153. The Two Crown Princes
Xie Wenling apologized to the prince in a low voice, and then walked over.
That red gown seemed to possess an aura of its own, causing the crowd to unconsciously part slightly to the sides as it passed by.
"My lords," Xie Wenling's voice was clear and cold, not loud, yet it easily drowned out the surrounding noise.
He first nodded slightly to the officials as a greeting, and then said, "Isn't it inappropriate for everyone to be gathered here? It's too noisy, and the princes have been alerted."
He spoke casually, but no one doubted his truthfulness, especially since he had just finished talking with the Crown Prince.
Some even suspected that the crown prince had sent him to deliver a message.
The officials' enthusiastic smiles vanished instantly: "We just had some questions to ask Grand Tutor Qu, we didn't mean to disturb the princes."
Xie Wenling remained expressionless, unafraid of offending anyone: "Is there any question that absolutely needs to be asked now? Do you really want the princes and the princes behind them to remember you?"
Seeing Xie Wenling step forward and bring up the imperial family, the crowd naturally dared not refute him anymore and dispersed.
With the encirclement broken, Xiao Tuanzi and Qu Zijin both breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling as if they had been reborn.
The little dumpling patted its little chest with its tiny paws.
"Thank you very much, sir."
"Thank you, Brother Xie!"
The two thanked Xie Wenling in unison, their voices filled with identical gratitude.
Xie Wenling hummed in response.
He looked down at the little dumpling and held out his hand: "Let's go."
"Huh? Where are we going?" The little dumpling was taken aback.
Qu Zijin was also taken aback.
The talents had just left, and he hadn't even had a chance to say a few words to his teacher. Why was Xie Wenling trying to snatch him away as soon as he arrived?
"Teacher," Qu Zijin tried to persuade him to stay, "today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I didn't even have a chance to wish you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival..."
He tried to bribe the little dumpling with some pastries on the table.
The little dumpling looked at Brother Xie's outstretched hand, then at the Grand Tutor.
She actually wanted to stay with the Grand Tutor. Although he sometimes complained, he had no friends and was quite pitiful all by himself.
—This doesn't mean that being surrounded by people doesn't make you feel sorry for yourself.
Just as she was struggling with her inner conflict and hesitating, she suddenly noticed that the adults who had just dispersed were still glancing in her direction, as if they were ready to surround her again at any moment.
Especially when they saw the three of them standing together, their gazes seemed even more...burning?
The little dumpling immediately became alert.
no!
We absolutely cannot let ourselves be surrounded again!
That's terrifying!
The little dumpling made a decision in no time.
She suddenly reached out her little hand and grabbed Xie Wenling's fingers tightly. Her little body also leaned closer to Xie Wenling instinctively, and her tone was extremely firm: "Yue'er will go with Brother Xie!"
Qu Zijin's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, then he withdrew it somewhat disappointedly.
All right……
He thought that if the teacher followed Xie Wenling, he would definitely not be harassed anymore.
Xie Wenling was not surprised by the little girl's choice. He took her little hand in his and led her away.
Sure enough, while the curious and inquisitive gazes remained wherever they went, no one dared to approach them or surround them easily anymore.
The little boy followed closely behind his cousin, his short legs shuffling, and secretly glanced back at the lonely Grand Tutor.
I still feel a little guilty.
But I'm sorry, Grand Tutor... the adults are just too terrifying.
Just as my older brother said, this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was anything but simple!
Making new friends is so difficult!
Xie Wenling led her to a relatively quiet place and stopped.
He released his grip, looked down at the little boy who looked shaken, and gave the same advice as his mother and older brother: "Today's occasion is special, and everyone is watching. You need to be extra careful with your words and actions. Not all those who have gathered around have malicious intent, but with so many people talking, trouble is bound to arise."
The little dumpling looked up, trying hard to understand what Brother Xie meant, and nodded blankly: "Yue'er knows... I can't run around, and I can't make noise."
"Yes," Xie Wenling nodded, "especially you are not allowed to get close to the princes. His Majesty is about to arrive, and the banquet will begin. At that time, you must be quiet and observe etiquette, understand?"
