Chapter 18
"Of course I won't be angry!" The eldest prince laughed heartily.
The resentment he felt yesterday because of the punishment given to Qu Dubian gradually disappeared. He didn’t know whether his youngest brother was a good person, but if he could make the third brother feel upset, then he was a good brother to him!
The Third Prince put down his hand that was just stretched out to take the dried fruit, retracted his empty palm into his hanging sleeve, raised his head and smiled, "Of course not."
“That’s right!”
The eldest prince sighed at the generosity of others and said, "Seventh brother is still young."
Ye Xiaoyuan accepted the gifts and temporarily placed them on the shelf beside the school. Then, like the other personal eunuchs, he quietly stood by the wall of the school.
Next to him was the eldest prince's personal eunuch.
The eunuch said with relief: "It has been a long time since I have seen the eldest prince so happy."
Ye Xiaoyuan was also pleased and said: "I haven't seen the little prince smile like this for a long time."
The two eunuchs looked at each other and felt a sense of mutual sympathy.
The eldest prince sat down with the third prince under his arm and touched Qu Dubian's head. He actually found him quite pleasing to the eye. This younger brother was good-looking and good at talking, and not as annoying as he had imagined.
Although his workload increased dramatically yesterday because of his seventh brother's matter and he was punished to kneel, it was nothing compared to the relief he felt today.
He said straightforwardly, "Brother, you said something you shouldn't have said yesterday, but you've learned your lesson, so let it go. If anyone bullies you in the future, just come find me. Go to your seat."
The second prince smiled and said to him: "If you need anything or need anything, you can also ask my second brother."
After just one meeting, Qu Duanbian got a general idea of the personalities of these three older brothers.
The eldest prince is a straightforward person, in other words, he has no brains, is not very cunning and doesn't know how to think tactfully. As long as you give him the right treatment, he will be a good backer.
But it should be easy to be persuaded.
The second prince was smiling and seemed to always play the role of mediator between the eldest prince and the third prince. He had a good relationship with all the princes and was very good at dealing with people.
The Third Prince...
Um.
It's a handful of tea that is still young.
He had sensed it when he was listening to the class under the table, and originally thought it was very interesting, but when he saw it face to face today, this guy's subtle dislike for him was about to overflow.
If Qianqian hadn't choked him, Qu Dubian wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight.
In the row on the right, the eldest prince is at the front and the third prince is at the end.
Qu Watanabe is in the row on the left. What’s very interesting is that the Sixth Prince is at the front and the Fourth Prince is at the end.
The left side seems to be sorted by age, with the older ones being at the back, but Qu Watanabe is the youngest and shortest, yet he is at the back.
When he passed by the Sixth Prince who was in the front, the Sixth Prince snorted at him.
"?"
Qu Duanbian was completely confused.
Did he offend him?
Children are really weird.
After sitting cross-legged in his seat, Qu Watanabe found that the height of the table was up to his chin. He pressed his chin against the table and sighed.
He is short. He is so short.
The fourth prince in front slowly turned his head and said, "Thank you, brother."
The fourth prince is a little fat, especially like a lucky doll, with big eyes, and he is always too sleepy to open his eyes, and he carries a small pillow with him.
Qu Watanabe: “You’re welcome.”
The fourth prince patted his little pillow and invited: "Do you want to sleep together later?"
"...Sleeping? Master, don't you care?"
The fourth prince said honestly: "Master Xi doesn't care about us, he cares about that side." He pointed to the row of eldest princes.
Qu Duanbian was silent for a moment, "Wait and see, Fourth Brother goes to sleep first."
The Fourth Prince slowly turned his head and lay gently and peacefully on his little pillow.
...kind of like a sloth.
Mr. Xi's full name is Xi Shiqiu. He is currently serving as the Minister of Dali Temple. He is proficient in the criminal law and litigation of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Teaching the princes here is just an extra part-time job for him as he is very busy with his main job.
However, Emperor Chongzhao valued him so much that he allowed him to teach the princes after leaving court. However, he did not come back every time and other teachers would occasionally take his place.
When he entered the school, Qu Dubian observed him very carefully.
This Master Xi was dressed in a dark blue robe, a white jade hairpin, and had a small circle of beard on his chin. He looked to be in his thirties and was very handsome and elegant.
No wonder the palace maids gossiped behind his back about his concubine dying of childbirth complications.
Qu Dubian observed carefully and saw thick bandages on Mr. Xi's wrists, as well as sporadic bruises and scratches on his face.
