10 010
"I use the most common soapnut powder."
In the afternoon, when Qingyang was taking a break in his mother's palace, Jie Yu took a few palace maids to the Chengming Palace of the third prince.
Both Chengming Palace and Xianfu Palace were designed as two-courtyard residences. Qin Ren lived in the rear hall, while his study companion Zhang Su occupied the west wing of the front hall. Normally, the two were inseparable, studying and practicing martial arts, sleeping separately only at night. Now that the young princess was moving in, Xie Yu, in accordance with Concubine Li's instructions, had the west wing of the rear hall tidied up, replacing all its furnishings with the little princess's usual utensils.
The palace maids were busy coming and going, and the little Princess Qingyang didn't have to worry about anything. She took a break and ran to find her mother, only to discover that her father was there too. Her mother was standing beside her with red eyes, and a pile of her clothes was placed on the couch beside her.
Qingyang looked at his mother and asked softly, "Is mother crying?"
Concubine Li glanced resentfully at Emperor Xingwu who was sitting at one end of the couch. She had not expected that Emperor Xingwu would come to her place to rest for a while. He had gone crazy in broad daylight, but it had been over for a while. She cried because her daughter had to move out at the age of three, and Concubine Li was reluctant to let her go.
Emperor Xingwu pointed to the pile of clothes and explained the reason to his daughter.
Concubine Li picked up her daughter, kissed her and said, "It's okay. Our Lin'er likes to read. Mother is very happy and has stopped crying."
Qingyang hugged his mother's neck: "I will be with you during the day, mother, don't be afraid."
Emperor Xingwu silently watched the mother and daughter clinging to each other. When Concubine Li asked her daughter if she wanted to go to the couch to find her father, Emperor Xingwu said, "Father is going to the martial arts hall to watch his brothers practice martial arts. Lin'er, do you want to go?"
Qingyang: “Go!”
Emperor Xingwu put on his dragon boots and set off with his little daughter in his arms.
The palace road was indeed long, and it was uncomfortable to hold the child in one hand for a long time. Emperor Xingwu was reluctant to let his daughter walk such a long distance under the sun, so he asked, "Lin'er, do you want to ride in a sedan chair?"
Qingyang: "What is a sedan chair?"
Emperor Xingwu smiled, grasped his daughter's armpits with both hands, and lifted her up. He lowered his head and let his daughter sit astride his shoulders, reminding her to hold his head tightly. Emperor Xingwu then held each of her legs and said, "This is called riding in a sedan chair."
Qingyang likes to sit so high so that he can see more places far away from the palace!
Emperor Xingwu looked at the figures of father and daughter stacked on the ground and sighed, "When I was little, my grandfather also served as a sedan chair for my father. Back then, our family was so poor that we couldn't even afford to eat meat. Now that we are rich, my grandfather has no chance to enjoy the good life with us."
Qingyang: "Where is Grandfather?"
Emperor Xingwu: "He died. He was seriously ill."
Qingyang knew the difference between life and death. If you stepped on an ant or caterpillar on the ground, it would die. If you slapped a butterfly in a flower too hard, it would also die. The eldest brother and the eldest sister's biological mother, Empress Chunxiao, had died. That was why she was not seen in the palace. There were only the Imperial Concubine and the Mother Concubine.
"Will father get sick?" Qingyang asked worriedly.
Emperor Xingwu: "...Yes, but there are imperial physicians in the palace. They are the most skilled doctors in the world and can cure father."
Qingyang: "But I don't want my father to get sick."
Emperor Xingwu's heart softened as if it had been soaked in hot spring water. He walked forward with a vigorous stride and promised his daughter, "Okay, I hope you won't get sick!"
When they arrived at the martial arts hall, Emperor Xingwu finally put his daughter down, and the father and daughter walked inside hand in hand.
The princes are practicing archery.
Emperor Xingwu asked the accompanying palace servants and guards to stay outside, hushed his voice at his daughter, and the father and daughter quietly went to the archery range.
