The Tianyou Emperor took two deep breaths, suppressing his impatience as he asked, "Did the Seventh Prince summon this humble servant in the middle of the night just to say this?"
Zhao Yan shook his little head, then inched closer to the window like a crawling puppy and whispered, "Can Jiu Jiu draw me a map to the Imperial Hospital?"
The Tianyou Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Didn't I already tell you not to go to the Imperial Hospital?"
Zhao Yan clasped his hands together, putting on a puppy-dog pleading look. "Please, Jiu Jiu."
The Tianyou Emperor reached out and pushed the little forehead that had leaned in back, firmly refusing, "No!"
Zhao Yan's small face fell. "Why not?"
The Tianyou Emperor asked, "Why must the Seventh Prince go to the Imperial Hospital?"
Zhao Yan replied, "Father Emperor is sick!"
Here we go again!
The Tianyou Emperor rubbed his temples. "What would it take for the Seventh Prince not to go to the Imperial Hospital?"
Zhao Yan said, "If Father Emperor isn't sick, then I won't go."
"Jiu Jiu…" Zhao Yan reached out affectionately, tugging at his sleeve and swaying it gently in a coquettish manner.
This child's attitude toward him and toward 'Jiu Jiu' was completely different.
The Tianyou Emperor feigned helplessness. "Then, Seventh Prince, go fetch some paper and ink."
Zhao Yan's eyes curved into crescents like crescent moons, and he immediately turned around. Suddenly, the back of his neck felt as if bitten by an ant, and his small body went limp, collapsing forward.
The Tianyou Emperor swiftly reached out and caught him.
The door opened, and Xiao Luzi hurried in. He bowed respectfully to the Tianyou Emperor, then took the Seventh Prince from his arms and laid him on the bed. When he looked back again, the window was quiet, with only the swaying shadows of the trees.
Xiao Luzi lowered the bed curtains, walked over to close the window properly, and then turned and left the room.
As he turned around, he saw Chen Xiang standing outside holding a candlestick.
His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed, calling out, "Sister Chen Xiang."
Chen Xiang glanced at Zhao Yan's room and asked, "You rushed over in such a hurry—is something wrong with the Seventh Prince?"
Xiao Luzi shook his head. "No, I just came to check if the Seventh Prince had kicked off his blanket. The Seventh Prince is sleeping soundly, Sister Chen Xiang. You should go back to sleep. I'll keep an eye on things here."
Only then did Chen Xiang turn and leave.
Xiao Luzi let out a long sigh of relief and quickly returned to the adjacent room.
The next day, before the hour of Yin, Zhao Yan woke up on his own. He sat up, hugging the blanket, lost in thought.
As soon as there was movement on the bed, the bed curtains were drawn aside. Xiao Luzi brought over clothes and helped him dress.
Zhao Yan moved to the edge of the bed and thought for a moment: Last night, Jiu Jiu had told him to fetch paper and ink, but after he turned around, nothing else happened.
He turned to look around the bed, and after getting dressed, he searched the room again, but found no trace of any drawing.
Could it be that Jiu Jiu didn't want to draw it and simply knocked him out?
He reached out and touched his neck—it didn't seem to hurt.
Seeing him looking around, Xiao Luzi smiled and asked, "Is the Seventh Prince looking for something?"
Zhao Yan looked up at him, and his eyes suddenly lit up: Why bother seeking far and wide when the solution was right in front of him? Xiao Luzi had been in the palace for so long—he must know where the Imperial Hospital was.
Zhao Yan reached out and tugged at Xiao Luzi's sleeve. "Xiao Luzi, you must know where the Imperial Hospital is. Next time, take me there, okay?"
"Seventh Prince, you must not go to the Imperial Hospital!" Xiao Luzi exclaimed, his face full of panic.
Zhao Yan asked, puzzled, "Why can't I go?"
