Chapter 37: Irritability
Although the official age stipulated by the Imperial Study Room was six years old for school entry, almost no princes could actually wait until they were six years old.
It was better in the past few years. When Emperor Jingwen was still the crown prince, everyone still followed the rules and did not push their son so hard.
Later, when Emperor Jingwen ascended the throne and became emperor, as the number of children in the harem gradually increased, the age at which the princes went to school became younger and younger.
Some even waited until the child could speak, walk steadily, and understand what others were saying, and they sent him in directly regardless of his age.
For example, the eighth prince born to Concubine De is three years older than Ye Shuo. He has been studying in the upper study room for almost three years. In other words, he was sent in when he was just over three years old.
Children of the royal family were born precocious, as if they were born to remember things earlier than children of ordinary families. They rarely made trouble, and Emperor Jingwen was happy to see his children become successful, so he never cared about them.
Under such vicious competition, everyone will naturally become more and more competitive.
And once you start, it’s hard to stop.That was why the Imperial Concubine was worried. She also didn’t want her son to lose at the starting line. When she thought of Concubine De, Concubine Xian, Concubine Shu, and the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Eighth Prince, Imperial Concubine Rong felt chest tightness, shortness of breath, and very anxious.
If they weren’t there, the imperial concubine wouldn’t be so anxious.
If Ye Shuo were here, he would definitely be able to empathize with this feeling.
It’s just like taking an exam. She had just finished writing the multiple-choice questions and fill-in-the-blank questions, while the students around her had already finished the last two big questions. No one would be able to hold back if they were in her shoes.
However, her son’s health is also an important factor that the imperial concubine has to take into consideration.
After the previous high fever, the Imperial Concubine was really scared. If it was before, she would definitely do the same as the Virtuous Concubine and the others and just send it over without thinking too much about it.
But now, the imperial concubine couldn’t help but start thinking in her heart, Shuo’er is only three years old now, isn’t it too early to send him to the upper study room now?
Although he is five years old in terms of age, he is only three years old in actual age.
If it happened again like before, the imperial concubine couldn’t guarantee that her son would be so lucky.
Perhaps it was because Concubine Rong’s anxiety was too obvious, Ye Shuo noticed it the next day. He asked casually, and after finding out what happened, he was completely stunned.
Three years old! Here, children have to go to school at the age of three? ?
If it was a kindergarten, Ye Shuo could still understand it. A bunch of kids playing and fighting together would make a day pass by, which was equivalent to reducing the burden on busy working parents.
But! The upper study room here is obviously not that! !
Thinking of the “Encouragement to Study” that the Sixth Prince had recited before, Ye Shuo couldn’t help but be amazed.
This is totally not something a three-year-old should learn!
So Ye Shuo decisively pushed away the bowl in the nanny’s hand, and didn’t even bother to eat. He jumped off the chair, ran over, grabbed his mother’s sleeve, and looked at her eagerly: “Mom…”
The imperial concubine immediately softened her heart.
She thought to herself that Shuo’er was still young, so it wouldn’t matter if she delayed it for another year, so she said softly, “Okay, Shuo’er, don’t worry, we won’t go this year.”
Ye Shuo couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“Mom, you are so good to Shuo’er. You are the best mother in the world.” Ye Shuo did not say this intentionally to flatter his mother, but he sincerely felt this way.
In such a feudal society, where imperial power was supreme, women in the harem gave birth to children mostly to consolidate their own status. For them, children were just a means to climb up or consolidate their favor.
It’s not that they don’t love them, but this love, as long as it doesn’t involve life, should take precedence over rights.
In simple terms, as long as you can’t die, fight to the death.
But there are very few people like his mother who voluntarily give up the competition simply because of his health.
His mother may not know that as long as he is careful, things like last time will basically not happen, but she dare not take the risk because of such a tiny probability, which shows how deeply his mother loves him.
“Mom, I want to be your son in my next life and the next life.”
Meeting the child’s serious and determined gaze, for some reason, Concubine Rong’s eyes suddenly turned red.
After she realized what was happening, she quickly slapped her son on the back of his hand: “Pah, pah, pah, what are you talking about?”
“What’s the next life, the next life? It’s so unlucky, just spit it out.”
Then the imperial concubine couldn’t help but tap his nose and said, “You are just a nice person. You always say nice things to fool your mother. If you really think your mother is good, you will make her less angry with you in the future. Your mother will be thankful.”
That wouldn’t work. What his mother hoped for, such as competing for the throne, was something he could never do.
In addition to the fact that he has no ambitions here, there is also the fact that if he really shows signs of this, he and his mother should be fine, but his grandfather’s family will definitely be doomed.
So forget it.
Ye Shuo came to his senses instantly, and his expression suddenly became embarrassed.
Well…I don’t know if it’s too late to take back what I just said.
No one knows a son better than his mother. Seeing him like this, the imperial concubine immediately understood what had happened. The feeling of being touched in her heart disappeared in an instant, and she was immediately filled with anger: “Well, you little bastard, you really lied to me!”
“Mom, I suddenly remembered that the prince still wants to talk to me about something. I’ll leave first. Bye!”
“Come back, come back to me!”
Looking at the two people playing and fighting early in the morning, the nanny next to them put the bowl in her hand back on the table and couldn’t help laughing.
But in fact, Ye Shuo was not lying. The prince did have an appointment with him, but it was not the prince who made an appointment with him, but he who made an appointment with the prince.
