Despite his quick reaction and speed, his short legs were no match for Emperor Ling’s long legs.
He had only run a few steps before Emperor Ling caught him by the scruff of the neck, lifted him up, and held him in his arms.
“Little Seven.”
Emperor Ling looked at the squirming little one in his arms and asked, “Didn’t you love studying the most when you were in the palace?”
Even at such a young age, he would voluntarily attend classes.
The grand tutor had praised him several times, saying that the little prince loved learning and would surely excel in his studies in the future.
But now, it hadn’t been long, and the little guy was already running away at the sight of a school.
“Daddy, let me go.”
Ling Rui used to love studying, but back in the palace, his brothers and sisters were all attending classes. If he didn’t go, he couldn’t be with them.
Now that they were in Luocheng, not all of his brothers and sisters were there.
Apart from attending classes, he had many fun things to do, and he also had a group of little friends.
So, times were different now, and the little one had no desire to sit in a classroom all day.
He still had to expand his group of little friends.
“Be good. The grand tutor has praised you for being smart and loving to learn. Daddy believes that such a smart Little Seven will do well in this school too.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui’s little face showed his distress, “Little Seven doesn’t want to study.”
He wanted to go out and play.
Emperor Ling had carefully selected this school for him, and the teachers here were all disciples of the renowned Master Zhuang.
Master Zhuang’s scholarly reputation was well-known throughout the country.
Emperor Ling had found the perfect school, so there was no way he would let him escape.
“Little Seven is the most obedient, right?” Emperor Ling held the little one firmly in his arms.
He continued talking to the little one in his arms while walking forward, intending to hand him over to the teacher.
Ling Fu looked at his little brother, Little Seven, still struggling in their father’s arms, then at their father, who walked steadily.
He sighed a little.
Sigh.
Little Seven’s struggling was in vain; their father would never let them escape after bringing them here.
“Daddy is tricking me.”
Once he was handed over to the teacher, the teary-eyed little one looked at his father as he handed him over.
Emperor Ling cleared his throat and clarified, “I’m not tricking you. Isn’t this a good place?”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui’s eyes were filled with tears, “I’m going to tell Mommy.”
Hearing this, Emperor Ling’s expression remained calm, “Your mother knows about this. She agreed to send you here.”
Emperor Ling’s words made the little one even sadder.
Daddy and Mommy had planned to send him to school without even telling him in advance!
He wore such beautiful clothes today because he wanted to go out and play with Daddy.
Daddy was wasting his feelings!
“Alright, you and Little Six study well. I’ll leave now so as not to delay your class time.”
Seeing that he was really leaving, Ling Rui, with tears in his eyes, stretched out his little hands and softened his voice, “Daddy, hug.”
Normally, Emperor Ling would probably have hugged him, but at this moment, he remained firm.
He squeezed the little one’s chubby hand and said, “I’ll hug you after your class.”
With that, Emperor Ling didn’t waste any more time and turned to leave.
Ling Rui watched his father’s departing figure, his pretty face streaked with tears. He turned his face to the teacher holding him, “I’m too young to attend school.”
He hoped the teacher would let him go.
But the teacher had no authority to let him leave. The bearded teacher looked down at the little one.
“Your Highness, the emperor’s orders cannot be disobeyed. You must study diligently here.”
Before formally starting their studies, the teacher spoke individually to both Ling Rui and Ling Fu.
He informed the two princes that his school had a moderate number of students.
Given their age, Ling Rui and Ling Fu would be in the Ding class.
There were other students in the Ding class, and in this school, the principle was—
Only scholarly merit counted, not status.
Thus, the two princes would have no special privileges here; they were expected to study diligently and treat others fairly.
Even the emperor had approved that, within the school, others need not bow or use honorifics when addressing the princes.
After explaining the rules, the teacher asked the two princes if they understood.
Ling Rui nodded his little head.
He understood the teacher’s words but still didn’t want to study.
Seeing his nod, the teacher looked at the sixth prince.
Ling Fu also nodded in response.
Satisfied, the teacher said, “In that case, let’s go to the Ding class.”
“Teacher.”
As they were being led to the Ding class, Ling Rui asked from behind, “Are my second sister, third brother, and fifth sister here?”
“The second princess and the fifth princess are here; the third prince has not yet arrived.”
Emperor Ling was well aware of the third prince Ling Yi’s health.
Thus, he never forced him to do anything.
The two princesses were in different classes from Ling Rui and Ling Fu. Even though they were in different classes, the teacher led them past the classes of the two princesses.
