The villain prince is three and a half years old

In the entire harem, he is the only prince who can wear a sword openly.

It's a pity that the harem is full of princesses and maids. No matter how handsome I am, I have no place to show my skills. Xia Jing put the sword back and closed the box.

Compassion: 57 → 58

"...?"

Xia Jing took a closer look and found that Emperor Kangning's favorability had increased.

Tsk. A while ago, when we met at the Cining Palace, he took three things from me, but my favorability didn't increase. Now, after giving me a gift, my favorability has actually increased.

Increase your favorability at your own expense, right?

It’s normal to think about it. In relationships, it’s not only the one who is loved who will have an increase in favorability, but also the one who gives. Otherwise, the term sunk cost would not exist.

I hope everyone can learn from Emperor Kangning’s excellent example, spontaneously increase their favorability towards him, and love the Ninth Prince more.

Xia Jing looked at the open palace door. The rain had basically stopped, with only a few raindrops left. A breeze blew, and the rain lines were slightly slanted.

"It's getting late and the roads are slippery. Let's not go back today. Stay here." Empress Dowager You stood up and said, "I don't have your spirit. I'm going to sleep first."

Empress Dowager You left, and the rest dispersed.

Ning Zhixing and Ning Shouxu insisted on leaving and walking together. Concubine Xian and the others occupied a side hall and talked privately. Yuhe led Xia Jing and the other two to another side hall. There were two bedrooms in the side hall, one for Xia Jing and one for Ning Sisi and Ning Xuenian.

Yi Qiu and Lu Hua came in and served the three young masters.

Xia Jing was sleepy, but Ning Xuenian didn't want to sleep, so she pulled him and Ning Sisi to play.

Outside the house, the brief noise faded away and the night returned to tranquility.

The knocking sound came again, this time it was the window.

Ning Xuenian and Ning Sisi grabbed Xia Jing's arms on the left and right. Yi Qiu and Lu Hua were also very scared. Yi Qiu was braver and wanted to call for help.

"It's General Yu," Xia Jing said, "Open the window."

Yi Qiu opened the window, and sure enough, a big bird flew in.

General Yu shook his body and water splashed everywhere. Yi Qiu picked up a towel and wiped General Yu.

"It's really General Yu!" Ning Xuenian happily picked up the pastries on the table and handed them to General Yu.

She wanted to hug General Yu, but looking at the water droplets on the ground, she couldn't lower her arms.

Xia Jing took the package off General Yu's leg, which contained a gift from Ning Wanjun.

A creeping chrysanthemum, a handful of creeping chrysanthemum seeds, a letter, and a palm-sized bone knife.

The content of the letter was extremely brief.

"Happy birthday."

Xia Jing folded the letter, found a box, put the creeping chrysanthemum and seeds in it, and played with the bone knife.

The white bones felt soft yet firm under the fingertips, emitting a jade-like luster, which was extremely wonderful.

The Beizhen tribe has a very strong skill in making bone knives. The best bone knives can compete with ordinary iron swords. It sounds not as cost-effective as iron swords, but all romance lies beyond cost-effectiveness.

An iron sword is too common, and holding one will not give people any other feeling, but holding a bone knife will give people a sense of wildness. A bone knife is like a corpse, so cool.

"From today on, you will be called Tessaiga." Xia Jing put the bone knife into the box.

"Let me see too!" Ning Xuenian squeezed over.

Ning Sisi watched with envy. She was a little afraid of General Yu behind Xia Jing and didn't dare to get close.

Ning Xuenian didn't get the bone knife. Although the bone knife was not as sharp as the iron sword, it was sharp enough. Xia Jing was afraid that the girl would hurt herself, so he just let her sit and play with it for a while, and then sent her away with the clockwork chicken.

Ning Xuenian and Ning Sisi huddled together to play with the clockwork chicken, but soon got bored.

Xia Jing took a pen and paper and made a simple flying chess set. The three of them played until late at night.

Luhua took away the two sleeping princesses and left the house to Xia Jing. Xia Jing opened the last box. It was Xiao Yue's gift. He had seen it in Jingyixuan. It was an exceptionally gorgeous new dress.

Yi Qiu brought this while the rain was still light. Birthday gifts, of course, had to be neatly arranged together.

Xia Jing sat on the edge of the bed, holding his chin and looking at the pile of gifts.

"It's already very late, young master, go to bed quickly." Yi Qiu advised.

Xia Jing couldn't sleep for a while. Although he didn't think birthdays were important days, he had to admit that it felt good to have everyone get together to celebrate his birthday.

