7. The princess's tutor was so angry with us that he died.
"No, no," Jin Lanyue comforted the little princess, "I'll ask my mother to bring me even more cakes tomorrow!"
The little princess pouted, but ultimately said nothing more.
On the other side, Qu Zijin said to the little princess, "Alright, since she pleaded for you today, I will not pursue the matter further. From now on, you are not allowed to sleep in class again!"
Jin Lanyue nodded obediently, but suddenly heard the princess behind her speak: "Why?!"
Jin Lanyue was stunned.
A voice inside me was wailing: Oh no, they're going to start arguing again!
As expected, Qu Zijin's anger, which had just been extinguished, was reignited: "What? On what grounds? As a student, not sleeping in class is a basic requirement!"
Qu Zijin flicked the wide sleeves of his blue official robe, his handsome face slightly flushed with anger.
He was only in his early twenties, yet he was already the youngest Grand Tutor in the court—though he himself did not want to be—but at this moment, he was so angry at the unruly little princess in front of him that his temples were throbbing.
The five-year-old princess pouted her cherry-like lips, her eyes filled with resentment.
She had styled her hair in a double bun today, and the pearls adorning her hair swayed gently as she shook her head.
"Why can't I sleep?!" The little princess stood with her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffed out like a little pufferfish. "I'm only five years old, and I'm usually sleeping at this time!"
Jin Lanyue was a little nervous and blinked her eyes.
but……
She thought the princess made a lot of sense... Normally she would still be sleeping at this time.
Qu Zijin stepped forward again: "That's why we need you to be diligent! If you complain about getting up early, what will you do in the future? I studied hard for more than ten years without complaint, getting up at 3 AM and going to bed at 9 PM every day!"
"I don't understand! I don't understand!" The little princess's hand, which had been slamming on the table, no longer hurt. Now she stood with her hands on her hips. "I don't care! I don't care! I want to sleep in! Give us a day off, I want to sleep in!"
Qu Zijin was so angry he wanted to slap her hand, but when he looked down and saw Jin Lanyue's nervous and frightened appearance, he took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and reasoned with the princess: "Normally, there is a five-day weekend. You have only worked for two days, why do you need a weekend?"
"I don't care!" the little princess declared defiantly. "If you won't let me go back to sleep in, I'll sleep in here!"
I can't take it anymore!
A vein bulged on the young tutor's forehead. He took a deep breath, about to lash out, when he suddenly felt his robe being gently tugged.
Looking down, I saw Jin Lanyue looking up with her chubby little face upturned, her big, watery eyes filled with worry.
"Grand Tutor, don't be angry~" The childish voice was as sweet as honey, "Princess, you must have studied very late last night, that's why you're so sleepy... Hmm, that must be it!"
Jin Lanyue silently shed tears in her heart.
Your Highness, this is all I can do for you. Please don't let me down!
Upon hearing this, the little princess immediately perked up, finally showing her cleverness for once, and puffed out her little chest, saying, "That's right! I've been studying so hard that I'm even dreaming about reading! The Grand Tutor should give us half a day off!"
...but not very clever either.
Qu Zijin looked at the two clowns and was so angry that he almost gritted his teeth.
He gritted his teeth: "If Her Highness the Princess were even half as diligent as her study companion, I wouldn't have to be angry here every day."
Although he was quite willing to accept defeat, he still had some sense of propriety.
In front of outsiders, he wouldn't call Jin Lanyue "teacher," as that would cause trouble for both of them.
Although he himself doesn't care about trouble, he already has enough trouble, so it doesn't matter if there's a little more.
But Jin Lanyue is still young, and he cannot harm her or cause her any negative impact because of his inappropriate words and actions.
Qu Zijin looked at Jin Lanyue, then at the little princess, and couldn't understand it at all—they were both children, so why was there such a big difference between them?!
He said with great distress, "Why can't the princess learn from Jin, her companion? Look at her, she is diligent and intelligent, and she has never complained about hardship or fatigue."
