Chapter 148 A Family of Three (First Update)
Not long after Xiao Jingkong sat down, the little boy also entered the class and was arranged by Teacher Jiang to sit in the middle row. Xiao Jingkong, being small, sat in the first row.
Whether it was because Xiao Liulang had hit a nerve, or because the two were too far apart, the first day passed peacefully.
Mr. Jiang introduced the new classmate to everyone as Chu Yu.
In fact, his name is Qin Chuyu.
Qin Chuyu spent an incredibly agonizing day at the Imperial College. He couldn't understand a word of what Master Jiang was saying, and he couldn't sit still. When school finally ended, he abandoned his schoolbag and stormed out of the Imperial College.
He came to school incognito, and the person who came to pick him up was also traveling incognito.
"Your Highness," the coachman greeted him softly.
"Your Highness? How annoying!" Qin Chuyu frowned impatiently and used both hands and feet to get into the carriage.
Inside the carriage, the Crown Princess, dressed in a long, golden gauze dress, sat on a couch reading a book. She was dignified, elegant, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Seeing Qin Chuyu's huff and puff, she gently put down her book and looked at him tenderly: "What's wrong? Who bullied our little Qi?"
Qin Chuyu plopped down next to the Crown Princess and said irritably, "My sister-in-law lied to me. The Imperial Academy is no fun at all! I should have known better than to go!"
"Are you still angry about what happened this morning?" The Crown Princess had been waiting here for quite some time, so naturally someone reported Qin Chuyu's condition to her. "I heard that was a three-year-old child. You are a prince, don't you even have this much tolerance?"
"Who said I didn't?" Qin Chuyu said, hands on his hips.
The Crown Princess smiled slightly: "I knew Xiao Qi was the most well-behaved; she wouldn't stoop to the level of ordinary people."
"That, that's natural!" Qin Chuyu was caught off guard by the compliment and couldn't quite accept it.
However, he still didn't want to go to school.
The lessons at the Imperial Academy were too difficult. Students were not allowed to be distracted or take breaks at will. By the end of the day, his neck was sore from stretching!
But he couldn't say that he didn't understand.
That would be too embarrassing.
He suddenly thought of that three-year-old toddler.
Why does it seem like he understands?
So small, has it been weaned?
snort!
Seeing that he was still being stubborn, the Crown Princess took out a food box and gently opened the lid.
A milky aroma wafted out and filled the entire carriage.
Qin Chuyu's attention was immediately drawn, and his mouth watered.
The fact that he grew into a chubby boy shows that he has a weaker resistance to delicious food than the average person.
He stared at the goat milk cake in the box and swallowed hard.
The Crown Princess smiled gently and said, "To celebrate Xiao Qi's first day at the Imperial Academy, I'm giving you a piece of goat milk cake as a reward."
Qin Chuyu blinked, incredulously asking, "Can...can I eat this?"
The Crown Princess smiled and said, "Of course."
Qin Chuyu asked, drooling, "Father and Mother won't blame me, will they?"
He ate so much that he became the fattest little boy in the palace, and now his father and mother no longer allow him to eat these delicious snacks.
The Crown Princess said gently, "Don't worry, it's with the Empress's permission. As long as you come to class obediently, you can have a piece after school every day."
Qin Chuyu sat up straight, his chubby body bulging: "Then I want to come to school! I want to come to school every day!"
The Crown Princess gently pinched his nose: "Not only do you have to attend, but you have to attend properly, listen attentively, and not bully others. You are a prince, you are the emperor, and they are the people. You should cherish them and not bully them."
"Okay!"
Qin Chuyu reached out to grab it.
"Hey." The Crown Princess grabbed his chubby little hand. "Wipe your hands first."
Qin Chuyu suppressed his burgeoning craving: "Then, Royal Sister-in-law, hurry up!"
The Crown Princess smiled, took a handkerchief, moistened it with tea, and wiped his hands.
Qin Chuyu then grabbed the goat milk cake from the food box and began to eat it with gusto.
A female official standing nearby whispered, "The Crown Princess is truly resourceful; even the Empress is helpless against the Seventh Prince."
The Crown Princess glanced at Qin Chuyu with affection, but he was engrossed in eating goat milk cake and didn't notice their conversation.
She said, "That's not how it works. Her Majesty is a loving mother and can't bear to be too harsh on Xiao Qi."
