radicalducati Chapter 405 Wangshu
Chapter 405 Wangshu
Li Yuanke was at a loss with her, but his anger had subsided considerably. He got up, picked up Shen Shixi, and took her to the hot spring.
The two had just finished washing when the four children returned.
The four children went out of the palace to the Shen family and stayed there for a day. When they returned, they all huddled in Li Yuanke's arms, two of them sitting on one leg, chattering away.
Wang Shu wanted to speak, but couldn't out-talk his older brothers and sisters, so he covered their mouths with one hand, forbidding them from speaking.
He couldn't say it himself, and in his frustration, he kicked out and stepped directly on his father's private parts.
A child under two years old may not feel much pain, but they are certainly not without sensation.
Li Yuanke hissed as he saw the children looking at him, especially Wang Shu, whose face and peach blossom eyes, which resembled Shen Shixi's, were full of innocence.
Father held back, "Father is fine, what do you want to say?"
Shen Shixi was watching from the side and almost died laughing.
Back then, she kicked him, and he wasn't so tolerant.
Li Yuanke naturally remembered this as well, and glared at her.
Can the force be the same?
Different conditions result in different injuries!
Wang Shu stammered, "Eat, eat, cake!"
Li Yuanke couldn't understand, so the Crown Prince translated for his younger brother: "My younger brother likes to eat the osmanthus rice cake from his maternal grandfather's house. He has eaten quite a lot and still wants more, but his maternal grandfather won't let him eat it. He got angry and smashed the plate, and the cake was scattered all over the ground."
If you won't let him eat, then you won't let anyone else eat.
His temper is exactly the same as his mother's.
Li Yuanke glanced at Shen Shixi with amusement. Shen Shixi glared at him and went over to Wang Shu, asking, "Why did you smash the plate? You're so young, but you have such a temper. Don't you know you're wrong?"
When the prince and Xihe saw their mother's posture, they quickly got off their father and stood in a row.
Fu Guang was also very scared, so he quickly followed his older brother and sister's example.
Only Wang Shu looked at her mother, then at her older brother and sister, then at her father, her lips pursed, her eyes blinked, and then she threw herself into her father's arms and wailed.
Li Yuanke was heartbroken and said, "He's still young and doesn't understand. He'll be better when he grows up."
"What's so good about it? Can you tell if he's really crying or just faking it?"
Shen Shixi pulled her youngest son out of Li Yuanke's arms. Sure enough, the little guy made a lot of noise, almost lifting the roof off, but he didn't shed any tears. He even secretly looked at his father. Shen Shixi felt very familiar with that look in his eyes, and also felt very guilty.
[This little thing probably inherited my temper too, right? This unreasonable nature is so much like mine! Damn, I can't let Li Yuanke find out!]
Li Yuanke glanced at her and thought to himself, "I'm not stupid, do you think I can't see through this? She has such a bad temper herself, yet she still has the nerve to scold her son."
However, he only dared to grumble to himself.
Shen Shixi asked her youngest son sternly, "Do you know what you did wrong? Are you still going to throw tantrums and break things like that?"
Wang Shu refused to admit his mistake and reached out to hug his mother's neck with tears in his eyes. In Li Yuanke's eyes, his ability to pretend to be deaf and blind was exactly the same as that of a dog. He couldn't stand it and snatched his youngest son into his arms.
It was purely an impulsive act.
The worst thing about educating children is this: one parent hits while the other protects.
Having taken it back, Li Yuanke realized this as well, but he really couldn't bear to see his youngest son suffer even the slightest injustice, so he said gently, "It's wrong to throw a tantrum and break things. That's not being a good child. Mother loves Wangshu and doesn't want Wangshu to become a bad child."
Wang Shu hugged her father's neck and burst into tears. This time, she was really crying, but the way she glanced at Shen Shixi was clearly a provocation.
Shen Shixi understood him too well. This little thing was impossible to teach, because she had never listened to a single word anyone said.
She tapped Wang Shu's forehead. "You won't listen, will you? You'll be hated by everyone in the future. Let's see how that goes!"
Wang Shu was still a child under two years old. Unlike Shen Shixi, who was a mature soul born from a womb, his mother's words made him more alert and restrained.
