Chapter 87
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The Crown Prince paused before addressing Xue Yao, “There is no reason to spare the punishment. You often indulge them too much. Today, you will receive five strokes of the punishment rod. Reflect on it.”
Xue Yao shamefully admitted his fault.
The Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince immediately looked at their seventh brother in shock!
The Seventh Prince turned his head incredulously towards his seemingly fragile little reader-in-waiting.
It was well known that the Seventh Prince did not allow his own milk-feeding reader-in-waiting to be beaten.
It all began five years ago.
At that time, Xue Yao, like all the other imperial princes’ readers-in-waiting, participated in martial training together.
During a wrestling practice, the eight-year-old Seventh Prince used a newly learned move to throw the thirteen-year-old little reader-in-waiting to the ground.
The little reader-in-waiting suffered a twisted right arm.
In reality, it wasn’t caused by the Seventh Prince’s blow but occurred when the reader-in-waiting accidentally twisted his arm while falling to the ground.
When carried to the Imperial Institute of Medicine, Xue Yao’s face was smeared with tears and mucus.
For the next three days, staying out of the palace to recover, the little reader-in-waiting’s arm remained immobile for a considerable time after healing. Even feeding milk required the use of his left hand.
This “fragile and easily broken” constitution left an indelible mark on the Seventh Prince. Henceforth, he forbade the little reader-in-waiting from participating in combat training.
An uninformed reader-in-waiting once playfully greeted Xue Yao with a shoulder throw in the training ground, unfortunately seen by the Seventh Prince.
The Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince still recalled the terrifying scene from those days.
As the little reader-in-waiting just managed to bring Xue Yao to the ground, the Seventh Prince’s sturdy little hand patted him on the back.
“Let’s have a man-to-man duel,” the eight-year-old Seventh Prince taunted the unsuspecting reader-in-waiting.
Unaware that the Seventh Prince often used peculiar phrases from books for communication, the reader-in-waiting didn’t sense the danger in the duel invitation. He thought the Seventh Prince was casually seeking a sparring partner.
So, with the Fifth Prince, the Sixth Prince, and all readers-in-waiting watching —
The reader-in-waiting was flung around like a sandbag by the enraged and solid Seventh Prince… until he lay unconscious!
It took the instructors stepping in to halt this dreadful scene.
Since then, no one dared to touch a single hair on the Seventh Prince’s little reader-in-waiting.
But now, the eldest brother was actually going to give Xue Yao five strokes of the rod!
The Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince were fully focused, eyes widened, ready to restrain their seventh brother and prevent him from committing a grave offense!
The Seventh Prince looked at his own reader-in-waiting in shock.
In his mind, the image of the reader-in-waiting taking a beating, screaming in pain, and dying in His Highness’ arms had already appeared!
At this moment, the old eunuch entered with a tray carrying the disciplinary rod.
“Everyone, come over and line up in the center of the room.” The Crown Prince pointed to the middle.
The Fifth Prince immediately took the lead and walked over to stand in position.
The Sixth Prince, pulling a reluctant Seventh Prince who refused to be punished, forcefully stood him next to his fifth brother.
Xue Yao also obediently stood by the Seventh Prince’s side, playing a little trick. He took a step forward, planning to be the first to take a beating, screaming loudly to make the Crown Prince think he had been too harsh. This way, the punishment for the chubby cub would be lighter later.
An old father’s heart was as clear as day and night!
The Crown Prince took a deep breath, his expression serious as he stood up and walked to his younger brothers.
The eunuch bowed and approached, handing over the disciplinary rod. To avoid offending the young princes, the eunuch whispered, “Hitting the young princes hurts Your Highness’ heart. Please, Your Highness, go easy!”
“Being too gentle won’t teach them a lesson,” the Crown Prince said coldly as he reached for the rod. Just as he gripped the handle, a small, tender hand suddenly pressed against the back of his hand!
The hand was surprisingly strong, forcing the Crown Prince’s grip on the rod to falter back onto the tray.