Qin Chuyu was the Empress's youngest son and the Crown Prince's younger brother. He was born into the position of the legitimate prince, and apart from the Crown Prince, he was the most noble among the imperial heirs.
Others dared not provoke him, and even if they could, they couldn't bring themselves to discipline him, which fostered his arrogant and domineering nature.
His Majesty has been busy with the affairs of the court and has visited the harem less and less in recent years. Some time ago, he took the eldest prince on a private trip to the south of the Yangtze River. The trip lasted for several months. When he returned to the palace, he found that Qin Chuyu had been spoiled and had become increasingly unruly. So he made the difficult decision to send Qin Chuyu to the Imperial Academy.
Knowing Qin Chuyu's nature well, and to prevent the people of the Imperial Academy from being as wary and accommodating as those in the palace because of his princely status, he issued a gag order, forbidding even Qin Chuyu himself from revealing that he was a prince.
Once discovered, they'll be put in the dark room.
Otherwise, how could Xiao Liulang have scared Qin Chuyu so much when he forced Qin Chuyu to reveal his identity?
However, Qin Chuyu was used to being domineering in the palace and didn't really take a three-year-old child seriously. He would settle accounts with the child when his father stopped disciplining him.
As Qin Chuyu ate, he gradually became captivated by the delicious food, and soon all he could think about was the goat milk cake.
"Return to the palace," the Crown Princess ordered.
When princes reach a certain age, they will build their own princely residences outside the palace, except for the crown prince who will live in the East Palace.
The seventh prince was young and also lived in the palace.
The carriage moved slowly forward, and as it left the Imperial Academy, the Crown Princess glanced at it casually.
Just then, Xiao Liulang led Xiao Jingkong out of the Imperial Academy.
The Crown Princess saw that familiar handsome face, and her pupils contracted!
She swiftly pulled open the car window curtain, her gaze fixed intently on the young man in white amidst the crowd.
She murmured incredulously, "How could this be..."
"Jiaojiao!"
With a clear call from Xiao Jingkong, a girl in a blue dress carrying a small basket walked over.
The girl was not wearing a veil and was dressed simply, not exactly shabby, but not particularly ostentatious either.
Her long hair reached her waist, as black and glossy as satin, and she styled it into a bun on top of her head with a white magnolia hairpin.
She was a beautiful yet aloof young woman.
The girl had a red birthmark on her left cheek, but she seemed completely unconcerned about it, calmly navigating the strange looks around her.
The girl approached the little boy and the boy from the Imperial Academy, and pinched the little boy's cheek.
The Crown Princess then noticed that the little guy was also incredibly cute.
However, she didn't immediately connect him with the little kid who had offended Qin Chuyu.
"Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao!" Xiao Jingkong was overjoyed to see Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao gently rubbed his little head.
It snowed on the way here, and although it has stopped now, snowflakes have fallen on the top of her hair.
Xiao Liulang hesitated for a moment, then reached out his long, jade-like fingertips and gently plucked the snowflakes from her hair.
Gu Jiao didn't move and obediently let him do it.
She has a rather well-behaved appearance.
The picture of the family of three was so heartwarming it was almost blinding.
The Crown Princess pinched her fingertips, and then saw the girl take a bag of hot roasted chestnuts from her small basket, and hand one to him.
The boy ate it without hesitation.
"Is it delicious?" Gu Jiao asked.
“Mmm, sweet,” Xiao Liulang said.
I don't know who's being said to be sweeter.
Gu Jiao gave all the roasted chestnuts to Xiao Jingkong to hold.
Little Jingkong, like a squirrel searching for food, started munching away.
The family of three passed away peacefully and happily.
The Crown Princess lowered the curtains.
He is dead.
He doesn't eat chestnuts.
No matter how similar they look, it can't be him.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" the female official asked, looking at her pale face.
She said calmly, "It's so cold, let's go back to the palace."
However, after Xiao Liulang argued with Zheng Siye at the elementary school, he completely offended Zheng Siye.
Zheng Siye was able to climb to such a high position because he was truly talented. His writing was excellent, and even His Majesty, who disliked the eight-legged essay, would occasionally praise him. However, talent is one thing, and virtue is another.
Zheng Siye harbored resentment towards Xiao Liulang for making him lose face in front of the Seventh Prince and those people, and began to secretly make things difficult for Xiao Liulang.
