Do you know: I am Qi Heng

"Your Highness, please slow down!"

In the Imperial Garden of the palace, a group of palace maids and eunuchs, their bodies hunched over, surrounded a child who looked two or three years old.

The child had rosy lips and white teeth, and chubby cheeks; he was very cute.

He was still a little unsteady on his feet while walking, and he kept grinning.

Suddenly the child stumbled, and a quick-thinking eunuch nearby tackled him to the ground, with the child landing on his back.

"Fun!"

The child was not frightened at all; on the contrary, he clapped and cheered, looking very excited.

"Your Highness!"

At this moment, Eunuch Zhu led a young boy over, gave the prostrate eunuch an approving look, and then bowed, saying, "Look who's here?"

Upon hearing this, the child turned around, his eyes lit up when he saw Qi Heng, and he got off the eunuch and ran towards the boy.

"Brother Heng, you're here?"

Qi Heng smiled and said, "Your subject greets Your Highness!"

This child is Zhao Shou, the young prince born to Empress Cao.

The fact that the name was chosen to signify longevity shows how much the officials feared their son would die young.

Zhao Shou was born just a few days before the New Year. After the New Year, the Emperor announced the change of reign title to Tianshun, meaning that the will of Heaven and the people were in harmony.

It was spring of the second year of the Tianshun reign, and Zhao Shou was just over two years old.

"Brother Heng, play with me."

Zhao Shou tugged at Qi Heng's sleeve and said.

"Your subject obeys!"

Qi Heng bent down and picked Zhao Shou up, saying, "Your Highness, you deliberately fell down just now, didn't you?"

Zhao Shou grinned upon hearing this and said, "Fun!"

"Your Highness, even if it's fun, you can't do that. That eunuch just lunged at me like that; wouldn't it have hurt him to fall to the ground?"

"Young Master, as long as His Highness is alright, I would be willing to die even if I fell."

The eunuch who had previously fallen to the ground to act as a human cushion for Zhao Shou quickly spoke up.

Qi Heng ignored him and just stared at Zhao Shou.

Although the emperor was a bit soft-hearted, he was truly benevolent.

However, he was a little too indulgent towards Zhao Shou.

He had just witnessed that scene from afar. The palace maids and eunuchs were bowing and surrounding Zhao Shou. The fact that the eunuch could react so quickly was clearly not a coincidence.

It was as if he knew Zhao Shou would do this and was deliberately playing along with him.

Strictly speaking, this is not a big deal. Zhao Shou is still young and doesn't understand things. The palace maids and eunuchs, as servants, want to please their masters.

But it is precisely because Zhao Shou is so ignorant that we cannot let him continue like this, otherwise he will become a foolish ruler in the future.

In reality, the difference between a tyrannical ruler and a wise ruler is not that complicated; the important factors are the different environments in which they grow up and their different perceptions of power.

The founding emperors, having experienced the chaos of the world and witnessed the suffering of the people, understood how previous dynasties had perished. Therefore, most founding emperors would pay attention to governance.

But the emperors who inherited the throne were different; they had grown up in privileged environments and took everything for granted.

Zhao Shou is still young and doesn't understand reasoning, so Qi Heng can't explain it to him. He can only let him know that there are some things he can't do.

"But they were happy too," Zhao Shou said blankly.

Qi Heng sighed and said, "Has Your Highness noticed that the people serving you change frequently?"

Zhao Shou glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs standing bowing beside him, nodded, and said, "Xiao Zhuzi is missing."

"Little Pillar?"

Qi Heng wasn't quite sure what the palace maids and eunuchs around Zhao Shou were called, but he knew that unless they made a mistake, they generally wouldn't be replaced.

"Where did Xiaozhu go?" Qi Heng asked, turning his head.

"Young Master, Xiao Zhu is unwell and therefore cannot serve Your Highness for the time being," a eunuch said.

Qi Heng pondered for a moment, and considering that Zhao Shou could remember the other person's name, it was highly likely that Xiao Zhuzi had been playing this kind of game with Zhao Shou and had gotten injured.

"Your Highness, if you do this, they will get hurt, and then they won't be able to serve you or play with you."

Qi Heng said, "Not only them, but I am the same, and so are everyone else."

"No, I want Brother Heng to play with me."

Zhao Shou didn't understand what he meant at all. He thought Qi Heng was saying he couldn't play with him anymore, so he immediately became anxious and hugged Qi Heng's neck.

Although he was still young and didn't understand, even though the Emperor and Empress Cao doted on him, they would still consider their status and couldn't completely set aside their status to play with him.

The palace maids and eunuchs would coax him, and Qi Heng felt completely different from them.

This made him, in his young heart, more dependent on Qi Heng.

"That's not what I meant."

Qi Heng shook his head, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and felt that he had made a foolish mistake.

Isn't it a waste of breath to talk to a two- or three-year-old child about these things?

"Your Highness, I will play with you now. What would Your Highness like to play?" Qi Heng asked.

"Catch the butterfly!"

Zhao Shou's eyes lit up as he watched the butterflies fly by.

Qi Heng carried Zhao Shou and played in the Imperial Garden for a long time. Then, the eunuch Zhu reminded him, "Young Master, it's getting late. His Highness should eat."

"I see!"

Qi Heng nodded, coaxed Zhao Shou, who still wanted to play, and carried him to Yanfu Palace under the guidance of Zhu Neiguan.

"Hehe, Shou-ge'er is closest to Heng-ge'er. He's been asking for Heng-ge'er a lot these days," Empress Cao said with a smile as Qi Heng walked in.

Princess Pingning did not respond to this, but her smile deepened.

The better the relationship between Qi Heng and Zhao Shou, the longer the Qi family's wealth and prosperity will last.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"

Qi Heng walked to the center of the hall, put Zhao Shou down, and bowed.

Zhao Shou toddled towards Empress Cao with his short legs. Empress Cao waved her hand, stood up, picked up her son, pinched his cheek, and said, "Having fun?"

"Hehe~" The little guy looked up and laughed.

"Heng'er, I heard from Pingning that you think you did well in the provincial examination?" Empress Cao said with a smile.

"I was afraid my mother would worry, so I said that to comfort her. The difficulty of the county and provincial examinations in Bianjing is far greater than in other places, and I am not confident that I can pass them," Qi Heng replied.

This wasn't entirely a matter of modesty; the imperial examinations in the Great Zhou Dynasty were based on place of origin.

You must go back to the place where your household registration is located to participate.

However, the children of officials are an exception. After all, some officials live far from their ancestral homes, and it would be too much trouble for their children to travel back to take the county and provincial examinations.

Although the number of candidates admitted to the provincial examinations varied from state to state, the difficulty level differed significantly.

Bianjing not only attracted a large number of wealthy households, but also many high-ranking officials and nobles.

These families all had the means to support their children's education.

The quality of the candidates far exceeds that of other places, and even though there are many more places available than in other places, the difficulty will not be reduced.

Some candidates who failed the exam would likely have passed if they had gone to a different place.

A minor official with fewer concerns might arrange for his children to return to their hometown to take the exam.

"Hehe, no need to be modest."

Empress Cao smiled and said, "With Heng'er's talent, it's only a matter of time before he passes the imperial examination. When Shou'er is older and goes to school, you can be his tutor."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Qi Heng understood Empress Cao's unspoken meaning. She didn't mention the imperial examination success, but only said that when Zhao Shou entered school, she appointed him as a tutor.

The meaning is clear: whether he passes the exam or not, this point will not change.