Ten targets were set up in the archery range. The three princes and their three companions each took a target, aiming their bows. A martial arts instructor walked behind them, helping anyone adjust their form if they saw any errors. Because of the varying ages of the three princes, the targets were placed at varying distances. For example, Qin Ren and Zhang Su's targets were thirty paces away, Qin Bing's sixty paces, and Qin Hong's a hundred paces.
The center of the target is painted yellow, red, and blue from the inside out, corresponding to the scores of A, B, and C. If the arrow lands outside the blue, it is a failing grade of "D".
A new round was about to begin. Emperor Xingwu stopped and kept his distance, then picked up his daughter so that she could see more clearly.
The arrows of Qin Hong and his study partner Qin Liang both hit the yellow circle.
Qin Bing and his study partner Yuan Chongli also hit the yellow circle respectively.
It was the third brother's turn. Qingyang leaned forward and watched as the third brother's arrow shot into the red circle and was obviously close to the blue circle.
Qingyang turned to look at his father. Emperor Xingwu snorted and said casually, "Like your mother, with weak arms."
Qingyang blinked his eyelashes, feeling that this did not seem like a compliment to his mother and brother.
Finally, Zhang Su shot an arrow into the yellow circle.
At this time, everyone finally discovered Emperor Xingwu, and the teachers and students all saluted.
Emperor Xingwu walked to the front of the group, holding his daughter. He put her down and held her hand, while pointing to the target where he could see it more clearly with his other hand: "A-bottom, A-top, A-top, A-bottom, B-bottom, A-top. Yeah, Qin Liang, Qin Bing, and Zhang Su are all practicing very well."
The three who were not praised, Qin Hong lowered his eyes and looked nervous, Qin Ren touched his head to hide his embarrassment, Yuan Chongli from Pingliang Marquis Mansion secretly glanced at Zhang Su. They were all study companions, and his only comparison objects were Qin Liang and Zhang Su. However, Qin Liang was the nephew of Emperor Xingwu, so Yuan Chongli did not need to compare himself with others.
At this time, the Crown Prince Qin Liang said modestly: "It was a stroke of luck that I was able to shoot the armor today. I didn't expect that the Emperor would see it."
After saying this, he looked at Crown Prince Qin Hong with concern.
Qin Hong: "..."
Emperor Xingwu encouraged his nephew: "Since it was a fluke, then practice more. I hope you can get first place every time."
Qin Liang: "Yes."
Emperor Xingwu pointed at Qin Bing's target and said to Zhang Su, "Brother Su, try it. I think a target thirty steps away is not enough for you to practice on."
Zhang Su kept his father's teachings in mind and regarded the emperor's orders as heavy as a mountain. In addition, he had already known the Third Prince's open-minded and non-competitive character. He did not observe the Third Prince's expression. After receiving the order, he walked directly to the target sixty steps away from the Second Prince, put an arrow on the bow, took slight aim and shot an arrow, hitting the target.
Yuan Chongli's eyes twitched. Zhang Su was three years younger than him, but he was a better archer than him. If this were to get out, wouldn't outsiders say that the son of Pingliang Marquis Yuan's family was not as good at martial arts as the son of Weiguo Duke Zhang's family?
Emperor Xingwu was delighted and patted Zhang Su's shoulder approvingly. "Well, as expected, a tiger father will have a dog son. From now on, you will practice with the target at 60 steps, and let the Third Prince play with the target at 30 steps."
Qin Ren: “…”
Emperor Xingwu suddenly grabbed the third brother's arm. The emperor who conquered the world by force had such strong grip that he squeezed Qin Ren so hard that he let out a scream.
Emperor Xingwu's face was filled with disdain: "If you don't have enough arm strength, how can you talk about eyesight? Go and lift a stone lock for a quarter of an hour."
Qin Ren looked at Mr. Wu with a bitter face and muttered softly, "I've already mentioned it today."
Mr. Wu watched the nose with his eyes and the heart with his nose. No matter what the Third Prince practiced, he could not persist to the end. His scolding was useless. The Third Prince, who was obviously very handsome, was as thick-skinned as a city wall. He felt no shame and could only laugh. He could not hit him. How could Mr. Wu be a strict teacher?
Mr. Wu refused to help persuade him, so Qin Ren had no choice but to go to the side and pick up the stone lock. Zhang Su wanted to go with him, but was stopped by Emperor Xingwu, who asked him to continue practicing archery.