“Second Sister.”
As Ling Rui passed by, he greeted his two sisters, “Little Seven is here too.”
Second Princess Ling Xuan, seeing his expression, knew he wasn’t here voluntarily.
“School can be fun too.”
Ling Xuan told him, “You can still play with other kids at school.”
Ling Rui listened to her eagerly.
Seeing his little face, Ling Xuan couldn’t help but add, “If any other kids bully you, you can come find me.”
“Okay.”
Ling Rui obediently agreed.
After greeting the two princesses, Ling Rui and Ling Fu returned to their Ding class.
The Ding class consisted of children just starting their education, mostly around four or five years old.
Ling Rui was the youngest, having just turned two.
Normally, children just over two years old wouldn’t be as advanced as Ling Rui in speaking or doing things.
But he wasn’t an ordinary child. Before coming here, he had already spent three years as a little Zaizai.
Having been a little zaizai for so long, naturally, he knew more than most children his age.
“I’m Little Six, and this is my little brother Little Seven.”
Ling Fu remembered the teacher’s words about not using their status to pressure others.
So, he simply didn’t mention their status.
“Hello, you two are really good-looking.”
There were already five or six children in the Ding class. Ling Rui and Ling Fu didn’t know their identities.
The young masters of the Li family didn’t study here; they had private tutors at home.
Their companions, following behind them, remained quietly in the background.
Once the children were seated, the teacher of the Ding class came in to teach them how to recognize and write characters.
Each child had their own desk with their name written on it for the teacher to call on them.
Ling Rui’s desk name was Little Seven.
These characters were written by Chen Zhou.
Jiang Yan had wanted to write it, but Chen Zhou said his writing was ugly, like a turtle crawling, and using such handwriting would be embarrassing.
Ling Rui hesitated. He didn’t want his name to be written badly, but he also didn’t want to hurt Jiang Yan’s pride.
In the end, he had both Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou write it. He kept Jiang Yan’s and placed Chen Zhou’s on the desk.
Jiang Yan watched this, speechless.
After setting up his name, it wasn’t long before the teacher called on him, “Little Seven, you’re still young, so you don’t need to learn how to grind ink just yet.”
Each desk had ink sticks distributed, and the other children had already learned about ink.
There were many types of ink, and many scholars liked to collect them.
Practicing ink and grinding ink.
These are skills that children who need to study must learn.
Because Ling Rui was so young, the teacher thought he couldn’t handle the strength needed to grind ink, so he didn’t have to learn for now.
But seeing his sixth brother and Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou all handling ink, Ling Rui reached out and grabbed the ink on his desk.
Attending school wasn’t as fun as playing outside.
Ling Rui spent the whole day in school. By the time he returned, he was a bit wilted.
Ling Fu, sitting with him in the sedan chair, gloomily stared at the books he brought back, “We have to do homework again today.”
He really hated homework!
Ling Rui also received homework, needing to recite what the teacher taught and learn to recognize five big characters.
“Little Seven.”
Ling Fu poked his little brother’s arm and asked, “Do you still like studying?”
The little one, now more interested in playing, shook his head sadly, “No, I don’t.”
He preferred playing now.
Seeing him so downcast, Ling Fu stopped teasing him.
“Alright, let’s just go to school for a few more days.”
Ling Fu, looking chubby, was now quite bold.
He squeezed Ling Rui’s little hand and whispered, “After a few days, I’ll take you out to play.”
“Okay.”
Ling Rui nodded, his downcast face finally showing a bit of brightness.
That evening, when Emperor Ling came to see Noble Consort Yi, he was met by a pouting little one.
The little one didn’t call out for Daddy or reach out for a hug.
Emperor Ling rubbed his nose and approached Noble Consort Yi, whispering, “Still mad?”
Noble Consort Yi responded, “He was a bit calmer after being comforted, but he got angry again while doing homework.”
The little one didn’t seem to have calmed down or maybe his little brain wasn’t working well, as he kept failing to recite his homework, looking like a little pufferfish about to explode.
The little pufferfish glared at Emperor Ling with round eyes, not blinking.
Emperor Ling met his gaze briefly before looking away.
He invited Noble Consort Yi, “Yi Er, why don’t we leave him here to recite? The flowers in the eastern palace are blooming, let’s go see them together?”
Noble Consort Yi: “…”
Noble Consort Yi looked at Emperor Ling, who still had the mood to admire flowers, then at the little one struggling with his recitation.
