Chapter 26 Taking the Lead
Hongzhao learned of this news in the Imperial Study.
He has been attending classes at the Imperial Academy for two months now. During these two months, he has been carefully managing his approach, trying his best to fit himself into the image of a prodigy that is acceptable to everyone.
The tutors in the Imperial Study had not taught any other princes except for the Third Prince Hongshi. Seeing Hongzhao's talent, they were almost moved to tears. They all happily took Hongzhao's homework to show the Emperor.
The implied meaning is—"It's not that we lack teaching ability, it's that we haven't encountered good students!"
The emperor was somewhat swayed by the words, and while pretending not to care, he said, "He's just a three-year-old child," he walked towards the Imperial Study with a disingenuous attitude.
He didn't go in, but listened from a distance. His smile grew wider and wider, and the admiration and pride in his eyes almost burst out of his usually indifferent gaze.
The teacher only needed to read it once to be able to recite it verbatim.
A photographic memory; the ability to apply knowledge to new situations.
He truly is my son!
In fact, Hongzhao himself studied Chinese language and literature in his previous life, so his foundation was not weak. However, he was by no means a person with a photographic memory. His current ability was entirely due to the reward from the fifth mission given to him by the system.
Yes, the fifth mission.
Just two days before the newcomer entered the palace, the system issued a task to Hongzhao: the distance between him and An Lingrong should not exceed 10 meters, and the time limit is 12 hours.
Hongzhao was a prince, and An Lingrong was a palace concubine. Even if they were young, they couldn't have spent so much time together.
This seemingly random task left Hongzhao completely baffled, but the reward was incredibly tempting—a speech-to-text reader.
In short, it allows you to transcribe what others have said into text and store it in the system. When needed, you can retrieve and review it just like searching for chat history.
With this, Hongzhao could walk on flat ground in the Imperial Study.
He racked his brains but couldn't think of a better way than finding a roommate for his mother.
Yinzhen visited several times, and seeing how precocious Hongzhao was, he inevitably began to think about how to educate the child.
Hongzhao looked helplessly at his father's eager expression and began to learn along with him, having no choice but to show off more of his skills.
There's no other way; you have to appease your father before you can look forward to the future.
This day was no exception.
Hongzhao was sitting in the emperor's lap, being taught by him to copy large characters by holding his brush.
This scene would be commonplace in an ordinary household, but this was in the royal family. The rules and regulations seemed to separate everyone. Hongzhao sat so steadily on the dragon throne, and Su Peisheng had already noticed and cleared everyone out.
But just this one mistake almost led to a major disaster.
"Your Majesty! Reporting to Your Majesty, Consort Xia has been punished by Consort Hua with a severe beating!" A young eunuch in red rushed in, his words shattering the harmonious atmosphere between father and son in the room.
Is it appropriate for me to say this when I'm here?
Hongzhao glanced at the little eunuch with a look of exasperation. He looked familiar but couldn't recall his name. He must be someone from the imperial court, just not very noticeable.
Upon hearing the commotion inside, Su Peisheng knew something was wrong and quickly walked inside.
Before he could even bow upon entering, he met the Emperor's gaze—cold and chilling, as if he were looking at a dead man—behind the bewildered Fifth Prince.
"You fool!" Su Peisheng, quick-witted, kicked the little eunuch and scolded him, "The prince is still here! What nonsense are you spouting that will offend his ears? How many heads do you have to pay for it!"
"Alright, what happened?" Just as he was about to speak again, the Emperor interrupted him, his brows already showing impatience. Su Peisheng, sensing the situation, quickly stopped and explained, "Consort Xia tried to restrain the concubines on the palace road and spoke disrespectfully to Consort Hua. In a fit of anger, the Consort Hua ordered her to be punished with a severe beating."
As she spoke, she looked up at the Emperor's face and, seeing his furrowed brows, quickly added, "Consort Xin sent someone to bring her back to Chuxiu Palace and summoned the imperial physician. Consort Xia's life is not in danger, so she must have held back when she was beaten. However, she may be unable to walk properly in the future."
Looking at Hongzhao in his arms, who seemed not to have heard anything, Yinzhen irritably put down his pen and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Even the children are more sensible than Consort Hua.
Even if Xia Dongchun were beaten to death, it wouldn't matter. But her father, Xia Wei, was a good official. He was in charge of the servants of the three banners of the Imperial Household Department and had a wide network of connections.
That flustered little eunuch just now was probably Xia Wei's subordinate.
Fortunately, Consort Xin was reasonable and handled the matter quite well.
"In that case, have someone prepare a quiet courtyard for Consort Xia to live in. The palace servants can be arranged by the Imperial Household Department."
"Yes." Su Peisheng cautiously agreed, nudged the little eunuch beside him, signaling him to follow him, and tiptoed to turn and walk out.
"Su Peisheng!"
She abruptly stopped in her tracks, her body stiffening as she turned to listen to the Emperor continue speaking—"The newly cultivated dwarf pines in the flower room are Consort Xin's favorite; send them all to Yongshou Palace."
After saying this, Hongzhao lifted the child who was playing with a calligraphy brush in his arms, and at the right moment, he looked up at his father and gave him a sweet smile. He said in a childish voice, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the reward on behalf of your mother."
Seeing the inseparable father and son, Su Peisheng wisely grabbed the little eunuch and quickly retreated.
Hongzhao continued drawing large characters without showing any emotion, secretly giving his mother a thumbs up in his heart.
When one is successful, one should help others; when one is unsuccessful, one should cultivate one's own virtue.
It seems that Mother was such a person. In the original drama, she was quiet and did not rely on anyone. Without the help of her family or the imperial physician and prince she knew, she still gave birth to a princess safely, which shows that she was smart.
Under the original circumstances, she could only protect herself, which is why she remained silent in the harem for so many years, and finally made it to the top and became a concubine.
Now that she is a concubine and has this ability, no matter what the motive is, her mother is willing to lend a helping hand.
Whether it was a deliberate attempt to win him over or a lucky accident, Xia Wei, the bannerman, had no choice but to accept his mother's favor.
Since entering the Imperial Study, Hongzhao could no longer be accompanied only by his wet nurse. Choosing a suitable eunuch was something his mother had been thinking about these days.
In that case, it shouldn't be too difficult.
As he expected, the next day his mother brought a young eunuch who looked about seven or eight years old to him.
Lü Yingfeng: "Hongzhao, come here. This is Xiao Dezi. He will be following you from now on."
The young eunuch was extremely clever. As soon as Consort Xin finished speaking, he swiftly knelt down and gave Hongzhao a deep bow—"This servant, Xiao Dezi, greets the Fifth Prince. I will follow the Fifth Prince's orders from now on, even unto death!"
——
No one noticed that the Fifth Prince had a new eunuch by his side, but something else caused a stir out of nowhere.
Among the new concubines, Consort Wan, who was most likely to be the first to serve the emperor, fell ill from fright, which allowed Consort Shen to take the lead.
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