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◎Chongwen Pavilion and Purple Jade Flute◎
Qingyang actually likes to play too.
But her mother only took her to visit the Imperial Garden and could not do anything new with her. Her three royal brothers stayed in Chongwen Pavilion and Yanwu Hall almost the whole day and had no time at all. Her eldest sister, who did not have to study, was busy with wedding preparations recently, and even if she was not busy, she would not like to play with her. The only person Qingyang could find was her father who had just returned to Beijing.
But the emperor was also a very busy man. It was said that he got up before dawn in the morning to hold court meetings, read classics and history, review memorials, and meet with ministers. He often had important things to do in the afternoon, so he could not be with her all the time. After the emperor gradually showed his impatience with coaxing her for a long time, Qingyang added an extra arithmetic class for herself and asked Mr. Guo to teach her.
Mr. Guo, who had always heard young men complain that studying was boring, was surprised and asked, "Why does Your Highness want to learn arithmetic?"
Qingyang: "Third brother Zhang Su and the others are learning, so I want to learn too."
She also wanted to learn archery and horse riding, but Qingyang tried to pull the bow of his third brother and couldn't move it at all. It was obvious that his third brother was not fooling her and she was indeed not at the age to learn those things.
Mr. Guo went to ask the emperor's opinion.
Emperor Xingwu loved his little princess very much, but his brain was already exhausted from handling state affairs, and he really couldn't cope with his daughter's wild and imaginative questions. He deliberately sent his daughter to play somewhere else, in fact, in order not to affect the relationship between father and daughter. Otherwise, his daughter would continue to ask questions, and Emperor Xingwu was very afraid that one day he would not be able to suppress his anger and scold his daughter.
It was rare for his daughter to find something to do on her own, especially studying. Emperor Xingwu smiled and said, "Teach her whatever she wants to learn. Make sure you manage her time well and don't tire my son."
It's okay to be studious, but it's not advisable to force things to happen.
Mr. Guo politely took his leave and turned back to arrange two new lessons for the little princess. She would start at 9:00 PM every day and study the Thousand Character Classic for half an hour, then take a break for 25 minutes, and then study simple arithmetic for 35 minutes.
Qingyang: "Third brother and the others have to do homework tonight, so the teacher should give me more homework."
Mr. Guo stroked his beard and smiled, and then he assigned the little princess homework every day to recite the Thousand Character Classic that she had learned before and do ten arithmetic problems.
In this way, Qingyang studied in Chongwen Pavilion in the morning, sometimes accompanied her mother and sometimes accompanied her father for lunch at noon, and rested in her mother's palace for more than an hour in the afternoon. When she woke up, she saw her mother secretly practicing dancing. After playing for a while, her third brother would come home from school, and after dinner, he would take her back to Chengming Palace. In the evening, she would do homework with her third brother Zhang Su, and listen to Jie Yu tell stories before going to bed.
Tonight Jie Yu wants to talk about Nuwa mending the sky again.
Qingyang shook his head after hearing the beginning, looked at Jie Yu who was sitting beside the bed and said, "I don't want to hear this."
Jie Yu smiled gently: "Then what does Your Highness want to hear?"
Qingyang thought for a while and asked him, "Why did the Qin State perish?"
Jie Yu: "...Did Your Highness hear this from the Emperor?"
Qingyang nodded and pouted, "Master Liu was lecturing my father and he mentioned the Qin State. I asked my father where it was, and he said it was an ancient kingdom that had long since disappeared. I wanted to ask more, but he covered my mouth and told me not to disturb Master Liu."
Xie Yu and her wet nurse were the two people who spent the most time with the little princess in the palace, so they naturally knew her inquisitive nature. Xie Yu smiled and said, "This story is too long. How about this? I'll first tell Your Highness about the kingdoms that predate the Qin Dynasty, the earliest emperors, and then go through them one dynasty at a time, explaining how each dynasty was established and fell. Okay?"
