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"The Emperor is first a ruler, and only then your father."
Long before Zhang Su came to see the emperor, the three Qin Hong brothers, who had finally completed a month's confinement, came together to pay their respects to their father. After receiving a scolding and warning, the three brothers went to the Imperial Concubine and the Beautiful Concubine to admit their mistakes. After that, Qin Hong went to work in the Secretariat, and Qin Bing, like a mad wild horse, left his younger brothers and sisters and went out to have fun. Qin Ren walked out slowly with his sister.
On the way, the little princess looked up at her third brother's face from time to time.
Qin Ren, who had gained a few pounds and been ridiculed by his father, touched his face awkwardly and asked his sister, "Is it really that obvious?"
Qingyang nodded: "Yes, she's fatter, but she still looks good."
Qin Ren suddenly smiled brightly.
Qingyang: "But Third Brother is not allowed to get any fatter. I don't want Third Brother to become as fat as Li Fuyuan."
Li Fuyuan was the third son of Li Yu, Marquis of Jining. He was only sixteen years old and was a fat boy who was said to be lazy and gluttonous. When he ran, the flesh on his face and chin trembled.
Qin Ren couldn't imagine or accept himself becoming like that, so he assured her, "Don't worry, sister. I'll study martial arts lessons well and I'll be able to lose weight soon."
Qingyang: "Then let's go hiking. This time, we'll get down after we reach the first pavilion."
Qin Ren didn't want to spoil his sister's fun. Besides, the pavilion was only fifty feet high, so he could still hold on.
"Should I send someone to call Zhang Su?" Qin Ren asked. Firstly, Zhang Su always accompanied the siblings whenever they went out, and secondly, he missed his good brother after not seeing him for a month. Although he and Zhang Su rarely showed up to each other like his second brother and Yuan Chongli, and Zhang Su wouldn't initiate a joke, in Qin Ren's heart, Zhang Su was his good brother.
To Qin Ren's surprise, his sister actually refused: "Don't invite him. I asked him out several times before, but he refused to accompany me. Now that he is willing to go out, I will also ignore him for a few days."
Qin Ren: "Okay, I'll make him apologize to you later."
The palace maid brought the brother and sister's mounts. Jie Yu led the horse for the little princess in front, and Qin Ren followed steadily beside his sister.
Half a mile after leaving the palace, they heard the sound of galloping horses from behind. The brother and sister turned around and saw six or seven horses, led by Qin Bing.
Leaving his companions behind, Qin Bing rode alone to his younger brother and sister, and said, "What's the point of walking so leisurely? Come on, let me take you for a run."
Qingyang glared at him, and Qin Ren smiled and said, "Second brother, please don't deliberately anger your sister."
Qin Bing smiled wickedly. When he learned that his younger brother and sister were going to climb the mountain, Qin Bing said, "Okay, then you guys go ahead and we'll continue the horse racing."
After saying this, he returned to the young men who were waiting more than ten feet away, and several horses galloped away again.
Qin Ren felt a little envious, but he still preferred to ride slowly and safely.
Qingyang, who was standing next to her, was so envious that her eyes almost turned red. She wished she could turn ten years old immediately, so that her father would let her ride horses by herself.
Although he was envious, Qingyang's gaze lingered for a moment on the back of Yuan Chongli, standing beside his second brother. He frowned and asked, "Why is my second brother still playing with Yuan Chongli?"
Qin Ren saw Yuan Chongli and thought for a moment before saying, "It's not so bad. Father just stopped Yuan Chongli from studying with my second brother. But Yuan Chongli is still the son of a noble family and hasn't committed any unforgivable sins. Besides, my second brother and he have been classmates for nine years. If I really alienate myself from Yuan Chongli because of this, that would be too heartless. If it were Zhang Su, would you ignore him?"
Qingyang: "Zhang Su will never lead you astray."
Qin Ren: "Yes, yes, I'm just giving you an example. People are all made of flesh and blood. How can we just break off our relationship?"
