The villain prince is three and a half years old

"Take care of yourself, mother. I'll take my leave." He bowed to Empress Dowager You and walked out of the bedroom.

"Your Majesty, please take care. I have difficulty walking, so I will not see you off." Empress Dowager You picked up the book again.

Emperor Kangning stopped, turned to look at Empress Dowager You, opened his mouth, and hesitated to speak. "You heard me when I said I was leaving?"

He sighed and left the bedroom.

He couldn't understand why Empress Dowager You, who had no personal feelings and only cared about state affairs, had become like this.

"Your Majesty." Xu Zhongde was guarding the palace gate and followed Emperor Kangning.

"Come with me for a walk." Emperor Kangning was feeling depressed and walked towards the back garden.

He had been to this back garden when he was a child. He missed the place very much when he revisited it, and sat in the pavilion to admire and rest.

He thought of what the Queen Mother said when he left.

"Has the Empress Dowager had difficulty walking recently?" Emperor Kangning asked Xu Zhongde.

Xu Zhongde thought about all the news about the Cining Palace and found nothing about the Empress Dowager being unwell. Honestly, he should have said he hadn't heard of it. But the reason he, the eunuch Xu, had been able to stay by Emperor Kangning's side for so long wasn't because of honesty, but because he had catered to his preferences.

It doesn’t matter whether the answer is true or false; it’s more important whether the answer is appropriate.

The trick to answering is to carefully analyze the current situation and find the answer that makes Emperor Kang Ning most relaxed.

Xu Zhongde thought about the reason why Emperor Kangning asked this, it must be because Empress Dowager You showed signs of leg difficulty.

He should confirm this fact and there is no need to lie. He can just mention that the Ninth Prince had massaged Queen Mother You's legs before, which indirectly proved that Queen Mother You had difficulty walking.

Before he could speak, there was a noise at the entrance of the Imperial Garden, and Emperor Kangning raised his hand to ask him to be quiet.

Two concubines of the previous emperor came in, chatting and laughing, followed by a dozen old palace maids, and a young palace maid walking beside them with a zither in her arms.

They were some distance away from the pavilion, and Emperor Kangning deliberately hid himself, so he didn't notice that there were more people in the garden.

However, these people did not arouse Emperor Kangning's interest, but at the end, Empress Dowager You came.

Under the gaze of Emperor Kangning, music started playing and Queen Mother You led the old sisters, jumping on the grass like children.

Emperor Kangning felt that he, with his nimble legs, was completely unable to perform that complicated movement, while Empress Dowager You, with her disabled legs, was able to do it with ease.

After the square dance ended and the team dispersed, the two walked out of the pavilion.

"Your Majesty." Xu Zhongde was worried.

There is no need to answer the question of whether Empress Dowager You has difficulty walking.

Emperor Kangning sighed and said, "Let's go back to the Yangxin Palace."

Walking out of the Cining Palace, he looked towards the Jingyi Pavilion. That weird jumping and music must have been caused by that kid! There was no other possibility!

He thought again of Empress Dowager You's feigned deafness and dumbness, and suspected that this was also taught by the little prince.

"Go find Lord Zhang and ask him to give the Ninth Prince some extra lessons!" Emperor Kangning said to Xu Zhongde.

"Yes." Xu Zhongde replied.

He turned around and went to the South Study to find Zhang Zanyu.

"Wait," Emperor Kangning called him back, "When you come back, go to the Imperial Household Department and select some things to send to Yonghua Palace and Jingyixuan."

"Yes." Xu Zhongde quickly went to the South Study.

……

In the South Study, Xia Jing and Zhang Zanyu were in class. Xu Zhongde called Zhang Zanyu away, leaving only Xia Jing and Xue Zhaoju in the room.

Xue Zhaoju bit the tip of his brush and pondered over the homework left by Zhang Zanyu.

Xia Jing scribbled on the paper, using charcoal instead of a brush. This time, it wasn't a stick figure, but a sketch. His sketching skills weren't as good as his stick figures, but with the help of 'Amu Stickers', he was improving rapidly.

When Zhang Zanyu came back, he gave the sketch to Zhang Zanyu.

Zhang Zanyu was shocked. The person in the painting looked so much like himself!

"The Ninth Prince is truly a genius." He sighed.

"What does Eunuch Xu want to see the teacher for?" Xia Jing asked.

"It's a very happy event." Zhang Zanyu put away the sketch, stroked his beard, and smiled.

"What big happy event?" Xia Jing thought about it but couldn't come up with any reason.

Zhang Zanyu laughed heartily: "The Emperor has asked this old minister to double the Ninth Prince's schoolwork."

