Lin Fujia hung her head, struggling to hold back tears.
Fortunately, Xie Zhenrong soon emerged.
The three Bong Yis rose and bowed in greeting.
Xie Zhenrong glanced at Lin Fujia’s lowered head but didn’t comment further.
Then came the usual routine instructions – about serving His Highness well and so forth.
After finishing the instructions, she waved them away.
In Cining Palace:
The Empress Dowager held Yan Shixu’s hand, her eyes filled with heartache.
“Your grandmother ultimately couldn’t prevail against your father. He has ordered that the Grand Tutor instruct both the Third Prince and Fourth Prince alongside you. Do you resent your grandmother’s incompetence?”
Yan Shixu shook his head: “Your Majesty exaggerates. Since Father has decreed it, let them have their way.”
The Empress Dowager was surprised: “Aren’t you angry?”
“Grandmother, your grandson has nothing to be angry about. The Grand Tutor’s knowledge is among the finest in the Great Yan Dynasty. Yang Guifei hopes her sons will succeed, wanting the Third Prince and Fourth Prince to attend lessons with me – that’s understandable. However…”
“However what?”
“Yang Guifei is too impatient. The Third Prince has never shown much talent for studies, while the Fourth Prince is still young, having only begun his education two years ago. How could they possibly comprehend the Grand Tutor’s obscure and difficult teachings? Moreover, the Grand Tutor is extremely strict, believing stern teachers produce outstanding students. When encountering dull students, regardless of their status, he will surely use the ruler. Given my younger brothers’ temperaments, I’m afraid they’ll refuse to continue after just ten days or half a month of lessons.”
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager patted her own forehead.
During her back-and-forth with the Emperor, she had forgotten this aspect.
In such matters, guidance is better than blocking.
The more she opposed, the more Yang Guifei would stir up trouble.
Better to let them jump about as they pleased while she quietly watched how long they could keep it up.
…
In Guanju Palace:
Yang Zhenru felt quite pleased with herself for successfully having both her sons attend lessons with the Crown Prince.
Her sons deserved nothing but the best and should never lose to the Crown Prince!
That old woman still thought she could contend with her.
But Yang Zhenru didn’t dare relax, worried the Empress Dowager might still cause trouble.
She knew perfectly well how formidable the Empress Dowager was.
Over the years, her numerous attempts to harm the Empress and Crown Prince had all been thwarted by the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was the Emperor’s birth mother, and they had always maintained the appearance of a loving mother and filial son, sharing an excellent relationship.
Although the Emperor had always doted on her, he wouldn’t dare disobey the Empress Dowager in important matters.
So she instructed her personal maids Chun Xia and Qiu Dong:
“When Cheng’er and Liang’er go to Deli Pavilion for lessons, keep close watch to ensure my princes aren’t bullied by the Empress Dowager or Crown Prince.”
Chun Xia and Qiu Dong hurried forward and curtsied: “Yes, Your Highness.”
Glancing at the sky outside, Yang Zhenru guessed the Emperor would arrive soon.
She ordered the palace servants to prepare bath water. After bathing, she changed into an extremely sheer bright red gauze dress.
As a concubine, wearing bright red was already a breach of protocol, but she didn’t care in the slightest.
In this palace, who didn’t know her status far surpassed the Empress’s?
She was more than the Empress without holding the title.
Moreover, covering her mouth, she laughed with a bewitching smile.
The Emperor liked it…
Sure enough, when the Emperor entered Guanju Palace, he saw the gorgeous Guifei dancing gracefully in the main hall.
Her dance was enchantingly alluring, her body supple as if boneless, her curvaceous form faintly visible through the bright red gauze dress.
As Consort Yang raised her hand and lifted her leg, those two places were fully exposed before the Emperor.
Her luminous, delicate skin was dazzling enough to blind one’s eyes.
The Emperor no longer cared whether the consort had overstepped boundaries; he strode forward as if intoxicated, pressing her down onto the intricately patterned crimson carpet.
He paid no heed to their surroundings, immediately beginning his unrestrained advances.
The two palace maids attending in the hall tactfully withdrew, closing the doors tightly and standing guard outside.
From within the hall came faint, bone-melting moans and the old Emperor’s hoarse, heavy panting.
“Your Majesty~~~ Today, to express my gratitude for Your Majesty’s paternal love toward Cheng’er and Liang’er, I specially wore this sheer dress I’ve been saving. Does Your Majesty like it?”
“Hahahaha… I do, I like it very much.”
The maids glanced at the sun still hanging in the sky, then hurriedly lowered their heads.
Each of them maintained perfect composure, having long grown accustomed to such scenes.
On the carpet inside the hall, Yang Zhenru coiled around the Emperor’s neck like an enchanting serpent, gasping and moaning softly.
Her demeanor completely captivated the Emperor, making him wish he could die upon her.
She arched her neck back, gazing at the intersecting beams above the hall, her eyes filled with absolute determination.
…
However, within just a few days, Yang Zhenru realized she had miscalculated.
Her two sons did indeed attend classes at Deli Pavilion, but they returned each day looking utterly dejected.
Upon inquiry, she learned they couldn’t understand Grand Tutor Xu’s lectures at all.
Yang Zhenru was furious.
That old fool was deliberately teaching content her sons couldn’t comprehend!
If he couldn’t even teach properly, what qualified him as Grand Tutor? He might as well go home and farm!
She was convinced the Grand Tutor was doing it intentionally.
After all, the Crown Prince had been attending his lectures for years, and there had never been any mention of the Crown Prince failing to understand.
What else could this be but deliberate harassment of her sons?
Yang Zhenru remained completely unaware that Grand Tutor Xu Zhengwen wasn’t actually targeting the Third and Fourth Princes.
While he normally despised those who overstepped boundaries, his contempt was reserved solely for the seductive, nation-wrecking Consort Yang—he would never take it out on children.
But Yan Shicheng and Yan Shiliang simply couldn’t grasp the classical texts and political theories he was currently teaching the Crown Prince.
Nor could he adjust the Crown Prince’s curriculum for the sake of two princes born of a treacherous consort.
Consort Yang resumed her nightly whimpering to the Emperor, speaking ill of the Grand Tutor and claiming he was unfit to teach.
The Emperor grew enraged and decided to dismiss the Grand Tutor from his position.
When the Empress Dowager heard of this, she stormed into the Hall of Mental Cultivation with a cane and gave the Emperor a sound beating.
Despite his advanced age, the Emperor was chased around by his mother, his old face flushing with shame until he abandoned his plan to dismiss the Grand Tutor.
In the end, he could only devise a compromise: Yan Shicheng and Yan Shiliang would return to Wenya Hall to attend classes with the other princes and princesses.
Additionally, he hired the renowned scholar Zhang Boren to provide supplementary lessons tailored to the two princes’ learning needs.
This blatant favoritism left the other princes and princesses seething in silent resentment.
After all, none of them had a mother who dominated the imperial harem.
Consort Yang remained somewhat dissatisfied, having suffered humiliation in this affair that nearly made her grind her white teeth to dust.
Still, it was some consolation that Scholar Zhang was erudite and talented—a man of genuine capability.
His teachings, whether on the Four Books and Five Classics or other subjects, were always easy to understand.
Both imperial princes willingly attended his lessons.
Given time, they would surely surpass the Crown Prince!
……