Qingyang stopped his third brother on horseback and asked him, "Friendship is friendship, but friendship with our father is not? Our father stripped Yuan Chongli of his study-along status, telling everyone he felt he wasn't worthy. And now, our second brother is still keeping Yuan Chongli with him. Doesn't that displease our father?"
"If I didn't like someone and told my third brother, but he continued to be close to that person, I would definitely be angry with him."
Qin Ren: "...My sister is right, but Father is the emperor, so he wouldn't argue with my second brother over this, right?"
That’s the emperor, our father. He’s almost fifty years old, and he still has the same temper as these kids?
Qingyang looked at his third brother's puzzled eyes, and the thought "Third brother is so stupid" popped up in his head again.
The third brother didn't believe her, and the second brother was even less likely to listen to her because of his stubborn temper. After climbing the mountain, Qingyang took the third brother to pick two small bunches of wild flowers on the grassland. After returning to the palace, she asked the third brother to take one bunch to the mother first, and Qingyang came to the imperial concubine.
The wild flowers on the grassland are brightly colored, with red, white and yellow mixed together, which is quite wild and interesting.
The little princess was already a beauty, well-behaved and cute, and she even remembered to give her flowers. The Imperial Concubine loved her so much that she almost wanted to snatch her daughter from the Li Concubine. Sitting on the Luohan bed, she pulled the little princess into her arms and hugged her, praising her: "Our Lin'er is really adorable."
She could have had a daughter to take care of her, but unfortunately, Yu Yongkang only had the title of adoptive mother, but not a mother-daughter relationship.
Qingyang: "My third brother accompanied me to pick them. I also saw my second brother, but he only cared about racing with Yuan Chongli and the others. He wouldn't listen when I told him to come down."
The imperial concubine's beautiful smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal in an instant.
After the little princess left, the imperial concubine looked at the wild flowers in the vase and felt her head start to hurt again.
Qin Bing played outside until dusk before returning. As soon as he arrived at Xijing Gate, he was stopped by a palace servant sent by the imperial concubine, who said that the imperial concubine invited him to have dinner.
After having fun, Qin Bing realized belatedly that he missed his mother, and thought that his mother called him because she missed him too much.
Qin Bing, who wanted to be a filial son, decided to pick up more dishes for his mother when he arrived at the dinner table.
However, the imperial concubine had no appetite at all. After eating something, she called her son inside to speak privately: "I heard that you came back with Yuan Chongli?"
Qin Bing: "Yeah, what's wrong?"
The imperial concubine told her son earnestly that he should distance himself from Yuan Chongli at this time. As for the possibility that the emperor would deal with Pingliang Hou, that was a major court event. Even if the imperial concubine and his father had some guesses, they could not reveal it to this reckless son, in case he went to fight Yuan Chongli again and reveal the emperor's intentions towards the Yuan family.
First teach your son the most basic social etiquette, and when he becomes more mature, slowly pass on to him the experience of navigating officialdom.
Qin Bing didn't want to hear it. "Chongli was wrong. He accepted the punishment from the emperor and never complained to me. The punishment was over, so how could I exclude him like those outsiders who follow the wind? Mother, outsiders don't understand the emperor's temper and would rather be overly cautious than offend him. I am his son, so there is no need to be so cautious. The emperor is definitely not that petty. Maybe one day when he is in a good mood, he will let Chongli come back."
Imperial Concubine: "You are wrong. The Emperor is first a ruler, and then your father. You, as his children, should also respect the Emperor as a king, just like the ministers outside, and be cautious in your words and actions. Don't rely on blood ties to act willfully in front of the Emperor. If you offend the Emperor carelessly, you will eventually be disliked, despised, or even severely punished by the Emperor."
Qin Bing wanted to laugh when he heard this. "Mother, you're overthinking it. I just asked Chongli to go horse racing with me. We didn't gamble or mess around. It's not that serious. Speaking of being careful with your words and actions, big brother is quite respectful of father, isn't he? Is father happy about this? I think father likes me, my third brother, and my sister more. He likes us to treat him as a father. He can act spoiled and act coquettishly when necessary. Of course, there are emperors like the one mother described, but father is obviously not that kind of person."