Xiao Luzi bent down, leaning close to him and lowering his voice to a whisper: "There's a big monster living in the Imperial Hospital that especially loves eating children. If the Seventh Prince goes there, he'll definitely be devoured until not even his bones remain!" As he spoke, he made a tiger-like chomping expression.
Zhao Yan leaned back his small frame, his eyes wide: "Then why hasn't the Imperial Physician been eaten?"
Xiao Luzi: "The Imperial Physician is an adult! The monster doesn't dare eat adults. So the Seventh Prince must never go alone. If you get eaten by the monster, Li Jieyu would die of grief!"
Zhao Yan: He might be bad at studying, but he wasn't an idiot.
Did they really think he'd believe such an absurd story?
Forget it. Seems like asking Xiao Luzi was hopeless.
Zhao Yan nodded with vague noises, taking a big bite of the pastry in his hand. As he chewed, his cheeks puffed out, and he smiled at Xiao Luzi with curved eyes.
The more Xiao Luzi looked, the more he found his young master adorable.
After Zhao Yan finished eating, Xiao Luzi reached out to hold his small hand, using a child-coaxing tone: "Seventh Prince, time to go to school-school."
Zhao Yan nearly spat out the pastry in his mouth.
He hadn't realized before that Xiao Luzi was this good at 'handling children.'
Just as he stepped out, Li Jieyu hurried over with a new jacket and draped it over him. While adjusting his clothes, she said: "This was made from the fabric your Father Emperor bestowed earlier. I rushed to make it for you. Wear this and you won't feel cold anymore."
The jacket was made of vibrant fabric, with white fur trim sewn around the collar and cuffs, making him appear even more fair and adorable.
Zhao Yan liked it very much: "Thank you, Mother."
Li Jieyu looked quite satisfied and instructed Xiao Luzi: "Keep a close eye on Xiao Qi. You absolutely cannot let him run around alone anymore."
Xiao Luzi nodded: "Don't worry, Jieyu. This servant is very concerned."
Li Jieyu added: "Chen Xiang should come along too. It's better to have more people. Both of you must watch the Seventh Prince carefully." She had truly been frightened by recent events, terrified that something might happen again.
Chen Xiang acknowledged the order and lifted Zhao Yan onto the sedan chair.
Throughout the journey, even if Zhao Yan merely yawned, both Chen Xiang and Xiao Luzi would immediately look over.
With this level of vigilance, even if he had a map, getting to the Imperial Hospital wouldn't be easy.
Zhao Yan listlessly slumped over in the sedan chair. When they arrived at the Imperial Study, he found the others even more dejected than him.
Everyone was bent over their desks, writing furiously – clearly all being punished with copying.
Zhao Yan immediately tensed his small body, awkwardly shuffling slowly toward his seat.
Don't see me, don't see me.
Just as he was about to reach his seat, the Fifth Prince in the front row suddenly stood up, grabbed him by the collar, and pouted while accusing: "You dare show up? You deliberately got Father Emperor to punish us, didn't you?"
Zhao Yan felt his neck uncomfortably constricted and struggled vigorously a couple of times.
Unfortunately, he was small and thin, no match for the chubby Fifth Prince's strength, and couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried.
Seeing this, the Sixth Prince quickly stood up and grabbed the Fifth Prince's hand, annoyed: "What does our punishment have to do with Xiao Qi? Let go, you're hurting Xiao Qi!"
"How is it not his fault!" The Fifth Prince refused to release him: "He did it on purpose! Otherwise why didn't Father Emperor punish him?"
Father Emperor even punished Crown Prince Brother – there's no reason he wouldn't punish Xiao Qi!
Sixth Prince: "Xiao Qi only secretly told me. I was the curious one who asked you. Xiao Qi didn't go peep at Father Emperor, so why should Father Emperor punish him?"
Fifth Prince retorted indignantly: "Then Second Brother and Third Brother didn't peek either, and they still got punished!"
Third Prince turned his head and whispered, "Although Second Brother and I didn't peek, we were both present, so it's normal to be implicated. Little Fifth, Little Sixth is right – this isn't Xiao Qi's fault, you should let go now!"
