Ye Jingchen arrived precisely at lunchtime and emphasized that he wanted to have lunch with the emperor. Although the emperor suspected that he had something to ask for, he still acquiesced to Ye Jingchen's act of freeloading.
When the food was served, Ye Jingchen's eyes lit up as he looked at the colorful, fragrant, and delicious dishes on the table.
"Jinghe and I don't need anyone to serve us. You all go and serve Father Emperor!" Ye Jingchen waved his hand to shoo away the palace maids who were about to serve him and Ye Jinghe food, and then buried his head in showing off.
Ye Jinghe followed his brother's example and did the same.
However, after tasting the imperial cuisine, his eyes lit up, and he became truly interested in the imperial dishes in front of him.
"Jinghe, try each dish first and see if there's anything you particularly like. If there is, maybe we can borrow the chef to the East Palace for a few days." Ye Jingchen reminded him while eating, after seeing Ye Jinghe really start to focus on his meal.
Upon hearing this, the emperor glared fiercely at his rebellious son, but the son's mind was entirely on his younger brother and the imperial cuisine, and he didn't even notice his gaze.
"Cough—" The emperor coughed loudly on purpose.
"Father, are you feeling unwell? You must rest more and drink more hot water!" Ye Jingchen heard the cough, looked at the emperor, and said with concern.
emperor:……
"Just eat! Can't you shut your mouth even with food? You shouldn't talk while eating or sleeping. Didn't your teacher teach you that?" the emperor said deliberately, trying to find fault.
"The teacher taught us, but the three of us, father and sons, are eating together. There's no need to be so formal, is there? Aren't etiquette for outsiders? It's exhausting to put on airs in front of family!" Ye Jingchen said nonchalantly.
"Is this how your husband taught you?" The emperor squinted.
"These are my own feelings. I just want to get closer to Father Emperor. Is that not allowed?" Ye Jingchen looked up at the Emperor and asked, his eyes slightly red.
If you dare say no, I'll cry right now!
emperor:……
"Eat your food!" You unfilial son!
The emperor's lips curled slightly upwards.
"Father, speaking of the teacher who taught me etiquette, he is a true gentleman. It is a pity that he is left to teach me in the Eastern Palace. Please issue an edict to invite him to teach at the Imperial Academy!" Ye Jingchen said seizing the opportunity.
"Since you say he is a true gentleman, why do you want him to go to the Imperial Academy?" the emperor asked, puzzled.
"Because I am the Crown Prince. A qualified Crown Prince cannot be a gentleman, but wouldn't it be wonderful if all the sons of the imperial relatives were taught to be gentlemen!"
The emperor immediately understood Ye Jingchen's childish words. He had only been smiling slightly, but now he couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.
He vigorously rubbed Ye Jingchen's head, "Later I will order that teacher to teach at the Imperial Academy, and then select a new teacher to teach you etiquette."
"Then Father Emperor must give that gentleman an important position. There aren't many people like him who uphold the principles of a gentleman!" Ye Jingchen emphasized.
"You don't need to tell me! I will personally test him. If he is truly as you say, I will certainly spread the word and give him an important position!"
The Zhou Dynasty governed the world with rites and lasted for nearly eight hundred years. Every dynasty that followed did not last even half as long.
A large part of the reason is the collapse of social order and the decline of moral values.
Therefore, educating the people with the way of the virtuous has many benefits.
Of course, Ye Jingchen did not intend to educate all the people. If he could educate even one or two of the younger generation of the royal family and noble families, then he would have made a great contribution!
If the emperor hadn't mentioned his etiquette master, he wouldn't have remembered this matter. He had only come today to freeload a meal and, incidentally, to strengthen the father-son bond, but unexpectedly, he received an unexpected surprise.
The emperor's meals consisted of twelve dishes, four soups, and four desserts, which together represented the number ten, signifying perfection.
If a child tries a couple of bites of each dish, they're already half full. If they then try the soup and dessert, their stomachs will be absolutely full.
Ye Jinghe obediently tasted two bites of each dish. "Brother, I like this, this, and this—" He ordered two dishes and a dessert.
There was one dish and one dessert that Ye Jingchen really liked, and he ate a few extra bites of each, which Ye Jinghe noticed.
"Father Emperor—" Ye Jingchen looked at the emperor, his meaning self-evident.
The emperor was in a good mood at the moment, so he was too lazy to argue with him about such trivial matters. He just glanced at the head palace maid who was serving him food.
"Your Highnesses, these two dishes are Pork Tenderloin in a Pork Belly and Cherry Meat, and the pastry is called Pine Nut and Lily Pastry. The chefs who made these dishes and pastries will send them to the East Palace later." The head palace maid understood and said to Ye Jingchen and Ye Jinghe with a smile.
"Thank you, Father!" Ye Jingchen said happily.
"Thank you, Father Emperor," Ye Jinghe replied expressionlessly.
After the meal, the father and his two sons were very satisfied, and Ye Jingchen took his leave with Ye Jinghe.
It wasn't until Ye Jingchen had left that the emperor was convinced that his rebellious son had only come to visit him and have a meal with him.
"Of all my princes and princesses, the Crown Prince is the most filial!" the Emperor exclaimed.
"Zhang Shunde, the Crown Prince gave me a peach blossom. Place it in the Chongzheng Hall as well, so I can see it every day. This is my son's filial piety!" the Emperor ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Eunuch Zhang wept as he withdrew.
That peony looks like it's about to die. I wonder how long the peach blossom can last. If the flower withers, I wonder if his head will be alright.
After Ye Jingchen and Ye Jinghe left Chengqian Palace, they walked back to the East Palace. Both of them were a little full, so it was a good way to digest their food.
Although there was no morning run today, the amount of exercise was already enough. After eating and drinking to one's heart's content, it is easy to feel sleepy. When Ye Jingchen returned to the East Palace, he immediately coaxed Ye Jinghe to take a nap.
After Ye Jinghe fell asleep, he returned to his own palace and specifically instructed Fangfei and the others that he wanted to sleep all afternoon and should not be woken up before dinner time.
The people in the Eastern Palace were already well aware of his fondness for sleeping, and had no doubts whatsoever.
Back in his bedchamber, Ye Jingchen immediately summoned Chenxi and asked her to take him out of the palace.
Just kidding, how can I not go out and have some fun when I finally get a day off?
He was assassinated just a few days ago. Although the power struggle between the emperor and the Jiang family has come to an end, as long as the conflict remains, the dispute will never end. The emperor will most likely not agree to let him leave the palace.
Therefore, he can only sneak out of the palace now.
Fortunately, he had Chenxi, so he could leave the palace unnoticed.
"As long as you help me disguise myself, no one will recognize my identity, so who would target me?" Ye Jingchen shut Chenxi up with his words.
Since he had said that, Chenxi could only do a few things to his face. In a short while, he went from a fair-skinned chubby boy to a yellow-faced chubby boy. After adding some freckles to his face and changing him into a dark and inconspicuous outfit, Ye Jingchen didn't even recognize himself when he looked in the mirror.
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