"Huh?" Jin Lanyue was stunned, and pointed to herself with her little finger in a daze.
Qu Zijin nodded in agreement.
Jin Lanyue looked at the sky and the ground, but dared not meet the Grand Tutor's gaze.
However, Qu Zijin encouraged him, saying, "Jin Ban Du, do you think what I said is right?"
Jin Lanyue lowered her head heavily.
The little princess spoke up bravely: "Moon, don't be afraid, speak up boldly! If he tries to hit you, I'll take the hit for you!"
Qu Zijin sneered: "She's not like you, who only knows how to be lazy and rebellious."
The two spoke in unison: "Moon/Golden Companion, you speak!"
Jin Lanyue looked down at her tiny embroidered shoes, and tried to match her fingers together, but she couldn't quite get them right several times because she was nervous.
"Actually, I, I..." Her voice trembled slightly.
The two said, "Don't be afraid, just tell me!"
Jin Lanyue closed her eyes, adopting a heroic expression of facing death: "Actually, I can't get up either!"
"Waaaaah, Grand Tutor, I'm so sorry, but I really can't get up either, waaaaah..."
The little princess jumped up and down excitedly: "See, what did I tell you?!"
She put her arm around Jin Lanyue's shoulder: "I knew we were best friends!"
Jin Lanyue looked up at Qu Zijin guiltily, only to see that Qu Zijin's face was full of disbelief, and his body swayed, looking like he was about to faint.
"Grand Tutor! Grand Tutor!" Jin Lanyue quickly stepped forward and supported his knees with her small hands. "Grand Tutor, please help me! I can get up! Waaah! I can get up and go to school..."
Qu Zijin took a few breaths, steadied himself, and groped his way to sit down: "You, you guys... Sigh, never mind, I..."
He had never been so speechless before.
He closed his eyes and didn't want to speak.
This terrified Jin Lanyue: "Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor, are you trying to kill me with this tonic?! Princess, Princess, we've angered the Grand Tutor to death!"
Qu Zijin had no choice but to open his eyes again: "Don't worry, I won't die yet."
"Really?" Jin Lanyue wiped away her tears, her words slurred with fright. "Grand Tutor, please don't be angry. I can get up and go to school... Grand Tutor, I... Waaah, I've already learned to count to ten. I'll count for you... One, two, three, four..."
The previously obtained reward, Mastery of Enlightenment Knowledge (Divination Version), has come into play, and Jin Lanyue has successfully learned to count to ten.
Qu Zijin listened in a daze, sighed after a long while, patted her fluffy little head, and began the same old topic: "With your talent, you should study hard and study diligently."
Jin Lanyue was really afraid of angering the Grand Tutor to death: "I'll let Zhenke cry, Grand Tutor, please don't be angry..."
Qu Zijin almost fainted again: "...He is serious and hardworking."
"Ren Zhen... is diligent and hardworking!"
Qu Zijin looked up at the ceiling with blank eyes for a long time before finally lowering his head and taking out Jin Lanyue's small handkerchief to wipe her tears.
He tried to soften his voice: "Why are you crying again? Don't worry, I won't die."
"Oh..." Jin Lanyue's small hands were still holding onto him tightly, she didn't seem to believe him, as if she was afraid that if she let go, he would be so angry that he would fly to the sky.
He wiped away her tears, then looked at the little princess who was too ashamed to meet his gaze—good, although she was two years older than Jin Lanyue, she seemed to have believed their lies about him being driven to his death, and was extremely guilty.
Qu Zijin finally compromised: "In that case, you can take a day off tomorrow. You can come to class again at Chenshi (7-9 AM) in the future."
"Really?! Yay!" The little princess immediately jumped up and cheered.
Jin Lanyue seemed quite surprised, but she still asked him with concern, "Grand Tutor, you're not angry anymore, are you?"
"Hmm, don't be angry anymore." Qu Zijin patted her head again.
"Yay!" Jin Lanyue finally cheered.
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