The villain prince is three and a half years old

Zhang Zanyu walked up to Xia Jing, pulled out a book from his sleeve and placed it on the boy's desk.

When Xia Jing flipped through it, he found it was actually a copy of the book, printed with cinnabar.

This ancient enlightenment education is quite decent.

Chapter 116 I Want This Princess

Xia Jing held the brush and Xue Zhaoju ground ink for him.

Zhang Zanyu took a look, turned around to check the winter vacation homework of the other four princes, and then began to teach each of them one by one.

Xia Jing found it quite interesting. This study room was like a primary school in the countryside. There were not enough students and teachers. Several grades were sitting in one room. After the teacher finished teaching one grade, he would go on to teach another grade.

The difference is that the teachers of the princes are world-famous scholars, and these scholars also have assistants - those companions.

When Zhang Zanyu was teaching others, his tutors supervised and guided the princes in completing their homework.

No wonder you need a reading companion.

Xia Jing was concentrating on tracing the characters in red ink. Xue Zhaoju looked at her for a while, and after confirming that there were no problems, he began to listen to the lessons of other grades, listening intently. The teacher at Xuefu Academy was just an old scholar, and his teachings were far less profound than Zhang Zanyu's.

The coolness of the early morning was evaporated by the sunlight, which shone through the paper window onto the desk, casting the shadow of Xia Jing's restless writing and covering the sleeping Ning Chengrui with a golden blanket.

Ning Chengrui's study partner didn't dare to wake up the former harem boxing champion. He could only look nervously at Zhang Zanyu and then at Ning Chengrui, hoping that the eighth prince would wake up on his own.

Ning Gaoxiang wasn't asleep, but he wasn't concentrating. He wanted to secretly play with his carved wooden bracelet, but he was afraid his treasure would be confiscated, so he waved his brush and stared at the shadow on the ground in a daze. When studying, even if there's only sunlight and shadows around, you can still have fun.

As for the two older princes, Ning Wenhuan was quite serious, but Ning Yuanzhongzheng was asked questions by Zhang Zanyu. I can't say that he answered fluently, but at least he didn't know the answer to any of the questions.

"Sit down." Zhang Zanyu shook his head and turned to walk towards Xia Jing.

The Ninth Prince was so focused that his pen moved so smoothly that he didn't even notice Zhang Zanyu approaching.

Zhang Zanyu took a look at the paper and was surprised by the beautiful drawing of the little turtle.

Looking closely, the little turtle was standing there, looking like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. Beside it were its four brothers, one was sleeping, one was playing with shadows, one was doodling, and the other was reading a book seriously, but its face looked a little dull no matter how you looked at it.

Zhang Zanyu sighed, picked up Xia Jing's notebook, and tore off the page. These five little turtles were a true portrayal of the five princes.

[Intimacy: 50 (-1) → 50 (-2)]

The temporary intimacy level dropped a little. This heartless old man actually doesn't like the little turtle!

Xia Jing thought that the previous -1 was most likely the same as this time, because Zhang Zanyu heard about the Ninth Prince's mischief.

Zhang Zanyu stuffed the torn page into his sleeve, flipped forward in the tracing book, and narrowed his eyes.

The Ninth Prince did not draw turtles on every page. Previously, it was proper calligraphy. If you look closely, both the brushwork and the shape of the characters are in order.

It is rare for a three-year-old child to be able to trace Chinese characters properly.

[Intimacy: 50 (-2) → 50 (-1)]

You're just doing sit-ups here! Xia Jing complained in his heart.

Drawing the turtle was intentional. He wasn't trying to act like a child prodigy; it would be useless.

Emperor Kangning would not pass the throne to him just because of his excellent academic performance. On the contrary, other princes and concubines would be wary of him because of this, so it would be better not to make it public.

It’s definitely not because my hands are itching to look at the homework book!

Zhang Zanyu took out his ruler and hit Xue Zhaoju on the hand: "Watch out for the Ninth Prince!"

Xue Zhaoju lowered his head in guilt, regretting that he had been so preoccupied with the lecture that he had forgotten about the Ninth Prince. He felt ashamed. Today was his first time here, and he had already been disciplined by the teacher. How would his classmates view him?

The students had no reaction, as if it was normal.

The ruler struck Xue Zhaoju's palm, awakened the Eighth Prince's dormant mind, and shattered the Seventh Prince's shadow. Adding Ning Yuanzhong, who had just been scolded for his ignorance, four of the five princes were punished in a short period of time.

Ning Wenhuan was the only one left. Zhang Zanyu stood there for a while, pointed out seven or eight mistakes in his article, and then walked away with heavy steps.

Xue Zhaoju blinked, and the shame he had just felt disappeared.