He lay in bed, determined to maintain this peaceful harem and warm days.

He also thought about when Empress Xian and the others’ birthdays were, so he had to prepare gifts early.

Come to think of it, there seemed to be two characters in the game who shared the same birthday as the Ninth Prince. Which couple were they? The Ninth Prince didn't have a strong presence in the game, and Xia Jing couldn't recall them for a moment.

……

Rain clouds drifted over the capital and headed east. In the mountains and forests, on the straight road, a team of armored knights escorted a carriage and moved forward in the heavy rain.

Straight roads are the best roads in the Ning Dynasty, but any road in the mountains and forests is difficult to be smooth. The carriage was very bumpy, and the young hostage and elder sister of Yan State were staggering from side to side in the carriage, unable to rest.

Emperor Kangning did not set a deadline, but the leading generals were afraid of being blamed and wanted to please the emperor, so they rode at full speed all the way and did not even stop on rainy nights.

Such a journey is naturally not comfortable, and the brother and sister in the car lowered their expectations for the future.

When the brother and sister set out, one was four years old and the other was eight years old. Tonight, they each grew one year older.

……

Before daybreak, the Palace Supervisor and the eunuchs in the various palaces were busy.

The heavy rain left puddles and the strong wind blew leaves, and they had to clear the roads before the masters of the palace woke up.

When the sun rose completely, the harem had returned to its original tidiness. Only the slightly bare treetops and the glittering sunlight shining on the stone slabs revealed traces of wind and rain.

Concubine Xian, Concubine Yun and Concubine Yi left the Cining Palace early. Ning Xuenian and Ning Sisi also got up earlier than Xia Jing. When Xia Jing woke up, only Ren Dong was left by his side. Xiao Yue had also gone back.

He was neither anxious nor hurried. He took a nap first, then got up and washed and ate comfortably under the service of the palace maids in the Cining Palace.

"Look at him." Empress Dowager You was peeping into the room and turned to Yuhe.

Yu He covered her mouth and laughed, "This isn't the first time Your Majesty has heard of the Ninth Prince. He has always treated the Cining Palace as his own home, and is even more comfortable than the eldest princess."

Empress Dowager You said happily, "Isn't she more free than the eldest princess? When the eldest princess woke up, the first thing she did was to pay her respects to me. Do you think he has any intention of coming over? Does he want me to pay my respects to him?"

Chapter 134 The Ninth Prince Beats Someone

Yuhe spoke for the Ninth Prince: "The Ninth Prince just asked the Queen Mother if she had eaten. After hearing that she had, he felt at ease to eat. It is obvious that he cares about the Queen Mother very much, but not that... that..."

Yuhe was pondering over her words and was stuck for a moment.

"Don't be so hypocritical." said Empress Dowager You.

Yuhe didn't dare to respond.

Empress Dowager You still felt bad, thinking that she had been too indulgent to the Ninth Prince on her birthday yesterday, which had damaged her dignity as an ancestor.

She said to Yuhe, "Hurry up and send him to class."

The Ninth Prince once again realized the fickleness of women. After leaving the Cining Palace, he walked to the upper study.

Lunch time had not yet ended, and there were only a few princes and their study companions in the upper study. Normally, there should be noise and bustle at this time, but today it was unusually quiet.

Xia Jing walked in and found Ning Wenhuan worried, his study companions were mixed with joy and sorrow, and the rest of the princes were happy.

Ning Gaoxiang and Ning Chengrui were the happiest, and they couldn't suppress their smiles.

Xia Jing's study partner Xue Zhaoju is a worried person.

"What's going on?" Xia Jing asked him.

"Ninth Prince," Xue Zhaoju turned to look at Xia Jing, his eyes dazed, "Master Zhang is gone."

"What!" Xia Jing was shocked. "Why did Master Zhang leave?"

"I don't know either. He was fine a few days ago." Xue Zhaoju lowered his head and shed tears.

Xia Jing was stunned for a moment. Zhang Zanyu was already quite old, so it wouldn't be surprising if he passed away at any time. He had only known Zhang Zanyu for a little over a month, so there was no real affection between them, but...

"Just leave, isn't that better?" Ning Gaoxiang interrupted.

He doesn't like Zhang Zanyu because the old man is too strict.

"That's right," Ning Chengrui agreed. "I don't think he's very capable. He just slaps my hands and complains to my mother."

Xue Zhaoju bit his lip, lowered his head, and hid his angry eyes.