In the previous life, many people would stop and watch for a while when they saw two cats fighting on the road.
It's really hard not to gossip about Mr. Xi.
Mr. Xi noticed the little figure that appeared in the classroom. He paused, nodded slightly towards Qu Dubian, and started today's class.
He was talking about cases that were recently recorded and archived in the Dali Temple.
Qu Dubian listened for a while and, to be fair, found Mr. Xi's talk quite interesting, but the content was too advanced for children like the fourth, fifth and sixth princes.
No wonder Mr. Xi doesn't care about them, it's normal that they don't understand.
Mr. Xi's teaching target is mainly the three eldest princes, and the rest are probably just a by-product. It doesn't matter if you don't understand, it will be easier to understand after seeing and hearing.
The legal provision we are going to learn today is about blood revenge.
"There was a butcher in Nanyang County who went to a pig farmer to buy piglets. After he got them home, he found that the price of the piglets was much higher than other places. He felt that he had been cheated. Ten days later, the butcher sneaked into the pig farmer's house late at night and killed the piglets.
They took the butcher's body away, chopped it into meat, mixed it with meat and sold it to customers. When the pig farmer's son found out, he did not report it to the authorities, but also sneaked into the butcher's house late at night, killed the butcher and his wife and children, and ate them alive.
After Mr. Xi finished speaking, he asked, "Do you think what the swineherd's son did was right?"
The eldest prince said: "Anyone who seeks revenge is guilty of killing him according to the Book of Rites.[1] This is what a brave man should do! What crime has the son of a swineherd committed?"
The Third Prince: "There is nothing wrong with revenge, but his wife and children should not be implicated. His wife and children are innocent."
The eldest prince said: "How do you know that his wife and children are not guilty of shielding him? The hatred of killing one's father is irreconcilable. If a son does not seek revenge, he is not a son."
"Private revenge for blood feuds will implicate the whole family. If everyone does this, the country will no longer be a country," said the Third Prince. "Father taught us to be kind. Have you forgotten, brother?"
The eldest prince choked.
Mr. Xi: "What about the second prince?"
The second prince smiled and said, "Big brother, third brother are right."
Mr. Xi nodded. He was not surprised by their answer. Just as he was thinking about talking about the verdict of Nanyang County, he caught a glimpse of something that was a bit higher.
The little prince, at some point, had already moved from the ground to sit cross-legged on the table.
The child held his chin with his hand and seemed to be listening with great interest.
Mr. Xi paused, and for some unknown reason, he asked, "What do you think, young prince?"
Qu Watanabe said without hesitation: "Big Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother are all right."
Mr. Xi: “…”
As expected of a brother, you really know how to keep things fair.
He did not raise any objection to Qu Dubian's behavior of sitting at the table. He probably realized that the table was a bit too high for a little kid who was less than three years old and particularly short.
At least they were better than those who were sleeping, daydreaming, and secretly eating dried fruits. Mr. Xi's eyes passed over the fourth prince, the fifth prince, and the sixth prince in turn.
Mr. Xi: "The final verdict of this case is that the murder was justifiable, but the wife and children should not be implicated. The son of the swineherd was sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane and exiled 3,000 miles."
After being beaten with a hundred sticks and then exiled for three thousand miles, this is no different from suspended death sentence, unless the person's physical fitness is extremely good and he can survive it.
“If a grandparent or a parent is killed by someone, and the descendants kill the perpetrator without authorization, they shall be caned 60 times. If the perpetrator kills the person immediately, no punishment shall be given[2].”
Mr. Xi: "If the son of the swineherd only killed the butcher afterwards, he would only be sentenced to sixty strokes of the cane at most. But if he killed his wife and children, and implicated the whole family, that is another serious crime."
"The law is strict, Your Highnesses must keep it in mind."
The eldest prince said yes reluctantly.
If he could make laws in the future, he would definitely change this one. It's really frustrating.
After talking about the examples, the next step was to explain the provisions and laws. Qu Duanbian began to feel sleepy and could not help but feel drowsy under the smoke from the charcoal basin.
He has adapted well to sleeping in class. When he was in school in his previous life, he slept in class. Anyway, his ranking would not drop and the teachers did not care about him, so he had a high degree of freedom.
As long as he learns what he needs to learn, he can do whatever he wants.
It's the same in this life. Once he has learned all the characters that need to be written, he will stop learning, no matter what anyone says!
Qu Dubian got down from the bed... and from the table, slid over to the Fourth Prince's desk, came close to him, and poked him gently.
The fourth prince opened his eyes in a daze.
