Chapter 155.2: Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 155 Pt. 2
Translated by gingercat
Edited by gingercat
It was clear that the two women shared a good relationship, which was why one dared entrust the other to take care of her child. As for the two children, they also had a good relationship, resulting in the incident today.
Actually, today’s show was indeed because of Jin Wang’s teachings, but Jin Wang’s teaching was different from other people’s. He only told Xiaobao that whatever trouble he caused must be resolved by himself. Simple and crude, but he knew his son would understand.
Xiaobao indeed resolved it on his own. His solution was to find a little wife for himself.
His mother was his father’s wife, so his mother could come. If this little girl was my wife, then she could also come.
Every time he sees Xiaobao, Emperor Hongjing refreshes his understanding and he grew to like this little grandson of his more and more. At first, he was in an unpleasant mood, but after all this, his irritability subsided. He gave Li Dequan a wink, and a little eunuch waiting nearby immediately moved a seat next to the emperor.
Li Dequan wanted to lift Xiaobao onto the chair, but Xiaobao refused to let him carry him. He pointed to the chair and said to the little eunuch, “Why did you only move one seat?”
The eunuch couldn’t help but look at Li Dequan and Emperor Hongjing.
Emperor Hongjing laughed and scolded, “How foolish. Why haven’t you gone to grab a seat for the imperial grandson consort?”
As soon as these words came out, many people’s faces changed.
Before, it hadn’t been such a big deal since it was just children talking. But now these words came out of Emperor Hongjing’s mouth. Could it be that he agreed to marry the daughter of Duke Zhenguo Manor to the young master of Jin Wang Manor?
Once Xiaobao sat on the chair, he leaned in front of Emperor Hongjing. “Imperial Grandpa, what is an imperial grandson consort?”
“Didn’t you just say she’s your little wife? You are the imperial grandson, and the imperial grandson’s wife is a consort.” Emperor Hongjing glanced down. Seeing that several of his sons had different expressions, but none of them were pleasant, his eyes turned even colder.
He wasn’t dead yet!
Xiaobao, instead of being happy, frowned with a look of bitterness and annoyance.
“What is it? The seat was added according to your will, yet you’re still not happy.”
“If she doesn’t look pretty in the future, wouldn’t it be a loss for me?”
Emperor Hongjing was surprised. He touched Xiaobao’s head with a smile, “It was you who called her your little wife in the first place, are you denying her now? Besides, how do you know she won’t look pretty in the future? From what I can see, she is a beauty in the making.”
“Xiaobao Gege, I will definitely look pretty when I grow up. Don’t leave me behind when you want to play.” Yueyue looked at Xiaobao pitifully. How could she understand that they weren’t talking about playing at all but a major event in one’s lifetime?
Xiaobao hesitated for a moment and then sighed earnestly. “My father said that a man must be responsible and live up to his words. So even if you don’t look pretty in the future, I won’t deny you.”
Look at how elegant his words were!
“What else did your father teach you?” Emperor Hongjing asked curiously.
Xiaobao glanced at Emperor Hongjing, his chubby face proud. “My father has taught me a lot, but my father also said that a man relies on his talent, not his emotions, hides his thoughts, and reveals nothing. Only then would he succeed in big matters”
Emperor Hongjing laughed heartily. Xiaobao, a wee little child, was trying to copy Jin Wang’s way of speaking. It was quite the image. Throughout history, there have been many tales of child prodigies, such as Gan Luo and Cao Chong who lived in the past, and Yuan Jia and Li He who lived closer to the present. However, Emperor Hongjing had always believed that their deeds were greatly exaggerated.
Back then, Zhao Zuo, the eldest imperial grandson, was literate at the age of three and started learning classic literature at the age of five. Emperor Hongjing treated him like a treasure, and he was greatly impressed by his grandson. He taught him personally ever since he was young and Emperor Hongjing always believed that Zhao Zuo was the smartest child he had ever seen. But today, Xiaobao refreshed his horizons.
Could it be that their Zhao Family was going to produce a peerless child prodigy?
“Are you talented?” Emperor Hongjing looked incredulous, clearly trying to prod him on.
Xiaobao naturally noticed it, but he pretended to be the child he was, a child who didn’t want to be looked down upon.
“Of course I’m talented!” He stretched out his chubby hand and counted to Emperor Hongjing, “I can recite the Three-Character Classic, the Book of Family Names, and the Thousand-Character Classic. I also learned Qionglin when I was young, and now I am studying Qianjia Poetry.”
