The Prime Minister’s Darling-Chapter 425 - : 215 Slapping in the Face (First Update)
Chapter 425: 215 Slapping in the Face (First Update)
The idiom ‘What you fear most is most likely to happen’ couldn’t have been a more accurate depiction of Lady Shu’s state of mind at this moment. She had absolutely no inkling the Emperor would make such a move to examine the Fifth Prince’s homework.
Given the long roster of duties the Emperor had to handle daily, he had little time to go through their textbooks. The ones he was most concerned about were the Crown Prince and the eldest prince.
One was his first-born child, while the other was his legitimate child.
For the Fifth Prince, who was neither the eldest nor the legitimate son, the Emperor would, at most, glance through his essays once. However, with Gu Jinyu’s assistance, the Fifth Prince always managed to complete his essays quite flawlessly.
Occasionally, the Emperor would summon the Fifth Prince and quiz him on some questions from his essays – all prepped in advance by Gu Jinyu.
Don’t underestimate the Fifth Prince. When it came to cheating, his talents were beyond extraordinary.
If Gu Jinyu warned him that the Emperor may quiz him on a subject, all the Fifth Prince had to do was remember the answer.
Having cheated with the help of Gu Jinyu for so many years, the Fifth Prince had yet to be caught.
Lady Shu’s heart was trembling with fear.
“Your Majesty…”
She made an attempt to put a stop to this. However, the Emperor was determined. Meanwhile, the three young boys had finished preparing the mortar and were heading over to plaster the wall with their small buckets.
The Emperor, having lost his amusement, rose to return to the Imperial Study Room.
Empress Xiao and Lady Zhuang, along with the others, respectfully saw him out.
The Emperor had departed for the Imperial Study Room.
The Fifth Prince was also summoned.
He was still in the dark about what was happening. But he felt an unsettling vibe from the expressions of the palace maids as well as the Emperor.
“Father.”
He paid his respects as he entered the Imperial Study Room.
By now, the three little buddies had arrived outside the Imperial Study Room, panting as they carried their small buckets to plaster the wall.
High Steward Wei was really worried that while they were plastering the wall, they might accidentally get some plaster on the Emperor. He ordered people to bring some green bricks over.
If they couldn’t plaster the wall, plastering bricks was a good alternative.
The kids squatted down, took their small brushes, and began to plaster slowly.
Little Jingkong was the most focused, but due to his small size and poor control over his strength, his plastering turned out to be the worst.
Next came Xu Zhuzhu; he didn’t do particularly well either.
The real expert in plastering turned out to be Qin Chuyu.
Initially, Qin Chuyu only indulged his two little friends in this activity, but as it went on, he discovered that his plastering skills were the best and he gradually developed a liking for it.
“I can be a plasterer when I grow up!” Qin Chuyu declared proudly.
Little Jingkong agreed wholeheartedly, “Yes, you plaster the best!”
Xu Zhuzhu also nodded in agreement.
Steward Wei shuddered, dropping the feather duster in his hand from the shock.
My young master, you’re a prince! You aspire to be a plasterer? Can you be a little more ambitious?!
Inside the Imperial Study Room, the Fifth Prince was getting an equally bad shock. His fear wasn’t coming from his brother who wanted to be a plasterer, but from the Emperor’s grilling questions.
The Emperor tested him by quoting a paragraph from “Mencius”: “Even if the walls are high and the pools are deep, even if the weapons are sharp and the food is plenty, if people are neglected, these strengths are worthless. What follows this?”
Fifth Prince: “It’s… it’s…”
Little Jingkong, rolling his head while plastering the bricks, recited: “It is therefore said: The common people are not bounded by borders, and a nation is not fortified by mountains and valleys. The world is won not by the advantage of weapons. Those who have the Way get much help, while those who lose it have little. At its extreme, those with little support are despised by their relatives; with much, they are approved by the world. Using that which the world approves of and attacking that which it despises; hence, a gentleman needn’t fight – when they do, they always win.”
The voice of the four-year-old child was tender, and still carrying a hint of babyish sweetness.
The entire Imperial Study Room fell into silence.
The Emperor glared hard at the Fifth Prince, then continued, “Men are apt to change their words.”
The Fifth Prince couldn’t answer.
Little Jingkong: “Without their ears to blame.”
Emperor: “As for me towards the State…”
Little Jingkong: “There could be nothing further than devoting my whole heart to it.”
He wasn’t trying to compete with the Fifth Prince, he was just reciting automatically because he heard the lines.
Just like how people would hum along with familiar songs, he would recite the follow-up lines. That was all.
The Emperor was extremely exasperated, “Listen to it! You’re even worse than a four-year-old child!”
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Qin Chuyu asked Little Jingkong in confusion, “What were you just reciting?”
Little Jingkong shrugged,”I don’t know, I heard some older brothers in Guozijian reciting it.”
The Four Books and Five Classics were mandatory for the Imperial examination, so the candidates in Guozijian often recited them. Having heard them so many times, Little Jingkong remembered them.
Qin Chuyu: “How come I didn’t memorize it?”
The Emperor set a few arithmetic problems for the Fifth Prince, none of which he could solve. The Emperor was fuming, “Aren’t these problems similar to the ones you always do? It’s just the numbers that have changed!”