Second Prince curled his lips without making a sound: Anyway, he had someone to copy for him, so he was happy to watch the two younger ones fight.
Fifth Prince still refused to release his grip. Fourth Prince, sitting beside him, couldn't stand it any longer and stood up to grab his hand forcefully.
Fifth Prince felt the pain and immediately released his grip, then turned to glare angrily at Fourth Prince.
Fourth Prince separated him from Zhao Yan and said coldly, "I was the curious one who went to peek at Father Emperor first. No one forced you to follow. If you're being punished, accept it. Aren't you ashamed of bullying Xiao Qi?"
Crown Prince also stood up and said, "Little Fifth, if you're wrong, accept the punishment. As an older brother, you should set an example. Stop making trouble!"
Fifth Prince's eyes instantly reddened: Clearly it was Xiao Qi who was at fault, Xiao Qi who caused the trouble, why was everyone taking Xiao Qi's side!
He slumped over the desk and began sobbing loudly.
Zhao Yan peeked out from behind Fourth Prince and reached to pull the Xuan paper he had been using as padding.
Fifth Prince lifted his head to look, only to find the freshly copied "Disciple Rules" had been completely ruined by his tears, becoming completely illegible.
Fifth Prince wailed and cried even louder.
Zhao Yan felt a twinge of guilt. Sixth Prince pulled him to sit down and leaned close to whisper, "Don't mind him. He loves crying the most."
Zhao Yan pressed his lips together: "Sixth Brother, I'm sorry." He hadn't expected these children to be so curious that they'd dare to watch the tiger urinate.
Sixth Prince scratched his head: "It's not your fault. I was the one who couldn't resist asking Fifth Brother." Who could have expected Father Emperor to arrive just then.
Tianyou Emperor: Blame me for my bad timing!
Zhao Yan pointed to the paper and brush on his desk: "Should I help Sixth Brother with the copying?"
"You?" Sixth Prince thought of Zhao Yan's messy handwriting and chuckled twice, quickly declining: "No need, no need. I'll copy it myself."
This was clearly looking down on him.
Zhao Yan felt depressed.
Sixth Prince whispered again: "Let me tell you a secret – when Father Emperor assigns copying punishment, you can secretly have someone help you write. Second Brother often does this. See how unhurried he is?"
Zhao Yan looked over at Second Prince, who indeed appeared completely unruffled.
Zhao Yan asked again: "Does Crown Prince also secretly have someone help him write?"
Sixth Prince shook his head: "Crown Prince is diligent. He always writes everything himself."
Zhao Yan then looked toward Fourth Prince who had just spoken up for him.
Sixth Prince curled his lips: "Don't look at Fourth Brother. He writes when he's happy, and doesn't write when he's not."
"Ah?" Zhao Yan asked in surprise: "Isn't he afraid Father Emperor will check?"
Sixth Prince: "Not afraid. Fourth Brother is the bravest!"
Zhao Yan gained new understanding of this fourth brother: If his fourth brother were in a modern school, he'd be that campus bully who sleeps at the back of the classroom, speaks little, follows his whims, has great strength, and starts fights at the slightest disagreement.
After speaking, Sixth Prince began copying frantically.
Being able to find someone to write for you was one thing, but in the Imperial Study, you still had to maintain appearances.
Just as everyone's hands were about to smoke from all the copying, before the punishment copying was even finished, Liu Hanlin assigned a large amount of additional coursework.
Sixth Prince wailed in despair and collapsed onto the desk motionless.
Zhao Yan also made a pained face, gathering his courage to stand up and ask: "Master Liu, could we have less coursework today?"
Liu Hanlin looked at him and asked gently: "Why?"
Zhao Yan explained, "Yesterday Father Emperor punished Sixth Brother and the others. With so much schoolwork, they definitely can't finish it all."
Liu Hanlin raised an eyebrow. "His Majesty's punishment is His Majesty's punishment, and this old minister's assignments are this old minister's assignments. The two don't conflict. Where there's a will, there's a way. I believe the princes will find a way to complete everything."
