“Grand Tutor Qu, thank you for your hard work,” Jiang Xiyue said, stepping forward as she suppressed a smile.
The familiar scent of her mother drifted into her nose. Jin Lanyue’s tiny nose twitched, and she called out in a milky voice, “Mother~”
Then, she burrowed a bit deeper into Qu Zijin’s embrace, burying her little face against his chest to continue sleeping.
*Hmm… Mother’s embrace today is flat, and a bit hard.*
*Though it isn’t soft anymore, it still smells nice.*
Qu Zijin was instantly at a complete loss for what to do. Stiffly, he handed the little dumpling over to Jiang Xiyue. “I…”
“Pfft—” Marquis Beiding finally couldn’t hold back his laughter, quickly masking it with a fake cough. “Ahem, Grand Tutor Qu, your posture for holding a child… is truly unique.”
Jiang Xiyue took her daughter, noticing that the little dumpling’s tiny hands were completely filthy, and the ribbon in her hair had tilted to one side.
She gently straightened her daughter’s hair, looking up at Qu Zijin. “Yue’er has caused you trouble.”
“It was an oversight on my part,” Qu Zijin said, bowing with his hands clasped, his robes still bearing a few tiny black handprints. “I originally intended to make up a lesson, but instead…”
Qu Zijin cleared his throat, adopting a serious expression. “Though we did not make up the lesson today, I have made an agreement with Teacher to memorize the first three chapters of the *Three Character Classic* tomorrow.”
The moment those words landed, Jin Lanyue—who had been sleeping sweetly—suddenly squirmed in her mother’s arms. Having her trigger word activated in her dreams, her tiny mouth puckered. “Wah… don’t want to memorize books…”
Everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Marquis Beiding patted Qu Zijin’s shoulder. “Grand Tutor, thank you for your hard work. It is getting late, so you should return and rest early as well.”
Qu Zijin clasped his hands and took his leave.
As he departed, he couldn’t help but steal another glance back.
The little dumpling was fast asleep.
Unconsciously, he touched the pouch at his waist where the two fallen leaves were kept, the corners of his lips curving slightly upward.
The next day.
The Wenhua Palace.
From far away, Jin Lanyue spotted the Grand Tutor waiting for her outside the Wenhua Palace.
“Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor!”
“Teacher,” Qu Zijin greeted her, stepping forward to take her small bundle proactively. “Inspired by Teacher yesterday, I wrote a memorial that very night and submitted it to His Majesty.”
“Oh…” Jin Lanyue nodded with an air of mock gravity, though in reality, she hadn’t understood a single word.
Qu Zijin wanted to continue talking about the memorial, but he saw Jin Lanyue pointing a chubby little finger toward the bundle, saying happily, “Grand Tutor, I brought three boxes of pastries! Mother said we get one box each!”
That way, the Princess and the Grand Tutor wouldn’t fight over them—the little dumpling was highly satisfied with this, praising herself internally for being so clever.
Qu Zijin blanked for a moment. “Thank you, Teacher…”
“Little Moon, you’re here? Come quick! I brought something great!” The little Princess’s voice interrupted the conversation between the large and small duo.
She ran up to Jin Lanyue and grabbed her hand. “I brought pastries from the Imperial Kitchen, as well as beautiful jewelry. We’ll split them half and half.”
She intentionally wedged herself between Jin Lanyue and Qu Zijin, not forgetting to cast a victorious look at the Grand Tutor. “They are only for the two of us. The Grand Tutor doesn’t get any!”
“…” Qu Zijin didn’t particularly want any anyway.
Faced with the little Princess’s attempt to win over the little dumpling and isolate him, the adult Grand Tutor, he not only remained emotionally stable and unbothered this time, but he even felt a bit amused.
Having spent so much time with Jin Lanyue, he had unexpectedly begun to like children and had become much more patient.
—Even when dealing with a bratty child like the Princess, he didn’t get angry so easily anymore.
Jin Lanyue, however, was unaware of his thoughts. She expressed her deep concern, “Is dat really okay? What if the Grand Tutor gets angered to death?”
“…I won’t be angered to death,” Qu Zijin said after a moment of silence. “At least, not over something like this.”
The little dumpling let out a sigh of relief, but the little Princess was somewhat dissatisfied.
She placed her hands on her hips, displeased that she hadn’t achieved a complete victory.
Right at that moment, a young eunuch stood outside the Wenhua Palace to report, “Grand Tutor Qu, His Majesty has seen your memorial and requests your presence in the Imperial Study for a discussion.”
The attention of all three was diverted instantly. Qu Zijin’s heart skipped a few beats, and he felt a wave of nerves wash over him. Straightening his sleeves, he replied, “Yes, this minister shall go immediately.”
“Grand Tutor, please follow me,” the young eunuch said, turning around.