Qingyang curiously followed his father to see his third brother lifting the stone lock.
The lightest stone lock weighed only one jin, and the heaviest was twenty jin. Qin Ren picked up a one-jin stone lock in each hand and slowly lifted it up from both sides of his body until his arms were level with the ground.
After holding it for a while, eight-year-old Qin Ren's face turned red, his forehead was sweating, his arms were shaking, and the stone lock in his hand was shaking.
Suddenly, the Third Prince opened his mouth, and two stone chains fell heavily to the ground.
Emperor Xingwu: "You haven't reached the fifth number yet, keep raising!"
Qin Ren knelt on the ground and looked at his father pleadingly: "Father, I really can't lift it anymore. I didn't do it on purpose, I just can't hold on. How about you tie me up and put the stone lock on my hand?"
He could patiently practice calligraphy and memorize until he learned it, but when it came to martial arts, he didn't have the perseverance.
Emperor Xingwu was furious when he saw his son like this: "You are so spoiled! I don't believe you can't run away if there is a wolf chasing you!"
Qin Ren imagined the situation and said, "I will keep running. If I can't run any more, there's nothing I can do. I'll just let the wolf eat me. I just hope it bites my neck first and doesn't let me suffer too much."
Emperor Xingwu: “…”
Qingyang was anxious and rushed over to hug his third brother: "I don't want the wolf to bite your neck!"
Emperor Xingwu tried to comfort his daughter. When she was no longer afraid, he asked his son, "If you were escaping with your sister, would you give up so easily?"
Qin Ren: "...I definitely won't be taking my sister on this adventure alone. If we do encounter wolves, I will leave my sister to Zhang Su's protection and run away from them. If I can lure a few wolves away for them, I will have fulfilled my brotherly duty."
Emperor Xingwu: “…”
The third son was thick-skinned and invulnerable to swords and spears, so Emperor Xingwu took out his anger on the eldest and second sons. Qin Hong got A grades in both civil and military subjects and there was nothing wrong with him, so Emperor Xingwu hinted to the eldest son to be more open-minded and not be intolerant. Qin Bing was excellent in military subjects but terrible in civil subjects, so Emperor Xingwu scolded the second son for being stupid and punished him to copy books for half an hour longer tonight.
In short, when Emperor Xingwu left, Qin Hong and Qin Bing were both devastated. On the contrary, Qin Ren, who was not good at either civil or military affairs, took it the most easily and even came to comfort his two brothers: "You should all learn from me. When you are scolded, admit your mistakes humbly, and forget about it after the scolding. Keep working hard next time and have a clear conscience."
Qin Hong and Qin Bing: "..."
.
Qin Ren, with a clear conscience, knew that his father loved visiting his mother's palace. After leaving the martial arts hall, he took Zhang Su straight back to his own Chengming Palace. After all, his father and mother hadn't asked him to go there every day to pay his respects. He had previously asked because his father was away from the capital, and his mother was supervising his studies. Now that his father was back and had already taken care of it today, why would he go again? If he ran into his father, he would be scolded again, and it might even make his mother so worried that she lost her appetite.
"Your Highness has returned. Her Majesty said that the princess will live here from now on so that it will be convenient for her to study at Chongwen Pavilion. She has asked Jie Yu to tidy up the west wing. Does Your Highness know about this?"
Qin Ren was stunned for a moment, then grinned: "Is there such a thing? Then I'll go pick up my sister."
Zhang Su hesitated to speak.
Qin Ren was understanding: "You don't have to go. Do your homework after breakfast. Your sister might want to play for a while before going to bed tonight."
Zhang Su: “…”
Qin Ren arrived at Xianfu Palace sweating profusely. After making sure that his father was not there, he went to have dinner with his mother and sister. After dinner, he took his sister's hand and said goodbye to his mother.
Concubine Li was worried that her daughter would not be able to sleep well in the new place, and she was also afraid that her daughter would disturb her son: "Go to bed quickly and don't disturb my third brother Zhang Su from doing his homework."
Qingyang: "Okay."
