The little one lying on the ground instantly quieted the chaotic scene.
Wan Ming, who had been struggling to maintain order, turned his head and saw the prince on the ground. He was so terrified that his soul nearly left his body.
“You can argue all you want, but who told you to get physical?”
The shoving earlier hadn’t actually targeted the prince, but the little one had fallen to the ground anyway.
His fall frightened everyone.
“Assaulting a prince is a serious crime! You must be incredibly bold!”
Wan Ming had no idea the little one was faking it. He stiffened his neck and sternly addressed the troublemakers, “I remember all of you!”
“We didn’t push the seventh prince!”
“Yes, yes! We didn’t intend to harm the prince!”
“We’re here to reason, not to fight.”
Wan Ming wasn’t having any of it. He pointed to the prince lying on the ground and angrily said, “If none of you touched him, then how did he end up on the ground? Are you saying I pushed him?!”
Ignoring their protests, Wan Ming grabbed some paper and started writing down their names.
“Lord Wan, it wasn’t me! I didn’t touch him!”
“Lord Wan, I didn’t either!”
Seeing that Wan Ming was really taking down their names, everyone began to panic.
Although they had been very vocal in their criticisms, none of them were bold enough to face charges of harming a prince.
One by one, pleas reached Wan Ming’s ears, but he remained unmoved.
Coldly and without emotion, he finished writing down their names. Then, he picked up the little one, gave a heavy snort of disapproval, and turned to leave.
“Lord Wan!”
He carried the prince out front, while a crowd of people followed behind him.
Fortunately, there was a sedan chair at the door.
Wan Ming placed the little one in the sedan chair and headed back home.
On the way, he made a big fuss, demanding the best doctor in the city, even though the prince’s residence already had physicians. It was as if he didn’t know.
The little one, now in Wan Ming’s arms, kept his eyes closed, dutifully pretending to be unconscious.
He kept up the act until they arrived at the residence, where he finally opened his eyes slightly, sneaking a peek.
He was looking for Ah Wu.
Just as he was searching, Ah Wu appeared before him, bypassing Wan Ming.
“Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”
Ah Wu sat by the bed, frowning slightly.
The little one shook his head and obediently replied, “No, it didn’t hurt.”
When he fell, he had controlled his strength, so it hadn’t hurt at all.
Ah Wu gently rubbed his head and carefully checked the back of it.
“Your Highness, are you… are you alright?” Wan Ming, watching their interaction from the side, asked in a daze.
“I’m fine.”
The little one didn’t bother pretending in front of Wan Ming anymore. After spending so much time together, he trusted Wan Ming.
Wan Ming had even sent his wife’s younger siblings to study at the little one’s academy.
Madam Wan’s younger sister was a very studious girl. When she learned she could enroll, she had cried with joy.
Since both his wife’s brother and sister were attending the academy and had the chance to change their futures, Wan Ming wasn’t foolish enough to oppose the academy.
“Wan Ming, just tell everyone I’ve injured my head and need to rest. I won’t be seeing anyone for a while.”
The little one blinked as he gave Wan Ming his orders.
Wan Ming followed his instructions to the letter.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll take care of it right away.”
With Wan Ming’s cooperation, it didn’t take long for the news of the little one being knocked unconscious at the academy’s entrance to spread far and wide.
The story wasn’t just making waves in Yanzhou Prefecture; it quickly spread to other regions as well.
When the emperor heard about it, he was furious.
The court officials, who had previously been submitting petitions criticizing the prince, found themselves at a loss when they learned of the incident.
They thought about the little one being beaten unconscious, then looked at the enraged emperor.
In the end, they clutched their petitions tightly and left the court without submitting them.
“Assaulting a prince and showing contempt for the royal authority is punishable by exile,” the emperor coldly declared, sentencing those involved in the incident.
But just as the emperor’s punishment was about to be carried out, the “bedridden” little one, looking weak, wrote a letter to the emperor.
In the letter, he asked his brother to revoke the punishment, saying he didn’t want to hold the offenders accountable.
After several pleas from the little one, the scholars involved were spared from exile.
Once everything had been settled, this group of scholars voluntarily came to see the prince.
They earnestly apologized to him.
The little one waved it off generously. “It’s in the past now. You don’t need to blame yourselves.”
“Your Highness, we failed to understand your noble intentions earlier. During this time, we read the academy’s charter and realized the purpose behind your efforts.”
“To cultivate talent for our dynasty, you’ve endured criticism for the greater good. Such righteousness is beyond our reach.”
The little one enjoyed hearing this flattery.
By the end, he even heard one of them volunteer, “Your Highness, we would like to join the academy and offer our humble assistance. Would you accept our help?”
“Of course, I need help!”
The little one was quick to agree.
Though he had already hired a group of teachers, there were still far too few.
Beyond Ping County, he planned to open academies in other regions.
He wanted to give all the children of Qi Dynasty a chance to receive an education.
Whether they could seize this opportunity and change their lives—that, the little one couldn’t predict.