“……” The Crown Prince looked up to see who was so audacious, only to find his beloved seventh brother staring at him with a stern expression.
The Sixth Prince and Xue Yao simultaneously reached out, quickly pulling back the chubby little hand!
Smiling apologetically, they urged the Crown Prince to continue.
Deciding not to argue with his seventh brother, the Crown Prince lowered his head to reach for the rod again. However, that restless little hand once again landed on the back of his hand, pushing the rod back.
“What are you doing!” The Crown Prince threatened his seventh brother with a fierce expression, indicating he was determined to punish him this time, despite Old Seventh’s cuteness.
“Don’t hit Yaoyao,” the Seventh Prince, with a serious chubby face, whispered out his command.
The Crown Prince shook off his brother’s hand, grabbed the rod, and admonished, “Mistakes require punishment. I’ve been too indulgent, assuming you all understand manners and responsibilities. Yet, you’ve become so disrespectful.”
The Seventh Prince’s gaze sharpened as he stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Xue Yao. “Let’s have a man-to-man duel.”
The Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince instantly closed their eyes in despair.
Here we go again.
This time, they were in for dozens more strokes!
“You want to go against me?” the Crown Prince asked in surprise.
The Seventh Prince took a step to the side, arms gracefully moving like a dragon’s dance, assuming a tai chi stance to intimidate his eldest brother. “Master Zhang’s teachings have been excellent, and my martial skills are unparalleled.”
The Crown Prince, holding the rod, was puzzled. “You become a master in just half a year of training with him?”
The Seventh Prince smirked, lifting his hand to swiftly demonstrate a challenging tiger claw move, his gaze smug as he looked at his eldest brother.
The Crown Prince laughed. “That impressive? If you can dodge three strokes from me, I’ll spare you and Xue Yao the punishment today.”
The Seventh Prince’s eyes lit up, immediately striking a confident right bow stance.
The Crown Prince raised his hand, and “whip, whip, whip” went three strokes!
It happened so fast that everyone hadn’t even had time to look up!
Even in his stance, the Seventh Prince couldn’t evade a single stroke!
“Eldest Brother has not bowed yet!” the Seventh Prince exploded in anger!
When sparring with a prince, one must bow before making a move.
In the Seventh Prince’s view, not bowing meant they couldn’t start. The Crown Prince was entirely being unfair.
“Bow for what? Should I bow before beating you? Stand still. There are still seven strokes to go.”
The Fifth Prince couldn’t help but be surprised. “Are these three strokes even considered?”
The Crown Prince gave him a sidelong glance. “Too light? I’ll add some force when I beat you later.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
The Crown Prince turned around to find Seventh Brother gone. Xue Yao was frantically waving, as if signaling someone to rise.
The Crown Prince followed the gaze and saw his chubby little brother lying on the ground with a puffed-up face.
“What are you doing?” The Crown Prince reached out to grab him, but the Seventh Prince, rolling to the left, avoided it.
The Seventh Prince, noticing his eldest brother’s attention, immediately started rolling. “No more, no more! Don’t hit Yaoyao!”
The Crown Prince looked bewildered. “Is this how a man usually settle things?”
The Sixth Prince reminded his eldest brother, “Big Brother should bow to Seventh Brother before the duel, or it won’t count.”
The Crown Prince was utterly speechless. “Do enemies bow at you before attacking when you’re in real danger?”
Lying on the ground, the Seventh Prince retorted with frustration, “Big Brother isn’t an enemy!”
Somehow, the Crown Prince’s heart softened, all because of Seventh Prince’s words, “Big Brother isn’t an enemy.”
After a moment of silence, the Crown Prince glanced at the pained expressions of the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince, took a deep breath, tossed the rod back into the tray, and turned to sit back in the top seat, the grandmaster’s chair.
The old eunuch recognized that his master was reluctant to proceed and quickly retreated to the corner with the tray.