The one-year ban is finally over. How can I not visit the East Palace?
Although the prince didn’t know why his younger brother had such a good impression of him, he didn’t reject it.
As for the future, we’ll talk about it later.
Ye Shuo had picked a random time to go there, without thinking too much about it, but he didn’t expect that he would run into an unexpected person by coincidence.
Judging from the patterns on the other person’s red official robe, this person should be his brother’s teacher.
Prince’s tutor?
“Greetings to His Majesty.”
Just as Ye Shuo was stunned, the person opposite him spoke and slowly bowed to him.
Although there was nothing wrong with the other party’s behavior, Ye Shuo didn’t know why, but he always felt that something was strange.
Soon, he understood.
His brother’s teacher seemed particularly distant and cold towards him.
Isn’t it? Since the other party is the prince’s teacher, he is naturally the one who upholds orthodoxy. To a prince like himself who is of unorthodox origin, he would naturally be rude.
By the way, this was the first time in Ye Shuo’s life that he was disliked by a teacher. In his previous life, he was the teacher’s sweetheart wherever he went.
Such an experience is quite novel.
Ye Shuo was thinking at this time, and the tutor opposite him was also thinking.
He had not expected that he would run into the imperial concubine’s son so suddenly. He still remembered that the birth of the little prince almost made the prince’s situation even more difficult.
Therefore, the Grand Tutor naturally disliked this prince.
Today, the Grand Tutor saw that he was behaving so recklessly and was even more disgusted. He didn’t look like a prince at all. How could a prince run around and jump so disrespectfully? How could he be so disrespectful!
Of course, this was not what the Taifu was most concerned about. What was most concerning to the Taifu was the child in front of him, who almost led astray the student he had taught for so long.
When the child was just over one year old, he was already eating grapes and listening to music. What would happen if the prince also developed these bad habits?
The Grand Tutor has always been a man of integrity. He would never show intimacy to people he doesn’t like. It is already his limit if he can resist showing disgust.
So after Ye Shuo asked him to get up, the tutor left without wasting a moment.
The Grand Tutor didn’t know the Imperial Concubine’s plan at this time. He thought that the little prince would go to school this year. When he thought that his old rival was going to torture the little prince, the Grand Tutor suddenly didn’t feel bored anymore, and even vaguely revealed a sense of relief.
The prince did not expect that his teacher would be so hostile to his younger brother, and even unwilling to stay in the East Palace for long.
Then he thought about how the teacher hated lazy and extravagant young men the most, and he felt that the teacher’s behavior was very normal.
But he has to comfort my little brother.
After a brief thought, the prince ordered people to fetch the new tribute fruits from the south.
On the other side, in the Qinzheng Hall——
Emperor Jingwen soon learned the news that his youngest son would not be attending school this year. Hearing this, he just frowned slightly and did not take it to heart.
In his opinion, it is a good thing for his younger son to start school later.
It took him two full years to finally reach a delicate balance with the Duke of Zhen. Under the circumstances, Emperor Jingwen himself did not want this balance to be destroyed.
Also, my youngest son had already shown extraordinary intelligence when he was over two years old. Once he starts school, his development will surely be extremely rapid.
Emperor Jingwen was very conflicted. He hoped that his youngest son would be successful, but at the same time he was worried that he would be too successful.
In his opinion, it was inevitable that his youngest son was extremely gifted. Once he entered the upper study room, he would definitely learn everything. He never considered the second possibility at all.
So Emperor Jingwen decided to take the cold approach. He wanted to see how the Duke of Zhen and the Imperial Concubine would react.
Anyway, the Duke of Zhen and the Imperial Concubine will always take action.
He could also take this opportunity to test how patient the Duke of Zhen was and whether he would really behave himself this time.
If the Duke of Zhen is particularly anxious, then……
And so, Emperor Jingwen waited and waited.
When Ye Shuo was three years old, Emperor Jingwen was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.
(T/L: Sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai = Sitting at ease in a fishing boat despite storms (idiom); to stay calm during tense situation
a cool head in a crisis)
When Ye Shuo was four years old, Emperor Jingwen couldn’t help but sigh that the Duke of Zhen and the Imperial Concubine were really patient.
When Ye Shuo was five years old, Emperor Jingwen began to frown.
When Ye Shuo was six years old, and it was time for school to start in the spring, Emperor Jingwen couldn’t help but walk around the Qinzheng Hall twice.
When Ye Shuo was seven years old, Emperor Jingwen would look outside from time to time while reviewing memorials.
Even the young eunuch beside him could clearly feel the emperor’s anxiety, not to mention Wang Ziquan who had followed Emperor Jingwen for so many years.
Wang Ziquan served carefully and prayed desperately in his heart, hoping that God would bless him and that it would succeed this year!
Soon, a figure walked in quickly.
The moment he saw that person, Emperor Jingwen put down the imperial pen in his hand.
“Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Your Majesty, please…”
“Alright, stop wasting time. Just tell me the result. Just tell me, has the Ninth Prince enrolled this year?”
Caught off guard, the young eunuch who came hurriedly had a frozen expression on his face, and then he reported the result of his investigation in a trembling voice: “Your Majesty… No, no!” After saying that, he didn’t even dare to look up.
The moment he finished speaking, Emperor Jingwen lost control and almost broke the armrest of the chair.
The Ninth Prince is already nine years old this year, what on earth do they want to do!!!