Chapter 63 Half a Bottle of Water
Wang Li led the siblings to Zhu Zhanji. Seeing them coming together, Zhu Zhanji scolded them, "Shanglin Garden is even bigger than Xiyuan. Why are you two running away? What if something happens?"
It was a sunny day now. Zhu Zhanji stood on a high place with the sunlight shining down on him, looking majestic and sacred.
Zhu Qiyu hurriedly said, "It was Yu'er who asked me to play with you. Please don't blame me, my Royal Father."
Zhu Yuhuan hadn't expected the little guy to protect him, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing. Seeing both father and son looking at him, he said seriously, "Huanhuan saw Xiaoyu standing there alone, feeling bored, so he took him to Wunong Temple. With the palace servants accompanying him, nothing will go wrong. Don't worry, Daddy. We're in the palace now, not outside. With the emperor's majesty above us, who would dare to act recklessly?"
Zhu Zhanji felt that she couldn't hold back her laughter, so he cleared his throat and asked, "What were you laughing at?"
Zhu Yuhuan's face finally cracked with a smile as he said, "I'm Xiao Xiaoyu. I'm clearly not one to lie, but I chose to lie. Who would believe such a lie? He's not as noisy as Zheng'er, so why would he take the initiative to 'bother' me?"
Zhu Qiyu blushed with shame after hearing what she said. After a while, he muttered, "Yu'er will never tell lies again..."
Zhu Yuhuan, however, was not shy at all. She bowed slightly and said, "My daughter knows her mistake."
Zhu Zhanji couldn't put on airs anymore and just said, "You two are not allowed to run around anymore. Remember?"
The brother and sister responded obediently: "Remember."
Zhu Yuhuan saw that Zhu Zhanji had been standing here for a long time with beads of sweat on his forehead. He also saw Wang Jin standing there without changing his expression. He stared at the horse farm from time to time, obviously looking for Zhu Qizhen.
Zhu Yuhuan calmly raised his hand and wiped his forehead. Han Guilan immediately handed over a handkerchief to help her prince wipe the sweat off his face.
Only then did Wang Jin notice that Zhu Zhanji had sweat on his forehead, and hurriedly asked the palace maids around him to pass him a handkerchief. He couldn't help but feel secretly grateful to Princess Shunde.
Thanks to His Highness's action, otherwise he would not have thought of reminding the palace servants to come forward and serve.
Zhu Zhanji wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Zhu Qiyu, "Yu'er, you are getting older now. You should be like your brother and go out more often instead of staying in the house reading books." Zhu Yuhuan smirked and glared at his daughter before continuing, "Your sister used to concentrate on her studies and also did not neglect her riding and archery skills. You can't just follow her love of reading."
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but complain inwardly, "Why haven't you ever been so harsh with the Crown Prince? Now you're showing off in front of her and Zhu Qiyu..."
Zhu Qiyu did not have the same little thoughts as Zhu Yuhuan. When he heard Zhu Zhanji's scolding, he just nodded obediently and said, "Yu'er will remember it." He agreed obediently, but just by looking at his back, you can tell that Zhu Qiyu was very depressed. He just didn't want to lose his manners in front of his father, the emperor, so he suppressed his sadness.
Among Zhu Zhanji's children, Zhu Yuhuan adheres to the principle of "just listen to what your father says" and forgets the scolding after hearing it; Zhu Youtong is used to life without a father, and she is extremely confident in herself most of the time, so she naturally doesn't care about Zhu Zhanji's attitude, she will definitely talk back anyway; Zhu Hanjia is bothered by the bad things at home, and is used to being alone. She presents the image of a well-behaved princess to the outside world and will not be scolded by Zhu Zhanji.
Zhu Qizhen, the only one who enjoyed fatherly love, was used to it and of course did not take Zhu Zhanji's scolding seriously.
In the end, only Zhu Qiyu was left. According to his status, he should try his best to be like his brother. However, looking at his treatment, although he was a prince who had no worries about food, drink and education, he was far behind his brother, the crown prince. He rarely received praise from his father and was scolded from time to time. Moreover, he was the most mentally normal person in the family, and he didn't know how long he would feel uncomfortable after being scolded.
If Zhu Youtong had not praised him every time he saw him and taken him to the painting academy to play whenever he had nothing to do, Zhu Qiyu would have been ruined by Zhu Zhanji's way of raising him.