She paused.
“Flowers are meant to be admired.”
Noble Consort Yi loved flowers. She smiled at Emperor Ling, a bright and enchanting smile that made Emperor Ling’s heart flutter.
But the next moment, the smiling Noble Consort Yi said to Emperor Ling, “Little Seven needs supervision to recite his lessons. Your Majesty, I believe Little Seven needs your supervision now.”
Emperor Ling: “…”
Emperor Ling wasn’t very willing.
But Noble Consort Yi pushed him towards the little one reciting his lessons. If he turned and left like he did in the morning, it would be unwise.
It was afraid that the relationship between him and Little Seven would face a severe test.
“Fine.”
Emperor Ling pinched the bridge of his nose and compromised, “Yi Er, you go enjoy the flowers. I’ll take care of Little Seven.”
If he didn’t work on mending their father-son relationship, he felt Little Seven would soon transform into a little pufferfish every time he saw him.
Seeing him go to accompany Little Seven, Noble Consort Yi didn’t linger. She took Ji Yan and left to admire the flowers.
The various parts of the palace were lit at night, illuminating every scene clearly.
The scenery under the lights had its own unique charm.
Leaning against the railing, Noble Consort Yi enjoyed the night view. Ji Yan, seeing the wind picking up, stepped forward to drape a cloak over her, “Niang Niang, it’s getting windy. Be careful not to catch a chill.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that delicate.”
While the mistress and servant enjoyed the night scene, Ji Yan’s eyes were more on Noble Consort Yi than the view. “Niang Niang, I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“His Majesty has many princes and princesses. Why is he so different with our little prince?”
For instance, sending the little prince to school today and personally teaching him—these were privileges even the eldest prince had never enjoyed.
Noble Consort Yi was clear on the answer to this question.
“It’s simple. To the other princes and princesses, he is the Emperor, their royal father, and the sovereign.”
“To Little Seven, he is just Daddy.”
In other words, although the previous children were his flesh and blood, he hadn’t personally raised them, so his feelings towards them were naturally ordinary.
Only Little Seven clung to him, asking for hugs, wanting to be coaxed, to sleep beside him, and to be fed by him.
To Little Seven, he was just a father, like any father in an ordinary family.
Noble Consort Yi had a clear understanding of Emperor Ling’s mindset.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Emperor Ling, trying to mend the father-son relationship, clearly felt that instead of repairing it, it was further deteriorating as he helped the little one with his homework.
“Little Seven, are you doing this on purpose?”
Emperor Ling asked, as the little one kept getting characters wrong. His tone and expression were calm, but inside he was anything but, “Are you trying to make me angry on purpose?”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui was also unhappy at being questioned.
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
The little one wasn’t deliberately getting things wrong; he just hadn’t adjusted to studying yet. He had been playing for a long time, and suddenly switching to study mode would confuse any child.
Father and son stared at each other, and even when Noble Consort Yi returned, they still didn’t want to talk to each other.
For several days, the little one was in school.
Going to school meant no time for playing.
The problem was, he hadn’t informed his little gang before starting school.
“Sixth Brother.”
The little one was very anxious. He looked at his older brother for help, “I want to go out. I still have many things to do.”
Gathering herbs, finding the miracle doctor, and checking if Daddy had destroyed the bad guys’ lair.
He was very busy.
Ling Fu, seeing his anxiety, comforted him, “Little Seven, don’t worry. I’ve already scouted the area. I’ll take you out today.”
Ling Rui: “!”
Ling Rui’s eyes lit up.
He hugged Ling Fu and excitedly said, “Sixth Brother, you’re the best!”
Ling Fu was delighted by his little brother’s praise.
With the little one’s admiration, Ling Fu walked on air.
After lunch, the two little ones were full. Led by Ling Fu, they avoided people and arrived at a corner of the wall.
The corner was overgrown with grass.
Ling Fu pushed aside the grass, revealing a hole, probably a dog hole.
“Little Seven, crawl through here. There’s another hole at the bottom of the wall on the right. I’ll go through that one. Once we’re out, we’ll find the others.”
“Okay.”
Each little one took a hole. Ling Rui specifically let Sixth Brother use the bigger hole.
After crawling through for a while, the chubby little one got stuck. Embarrassed, he asked, “Little Seven, are you out yet? Can you pull Sixth Brother out?”
The little one, having eaten a bit too much, blushed and weakly replied, “Sixth Brother, I… I’m stuck too.”
