The group got up and returned the way they came.
"Where did this ladder go? What kind of idiot would steal someone's ladder for no reason?"
The Third Prince couldn't help but complain.
The Fifth Prince spoke up: "Second Brother Crown Prince, what do we do now?"
Before the Crown Prince could speak, the First Prince said, "What else can we do but climb up?"
Among them, the eldest prince was the best in martial arts. Although this level was difficult for him, he could still reach it with some effort. However, it was impossible for his younger brothers.
Yinzhen said, "Why don't you go in first, elder brother, and then have someone bring the ladder over?"
That's all we can do.
With the help of several people, the eldest prince successfully climbed the wall, but as soon as he got up, he was so frightened that he almost fell down. His face was filled with terror, and he stammered, "Your Majesty...Father."
Emperor Kangxi was on the other side of the wall. Not only that, he had a shed built and sat inside calmly drinking tea.
At this moment, the eldest prince thought to himself: It's over, it's over, it's all over now, it's obvious that we've been exposed.
The eldest prince's voice wasn't loud, but it wasn't quiet either. The people outside the wall heard it. The eldest prince wasn't the type to joke around, so it was highly likely that he had really run into their imperial father.
Now not only did the eldest prince feel that everything was over, but the others outside the wall also felt that everything was over.
They sneaked out today, and even during their supposed study time.
Emperor Kangxi valued his sons' studies, and apart from holidays, they rarely had days off throughout the year. Skipping classes was a very serious matter.
The eldest prince sat on the wall, neither too high nor too low. After a while, Kangxi had someone bring him a ladder. Of course, those outside didn't climb over the wall; they came in through the door.
Once inside, everyone was hanging their heads, looking as disheveled as they had been having so much fun in the orchard.
"You're quite capable, daring to run away without even a servant by your side. Have I been too lenient with you?"
"Tell me, who started this?"
It was actually the eldest prince who started it, but no one mentioned him. At this time, although there were some frictions among these mischievous kids, they all went out together. They weren't so disloyal as to let the eldest prince take the blame alone.
"Alright, you all have a sense of loyalty. Go back now. Each of you must copy the Classic of Filial Piety fifty times. You are not allowed to leave Jingxing Pavilion until you have finished copying it."
Fifty times?
"Father..." the eldest prince began to speak.
Kangxi interrupted him directly: "Sixty times."
The eldest prince shut up.
Then Kangxi stormed off, leaving the children looking at each other. The Crown Prince spoke up: "Let's go, hurry up and copy it."
Jingxing Pavilion was where they studied and had enough places to rest, but it was still not as comfortable as their own living quarters.
As soon as the Crown Prince spoke, everyone rushed to Jingxing Pavilion to copy the documents; they didn't dare to disobey Kangxi's order.
Emperor Kangxi, though seemingly furious, was not actually as angry as he appeared. Initially, he was understandably angry knowing that one of the children had run away, but after seeing that the other children were quite responsible, he was less angry.
Emperor Kangxi hoped that his sons could be like brothers and respect each other, but in fact he knew that this was difficult. They were not born of the same mother, and even among those born of the same mother, there were many who were not on good terms. Today, they were able to go out and play together, and even if they caused trouble, Emperor Kangxi was not so angry.
As for punishing them by making them write the "Classic of Filial Piety," it was meant to teach them a lesson. They were all just kids around ten years old, and none of them had anyone to serve them. Emperor Kangxi was worried about their safety.
In fact, after learning that the children had run away, Kangxi sent people out to look for them.
"Your Majesty, where shall we dine tonight?"
Kangxi glanced at him, and the servant, knowing full well the answer, asked again, "What do you think?"
That evening, Kangxi went to Youqing's place. Youqing remembered that he had met his sons in the orchard that day, so he told him about it.
When Kangxi sent people to look for them, the mischievous children had already started eating heartily, so they were unaware that Youqing had seen them.
"I have already punished them, so I'm troubling you now."
"It's not troublesome at all. The kids are quite interesting. I guess they were feeling really cooped up, so they came out."
"If you're going to run away, at least say something. I'm not an unreasonable person."
Youqing glanced at him. He was indeed not an unreasonable person, but those children probably didn't dare to speak up.
If it were a child from an ordinary family who was naughty, it wouldn't matter, but how could a royal child dare to act recklessly in front of him?
...
The Third Prince, who was copying books in Jingxing Pavilion, suddenly exclaimed "Ah!", instantly attracting everyone's attention.
“I remember now, I ran into that orchard owner today who looked like Consort Shu.”
When he mentioned Consort Shu, everyone's minds started working. The children, who all had good memories, remembered it immediately after his reminder; it did indeed look very similar.
They weren't two or three years old anymore; the palace environment had made them mature early. The children looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
At this moment, the Crown Prince coughed twice and said, "The world is full of wonders. They are just two similar people. There is nothing strange about them."
Yes, that's nothing unusual, but it is unusual that the person lived in a manor near Muqing Garden. They don't think that Kangxi had never met the owner of that garden.
They heard that the fruit they ate last time came from a nearby orchard.
For a moment, no one spoke, and everyone began to copy the Classic of Filial Piety, but their strokes were all a little unsteady.
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