The villain prince is three and a half years old

"I couldn't get up in the morning either. Don't blame Brother Jing!" Ning Xuenian was very loyal and stood up to speak for Xia Jing.

"That's right. I don't want to get up in the morning either." Empress Xian responded with a smile.

Xia Jing moved out from behind Ning Xuenian. With the support of the two, he felt confident.

Xiao Yue glanced at him helplessly: "You are fine, but the child from the Xue family is unlucky."

"It's okay. Which tutor hasn't been punished with a ruler for the prince? Jing'er is well-behaved. That child has been beaten less." Empress Xian hurriedly protected Xia Jing.

Although the Ninth Prince stayed in bed and skipped classes, causing his study partner to be beaten, he was a well-behaved little prince.

Although Concubine Xian's words were biased, they were not wrong. Being a tutor to a prince was not an easy task. He was only struck twice with the ruler, which was a sign of having met a good prince. Although the Ninth Prince made many small mistakes, he never made any major ones.

Xia Jing also felt a little sorry for Xue Zhaoju, so he turned to Yi Qiu and said, "Take a roll of silk and give it to Xiaojuzi."

"You're quite generous." Xiao Yue shook her head and said to Yi Qiu, "Take two rolls of fashionable cloth from the one that the Imperial Household Department sent last time."

"Those are all good things." Concubine Xian smiled, "I thank Concubine Shu on behalf of the child."

"Sister is teasing me!" Xiao Yue laughed.

After laughing, she looked at Xia Jing and brought up another matter: "What is 'Xiao Juzi'? How can you call someone like that?"

Before Xia Jing could speak, Concubine Xian grabbed Xiao Yue's hand and laughed non-stop: "I know this. Nanny Yuan told me that it was that child..."

Unbeknownst to Xue Zhaoju, he died again.

Moreover, such interesting things related to the palace spread very quickly. It can be imagined that in a few days, Xue Zhaoju's social death would spread to the entire palace.

Xia Jing observed two seconds of silence for Xue Zhaoju.

Concubine Xian and Xiao Yue kept talking about the study room on the left and Xue Zhaoju on the right. Ning Xuenian listened and her mouth slowly pursed.

Xia Jing stood up and took the girl to the yard.

The originally lively main room suddenly became much quieter without the two children.

Some things that are inconvenient to say in front of children can now be said.

Empress Xian pondered for a moment and said, "Jing'er said that everything he drew in class was taken away by Master Zhang. I'm a little worried about this."

"What do you mean, sister?" Xiao Yue was shocked.

"One or two times is nothing. What child doesn't like to scribble? I'm afraid that Mr. Zhang has been accumulating them, intending to compile a pile to present to the Emperor. If the Emperor sees so many drawings at once, he'll inevitably punish him."

Concubine Xian's suspicions were quite reasonable. Generally speaking, if a little prince scribbled something in class, they would either tear it up or leave it alone. How could they just stuff it into their sleeves and take it away?

Empress Xian couldn't help but suspect that Zhang Zanyu was collecting evidence.

This was unfair to Zhang Zanyu, this old scholar with a flexible mind, who just thought the Ninth Prince's painting was very interesting.

But in the end, Empress Xian was not wrong. Zhang Zanyu did bring the painting to the Yangxin Palace and show it to Emperor Kangning.

Xiao Yue narrowed her eyes. She was no longer the Zhaoyi who had been terrified by the troubles of last year. She pondered how to resolve this calamity.

"Don't panic, sister. I'll ask Xu'er." Empress Xian comforted.

There was no need for Ning Shouxu to take action. Eunuch Xu led a group of people and arrived outside Jingyixuan.

Hearing the noise, Concubine Xian and Xiao Yue came out, both very confused.

Xu Zhongde led the young eunuchs to pay their respects to the two ladies.

"This is the reward from the emperor to the ninth prince." Xu Zhongde ordered the eunuchs to put down the box, then took out the handwritten painting of Emperor Kangning from his arms and handed it to Xiao Yue.

The eunuchs rushed in and out again. Xu Zhongde still had to deliver paintings to other princes.

Except for the eldest prince who is not in the palace, everyone from the crown prince to the fifth prince, and from the seventh prince to the eighth prince has to make the trip.

The only exception was the Sixth Prince. This was what Emperor Kangning ordered later. The affairs of the Upper Study Room never escaped Emperor Kangning's eyes, including the dispute in the Upper Study Room today.

In Lixiu Palace, Shunpin learned from the palace maids and eunuchs that Xu Zhongde went to the palaces of each prince, asked the eunuchs to clean up the yard, and asked the palace maids to tidy up his clothes.

She waited and waited, until the sun went down, but she still didn't see Xu Zhongde, and her face turned pale.

All the princes went there, except for Lixiu Palace. The meaning is very clear.

In Jingyixuan, Concubine Xian and Xiao Yue were confused.