The New Year was over, and the eldest princess suffered a miscarriage, which damaged her health. Fortunately, she was young and had the imperial physicians to take good care of her, so the damage was minimized.
She lay in a side hall of Yichun Palace for a month without anyone asking about her or visiting her. All those who served her closely were punished because of her. Now, the people walking in the hall are newly sent by the Imperial Household Department, silently doing their own things, being careful, for fear of losing their lives again if they are not careful.
These people are too busy complaining about her to possibly get close to her.
The Empress did not send anyone to reprimand her.
She was like someone forgotten by the world; at one point, she thought that no one would even know if she died in Yichun Palace.
Only then did the eldest princess belatedly realize that after her mother's death, the only person in the world who would love her was gone. She had always longed for her father's love, but it was like the moon in the water or a flower in a mirror—illusory and unreal.
"Where is my mother? Didn't she promise my mother that she would give me a way out? Why is she ignoring me?" the eldest princess asked, crying.
The head palace maid, Chunbi, concealed the disdain in her eyes and said, "Her Majesty the Empress has decreed that the eldest princess can do whatever she wants from now on."
"Do whatever you want? Do you think I can just leave the palace?" the eldest princess roared.
Without her birth mother's guidance, she had no idea what to do. As for helping her fourth brother seize the throne, she now realized that her abilities were nothing compared to her mother's, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Her mother told her to listen to her mother, and although she wouldn't go that far, she knew she couldn't have any more wishful thinking.
Chunbi said, "Her Majesty the Empress has also issued a decree that if the princes and princesses wish to leave the palace, they should inform Zhaoyang Palace, then report to Commander Cen and Commander Qin, and after arranging for guards, they may leave the palace as long as they do not leave the capital."
The eldest princess was stunned.
She struggled to get up, her lower back still aching, but she still sent someone to report before leaving the palace.
She didn't know where she was going. She sat in the carriage and wandered around the capital. She looked at the willows on the riverbank, the plum blossoms in the spring sunshine, the men and women of all kinds on the street, the peddlers carrying their goods and going from street to street, and the smoke rising from the rooftops. She felt lost and aggrieved.
Tears streamed down her face.
She was just of marriageable age when she lost her birth mother, which felt like she had lost her home. She was filled with fear and regret.
I felt that the future was bleak.
"Chunbi, what should I do?" the eldest princess asked.
Chunbi huddled in the corner of the carriage and said cautiously, "This servant is foolish and ignorant. This servant begs the eldest princess to take good care of her health. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor still have the eldest princess in their hearts."
She thought to herself, "As long as you don't cause trouble and kill us all, I don't care what you do."
As dusk fell, the eldest princess returned to the palace before the gates were closed. The empty palace was like a tomb for the living dead, and she felt utterly terrified.
The Chongxian Academy has now changed its rules. The princes not only go to school at eight o'clock every day and leave school promptly at five o'clock in the afternoon, but they also have two days off every seven days, during which they can arrange their own time.
It was impossible to keep the princes confined within the palace walls, raised by women, and ignorant of the hardships of life. Therefore, Shen Shixi granted the princes permission to leave the palace.
While the other princes and princesses were still in disbelief, the Crown Prince and Princess Xihe were overjoyed and took the lead in leaving the palace.
Xihe went to browse the bookstores, while the prince strolled around the streets and suddenly had the idea to become a beggar.
Because he saw those dressed in rags, leaning against the wall, sitting there, and people were throwing copper coins at them, clearly getting something for nothing.
Isn't it wrong to gain something for nothing?
How can anyone reap without sowing?
Feeling strange, he went to find a little beggar, gave him a piece of silver, and not only did the little beggar change his clothes, but he also asked him for advice on being a beggar.
The little beggar was older than him and very righteous. He patted his chest and said, "Brother, this is your first time being a beggar. Just follow me. I'll protect you and make sure you won't be bullied."
The prince was new to the ways of the world and didn't know there were many intricacies involved. Even beggars were skilled at manipulation, but he was clever. He observed carefully, paid attention, and asked few questions. "Yes, brother!"
After changing his clothes, the prince followed his newly recognized elder brother to squat on the street corner.