The next morning, Lu Jingze, as usual, came to Qixia Courtyard to have breakfast with Su Yingxue and Lu Yunian.
Seeing his father eating slowly, the young prince gave up his original idea of having his father take him to school.
Father is too slow today. I have important matters to attend to, so I won't wait for him. I'll go first!
With that thought in mind, the young prince got off the table first and bid farewell to the two of them.
Little did they know that Lu Jingze had been dawdling for so long just to wait for the little guy to leave first.
Seeing this, Su Yingxue remained silent and continued eating her breakfast.
As expected, Lu Jingze lost his composure first.
“Yingxue, I know you punished Xiuxiu. It was indeed her fault, but five recitations of the Book of Songs, isn’t that a bit too much?” Lu Jingze asked tentatively.
"What, does Your Highness find this inappropriate?" Su Yingxue raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, she's far too audacious!"
"Your Highness, please don't blame me for punishing her. Xiuxiu is about to be listed on the Imperial Jade Tablet. Although no one in her family is demanding of her, she is far too bold. If she is not restrained and learns about the consequences, she may harm herself."
Hearing her say that, Lu Jingze dared not plead for her anymore.
"Alright, since Your Highness has pleaded for her, then she will only have to copy the Book of Songs twice. However, she will still be punished with a month of sweets and cold drinks."
"Good, good, good, I think this will definitely teach her a lesson!"
When Lu Jingze left, Granny Li, feeling uneasy, followed him out.
"Your Highness, don't worry. The Princess Consort didn't really intend to punish the Consort. It was the imperial physician who came to check on her a few days ago. He said that the Consort was too fond of cold drinks and was going to prescribe some medicine to regulate her body. The Princess Consort was afraid that she would try to get away with it, so she took the opportunity to stop giving her cold drinks."
"Alright, I understand. That's good too. Let the princess give that girl a good hard time."
Seeing Li Mama come in, Su Yingxue knew that she was there to explain on her behalf.
Although I felt it was unnecessary, Granny Li was a worrier, so I pretended not to know, thus fulfilling the old woman's good intentions.
"Your Highness, you really are something else. Not only did you stop the concubine from enjoying the sweets and cold drinks that she cherishes, but you also punished her by making her copy the Book of Poetry without even explaining. Aren't you afraid that she will be angry and never speak to you again?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yingxue laughed and said, "Punish her, that's all. There's no need to explain. Besides, that girl is quite shrewd!"
After saying this, the master and servant looked at each other and then covered their mouths and laughed.
---
Inside Lanyue Pavilion, Wang Xiuxiu was meticulously copying the Book of Songs, stroke by stroke.
Sakura couldn't help but ask, "Madam, would you like me to copy it for you?"
"No need. Reducing it to two times is already very little. I can finish writing it myself very quickly."
"Alright, then this servant will go and... go and brew you a pot of tea." Xiaoying originally wanted to say that she would bring Wang Xiuxiu some pastries and cold drinks, but when she thought of the princess punishing the madam, she immediately changed her words.
"Okay, go ahead."
Having copied the book, Wang Xiuxiu couldn't wait a moment longer and immediately took the book to Qixia Courtyard.
Looking at Wang Xiuxiu, who was practically begging for praise, Su Yingxue felt utterly helpless.
"How come you're proud of copying lines as punishment?" Su Yingxue asked knowingly.
"Oh, Princess, you're the best~", Wang Xiuxiu said, tugging at her sleeve and acting coquettishly.
"Alright, since you're serious, pastries can be served again, but cold drinks are not allowed yet."
Wang Xiuxiu thought for a moment and immediately agreed.
After she left, Granny Li shook her head and laughed at her, "Your Highness, you've used all your cunning on food."
"Granny is mistaken. This girl knows I want to force her to practice her calligraphy, so she brought this homework. She's probably trying to appease me before I get angry."
"I see! But if the concubine knew that you tricked her with just a few clues, she would be furious!"
---
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived."
Wang Xiuxiu raised her head and looked out the door with a smile.
A short while later, Lu Yunian walked briskly and happily into the house.
Upon seeing Wang Xiuxiu, he excitedly exclaimed, "Auntie!"
The sound is crisp, clear, and full of energy, making people happy just by listening to it.
"Why is Yu Nian here at this time? What bad timing, Song Song just ran out to play."
Lu Yunian was used to Wang Xiuxiu's teasing.
I no longer blush as easily as before.
"Auntie~"
Looking at the adorable little guy in front of her, Wang Xiuxiu's heart melted.
"What's wrong, Yu Nian?"
Lu Yunian took the basket from the servant behind him and carefully placed it on the table.
Then, without any help, she climbed onto the chair next to her, crossed her legs, and sat down obediently.
"This one!"
At Lu Yunian's instruction, Wang Xiuxiu gently lifted the cover, revealing several exquisite Luban locks neatly arranged in the basket.
As an ancient intellectual toy, the Luban lock consists of six wooden strips that are ingeniously interlocked through mortise and tenon joints to form a sturdy whole.
Wang Xiuxiu had played with it a few times in modern times, but it wasn't as exquisite as the one in the young prince's basket.
Seeing the young prince's expectant look, Wang Xiuxiu asked in a very cooperative manner, "This Luban lock looks incredibly exquisite. I wonder where the young prince obtained it?"
Nian Ge'er smiled smugly: "This was given to me by the master!"
As if worried that Wang Xiuxiu might not understand, he added, "Because I study very hard and am always the first one to arrive at the academy to study, the teacher gave it to me as a reward!"
"Wow, to receive such a precious reward from the master, Nian-ge, you are truly amazing!"
Brother Nian was overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling. He was so happy.
After a long while, he suddenly remembered the real purpose of his trip.
So, blinking his bright eyes and looking at Wang Xiuxiu expectantly, he asked, "Auntie, I don't know how to play this Luban lock. Do you know how?"
In his mind, his aunt had always been a very fun-loving person.
So when he got his hands on the Luban lock, his first thought was to have Wang Xiuxiu play with him.
"Let me see."
Wang Xiuxiu took the Luban lock, examined it carefully, and quickly found one of the wooden strips that could be moved slightly by turning her fingers.
Then, with a gentle push, the wooden strip easily separated from the entire structure.
Seeing this, Lu Yunian's eyes widened, his face full of surprise: "Wow!"
To Lu Yunian's astonishment, Wang Xiuxiu quickly unlocked the entire Luban lock.
The little guy clapped his hands, excitedly dancing and jumping high, wanting Wang Xiuxiu to teach him.
Wang Xiuxiu smiled, picked up the Luban lock, and reassembled it according to the mortise and tenon structure between the wooden strips.
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