The villain prince is three and a half years old

Ning Xuenian and Ning Yuanzhong raised their eyebrows, and a confrontation over identifying constellations began.

Ning Zhixing shook his head. It seemed he would have to find another day to do the proper testing.

Ning Shouxu and Sun Jingzhu were talking in whispers, paying no attention to the stars in the sky.

At the second watch, the group dispersed and went back to their homes.

Ning Yuanzhong didn't know where to go, so he just picked a direction at random.

The Imperial Garden disappeared into the night behind him. He didn't know where he was. The hustle and bustle just now seemed like a dream, and when he woke up, it was still a silent night.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him, and the light came from far away, and his shadow fell on the stone bricks.

He turned around and saw Xia Jing.

"Fifth brother, do you want to go back to sleep? How about we stay up all night?" Xia Jing asked.

All night? Ning Yuanzhong understood what the boy meant based on the meaning of the word.

He was happy in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Okay, where do you want to go?" he asked.

"Let's go to the back garden. I heard that the knights all sleep in the open air, and I've wanted to try it for a long time!" Xia Jing replied.

Instead of going through the main gate, Xia Jing and Ning Yuanzhong climbed over the courtyard wall into the back garden of the Cining Palace and rested in the pavilion.

Summer is approaching and the temperature in the evening is just right.

"Fifth brother, tell me some stories." Xia Jing lay on the stone chair.

Ning Yuanzhong glanced at him. Under normal circumstances, he would not bother to pay attention to him, but today he had encountered too many things, and there were some emotions weighing on his heart that he had to express.

He talked about his childhood, the warm harem, his gentle mother, and his friendly brothers.

Xia Jing listened, occasionally interjecting, either praising or making a joke.

Ning Yuanzhong's memories became deeper and deeper, and he talked more and more. At some point, the boy's response stopped. He turned his head and stared at the boy's sleeping face for a moment.

Standing up, Ning Yuanzhong picked up the Ninth Prince, handed him to the eunuch of Cining Palace, and returned to Anming Palace. He had already made up his mind.

Chapter 187 Two Crystal Balls

[Intimacy: 70]

After looking at Ning Yuan's character interface, Xia Jing felt relieved.

With Ning Yuanzhong as a card, the Western Territory has a guarantee, and...

Xia Jing recalled the game's plot. With the Ge family destroyed and Concubine Duan's downfall, Ning Yuanzhong naturally wasn't given much importance and was marginalized by Emperor Kangning. When Empress Yin came to power, he was even sent to the imperial mausoleum.

The imperial mausoleum is the most daunting place, which can be seen from Yu Meiren.

Ning Yuanzhong is not a bad person, I hope he doesn't fall into the same situation.

There was no rush for Ning Yuanzhong to exert his strength. Xia Jing continued to copy notes to him, waiting for the development of the situation in the western region, and by the way, made two more crystal ball ornaments.

It was a crystal ball, not a snow globe. It had ornaments inside, but no quicksand. In his previous life, industry was so developed, but snow globes hadn't come in many styles. Xia Jing couldn't find any new designs, so he made two crystal ball ornaments.

In one crystal ball, there is a beach, lounge chairs and sand castles, and in another crystal ball, there are big and small floating fish.

"Why is this fish so weird?" Xiao Yue pointed at the big flat fish in the crystal ball and asked Xia Jing.

"This is a manta ray." Xia Jing replied.

"Devil fish? It's not that scary. Why is it called that?" Xiao Yue picked up the crystal ball and shook it, watching the little wooden fishes floating around. She then picked up the beach crystal ball and shook it, watching the sand shake.

"Which one does mother want?" Xia Jing asked.

These two crystal balls were made, one of which was for Xiao Yue.

"I'm not a child anymore, I don't need this," Xiao Yue put down the crystal ball, "give it to your brothers and sisters."

Xia Jing suspected that Xiao Yue was trying to trick Ning Shouxu.

He took two crystal balls and went to Yanghexuan. Ning Shouxu was not there, and Ning Xuenian was playing with sand in the yard.

"Where is the third brother?" Xia Jing asked the girl.

"Let's go to the Cining Palace." Ning Xuenian put down the half-built sand castle and followed Xia Jing.