When they finally arrived at Chengming Palace, Qingyang pushed aside her wet nurse's hand as she tried to carry her to bed, and took her third brother's hand, saying, "I want to watch you do your homework."
Qin Ren: "But you promised mother not to cause trouble."
Qingyang pouted: "Is it not okay for me to just look at you guys even though I'm not talking?"
Qin Ren never had the heart to refuse his sister: "Okay, then you go to the study with Zhang Su first, I'll go take a shower and come back."
Qingyang smiled and led Zhang Su out to greet them.
Zhang Su had already bathed, and his thin summer brocade robe could not completely conceal his fresh breath.
Qingyang leaned into his arms and sniffed it, then asked curiously, "What kind of floral water are you using?" It was different from hers, her mother's, and her third brother's.
Zhang Su took a step back, still holding the little princess's hand, but keeping his body away. He glanced at the wet nurse and Jie Yu and said, "I use the most ordinary soapnut powder."
Qingyang: “Is it expensive?”
Zhang Su shook his head.
Qingyang: "Then why don't you use the expensive one? Didn't Third Brother give you one?"
Zhang Su: "I am used to this."
He was the third prince's study companion and often came into close contact with the other two princes in school. He was not sure which bath fragrance would dislike which prince, so he thought it was safest to use soapnut powder for washing clothes and bathing. This was what his father and mother reminded him of before he entered the palace.
Qingyang sniffed it again: "Okay, it smells pretty good too."
Zhang Su looked at the little princess in front of him with her round head tied in two small buns, and was very annoyed as to why the princess liked to stick to him.
Entering the study, there were two desks by the south-facing window, and a Luohan bed on the other side, so that the Third Prince could move to the Luohan bed and read when he got tired of sitting on the chair.
Qingyang couldn't sit on the big chair, so Zhang Su arranged for him to sit on the Arhat bed. He then went to the desk to do his homework.
Qingyang: "You guys do your homework, what should I do?"
Zhang Su looked at Jie Yu who followed in.
Jie Yu: "Shall I take the princess outside to tell her a story?"
Qingyang: "No, I want to be in the study."
Jie Yu had a headache. The Third Prince’s studies were the most important thing, so no noise could be made in the study.
Qingyang looked at the two people guarding him and remembered something. He said to Zhang Su, "Write down the universe and the vastness of the universe. I will recognize it again. The teacher will test me tomorrow."
Zhang Su immediately started writing, and after finishing, he spread the paper on the rosewood low table in the middle of the Luohan bed.
Xie Yu noticed that Zhang Su had not written in order and asked the little princess, "Your Highness, can you read it?"
Qingyang pointed and read out each word, and he read them all correctly.
Xie Yu was pleasantly surprised and said, "Your Highness is really smart."
Qingyang smiled and said that since she already knew how to write, she asked Zhang Su to teach her how to write.
Zhang Su: "Your Highness is still young. Practicing calligraphy too early will hurt your wrists."
Jie Yu thought of a way and prepared some paints for the little princess to paint. This way, the little princess would have something to do without making any noise.
By the time Qin Ren washed, changed his clothes and came to the study, the little princess had already finished a painting, with lines of various colors crooked and messy.
Qin Ren praised sincerely and sat down at the desk to work on his homework. Because he was not used to having other people in the study, he asked Jie Yu to wait outside.
Although his grades were not good, Qin Ren was very serious about his homework and forgot about Zhang Su and his sister.
With his actions, Zhang Su consciously took on the responsibility of taking care of the little princess and would secretly glance at her from time to time.
When she tilted her head again, the little princess in Zhang Su's eyes had changed from kneeling beside the low table to painting, and was lying on her side on the bed. Her long eyelashes were closed together, and her cheeks were rosy and chubby as they pressed against the bed. Her hand was loosely holding a pen dipped in blue paint, which had all spilled onto the bed.
Zhang Su looked across again and saw the third prince concentrating on copying a book.
Zhang Su silently left his seat, glanced at the sleeping little princess again, hesitated for a moment, and went outside to find Jie Yu.
He was not sure if he could carry the little princess out without waking her up.
【Author’s words】
Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow [milk tea]
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