Emperor Hongjing stroked his beard and shook his head, “I don’t believe it.”
Xiaobao jumped off his chair and held his hands together behind his back. “Imperial Grandpa, watch me.” Then he began to recite. He didn’t choose the simpler Three-Character Classic but recited the Thousand-Character Classic.
The Thousand-Character Classic, as its name suggests, was an essay composed of a thousand words. Although the length wasn’t very long, for a young child, it was a lot to memorize.
But Xiaobao spoke clearly and recited it word for word.
Emperor Hongjing felt the urge to test Xiaobao. He stroked his beard and said to him, “Memorizing it without understanding it is not good enough. For what reason should one enter politics and become an official? What does it mean to ignore shortcomings and to not rely on one’s strengths?”
Xiaobao said almost without hesitation, “As long as you’re educated, you can become an official. You can exercise power to participate in major affairs of the state and benefit the common people. As for the saying: ignoring shortcomings and not relying on one’s strengths, it means not discussing others’ shortcomings. One also mustn’t rely only on their own strength, otherwise, progress would be limited.”
Emperor Hongjing had chosen these two parts randomly. Since Xiaobao could answer his questions easily, it could be seen that he was well versed in the Thousand-Character Classic.
“Good, good!” Emperor Hongjing praised twice him and then said, “Your father and mother have taught you well.”
Now that they were brought up, the father and mother could no longer act dead.
Jin Wang said, “The Ministry of Works is not that busy recently, and Erchen only taught him a little when there is spare time.”
Yaoniang replied in a low voice, “It’s all His Highness’s credit, this concubine doesn’t deserve it.”
How shameless. He said that he only taught in his spare time, yet Xiaobao’s understanding was at such a profound level. If this wasn’t being shameless then what was? Who knows how many people were sneering in the audience.
Emperor Hongjing nodded, “Alright, take a seat. Zhen believes you truly are talented.” The latter sentence was addressed to Xiaobao.
Xiaobao refused Li Dequan’s attempt to carry him again and insisted on climbing up the chair himself. Li Dequan asked curiously, “You’re still very young and you’re clearly talented at learning. What do you plan to do in the future?
The pupils over everyone present shrunk.
Yaoniang’s heart almost leapt out of her throat. She was scared of her son hearing something outrageous during his time spent with Jin Wang and then accidentally blurting it out in front of all these people.
As for those who believed Jin Wang was using the child to obtain favour, they desperately wished Xiaobao would say something to displease Emperor Hongjing. Only then would he know what it meant to fail to steal the chicken but lose the rice.
They seemed to have completely forgotten that they had also thought so last time, but their expectations failed to live up to reality.
“This…” Xiaobao frowned and thought for a while, before hesitantly asking, “Grandson hasn’t thought about it yet. Imperial Grandpa, just because I learn something does that mean I have to pursue it? My father said that I have to wait until I’m five years old before teaching me martial arts. You can ask me again when I’m grown up.”
This time, Xiaobao’s reply was completely different from the fluent answer he gave earlier. His mannerisms returned to that of a young child again.
His answer was still flawless. Not only did he reply to Emperor Hongjing’s question, but he also hinted that Emperor Hongjing would definitely live a long life. By the time Xiaobao grew up, Emperor Hongjing would already be in his seventies. Ever since ancient times, very few emperors could live until their seventies.
Emperor Hongjing changed from his previously indiscernible mood to a more cheerful one with a bright smile on his face.
On the other hand, An Wang and the rest looked at each other’s sons and then back at their own, feeling for some reason that their children simply weren’t on par.
But they all shared the same ancestry! Naturally, these proud sons of heaven wouldn’t look at themselves for the reason but shifted their attention to their wives instead. Yaoniang also received a lot of attention.
Once the family banquet was over, Xiaobao, who became the centre of attention, returned to Yaoniang’s side surreptitiously and behaved like a calm and obedient child again.
Upon exiting the gates of Qianqing Palace, the various princes continued prodding each other while venting their frustration on Jin Wang. After listening to a few words, Jin Wang was unwilling to accompany them any longer and walked over to Yaoniang who was waiting for him not far away.
It was cold and the road was slippery. Given the presence of a bunch of children and women, carriages were driven into the palace to pick them up.
After getting into the carriage, Jin Wang sneered and said, “Truly impressive.”
This was naturally referring to Xiaobao.
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