“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Jin Lanyue comforted the little Princess. “Tomorrow, I’ll have Mommy pack me even more cake!”
The little Princess pouted, but ultimately said nothing more.
On the other side, Qu Zijin addressed the little Princess: “Very well. Since she pleaded on your behalf today, I shall not pursue the matter further. In the future, you are not allowed to sleep in class again!”
Jin Lanyue nodded obediently, but out of nowhere, she heard the Princess speak up behind her: “Why should I?!”
Jin Lanyue froze in a daze.
A voice in her heart wailed: Oh no, oh no! They’re going to start arguing again!
Sure enough, the fury that had just been extinguished in Qu Zijin flared right back up in an instant. “What do you mean, why should you?! As a student, not sleeping in class is the absolute bare minimum!”
Qu Zijin flicked the wide sleeve of his cyan official robe, his handsome face flushing slightly with anger.
Though only in his early twenties, he was already the youngest Grand Tutor in the imperial court—even though he himself hadn’t wanted the position at all—but at this very moment, the veins in his temples were throbbing fiercely from the sheer exasperation caused by this willful little Princess.
The five-year-old Princess puckered her cherry lips, her eyes filled with defiance.
Today, she had intentionally styled her hair into double conch buns, and the pearls adorned within her hair swayed gently with every shake of her head.
“Why shouldn’t I be allowed to sleep-sleep?!” The little Princess placed her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffing up like a little pufferfish. “I’m only five years old! Usually at this time, I’m still sleep-sleeping!”
Jin Lanyue felt a little tense and blinked her large eyes.
But…
She felt that the Princess made a lot of sense… Usually at this time, she was still sleep-sleeping too.
Qu Zijin stepped forward again. “That is precisely why you need to be diligent! To cry and complain about waking up early at this stage—what will you do in the future? Back then, I studied bitterly by the cold window for over a decade, day after day. I woke up every single morning at the hour of Yin [3:00 AM – 5:00 AM] and went to sleep at the hour of Hai [9:00 PM – 11:00 PM], and I never once complained!”
“I don’t understand, I don’t understand!” The hand the little Princess had used to slam the desk didn’t hurt anymore, so she now had both hands on her hips. “I don’t care, I don’t care! I just want to sleep in! Give us a day off, I want to sleep in!”
Qu Zijin was so angry he wanted to strike her palm with the ferule, but looking down and seeing Jin Lanyue’s tense, frightened expression, he took a deep breath. Forcing himself to calm down, he tried to reason with the Princess properly: “Ordinarily, it is one day off every five days. You two have only attended class for two days, so why do you already want a day off?”
“I don’t care!” the little Princess stated righteously. “If you don’t let me go back to sleep in, I’ll just sleep in right here!”
He could not tolerate this any longer!
A blue vein bulged on the young Grand Tutor’s forehead. He took a deep breath, just about to lose his temper, when he suddenly felt a gentle tug on the hem of his robe.
Looking down, he saw Jin Lanyue upturning her round, chubby face, her watery, large eyes brimming with worry.
“Grand Tutor, please don’t be angry~” Her milky voice sounded as though it were laced with honey. “Last night, the Princess must have stayed up very late studying, which is why she is so-o sleepy… Yes, it must be like that!”
Jin Lanyue wept silently in her heart.
Your Imperial Highness, this is as far as I can help you, so you absolutely must not expose me!
Hearing this, the little Princess instantly perked up. Having finally caught on for once, she puffed out her small chest and said, “Exactly! I was working so hard that I was even reading books in my dreams! The Grand Tutor ought to give us half a day off!”
…But she hadn’t caught on quite well enough.
Looking at this pair of clowns, Qu Zijin was so angry he nearly ground his silver teeth to pieces.
He gnashed his teeth and said, “If Her Imperial Highness could possess even half the diligence of Study Companion Jin, this minister would not have to burn with rage here every single day.”
Though he fully accepted his defeat in their bet, he still maintained some boundaries.
In front of outsiders, he would not call Jin Lanyue “Teacher,” as that would bring trouble to both of them.
Granted, he himself didn’t care about trouble—he already had more than enough of it, so it didn’t matter if he had a little more.
But Jin Lanyue was still small. He could not harm her or cause a negative influence due to his own improper speech or conduct.
Qu Zijin looked at Jin Lanyue, and then looked at the little Princess. He truly could not fathom why—when both were children—the difference between them could be so vast?!