The two of them went to the Cining Palace together and met Ning Shouxu in a side hall.

Ning Shouxu was with Sun Jingzhu. Xia Jing took out two crystal balls and, before he could speak, glanced at the table in front of Ning Shouxu and saw a familiar glass ball.

Isn’t this the bamboo forest snow globe that was intercepted by Empress Dowager You?

Ning Shouxu saw Xia Jing and Ning Xuenian and waved to them: "Come and see, Jingzhu gave it to me."

Xia Jing took a closer look and found that it was indeed one of the three snow globes he had made at the beginning. It was a bamboo forest scene. When shaken, bamboo leaves would slowly fall.

"The Queen Mother gave it to Jingzhu. Jingzhu knew I liked it, so she gave it to me." Ning Shouxu's words were filled with a hint of pride.

When he spoke, he didn't look at Xia Jing and the others, but stared into Sun Jingzhu's eyes. Sun Jingzhu blushed slightly and looked away, and Ning Shouxu laughed foolishly.

Xia Jing felt a little sad when he saw this.

"Hey, what's in your hand?" Ning Shouxu then noticed the crystal ball in Xia Jing's hand.

Xia Jing turned around and stuffed both crystal balls into Ning Xuenian's hands: "I was originally planning to give one to Third Brother, but since Third Brother already has one, I'm going to give them both to Sister Nian'er."

Now it was Ning Shouxu's turn to feel uncomfortable.

Ning Xuenian held up the crystal ball and, like Xiao Yue, saw the flat, strange fish at first sight.

"What is this?" The girl leaned closer to the crystal ball and looked at the flat fish. "Its face is underneath its body!"

"It's a manta ray," Xia Jing replied. "A fish from the sea."

"It's quite strange." Ning Shouxu also came closer to take a look. "I once saw an atlas of the sea, and it was full of strange and bizarre fish."

"Where is the sea?" the girl asked curiously.

There was no coastline in the Ning Dynasty, and the girl had never seen the sea.

"This way." Xia Jing pointed to the crystal ball on the beach.

"On the edge of the desert?" the girl was surprised.

"It's not a desert, it's a beach."

Xia Jing gave the girl some geography knowledge and told her that the sand on the beach is not the sand in the desert.

I also told her that there are not only manta rays in the sea, but also scary sharks, huge whales, and cute penguins.

The girl lay on the Arhat bed, holding two crystal balls and looking at them, imagining the scene in the sea.

The house was silent for a moment.

Ning Shouxu glanced at Xia Jing: "Let's go out for a walk?"

Sun Jingzhu saw what they were about to say, so he took the initiative to stay and grabbed Ning Xuenian who was about to follow.

Xia Jing pushed Ning Shouxu out of the side hall and went to the back garden.

"Don't go there," Ning Shouxu said with disgust, "My waist and ears hurt when I go there."

This is like hurting your waist from farming for Empress Dowager You and hurting your ears from composing music for square dancing.

Xia Jing laughed for a moment, changed direction, and pushed Ning Shouxu to the courtyard of the Great Buddha Hall.

"Do you want to help Ning Yuanzhong?" Ning Shouxu's words were very straightforward.

During last night's stargazing party, Ning Yuanzhong's attitude wasn't right. Given his solitary nature, he should have just looked through the telescope and left. But he stayed, even until the end.

Apparently, someone had established a close relationship with Ning Yuanzhong in advance. Ning Shouxu believed that person was Xia Jing.

"I just feel that Fifth Brother is not doing well." Xia Jing said, "What do you think, Third Brother?"

"His situation is not good, but in my opinion, it is better to let him suffer misfortune so that he won't jump out to fight in the future."

Ning Shouxu didn't say what they were arguing about, and there was no need to say it.

"Fifth brother is not a bad person." Xia Jing disagreed with Ning Shouxu's words.

"Are all the Yan people bad? Or are all the Chu people bad? There is no good or bad. Those who should be suppressed should be suppressed, and those who should be kicked when they are down should be kicked when they are down."

"You still have to distinguish between good and bad. Third brother is pretty good, and fourth brother is also a good person."

"Can they compare with us? I..."

Ning Shouxu stopped talking halfway.