Xue Yao hurriedly helped the chubby cub to his feet.
The Crown Prince waved his hand, signaling the attendants to leave, and closed the door for a private conversation with his brothers.
“Leaving aside the crime of the fake eunuch entering the palace,” the Crown Prince addressed the Fifth Prince, “You’re not young anymore. Father Emperor might arrange your marriage in the next two years. Just imagine, if a man schemed to stay close to your future wives and concubines, how would you feel? If this news spread to the common people, it would become a scandal, tarnishing the imperial family’s reputation.”
“We didn’t know Fourth Zhang wasn’t cleansed before,” the Fifth Prince defended himself.
The Sixth Prince seized the opportunity to explain, “Big Brother, we didn’t intend for Fourth Zhang to become a eunuch again. We just wanted to ask if you could transfer him to the royal training grounds as an instructor. We believe he teaches better than the other instructors, and instructors can’t enter the Eastern Palace, so there’s no need for him to be cleansed.”
The Crown Prince was taken aback by their words, never considering his brothers had this intention.
Indeed, Fourth Zhang’s skills were impressive. Back in Pingrong County’s medical area, he risked infection to protect Xue Yao, showing decent character.
However, the Crown Prince had never sparred with him and didn’t know if he followed the right path.
“What martial arts has he taught you?”
“He chose the most suitable martial arts for us!” The Fifth Prince demonstrated with his hand. “I’m practicing cavalry lance!”
The Sixth Prince displayed a baguazhang move. “I’m practicing baguazhang and the Sun and Moon Yin Yang Axes, complemented with tai chi principles!”
The Seventh Prince, not having a designated weapon, was silent.
The Crown Prince teased Seventh Brother, “What about you? Practicing the art of rolling on the ground?”
“Fourth Zhang said Seventh Brother has an extraordinary innate constitution,” the Fifth Prince explained, “So, he taught fundamental tai chi principles and various martial arts, without specializing in any specific style.”
“Innate constitution?” The Crown Prince chuckled. “Now we’re resorting to even the cliches of charlatans in the martial world?”
“He’s not a charlatan!” the Sixth Prince defended, “Seventh Brother is genuinely gifted. With just three moves of baguazhang, he could defeat Instructor Li!”
The Crown Prince glanced at Seventh Brother, suspecting that Instructor Li intentionally went easy on his chubby little brother because of his cuteness.
The Crown Prince couldn’t believe, even if he were forced, that Old Seventh had any remarkable achievements in martial arts.
Of course, he couldn’t voice such thoughts to avoid discouraging his brother. Instead, he changed the subject, “Considering his current status, entering the training grounds is out of the question. If you only wish to learn from him, I can arrange private lessons, but he won’t step into the harem again. We must also investigate his background and ensure his training comes from a legitimate source, to avoid misleading others.”
The princes erupted in cheers!
The Seventh Prince, having scared off Eldest Brother with one move, saving poor Yaoyao, now looked proudly at the little reader-in-waiting, awaiting gratitude.
Xue Yao only remembered the Crown Prince’s three strokes hitting the chubby cub. “Does Your Highness’ arm hurt? Was it not injured by the punishment?”
The Seventh Prince’s triumphant smile gradually froze.
The Crown Princess, free from recent dietary restrictions, prepared a sumptuous feast for the young princes at noon, making up for the guilt of making Old Seventh stick to a vegetarian diet.
The Crown Prince also joined his brothers for the meal.
Xue Yao noticed that whenever the Crown Prince was around, the consort’s expression while eating became unusually restrained, losing the natural and charming demeanor she usually displayed.
Xue Yao suspected that this woman was putting on airs in front of the Crown Prince.
The principle that good men like bad women was timeless. In this context, “bad” didn’t refer to moral character but rather the deviation from the typical traits of well-behaved women that men like the Crown Prince, from a scholarly and refined background, might find appealing.
If the Crown Princess behaved this way privately as well, it would be a form of torment for the Crown Prince.
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