Qu Dubian looked at his pillow and signaled with his eyes.
The Fourth Prince suddenly realized and generously gave up a piece of his pillow. Although the pillow was small, it was long and made of buckwheat, and felt very comfortable.
Qu Dubian climbed onto the Fourth Prince's desk, turned the pillow upright, and lay on the desk.
The fourth prince slept with his stomach on the table. Qu Watanabe was short, so lying sideways didn't take up any of his sleeping space. The combination of lying down and lying prone was just right for him.
"Brother, you are so smart..."
Qu Watanabe made a hushing gesture.
Mr. Xi didn't care that he was sitting on the table, he just changed to a more comfortable position to sleep.
The fourth prince covered his mouth and nodded, then he found a piece of rice paper and covered his brother's belly button with it. Then he grabbed the pillow and fell asleep again, more peacefully.
The explanation stopped.
The school fell into an eerie silence at a certain moment, and all eyes were focused on this spot.
The first prince, the second prince, and the third prince: "..."
Damn, I'm a little envious.
Mr. Xi tightened his grip on the Zhou Law. He has a good temper, but he is not without temper.
Damn kid, if I really provoke him...!
Mr. Xi turned his head away and said, "Okay, let's continue reading."
Forget it, as long as I don’t snore.
The Fourth Prince's personal eunuch covered his eyes, unable to bear the sight, and said, "Oh my God." He poked Ye Xiaoyuan, and seeing that the other party had the same worried expression as his, he immediately felt that he had found his organization.
"Why is your Highness like this too?"
Ye Xiaoyuan lowered his voice and said angrily: "You guys are more experienced. If I had known, I would have brought a quilt and pillow. It would be so uncomfortable to sleep like this."
The Fourth Prince's personal eunuch: "..."
So this is what you are worried about?
-
I slept until school was over at noon.
When the Fourth Prince left, he kept looking back, reluctant to part with his sleeping partner. Thus, the beginning of their friendship was formed.
Ye Xiaoyuan also sought advice from the eunuch beside the Fourth Prince, asking what things would be better to bring to class and what kind of material would be more comfortable to sleep with.
The personal eunuchs of the other princes were packing up.
During this period, Qu Dubian was alone with the Sixth Prince and the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince kept his head down and followed behind the Sixth Prince. As far as I could remember, he never spoke on his own initiative.
The Sixth Prince walked over with his face raised and pushed Qu Watanabe.
Qu Watanabe didn't move either.
The Sixth Prince: “?”
Qu Dubian thought, after all, he had practiced Tai Chi for a while, and his foundation was gradually improving. If he fell down after being pushed like this, it would be a waste of his training.
The Sixth Prince puffed up his cheeks and said, "What a disgusting fellow."
Qu Duanbian said seriously: "Then you ate the food given by the annoying guy, what are you?"
The Sixth Prince was stunned.
Qu Duan came closer and whispered, "The annoying guy has turned you into an annoying guy too."
A KO!
The Sixth Prince ran away crying loudly, howling as he ran: "Wuwuwuwu, I have become a disgusting monster, wuwuwuwu!"
The fifth prince chased after him and accidentally tripped over the steps.
Qu Dubian subconsciously reached out to support himself and staggered.
After the Fifth Prince calmed down, he glanced at him quickly, whispered thank you, and hurriedly chased after him.
When they ran away, the servants who were serving them didn't care about anything else and hurriedly chased after them, fearing that their masters might fall or get hurt.
With one chasing and the other running, Qu Dubian personally created a beautiful landscape in Dongyuan.
Ye Xiaoyuan came over after packing up his things and asked curiously, "Why are they running away?"
Qu Dubian told the story again.
Looking at his mischievous appearance, Ye Xiaoyuan burst into laughter.
"I think you are much smarter than the Sixth Prince." He was happy to see Qu Dubian's mischievous behavior. "Let's go! Go back to eat. Your Highness has slept for the whole morning and is very tired. Go back and make up for it."
After a simple time together today, Qu Watanabe formulated the "Future Code of Conduct for My Brothers".
With the attitude of not offending others if possible, try to live in peace with them.
In this way, no matter which brother becomes the emperor in the future, they will not be too harsh on him. Eating under the father's hand is different from eating under the brother's hand.
Build a good relationship with your future meal ticket, starting from a young age.
Now it seems that the little princes are still young and it is not yet time for them to have such thoughts, so they are easy to coax and fool.
The main struggle focused on the three eldest princes.
