The Grand Secretary's Child-Raising Diary

Before Lu Youning could react, realizing that the person the teacher was referring to, who was barely taller than the table, was him, the teacher sneered at the Eighth Prince: "As a prince, you should cherish and love your people. To so readily call for war and killing shows no respect for the imperial authority!"

The Eighth Prince, who had grown five years older and was now in a position to command the wind and rain, was stunned.

Lu Youning: This teacher is a bit scary. He quietly picked up his little book bag and obediently sat down in the first row.

The Eighth Prince dared to clamor to throw Lu Youning out of the school and even dared to shout and kill Cao Li, the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue, but he dared not utter a word of ill will to the teachers of Chongwen Academy, after all, there was the precedent of his Sixth Brother.

Three years ago, the sixth prince, born to Consort Hui, made outrageous remarks in the Chongwen Academy because his teacher suspected that his calligraphy was written by his companion. He even almost physically assaulted the teacher who was instructing him.

When the news reached Emperor Chenghe's ears, he personally intervened, pinning the Sixth Prince down in front of the Chongwen Academy and giving him a beating. Even when Consort Hui rushed over and shielded him, she couldn't stop the Emperor. In the end, it was only through the intervention of several teachers from the Chongwen Academy that the Sixth Prince was spared a severe beating.

Since then, whenever a prince of school age entered school, his mother would bring up the Sixth Prince's affair to warn her son, fearing that the rascal might act impulsively and offend His Majesty.

The Eighth Prince feared neither heaven nor earth, but he was afraid of his father. He was pulled by Cao Li and the others and sat down in his seat with a resentful expression.

The disturbance was averted by the arrival of the teacher. Before class was even scheduled to begin, several more students entered the classroom, filling all ten tables.

When the bell rang

Master Pei, holding a ruler, stepped down from the lecture platform: "Today is the first lesson of your education. We will not discuss words and sentences, but first establish your moral character. You have entered Chongwen Academy for three reasons: first, to learn etiquette; second, to learn to read; and third, to establish your character. Within the academy, you must respect your teachers and elders, and be friendly to your classmates. You must not be playful or mischievous, and you must not be lazy in your studies."

The matter has been explained; let us gather our attention and begin today with the opening chapters of the *Jijiupian*.

Surprisingly, the class went by faster than Lu Youning had expected. Master Pei's lectures were quite different from his usual image; he was very humorous and witty, not just reading from the textbook. He quoted extensively from various sources and used allusions with ease, and Lu Youning found herself listening intently.

But interesting as it may be, Lu Youning won't look forward to the next lesson just because the teacher's lectures are interesting.

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class. He quickly packed his books and tried to leave, but was stopped by Teacher Pei. Lu Youning reluctantly went back, and Teacher Pei handed him a copy of the *Three Character Classic*, folded a page, and instructed him:

"The Three Character Classic is also a classic work for children's enlightenment. It must be read. You must not slack off when you return to the school. Memorize it. I will check it in class tomorrow. If you can't memorize it, I will give you a good spanking."

Master Pei feigned fierceness, while Lu Youning remained expressionless, silently adding another mark to her record of her cheap father's actions, who was thousands of miles away.

He wasn't stupid. Anyway, it was definitely not a whim of His Majesty that he entered the palace to be chosen as the Eighth Prince's study companion; it was also no accident that he was exceptionally allowed to stay at the Chongwen Academy to study; so how did Master Pei know that he had only just begun to study the Three Character Classic at home? Lu Youning didn't believe a word of it that Lao Deng wasn't involved in these matters.

But if you actually get slapped on the hand, it's still pretty embarrassing.

Watching the tiny, delicate figure carrying a large book bag walk out dejectedly, the stern Master Pei stroked his beard in a rather wicked manner, humming a little tune as he left contentedly.

Humming a tune, he thought, "Teaching the 'Ding' class really suits him. Going back now is perfect for a few games of chess with Old Man Zheng."

Xiao Linzi was waiting outside. When he saw Lu Youning come out, he hurriedly stepped forward and took the book bag from his hand, asking very considerately, "Young Master, are you tired or hungry? This servant will go and get you some snacks."

Upon hearing this, Lu Youning unconsciously licked his lips; he was starting to crave goat milk.

He drank a bowl of goat's milk every day at home, and he had been craving it since he entered the palace: "Is there any goat's milk?"

Xiao Linzi thought for a moment and said, "The small kitchen in Chongwen Hall probably doesn't have one, but this servant can have someone go to the Imperial Kitchen to get it for you."

Lu Youning wasn't very familiar with the situation in the palace. When Xiao Linzi said it was okay, he nodded and said, "Then I'll have another plate of almond cake." After saying that, he took out a few small silver fish from the money pouch in his sleeve and handed it over.

This was something Lu Shiyan specially ordered from a jewelry store this year for his birthday. It was a whole box of jewelry, which he was told to keep for rewarding his servants. Banxia packed a lot of it for him when he went to the palace.

Xiao Linzi was originally assigned by His Majesty to serve Lu Youning, so he always did his best. He never thought he could get anything from a four-year-old child. Looking at the exquisitely shaped silver fish, he was a little envious but did not dare to reach out and take it.

Lu Youning spoke with an unusually mature tone through her soft, tender face: "Take it if you want. My father made these for me himself. They're just some toys to amuse children. I have plenty more."

After saying that, seeing that Xiao Linzi was standing still, he took the initiative to put a few small silver fish into Xiao Linzi's hand and added, "If you don't like this shape, I'll bring you something else next time I leave the palace. Anyway, my father made several kinds."

Although my cheap dad is a bit of a jerk, he can be quite humane at times.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Youning had already put aside the matter of Lu Shiyan tricking him into studying in the palace. With his mind full of thoughts about his cheap old man's hard work, he decided to draw some designs himself and have Shihu send them to the silver shop.

When Lu Shiyan returns from Jiangnan, it will be his thirtieth birthday. He will surely like this as a birthday gift.

Xiao Linzi played with the little silver fish and said with envy, "Lord Lu treats the young master so well."

Lu Youning, with her hands behind her back and without turning her head, said, "It's alright. It would be even better if he didn't often make me angry."

Xiao Linzi: That's a completely upside-down way of saying things.

The two were walking one after the other towards the backyard when suddenly a chubby little figure rushed out from behind a tree by the wall. Just as Xiao Linzi was about to stop him, the chubby little figure managed to stop himself.

Lu Youning recognized the chubby boy. This boy had been sitting next to him in class. The class was quite eventful. For the first half of the class, he seemed to have a nail stuck in his butt, scratching his head and fidgeting restlessly. For the second half of the class, he seemed to have finally made a successful meeting with the Duke of Zhou (a figure associated with sleep), and became much quieter.

Before Lu Youning could ask him what was wrong, the chubby boy looked around and quickly finished speaking: "You must be Lu Youning. I just overheard the Eighth Prince and his two attendants talking about causing you trouble. The Eighth Prince is very petty, so you'd better be careful."

After saying that, he ran out of Chongwen Hall without looking back. It turns out that he waited there specifically to remind him. What a kind-hearted little fat boy.