Chapter 53: Riding
The new number one scholar was first given a banquet by the Ministry of Rites, and then he had to go to the Honglu Temple to learn etiquette. After that, the emperor gave the number one scholar court robes and official belts. The number one scholar led the other Jinshi to express his gratitude, and then went to the Confucius Temple to be given food.
Zhu Qizhen was the crown prince, so he was naturally present on the day when the top scholar was awarded the robes. While the five brothers and sisters were waiting for people to be matched with horses at the horse farm, he described the lively scene of that day in vivid detail.
Zhu Youtong couldn't stand Zhu Qizhen's boasting, so he whispered to Zhu Yuhuan, "Isn't it just a fun thing? It's not like he selected me as the top scholar, so why do you act like I'm so great..."
Zhu Yuhuan shushed her, but Zhu Qiyu was very considerate and praised, "Brother, you are so awesome." He seldom moved around much on weekdays, and when he did, it was usually Zhu Yuhuan who took him to see the excitement outside. He did attend palace banquets, but there was a difference between family banquets and formal palace banquets. Zhu Qiyu naturally thought that it was very impressive that Zhu Qizhen could attend palace banquets.
Zhu Qizhen was very proud and said, "That's right, Dad said that as long as I am obedient, he will take me with him when he bestows court robes next time."
Zhu Yuhuan's smile deepened as he said, "That's perfect. A court meeting is the real deal. There will also be music from the bell and drum department, which will be even more majestic than the ceremony of awarding food."
Zhu Qizhen still felt unsatisfied and said to Zhu Qiyu beside him: "Brother Yu, if you listen to me obediently for the next year, I will let Daddy take you with me next time."
Seeing his expression, Zhu Youtong knew that Zhu Qizhen had ill intentions, and immediately defended him, "Your Majesty, you are not trying to take advantage of Xiaoyu, are you? How can an older brother bully his honest younger brother like this?"
Zhu Hanjia also disagreed and said, "Zhen'er, don't talk nonsense. Apart from Dad, no one else is qualified to receive the Jinshi's visit and thanks."
Zhu Qizhen snorted and simply said, "I'm his elder brother, how could I bully him?"
Zhu Qiyu was rather docile. "The sage said, 'A father is kind and his son is filial; an elder brother is good and his younger brother is respectful; a husband is righteous and his wife is obedient; the elder is benevolent and the younger is obedient; a ruler is benevolent and his ministers are loyal.' My brother will not bully me."
Zhu Qizhen was even more proud now. He put his hands on his hips and said proudly, "Second sister, did you hear that? Yu'er said I wouldn't bully him. Yu'er, do you want to go? If you want to go, you have to listen to me."
Before Zhu Youtong could refute, Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile: "Zhen'er, did you learn this from your father? You're using the wrong person. Yu'er won't fall for this. Besides, it's only natural for the Crown Prince to accompany His Majesty to receive gifts. Bringing Yu'er along is not something the Crown Prince can decide on his own."
Zhu Qizhen's actions were clearly a reflection of Zhu Zhanji's "giving a slap in the face and then a sweet date" tactic. However, unlike the naturally eccentric and flamboyant Zhu Qizhen, Zhu Qiyu would not be easily fooled. Furthermore, there were etiquette and rules to follow, so Zhu Qizhen could only satisfy his desire to talk.
Zhu Qizhen smiled awkwardly and said, "I was just talking."
Although Zhu Hanjia was Zhu Qizhen's elder sister, she could do nothing about him and could only shake her head helplessly.
Fortunately, the people from the Imperial Stables had already brought the horses over. Fan Hong personally stepped forward and respectfully said to Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Qizhen, "Your Highnesses, the horses are ready."
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "Bring it here and let's see."
Fan Hong glanced at Zhu Yuhuan and saw that she nodded slightly, so he quickly asked someone to show the horses in turn.
Because all the royal princes except Zhu Yuhuan were still young, the imperial horse supervisors selected foals, added decorations and weights to the horses, and each horse was also assigned two eunuchs, one responsible for leading the horse and the other for guarding it, to avoid the situation where the horses were frightened as happened to Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Qizhen before.
Zhu Qizhen looked at it carefully for a moment and said, "Why don't you decorate your horse properly?"
Zhu Yuhuan had her own mount in the Imperial Stables, and since she was skilled in riding and shooting, she did not need those fancy decorations.
Zhu Yuhuan laughed and said, "It's just ordinary archery practice, not a ceremonial one, so why would there be any decorations?"
Zhu Yuhuan felt annoyed by the constant jingling of those flashy accessories, and most importantly, it affected her speed.
Zhu Qizhen said seriously: "Dad said that the royal family should have the style of a royal family."
Zhu Youtong curled his lips, thinking that he hadn't memorized many volumes of the sages' books, and he spent all day learning these flashy and useless things...
Fan Hong had received help from Zhu Yuhuan before, and Zhu Yuhuan often came to the Imperial Horse Administration for horse matters, so he was very familiar with Zhu Yuhuan. So he smiled and said, "Your Highness, you may not know that Your Highness is an expert in riding and shooting. Too many accessories will easily interfere with riding and shooting. But since we are just riding for fun, appearance is naturally the most important thing."
Zhu Qizhen immediately became interested when he heard this. He looked at Zhu Yuhuan eagerly and said, "Sister, you said before that you would teach me horse riding and archery. I wonder when I can learn horse riding and archery from Duke Ying after I leave the house to study. I don't know when that will be. By then, Duke Ying will be very old. I wonder if he will still be able to ride a horse and shoot arrows..."
Zhu Yuhuan knew that Fan Hong was trying to show off his skills in front of Zhu Qizhen, so he didn't want to disappoint him. He said to Fan Hong, "Banban, do you have your bow and arrows ready?"
Fan Hong said with a smile, "We have prepared it for Your Highness along with the target a long time ago." After that, he asked someone to hang the bow and arrow on the horse so that Zhu Yuhuan could use it.
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