Seeing Zhu Qiyu's listless look, Zhu Yuhuan took the initiative to speak: "Daddy, I taught Xiaoyu's calligraphy. Wouldn't you like to take a look?"
Although Zhu Yuhuan couldn't say how proficient she was in raising children, she at least knew one thing, which was that raising children required healthy love.
My own father's way of education can only be barely regarded as a deformed love, or perhaps the royal way of raising children is inherently perverted.
Zhu Zhanji was stifled by her words, coughed twice, and said, "Your own handwriting is barely organized, and you're still trying to teach your brother?"
Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile, "I'm half a bottle of water, and Xiaoyu is also half a bottle of water. Two half bottles of water together make a full bottle of water, right?" She then said seriously, "So, only after learning can one know one's shortcomings, and only after teaching can one know one's difficulties. Knowing one's shortcomings allows one to reflect on oneself, and knowing one's difficulties allows one to strengthen oneself. Hence the saying: 'Teaching and learning benefit each other.' Xiaoyu, this is teaching and learning for growth. Do you understand?"
Zhu Qiyu, who was a little discouraged at first, immediately responded, "I've learned it."
Zhu Yuhuan said with a grin, "Xiaoyu can now recite Fan Xiwen's 'Yueyang Tower'. Although I can't be considered the biggest contributor, I also have a small contribution. What do you think, Daddy?"
Zhu Zhanji was amused by his daughter and no longer had a stern face. He said, "Good! You deserve some credit!" He reached out and patted Zhu Qiyu on the shoulder, saying, "Study hard with your sister. Daddy will find time to review your homework later."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "I'll have someone send my daughter there later."
She had submitted her homework for so many years, but Zhu Zhanji had only commented on it a few times. How could she expect him to find time to read Zhu Qiyu's calligraphy?
Zhu Zhanji was unaware of Zhu Yuhuan's inner criticism, but the palace servants nearby exclaimed, "The thousand-year-old master is here."
Several people looked to the distance and saw Zhu Qizhen riding towards them. He was already eight years old now and had lost his previous timidity when riding a horse. He looked very heroic. It would have been better if there were not two eunuchs from the Imperial Stables who had finally caught up with him.
Zhu Qizhen took the rabbit off the horse and handed it to Zhu Zhanji like a treasure. He glanced around and then said proudly: "What do you think, Dad, Sister, Yu Ge'er, I'm awesome, right?"
Zhu Zhanji was very pleased to see him like this and said, "Good! This is what a prince should be like!"
If Zhu Youtong were here, he would definitely roll his eyes in secret.
Zhu Yuhuan glanced at the scarred rabbit and immediately recognized the marks left by the guards chasing the prey. She thought to herself, these father and son's acting skills are really poor. They're acting, so why not just one rabbit for the prince? Can't they have more? Instead of a few lines of poetry, they're just singing, reciting, and acting. They're just relying on the fact that you two are the emperor and the future emperor, with the ministers to support you, and you can even put on a political show.
Zhu Yuhuan thought so in his heart, but still had a smile on his face, and said: "Our Zhen'er is an excellent archer. When the East Palace willow shooting competition next year, we must make it a lively event. I will ask mother to prepare some prizes, and we can also have a good time."
Although Zhu Qizhen couldn't be considered to have shot the rabbit himself, his eyes lit up when he heard Zhu Yuhuan talking about shooting the willow. He said, "I want my sister's calligraphy. My third sister also went to my second sister's birthday. The palace maids around her said that my sister gave my second sister a calligraphy copybook as a birthday gift."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said to Zhu Zhanji, "Huanhuan and the other ministers haven't seen father's majestic figure for a long time. It's rare for both father and son to be together. Why don't you take your two younger brothers hunting together? Then you can ask the painters in Renzhi Hall to paint this. It will be a beautiful story in the future."
This proposal was exactly what Zhu Zhanji wanted. He raised his hand to signal Wang Jin to lead the horse, and then he mounted the horse with the help of the palace servants.
Zhu Yuhuan also pushed Zhu Qiyu and said with a smile: "Go ahead, don't be afraid, just like when you were riding a horse with your sister."
Zhu Qiyu nodded nervously and followed.
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