Zhao Yan had reverted to a previous save seven times, yet the young eunuch remained unwavering in carrying out his orders, delivering both calligraphy books and the Xuan paper covered in scribbles along with Father Emperor's oral decree directly to Li Meiren.
After the eunuch delivering the decree departed, the smile vanished completely from Li Meiren's face. Her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the unfolded Xuan paper before her.
She probably never dreamed that her exceptionally gifted son could produce handwriting uglier than chicken scratches.
Zhao Yan twisted his hands nervously, sitting beside her with his small face flushed crimson, gradually inching his bottom away.
After staring for a long while, Li Meiren still couldn't accept this reality. She turned to him and asked incredulously, "Didn't your mother teach you how to write before?"
Zhao Yan feared she might suspect him, but at this moment, he dreaded her disappointed gaze even more.
"I… I forgot…" he stammered, his voice growing fainter.
Chen Xiang chimed in from the side, "Meiren, perhaps the Seventh Prince forgot because of the shock from falling into the water…"
Li Meiren found this unbelievable, "How could falling into the water make him forget this?" She examined the child's head, likely suspecting it had been waterlogged.
Then she looked at his small hands.
Zhao Yan slowly moved his hands behind his back.
Li Meiren slammed the Xuan paper down heavily, making his small frame tremble. He expected a scolding, but instead, she said, "It's alright if you forgot. We'll just practice again. Ban Xia, fetch the writing brushes and ink."
She carefully put away the Xuan paper, took out the calligraphy copybooks bestowed by the Tianyou Emperor, and declared with full confidence, "We'll practice using the copybooks your Father Emperor gifted us. If one sheet isn't enough, we'll do ten. If ten aren't enough, we'll do a hundred. If one hour isn't enough, we'll practice for two. Perseverance rewards the dedicated. With our Xiao Qi's intelligence, you'll soon write beautifully, won't you?"
Li Meiren's eyes shone brightly, as if energized.
Every hair on Zhao Yan's body stood on end. Could he say no?
Was she overestimating him?
A hundred sheets? Two hours? He was only five years old—wouldn't this wreck his small body?
In a last-ditch effort, Zhao Yan protested, "Mother, paper is expensive."
Li Meiren replied, "Nothing is too expensive when it comes to Xiao Qi's education."
No expense should be spared for education.
She directly removed the jade bracelet from her wrist, handed it to Chen Xiang, and instructed, "First, bring all the Xuan paper from Jingfu Pavilion. Tomorrow, take this bracelet to the Imperial Household Department and exchange it entirely for Xuan paper."
Zhao Yan felt like crying but had no tears: There's really no need for such extravagance!
The Xuan paper was soon spread out. Li Meiren began grinding the ink. Once the ink was ready, she took a brush, dipped it in ink, and handed it to Zhao Yan, coaxing, "Xiao Qi, come, let's start practicing!"
Every pore in Zhao Yan's body resisted. Li Meiren simply shoved the brush into his small hand and began guiding it to write.
After hesitantly writing a few characters, Li Meiren released his hand and let him write on his own. She sat beside him, propping her head up, watching intently without blinking, fully determined to accompany Zhao Yan in battling through the night.
Under her watchful gaze, Zhao Yan began tracing characters stroke by stroke. In his previous life, he had never touched such things; his hand trembled with every stroke. His small hand clutching the large brush produced crooked horizontals and slanted verticals. By the time he finished a whole page, his back was drenched in sweat.
Li Meiren, completely unaware, pulled away the completed sheet and immediately replaced it with a fresh one. Then she urged, "Keep writing."
Reverting to a previous save wouldn’t help with this—if he wanted his handwriting to be passable, he had to practice.
And so, Zhao Yan practiced straight from the hour of Shen until the hour of You. Beside him, Li Meiren could no longer hold out and had begun dozing off.
Zhao Yan rubbed his wrist, his face twisted in misery as he looked at Chen Xiang, who had just entered. His small frame seemed exhausted down to the very strands of his hair.
Chen Xiang’s heart ached at the sight, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She could only add hot water, tend to the charcoal fire, and do what little she could.
Stroke by stroke, he continued writing. Fortunately, the paper sent by his cheap Father Emperor eventually ran out, finally putting an end to this torture.
Just when he thought he could finally sleep, Li Meiren insisted he read the Three Character Classic once more before bed.
He felt it must be the original owner’s influence—his eyes began to sting, and a faint urge to cry welled up inside him.
The small child, not even as tall as the table, with red-rimmed eyes and a look of suppressed speechlessness, was truly pitiful.
Chen Xiang tried to persuade her: “Meiren, it’s already very late. The Seventh Prince still has to rise at the hour of Yin tomorrow morning to study.”
