As a modern person with no particular skills, the six arts of a gentleman—rites, music, archery, charioteering, and calligraphy—would all be Ye Jingchen's weaknesses.
But fortunately, he still has advantages. At the very least, he has a mature mind. As long as he is willing to learn, he doesn't believe he can't surpass these children.
So he studied very hard that afternoon.
The etiquette class was fine; he could understand what the teacher taught. Even if his movements weren't perfect at first, he could figure it out on his own and ask Fangfei and the others for help, so it shouldn't be a problem.
As the saying goes, "the accomplished are teachers," and the palace maids of the "Fang" generation in his palace, except for one overly lively one named Fangcao, could all be etiquette masters in modern times, more than capable of teaching him.
But music theory class—
If he had even a little bit of talent in music theory, he wouldn't have been a tone-deaf, musically illiterate person who couldn't play any instruments in his previous life.
Ye Jingchen discovered in despair that although he had a different body, his core hadn't changed, and he hadn't suddenly gained any new talents!
The five notes of the pentatonic scale (Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, Yu) were still like a foreign language to him; not only could he not understand them at all, but they also had a particularly good hypnotic effect on him.
Ye Jingchen listened to the entire class in a drowsy state, his mind completely blank, retaining nothing.
This was quite unusual for him, considering that while his memory was poor, his learning ability was exceptional. To hear something as if he hadn't heard it at all was a first for him in thirty years.
When get out of class ended, Ye Jingchen was thinking that if he couldn't establish a perfect persona within three classes, then he would have to establish a persona of being musically illiterate.
He told everyone from the beginning that he knew nothing about music theory, so no one should show off in front of him in the future!
Ye Jingchen was not an innocent child, so he did not believe in reasoning with people.
His initial goal was to leverage his age advantage to create a perfect persona for himself, crushing his brothers in every way, so that they could only look up to him and submit to him.
In this way, without his maternal family stirring things up behind the scenes, they naturally wouldn't have the desire to compete with him for the throne.
To this day, no one can rival the emperor's favor.
If the matter of Consort De's nephew is handled well, it can both suppress the power and prestige represented by Consort De and enhance his reputation among the people.
The affairs of the imperial court are still far from his reach, but as long as he wins over these four children and encourages them to improve, and as long as they can reach the level they achieved as adults in the novel, the imperial court will be entirely under his control.
People tend to only admire the strong.
Winning them over is the same as disciplining his younger brothers; all he needs to do is be stronger than them.
However, music theory is something that really depends a lot on talent.
Fortunately, being proficient in music theory is not of much use in governing a country, so his failure in this area is not a big deal. Ye Jingchen could only console himself with this thought.
After a day of classes, Ye Jingchen instructed his men to escort his four companions out of the palace, where their carriages were waiting outside the Donghua Gate.
Before leaving, Ye Jingchen reminded them again that if they didn't want to be his study companions, they could let him know the next day, and he would handle it.
Four carriages carrying four children went in four different directions, while their families waited for them to return home.
The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was the closest to the palace. As evening approached, the Duchess and her three daughters-in-law waited outside the mansion gate.
"Mother, Chang'an is just going to the palace to be His Highness the Crown Prince's study companion. He's not going to any dangerous place. Is there really such a big fuss? He's just a little kid. Aren't you afraid of shortening his lifespan?" the Crown Princess complained.
"How can you, a mother, be so heartless? The palace is such a dangerous place, no different from a dragon's den or a tiger's lair—sob sob!"
The Crown Princess quickly covered the Duchess's mouth, hurriedly saying, "My goodness, listen to what nonsense you're spouting! Walls have ears. If someone with ulterior motives hears this and reports it to the Emperor, our Zhenguo Duke's Mansion will be finished!"
“Yes, Mother, Chang’an is just going to the palace to study. His Highness the Crown Prince values our Zhenguo Duke’s Mansion so much, he will definitely take good care of him. What is there to worry about!” The other two daughters-in-law quickly added.
Because of the Duchess's words, the Crown Princess not only covered her mouth but also pulled her back inside the vermilion gate. The other two sisters-in-law exchanged glances and joined in the effort.
Just as they pulled the Duchess back inside, the sound of horses' hooves came from the street. The Crown Princess peeked out and saw that it was indeed their mansion's carriage.
"Mother, Chang'an is back!" she said with delight, and then ran out.
The other two sisters-in-law also helped the Duchess, who was both angry and happy, out.
The carriage stopped in front of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. The Crown Princess jumped onto the carriage and lifted the curtain in one swift motion.
"Chang'an, you're back!" she said happily, reaching out to hug Xie Chang'an.
"Mother, it's dangerous on the carriage. I'll get off myself," Xie Chang'an said helplessly.
"Alright." The Crown Princess jumped off the carriage, pulled out a stool, and earnestly helped Xie Chang'an down from the carriage.
"Look at you! You don't act like a noble lady at all. Aren't you afraid that others will laugh at our Duke Zhenguo's mansion?" The Duchess scolded the Heir Apparent's wife, snatching Xie Chang'an's hand from hers.
"Chang'an, how did you feel in the palace today? Did anyone bully you? Are you hungry?" The Duchess asked as she led Xie Chang'an into the mansion.
Surrounded by his family, Xie Chang'an couldn't help but smile slightly.
After his rebirth, he cherished such scenes even more.
A similar scene unfolded at the entrance of the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.
The old lady and the lady of the Hou family waited together at the door, hoping for their beloved child to return home.
"Grandmother, Mother, I'm back!" As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Yun Shu climbed out of the carriage, couldn't wait to get off, and rushed into the arms of the Lady of the Marquis.
"Shu'er, are you hungry? Dinner is ready, including your favorite braised pork!" The old lady and the lady of the house happily led Yun Shu into the mansion.
As for the residences of the Minister of Rites and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, there were also female relatives waiting at the gates. However, the female relatives of those two families behaved very restrainedly, unlike the joyful ones of the Duke of Zhenguo's and Marquis's residences.
On their first day as companions to the Crown Prince, the four women were filled with trepidation. The Crown Prince's reputation was so poor that they worried their children would be bullied in the palace.
But upon closer inquiry, they discovered that His Highness the Crown Prince was completely different from what they had heard. Not only was he gentle, but he was also considerate and thoughtful, a thousand times better than they had imagined.
"People change. Just because things weren't good before doesn't mean they can't get better in the future! Rumors are not to be believed. If you hear any more bad rumors in the future, don't get involved. The waters here are much deeper than you imagine!" The women of the three families all received this warning.
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