Ling Fu didn’t bring any gifts for his little brother; he just brought himself along as the gift.
“Sixth Brother, aren’t you staying behind to play with little sister?”
Sixth Brother had a little round-faced sister he was always thinking about. If he followed the little one, he wouldn’t be able to go play with her anymore.
“I went to check.”
Ling Fu said dejectedly, “The little round-faced sister isn’t home. She was adopted by a distant relative.”
The little one: “…”
The little one looked at Sixth Brother and patted his shoulder in comfort. “Sixth Brother, don’t be too sad. If you want to find her, you can ask Big Brother to help.”
“Big Brother is very busy, and besides, he can’t handle things like this.”
Having lost his little round-faced sister, Ling Fu was in a terrible mood. He didn’t want to stay in the palace to study; he wanted to go out with his little brother.
“Sixth Brother, does Consort Ru really allow you to leave?”
“She does.”
Ling Fu had talked things over with Consort Ru. When she heard he wanted to go far away, at first she didn’t agree.
But after Ling Fu made a fuss and promised he’d lose weight during the trip, Consort Ru finally relented.
Having Sixth Brother with him made the little one quite happy.
Apart from Sixth Brother, Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou were essential companions.
These children formed their group, while the adults accompanying them were all arranged by their elders.
Before setting off, the little one also visited the Duke’s manor.
The young master of the manor had already started running around. He was chubby and cute, but in reality, he was a little troublemaker.
No one knew who he inherited it from, but he was born with a natural fondness for good looks.
Every time the little one visited, the little bean would cling to him.
The little bean would hug his leg, calling him “big brother” in his baby voice, even trying to trade his own brother for the little one.
Jiang Yan, watching from the side, let out a heavy huff.
That ungrateful kid! When Little Seven wasn’t around, he called him “big brother” sweetly, but the moment Little Seven showed up, he’d forget all about him.
“Little Seven, you don’t need to ask me again.”
The Duke’s wife knew why the little one had come. She smiled and said, “I approve of Jiang Yan going with you.”
“The place I’m going to, Big Brother said, is very dangerous.”
“You’re not afraid, and he won’t be either.”
The Duke’s wife patted the little one’s head reassuringly, saying, “Little Seven, don’t worry too much. Do what you want to do—there are many people behind you who will support you.”
The Duke’s wife encouraged the little one to follow his heart and pursue what he wanted to do.
When she was younger, the Duke’s wife had also wanted to carve out a career for herself.
But in this world, there were too few options for women.
In the end, she had been defeated by societal norms.
After spending a long time playing with the little troublemaker at the Duke’s manor, the little one was about to leave. The little bean cried so hard he nearly passed out.
And when he realized not only was his big brother leaving but his real brother too, he almost cried himself to death.
The Duke’s wife didn’t normally spoil the child, but this youngest son was the apple of the old matron’s eye.
The old matron personally took the little bean to comfort him.
The whole household revolved around the little troublemaker, while on the other side, the little one was also ready to set off.
This time, he was leaving as a student heading out on an academic journey. He was also the young prince, Ling Rui, implementing his brother’s pilot reforms.
“Father, Mother, Big Brother, Second Sister, Third Brother, Shui Shui…”
The little one waved his little hand, calling out to everyone he saw.
Looking at those who came to see him off, his eyes began to redden.
“All of you should head back. I’ll come back when I have time!”
He called out loudly, “I’ll write letters to you all!”
Farewells were always bittersweet, and although the little one promised to write, the sadness lingered.
“Little Seven, where are we now?”
Ling Fu was confused about the route. “How much longer until we get there?”
They had been traveling for two days already, and Ling Fu’s backside was numb from sitting in the carriage.
“Several more days to go.”
The little one was reading a book and answered seriously while flipping through the pages. “After the day after tomorrow, we’ll take a boat for two days, then switch to a carriage and make three transfers before reaching our destination.”
Ling Fu: “…”
Ling Fu knew it was far, but he hadn’t expected it to be this far.
He couldn’t understand why the little one had chosen this place.
“Little Seven, why did you want to come here?”
“This place is important.”
The little one knew that Sixth Brother was only asking casually, but he still answered seriously, “Sixth Brother, if the Qi Kingdom wants to attack us, and they capture this place, we’ll be in great danger.”
“Qi Kingdom? They can’t get here. There’s still some distance, and there are obstacles in between.”
“The obstacles won’t last long.”
The little one had learned geography in his lessons, and he explained to Sixth Brother earnestly, “Before those obstacles completely fail, this place needs to become stronger.”
In the teacher’s lessons, topics ranged from enriching the people to strengthening the nation.
These weren’t lessons taught all at once.
The teachers had been teaching for many years, and the little one had been attending for just as long.
He had started attending classes when he was very young, with a mind like a blank sheet of paper, and what eventually filled that paper depended on what was written on it.
Now, at the age of ten, the little one was very satisfied with what he had learned.