After checking the princes' homework, Zhang Zanyu began to check the academic performance of his companions, and his frown slowly relaxed.

At noon, I went to the side room to have lunch and continued studying until the sun set in the west.

After coming out of the upper study, Zhang Zanyu went directly to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"What is this?" Emperor Kangning looked at the piece of paper in Zhang Zanyu's hand.

"The Ninth Prince's painting." Zhang Zanyu replied.

Xu Zhongde took the paper and handed it to Emperor Kangning respectfully.

Emperor Kangning unfolded it and took a look, somewhat amused: "What's this painting of? A turtle?"

"The Picture of Five Dragons Studying Diligently." Zhang Zanyu replied.

Xiaole became extremely happy, and Emperor Kangning laughed heartily: "You still have such a vicious tongue!"

Five turtles deserted their duties and turned into a picture of five diligent dragons. How spicy!

Xu Zhongde laughed along, but didn't dare to respond, because these were five princes.

He was not worried. On the Ninth Prince's first day of school, he had only drawn a few little turtles and had done nothing wrong. It could be said that it was a great success.

Back then, the seventh and eighth princes cried and made a fuss for their mother!

"I didn't have this kind of painting skills back then." Emperor Kangning suddenly felt emotional. He put down the painting and looked at Zhang Zanyu. "Master Zhang, what did I paint back then?"

Zhang Zanyu was also Emperor Kangning's teacher when he was a prince, but at that time, he was just a minor official helping out in the Shangshufang. Now, he is the head of the Shangshufang and a former prime minister who is famous all over the world.

"Your Majesty, when you were a child, you painted bows and arrows, spears and horses." Zhang Zanyu certainly remembered. If it weren't for Emperor Kangning's promotion, he would still be a small and idle official.

"That's right, bows, horses, and spears." Emperor Kangning smiled and changed the subject. "The war in the Eastern Region is progressing again. Those spineless people in Yan State are scared and have agreed to offer Guangping City and ask me to marry a princess to them."

Zhang Zanyu resigned his position in the court, but he could not resign the trust of Emperor Kangning, who asked him about the treaty he had negotiated with the State of Yan.

Zhang Zanyu thought for a moment and said, "Marrying the princess is fine, but the State of Yan should also show some appreciation."

"How do you mean?" Emperor Kang Ning asked.

"I'll give you a princess from Ning State for a prince from Yan State," Zhang Zanyu replied.

This hit the mark for Emperor Kangning. Although he had made considerable achievements in civil governance after ascending the throne, his favorite weapons were still the bow, horse, and spear.

The Ning Dynasty was currently unable to launch a full-scale attack on the State of Yan, but that didn't mean Emperor Kang Ning didn't want to seize the State of Yan. He asked the State of Yan for a hostage, and when the time was right, he could use this hostage to intervene in the State of Yan.

Emperor Kangning and Zhang Zanyu had different opinions on the choice of hostage.

Emperor Kangning wanted a son from a noble family, whose biological mother must be from the best of the three major families in Yan State, or from a middle-class family if that is not possible.

"Except for the princes other than the three major families, family power is of little use. It is better to find one who is healthy and intelligent." Zhang Zanyu advised.

He explained, "When our dynasty is able to activate this hostage, the support of ordinary Yan clans is just icing on the cake. The hostage itself is more important."

Emperor Kangning pondered for a long time and agreed with Zhang Zanyu's words. He gave up the princes from aristocratic families and chose among the remaining princes.

Fortunately, Emperor Huai of Yan was fertile and had many children.

"This is it." Emperor Kangning pointed at the name of Emperor Yan Huai's twenty-first son.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Zanyu nodded.

In addition to those mentioned above, the proton must be young. It is easier to brainwash him when he is young. The 21st child is five years old, which is just right.

The 21st son's biological mother was just a commoner girl. Emperor Kangning felt a little wronged and added:

"He has a sister from the same mother. It's perfect that they can come together!"

Chapter 117 Where is the maid I fought against three people alone?

After school, Ning Gaoxiang ran very fast, and Xia Jing was careless for a moment and couldn't catch up with him.

But the prince could escape, but the palace could not. Xia Jing took a walk around the Summer Palace and took away a wooden sculpture of an antelope.

He gave the antelope wood carving to Ning Xuenian. The girl, who was feeling depressed because of Xia Jing's school start, was immediately distracted by the lovely wood carving.

After playing in Yonghua Palace for a while, Xia Jing rushed to Shuiyun Palace to practice martial arts and take a medicinal bath.

It was already evening when we returned to Jingyixuan.

This won't go on. Xia Jing ate his meal and calculated his schedule. Classes started at Chen Zheng and ended at Shen Chu. From 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, it took up most of the day. Moreover, the study room only had holidays during the Chinese New Year.

