32. I'm going to turn evil.
"Insolence!" Qu Zijin slammed the ruler in his hand on the table, his knuckles turning white, and his voice trembled slightly.
The princess was so angry that she stomped her feet: "You, you are simply unreasonable! The Grand Tutor taught us, how dare you be so rude!"
The little princess has now begun to accept Qu Zijin.
"Teaching?" The young prince sneered, his childish voice full of sarcasm. "He's only after our royal power! And what are you pretending to be, a lady of high society? Everyone knows you're incredibly spoiled and willful behind the scenes!"
Qu Zijin took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger, and said, "Wei Jiayou, watch your words."
"I won't!" The young prince retorted, his eyes already red but he still forced a smile. "You're all in cahoots! You've all ganged up on me!"
At this moment, Jin Lanyue, who had been hiding behind Qu Zijin, suddenly peeked out and said timidly, "The little prince is wrong..."
The little voice trembled, but it was exceptionally clear: "The Grand Tutor is the best, and the little princess is the best too..."
That statement was like setting off a bomb.
The young prince turned his head sharply, staring at Jin Lanyue in disbelief: "Even you..."
His voice suddenly choked, and his small fists clenched tightly: "I thought... I thought we were friends..."
Jin Lanyue waved her hands anxiously, "No, we're just friends, but..."
"Liars!" the young prince suddenly shouted, tears welling up in his eyes, "You're all liars!"
He wiped his face haphazardly, turned around and rushed out of the hall: "I'm never talking to you again!"
"Little Prince!" Jin Lanyue took a few steps after him with her short legs, but the little prince disappeared in a flash. "Wait!"
But the little prince was gone, leaving only the swaying palace gate and a few wet tear stains on the ground.
Jin Lanyue stood there blankly.
The princess walked over angrily: "Ignore him! All he does is throw tantrums all day!"
Qu Zijin bent down to offer a few words of comfort, but saw the little girl look up at him, her big eyes brimming with tears: "Grand Tutor...did Yue'er do something wrong...?"
Qu Zijin immediately patted her head: "You did nothing wrong."
-
Inside the artificial hill and cave in the Imperial Garden, the young prince was hugging his knees and sobbing.
He kicked a pebble hard, but it was unclear whether he was angry at someone else or at himself.
The young prince huddled in the cave, tears streaming down his face like broken pearls.
"Waaah... They're all bullying me..." The little prince rubbed his face hard with his sleeve, making a mess of it. "The Grand Tutor is biased... The Princess is domineering... Even she..."
The thought that the little one had actually sided with outsiders made him feel even worse. He pulled out the crumpled snacks from his pocket, which were the treats Jin Lanyue had given him yesterday.
The little prince picked up the pastry as if to throw it to the ground, but then hesitated halfway up and finally took a big, fierce bite.
“From now on…” he muttered between chews, his cheeks puffed out like a little pufferfish, “This prince will never trust anyone again!”
The shouts of palace servants searching for him came from outside the artificial hill, and the young prince immediately shrank further into the cave.
He picked up a twig and drew a big X on the ground: "Rule number one: You are not allowed to laugh at the Grand Tutor!"
After thinking for a moment, he drew a second cross: "Second: Everything Wei Chaoyun said is a lie!"
When I was drawing the third line, the branch suddenly snapped.
The young prince paused, then suddenly overwhelmed with sorrow: "The third one... the third one..."
He sobbed, unable to continue, and simply threw the broken branch aside: "Third one! I'm never playing with her again! If she doesn't want to play with me, then so be it! I don't care! Humph!"
He wiped away his tears.
A butterfly landed on a wildflower at the entrance of the cave, its wings fluttering.
Normally, he would have jumped out to catch it by now, but now...
"What are you looking at!" the little prince roared at Butterfly fiercely. "This prince is about to turn evil! Do you even understand what it means to turn evil?!"
As she spoke, she made what she thought was a fierce expression, but unfortunately, paired with her tear-streaked face, she looked just like a cat with its fur standing on end.
He took a small bronze mirror out of his purse.