Li Meiren glanced at the water clock in the corner and only then realized it was already a quarter past the hour of Xu. She finally set the book down, placing both hands on Zhao Yan’s slender shoulders. “Xiao Qi, remember—everything Mother does to you is for your own good.”
Tears welled up more and more in Zhao Yan’s eyes, his fair, tender face flushing red with restraint. He mumbled, not daring to speak.
Wah wah wah, he didn’t want a mother anymore—he wanted to go back to being an orphan.
In his previous life, though lonely and not exactly well-off, at least no one abused children.
Zhao Yan thought again of that lotus pond: he had come from the lotus pond, so perhaps he could return through it as well.
Li Meiren reached out to wipe the corner of his eye, then told Chen Xiang to take him to wash up and sleep.
A quarter of an hour later, Chen Xiang tucked him into the soft bedding. Seeing tears still clinging to the child’s eyelashes, she couldn’t help but soothe him: “Seventh Prince, don’t blame Meiren. She still cares for you deeply. Today, when Meiren managed to get some pastries, she thought of giving them to you.”
Zhao Yan clutched the blanket with both hands and whispered, “I didn’t eat any pastries today…”
Chen Xiang hurriedly explained: “It’s true! Just now, this servant heard Ban Xia say that the pastries were sent down by His Majesty. Jingfu Pavilion was fortunate to receive a small plate, and Meiren wanted to bring it to the Seventh Prince. But something unexpected happened on the way, so she could only catch a fish and bring it back to make soup for Your Highness. Meiren even injured her leg doing so.”
Zhao Yan tried hard to hold back his tears: “Then… then why was Mother’s leg fine earlier?”
Chen Xiang: “Meiren was putting on a brave face because she didn’t want you to worry.”
Zhao Yan’s emotions eased considerably, and he no longer felt as much like crying.
Seeing this, Chen Xiang tucked the blanket around him. “Seventh Prince, sleep quickly. You still have to rise early for studies tomorrow.”
Zhao Yan made a pained face and curled up under the blanket like a snail. He was far too exhausted to muster the energy to think about anything else. As soon as he closed his eyes, he began to snore softly.
Before he had slept enough, the next day at the hour of Yin, Li Meiren pulled him out from under the covers.
His entire right wrist was sore, and the bones of his five little fingers that had gripped the brush ached slightly. He truly couldn’t get up, and after reverting several times in a row, he finally rubbed his eyes and rose.
In the dim yellow candlelight, Li Meiren bent her head to dress him, half her face illuminated softly and warmly by the lamplight.
Zhao Yan felt a shameful longing for this warmth. He lowered his head to glance at Li Meiren’s leg, hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, “Mother, is your leg feeling better?”
Li Meiren's hands paused while dressing him, then she cast a faint glance at Chen Xiang and said irritably, "Don't speak out of turn."
Chen Xiang immediately knelt to beg forgiveness: "My lady, this servant only worries for your sake."
Li Meiren sighed and waved for her to rise. As she helped Zhao Yan into his thick outer garment, she said, "Your mother's leg is fine. As long as Xiao Qi studies well, anything is worth it."
Why bring up studying again?
The faint flicker of maternal affection Zhao Yan had felt moments ago withered completely. He pressed his lips together and said, "…Mother, if your leg hurts you should rest. Let Sister Chen Xiang accompany me to study."
Li Meiren reached out to stroke his hair. "Mother is fine…"
Chen Xiang quickly intervened: "My lady, with your leg pain you cannot carry the Seventh Prince. It would be unfortunate if we were late."
Nothing in heaven or earth mattered more than her son's studies.
Li Meiren finally relented, instructing only Chen Xiang and Ban Xia to escort him to the Imperial Study.
After Zhao Yan finished his breakfast, she personally saw him out of Jingfu Pavilion. Before his departure, she reminded him: "Study well, practice your calligraphy diligently. Everything Mother does is for your benefit."
Zhao Yan's wrist ached, his ears burned—he was beginning to dread these words. He slumped against Chen Xiang's shoulder, feigning sleep.
The three proceeded along the familiar palace path: Ban Xia leading with a lantern, Chen Xiang carrying him behind.
The cold was so biting their breath formed white clouds, and frost coated the lantern's glow.
They hadn't walked far when they encountered the Fifth Prince, also heading to the Imperial Study. Zhao Yan politely greeted him.
The Fifth Prince, seated in his sedan chair, snorted and tilted his small chin upward, ignoring him.
Feeling his warmth met with coldness, Zhao Yan rested silently against Chen Xiang's back.
After waiting without further response, the Fifth Prince lowered his proudly raised chin and glanced sideways at him. With condescending grace, he declared, "If you want me to acknowledge you, have your mother apologize to mine."
Zhao Yan was baffled: What apology?
Had something happened yesterday?
He thought of Li Meiren's leg—could what Sister Chen Xiang mentioned be related to Consort Yun?