Tears blurred his vision, and he saw the Ninth Prince's feet move.

Xia Jing punched Ning Gaoxiang in the face and kicked Ning Chengrui to the ground. The room suddenly became silent and everyone looked at him in astonishment.

Xia Jing stared at the two men on the ground. "In terms of knowledge, moral character, and sincerity towards you, where has Master Zhang fallen short? It's fine if you're not grateful, but Master Zhang has unfortunately passed away, and you're so shameless!"

Ning Gaoxiang covered his face and Ning Chengrui hugged his waist, both of them looked at Xia Jing in amazement.

Ning Wenhuan opened his mouth wide, Ning Yuanzhong widened his eyes, Xue Zhaoju reached out to pull Xia Jing, but Xia Jing slapped his hand away.

"'I dare not neglect funeral matters'. Even if Master Zhang is not your teacher, but just a stranger..."

"Cough." A cough interrupted Xia Jing's words.

Xia Jing turned his head and his body froze.

Zhang Zanyu walked in from the doorway and said, "I am deeply grateful to the Ninth Prince for speaking for me. However, I am not dead yet."

"Ah?" Xia Jing looked at the living Zhang Zanyu and blinked hard, "But Xiao Juzi said you were gone!"

Xia Jing looked at Xue Zhaoju in disbelief. "I treat you as my brother-in-law, and you're trying to harm me like this? Master Zhang is fine, why were you crying just now?"

Xue Zhaoju's mind was still confused and he didn't know how to explain.

Zhang Zanyu explained, "I am old now, and no longer have the energy to teach the other princes. I have already resigned from the emperor. 'Leaving' probably means this."

He walked up to Ning Chengrui and Ning Gaoxiang and helped them up: "You two princes have suffered, please sit back down, it's time for class."

Ning Gaoxiang stood up, clutching his aching cheek, tears streaming down his face. "Ning Xiajing! This isn't over yet. You actually dared to hit me? I'm going to tell my mother!"

Xia Jing looked away guiltily. He had already beaten Ning Gaoxiang, and since he was in the wrong, there was no way he was going to apologize. Besides, he had been wanting to beat Ning Gaoxiang for a long time.

"Chengrui, come with me. Everyone present is a witness!" Ning Gaoxiang pulled Ning Chengrui back to the palace with him to file a complaint.

Ning Chengrui rubbed his waist, not daring to agree. When he was still in Changqing Palace, if someone he beat up dared to complain, he would beat them even harder. He didn't want Xia Jing to break his nose again.

"Ning Chengrui!" Ning Gaoxiang was furious. This ally actually ignored him!

"Don't worry, Seventh Prince." Zhang Zanyu put his arm around Ning Gaoxiang's shoulder. "How about I go with you to the Yangxin Palace to file a complaint?"

Ning Gaoxiang was stunned. It wouldn’t be such a big deal that the trouble would spread to the Yangxin Palace, right?

"When I appear before the Emperor, I will explain the matter clearly without missing a single word, and will not show any partiality." Zhang Zanyu emphasized the four words "without missing a single word".

Ning Gaoxiang's body froze. If Emperor Kang Ning had heard what he had said...

"It's just a little thing," he stammered, "let's just forget it."

"No, it's better to go to the Yangxin Palace."

"I'm fine, I'm not going, forget it!"

"Really? Instead of telling Concubine Rou, why not tell the Emperor directly?"

"Don't tell, don't tell anyone!"

"Okay, sit down, we're starting class."

Zhang Zanyu turned around with satisfaction and started his last class.

Xia Jing had gotten into trouble and didn't dare to be distracted. He didn't even look at the reward for his birthday task and quietly finished the afternoon class.

"Five princes, we will meet again if we are lucky." Zhang Zanyu laughed and walked out of the study.

Ning Gaoxiang glared at Xia Jing timidly, then quickly ran out of the study. Ning Chengrui followed closely behind him, lowering his head.

Xia Jing ignored them and grabbed Xue Zhaoju's neck, wanting to punish him for deceiving the emperor.

Ning Yuanzhong walked past Xia Jing's desk and gave the boy a thumbs-up. This gesture had become popular in the palace because it was convenient and easy to understand.

[Intimacy: 49 → 50]

His intimacy level increased a little, but it was unknown whether the increase was due to his displeasure with Ning Chengrui and Ning Gaoxiang, or because of Zhang Zanyu.

Ning Wenhuan walked out the door, poked his head back in, and glanced at Xia Jing with a frown. His intimacy level remained unchanged.