18. Chapter 18
『Re-roll』
The Fifth Prince was caught off guard by Qi You's lack of greeting. He rubbed his hands nervously, glanced at Qi You, and then stole a glance at the Grand Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother.
The Fifth Prince's face flushed red, and he steeled himself and mustered up the courage to speak: "No one bullied me. Earlier, my Seventh Brother and I were discussing studying in the car..."
Qi You gave the Fifth Prince a push, and seeing that he finally mustered up the courage to take the first step, even though the voices behind him were too low to be heard clearly, he still spared no effort to speak in support of him.
Qi You repeated what he had said to the Fifth Prince in the car, without any embellishment, directly but cleverly: "Ukuma Ma, Ma, Fifth Brother said that since we are all going to school, he wants to go too. The Cining Palace is closer to the Qianqing Palace. Fifth Brother gets up early every day to go to school and returns to Ma in the evening. He is closer than the rest of us. From now on, after school, I can go to Ma with Fifth Brother to ask for a bowl of cheese."
When the Empress Dowager heard the Fifth Prince mention going to school, her expression changed slightly.
After hearing Qi Youyi's addition, he was stunned for a moment, then his slightly frowned brows relaxed. He smiled and said, "The child is grown up and can't be kept away. It's boring to be with an old woman like me all the time. The fifth child should go to the Shangshufang to study, so that he won't be illiterate and make people laugh at him. But studying is a good thing, why are you crying?"
Qi You pointed at the Fifth Prince, gestured, and said with a grin, "Fifth Brother's snot is so long and bubbling. I hate him for being dirty."
The Queen Mother was about to say something, but the Grand Empress Dowager, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up: "Look at you two mud monkeys, go down and wash yourself. After you wash, come and have a bowl of hot cheese. It's freezing outside, don't catch a cold."
The Queen Mother hurriedly said, "Hurry up, hurry up. After washing your face, you must apply balm. Be careful not to get chapped by the wind."
Qi You and the Fifth Prince agreed, and they went down together to wash and change clothes.
The Fifth Prince was overjoyed, clinging to Qi You and laughing like a fool. "Madam agreed to let me go to school, right? Seventh Brother, don't you agree? I can go to school now, right?"
"Fifth brother, stop repeating it over and over again. It makes me dizzy." Qi You said speechlessly.
"I was just too surprised, and I'm still a little unsure." The Fifth Prince chuckled, looked at Qi You with admiration, and whispered in his ear: "Seventh brother, you are really amazing, you solved the problem with just a few words."
There were many people around and Qi You didn't want to say much.
In fact, it’s not that he is great, it’s that he took something that was originally simple, but it was made complicated by people with scheming minds, and then he simplified it and said it out.
The next day, the Empress Dowager brought up the matter with Kangxi. After all, the Fifth Prince was his biological son, and even if he was to be filial to his stepmother, it was unacceptable for him to be illiterate.
What's more, the Fifth Prince will still be raised by the Empress Dowager, so his son can have both study and filial piety. When Kangxi heard this, he readily agreed.
Just as Qi You had originally envisioned, after the new year, the Eighth Prince and the Fifth Prince would start school together, and he would be promoted to be classmates with the Fourth Prince and the others.
Of Qi You's former classmates, only three remained after Yang Dan left. Kangxi was dissatisfied with their slow progress and decided to combine the three of them with the Fifth Prince and his classmates to become their study companions.
That day, Qi You went to pay his respects to Dai Jiashi. Dai Jiashi pulled him to sit beside her. After asking about his well-being, she asked worriedly, "You go to school with the other princes. Are you keeping up with your studies?"
"Don't worry, Eunice. I'm a very good student." In order to comfort Dai Jia, Qi You didn't act modestly and told her about his recent studies.
In addition to the Four Books and Five Classics and various languages, he also studied mathematics and astronomy with Nan Huairen. Astronomy was still in its infancy, and for Qi You it was child's play.
The same goes for mathematics. Even Newton and Braunschweig's calculus is not a problem for Qi You.
He wanted to grow up quickly so much that he didn't hide his shortcomings as he did before. He made rapid progress, which made Nan Huairen often excitedly praise him in front of Kangxi.
Kangxi has always liked mathematics, and other princes also had to study it from time to time, but it seemed that most of them did not like it very much and were reluctant to learn it.