Qingyang hummed happily.
Jie Yu held a round fan in her hand and gently fanned the little princess while talking about Huangdi, the first of the Five Emperors.
It was too complicated to tell the story exactly as described in "Records of the Grand Historian", so Jie Yu simplified the narration to make it more interesting. After talking for almost half an hour with questions and answers, the little princess finally fell asleep.
Looking at the little princess's face which became more and more cute and adorable after she fell asleep, Jie Yu thought that he had to get a new set of books. He had neglected them for too long and had forgotten some details.
.
When Yongkang learned that his three-year-old sister had actually started her education seriously in Chongwen Pavilion, his first thought was that she was only fourteen years old when she entered the palace, but her father had never thought of letting her go to Chongwen Pavilion to study with her younger brothers.
Yongkang had little interest in studying. Growing up, she had been plagued by numerous worries. She worried that her father would favor her younger brother, born to the imperial concubine, over her and her siblings. While Yongkang was happy that her grandmother favored her siblings, she was secretly saddened by her grandmother's preference for her younger brother. After her grandmother's death, Yongkang grew increasingly wary of the imperial concubine's attempts to harm her and her brother. Later, she worried about her father's ability to capture the capital. This anxiety for her family's lives persisted even before Yongkang entered the palace.
Under such circumstances, how could Yongkang be motivated to study?
Three years ago, she finally entered the palace and became a revered princess. Her life settled, and Yongkang gradually began to draw attention to the ladies of prominent families. While Yongkang admired their dignified manners and their skillful skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she also felt a deep sense of inferiority about her own shortcomings. With a nanny teaching her etiquette, Yongkang took the initiative to mention to the imperial concubine that she wanted to learn the qin. If she couldn't master it, she would try other instruments, until she discovered the flute was the perfect instrument for her.
Compared with the classics, history, and literature, which were of no use to her, Yongkang cared more about the talents that could be demonstrated in playing the piano, chess, and etiquette, her monthly allowance as a princess, and the extra jewelry and silk rewards given to her by her father, the imperial concubine, her younger brother's academic performance, and whether her younger brother could be named the crown prince.
Yongkang still cares about whether her father loves her.
Qingyang was young, so Yongkang was not jealous of his father's intimate actions such as holding his sister and playing with her, but his father allowed his sister to study in Chongwen Pavilion, which was equivalent to giving her a privilege that she had never received.
Yongkang took the palace maids to Chongwen Pavilion.
The guards at the gate saw that the eldest princess was in high spirits and had a stern look in her eyes, as if she would attack anyone who dared to stop her. The two guards tactfully saluted and made way. After all, the little princess was studying inside, which showed that the emperor was indulgent of the princesses coming here, so why should they stop her?
Yongkang's expression relaxed a little. After entering the room, he asked a young eunuch in charge of cleaning where his sister was studying. Yongkang went there alone.
After signaling to Jie Yu, who was waiting outside, that there was no need for formalities, Yongkang stood by the window at the back of the lecture hall and saw his sister sitting next to an elderly gentleman with her head lowered. She stretched out her clean white fingers and fiddled with a few black and white chess pieces on the table, muttering to herself, "One, two, three, three white pieces... three black pieces, what does that add up to..."
The little guy carefully placed the two colored chess pieces together and carefully counted from one to six.
When Yongkang came back to his senses, he found that she was actually smiling.
Her face changed slightly. Yongkang was gone. Really, why was she arguing with her three-year-old sister? It was obviously their father who didn't value her studies back then!
Yongkang went directly to Qianyuan Hall.
This was the first time that his eldest daughter came at this hour. Emperor Xingwu temporarily put aside the memorials he had not finished reviewing and asked He Yuanjing to bring his daughter in.
After Yongkang entered the room, he saw his father wearing a dragon robe and looking noble.