Qu Zijin was about to step forward when he paused, turning back to instruct the tall and short pair of little dumplings, “The two of you must preview Chapter Three of the *Three Character Classic* in the schoolroom first. Do not wander about.”
“I don’t want to listen to you…”
Jin Lanyue tugged at the little Princess’s hand. “Grand Tutor, are you coming back?”
Qu Zijin couldn’t say for sure, so he merely patted her little head. “Preview your lesson first. If the time comes and I haven’t returned, you may dismiss yourselves from school.”
Outside the Wenhua Palace, the young eunuch began to urge him, and Qu Zijin hurriedly left with him.
The moment Qu Zijin was called away by the Emperor’s personal attendant, the little Princess’s laughter echoed through the Wenhua Palace.
Grasping Little Jin Lanyue’s wrist, she skipped in a joyous circle on the spot. “Hooray! That old stick-in-the-mud is finally gone!”
Jin Lanyue was currently worrying. Hearing this, she tilted her tiny face up, her watery, large eyes filled with concern. “The Grand Tutor was called away by the Emperor… Will he get scolded?”
Her daddy had told her that the Emperor was the biggest official in the whole world.
Did that mean the Emperor was the Grand Tutor’s teacher?
Was the Grand Tutor being called over so suddenly because he hadn’t done his homework well and was going to have his palm smacked?
“Who cares about him!” The Princess waved her hand dismissively, pulling her into the schoolroom and presenting a food box. “Come eat yummy food!”
The moment the food box was opened, a sweet fragrance wafted everywhere.
Jin Lanyue’s attention was hooked instantly. She leaned in closer and saw over a dozen delicate pastries neatly arranged inside the food box, each piece only the size of her tiny fist.
“This is for you too.” The Princess pulled out a gold-plated butterfly hairpin, clumsily attempting to insert it into her little study companion’s hair buns.
The little dumpling sat obediently to let the Princess doll her up, her mouth stuffed so full that her cheeks ballooned like a greedy little hamster.
She asked indistinctly, “Princess, when is the Grand Tutor coming back?”
The little Princess was currently holding up another pearl hairpin against her own head. Hearing the question, she puckered her lips. “Who knows.”
Jin Lanyue let out a sigh. At the thought that the Grand Tutor might currently be getting his palm smacked, she felt that even the pastries in her mouth had lost their flavor.
After the Princess finished dressing her up, she cradled her own face and spent a long moment admiring her “masterpiece.”
Gradually, she grew bored as well. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she pulled Little Jin Lanyue to her feet. “Come on, I’ll take you to the Imperial Study!”
“B-but…” The little dumpling nervously twined her fingers together. “The Grand Tutor said to wait for him to come back…”
“What is there to fear! We’ll just say I forced you to come along.”
The Imperial Garden in summer was equally beautiful, and the two little girls held hands as they walked through the nine-bend corridor.
Suddenly, the little Princess gasped, “Oh no! I left my jade pendant back at the Wenhua Palace!”
She pointed ahead. “Little Moon, you keep walking forward along this small path first. I’ll be right back!”
Little Jin Lanyue nodded obediently, strolling forward with her short legs at a leisurely pace.
Just as she turned past a flower wall, an arrow flew crookedly toward her. Barely managing to clear her head, it lost its momentum and fell to the ground with a soft *splat*.
At the same time, an arrogant child’s voice echoed from ahead: “Get out of the way, get out of the way! Can’t you see this Prince is practicing archery?”
The little dumpling shuddered from the fright. She looked up to see a young boy dressed in a brocade robe standing in the middle of the path with his hands on his hips, holding a small golden bow.
He was roughly five years old, his round face written all over with haughtiness, and two trembling young eunuchs followed closely behind him.
“Which family do you belong to? Why do you not bow upon seeing this Prince?” The young Prince raised his chin, pointing his golden bow directly at Little Jin Lanyue.
> **[Task Triggered]**
> *You have encountered her most loyal admirer, supporter, and the male lead of the book—the Prince of the dynasty, Wei Jiayou.*
> *He is her backing, her sharpest spear, and her sturdiest shield.*
> *He is also one of the people you hate most.*
> *He looks down on you with contempt, just as she looked down on you with contempt, stripping away everything you own, suppressing you, and destroying you.*
> *You hate him. You decide to teach him a lesson.*
> **[Task: Teach Prince Wei Jiayou a lesson]**
> **[Reward: Advanced Illness-Dispelling Talisman x1]**
Jin Lanyue blanked for a moment.
She couldn’t quite understand Auntie System’s words, but judging from such a long string of titles, she vaguely realized that the little Prince before her was far from simple.
While she was caught in her daze, the little Prince had already marched forward, sizing up this intricately sculpted little dumpling before his eyes.