"Understood!" The little dumpling nodded vigorously, indicating that she would definitely be the best-behaved doll.
However, no sooner had she finished speaking than a loud and particularly jarring noise came from the other side of the banquet hall, accompanied by a boy's raised, angry voice.
The direction was exactly where the princes and heirs of the various feudal lords were located.
The little dumpling's ears immediately perked up, and she nervously tugged at Xie Wenling's sleeve: "Brother Xie, listen! Are they... arguing?"
Remembering her earlier instructions, she turned serious and tried to pull Xie Gege away in the opposite direction: "Let's run! Don't make a sound!"
But it didn't move.
Xie Wenling was looking in that direction, his brows furrowed and his expression slightly somber.
At this moment, a servant hurried over and whispered a few words to him.
After listening, Xie Wenling remained expressionless and simply replied, "Understood."
"Brother Xie, aren't we going to run away?"
“…They can’t leave now, we have to take care of this,” Xie Wenling looked down at the little dumpling who was trying to drag him away, and sighed helplessly, “I’ve always been in charge of these things, and now that this has happened, how can I just turn a blind eye and walk away?”
Especially since this kind of conflict involves the heir of a vassal king, which could easily escalate, he had to go and deal with it since he had stumbled upon it.
"Huh?" The little dumpling didn't quite understand, but she still obediently followed Brother Xie's lead and walked in the direction from which the noise came.
She walked along, praying softly, "Don't look at us, don't look at us..."
The closer you get to that side, the clearer the arguing becomes.
A boy's voice rang out: "...Who do you think you are? You dare to argue with me? Look at your shabby appearance, did you crawl out from some backwater corner of the countryside?"
The little girl tiptoed through the gaps in the crowd and saw a boy of about five or six years old. He was wearing a brocade robe, a jade belt around his waist, a golden crown on his head inlaid with a large pearl, and his whole body was covered with gold, silver and jade pendants, which glittered under the candlelight, dazzling the eyes.
The boy he was arguing with seemed to be younger and dressed much more simply. Although the fabric wasn't bad, it was nothing compared to the other boy.
He pursed his lips, his face flushed red, his fists clenched tightly, and his eyes glared at the other person like a wounded little animal, but he stubbornly did not retort.
A crowd had already gathered around, mostly sons and servants from various families, but no one dared to step forward to dissuade the young master adorned with gold and silver; they were merely whispering among themselves.
The little dumpling blinked: "Yue'er seems to have seen them before..."
But where have I seen it before?
She couldn't quite remember.
Fortunately, Xie Wenling quickly answered her questions.
“The one wearing gold and silver is Dou Shichen, the heir of the Prince of Zhennan,” Xie Wenling whispered to the little dumpling. “The one being scolded… looks like Bai Qingzhong, the son of the Prince of Xixiang.”
The little girl remembered that she had seen portraits of the two of them in Brother Xie's carriage.
The Prince of Zhennan and the Prince of Xixiang represent the two extremes among the feudal princes.
The fiefdom of the Prince of Zhennan was located in the prosperous Jiangnan region, covering a vast area and with a wealthy population.
It was the prince with the best and largest fiefdom among all the feudal princes, and also the most powerful.
On the contrary, the King of Saigo had a small fiefdom with barren land and a small population.
It was the weakest of the feudal lords.
Coincidentally, although both of these princes belonged to the imperial family, they were both princes of different surnames.
At this moment, the little dumpling looked at the young master of Xixiang, who was scolded so badly that he couldn't lift his head and whose eyes were red, and then looked at the arrogant young master of Zhennan, whose nostrils were pointing to the sky. His little brows were tightly furrowed.
She felt that this person was really bad.
---
A note from the author:
Also, just in case, let's talk about the issue of kings with different surnames.
The reason is simple: firstly, it makes it easier to distinguish.
Secondly, there was a concern that there were too many people named Wei xx, and that they might get confused in the end, so they simply set up two different surnames for Wang.
Thanks for reading!
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