He didn’t know how many lives he could change, but he did remember one thing his teacher had said…
If everyone has access to education, this country will undoubtedly become powerful in the future.
“I’m really happy you all could come to the academy!”
The little one had already asked Ah Wu to assess these scholars in advance, and they were all candidates who had passed the imperial exams.
They could teach something useful.
Once this group of troublemakers was dealt with, the rest of the people behaved much better.
After all, if the little one were to be knocked down again, they might not be as lucky and spared from punishment.
Finally, peaceful days began to emerge in Yanzhou Prefecture.
As the head of the academy, the little one was busy not only with matters inside the academy but also with a myriad of tasks outside of it.
He was exhausted, but no matter how tired he was, he never considered giving up.
Day by day, time passed in the little one’s busy life.
Before he knew it, his academy had successfully opened a branch, and the number of his students kept growing. Among them, the number of female students steadily increased.
As more students joined the academy, the roads in Yanzhou Prefecture became smoother, the shops on both sides of the street more prosperous, and the people walking along the roads appeared more energetic and full of life.
Everything was progressing in a positive direction.
The little one was extremely satisfied with all of this.
“Ah Wu, aren’t I amazing?”
“Yes, you’re very amazing.”
Although Ah Wu had helped the little one with many tasks, everything Ah Wu did was something the little one was determined to accomplish.
Ah Wu truly believed that his tenacious little one was indeed remarkable.
Hearing Ah Wu’s praise, the little one’s face flushed with joy.
Life in Yanzhou Prefecture was perhaps too good, so good that time seemed to slip away unnoticed.
By the time the little one suddenly realized how fast time had passed, five years had already gone by since he first arrived in Yanzhou Prefecture.
From a soft and tender child to a vibrant youth, time had neither taken away his baby fat nor blessed him with a tall stature.
Standing in front of the mirror, the young prince reached up and pinched the soft flesh on his cheek, wishing he could pull it off.
“Little Seven, what are you doing? Why are you suddenly torturing yourself?”
Ling Fu had just walked in and saw his younger brother pinching his own face. He quickly approached, puzzled.
“I’m not torturing myself.”
The young prince put his hand down and honestly told his brother, “I just want to know when my face will finally slim down.”
“Your face isn’t fat.”
Ling Fu studied his face, and after a moment, couldn’t help but pinch it himself. “You’re not fat at all.”
“But I have chubby cheeks.”
“Of course you do. So do I.”
“Ah Wu doesn’t have this much flesh.”
“…”
Ling Fu was momentarily speechless, then after a pause, said, “Don’t compare yourself to Ah Wu!”
Although Ah Wu wasn’t much older than them, he was exceptionally handsome. His well-defined features and striking facial structure made it seem as though he had been sculpted by a master artisan.
Ling Fu was somewhat vain, but even he wouldn’t dare compare himself to Ah Wu.
Comparing himself to Ah Wu would be inviting humiliation.
In Ling Fu’s eyes, the only person in the world who could outshine Ah Wu in looks was his younger brother standing before him!
“You and Ah Wu have different styles.”
Ling Fu spoke earnestly, “You two should not compare yourselves. He can’t beat you!”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui didn’t believe him.
The two brothers spent a while chatting nonsense in front of the mirror before finally getting to the main point.
“In just one more month, we’ll be heading back. Take this time to think about anything you want to do or things you’d like to buy.”
Ling Fu urged him, “Once everything is taken care of, we can head back.”
Recently, Emperor Ling’s health had taken another turn for the worse. Ling Rui wasn’t sure about the details, so he wanted to go back and check on him.
After spending so much time in Yanzhou Prefecture, Ling Rui felt it was about time for him to return.
“I don’t have anything else I want to buy.”
Ling Rui thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll just visit the academy one more time.”
“Alright, I’ll go with you.”
The two left together, but as they stepped out, there was no sign of Ah Wu.
Ah Wu had left earlier in the morning, and whenever he left, he was usually gone for a while.
After visiting the academy and spending half a day there, the brothers decided to head to another location.
They made their way to the yamen.
Not long after they arrived, Ling Rui had just sat down in a chair, barely warming his seat, when someone came rushing in, looking like they were being chased by a dog.
“Your Highness, Your Highness, something terrible has happened!”
A small official, pale-faced and out of breath, ran over.
He kept repeating that something terrible had happened, which made Ling Rui stand up immediately. “What happened? What’s going on?!”
Under Ling Rui’s urgent questioning, the small official, still trembling with fear, stammered, “Outside the city… outside the city, someone has died!”
Ling Rui: “???”
Ling Rui: “What do you mean someone died?”
The official, clearly frightened, could barely get his words out. “It was a terrifying death. The whole body is rotting. At first, it could still move, but then it just stopped.”
His explanation was so disjointed that Ling Rui eventually decided to go see for himself.
“Lead the way, I’ll take a look.”
The official led the way, with Ling Rui pulling his sixth brother along to follow.
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