After speaking, he paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over the other princes before saying calmly, "By the way, His Majesty ordered this humble official to convey a message to all the princes. If anyone is found to have their punishment copying or recent assignments done by someone else, they need not attend this year's Winter Hunt!"
At this, even the princes couldn't remain seated calmly.
After Liu Hanlin left, he took out Xuan paper and began copying earnestly, noticeably speeding up his writing.
However, his constitution failed him. After three consecutive days of copying, Second Prince's ten fingers were trembling so badly he could barely hold chopsticks.
Wen Guifei, heart aching for her son, urged him to stop writing.
"Although His Majesty forbids others from writing for you, he never said you can't fall ill. Just lie down. Your mother will summon an Imperial Physician for you immediately!"
If one is ill, it's understandable if the work remains unfinished.
Second Prince hesitated. "What if Father Emperor comes to check on me? Would he be angry if he discovers I'm feigning illness?" During the previous prayer drawing ceremony, Fourth Brother and others had whispered behind his back about him pretending to be sick last time.
Though Father Emperor hadn't said anything explicitly, he hadn't been pleased either.
Wen Guifei said confidently, "Don't worry, my son. Just lie still. Your father and mother will handle everything."
Second Prince had always been physically weak with a pale complexion. As long as he lay still without speaking, he could still deceive people.
That very day, Second Prince took sick leave and specifically requested an Imperial Physician.
Not long after noon, Tianyou Emperor arrived.
Servants quickly ushered him to Second Prince's Imperial Bedchamber, where Wen Guifei was attending to him with medicine, her beautiful face looking particularly haggard.
Seeing Tianyou Emperor arrive, she immediately rose to pay respects.
Tianyou Emperor helped her up and peered toward Second Prince. "He was fine before. How did he fall ill?"
As Second Prince's eyes shifted nervously, Wen Guifei quickly interjected, "Your Majesty, you know Qi'er has been frail since birth. Fifty copies of 'Standards for Being a Good Student' is truly excessive. This child is too earnest—he's been copying day and night for three days. How could his body withstand it?" Her eyes slightly reddened as she spoke. "These past two days, he can't even hold jade chopsticks steady…"
Tianyou Emperor's gaze fell upon Second Prince's hands, causing the prince to instinctively shrink them beneath the quilt.
Tianyou Emperor raised an eyebrow, then looked into his eyes.
Second Prince quickly lowered his head, staring at his own hands with evident panic in his eyes.
Wen Guifei continued, "Your Majesty, perhaps Qi'er's punishment could—"
Before she could finish, Tianyou Emperor spoke first, "Does Guifei know that before coming to Liuhua Palace, Little Six and Little Fifth also came to request leave from me?"
Wen Guifei's remaining words caught in her throat as she forced an awkward smile. "Is… is that so?" While maintaining composure outwardly, she inwardly cursed Consort Xu and Consort Yun.
Why would they join in on feigning illness?
Tianyou Emperor nodded. "The people from Bixiao Palace and Yunxiang Palace used the same reasoning as Guifei, asking me to exempt Little Six and Little Fifth from punishment." He looked steadily at Wen Guifei and asked, "Does Guifei think this would be fair to Crown Prince, Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and Qi'er—the children who are diligently accepting their punishment?"
Wen Guifei was no fool; she naturally understood the emperor's implied meaning.
"Your Majesty!" She frowned. "I cannot speak for the Sixth Prince and Fifth Prince, but you know Qi'er's constitution well. How could I deceive you about such a matter?"
"I never said you were deceiving me," the Tianyou Emperor said calmly. "Since he is truly ill, he may stop copying the remaining portions of The Standards for Being a Good Pupil and Child. However, he shall not attend this year's Winter Hunt either, lest he catch cold again!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Father Emperor!"
Wen Guifei and the Second Prince spoke simultaneously in alarm.
