The Crown Princess finished speaking and imdiately noticed that the hand gripping hers trembled slightly.
Just like five years ago, when she first entered the East Palace and t him, the prince who was considered invincible by the common folk, would hug himself tightly and curl up in a corner, like a prisoner awaiting the verdict of death.
"Your Highness."
"Who are you..."
"I am here to help you."
The helpless young man looked up, his trembling hand gently lifted by her, and thus they walked through the long years together.
"I do not wish to drag you down," the Crown Prince said, echoing the words he had spoken five years ago.
The Crown Princess smiled, "After five years of being husband and wife, we are already one. Your Highness, do not be afraid. No one can hurt us."
The Crown Prince held her in his arms, feeling the warmth of their bodies, and his slight tremor gradually subsided.
After a long ti, he whispered, "I am preparing to do sothing, sothing that many... many people will misunderstand, even sothing that may tarnish our reputation."
The Crown Princess chuckled, "Just losing face? That's all?"
The Crown Prince was taken aback and laughed lightly, "Is it not serious?"
"It’s not painful or itchy, of course it’s light. I’m the Crown Princess, after all. Do you think anyone would dare to ridicule to my face? Reputation is just a trivial matter. In a lifeti, who hasn't done sothing embarrassing? Besides, you’ll be losing face with , so I’m not afraid at all."
The Crown Prince smiled softly, "Alright, then you trust ."
The Crown Princess stroked his back again and again, vowing, "I trust you, I trust you the most. No matter how others misunderstand you in the future, I will always believe in you."
Your Highness, no matter what you do.
I will stand in front of you and protect you.
No one can hurt my dearest Your Highness.
Yangyuan Marquis Manor.
After seeing off the Crown Prince, Zong Jincheng felt as if he had won five million in a lottery. He jumped up and down in place, letting out all sorts of ear-piercing, boastful noises.
Xu Wan, who was sensible, had already learned to plug her ears.
As she covered her ears and walked away, the ignored little brat chased after her, running and shouting, "Oh, soone is jealous and covering their ears, yet they can still hear , quite the classic case of 'plugging ears while stealing a bell'!"
Xu Wan: "……!"
This scoundrel actually turned the tables on her!
Previously, she had done the sa thing to him, speaking similar words while he covered his ears, saying that he could still hear and that he was 'plugging ears while stealing a bell'. Now, the little rascal was using her own words against her with increasing agility.
Ugh, I hate geniuses!
Xu Wan let go of her hands, turned her head, and snarled, "Co here, let's study."
"Scary face..." the little brat comnted, "The Crown Prince is so much better, so gentle and considerate. He even pats my head."
Xu Wan stopped, reached out, and started ssing with his hair.
Yes, really ssing with it.
She took out all the nervousness from being questioned by the Crown Prince and vented it on this little guy.
"Ahhh, what are you doing! It's patting, not rubbing! Can you rub soone's head? I'm not washing my hair... Ahhh, I’ll fight you!" The little brat argued and soon got into a scuffle with her.
Xu Wan laughed as she said, "This is for making angry, you little shorty. I’m going to ss with your hair."
After saying that, she rubbed it again, finding his hair soft, like petting a cat, quite satisfying.
The little brat blushed in anger, "Who’s a shorty!"
Bad person!
When he becos the top scholar, he'll definitely be taller than her. Then he'll see how he'll get his revenge!
Xu Wan made a silly face at him innocently, successfully triggering another round of his flailing.
The two noisy ones reached the large study room. With the absence of the Crown Prince's pressure, the three private tutors naturally relaxed as if at ho.
Pan Hongzhi rolled his eyes to the ceiling, thinking how cowardly these two were.
Xu Wan turned to Cheng Zhidong and said, "Mr. Cheng, could you co with ? We need to revise the children's study plan."
"Of course."
The second floor of the study was vast, rarely visited, making it feel empty and chilly.
Cheng Zhidong found a table, spread out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, ready to record what Xu Wan had to say.
Xu Wan began, "Have Zong Jincheng and Zong Wenxiu learned about history and laws specifically?"
Cheng bowed, "No, the Tongzi exam doesn't include these subjects. The boys are learning Enlightennt books mostly about historical figures, interpersonal skills, and various philosophical ideas."
Xu Wan affird, "Include these two subjects in their curriculum."
Cheng nodded, "This makes sense; we who have taken the imperial exams know it well. However, with only half a year left, if the boys divert their focus, it may affect their Tongzi exam results..." Cheng rembered, "Especially Zong Jincheng, who is always thinking about defeating Qin Ye in the Tongzi exam."
Xu Wan proclaid, "Qin Ye is a target, but not the primary one. The Tongzi exam results don't need to be top-tier, just passing to gain a special imperial exam entry is enough."
Cheng blinked, "Then, the pressure is relieved."
Xu Wan smiled, "Life is long; Zong Jincheng can challenge Qin Ye again in the imperial exams."
"Indeed..."
After Xu Wan left, Cheng discussed the changes in the curriculum with the other two tutors, and Pan Hongzhi and Zhao Yin adjusted their teaching strategies during their regular lessons with the boys.
For example, when Zong Jincheng suspected that Xu Wan wanted to sell him off, Pan Hongzhi educated him about Great Chu Law: Selling people off results in a hundred lashes and being exiled three thousand miles.
Zong Jincheng considered the remote Lingnan region... feeling extrely safe.
Another example was when Zong Jincheng grew weary of studying and started complaining about who invented reading, Pan then reminded him: Characters were created by Cang Jie, reading was advocated by Confucius, paper was invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and ink was discovered by Xing Yi in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Zong Jincheng: "……"
Knowledge was being forcefully shoved into his brain through a vengeance filter.
All morized to spite !!
On Zong Wenxiu's side, while not as many odd questions arose, casually listening to his brother's lessons occasionally yielded a wealth of historical anecdotes and legal knowledge.
In the following days, the two boys focused on their studies. Seeing that their grandchildren were not affected, Old Marquis and Old Marchioness decided to stay in the manor for a few days but avoided visiting the study to disturb them.
Zong Jincheng, ever since serving his grandfather's footbath that day, would, after each lesson, bring his brother to accompany the elders at alti. Of course, Xu Wan and Baili Weihong were also present.
Interestingly, Xu Wan noticed that Zong Jincheng no longer actively sought trouble with her. If he had magically grown up overnight, that might have been the case, but he was still as childish as ever, howling and making a ruckus. There was sothing inherently different about him.
For instance, now, when Old Marchioness placed a piece of at on Xu Wan's plate but not Zong Jincheng's, instead of making a fuss about his grandmother's partiality, he refrained.
Not only did he not sulk aboutXu Wan, but he also took the initiative to pick up a piece of at and put it into Zong Wenxiu's bowl "now between them, and not concerned with external trifles."
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