Imperial Concubine: "When you were young, the Emperor preferred to be a kind father. Now that you are seventeen, it is time for you to..."
Qin Bing: "Yes, I'm grown up now, so mother should treat me like an adult instead of controlling who I play with. Okay, I'm sweating all over. I'm going to go back and take a shower first. Mother, please get some rest!"
The second prince, who was much taller than the imperial concubine, smiled shamelessly, relied on his agility to avoid the imperial concubine's obstruction, and ran away without looking back.
The imperial concubine knew she couldn't catch up, so she sat back tiredly.
How did her son develop such a temperament? Was he born that way? Did she neglect him when he was young because she focused more on managing the household and taking care of Yongkang and his siblings? Or was he living alone in Jinghe Palace after entering the palace, spoiled by the palace servants around him? Or was he led astray by Yuan Chongli, his study companion?
Reading companion...
The imperial concubine thought of Qin Liang who was beside the prince and Zhang Su who was beside Qin Ren. The prince had no authority while Qin Liang had power, Qin Ren was lazy while Zhang Su was self-disciplined, so she really couldn't blame Yuan Chongli entirely for her son's rudeness.
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On the morning of the next day after the three princes were released from confinement, Emperor Xingwu summoned all the young men who were still studying and who were accompanying him to the grassland to test their martial arts skills.
Emperor Xingwu also summoned civil and military ministers to watch the military performance, and also called the little princess who loved to watch such excitement.
Qingyang finally saw Zhang Su again and wanted to give him the cold shoulder, but he didn't seem to care at all that he hadn't seen her for a long time and didn't even look in her direction.
The little princess was unhappy, so she didn't go to see Zhang Su.
Including Qin Bing and Qin Ren, there were fifteen people in total, and the assessment was divided into three rounds: one for archery on foot, the second for archery on horseback, and the third for boxing and kicking skills.
The two competitions of archery on foot and archery on horseback ended quickly. Qin Bing took two first places, Zhang Su took two second places, Yuan Chongli took fifth place in archery on foot and third place in archery on horseback.
Prince Yong said proudly: "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is not good at studying, but he has inherited the true martial arts of our Qin family."
Emperor Xingwu curled his lips. He and his brother learned kung fu from the Lu family. The ancestors of the Qin family only gave him a gambler father.
Deng Chong glanced at Zhang Su and snorted, "It's a pity that both of my sons are serving in government, otherwise they would have come in second place today."
Lu Guangzu glanced at Weiyuan Marquis Meng Ji, who, like Zhang Jie, came from a family of famous generals from the previous dynasty. Stroking his beard, he said to Deng Chong, "I think Zhang Su is truly a son of a tiger father. Fortunately, the younger generations of our families are older than him. Otherwise, if we were to compete on the same stage, we would most likely lose. And the second son of the Meng family, if he were here today, he might not be worse than Zhang Su."
Meng Jiqian said: "My son is not very talented and well-educated, but I am very sorry for the compliment, Duke."
At this time, the draw results for the third martial arts competition came out. Qin Ren, who ranked last and second to last in the first two rounds, was lucky and got a bye in the first round.
Emperor Xingwu: “…”
In the first round, Zhang Su faced Yuan Chongli.
The little princess, who was obviously angry and didn't want to pay attention to Zhang Su, immediately became worried. Although Zhang Su was as tall as Yuan Chongli, Yuan Chongli was three years older than Zhang Su and his shoulders looked thicker.
Emperor Xingwu and others also stopped talking.
After losing his position as a tutor, Yuan Chongli felt depressed for a whole month. He finally waited for this opportunity to show his talents and be proud of himself. He did not dare to compete with the second prince, so Zhang Su became the target he had to defeat.
【Author’s words】
Here they come, 100 little red envelopes, see you for the second update tonight, if not at 7 o'clock, then it will be at 10 o'clock!
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