âBecause Father told me that Imperial Grandfather is the most knowledgeable and brave person in the world. Both your literary knowledge and martial arts are far superior to the sages and Yao, Shun, Yu, and TangÂč.â Xiaobaoâs milky voice sounded in the hall.
As soon as these words came out, everyoneâs eyes landed on Jin Wangâs face. Despite boasting that his skin was as thick as iron, Jin Wangâs usually stoic face couldnât help but crack. He never said anything like that! Where did this little brat get his ideas from?
Xiaobao followed up his words with another question, âBy the way, Imperial Grandfather, what are sages and Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang? Isnât fish soup for drinking? Mother boiled me some fish soup, and Xiaobao liked it very much.â
How could Emperor Hongjing answer this sentence? Was he supposed to brag about how awesome he was in front of all these ministers and officials? The highest level of boasting wasnât to do it yourself but to let others do it for you.
Obviously, Emperor Hongjing didnât lack these people. As soon as Xiaobaoâs voice fell, someone jumped out to spout rainbow farts about Emperor Hongjing. As soon as one person jumped out, countless people followed. Soon everyone explained to Xiaobao what the meaning is for âfar superior to the sagesâ and what âYao Shun Yu and Tangâ means.
With Xiaobaoâs beautiful words and the apparently honest words of Jin Wang that resulted in rainbow farts, the greetings afterwards were naturally less eventful. Therefore, flattery was also a skill with different levels. The highest form of flattery wasnât to do it yourself. Despite saying nothing, the person being flattered still gives you the credit and feels great from all the praise.
In this instance, that would be the calm and composed Jin Wang standing to the side.
Not only did he give people a sense of unpredictability, but what truly shocked everyone was that the seemingly cold and stiff-looking Jin Wang actually admired his father so much.
Even Emperor Hongjingâs gaze became a lot more complicated.
Then Xiaobao got the opportunity to climb onto Emperor Hongjingâs leg and look down at the people below. Gradually the scene became less and less suitable for the young children. Emperor Hongjing then ordered Li Dequan to take all the young grandchildren away. Not only Xiaobao, but also the children of Qing Wang, Wu Wang, and Lu Wang were taken to another place.
âWhat a good Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang! And fish soup! Fifth brother, your child is truly incredible!â said Lu Wang with admiration and envy.
Hui Wang and the others all felt uncomfortable inside, especially Hui Wang. Although he didnât want to admit it, he knew that his son was a cut above himself. But now that there was someone better than his son, Hui Wang couldnât help but feel sour inside.
As for An Wang and others, they hated the fact that the women in their family werenât as capable and didnât give birth to such an intelligent child. Then they wouldnât need to witness todayâs scene of Jin Wang being in the limelight. Under such circumstances, they banded together, hoping to make Jin Wang drunk and cause a scene. Only then would they feel better and more balanced.
Being forced like this, Jin Wang drank more and more. The palace maids had already brought over several jars of wine in a row and they were all emptied. Watching by the side, Qing Wang became more and more anxious. He wanted to use Emperor Hongjing as an excuse to dissuade them but when he looked up, he realized that Emperor Hongjing had already left. Now the most honourable people in this pavilion were Hui Wang and the others. Given their status, no one dared to dissuade them from doing anything.
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Plus, this was clearly a battle between the princes. No one was willing to get involved, so they all pretended not to see anything. Instead, they focused on eating, drinking and chatting amongst themselves.
Hui Wang was the first to give up. He put down his wine cup and stood up holding his stomach. âThis prince needs to go to the washroom. You all continue to drink. When this prince comes back, this prince will accompany you to drink some more. Tonight, this prince and fifth brother will drink until we collapse.â
He reached out and beckoned at the servants. A little eunuch came up and helped him leave.
Jin Wang put down his wine cup and looked at Lu Wang whose face had turned red. âSince eldest brother is gone, this prince wonât drink anymore.â
Lu Wang was about to say something when a eunuch hurried over.
âYour Highness Jin Wang, His Majesty called you over to talk.â
âWhatâs the matter?â
The eunuch lowered his head and hesitated before saying, âIt seems that the little young master said something wrong and angered His Majesty.â
The people next to him suddenly showed interesting expressions with hints of gloating in their eyes.
This was what they call failing to steal the chicken yet still lose rice, believing that a child could please Father Emperor. But what can a child at this age know? One bit of carelessness and all sorts of troubles would follow.
The dense Lu Wang patted Jin Wang on the shoulder and comforted him saying, âFifth brother, my little imperial nephew is still young and ignorant. Donât take your anger out on him.â
Yong Wang said, âOld fifth, I donât mean to blame you but heâs such a young child. Now that you taught him to say all that and something like this happensâŠâ He said it as if he was sympathetic, but with his one sentence, he completely overturned the efforts Xiaobao had made. The underlying meaning of his words was that Emperor Hongjing had seen through Jin Wangâs âulterior motiveâ of using Xiaobao to compete for favour.
Jin Wang glanced at him and stood up.
Anxious, Qing Wang said, âFifth brother, Iâll go with you.â
Jin Wang shook his head and left with the eunuch.
On the other hand, as soon as Yaoniang heard âHis Highnessâ and âlittle young master is not feeling wellâ, she panicked and automatically stood up.
âEunuch, where do you come from? Where is His Highness right now? What happened to Xiaobao?â
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âReplying to Your Highnessâs words, this servant is a eunuch serving at Fubi Pavilion, named Xiao Anzi. This servant doesnât know what happened, only what was ordered from above. His Highness should still be at Fubi Pavilion accompanying the other Highnesses at this time. The little imperial grandson felt uncomfortable and asked the servants to accompany him to Jiangxue Pavilion.â
âWhatâs wrong with the little imperial grandson?â
With a look of worry and anxiety on his face, Xiao Anzi said, âYour Highness, this servant isnât sure, but heard that it seemed to be stomach pain. This servant has already ordered someone to go look for an imperial physician, but the little imperial grandson is making a fuss about you.â
âIs that so⊠â For some unknown reason, Yaoniang seemed to be hesitating and she glanced to the side.
Xiao Anzi followed her gaze and didnât see anyone. There was only a man dressed as a eunuch, adjusting the glazed lantern hanging on the tree branch with a bamboo pole.
âYour Highness Side Consort, what are you looking at?â
âConsort Qing just left, IâŠâ
âYour Highness, you should go and take a look. The servants canât coax the little grandson any longer.â
âThen Iâll come along with you.â
Yaoniang didnât delay any longer and left with Xiao Anzi.