The Tianyou Emperor declared, "I gave the same ruling to Little Six and Little Fifth. As the Son of Heaven, I must treat all princes fairly. You should understand this, Guifei!" There was no reason for those feigning illness to still expect to participate in the Winter Hunt.
The world offered no such convenient arrangements where one could have everything both ways.
The Second Prince's face paled further. Gritting his teeth, he asked stubbornly, "If Father Emperor speaks of fairness, what about Xiao Qi? I don't mean to envy him, but Little Six is right – the incident in the Imperial Study began with Xiao Qi. Since all are being punished, why is Xiao Qi alone exempt?"
The Tianyou Emperor frowned. "I will punish Xiao Qi as well." He immediately turned and sternly instructed Feng Zongguan behind him: "Go to the Imperial Study at once and deliver my oral decree: the Seventh Prince is to copy The Standards for Being a Good Pupil and Child fifty times!"
"This…" Feng Zongguan glanced at Wen Guifei before lowering his head. "Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince has not yet formally begun his studies. He likely doesn't recognize all the characters in The Standards for Being a Good Pupil and Child…"
The Tianyou Emperor fixed his gaze on Feng Zongguan. "Just do as you're told! Why all this nonsense? Since Qi'er demands fairness, I shall grant it to him!"
Feng Zongguan acknowledged the order and hurried off.
The Second Prince's pallid face suddenly flushed crimson with shame and embarrassment, his voice unconsciously taking on a nasal tone: "Father Emperor, I will continue writing. Whatever the Crown Prince brother can accomplish, I can achieve as well."
"Qi'er!" Wen Guifei's expression also darkened considerably.
If he continued writing like this, he might genuinely fall ill.
"Your Majesty!" Wen Guifei now adopted a pleading tone, "Why provoke Qi'er like this? He is my only son, and the only grandson of Duke Wen's Mansion. If anything were to happen to Qi'er, you would be taking my life and my father's!"
"Guifei, mind your words!" The Tianyou Emperor felt displeased hearing her mention Duke Wen. "When did I provoke Qi'er? Xiao Qi has committed wrongs and deserves punishment!"
Tears welled in Wen Guifei's eyes as she looked up at the Tianyou Emperor. "Does Your Majesty disapprove of me? Since autumn began, you haven't looked properly at me once. Even when we meet, you're so cold?"
Unwilling to discuss such matters before his son, the Tianyou Emperor merely said, "You overthink this, beloved consort. I've merely been occupied with affairs recently. I haven't visited the Empress either either."
In truth, he had been physically and mentally exhausted recently by Xiao Qi's antics, and there seemed to be genuine issues with the Dragon Vein.
He hadn't consulted the Imperial Physicians, but had spoken with the National Preceptor instead.
The National Preceptor only advised him to cultivate his vital energy, practicing several sets of health-preserving martial arts routines with him daily.
Those slow, soft routines of the National Preceptor looked utterly unbearable to watch.
The Tianyou Emperor temporarily had no desire to engage with him.
Hearing this, Wen Guifei silently wept.
Although the Tianyou Emperor disliked the Guifei's imperiousness, they had been married since youth and shared some genuine affection. He patiently comforted Wen Guifei for a while until she stopped crying. Then, using military affairs requiring his attention as an excuse, he rose and left Liuhua Palace.
Yet scarcely had he departed from Liuhua Palace when, the next moment, he reappeared in the Second Prince's Imperial Bedchamber.
Consort Wen shed tears before him: "Is Your Majesty dissatisfied with this humble consort? Since autumn began, you haven't looked properly at me once, and even when we meet, you remain so heartless?"
The Tianyou Emperor surmised that Xiao Qi must have received the oral decree.
No matter. If he persisted in coaxing the consort a few more times, that child would eventually resign himself to fate.
Before issuing the imperial edict, he had considered that Xiao Qi hadn't formally begun his studies yet—fifty copies of the "Disciple Rules" would definitely be impossible to complete.
But even if the child didn't write a single character, the worst consequence would be missing the Winter Hunt.
