The concubine is soft and charming, and the prince is willing to seduce her

Chapter 239 Extra Chapter: Reading at the Academy

The warm spring sun shines through the carved windows of the academy, leaving dappled light and shadow on the bluestone floor tiles.

The ten-year-old Crown Prince Wei Jinghua knelt upright on the beige couch, flipping through the books in his hands.

Sitting to his left, Wei Nianqing casually glanced at the book, his gaze drawn to the birds on the branches outside the window.

"Brother, what do you think the teacher will teach today?" Wei Nianqing leaned closer and asked in a low voice, the ribbon hanging from her hair swaying slightly, giving her a playful look.

Before Wei Jinghua could answer, hurried footsteps sounded outside. A series of delicate, tinkling sounds rang out.

There stood Master Meng, dressed in a crimson-white robe, with several braided strands mixed in with his long hair, the ends of which were adorned with tiny silver bells that jingled.

"Hey~ Qi family boy, you're eating quite heartily~" Master Meng climbed in through the window, startling Xi Mingcheng, who was secretly eating peach blossom pastries, so much so that he almost choked. Luckily, the students next to him patted him on the back.

"My dear friends, I've missed you all dearly these past few days!" Master Meng said casually as he walked forward.

The classroom erupted in laughter. Wei Nianqing covered her mouth and chuckled, while Qi Qingci, who was usually known for his gentlemanly demeanor, also smiled. Shen Jingshu, on the other hand, was laughing so hard that she covered her face with her sleeve and slapped her thigh repeatedly.

As if by magic, Master Meng pulled a colorful bamboo tube from his sleeve and said in a serious tone, "Today, I will draw lots to recite the 'Quli' chapter of the Book of Rites."

With a flick of his wrist, the divination tube began to spin automatically, the bamboo sticks rattling loudly. "The student whose name is drawn will be asked to recite a passage. If they cannot recite it, today's assignment sheet will be sent to your residence."

"Ah~" Shen Jingshu hugged her arm with a pained expression, wishing she could read ten lines at a glance and remember everything in the story.

The other students' expressions also changed, but Wei Jinghua wasn't too worried. After all, she had recited it in front of her mother for a long time last night, and even Tangqiu could make a few "meows" along with it.

Sugarball is Snowball's child, and looks very much like Snowball, except that it is clingy and loves to act spoiled.

With a "thud," a bamboo skewer popped out of the bamboo tube. Master Meng steadily caught it between his index and middle fingers, and recited in a drawn-out tone, "Xi~Ming~Cheng~~"

"Ouch~ my stomach hurts!" Before Xi Mingcheng could even stand up, he clutched his stomach and slumped onto the desk, accidentally knocking the peach blossom pastries wrapped in his handkerchief to the ground.

"Master, I may not be able to recite this book, and I have failed your expectations. I am truly ashamed!"

Master Meng leaned closer and looked at him for a moment. “Since that’s the case, then I will help you cure this ailment.”

Xi Mingcheng stared at the gleaming silver needles in Master Meng's hand, his pupils shrinking in fright. He straightened up with a quick movement and exclaimed, "Master, I suddenly feel that my stomach doesn't hurt anymore."

He glanced around, cleared his throat, and said, "The Book of Rites says: 'Be respectful in all things, as if deep in thought...'"

After reciting seven, eight, or nine sentences, he started making things up, yet he spoke with such conviction that it was quite intimidating.

"As for sitting like a bell, and standing like... a pine tree?"

"Excellent, excellent!" Master Meng laughed loudly. "Young friend Xi, perhaps you intend to open your own sect and become a martial arts prodigy?"

As he spoke, he raised the ruler as if to strike, and Xi Mingcheng jumped three feet high in fright. He turned to run away, but tripped over the peach blossom pastry on the ground and fell flat on his back.

After being hit on the buttocks several times, Xi Mingcheng begged for mercy repeatedly, looking both comical and funny.

Looking at his miserable state, Wei Nianqing clenched her small hands into fists under the desk. The laughter from last night still echoed in her ears, when Xi Mingcheng boasted with a smug look on his face, "Master Meng never asks me questions in class."

The divination sticks rattled again, and this time Shen Jingshu was chosen. After reciting for a short while, she mispronounced "knowing herself to be a beast" as "knowing herself to be a beast." She hung her head dejectedly.

Before Master Meng's ruler could strike, Qi Qingci slumped to his feet and bowed, his sky-blue sleeves flowing like water. "This student is willing to continue reciting the remaining 'Book of Rites: Quli'." Wei Jinghua's gaze fell between Qi Qingci and Shen Jingshu, a knowing look in his eyes.

Wei Nianqing followed her brother's gaze but didn't see anything unusual. "Brother, what are you looking at?"

Wei Jinghua smiled and said, "Brother is watching an idiot carve a lump of elm wood."

Wei Nianqing was full of questions. Where was there any fool or blockhead here? How come she didn't notice?

Because Qi Qingci had memorized the rest of the content, the nerve-wracking questioning came to an end.

After the students finished school and got into their respective carriages to go home—

Shen Jingshu lifted her skirt and sneaked into the main courtyard. She looked left and right, but did not find her mother. Only then did she straighten her back and breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared on the ground, gradually approaching from behind. Shen Jingshu tensed up, like a rabbit ready to flee at any moment.

The moment the feather duster in Mu Chang's hand fell, Shen Jingshu quickly dodged it, leaping onto the roof using the flowering trees as stepping stones.

"Shen Jingshu, get down here right now!" Mu Chang shouted, hands on her hips, waving a feather duster in her hand, her face dark.

Shen Jingshu quickly shook her head and said, "Mother, do you think I'm stupid? If I go down there, you'll beat me with a feather duster."

Mu Chang took a deep breath. "Get down here, and I won't hit you."

Shen Jingshu scoffed and said, "Mother, do you even believe what you're saying? I certainly don't believe it at all."

Mu Chang's image as a kind mother was completely shattered. She shouted, "Shen Jingshu, do you have even the slightest bit of the image of a noble lady? You have no manners at all. Can't you learn from your Aunt Jiang's brother?"

Shen Jingshu sat on the roof ridge, swinging her small feet as she retorted, "What's so good about being a noblewoman? You're always walking, sitting, and lying down in such a formal way, it's exhausting."

"In the future, I want to be like my father, fighting on the battlefield, protecting my country, and showing them what it means to hide victory in one's sleeves, and to be a heroine general..."

Before she could finish speaking, Mu Chang, who had flown over, grabbed her by the ear and dragged her away.

"Mother, Mother, I know I was wrong~"

"Ears, ears, please be gentle!"

Mu Chang tapped her twice with a feather duster, but Shen Hongfeng, who had just arrived, snatched it away.

"My wife, why get angry?" Shen Hongfeng pulled her into his arms and quickly gestured to Shen Jingshu, signaling her to leave immediately.

Shen Jingshu certainly couldn't waste the opportunity her father had used to seduce her, so she quickly retreated and got out of her mother's sight.

Mu Chang punched him twice in the chest, "Shen Hongfeng, you're such a doting father, just keep indulging her!"

Shen Hongfeng held her hand and coaxed, "I'm not speaking up for her at all. I'm just worried that you'll get sick from getting upset, and I'll feel bad for you then."

“Look at your daughter. All she thinks about is going to the frontier to fight on the battlefield and make a name for herself. She’s doing terribly in her studies. Even the teacher from the academy has sent someone to deliver her to our door.”

Shen Hongfeng couldn't help but twitch his lips when he saw his daughter's performance in class.

Indeed...it's appalling!
They need to have a complete childhood, haha~