The next day, Zhuang Li accompanied Feng Yi to the palace to study as usual.
The attitudes of the princes and their companions were completely different from yesterday. Their words were full of intimacy, and they all gave small gifts, as if they had completely accepted the two's joining.
Before the class started, Feng Ming sent someone to deliver an oral message, saying that from now on, whoever made a mistake would be punished, and the prince's study companions would be punished the same way, and there would be no special treatment.
Several great scholars complained, and several princes frowned in dissatisfaction. Only Feng Yi breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "That's great, cousin. This way I won't be afraid of you being beaten to death."
Zhuang Li: "..."
7480: "It seems your cousin has a very clear understanding of his own strength."
After class, the teacher asked everyone to recite the Four Books and Five Classics in the remaining time.
Zhuang Li was flipping through a book bored, but he found a shadow falling on his head. Feng Ming had come out of nowhere and was standing behind him. No wonder everyone's reading voices suddenly became sonorous, passionate and uplifting.
Feng Yi, who was sitting next to him, was foaming at the mouth and his face was flushed, which showed how hard he was performing.
Zhuang Li raised his head and looked at Feng Ming.
Feng Ming also lowered his head and looked at him quietly.
"Everyone is reading, but you are just flipping through books here and there, looking very leisurely." These words seemed like an accusation at first, but Feng Ming's tone was gentle.
"Uncle, he just finished reciting an article and wants to take a break." Feng Yi hurried to help his cousin out of the predicament.
"Oh? Which one did you recite?" Feng Ming tapped the table lightly with his fingertips and ordered, "Recite it for me now."
Feng Yi: “…” Oops, it seems like he has done more harm than good!
7480 wasn't worried at all and urged, "Master, quickly recite the book on the table forwards and backwards!"
Zhuang Li shook his head and said honestly, "I didn't memorize it."
"You are so confident even though you didn't endorse it?" Feng Ming curled the corners of his lips, and a hint of teasing flashed in his dark eyes.
However, the princes who could not see his expression thought that Zhuang Li had hit a wall and would definitely be punished today, so they exchanged mocking glances with each other.
"Then punish me." Zhuang Li blinked his bright fox eyes.
Feng Ming bent down slightly, looked him in the eye, and asked in a low voice: "How do you think I should punish you?" Although he was speaking words of punishment, he was in a relaxed and happy mood.
"You can personally urge me to memorize the text. If I can't recite it today, you won't let me go home." Zhuang Li suggested.
Feng Ming was slightly stunned, then he unconsciously raised the corner of his lips and tapped the table to urge, "Then follow me."
"My cousin is here too." Zhuang Li pulled Feng Yi's hand.
Feng Yi's eyes were filled with tears. His cousin must be taking revenge on him!
After the two followed Feng Ming out of the upper study, a moment later, the princes erupted in excitement. Someone said, "Zhuang Li is quite courageous."
Another said: "The emperor seemed to be particularly tolerant of him because they shared the same suffering, and he was very good at taking advantage of this tolerance."
Others said, "Feng Yi was dragged by Zhuang Li to show up in front of the emperor more often. Will he threaten our status in the future?"
The upper study room fell into silence. After a long moment, someone waved his hand and said firmly, "The Emperor will never hand over the country to a good-for-nothing playboy. You can put your hearts at ease for now."
---
Feng Yi sat in the Yangxin Palace in fear.
Zhuang Li was placed next to Feng Ming, with snacks, fruits and other things at hand.
"Memorize it, I'll review the memorials for a while." Feng Ming picked up the red pen.
Zhuang Li picked up the pastry.
The two of them were doing their own things, but the atmosphere was very harmonious.
After eating a piece of cake, Zhuang Li lay on the table and looked at Feng Ming without blinking. There was a book next to him, but he had not even opened the first page.
Feng Ming appeared to be reviewing the memorials seriously, but his ears were slowly turning red. He put down his pen and said with a hint of helplessness, "Why are you always looking at me?"
