As it turned out, the fourth brother was punished by copying the book 30 times, but he was also punished, and even more severely, 50 times, 20 times more.
He was frustrated, resentful, and felt it was unfair, believing that Wu Sidao was favoring his fourth brother. He wanted to complain to his father, but when he arrived in front of his father and faced his father's cold face and chilling aura, he backed down.
Fourth Master knew about what happened this morning. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Hongshi being punished fifty times and Hongxuan being punished thirty times. After all, firstly, he interrupted the class, and secondly, how could he be so petty and sabotage his younger brother!
However, the Fourth Master glanced at his retreating Third Son and felt even more disappointed in him. As an elder brother, he did not love his younger brother. He could clearly see that his younger brother had something on his mind, but he did not ask him anything. Instead, he was thinking of taking pleasure in his brother's misfortune and seizing the opportunity to punish him.
That's bad enough, but he's such a coward! He was right in front of me, but he didn't dare to complain! He's so spineless!
Then, she glanced at her fourth son, Hongxuan, who was forcing himself to stay focused and not be bothered by his troubles, looking as serious as ever.
Clearly, the little guy had put into practice what Wu Sidao had taught him today. The Fourth Prince was very satisfied with this.
Conversely, he felt even more disappointed and frustrated with his third son, Hongshi, who still did not understand Wu Sidao's meaning.
So, Fourth Master turned his gaze from Hongshi to Hongxuan and said, "Hongxuan, tell me, what exactly did you understand about what Master Wu Sidao said today?"
Hongxuan knew perfectly well that his father didn't want to know what he had understood, but rather wanted his third brother Hongshi to understand as well.
He glanced quickly at his third brother, Hongshi, and then replied, "It's very simple, just two things. First, things have priorities, and you should also prioritize them when dealing with them. Second, be focused and attentive."
Hongshi was stunned!
When the Fourth Prince saw Hongshi's appearance, he became even more disappointed in him.
As time passed, although Hongxuan continued to study and handle affairs as usual, he was always preoccupied when he had free time. It was clear that he had not yet recovered from the blow.
When he was allowed to return to Peach Garden, Jiaming noticed that something was wrong with him.
She took a moment to call Hongxuan into the study, dismissed the servants, and left only the mother and son in the room before asking him questions.
"What's wrong with you? Why do you seem so down and preoccupied whenever you have free time?"
Hongxuan immediately told him about the blow he had suffered. After telling him, he felt a little better, but only a little, and it still did not completely change his mood.
After hearing this, Jiaming patted his head and said softly, "Xuan'er, do you think a person's life is unchanging?"
Hongxuan didn't even need to think deeply about the question before shaking his head and saying, "No."
“Xuan’er, as you know, a person’s life cannot remain unchanged. Of course, some people are constantly changing for the better, but there can’t be only such people in this world. Some people cannot resist temptations, for power, for money, and so on.”
Upon hearing this, Hongxuan couldn't help but hug Jiaming's waist, his voice choked with emotion, "I know, I understand, but why can't they resist the temptation, resist changing, why do they become strangers?" From a young age, he was well-liked by the male elders in the royal family, and he reciprocated their kindness in the same way.
The elders he used to admire are now so hostile towards each other, which is clearly different from before, and it worries him and saddens him.
Jiaming felt a chill on her waist and knew that Hongxuan, who was burying his face in her waist, was crying.
She hugged Hongxuan tightly and continued, "It'll make you feel better if you cry, so go ahead and cry!"
As Jiaming finished speaking, Hongxuan complained to her again, "Mother, why did they change!" Then, with a wail, he finally burst into tears.
Jiaming held the crying Hongxuan in her arms and patted his back. After Hongxuan had cried for a while and seemed to have calmed down, she continued, "Xuan'er, after you've cried, don't be sad about other people's changes, because we can't control whether other people change or in which direction. But we can control ourselves and control ourselves to change for the better."
As she spoke, Jiaming cupped Hongxuan's face, which was buried in his waist, and pressed her forehead against his, continuing, "Promise your mother, you can't be like your uncles, fighting for the throne to the extreme, some of their methods are simply outrageous. It's not wrong for you to have some methods and know how to use them, but you can't go too far. Don't let yourself become someone you don't like!"
With tears blurring his vision, Hongxuan raised his head, looked at Jiaming, and said resolutely, "Mother, your son will never become that kind of person."
"That's good!" As she spoke, Jiaming used a handkerchief to wipe away Hongxuan's tears. While wiping them, she continued to comfort Hongxuan, "Actually, not all of your uncles and elders have become ambitious. Like your fifth uncle, seventh uncle, thirteenth uncle, and fourteenth uncle! Of course, there are others, but I won't list them all."
Hongxuan thought about it and felt better. So he said, "Mother is right. Not only Fifth Uncle and the others, but Father hasn't changed either."
Speaking of the Fourth Prince, although Jiaming didn't know everything about him, her keen senses told her that the Fourth Prince was still the same Fourth Prince. Although he had changed a bit, it wasn't like the changes seen in the First Prince and Prince Zhi, so he wasn't unfamiliar to her.
So he nodded in agreement.
And so, he had a good cry at Jiaming's place. After venting his emotions, and realizing that some of his uncles and elders hadn't changed, and even better, that his closest father hadn't changed either—well, not that he hadn't changed, but that he hadn't changed like his eldest uncle and eighth uncle, who were ambitious and went too far—his mood began to improve. Gradually, as the days went by, he no longer felt so burdened in his spare time.
He made up his mind. He couldn't control his uncles and elders. Just like his mother said, he could only control himself. No matter how his uncles and elders changed, at least their feelings for him remained the same.
So he, regardless of anything else, will not change when he treats them separately, until they change.
I've been paying special attention to Hongxuan's character, the Fourth Prince, and Wu Sidao lately. I noticed that after Hongxuan returned to Taoyuan, he seemed to have recovered from those setbacks and returned to his former self, even showing some positive changes.
Both Fourth Master and Wu Sidao were curious about how Hongxuan had come to this conclusion.
Hongxuan did not tell her all the conversations he had with his mother. He only said, "My mother said that no one is unchanging. We cannot control how others change, but we can control how we change."
After he told them, Hongxuan was a little worried about his father and Master Wu's attitude towards his mother.
Because, from his own cousins, those cousins who were also born to concubines, he learned that their fathers and tutors were quite averse to concubines teaching children. Sometimes, even the legal wives were averse to it.
Neither the Fourth Prince nor Wu Sidao held the idea that a concubine should not be allowed to educate her child. In their view, as long as the child was well-behaved, that was fine.
The guidance that Lady Guarjia gave to the Fourth Prince Hongxuan was good!
Unconsciously, their feelings for Jiaming increased.
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