21. Chapter 21
Turning Crisis into Opportunity
They were drinking and chatting happily at the eldest prince's place. Qi You knew that he couldn't hide it from Kangxi, but he didn't expect that Kangxi would come in person.
The room was a mess, with cups and plates scattered about, and peanut shells scattered all over the floor. As if by some unfortunate coincidence, the eldest prince's flowery storybook fell from his arms with a "clatter."
Qi You and his brothers looked over, their expressions changing dramatically. Kangxi surveyed the room, then slowly stepped forward with his hands behind his back. The sound of his feet crunching on the peanut shells was both jarring and disturbing in the quiet room.
The eldest prince's face turned pale. He made up his mind and was about to bend down to pick up the book, but in a flash, the book was already in Kangxi's hands.
Kangxi opened the book and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He picked up the book and hit the eldest prince on the head.
The eldest prince held his head, crying and begging for mercy: "Khan Ama, please don't hit me, I was wrong."
"You are wrong. You don't know what you did wrong, you bastards!" Kangxi was so angry that his face turned green. He spoke without thinking and even swore.
He walked over and sat down on the couch, pointing his finger at his sons: "Kneel down, all of you! You never have a peaceful moment, always causing trouble for me!"
The Third Prince drank too much and staggered as he walked over to kneel, and fell flat on his back.
Kangxi took a closer look at the Third Prince's red face and became even more furious. He gasped and cursed, "You bastard, you dare to drink! You don't study seriously, but you learn to eat and drink without any teacher. Look at all the fruit shells everywhere! Where did you get so many longevity fruits? You even learned to bribe, right?!"
Kangxi was furious. Drinking and reading storybooks was no big deal for boys. He would just punish them to teach them a lesson. No matter how valuable the longevity fruit was, it was not worth more than his sons.
The key question is where the longevity fruit came from and why it ended up in their hands. This loophole is what annoyed Kangxi the most.
When Kangxi asked, Qi You answered without hesitation: "Khan Ama, I brought the longevity fruit for my elder brother."
At the same time, the Third Prince pointed at him and said hurriedly with a big tongue: "Seventh Prince, Khan Ama, it was Seventh Prince who brought it."
When Qi You heard what the Third Prince said, he turned around and looked at him in confusion.
Kangxi saw this glance completely, with disappointment flashing in his eyes. He ignored the Third Prince and stared at Qi You and asked, "Seventh Prince, where did you get the longevity fruit?"
Qi You answered truthfully, and Kangxi's expression finally softened. He said unhappily, "What a shame! Are you short of food or clothes? You can't even eat it, but you're still taking it with you. Also, why are you here to join in the fun? You have more homework than them, and you've already finished it."
Qi You replied, "I haven't finished yet. I just found time to finish the math problems assigned by Mr. Nan, and then solved a few more root problem solving problems. Don't worry, Khan Ama, I will finish all my homework before going to bed after I get back."
It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned mathematics, but as soon as Kangxi mentioned it, he wanted to beat Qi You. Not only was he left behind by his son in mathematics, he couldn't even compare with him in Latin.
Kangxi took a deep breath and turned his head away, not wanting to look at Qi You, let alone talk to him about his homework. Kangxi knew his son well, and he would do his best to complete what he was supposed to do, even if the sky fell.
There was a banquet in the palace during the New Year, and Qi You had to attend and had no time to study. However, he took advantage of the opportunity and ran up to Nan Huairen when he entered the palace to attend the banquet. The two of them spoke in Latin so that Qi You could ask Nan Huairen to correct his Latin homework.
Kangxi's eyes swept over his sons, pausing briefly on the dejected Crown Prince. He said in a cold voice, "Tell me how you all got together, where this book came from, who asked to read it, and who has read it. Speak one by one, and no one else is allowed to interrupt. Let's start with the eldest son!"
Qi You thought Kangxi was going to interrogate them separately, but he wasn't afraid. Kangxi didn't drag them to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, but dealt with them on the spot. Kangxi simply didn't want to escalate the matter, so he explained it clearly on the spot and let it go with a few casual scoldings.
Kangxi must have been happy to see his brothers getting together to have fun, after all, brothers should be friendly and respectful.
Kangxi did not start with the crown prince, but spoke in order of seniority. What Kangxi wanted to see was how they spoke about themselves and others.
The eldest prince said, "Khan Ama, it was me who suggested the banquet, and the book is mine. I bought it from outside the palace..." The eldest prince mumbled a little, his tongue twirling, "I bought it. We had a few more drinks, and then I talked to the prince about the interesting things in the room. The conversation reminded me of this book, so I took it out and read it. Everyone has read it."
Kangxi looked at the crown prince, who was already mostly sober. He lowered his eyes and said with shame, "Khan Ama, I heard my third brother say that my eldest brother was treating everyone to a drink, so I came uninvited. As my eldest brother said, we had a few more drinks, got in the mood, and started reading the storybook."
The Third Prince continued, "Big Brother invited me to dinner, but I didn't expect him not to invite the Crown Prince. We ran into each other on our way home from school, and he asked me where I was going. I let it slip and told him. Curious, he came with me. Big Brother brought out the storybook, saying he wanted to show us something interesting to broaden our horizons. Big Brother was so impressed, I was so curious, so I went to take a look."