Zhao Yan frowned and turned his head away, ignoring the Fifth Prince.
Enraged by this response, the Fifth Prince shouted shrilly, "You nuisance! I'm speaking to you! Your mother bullied mine—I won't play with you!"
Zhao Yan responded with soft snores.
Furious, the Fifth Prince leaned over the sedan's edge, stamping his feet and yelling loudly to wake him. The two young eunuchs carrying the chair staggered under his shaking, faces reddening as they struggled to maintain balance.
Yet Zhao Yan remained motionless against Chen Xiang, as if deeply asleep.
The Fifth Prince shouted the entire way; Zhao Yan "slept" the entire way. Only upon reaching the Imperial Study's entrance did he slowly "awaken."
Outside the study, the Crown Prince and others were already waiting.
Zhao Yan rubbed his eyes and slid down from Chen Xiang's arms. Seeing him about to leave, the Fifth Prince hastily jumped from his sedan and reached to grab him. His foot caught, causing him to stumble. His grab turned into a push, sending Zhao Yan flying forward.
As Zhao Yan fell, he unexpectedly collided with the Sixth Prince ahead. The Sixth Prince then bumped into the Third Prince, who was holding a birdcage, and the Third Prince crashed into the Second Prince.
The Second Prince, who had been stepping into the study, struck his head squarely on the doorframe.
Like a set of dominoes, they all tumbled down in an instant—only the Crown Prince at the front and the Fourth Prince to the side remained unscathed.
The scene was in complete chaos.
Servants rushed over to help their respective masters. Zhao Yan was genuinely dazed from the fall, his entire right hand trapped beneath him, hurting with every movement. He even forgot to revert to a previous save.
By the time Chen Xiang helped him up, someone shouted, "The Second Prince's head is bleeding!"
He looked up and indeed saw the Second Prince sitting on the ground, blood trickling steadily from his forehead. Trembling with rage, the Second Prince glared coldly at the Third Prince, who had collided with him.
The Third Prince, having scrambled to his feet, hurriedly explained, "It wasn't me! Little Sixth bumped into me."
The Sixth Prince waved his hands repeatedly, completely ignoring Zhao Yan, and pointed at the Fifth Prince, yelling, "It was Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother pushed Little Seventh first, and then bumped into me!"
Everyone turned to look at the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince sat on the ground, his face blank with shock, before bursting into tears. "I—I didn’t mean to! It was Little Seventh… he ignored me, so I tried to pull him…" He had no idea how things had escalated like this.
The Second Prince roared, "How dare you cry! You should’ve been killed by that fall!"
The Fifth Prince choked back a sob, his face turning red with effort, but he couldn’t hold it in and began wailing loudly.
The crying gave the Second Prince a headache.
"Little Fifth, stop crying!" the Crown Prince raised his voice, immediately ordering someone to fetch the Imperial Physician while also sending word to Liu Hanlin.
The Imperial Study staff quickly found Liu Hanlin at the Hanlin Academy. An injury to a prince was no small matter, especially when it involved the Second Prince bleeding. Liu Hanlin promptly had the incident reported to the Tianyou Emperor.
Due to his face-first fall the previous night, the Tianyou Emperor had, for the first time, canceled the morning court session. He didn’t dare show his face in the rear palace either—even after applying bruise-reducing medicine, the lower half of his face remained too swollen to be seen.
Under these circumstances, the Tianyou Emperor had no choice but to remain in the Imperial Bedchamber to review memorials.
But just as he finished going through two large stacks of memorials, time reversed in the next second, and the two stacks were once again neatly arranged on his desk.
After this happened three times in a row, the Tianyou Emperor tossed his brush in frustration and rubbed his temples.
He had absolutely no desire to review any more memorials.
Just then, a eunuch from the Imperial Study arrived to deliver the report. The emperor immediately had his carriage prepared and headed straight to the Imperial Study.
Those little brats—it seemed they were asking for a lesson!
The attendants helped the fallen princes to the side study to rest. When Chen Xiang tugged at Zhao Yan, he let out a sharp cry, tears welling in his eyes as he whimpered, "My hand hurts…"
Chen Xiang stared at his hand, her expression grave. "It might be broken. What are we going to do about the handwriting practice that the beauty assigns every day?"
Zhao Yan, who had been about to revert to a previous save, thought: Never mind, I won’t revert.
The princes were escorted back to their respective quarters one by one, and the Imperial Hospital quickly dispatched physicians. After examining Zhao Yan’s hand, the physician assigned to him concluded, "The Seventh Prince has only suffered a minor sprain. I will prescribe some medicinal balm for bruises and strains."
Zhao Yan let out a soft cry, cradling his arm with tears threatening to fall. Just a sprain?