He would reach adulthood in five years, and during those five years, the most stable option would be to keep studying with the teachers…
But he couldn’t wait.
Five years was too long. He didn’t want to let his Big Boss endure for that much longer.
“Little Seven, I’ve heard this place is really poor. Won’t it be hard to make it prosperous and strong?”
“It will be.”
The little one answered without hesitation, and after answering, he raised his chin confidently, “But I’m not afraid of hard things.”
“I can gather people!”
He wasn’t the only one attending the teacher’s classes.
The little one was filled with passionate enthusiasm about his path ahead.
As for the people he needed to gather, the first one hadn’t yet responded to his summons.
But the very first person on his list didn’t need any summons—he was already on his way.
That person could only be Ah Wu.
Ah Wu’s influence in the Great Qing Kingdom was now very stable. In other words, he was already capable of ascending the throne at any time.
But he hadn’t ascended yet.
The lecherous old emperor could still be useful for a while longer, and Ah Wu wanted to squeeze out every last drop of value from him.
While the old emperor was still of use, Ah Wu could come and accompany the little one.
If the little one needed to get things done, Ah Wu could cook for him.
A few more days passed.
Ling Fu had been jolted so much on the road that he was exhausted. Weakly, he asked his little brother, “Little Seven, haven’t we reached Yanzhou yet? If we don’t get there soon, I’m going to die on the road.”
“Sixth Brother, hang in there!”
The little one kindly patted his brother’s back, reminding him to vomit outside if he had to.
“When I get there, I’ll build roads and bridges. After we fix those, next time we won’t be bouncing around so much.”
“But there’s already a road now. What’s there to fix?”
“This road isn’t good.”
The little one explained, “The teacher said, if you want to get rich, you have to build roads first.”
Uncle Lian Qing had also said something like that when he was still around.
In Uncle Lian Qing’s hometown, the first thing the country did when developing remote areas was build roads.
Building roads was on the little one’s list of essential tasks.
Roads, trade, building schools…
The little one wasn’t an expert in everything, but he could gather the experts.
His little brain couldn’t possibly have all the answers. When it didn’t, he would just gather the right people.
“Little Seven, I think you know a lot. The things you’re saying—I definitely wouldn’t have thought of them.”
Ling Fu spoke to him, and perhaps because the conversation had shifted his focus, he was starting to feel a little better.
The little one, hearing his brother’s praise, shook his head and honestly confessed, “These ideas aren’t mine. They’re other people’s.”
Everything he had shared with his brother was the work of others.
The teachers had taught him these things, and he was just a messenger.
His task was to be a good little messenger. No matter how, he had to bring these ideas to Yanzhou and implement them smoothly.
As the brothers talked, time passed more quickly.
A day later, they were nearing their destination, and Ling Fu let out a relieved sigh.
As they stopped to rest, Ling Fu gave his little brother advance notice.
“Little Seven, once we arrive, I’m going to sleep for three days and nights.”
Ling Fu was truly exhausted. He was so tired that when the servants helped him out of the carriage, he didn’t even bother to open his eyes.
“During those three days and nights, except for meals, don’t wake me for anything.”
“Okay.”
The little one was also very tired. After getting out of the carriage with Sixth Brother, he sat down outside to rest and waited for their meal.
Their journey had been low-key. From the outside, they didn’t look like rich travelers who would be worth robbing.
The road wasn’t safe, and despite their efforts to disguise themselves, they’d already encountered several attempts at robbery.
Each minor robbery had been easily dealt with.
Now, sitting under a large tree, the two tired young princes rested, while Jiang Yan and the others prepared food.
Everyone was busy with their tasks when yet another group of robbers showed up.
The little one and Sixth Brother didn’t even bother to raise their eyelids. Yawning, they glanced at the bandits and lazily spoke.
“Little Seven, how long do you think it’ll take for the guards to deal with this?”
“Less than a cup of tea’s time.”
“That’s what I thought, too.”
The princes’ estimate was correct. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, all the robbers had been captured.
This group of bandits seemed much more arrogant than the previous ones.
Even after being subdued, they continued to curse, “You’d better let us go, or you’ll regret crossing us!”
“Did you hear me? Let us go!”
The robbers continued to hurl insults, but the little one remained completely unfazed by their threats.
When it came to the bad people they encountered on the road, if someone was vicious enough to want to take a life, the little one allowed the guards to kill them on the spot.
But in most cases, the little one preferred to hand the criminals over to the local authorities, letting the officials mete out the punishment.
This time, following the usual rule, the little one planned to deliver them to the officials.
“Send us to the officials? Do you know who I am? I am an official!”
The man restrained by the guards sneered when he heard the mention of officials. “Yanzhou is my uncle’s territory. If you send me there, believe it or not, it’ll be you who ends up in prison!”
The little one didn’t believe him.
On this trip, even the head of Yanzhou would have to listen to him.
“Stop talking nonsense. If you had such a powerful status, why would you be reduced to banditry?”