The Fourth Prince's answer was relatively simple. He said, "Big Brother offered me some wine, but I didn't drink. When Big Brother took out the book of words, I, like Third Brother, was curious and leaned over to take a look."
The Fifth Prince said naively, "Khan Ama, I am just like Fourth Brother. I just took a few glances and didn't understand."
Qi You listened carefully to the answers of the people in front of him, as if he was listening to a confession. The more he listened, the more interesting he found it.
I’m afraid Kangxi will be disappointed.
When it was Qi You's turn, he paused for a moment and said, "Khan Ama, my elder brother invited me to a drink. I was so happy to eat with you brothers. I didn't notice why he took out the storybook. But I ran over to take a look. I saw a picture of naked people wrestling in the book. I only took a glance at it and then Khan Ama came."
Kangxi snorted, glared at him and cursed, "You little bastard, are you still blaming me for coming early?"
Qi You quickly replied, "I dare not, Khan Ama. No matter what book it is, I am used to reading it clearly, otherwise I will always be worried about it."
Kangxi was at a loss for words and scolded him with a stern face, "This is not a good book. You are not allowed to read it anymore. Do you hear me?"
Qi You persisted and asked, "Why can't I watch it?"
Kangxi held his forehead. These little brats are growing up fast. In a few years, they will have their first taste of human nature. It's too early to learn these things now. He raised his eyebrows and said sternly, "You are not allowed to look. You are not allowed to look. There are no such questions."
Qi You blinked his eyes and responded "OK" obediently.
After being interrupted by Qi You, Kangxi's anger dissipated and was replaced by deep loss.
How could he not hear the hidden meaning in the answers of his sons?
The eldest prince's academic performance was average, but he was good at riding and shooting. As the eldest surviving son, Kangxi still valued him very much.
Unfortunately, the eldest prince lacks character, is reckless and impulsive, and as the eldest son, is a bit arrogant.
The Third Prince was quite intelligent, though not as good at studying as Qi You, but he was barely top-notch among his brothers. He always followed the Crown Prince and had a good relationship with him, which Kangxi was very happy to see, as the Crown Prince needed the support of his brothers.
Unfortunately, the Third Prince only needs to be an assistant to the Crown Prince. If he were to report his other brothers, it would seem a bit cold and unnecessary.
The Fourth Prince is taciturn and rarely stands out. His temperament is hard to tell from his young age. The Fifth Prince is simple and honest. Kangxi is quite satisfied with them.
Looking at Qi You again, Kangxi felt a mixture of emotions: pride, heartache, and relief.
Qi You is courageous and responsible, yet intelligent and humane. From beginning to end, he never excluded himself, and frankly said that he was the one who brought the longevity fruit and took the initiative to read the book, so it's no wonder that the eldest prince did this.
Kangxi was relieved that if Qi You's leg was fine, he would be so outstanding and would not be in this situation. Kangxi didn't know how he would deal with it or how the prince would react.
Kangxi's eyes dimmed slightly, and he asked in a deep voice, "You decide how to punish them. Should we punish ourselves, punish others, or punish them together? Boss, you go first."
The eldest prince grunted and said, "I organized the banquet, so Khan Ama should punish me alone."
The prince's mind raced, and he said sincerely, "Khan Ama, we are both at fault. I am willing to accept the punishment along with my elder brother."
Next, the Third Prince reluctantly expressed his willingness to be punished together, and the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince also responded in the same way.
Kangxi was finally comforted when he saw that his sons were able to get along and work together.
Something seemed wrong. Before Kangxi heard Qi You's answer, he glared at him and asked, "What about you? Why don't you say anything?"
Qi You said in embarrassment: "Khan Ama, how are you going to punish us? If you hit us with a stick, neither our left nor right hands can be injured, because we have to hold the pen and the bow. The buttocks are also not allowed, because we have to ride a horse. Khan Ama, can you hit us in a way that will not interfere with our studies? Khan Ama, if you are really angry, why not punish us to go to the farm and do hard labor in the spring plowing?
Kangxi looked at Qi You's pitiful eyes and couldn't help laughing. He scolded him, "You little bastard, how can you ask for conditions when you get beaten? Well, going to the fields to farm is a good idea. Those who are willing to farm can be punished to farm, and those who are willing to be slapped on the palm of their hands can be slapped on the palm of their hands. But there is only one thing, you have to really farm, go out early and come back late like the farmers, and no matter which one you do, you are not allowed to fall behind in your studies!"
They had to go to the farm to farm and couldn't study in the school, so they would definitely fall behind in their studies. Except for the freak Qi You, everyone else chose to be spanked.
As long as Qi You was not asked to write poetry, not going to school was no big deal to him. He just had to do the homework assigned by the teacher.
Qi You wanted to learn agricultural knowledge so that the people could have enough food to eat before he could come up with various other high-end measures and theories.
This happened to be what he lacked the most. What he learned from books was always insufficient. He had to actually go down to the fields and farm, and experience it firsthand to truly understand.
He was still thinking about how to propose to Kangxi about going to Zhuangzi. After all, he was young, and if he proposed it, Kangxi would probably think he was fooling around.
Unexpectedly, crisis and opportunity coexisted and came so soon. Qi You was very happy and was packed up by Kangxi and sent to the imperial farm about a hundred miles away from the capital.
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