As for Consort Wen and the Second Prince, he absolutely couldn't make an exception today.
The Tianyou Emperor maintained an expressionless demeanor as he went through the motions: "My beloved consort overthink. We have merely been occupied with state affairs recently. We haven't visited the Empress either."
Upon hearing this, Consort Wen continued weeping silently.
Thinking that time would rewind anyway, he couldn't even be bothered to console Consort Wen and simply turned to leave.
He then walked directly out of Liuhua Palace, passed through Ronghua Road, and when he reached the Imperial Garden, time still hadn't reset.
The Tianyou Emperor grew puzzled. He stopped and gazed thoughtfully at the empty lotus pond: Something was amiss. Given Xiao Qi's temperament, he wouldn't have reset time only once.
Just as he was about to send a shadow guard to check on the child, he spotted the boy standing on the opposite bank, followed by several servants.
Feng Lu and a few young eunuchs were also nearby.
The closer the child walked toward the front, the nearer he approached the lotus pond.
Remembering the previous incident when the child had fallen into the lotus pond, the Tianyou Emperor couldn't help but frown. He had just turned to order the guards to go warn them when he heard a loud splash from the opposite bank.
He immediately looked across and saw the child had already fallen into the river, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The servants behind him were terrified. Xiao Luzi immediately jumped in after him, followed closely by several young eunuchs from Chief Steward Feng's group who rushed to the bank and dove in.
For a moment, the riverbank resembled dumplings dropping into boiling water—splash after splash.
The Tianyou Emperor hurried to the opposite bank with his guards, taking two steps at a time. When they finally arrived, they saw the child being lifted up by Xiao Luzi, wiping his face and coughing several times.
The Tianyou Emperor's frantically beating heart finally settled. He was about to scold the child when time reset once again.
He found himself back in Liuhua Palace.
Consort Wen shed tears before him for the third time: "Is Your Majesty dissatisfied with this humble consort? Since autumn began, you haven't looked properly at me once, and even when we meet, you remain so heartless?"
He had returned exactly to two quarters of an hour earlier.
Xiao Qi!
This time, the Tianyou Emperor didn't utter a single word and immediately strode away.
Consort Wen grabbed his sleeve, pleading pitifully: "Your Majesty, do you despise this humble consort so much?"
"Nothing of the sort, Consort. Step aside! We have urgent matters to attend to!" The Tianyou Emperor shook off Consort Wen's hand and practically jogged out of Liuhua Palace.
Consort Wen chased after him, watching helplessly as the Tianyou Emperor boarded his Dragon Carriage and sped away in a cloud of dust.
When the Tianyou Emperor reappeared at the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden at his fastest possible speed, he only saw Zhao Yan and his palace attendants—Feng Lu and those eunuchs were nowhere nearby.
Before the Tianyou Emperor could even disembark from the Dragon Carriage, the child twisted his foot again and fell into the lotus pond.
Xiao Luzi immediately jumped in after him.
The Tianyou Emperor urgently ordered his guards to rescue them, and the guards promptly dove into the water as well.
However, just as they pulled the child out of the water, time reset once more.
The Tianyou Emperor found himself back before Consort Wen in Liuhua Palace.
Consort Wen began shedding tears yet again, just about to speak.
The Tianyou Emperor spoke first: "Guifei, I have urgent matters that require my immediate attention." Without waiting for Wen Guifei's response, he strode swiftly out of Liuhua Palace and boarded his sedan chair.
A gust of wind swept through as Wen Guifei stared at the empty Imperial Bedchamber, completely stunned: Why has Your Majesty run off again?
Strange, why had she said "again"?
By the time the Tianyou Emperor rushed back to the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden, the child was already there, accompanied only by two maidservants and two sedan carriers who couldn't swim.
Seeing the child approaching the lotus pond, the Tianyou Emperor shouted: "Xiao Qi!"
Zhao Yan looked up in fright, then lost his footing and tumbled into the lotus pond…