As for subjects such as mathematics, they were not mainstream subjects in the Qing Dynasty. Confucian classics and history were the right way to go, and Kangxi did not make many demands.
Qi You's good academic performance was a pleasant surprise to Kangxi. He stopped checking his other subjects and only focused on his mathematics.
The more he stared, the more pleased Kangxi became. It also inspired him, and he squeezed out an extra half hour to study, fearing he would be outdone by Qi You.
Qi You rolled up Kangxi, not feeling happy at all, but only sighing.
If the imperial examination system could not be fully promoted and changed, it would be of no use to the development of the Qing Dynasty if only Kangxi and other princes and nobles studied it.
Dai Jia heaved a sigh of relief, held Qi You's hand, and said lovingly, "My son is amazing."
After the praise, Dai Jia thought of something, frowned, and said calmly: "Earlier, Concubine Yi said a few words to me. From what she said, it seems that you spoke on behalf of the Fifth Prince, and she is grateful for your kindness."
Qi You laughed and asked directly, "Is she accepting this favor unwillingly?"
Dai Jia was stunned, then laughed along with Qi You. "That's right. Look at her words, they were so sour. She said that the Fifth Prince was smart and clever, and that the Emperor would send him to school sooner or later. It's a pity that you went to school with the eldest prince, otherwise the Fifth Prince could have competed with you. Concubine Yi also said that your promotion is a good thing. You've set a precedent, and the Fifth Prince will catch up in the future. Then you will have another chance to compete."
Qi You smiled and said, "Khan Ama is also happy to see that we can encourage each other to study. It's just that Fifth Brother will have to work hard."
Dai Jia smiled, "That's right, it's just hard for the Fifth Prince. Now in the harem, she is the only one who has raised two sons, and she is very proud."
Qi You comforted Dai Jia and said, "Don't worry about that, Enie. There are many smart people in the world. If you want to compare, how can we compare? I will just work hard on my studies. I hope that the other brothers can study well together."
Dai Jia smiled and said, "Yes, it's cold. You can have dinner at my place later. We'll have a hot pot. The mutton is fresh from the grassland and it's very fresh."
Qi You smiled and agreed. Since Dai Jiashi could eat mutton from Mongolia, it seemed that she was no longer a nobody in the harem. No wonder Concubine Yi was jealous.
Qi You understood Concubine Yi’s mentality too well.
If someone you usually don’t take seriously suddenly becomes more powerful than you, it’s like a poor friend who has to rely on you for support suddenly becomes rich. The relationship between the two of you is reversed, and you will definitely feel uncomfortable.
If the distance between two people becomes larger and larger, until they can only look up at each other, the subtle jealousy will turn into respect.
Qi You felt very bored. He didn't want to be entangled by the vines that emerged from the darkness from time to time. He wanted a wider world.
When school started after the Lunar New Year, Qi You didn't intend to be polite. On the first day of school, he not only completed the homework assigned by Mr. Zhang Ying impeccably, but also exceeded the target.
Writing ten more large characters is nothing, but Qi You's ten large characters are not the Taige style he used to write, but the running regular script of Yan Zhenqing. Although the strokes are a little immature, they already have the strength and style of Yan Zhenqing.
Qi Youduo memorized ten poems, three of which were long Yuefu poems, including the longest one, "The Peacock Flies Southeast".
Zhang Yingduan, watching the time, and the stunned princes below, were about to interrupt Qi You, but then he saw Kangxi standing outside the window, his hands behind his back, his eyes slightly narrowed, his face filled with enjoyment as he listened to Qi You recite the poem. He opened his mouth, then closed it tightly, listening intently.
After Qi You finished reciting the poem, the Third Prince opened his mouth wide and turned around first, yelling, "Seventh Prince, you are not a human..."
Kangxi walked into the room and glanced at the Third Prince. The Third Prince's words were stuck in his throat and he hung his head and avoided him angrily.
Zhang Ying hurriedly greeted him. Kangxi waved his hand and glanced around the room, stopping at Qi You. He smiled and said, "Sit down first. Someone, bring tea to the Seventh Prince."
Liang Jiugong personally brought hot tea to Qi You. He thanked him, sat down and sipped his tea slowly, listening to Kangxi's question: "After reading the Seventh Prince's homework, what inspiration did you get?"
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