First, Xiao Liulang ranked last in the monthly exam. The Imperial Academy has a rule that anyone who fails two exams will be demoted.
In other words, if Xiao Liulang comes in last place again, he will be kicked out of Shuaixing Hall.
Although the teachers were puzzled as to why Xiao Liulang had performed so poorly on the exam, they reasoned that since the acting headmaster had personally reviewed the papers, there must be no mistake.
The exam was just the beginning. Soon, Xiao Liulang discovered that when he went to the Imperial College for meals, he always had less food than others.
Feng Lin asked curiously, "That's strange, why are there so few dishes?"
If they say they don't even prepare vegetable leaves, then it's basically just one vegetable leaf mixed with a big bowl of soup!
Then, people would inexplicably bump into Xiao Liulang.
As he passed by the covered corridor, a student from the Imperial Academy bumped into him and splashed ink all over Xiao Liulang.
"How do you walk?" Feng Lin shouted.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" the man apologized repeatedly.
This is the third time today.
The man was clearly being coerced; his body was trembling.
Xiao Liulang glanced at him indifferently, said nothing, and went to Feng Lin and Lin Chengye's dormitory to change into clean clothes without expression.
When he came out, someone took his cane again.
The road was slippery, and without his crutches, he fell several times on the short distance of a hundred steps from his dormitory to Shuaixing Hall.
People around laughed.
It seemed as if a heavy snow was brewing; the sky was gloomy, and the Imperial College, shrouded in gloom, also revealed its darkness.
Xiao Liulang got up from the snow, looking disheveled, but his spine was ramrod straight.
He raised his head and looked towards Minghui Hall on the third floor of the Imperial College.
In the passageway in front of the hall, Zheng Siye leaned on the railing, watching Xiao Liulang with a leisurely air.
Beg for mercy?
Kid.
The kind where you kneel down and kowtow.
Beg me and I'll let you go.
Xiao Liulang looked at him quietly, his eyes devoid of the anger, grief, and fear he had imagined. His eyes were as still as a lake that had remained stagnant for millennia.
For some reason, Zheng Siye suddenly felt a little guilty.
But soon, he shook his head.
He's just a country bumpkin; let them bully him if they want.
Who told him to be so blind as to embarrass himself in public?
At the Imperial College, he was like a god.
No one can offend his authority!
Manager Liu had been secretly keeping an eye on Xiao Liulang's movements at the Imperial Academy, and soon a servant reported the latest situation to him.
After hearing this, Steward Liu in the carriage smiled faintly: "I told you long ago, the capital is not so easy to navigate. Alright, go and meet this young master."
There are no classes today due to the quiet period.
Xiao Liulang went home from school alone.
When he walked out of the Imperial College, Steward Liu had been waiting for him in a carriage for a long time.
"Manager Liu, the young master has arrived," the servant reminded him.
Manager Liu got off the carriage and came to Xiao Liulang, greeting him with a faint smile: "Young Master, we meet again."
Xiao Liulang glanced at him: "What do you want to do now?"
Manager Liu smiled and said, "I've heard about what happened at the Imperial Academy. I'm sorry the young master had to suffer."
Xiao Liulang: "There's no need to laugh at us."
Steward Liu: "A mere Director of Studies, the Marquis could crush him with a flick of his finger. In fact, as long as the young master is willing to return to the manor, I assure you that there will be no such person in the Imperial Academy from tomorrow onwards."
Xiao Liulang ignored him and started walking towards home.
Steward Liu smiled faintly: "Young master, why are you in such a predicament? Yes, it was the Marquis who wronged you and your mother in the past by not bringing you back to the manor in time, but this cannot be entirely blamed on the Marquis alone. The events of four years ago are even less the Marquis's fault; he only found out about them afterward, and after he found out, he began to inquire about your whereabouts everywhere. The Marquis was very saddened by your mother's death, and he also heard about your elder brother's situation. Fortunately, you are alright."
Xiao Liulang clenched his fists.
Steward Liu advised, "The capital is more complicated than you imagine. Without a powerful backer, you'll find yourself unable to make a name for yourself. This is just the beginning. If you continue like this, you'll be devoured until there's nothing left. So, young master, you should obediently come back to the manor with me. Isn't it good to be the son of the Marquis of Xuanping? Why suffer outside?"
(End of this chapter)
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