Jiang Yan tore a leg off the roasted rabbit and handed it to his little prince.
He gave the rabbit leg to the little prince, then handed the bony rabbit head to the sixth prince. “The rest isn’t finished yet. Just make do for now.”
Jiang Yan divided the rabbit in low tones.
The man he had just rebuked frowned, still sneering. “Who says bandits do it for money? I’m just looking for some excitement!”
As soon as he said that, the little one narrowed his eyes.
“Excitement? What kind of excitement have you been looking for?”
“I’ve found all kinds of thrills. Let me go, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
The man, still shouting, kept his eyes glued to the little one’s face, which made the little one feel uneasy.
The guard who had been with the little one the longest interrupted their conversation.
“Young master, leave this to me.”
“Mm!”
When the guards were out on the road, they started addressing him as “young master.”
Some guards stayed by the young master’s side, while the lead guard took the bandit leader, who had been staring at the young master, farther away.
Soon after, the bandit leader lost his manhood.
“How dare you look at our young master with such disgusting eyes. Do you know that you should have your entire family executed for this?”
The lead guard had only removed the man’s manhood. As he crushed it underfoot, his eyes were filled with unconcealed killing intent.
“You’re lucky I’m letting you live right now.”
Since the young master hadn’t ordered the man’s execution, the lead guard mercifully spared his life.
He promptly delivered the criminal to the authorities and then returned to the young master’s side to continue guarding him.
“Sixth Brother, there are too many bandits around here. Once we arrive, we need to eliminate them.”
“Sure! To wipe out the bandits, should we call in your little uncle? Your little uncle is getting stronger by the day. I’ve seen a lot of his victory reports lately.”
Murong Xu’s rapid rise along the frontier was truly terrifying.
Every battle he handled ended in victory.
The little one had known for a long time that his little uncle was amazing.
He’d seen the victory reports in his eldest brother’s room!
A thick stack of them, which filled the little one with admiration.
“My little uncle might be busy. We can also call Fourth Brother. Anyway, we’ll decide when we get there.”
“Mm!”
After traveling for what felt like forever and surviving one final robbery attempt, the group finally arrived in Yanzhou.
Upon arrival, they didn’t head for any government offices.
Near the local offices, court officials had already bought them a house.
The house was clean and well-kept, and the servants immediately set to work, performing their duties.
“Sixth Brother, I’m going to sleep for a while. See you later!”
“See you later, Little Seven.”
“Jiang Jiang, Zhou Zhou, you two get some good rest too.”
“We will. You get some sleep too, Little Seven.”
The children exchanged farewells and went off to rest.
They slept for two or three days before finally feeling refreshed.
Once the little one had fully recovered, he dragged his sixth brother to the school to register.
Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou carried their bags for them. As the children walked down the street, they looked around with a mix of curiosity and awe.
“Little Seven, there’s so much dust here.”
“When the roads are fixed, there won’t be.”
“The people here don’t dress as well as those in the capital.”
“When they start earning money, they’ll be able to wear better clothes.”
Ling Fu saw a desolate scene, but the little one saw it as something that could be changed.
As they walked and talked, they passed through the streets and approached the school.
Before they even entered, the little one noticed a notice posted on the wall.
The notice offered a reward for capturing a wanted criminal.
The little one leaned in for a closer look and realized that the wanted person looked a lot like his guard.
“Little Seven, stop looking. There’s someone at the school gate.”
“Coming!”
Hearing someone approach, the little one quickly pulled his gaze away, planning to take another look later.
This school, from its appearance, was nowhere near as impressive as the schools in the capital.
But the little one wasn’t concerned about appearances. What mattered more to him was the quality of the teaching.
“You’re here to enroll?”
“That’s us!”
The little one led the group in greeting the teacher.
There were procedures for enrollment, and once they completed them, the children settled into the school.
Their unfamiliar faces immediately drew attention.
Despite all the stares, the little one remained calm.
Ling Fu, however, frowned and lowered his voice to speak to the little one, “Why do these people’s stares feel so unsettling?”
In front of his little brother Little Seven, Ling Fu was always a warm and harmless older brother.
But in front of others, he was far less approachable.
“Sixth Brother, don’t mind them. As long as they don’t try to pick a fight with us, it’s fine.”
On his first day at school, the little one wanted things to go peacefully.
At the little one’s urging, Ling Fu frowned but ignored the stares.
After a full day of school, the group of kids took a carriage back home.
As soon as they left, some children were already eyeing the direction in which they disappeared, whispering among themselves.
“Do we know who they are yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Isn’t your brother-in-law the teacher? Doesn’t he know either?”
“I asked, and he said he didn’t know.”
“Tsk, what a waste.”
Little did they know, their whispered conversation wasn’t heard by the little one. But even if he had heard, he probably wouldn’t have cared.
At the moment, his mind was on something else.
He had noticed that the person on the wanted poster was his own bodyguard.