The two ladies sat on the Luohan bed, studying the original work of Emperor Kangning. The two children climbed onto the bed and stood behind them, looking at the cartoon copied by Emperor Kangning.

Both Xiao Yue and Concubine Xian saw the educational significance of the painting, but they were puzzled as to why Emperor Kangning sent this thing over. There was also a box of Chunri's utensils in the yard, which looked like a reward no matter how you looked at it.

"This painting looks a little familiar," Empress Xian studied it.

She had seen Xia Jing's stick figures.

"This is what I drew!" Xia Jing spoke and explained the reason.

He also didn't expect that after Zhang Zanyu took his paintings, he sent them to the Yangxin Palace.

What was even more unexpected was that when Emperor Kangning saw it, he actually ordered it to be copied and sent to each prince.

Empress Xian and Xiao Yue looked at each other in bewilderment. Ning Xuenian was busy reading comics, while the Ninth Prince lowered his head and muttered about piracy, plagiarism, intellectual property rights and the like.

Empress Xian picked up the paper again, read the story again, and sighed to Xiao Yue: "Jing'er is really amazing. He can draw a little figure like this."

Now I don’t have to go to Zhang Zanyu to ask, and I don’t have to worry.

It was getting late. Empress Xian was returning from Jingyixuan. She passed by Yanghexuan and took a look inside. Sure enough, Ning Shouxu was staring blankly at the painting sent by Xu Zhongde.

Empress Xian laughed twice, shocked Ning Shouxu with the news she got from Jingyixuan, and returned to Fuqing Palace contentedly.

The painting was only given to the prince, but the story in the painting quickly spread throughout the harem and became a pastime for the concubines and palace maids.

By the third day, the copies of the paintings made by the court painters had spread outside the palace.

Xia Jing sat in the Xue family's courtyard, looking at the "Three Little Pigs" which he had copied several times, and drank a sip of tea.

He sighed with regret that his status as a prince had delayed his cultural talent. Otherwise, he would have been a fairy tale master famous in the seven kingdoms!

Xue Zhaoju looked at the Ninth Prince and explained, "People outside the palace say that Master Zhang drew this for fun."

He was very confused when he first saw the painting. How come the painting that he had seen the Ninth Prince drawing while slacking off a few days ago became Zhang Zanyu's work and was placed in front of him?

At that moment, a story like "a student who was a genius created a masterpiece, and the teacher shamelessly tampered with one of the papers" flashed through Xue Zhaoju's mind.

If Zhang Zanyu had not already been famous throughout the world, and if the rumor had not said that Zhang Zanyu was unwilling to admit this due to his pride, he might have actually believed it.

"It's good to have Master Zhang take the blame." Xia Jing put down the painting in his hand, "These are all drawn crookedly, paper and pen!"

Currently, those who can copy "The Three Little Pigs" are all painters around the powerful and wealthy. They all have good painting skills, but since it is their first time imitating this style, there are inevitably some deviations. In addition, they cannot suppress the desire to express themselves and have made some intentional changes. In addition, after being passed down through several hands, the differences in the pictures are already huge.

Xia Jing painted the authentic version and gave it to Xue Zhaoju.

Xue Zhaoju took it and said, "Thank you, Ninth Prince."

"Where's my handmade soap? Is it dried?" Xia Jing asked about the business.

Xue Zhaoju brought a row of solidified soap and, at Xia Jing's instruction, separated it with a knife.

It is divided into fifteen pieces in total.

Xia Jing packed the things in a cloth bag, gave it to Xiao Tianzi to carry, patted Xue Zhaoju on the shoulder, and left the Xue family.

During the past three days, the Ninth Prince has been well-behaved and studious. He only took some secret truants and left no evidence. Today he came out after school, and it was getting late, so he had to return as soon as possible.

Xue Zhaoju sent Xia Jing to the gate of the mansion, and Xia Jing stepped on the horse stool and got into the carriage.

Chapter 122 The Sweet and Soft Seventh Princess

"This is for that girl." Before leaving, Xia Jing took out a piece of handmade soap wrapped in blue cloth and handed it to Xue Zhaoju.

Xue Zhaoju took it and thanked him on his sister's behalf. He felt something was wrong. Why was this gift only given to his sister? Speaking of helping, it was clearly him who contributed the most. This doubt flashed through his mind, and he didn't dwell on it.

The figure of the Ninth Prince disappeared behind the curtain, the wheels rolled, and Xue Zhaoju stood at the door, watching the shadow of the carriage disappear around the corner of the road.

He stared at the empty road for a long time. Only when the gatekeeper called him anxiously did he set off and return to the mansion.

The Xue family is a Jiangnan family, so the Xue Mansion is built in the Jiangnan style, with winding paths leading to secluded places. However, if you follow the corridors, you can always find where you want to go.

In the past, Xue Zhaoju was not qualified to enter the corridor. Xue Huaiyuan and other legitimate sons declared that if they saw him in the corridor, they would beat him every time.