Although there were some unpleasantness with the third prince at the beginning, it was not a big deal. He promised that he would be a textbook good brother in the future - provided that you don't provoke him again.
-
Large dining room.
Wen Xiaochun's current position here is as a minor manager in charge of oil.
All types of oil used in the kitchen must be approved by the steward, and the daily usage is limited.
Of course, this number is also the number filled in by the manager.
The position of oil manager is a lucrative one, and any extra money filled in goes into one's pocket. But everyone knows the amount, and if they are greedy, they will be greedy a little bit, otherwise it will not be acceptable on the books.
This is all tacit agreement. Even though Wen Xiaochun is just holding a position here, he cannot break the rules.
However, he did not collect the money for the oil, but directly had the oil delivered to the unused warehouse in the main kitchen and did not move it for the time being.
This way, if there is an investigation later, he can just take these things out, and the matter will naturally have nothing to do with him. He is in this position to accumulate connections, and he must not leave hidden dangers for the future for a little petty profit.
The two young eunuchs in Ju'an Hall are both very stable. Each of them is in his own position, managing and planning for his own little prince - even if the real master is not very clear about it.
-
Xiuxiang Palace
The Sixth Prince came back crying, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.
I feel so sorry for Concubine Lan.
"What's wrong? Tell mother what happened." She glared at the servant behind her. "How did you take care of the master like this? How do you do your job?"
The Sixth Prince cried, "I'm not a nuisance! My mother has become a nuisance."
Imperial Concubine Lan: "Yes, yes, you are not. How can my son be a nasty person?"
The Sixth Prince burped and cried, "I ate the dried fruits given by the annoying guy, and now I have become an annoying guy..."
He spoke unclearly and Concubine Lan was completely confused. She asked the young eunuch behind her, but the young eunuch had no idea what had happened at the time. After all, children speak very softly.
The eunuch racked his brains before replying, "The Sixth Prince must have been referring to the Seventh Prince. He said the Seventh Prince is a nuisance."
Concubine Lan felt that there was no problem at all.
"Yes, he is a nuisance, so what?" She followed the Sixth Prince's younger generation, "My son is right, he is a nuisance."
Unexpectedly, the Sixth Prince cried even louder.
"No, he can't be a nuisance! Don't tell me!"
Concubine Lan: “…”
In the Sixth Prince's mind, he had accepted Qu Dubian's dried fruit, and he had become synonymous with Qu Dubian. If Qu Dubian was a nuisance, then so was he.
so--
The annoying seventh brother can only be a good person like him!
But the more he thought about it, the more aggrieved the Sixth Prince felt. He had only eaten some dried fruits, so how could he become a nuisance?
The Sixth Prince: "Woo woo, you have to say he is a good man."
Concubine Lan: “?”
Never before had she doubted so much that there was something wrong with her son's brain.
-
Astronomy Department.
Emperor Chongzhao not only did not order the Seventh Prince to move to the temporary palace, but he also ordered him to enter the East Garden in advance to study with the other princes and cultivate brotherly feelings.
To everyone in the harem and among the ministers, this was a sign that His Majesty had gradually stopped caring about the incident with Concubine Yun.
Zhang Fanming, who had previously advised Emperor Chongzhao and proposed to move the Seventh Prince's Astronomy Department Director Zhang Fanming was no exception.
In fact, when he went to make his suggestion that day, he felt a little uneasy, as he felt that there was something wrong with the emperor's attitude, which was different from before.
If it had happened more than two years ago, the emperor would have sent his young son out of the palace that very day.
Could it be that Concubine Yun has been dead for too long and his emotions have faded, so he feels that a dead woman is not as precious as the prince?
Zhang Fanming sat upright at the table and slowly threw a piece of paper into the charcoal basin. The words on it disappeared completely.
The rising smoke was slightly choking in the closed room.
Emperor Chongzhao gradually began to trust the Astronomical Observatory after the incident with Concubine Yun. If for some reason the emperor had doubts about Concubine Yun, the status of their Astronomical Observatory in the Great Zhou Dynasty would have definitely plummeted.
After experiencing the taste of being respected by everyone, no one would want to go back to the past when no one cared about them. The beginning of respect was built on the flesh and blood of Yun Fei and her son, and now it can no longer be separated.
--so.
Yun Fei's son was born to an unlucky mother, and he will be an unlucky mother all his life!
These two stepping stones.
Zhang Fanming will be stepped on for the rest of his life.
He slowly took a sip of the hot soup.
If His Majesty has forgotten the young prince's title and is hesitant, he will let His Majesty deepen his impression of him.
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