Among the five princes and princesses, the younger they were, the more powerful Emperor Xingwu was at the beginning of their record. When Crown Prince Qin Hong began to record his life, Emperor Xingwu had already proclaimed himself king, and his every move and gesture had the dignity of a king. In other words, only Yongkang had seen his father eating and wearing rough clothes, and even his words and actions were rough, the most, and he had the deepest memory of it.
This meant that although Yongkang respected his father, he was not as well-behaved as his younger brothers.
The father and daughter looked at each other. Yongkang pursed his lips, his displeasure coming out. He complained in a low voice, "Why did the emperor want my sister to study in Chongwen Pavilion?"
Emperor Xingwu laughed and said, "I didn't arrange for her to study, but she kept pestering me, and she was able to listen to me, so my father sent her to Chongwen Pavilion."
Yongkang: "It's not necessary to study in Chongwen Pavilion. When I entered the palace, my father allowed me to study in my own palace."
Emperor Xingwu understood what his eldest daughter meant, but he couldn't let his daughter lead him by the hand. Instead of making all kinds of explanations that seemed to be making far-fetched arguments, it would be better to directly satisfy his eldest daughter's grievances.
Looking his daughter up and down, Emperor Xingwu teased, "I made this arrangement because I saw you weren't interested in studying any more. So you also want to go to Chongwen Pavilion? That's easy. I'll immediately order Chongwen Pavilion to open a separate lecture hall for you, so you can study whatever you want."
Yongkang, who had already tasted the bitterness of listening to lectures and doing homework, said: "... I should have stopped learning three years ago. Now I'm almost married, what's the point of learning?"
Emperor Xingwu still had a kind expression on his face: "The sea of learning is endless. As long as you want to learn, the teacher can teach you."
Yongkang lowered his head.
Emperor Xingwu asked: "How are your flute lessons going? Now that you're here, why don't you play a tune for me?"
Yongkang blushed.
Emperor Xingwu asked He Yuanjing to go to his private storehouse to see if there was a flute. Soon, He Yuanjing brought back an exquisite long box inlaid with a circle of gems.
The collection box alone is so valuable, one can only imagine how good the flutes inside must be.
Emperor Xingwu took over the private treasury of the royal family of the previous dynasty. He just took a quick tour and came out without taking a closer look. But now he became curious, and the father and daughter stood side by side watching He Yuanjing open the box.
A seven-hole purple jade flute more than two feet long appeared.
Yongkang forgot to breathe.
He Yuanjing smiled and said, "Legend has it that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a very treasured purple jade flute. I wonder if it's this one."
Emperor Xingwu sighed, "Even if it's not, things are precious because they are rare. This is the first time I've seen such a large tube of purple jade."
As he spoke, he casually took out the flute and handed it to his eldest daughter: "Here, try it."
Yongkang took two steps back and said nervously, "I don't dare. I'm afraid it will get broken."
Emperor Xingwu said: "If it breaks, find another one. No matter how good something is, it has to be used. If you keep it, it will only make things worse for future generations."
Yongkang just refused to accept it.
Emperor Xingwu said helplessly, "Alright, I've given it to you anyway. You can take it back and brag about it if you want, or keep it if you like. Your father has a pile of memorials to write, so I won't accompany you for now."
Yongkang excitedly left Qianyuan Hall holding this precious gift. As for where her sister was studying, she had long forgotten about it.
In the imperial study, Emperor Xingwu stared at the memorial for a while.
He thought of his first wife who passed away early. She was a thrifty, gentle and impeccable woman. She did not mind his poverty or his hard work outside while she took care of his mother alone. She was not greedy at all when he gave her ten taels of silver. She had no complaints when he returned home with injuries and the lives of his entire family in danger. She even sacrificed herself to save her mother-in-law in times of crisis.
Emperor Xingwu was lucky to have such a wife, but if his daughter grew up with such a personality, she would be the only one who would suffer.
Fortunately, his Yongkang has no intention of following his mother's example.
【Author’s words】
Come on, be thin today and try to gain weight tomorrow.
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow [milk tea]
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