"How can this be considered a happy occasion!" Xia Jing said helplessly, "Teacher, when did you become so evil?"

At the same time, he was thinking in his heart how he had offended Emperor Kangning again, causing him to launch the double homework method.

The answer will be revealed at noon.

Xiao Tianzi, who came to deliver food, told Xia Jing the latest news that Empress Dowager You forced Concubine Duan to embroider a handkerchief all night.

Xia Jing was surprised. He didn't expect that Empress Dowager You didn't care about the overall situation, but instead vented her anger for herself.

After finishing his afternoon classes, he went straight to the Cining Palace.

Empress Dowager You took a nap on the Luohan bed, and Xia Jing lay on her legs.

"Oh, my beloved grandson is here." Empress Dowager You opened her eyes, smiled, and picked up Xia Jing.

"Grandma!" Xia Jing looked at the old lady's face, wanting to ask, but didn't know how to start.

He simply didn't ask, got up from Empress Dowager You's arms, massaged her shoulders and back, and fed her cakes and fruits.

After dinner, when he was about to leave, Empress Dowager You called him.

"This is for you." Empress Dowager You took out a handkerchief and put it in Xia Jing's hand. "Carry it close to you and use it often."

Xia Jing looked at the handkerchief. It was densely embroidered with a garden of flowers on both sides. However, the embroidery was so crude that even Xia Jing could spot the misplaced stitches.

He guessed the origin of the handkerchief.

Chapter 179 Ninth Prince, Everything is Possible

Returning to Jingyixuan, Xia Jing saw two gifts sent by Emperor Kangning, a wooden box and a box.

After asking Yi Qiu, Xia Jing learned that there were also some in Yonghua Palace.

When asked about Concubine Duan's Anming Palace, he didn't hear that any gifts were sent there, but Xia Jing was sure that Emperor Kangning would have other gifts, such as summoning Concubine Duan to sleep with him again tonight.

This method is very much like a parent who tries to smooth things over, giving favors to appease the children on both sides of the conflict.

"Master, look, this is a golden hairpin!"

The box was filled with cloth, and the casket was filled with jewelry. Yi Qiu excitedly flipped through the casket, took out a gold-inlaid jade hairpin, and handed it to Xiao Yue.

At the top of the hairpin, a phoenix spreads its wings as if ready to fly, with its tail feathers hanging down and trembling slightly.

In recent generations, the food, clothing and other necessities of concubines have not been so clearly defined by class. In the past, only concubines and above could use such a golden phoenix.

So Yi Qiu was very excited.

"Just leave it there." Xiao Yue said coldly.

Yi Qiu took it to Xia Jing again and shook it, and the phoenix danced in front of the boy. This kind of hairpin is not only loved by adults, but also by children.

Xia Jing glanced at it, then lowered his head to continue studying the handkerchief in his hand. He saw a few blood spots, which showed that Concubine Duan had pricked her hand quite a few times while embroidering it.

Yi Qiu felt ignored, put down her hairpin, and looked at Xia Jing and Xiao Yue in confusion.

"Why are the master and the young master unhappy?" she asked carefully.

"I was just thinking about Concubine Duan." Xiao Yue did not explain. It was natural for Yi Qiu to be happy. This gift did show Emperor Kangning's attention to it to some extent.

"Idiot." Xia Jing did not miss the opportunity to attack Yi Qiu. He made a face and ran into the room.

For the Ninth Prince, this was nothing to be happy about. This wasn't a 'gift' but rather 'hush money'. Years ago, when Rongpin's Changqing Palace and Jingyixuan clashed, Emperor Kangning did the same thing, trying to appease both sides.

Moreover, the consolation was extremely stingy. The gifts were only given to Jingyixuan and Yonghua Palace, while the original two parties involved, Zhao Jieyu and He Zhaoyi, who were tortured by Concubine Duan, received nothing.

Emperor Kangning was almost telling Concubine Duan that the lower-ranking concubines could be bullied at will, but the higher-ranking concubines with strong backing should not be provoked.

It is conceivable that Concubine Duan will become even more domineering next.

In the evening, Emperor Kangning indeed summoned Concubine Duan to sleep with him.

Concubine Duan became even more arrogant. She led a group of followers and wandered around the harem all day long, like a group of wild dogs, patrolling their territory.

If he encounters someone who is disrespectful or displeasing, he will bite them and give them a severe lesson.

The high-ranking concubines were unwilling to provoke her, and the low-ranking concubines were not worthy of having opinions. The already quiet harem became even quieter, and everyone closed the door to visitors.

Concubine Duan specifically targeted low-ranking concubines, breaking into their palaces at will and making fun of them.