"I'm watching you because—"
Zhuang Li deliberately paused for a moment before writing a poem describing a moonlit night on a slip of paper and handed it over. "The answer is in this poem. Find it yourself."
This trick again?
Feng Ming took the note and looked at it, his expression becoming more helpless.
"What are you playing?" he asked curiously.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Zhuang Li also asked a question.
Feng Ming was stunned for a moment before he said, "I sleep well every night."
"Lie!" Zhuang Li retorted in his heart, but then smiled with satisfaction: "He slept very well last night."
7480 carefully looked at Feng Ming's face and exclaimed, "It's true! He looks much better than a few days ago! Master, how did you do it?"
"This is a delayed hypnosis technique. When his mind is completely absorbed in the poem describing the night, the intense concentration will induce sleep in his subconscious mind." Zhuang Li explained briefly before saying to Feng Ming, "Study it yourself. It won't be fun if you tell it to others."
Feng Ming shook his head helplessly, then rolled the note into a small scroll, put it in a small silver tube, and stuffed it into his purse.
Zhuang Li took a look and found two more silver tubes in his purse.
"Why can't you just say it directly? Why do you have to use riddles? I really can't guess." Feng Ming said in a coaxing tone: "Just tell me the answer directly, okay?"
"Not good." Zhuang Li shook his head firmly.
"Why not?" Feng Ming unconsciously raised the corners of his lips. He actually enjoyed this meaningless conversation.
Zhuang Li held his index finger and poked his cheek lightly, saying with a smile, "Because I'm shy, there are some things I'm really embarrassed to say out loud."
Feng Ming was addicted to the soft touch of his fingertips.
7480: "Bah! Master, how dare you say you are thin-skinned?"
Feng Yi: “…” His cousin’s ability to talk nonsense is getting better and better.
Zhuang Li still held Feng Ming's index finger, and Feng Ming did not struggle. When the young man held him, he finally felt that he was needed in this world.
After coming back to his senses, Feng Ming realized that Feng Yi was looking at him with a strange look, so he immediately frowned and asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
Feng Yi was startled and couldn't answer. He couldn't say that he found it strange that the emperor's uncle looked at his cousin with a sticky look, could he?
"This, that—"
Feng Yi quickly wrote a doggerel poem and handed it to Feng Ming, trying to get away with it: "The answer is between the lines. Uncle, go back and study it slowly."
Feng Ming took the paper, crumpled it into a ball, and smashed it on Feng Yi's head. "Recite your book well, don't read it randomly."
Feng Yi held his head and whimpered, like a kicked puppy. It was the same piece of paper, so why was there such a big difference?
His disturbance completely dispelled the ambiguous atmosphere in the palace. Zhuang Li released Feng Ming's index finger and ate his cake while flipping through a book, while Feng Ming continued to review the memorials.
In the evening, accompanied by Zhuang Li and Feng Yi, Feng Ming ate two more bowls of rice, and felt unprecedented fullness both physically and mentally.
Zhuang Li still couldn't recite the article of just a few hundred words, so he waved his hand and said, "I'll continue to recite it tomorrow."
Feng Ming sent him to the palace gate, a gentle smile in his eyes: "Okay."
The two men waved goodbye, one stood at the palace gate and looked out, while the other leaned against the car window and stared for a long time.
The sky has darkened, and the person we care about has disappeared in the hazy night, but still remains deep in our minds.
Back in his bedroom, Feng Ming opened three specially made silver tubes and pondered the three slips of paper over and over again, then fell into a deep sleep again. That night, he dreamed that he was holding the young man in his arms, biting his ear and coaxing him, "Tell me the answer, okay?"
The young man stood on tiptoe and hugged his neck, smiling brightly and speaking in a sweet voice: "No, that's not good. I will make it impossible for you to guess my thoughts. I will make you worry about me every day."
