as well.
"Father, look, Jingning can say such philosophical things. He's actually very smart, not stupid at all!" Ye Jingchen said proudly to the emperor.
The emperor's lips twitched. He didn't want to pay attention to this rebellious son and turned to look at the next policy document.
Upon seeing this, he was so angry he laughed.
"Ye Jinghe, do you want to take a look at what you've written!" He threw the policy essay, which had even fewer words than Ye Jingyan's, at Ye Jinghe.
"Isn't this the solution?" Ye Jinghe took the paper and asked expressionlessly.
He's in a bad mood right now!
What's so good about Little Wooden Head? Why does my brother like him so much?
Not only did she pat his head and praise him for being good, but she also defended him so much in front of the emperor!
Little Wood must be pretending to be stupid on purpose, just to attract his older brother's attention!
hateful!
He was determined to get his brother's attention back to him!
He looked at the seven words on the paper and smiled.
He led his troops and slaughtered the powerful families!
This is the policy essay he wrote for the emperor.
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