Forget about him, Ning Zhixing has the hope of succeeding to the throne. Moreover, it's not completely impossible for him. As long as all the princes die out, it will be him. What's more, he can support his own children.

They were the same as Ning Yuanzhong. Since the boy would not abandon them, they were of course willing to help Ning Yuanzhong.

"Forget it, you can see for yourself." He stopped talking about it.

Xia Jing thought that Ning Shouxu was most like Emperor Kang Ning in terms of thinking, but he had not been alienated by power and still had emotions.

"Since Third Brother has asked, don't even think about running away."

The wheelchair reached the end of the yard, and Xia Jing turned back: "I'm lazy, let the fifth brother follow the third brother more."

Ning Shouxu sighed. This kid was so confident in asking someone to do something for him. But it was better than those who used the overall situation and morality as an excuse.

"He is a simple-minded idiot, and I don't bother to pay attention to him." Ning Shouxu considered himself a scholar, and Ning Zhixing was also a learned man, so they could chat well, but Ning Yuanzhong was not learned.

"Because he has a simple mind, he has strong limbs. I heard that grandma wants to expand the land, which will require a lot of hard work. When the time comes, if there is a brother with strong limbs who can help the third brother..." Xia Jing said, stealing a glance at Ning Shouxu.

"If he comes to Yanghexuan, I naturally have no reason to kick him out." Ning Shouxu immediately changed his words.

There was no way. It would be too tiring for him to do it alone, and Ning Zhixing was a busy man, so if he could find a laborer, he must cherish him.

"Here, a gift." Xia Jing groped in his sleeve and took out a glass hourglass, which he gave to Ning Shouxu. This was a byproduct of the beach crystal ball.

"This is a good thing." Ning Shouxu was surprised.

Hourglasses are not uncommon, but one that allows you to clearly see the sand falling has never been seen before.

……

Perhaps because of the butterfly effect, the situation in the Western Territory changed faster than the Ninth Prince expected.

Emperor Kangning became suspicious and started investigating in the western border. Ge Hongsheng had no choice but to speed up the process, which made the already tense situation even more tense. At least on the surface, it seemed like a situation on the verge of breaking out.

All parties dare not act because they are afraid that the first touch they make may be the last.

But this also made it impossible for Ge Hongsheng to hide. Emperor Kangning was already convinced that the Ge family was standing in opposition to the court.

He didn't know what Ge Hongsheng was going to do, but he knew that he could no longer rely on Ge Hongsheng.

Concubine Duan was the first to notice the change in Emperor Kangning. Originally, Emperor Kangning would call her over every six or seven days, talk to her softly, and spend a night with her.

He still comes once a week, but he is much more perfunctory than before. He leaves her aside to review memorials, and occasionally says a few words to her, also to inquire about the Ge family's affairs.

In the Imperial Household Department, the discussion about the position of Imperial Concubine that was originally underway came to a complete halt.

In Anming Palace, Concubine Duan smashed six vases and two chairs, and cried while hugging Ning Yuanzhong.

"Zhong'er, now we can only rely on you. How many red flowers did you get today? Maybe you can go to the Yangxin Palace for dinner? You should say more good things about your grandfather to your father." Concubine Duan chattered on and on.

Ning Yuanzhong didn't respond. They couldn't really do anything; the situation in the western region was the key.

He thought of the invitation he received yesterday. It was a note from a nanny, inviting him to go to Yanghexuan in the afternoon.

He pushed Concubine Duan away and went to Yanghexuan.

It was morning and the door of Yanghexuan was closed. According to etiquette, he should knock on the door, but Ning Yuanzhong had never knocked on the door.

He pushed the door open and looked into the yard.

He saw Ning Shouxu sitting on the ground, his hands wet, playing with sand, and the nanny who delivered the letter yesterday stood beside him.

Blinking, he was a little confused.

The third prince is as famous as the crown prince. He is a prince with both talent and virtue. Why would he be sitting on the ground playing with sand?

He closed the door, wiped his eyes, and pushed it open again.

The nanny who delivered the letter yesterday was sitting on the ground, holding sand in her hands. Ning Shouxu was sitting in a wheelchair beside her, closing his eyes in deep thought.

Although the scene was still a little weird, it was much more acceptable than before.

"Third brother." He greeted Ning Shouxu.