The person in the mirror had red and swollen eyes and a crooked hair ornament; there was no trace of "darkening" on them.
"No way!" The little prince rubbed his face vigorously and messed up his hair. "If you're going to turn evil, you have to look like you're going to turn evil!"
He mimicked the villains he'd seen in plays, lowering his voice to mutter to himself, "Ha... From this day forward, I will sever all emotions and love... I will make you all pay the price..."
But as she spoke, her nose started to sting again.
He quickly tilted his head back, supposedly to keep his tears from falling: "I won't cry... people who have turned evil don't cry..."
The palace servants outside were still calling his name.
The young prince hid motionless behind the artificial hill until—
"This servant greets Your Majesty!"
The young prince was taken aback.
Then he shook his head violently. Impossible! The palace servants must be lying to him, trying to trick him into coming out!
However, the sound that followed shattered his illusion—
"What are you doing here? Wei Jiayou is missing?"
The young prince was startled.
Outside, the intermittent reports from palace servants could be heard.
Finally, the voice said—
"In that case, I will help you search."
Suddenly, a steady footstep sounded outside the artificial hill, and a bright yellow hem flashed past the cave entrance.
The young prince froze, even his tears welling up in fear.
"Wei Jiayou, come out."
The young prince shook his head.
He doesn't want to!
His father had no idea that he had just experienced the painful ordeal of being betrayed and abandoned by everyone! He was no longer the Wei Jiayou who used to be afraid of his father!
He's grown up!
"I will count to three," Wei Xiuming's clear voice echoed in the garden. "One."
The little prince trembled. No, no, no, he is a strong person. He has turned evil. He shouldn't be afraid of his father!
He wasn't scared at all!
"two."
The little prince trembled again, biting his lip as he slowly crawled out of the hole.
...Okay, he admits he's scared.
Wei Xiuming looked down at his only son.
His hair ornament was askew to one side, and his face was streaked with black and white, like a little tabby cat.
He was bowing his head, drawing circles on the ground with his toes: "Your subject greets Your Majesty..."
Wei Xiuming stood with his hands behind his back, his handsome face revealing neither joy nor anger: "Tell me, why didn't you go to class?"
"Your Majesty..." the young prince clutched the hem of his robe, his voice trailing off, "I can't get along with them..."
"Oh?" Wei Xiuming raised an eyebrow. "Is it that you don't get along, or did you say something you shouldn't have?"
The little prince suddenly looked up, his face flushed red: "I didn't..."
He suddenly stopped midway through his sentence, clearly remembering the things he had said to the Grand Tutor.
Wei Xiuming chuckled; he knew exactly what kind of person his son was.
Seeing that his clothes, hair, and face were all messy, she couldn't help but purse her lips: "Why did you get yourself into this state? Go wash your face."
"Oh..." the little prince said, looking aggrieved.
"It's still class time. No matter what the reason, you're not allowed to skip class. Wash your face, tidy yourself up, and then go back to class," Wei Xiuming coldly ordered.
The young prince suddenly raised his head, saying in disbelief, "I...I'm in such a terrible state..."
He sniffled, finally unable to hold back, and burst into tears: "You, you didn't even comfort me, all you did was tell me to go to class, all you did was study..."
Wei Xiuming watched him quietly until his sobs subsided, then slowly said, "But didn't you bring this on yourself?"
The young prince didn't know how to refute this, so he complained, "Father only knows how to make me study. Is studying more important than me?"
"Yes, studying is important." Wei Xiuming nodded.
"Wh-what?!" The little prince stared at him in disbelief, hardly able to believe what he had just heard.
“Go back to your studies, and don’t be naughty anymore,” Wei Xiuming added insult to injury.
The young prince, his eyes brimming with tears, suddenly seemed to have made up his mind. Wiping away his tears, he resolutely said, "Fine, if that's how it is, then don't blame me!"
"Oh?" Wei Xiuming raised an eyebrow, curious to see what kind of trouble he was planning to cause.
"From now on—I will be a cold and ruthless learning puppet!" The little prince straightened his small body, his face ashen like a cat's. "From now on, I will never smile again! You all forced me to this point!"
"..."
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