Fortunately, as a fragile prince, getting sick or catching a cold is a common occurrence, so being insoluble in water is considered a success.

So the next day, as expected, the Ninth Prince had an accident and fell ill in Yanghexuan.

Concubine Xian, Ning Xuenian and Ning Shouxu were all there, as well as Sun Jingzhu, who heard that the Ninth Prince was ill and came to play the piano to entertain him.

Under Xu Zhongde's manipulation, Sun Jingzhu was transferred from the Outer Teaching Office to the Inner Teaching Office and became the exclusive musician of Empress Xian in Fuqing Palace.

"What does the Ninth Prince want to hear?" Sun Jingzhu asked Xia Jing, glancing at Ning Shouxu.

This was their first meeting, and both sides were very calm, so calm that it seemed as if they really didn't know each other.

Xia Jing leaned against Concubine Xian's arms and announced the title of the song: "Long Gate Lament."

Ning Shouxu glanced at him.

"What is Changmen Yuan?" Ning Xuenian leaned against Xia Jing's shoulder and also leaned in Empress Xian's arms.

"It's a very sad song about a woman who was neglected and left in Changmen Palace." Xia Jing hinted at something.

The sound of the piano began, and Ning Shouxu sat in a wheelchair, drinking tea calmly.

He hadn't expected his mother to actually bring Sun Jingzhu into the palace. But it didn't matter. Romance between men and women was strictly prohibited in the palace, even among the princes. If caught, they would be recorded in the history books and flogged.

Mother will definitely send Sun Jingzhu out, and things will return to his plan.

If he could think of this, how could Xia Jing not think of it? The Ninth Prince would not let him succeed. His own small task was still waiting for him to complete!

Ning Shouxu missed a factor that "smart people" like them always forget to take into account in their plans, and that is emotion.

Just like every student plans his homework perfectly before the holiday, every online writer arranges when and how many words to write the day before, but in reality, both tasks are delayed until the deadline and the completion rate is greatly reduced.

Ning Shouxu and Sun Jingzhu already had feelings for each other. They were able to restrain themselves before because they had never met. Now that they are together day and night, they can finally endure it. Xia Jing has to give him a thumbs up and reasonably suspect that he has injured his third leg.

No, it's not just the third leg. Eunuch Xu knows how to find love even without that leg. He needs to check his head.

After playing in Yanghexuan for a while, Ning Xuenian was called back to Yonghua Palace at noon. Xia Jing had a meal in Yanghexuan and begged Concubine Xian to let him out of the palace to play.

"Heh, you've only been to school for one day and you're already thinking about skipping classes to play. Why are you bothering with this study room spot?" Ning Shouxu felt resentful and mocked the boy.

"Third brother, you don't know that if playing in the palace is eight points of happiness, then skipping classes and playing outside the palace is twelve points of happiness!" Xia Jing replied.

Empress Xian blinked, thinking back to her childhood, and it was indeed true.

She looked at Sun Jingzhu, wondering whether she should pretend to watch closely to give the two young men a little secret feeling and add some excitement.

Ning Shouxu stopped secretly turning the Rubik's Cube under the blanket and wondered if the boy was mocking him.

"Go ahead, I'll ask the Xue family to pick you up. It's a good opportunity to go and see your shop." Empress Xian patted Xia Jing's head.

This is exactly what Xia Jing wants.

He, the ninth prince, had worked hard for many years, getting up early and going to bed late, forgetting to eat and sleep, and surviving many dangers. Finally, he had his own property, so of course he had to go and take a look.

Concubine Xian delivered the letter faster than Xia Jing left the palace.

Xia Jing and Xiao Tianzi changed their clothes and walked out of the palace. The Xue family's carriage was already waiting in the alley, and Xue Renli was accompanying them.

Xia Jing first went to see the courtyard that Concubine Yun had given him. It wasn't large, but owning a residence with a courtyard in the capital was the life goal of many officials. Most minor officials still rented a house.

The neighbors around the yard are basically officials from other places who came to the capital, so the public security is very good.

It’s a pity that I didn’t see the beautiful sister next door.

After leaving the yard, Xia Jing went to the West Market again.

Xishi is a market in the west, the most lively place in the capital, and people like to come to Xishi to shop.

In the West Market, there is a bookshop owned by the Ninth Prince, which also sells pens, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Xia Jing had no interest in pens, ink, paper, and inkstone. He glanced at the books sold in the shop, which were all articles by sages, and they made him sleepy.

In simple terms, this is a store that sells teaching supplementary books.

Leaving the West Market, Xia Jing came to the East Market.

The East Market is the eastern bazaar, not as prosperous as the West Market, but many dignitaries come here to shop. In the words of my past life, although the number of customers is small, the average customer spending is high.

He has a shop and a restaurant here.