Yesterday, Xue Zhaoju was walking under the corridor when he saw one of his brothers. The brother turned his head away and pretended not to see him.

Today, Xue Zhaoju met another brother, Xue Huaiyuan.

Xue Huaiyuan was holding a scroll of painting in his hand. Seeing Xue Zhaoju, he proudly unfolded it and said, "This is the 'Three Pigs' Romance' that my mother got from the palace! The ones I sent to you this morning were all paintings that had been passed around so many times that their true meaning had long been lost!"

This is showing off.

Xue Zhaoju looked down at the original copy of "The Romance of the Three Pigs" in his hand with a subtle emotion.

Xue Huaiyuan frowned, snatched the painting from his hand, opened it and took a look. It was very similar to the version in his hand. Xue Huaiyuan even felt that this one was more perfect and closer to the original.

"Where did you get it?" Xue Huaiyuan couldn't accept it.

Xue Zhaoju took the painting back, feeling relieved: "Brother, have you forgotten where I studied?"

After saying this, he walked past Xue Huaiyuan without waiting for his reaction. At this moment, he felt for the first time that he was nobler than Xue Huaiyuan.

Shaking off such thoughts, Xue Zhaoju returned home and gave the handmade soap to Xue Zhixi.

Xue Zhixi took the handmade soap and said, "What is this? It smells good."

"This is what the Ninth Young Master gave you. It's what you made the other day."

"What!" Xue Zhixi looked at her second brother in surprise.

What they were making that day was soap, which was used for bathing and washing clothes. Although it was not private, it was definitely not something that could be given to women of the same age.

The precocious girl was a little panicked. She wrapped the handmade soap in cloth and locked it in the cabinet.

When the cabinet door closed, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her second brother resentfully, only to find that he was sitting in a chair, lost in thought.

"What happened to my second brother? Was he punished in the academy?" she asked anxiously.

Xue Zhaoju shook his head: "It's not because of this, it's because of the Ninth Master."

Xue Zhixi thought, without denying the previous sentence, it seemed that she had indeed been punished. She also thought about the cloth that had been delivered two days ago. Was this compensation for taking the blame for the son of that important family?

Xue Zhixi closed her eyes and prayed for her second brother, praying that he would take the blame more often and be punished more often in school.

The one delivered two days ago was a piece of high-quality cloth worth as much as a ton of silver. My second brother received such a precious gift for a punishment that barely showed any wounds. What a bargain!

After praying, she continued to ask, "What happened to the Ninth Young Master?"

Xue Zhaoju was a little dazed. "I originally thought that the Ninth Young Master was naughty and playful, not doing his job properly. Therefore, although I respected him because of his status, I also looked down on him a little."

Xue Zhixi recalled that the first time she met the Ninth Master was when he was decorating the lake with lanterns, and the second time she met him was when he was making pancreas.

It's true that I love to play, but how can I say I'm not doing my job properly? My pancreas is precious! It's a great way to make a living!

On the way home that day, Xue Zhixi desperately tried to recall the steps for making pancreas, hoping to learn from them. However, she couldn't figure out several of the instruments, procedures, and ingredients, so she had to give up. She was depressed for the entire night.

"What about now? Have you changed your opinion of the Ninth Young Master?" She continued with her second brother's words.

Xue Zhaoju looked at the painting in his hand and said, "Now I know that the Ninth Young Master is all show and no substance."

Xue Zhixi took the painting. Isn't this the Three Pigs' Romance by Zhang Helai? What does it have to do with the Ninth Young Master?

Xue Zhixi tossed the painting aside. The adults and children in the mansion all praised it, but Xue Zhixi felt they were making a fuss. It was just a painting; the thought and technique behind it were meaningless, far less substantial than the soap she had locked in the cabinet.

She wondered when to sell the pancreas for some silver. Only cold, hard silver could warm Miss Xue Zhixi's heart.

She didn’t know if Master Jiu would continue to do the same in the future, and she wanted to learn from him again.

……

[Intimacy: 63 → 67]

The Ninth Prince, who was having dinner, was puzzled by Xue Zhaoju's sudden increase in favorability.

You didn't get promoted when I gave you silk, and you didn't get promoted when I gave you the original copy of "The Romance of the Three Pigs". But now you have been promoted, and you have been promoted by 4 points at once. What does this mean?

Strangely enough, the last time Xue Zhaoju’s intimacy level increased was when Xiao Tianzi told him that he didn’t need to butcher chickens, but only needed to learn from the Ninth Prince.

Xia Jing thought that this child really didn't seem to be very interested in external things.

He recalled that in the game, Xue Zhaoju seemed to have become a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, but he did not make any special achievements.

Without opportunities, it's hard to achieve anything. Now that you're following me, are you still afraid of not having opportunities? Come on, little Juzi, the Ninth Prince is counting on you!

Xia Jing glanced at Xue Zhixi again.

[Intimacy: 61 → 62]