Feng Ming in the dream was helpless, yet immersed in an indescribable palpitation and satisfaction.
After waking up, he looked at the bright yellow tent ceiling and murmured in disbelief, "I can actually have sweet dreams?"
This dream with unclear meaning was indeed a beautiful dream for him. Every time he thought of it, he couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips.
He couldn't understand why it felt so good to worry about someone.
After attending court, he absentmindedly reviewed memorials, looking again and again at the clocks and watches tributed from the West, waiting for Zhuang Li to finish his class.
Elder Qin came in carrying a medicine box and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am here to check your pulse."
"I've been feeling good lately." Feng Ming stretched out his hand.
Elder Qin looked at him carefully and said in surprise, "Judging from your complexion, you are indeed much better!" He took his pulse and was even more pleased, "Not bad, not bad. Your Majesty has been sleeping well recently. That manic episode should have not occurred for a long time, right?"
"It hasn't happened for a few days." Feng Ming said calmly.
Mr. Tan picked up his pen and began to write a prescription for conditioning the body, while chatting about family matters: "I have accepted Zhuang Li as my disciple."
"Hmm?" Feng Ming raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have a rule that you can only accept disciples if you memorize the pharmacopoeia within three days?"
"Yes, Zhuang Li has a photographic memory. He memorized the pharmacopoeia after just one glance."
Feng Ming: “…”
A quarter of an hour later, Zhuang Li was brought into the Palace of Tranquil Longevity by the eunuchs and faced with a stern face.
"I met Mr. Qin today." Feng Ming spoke slowly, "He said you are a genius with a photographic memory."
Feng Yi opened his eyes wide and looked at Zhuang Li. Oh my god! Is my cousin hiding it so well?
7480: "Oh no! The car flipped over!"
Feng Ming tapped the table with his knuckles, saying in a serious tone, "Tell me, why do you pretend that you can't recite and stay by my side all day long?" Having seen too many conspiracies and tricks, he hated the feeling of being deceived and used.
He couldn't help but wonder—why was the young man deliberately trying to please him and get close to him? Was he truly sincere towards him? Was he trying to help Feng Yi win the throne, or was he simply seeking fame and fortune?
Feng Yi immediately sensed something was amiss, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. To please the Emperor's uncle was one thing, but to deceive him was another. His cousin shouldn't have been so clever.
What should I do? Is my cousin going to resort to the note trick again?
Feng Yi had guessed correctly. Zhuang Li pulled out a piece of paper he had prepared long ago from his sleeve, wrote a poem on it, dried it, and placed it on the table: "The answer is right here."
"I don't want to play this with you." Feng Ming turned his head away, his tone very cold.
"Then I'll go back today and talk to you after you calm down?" Zhuang Li asked with blinking eyes.
Feng Yi's knees buckled, and he nearly knelt before his cousin. Leaving without the Emperor's uncle's permission—did he have the guts to leave that morning? Surely the Emperor's uncle would give him a beating?
However, something even more unbelievable happened to Feng Yi: his cousin actually walked away with his schoolbag, and even dragged him away as he passed by.
Feng Yi looked back while running for his life, fearing that Long Jinwei would rush out of the Yangxin Palace and chop him and his cousin into meat paste.
But it didn't happen. The two of them left the palace safely without anyone stopping them.
When Feng Yi got into the carriage, his hair was already wet with cold sweat. He trembled and asked, "Cousin, I've already said I don't want to be the emperor. You don't have to deliberately get close to the emperor's uncle for my sake. He has a fickle temper and is prone to attacking people. We should stay away from him from now on!"
After he finished speaking, he became happy again and said hopefully, "Cousin, now we don't have to go to the study to study, right?"
"Well, I won't go for now. I'll rest at home for a few days." Zhuang Li looked at the imperial city that was getting farther and farther away. There was no panic in his eyes, only the calmness of having everything under control.
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