Jiang Shi said softly, "My fiancée is delicate and frail. She shouldn't set foot in a place like the Dali Temple."
She was in poor health and could not stand the cold, damp and filth of the Dali Temple.
Gao Yan's face was not looking good. He said in a deep voice, "Princess Yun is also a noble lady from a wealthy family. Didn't she set foot in a place like the Dali Temple just for you?"
The boy made no secret of his displeasure in his tone.
Jiang Shi was speechless and felt helpless.
Finally, under Gao Yan's cold gaze, he said softly, "I don't deserve to be treated like this by Princess Yun. I hope Your Highness can help tell the Princess that she doesn't need to waste her energy on me."
Gao Yan snorted coldly and said, "Your handwriting is beautiful, why have you been just a scholar for so many years?"
Although he disliked Jiang Shi because of Yun Shu, he had to admit that Jiang Shi's handwriting was like his personality, with every stroke, every word and every action having its own style.
How could a person who is willing to spend so much time practicing calligraphy and has such elegant manners be an uneducated and mediocre person?
Jiang Shi said helplessly, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness. However, I am frail and have been suffering from illnesses for years. The doctor said I need to rest and recuperate. Passing the imperial examination is already my limit, and I dare not even think about continuing to take the imperial examination."
Gao Yan frowned. "Your parents were once heroes of the Wanjin Kingdom, slaying countless enemies on the battlefield. Why are you so weak and incompetent?"
He wanted to say something even more unpleasant, but when he saw Jiang Shi's somewhat lonely look, he pursed his lips and ultimately didn't say it.
Gao Yan and Jiang Shi are of similar age. They grew up listening to stories about Marquis Wu'an and his wife. They admired them both very much and had been looking forward to their only child.
He thought that since Marquis Wu'an and his wife were such outstanding heroes, the Marquis Wu'an's son should be a unique little hero no matter what.
However, I never thought that the prince of Wu'an was indeed different from others, and was famous for his weak body.
When Gao Yan was young, he was very disappointed when he first saw Jiang.
He was eight years old at that time, and Jiang Shi was seven years old.
The child of a military general could not ride or shoot, but was reading a book and looked like the child of a civil official.
"Are you Jiang Shi, the son of Marquis Wu'an?"
"Yes, I have met His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince."
Seven-year-old Jiang Shi had delicate features and was very pretty, but his lips were a little pale, so he looked only five or six years old.
Gao Yan wanted to test Jiang Shi, so he took the initiative to challenge Jiang Shi to an archery competition. However, Jiang Shi couldn't hold the bow and arrow steadily, which made him even more disappointed.
He said angrily: "You are the child of Wu'an Hou, why are you so weak that you can't even lift a bow and arrow?"
Jiang Shi opened his eyes, his eyes clearly divided into black and white, and said ashamedly, "I'm sorry, Sixth Prince, I disappoint you."
He wanted to say something, but Jiang Shi suddenly started coughing, his little face turned pale and ugly, and it seemed that he would faint in the next second.
From that day on, Jiang Shi was bedridden.
Gao Yan went to visit Marquis Wu'an at his residence and saw Madam Jiang coaxing him to take medicine with concern. Jiang Shi's pale and weak appearance seemed very delicate to Gao Yan, even more delicate than Princess Yun, who was a girl.
At that time, Yun Shu, who was six years old, had both her parents still alive. She was the jewel in the palm of the hands of the old Prince Yun and the old Princess Yun. She was lively and cute. Gao Yan was very happy when he saw her for the first time.
But he was taught by the emperor himself, and his father told him not to take the initiative to get close to someone and not to let others know his preferences.
So he could only watch Yun Shu from afar. He wanted to get close to her but didn't dare. He could only find ways to attract her attention and let her come to him on her own initiative.
But Yunshu has been pampered since she was a child. Her brother Yunxuan is seven years older than her and is already an outstanding and handsome young boy. Yunshu likes her brother Yunxuan very much and is very attached to him. When she sees Gao Yan, she just bows politely like other people and never even looks at him twice.
However, at a palace banquet, when Yun Shu saw Jiang for the first time, her eyes were glued to him and she took the initiative to approach him.
Jiang Shi was born in poor health, suffering from many illnesses, both major and minor, and taking medicine all the time. The emperor had been rewarding the Wu'an Marquis's Mansion with precious tonics, fearing that the Wu'an Marquis's only child would die.
Jiang Shi had never left the Wu'an Marquis's Mansion before he was six years old. It was only after he turned six that he entered the palace for the first time to attend a palace banquet. Only then did everyone see that the child of the Wu'an Marquis, who was once so popular, was actually so delicate and weak.
The emperor praised Jiang Shi for looking very much like his parents, and took pity on him because his parents died shortly after he was born and he was weak, so he allowed him to not perform formalities in front of the royal family, and to go back and rest early if he felt unwell.
Therefore, except for occasionally attending important palace banquets, Jiang Shi stayed in the Wu'an Marquis Mansion and did not come out at other times.
Such a weak man attracted Yun Shu's attention just because of his good looks. Yun Shu came over and stuck to him as soon as she saw him, which made Gao Yan very unhappy.
Moreover, Jiang Shi had no idea that Yun Shu treated him completely differently from how she treated others, because as soon as he appeared, he would be surrounded by girls, whether they were girls of the same age or older ladies, they all liked him very much.
He seemed to be used to being the center of attention, and was indifferent, gentle and polite to everyone, but this made Gao Yan even more uncomfortable.
Therefore, over the years, although Gao Yan did not show it on the surface, many people could see that he disliked Jiang Shi, and many people who took advantage of the situation began to exclude Jiang Shi even more.
When Jiang Shi was seven years old, he entered the Imperial College to study.
Most of the students in the Imperial College came from prominent families and were divided into different groups according to their status and family background.
Jiang Shi was born into a noble family. His parents were both great heroes of the Wanjin Kingdom and were valued by the emperor and empress. Logically, he should have been flattered by everyone, but Gao Yan was the emperor's most beloved prince. He did not like Jiang Shi. Jiang Shi's parents were no longer around, so no one would support him. Naturally, no one would be stupid enough to stand by him and confront Gao Yan.
They did not dare to target the Marquis of Wu'an openly, so they chose to ignore him and do something behind his back, such as hiding his books and writing materials, hoping that he would be punished by the Grand Tutor.
But Jiang Shi didn't care at all and continued to study without being affected at all.
He could sit quietly by himself and read a book intently. He did not have the liveliness and activity that a military general's son should have. He was too quiet and introverted, just like the son of a civil servant.
The Imperial College's tutor sympathized with him and never punished him.
But he dropped out of the Imperial College after only six years.
This made Gao Yan even more unhappy, but he didn't do anything to Jiang Shi. He was a prince and he didn't want to deliberately target a heroic orphan. He was just too disappointed with Jiang Shi.
Apart from his appearance, Jiang Shi looked nothing like the Marquis of Wu'an and his wife.
How could he not be extremely disappointed in him.
Gao Yan twitched his lips and said sarcastically, "Over the years, Father has given you many ginseng tonics and asked the head of the Imperial Hospital, Doctor Li, to watch over you and treat you. Even if you were born two months premature, you should have recovered. Why can't you recover?"
Jiang Shi lowered his head, his expression guilty: "I am incompetent and ashamed of your majesty's kindness. I am truly terrified."
Gao Yan stared at him for a long time, suppressed his anger, and left in anger.
Before leaving, he said to the guards, "Watch him carefully and don't let him get sick. He's weak, and it would be hard to explain if he died of illness."
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