Chapter 26 Midnight Stars
The Grand Tutor has been gone for five days.
On the sixth day, as was customary, Xiao Qing was to attend court.
The court officials politely discussed some trivial matters, then all turned their gazes to the newly appointed Prime Minister Wang, who stood at the head of the table and appeared calm and experienced.
Prime Minister Wang is a remarkable man.
After everyone recommended him for the position of prime minister, he claimed to be filled with anxiety and finally couldn't resist submitting a memorial to Xiao Qing, requesting a private audience with the emperor. He tried twice more afterward, but ultimately failed to achieve his wish.
But now that he has become the prime minister and the Grand Tutor has gone north, the young emperor has no close ministers by his side, yet he has been patient and has never once taken the initiative to seek out Xiao Qing.
Finally, the court meeting ended quietly and uneventfully. Xiao Qing then refused the imperial carriage and slowly walked step by step towards the imperial study.
Since Zhao Youchen refused to teach her martial arts, walking around more would still be good exercise. Xiao Qing was good at seizing opportunities.
Although Zhao Youchen stayed by his side, his mind had already wandered, pondering the young emperor's strange behavior these past few days, as well as the even stranger instructions in the Grand Tutor's reply.
He had solid grounds for saying that.
According to the Grand Tutor, the young emperor was physically weak and would often fall ill whenever the seasons changed.
It's nothing. Anyway, Physician He is already in the palace. But if something seems wrong, let Physician He take a look at my pulse, prescribe some medicine, and I'll be fine after a while.
However, the young emperor himself clearly did not understand it that way.
Thus, Zhao Youchen experienced for the first time the young emperor asking him for martial arts advice.
Moreover, the young emperor had an expression that seemed to suggest he hoped she could be trained into a martial arts master.
Zhao Youchen dared not agree, so he naturally wrote to Fu Mingyi to inquire.
The last time he wrote this letter was about Yingying, a boy who was picked up from the street.
The Grand Tutor replied very quickly.
As for the young Yingying, if there is no danger and Your Majesty desires him, then Your Majesty may dispose of him as you see fit.
As for His Majesty's desire to learn martial arts... the Grand Tutor clearly told him that not only could he not teach him, but he was also forbidden from giving him close guidance.
How close? Not within two steps.
When Zhao Youchen received the letter, he pondered it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.
However, Xiao Qing's subsequent behavior confused him as well.
He originally thought that the young emperor would be dissatisfied with Mingxiu being imprisoned and would try every means to ask to see Mingxiu.
But no.
He originally thought that His Majesty had condescended to save a boy, and even if he hadn't left at the time, so many days had passed, surely His Majesty should have mentioned it at least once?
But there wasn't any.
He originally thought that His Majesty had directly asked him to learn martial arts. Although he did not agree immediately, if His Majesty really wanted to learn, he would not have just mentioned it once and then let it go.
But His Majesty the young emperor never mentioned it a second time.
The Great Xiao Dynasty valued civil affairs over military matters, and this situation became particularly serious during the reign of the late Emperor Tianhe.
People in the public regard scholars as role models and literary talent as the primary standard for judging people, while they consider martial artists to be vulgar and unbearable.
The imperial court was headed by civil officials, and the official ranks of military generals were always lower than those of civil officials. In fact, most of the generals who fought in battles were eventually appointed as civil officials.
In such an atmosphere, fewer and fewer people wanted to join the army and serve their country, while more and more people enjoyed romance, poetry, and writing a few bland but self-righteous articles that they thought were critical of current affairs, and considered themselves to be very remarkable and capable of accomplishing great things.
Although Zhao Youchen was skilled in martial arts, he suffered a lot in this area because he was a military general.
In his eyes and mind, the young emperor was probably influenced by the incident of saving Ying Ying on the street that day, and just thought martial arts were fun on a whim.
How could His Majesty know that mastering martial arts requires enduring a great deal of hardship?
Besides, His Majesty the Emperor possesses the entire world; with a mere snap of his fingers, a multitude of people will risk their lives for him. What use is learning martial arts?
However, after observing for a few days, he had to mention in a letter to Fu Mingyi that Your Majesty is interested in learning martial arts. I know that I am not qualified to teach the Emperor martial arts, but could you please invite a famous teacher to prevent the Emperor from going astray?
"Going astray" was Zhao Youchen's concern after his observation.
Unlike his previous habit of sleeping until he naturally woke up, His Majesty now goes to bed early and gets up early. Every day at the crack of dawn, he is already dressed and leaves his palace, then goes for a walk in the Imperial Garden before returning for his meal.
During the walk, His Majesty would wave to his left and right, practicing irregular horse stances, throwing punches, and even jumping and twisting around like some kind of animal. On one occasion, he seemed to have accidentally strained his back. Fortunately, His Majesty was strong and stood there for a long time, holding his back. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he managed not to fall.
It's not that he was unwilling to go up and help.
However, His Majesty had stipulated beforehand that unless an assassin came to kill him, he was not allowed to approach under any circumstances...
Given all of the above, Zhao Youchen realized the importance of hiring a teacher.
However, the Grand Tutor's latest reply was that the Emperor's tutor should not be invited lightly. He was asked to protect His Majesty, and that as long as His Majesty was not injured, he could do whatever he wanted.
this……
Zhao Youchen was deeply conflicted.
Xiao Qing was unaware of all this. She slept, ate, and exercised on time every day. She spent the rest of her time in the Imperial Study.
Even though Fu Mingyi didn't assign her much homework, since she already had a clear idea, she had endless motivation to actively learn about this world and this dynasty.
However, before she even reached the Imperial Study that day, she encountered an unexpected scene.
To get from the Geunjeongjeon Hall of Taehwa Palace to the Royal Study, you need to pass through a small garden.
The architectural style of palaces in Jiangnan is always exquisite and full of charm. Even a small garden is full of character.
Xiao Qing walked into the winding path through the flower bushes, slowly looking around the garden while thinking about whether he could find any information about the Grand Tutor or his family when he arrived at the Imperial Study.
With Mingxiu not around, it has become difficult to get information.
A soft, rustling sound came from the flowerbed.
Xiao Qing stopped in her tracks, and Zhao Youchen stepped forward, shouting, "Who goes there?"
A moment later, a limping boy came out of there.
Zhao Youchen looked at him in surprise.
Isn't this the boy he brought back?
Previously, because there was nowhere to put him, he had been placed in the Imperial Guard. But why is he here all alone now?
"Your Majesty, Lord Zhao." Ying Ying knelt down.
Xiao Qing nodded casually, then heard Zhao Youchen ask, "What are you doing here?"
Only then did she take a good look at the boy.
After a few days of rest, the boy still had some bruises on his face, but his features were already recognizable. Although his clothes were not very neat, there were no serious wounds.
His face is the kind that you can easily miss if you put it on the street and blend into a crowd.
But his eyes were truly bright, dark and sparkling, pure and clear, like stars at midnight.
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