Among them, those who were harassed the most were the followers of Concubine Rou and Queen Yin.

Concubine Rou did not dare to intervene, turned a blind eye, and blocked all requests from her followers at the door.

Queen Yin held a tea party and asked her followers to hide in Kunning Palace every day. Concubine Duan did not dare to go to Kunning Palace, so they escaped a disaster.

There are also many low-ranking concubines under Concubine Xian, mainly brought by Concubine Yi. They were originally on the side of Concubine Duan and were considered traitors to Concubine Duan.

She, Xiao Yue and Yipin were on high alert, preparing to deal with Concubine Duan's attack, but they did not see Concubine Duan coming to cause trouble.

Concubine Duan was afraid of Empress Dowager You.

After a period of chaos, the harem became peaceful again, at least all the concubines except Concubine Rou were at peace.

In this atmosphere of local turmoil but overall peace, Prince Jing returned to the capital, and Tianmen Pass completely belonged to Daning. Emperor Kangning was overjoyed.

The turmoil in the western border had a significant impact. If it had spread to the eastern border and let the State of Yan know about it, they would have certainly taken advantage of the situation. Fortunately, the King of Jing cut the Gordian knot and quickly finalized the ownership of Tianmen Pass. By the time the State of Yan learned the news, the opportunity was already too late.

……

"Do you know why Tianmen Pass is so important?"

Prince Jing sat in the southern study, took out a border map, and tested Xia Jing and Xue Zhaoju.

Xue Zhaoju looked confused, and Xia Jing looked at the map and pondered for a moment.

"Next to Tianmen Pass are Yan, Chen, Lu and my Ning State. Yan State has a dangerous pass away from Tianmen Pass, so it is not afraid of Chu State entering the pass. But Chen, Lu and my Daning State have no dangerous passes to defend. Facing Chu State, they can only confront it head-on and lose the geographical advantage." Xia Jing replied.

"That's right, but what else? Since last month, Tianmen Pass has become even more important. Did you know that?" King Jing asked again.

"The situation in the western border was tense last month. If a war breaks out, the surrounding countries will definitely be ready to move. With Tianmen Pass, we can at least restrain Chen and Lu. Because Chen and Lu are afraid that we will form an alliance with Chu and release Chu to attack Chen and Lu." Xia Jing said again.

In the game, after the Chu State successfully occupied Tianmen Pass, it first fought two battles with the Daning Dynasty but did not gain any advantage. It then invaded the Chen State and the Lu State and gained a large piece of land.

"Very good." King Jing looked at Xia Jing with increasing satisfaction. "Tianmen Pass is useless in peacetime, but it is an excellent backup in times of turmoil. Years ago, we signed a ceasefire agreement with the State of Yan, partly because of Tianmen Pass."

Xue Zhaoju stood aside, confused as he had only heard the names of Tianmenguan, Yan, Chen and Lu.

He watched the Ninth Prince speak so eloquently, and a feeling of failure welled up in his heart. Previously, although he knew that the Ninth Prince was extremely talented, he had always believed that as long as he worked hard, the Ninth Prince would not be able to catch up with him in a short time.

Only now did he realize that in some aspects, he was far inferior to the Ninth Prince.

"Don't be discouraged." King Jing patted Xue Zhaoju's head. "Your Xue family is a family of civil officials. It's normal that you don't know these things."

"However," King Jing lowered his head, his serious eyes sweeping across Xue Zhaoju and Xia Jing's, "From now on, you must study seriously."

Xia Jing understood what King Jing meant, but Xue Zhaoju didn't and looked at him hazily.

"Let me ask you a question: will there be chaos or peace in the future?" asked King Jing.

"Troubled times." Xia Jing replied.

"Peaceful." Xue Zhaoju said.

King Jing first looked at Xue Zhaoju: "Why?"

"Our dynasty has flourishing culture and education, great military achievements, abundant granaries, and happy people. Of course, it is a peaceful and prosperous era." Xue Zhaoju said.

King Jing looked at Xia Jing again.

"The general trend of the world is that after a long period of division, there will be unification." Xia Jing replied.

"What a great situation the world is in." King Jing sighed.

He pointed to the border map on the table and said, "This map is placed here. You can look at it more often. I will tell Master Zhang that from now on, half of your time must be spent studying military tactics."

Xue Zhaoju was in a daze. The King of Jing didn't say who was right or wrong, but the inclusion of the military strategy class had already confirmed the current situation.

"Don't panic." King Jing said in a calm tone, "It should be more than ten years before all-out war."

There are not more than ten years left, only ten years left, Xia Jing thought to himself.