The physician quickly added, "Although it is only a sprain, caution is still necessary. For the next few days, you must avoid overusing your hand to prevent aggravating the injury."
Zhao Yan’s eyes lit up, though he tried not to show it. Instead, he pitifully asked, "Then… can I still practice handwriting? I still have so many copybooks left to finish."
The physician hurriedly replied, "It would be best not to. The Seventh Prince is only five years old—there is no rush to practice handwriting. It will be fine to resume once your hand has fully recovered."
Zhao Yan nodded vigorously. After the physician left, he looked pleadingly at Chen Xiang and said, "Sister Chen Xiang, I can’t write anymore…"
Chen Xiang applied the ointment to him while saying with heartache, "It's all Fifth Prince's fault. As an older brother, how could he bully you? When we return later, Meiren will be so distressed."
Zhao Yan: "His mother probably only cares that he can't write now."
Just as the ointment was applied, a eunuch came to relay a message, saying that His Majesty had arrived and was summoning all the princes to the side hall of the Imperial Study for a lecture.
The entity known as "emperor" had only existed in textbooks and museums before.
Zhao Yan had never seen a real one, so he felt both curious and expectant.
This emperor was his father—though not his alone, at least he had a father now.
He followed Chen Xiang out and soon met up with Sixth Prince. Sixth Prince was relatively unharmed, with only some scraped skin on his palms.
The two little round figures huddled close together as they walked. Sixth Prince, his gossipy nature flaring up, whispered to Zhao Yan, "I heard Father Emperor didn't attend the morning court session today. Instructor Liu specially went to invite him. Fifth Brother is going to be in trouble this time!"
Zhao Yan asked curiously, "Why didn't Father Emperor attend the morning court?"
Wasn't it written in books that his cheap father was always diligent and attended court daily?
Sixth Prince: "The nursemaid said he caught a cold. Empress went to see him early this morning, and my mother also sent someone with medicinal soup."
So emperors are human too? They can catch colds?
Zhao Yan grew increasingly curious about this father he had never met and couldn't help asking, "Sixth Brother, have you seen Father Emperor? What does he look like?"
"Of course I have!" Sixth Prince said proudly, gesturing with his hands: "Father Emperor is very tall, taller than the horses in our horsemanship and archery class; very strong, stronger than two Nurse Lis combined; big hands and big feet…" He described for a while before finally exclaiming, "Anyway, you'll see him soon enough."
Soon, Zhao Yan followed Sixth Prince as the last to enter the side hall. Through the figures of Crown Prince, Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and the trembling Fifth Prince, he could only see a semi-transparent screen and the faint, tall silhouette behind it.
Zhao Yan: "I thought you said I'd be able to see him?"
Is the screen there because he has a cold?
A light cough came from behind the screen, and all the princes immediately stood at attention. Zhao Yan also obediently stood at the very back, keeping his head down without making a sound.
Tianyou Emperor behind the screen scanned his sons, then looked at Second Prince—who had hit his head and was sitting separately—frowning slightly. After sternly reprimanding everyone, he called Fifth Prince over alone.
Fifth Prince trembled as he took slow, hesitant steps behind the screen. Not daring to raise his head, he softly called out, "Father Emperor."
Tianyou Emperor looked him up and down and sneered, "Among all your brothers, you're the only one completely unharmed. Tell me, why did you push Xiao Qi? Who told you to push him?"
His voice wasn't particularly harsh, but Fifth Prince was scared to tears. After sobbing twice, he said pitifully, "Your son… your son didn't mean to push him…"
Tianyou Emperor: "Everyone saw you push him."
Fifth Prince: "Xiao Qi ignored me and wouldn't apologize to me!"
Tianyou Emperor frowned: "Why should he apologize to you?"
Fifth Prince: "His mother bullied my mother! His mother is a bad person. I only asked him to apologize, but he still ignored me, wuu wuu wuu…" He cried more and more bitterly, almost to the point of hiccupping.
Li Meiren bullied Consort Yun?
Was it that incident in the Imperial Garden?
Tianyou Emperor's face instantly darkened: "Did your mother tell you that Li Meiren bullied her? That Li Meiren is a bad person?"
Conflicts among palace consorts were minor matters, but involving children in such affairs was unforgivable.
The Fifth Prince was frightened by his tone, even forgetting to cry and not daring to respond further.
The Tianyou Emperor waved his hand, dismissing him.
The Fifth Prince felt as if granted amnesty, immediately darting around the screen to escape.
Peering through the screen's openwork carving one last time, the emperor spotted a little round figure standing on tiptoe, occasionally stealing glances in his direction.
The child's face was fair and lovely—a tiny nose, rosy lips, and pair of dark, glistening eyes radiating purity and innocence.
Truly an endearing sight.
Those features mirrored Li Meiren's perfectly—exquisitely beautiful and delicate.
This must be his seventh son.