He said with bitter disappointment, “Why can the Princess not learn from Study Companion Jin? Look at her—diligent, clever, and she has never once complained of hardship or exhaustion.”
“Huh?” Jin Lanyue was stunned, pointing blankly at herself with a chubby little finger.
Qu Zijin gave her an approving nod.
Jin Lanyue… Jin Lanyue looked at the sky, then looked at the ground, simply not daring to lock eyes with the Grand Tutor.
Yet Qu Zijin spoke up encouragingly: “Study Companion Jin, do you think what I said is correct?”
Jin Lanyue lowered her head heavily.
The little Princess spoke up righteously: “Yue’er, don’t be afraid! Speak out boldly! If he tries to hit you, I’ll take the beating for you!”
Qu Zijin sneered, “She is nothing like you, only knowing how to be lazy and rebellious.”
Both of them spoke up in unison: “Yue’er / Study Companion Jin, speak!”
Jin Lanyue looked down at her tiny embroidered shoes, twiddling her fingers, missing the match several times because she was so nervous.
“Actually, I… I…” Her voice trembled a little.
The two urged: “Don’t be afraid, go ahead and say it!”
Jin Lanyue squeezed her eyes shut, putting on a heroic expression of a martyr facing death: “Actually, I can’t wake up early either!”
“Boohoo, Grand Tutor, I’m sorry, but I really can’t wake up early either, boohoo…”
The little Princess jumped up and down excitedly: “See! What did I tell you?!”
She wrapped her arm around Jin Lanyue’s shoulder. “I knew the two of us were good sisters!”
Jin Lanyue looked up guiltily at Qu Zijin, only to find him staring back with utter disbelief. His body swayed slightly, looking as though he was about to faint.
“Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor!” Jin Lanyue hurriedly rushed forward, using her tiny hands to steady his knees. “Grand Tutor, please don’t die! I can get up, boohoo, I can get up to come to school…”
Qu Zijin gasped for air a few times, stabilized himself, and fumbled to sit down. “You… you two… Sigh, forget it, I…”
He had never been so thoroughly left speechless in his entire life.
He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to utter another word.
This terrified Jin Lanyue. “Grand Tutor! Grand Tutor, please don’t die! Princess, Princess, we’ve angered the Grand Tutor to death!”
Qu Zijin had no choice but to open his eyes again. “Rest assured, I am not going to die just yet.”
“Really?” Jin Lanyue wiped her tears, her speech slurring from fright. “Grand Tutor, please don’t be angry-angry. I… I can get up to come to school… Grand Tutor, I… boohoo, I’ve already learned how to count to ten! I’ll count it for you… One, two, three, four…”
The reward she had received earlier, Enlightenment Knowledge Mastery (Arithmetic Edition), finally proved useful, and Jin Lanyue successfully counted all the way to ten.
Qu Zijin listened blankly. After a long while, he let out a sigh, patted her fluffy little head, and fell back into his habitual lecture: “With a talent like yours, you truly ought to study hard and diligently.”
Jin Lanyue was genuinely terrified of angering the Grand Tutor to death. “I will study hard and dilli-gently, Grand Tutor, please don’t be angry-angry…”
Qu Zijin almost blacked out again. “…It is ‘diligently’.”
“Dilli… diligently!”
Qu Zijin tilted his head back, staring blankly at the ceiling for a long moment. Only after a while did he lower his head, taking out Jin Lanyue’s small handkerchief to wipe her tears.
He softened his voice as much as possible. “Why are you crying again? Rest assured, I will not die.”
“Oh…” Jin Lanyue’s little hands still held onto him tightly, looking rather unconvinced, as if she was terrified that the moment she let go, he would be angered into ascending straight to heaven on the spot.
He finished wiping her tears and glanced at the little Princess, who was looking incredibly guilty and not daring to meet his eyes—splendid. Though this one was two years older than Jin Lanyue, she had apparently believed the nonsense that they had angered him to death as well, and was drowning in guilt.
Qu Zijin finally compromised. “Since that is the case, you two may have a day off tomorrow. In the future, you may come to class at the hour of Chen [7:00 AM – 9:00 AM].”
“Really?! Hooray!” The little Princess immediately jumped up and cheered.
Jin Lanyue seemed quite pleasantly surprised too, but she didn’t forget to show her concern: “Grand Tutor, you aren’t angry-angry anymore, right?”
“Yes, I am not angry anymore.” Qu Zijin patted her head again.
“Hooray!” Only then did Jin Lanyue join in the cheering.