Chapter 700: Misunderstanding
Chapter 700: Misunderstanding
Editor: Atlas Studios
It was fine if there was no comparison, but now that there was, everyone realized how distant the Eldest Prince had been from them. Since they couldn’t very well flare up at the Eldest Prince, they could only shift the blame to Little Bear.
In addition, with his long limbs, Little Bear looked more like a five-year-old than the three-year-old child that he was. Yet, he couldn’t even speak at this age.
Those who were chosen to be the Eldest Prince’s study companion were all extremely intelligent.
Even if they couldn’t compose poems at the age of three, everyone present could recognize at least a hundred words by the time they turned three. Among them, Young Master Lu, Lu Yan, was the smartest. At the age of three, he could memorize ‘The Analects’ backward. Now, he was already famous in Jiangdong at the age of six. In addition, his grandfather was the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor. His father was also famous for his talent. Among the many studying companions, he was the most outstanding and therefore somewhat the leader of everyone.
Lu Yan, who thought of himself as talented, despised Little Bear, but he didn’t say it explicitly. Instead, during the break between classes, he wrote a poem to mock Little Bear for not knowing how to speak. Little Bear didn’t understand, but it didn’t mean that Little Treasure didn’t understand.
Little Treasure didn’t want Little Bear to be hurt, so he only gave Lu Yan a warning look, telling him to be careful with his words. However, Grand Commandant Hua’s grandson, Hua Nan, said to Little Bear directly, “He’s calling you a fool.”
Little Bear wasn’t really stupid. After Hua Nan told him that, he looked at Little Treasure, for among those present he only believed in Little Treasure’s words. Unwilling to lie to Little Bear, Little Treasure could only nod. However, he advised him not to do anything. He would help him teach Lu Yan a lesson later.
Alas, the concept of ‘settling scores at an opportune time’ was foreign to Little Bear. After confirming that Lu Yan had indeed scolded him, he waved his fist and rushed towards him.
His father had said that in war, one had to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Getting into a brawl was the same as fighting a war. Though no one could understand what he said, Little Bear’s martial strength was high. He simply used his strength to attack the other party’s weaknesses and punch the other party’s mouth so that they could not open their mouths. This way, the scolding couldn’t possibly continue.
Lu Yan didn’t expect Little Bear to start beating him up without saying a word. As he shouted, he scolded him. After all, he was only six years old. In his panic, how could he maintain his genteel manner? He directly threatened Little Bear, “Do you know who my grandfather is? If you dare to hit me again, I won’t be polite…”
Then it became, “Stop it, you big fool, big mute…”
Little Treasure’s face turned green as he stood at the side. He stopped the emissary from pulling the two of them apart and let Little Bear press Lu Yan down to beat him up.
However, Lu Yan’s popularity was not to be underestimated. When he dodged, everyone was implicated, so the flames of war escalated. When Little Treasure saw that Little Bear was surrounded by the children, he joined in. No one dared to hit him, but when the brush and ink flew everywhere, he didn’t escape unscathed, so he did suffer a small injury.
In the end, it ended with Little Bear and Little Treasure beating the kids up together.
The Eldest Prince fighting in Upper Wood Park with Prince Rong’s son was not a small matter. When the palace maids went to inform the Empress, the Emperor also received a report from the emissary.
Considering they were conferring the title of Crown Prince around this time, the seriousness of the matter depended on how the parents dealt with it.
Qi Xiuyuan was silent for a while. In the end, he decided to wait and see. If he forcefully determined the nature of this matter, although he could overturn this matter, it would inevitably cause people to gossip and let Little Treasure have the reputation of bullying others and being cruel. It was better to wait and see and let them resolve it themselves.
At this thought, Qi Xiuyuan pretended not to know about this and dismissed the emissary. Although he had made up his mind not to interfere in this matter, he could not watch his family suffer. Hence, he pulled out Qi Haoran, who was sitting down to discuss political matters, and chased him out. “It’s getting late. Bring your wife and son back, lest they catch a cold if they go back late.”
Everyone raised their heads to look at the hourglass. It was only around four in the afternoon, and it was August. Catch a cold?
Although Qi Haoran was also confused, he did not ask anything in front of everyone and ran to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility to pick her up.
At this moment, Mu Yangling had already calmed down. Although her expression was still a little dark, one couldn’t tell without looking carefully. Little Bear, on the other hand, was nestled in his mother’s arms wearily. When he saw his father, he pouted and stretched out his arms to hug him.
Qi Haoran bowed briefly to Li Jinghua before carrying Little Bear. He said to Li Jinghua, “Sister-in-law, I’ll bring Ah Ling and Little Bear back first.”
Li Jinghua thought that Qi Haoran already knew. After all, he was with Qi Xiuyuan. What could be hidden from Qi Xiuyuan in the palace?
She hurriedly nodded and said, “Go back quickly. Little Treasure is on a break tomorrow. I’ll get him to leave the palace to play with Little Bear.”
She looked at Little Bear lovingly and praised him, “Little Bear is a smart child. Don’t take what others say to heart.”
Just as the confused Qi Haoran was about to ask, Mu Yangling had already stood up to bid farewell. He could only swallow his words for the time being.
Not long after the Prince’s estate’s carriages left the palace, a loud roar came from inside. It was said that it even alarmed the people riding on horses on the same street at that time. The horses neighed and ran wildly. Some people were so frightened by the roar that their legs went weak and they fell to the ground. Before they could recover from the shock, Prince Rong lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped down with a swish. He snatched a guard’s horse and rode away.
In just a few seconds, Qi Haoran disappeared on his horse. While everyone was still feeling stunned, the curtain was pulled open again. This time, a beautiful and refined woman stuck her head out and shouted at Prince Rong’s back, “Qi Haoran, come back!”
The image of an elegant and refined beauty instantly collapsed in everyone’s hearts, leaving only a piercing sound.
Seeing that Qi Haoran’s back had disappeared, Mu Yangling helplessly lowered the curtain and instructed the leading guard, “Take a few people and chase after His Highness. Protect him well no matter what.”
Considering those aristocratic families had deep foundations, they definitely had people with powerful martial arts in their employment. It was better to take some precautions.
As soon as the Prince’s estate’s carriages left the street, all kinds of rumors flew everywhere in the capital.
As soon as Mu Yangling returned to the Qi Residence, word had spread that Prince Rong rode away angrily after quarreling with the Princess Consort. Rumors that the Princess Consort disregarded her inferior status relative to the Prince and shouted at him spread everywhere. Even the wife of a third-grade magistrate heard about it, let alone the wives of those supreme-grade, first-grade, and second-grade officials.
The women all felt that Mu Yangling simply did not know how lucky she was. Why in the world would she quarrel with such a wonderful husband? Where else could she find a young and handsome man with power and influence who did not take in concubines?
On the other hand, the men generally felt that Prince Rong had finally manned up and was no longer henpecked. After all, a role model like him was very vexing for them. With this man who did not take in concubines and had deep feelings for his wife setting an example, their main wives would often look at them with aggrieved eyes while constantly mentioning Princess Consort Rong, hinting that it would be great if they were one-third as blissful as her.
Haha, do you see now? Prince Rong finally quarreled with Princess Consort Rong. Let’s see if you can still say that he is deeply in love with her.
Just as gossipy as women, the men were also very curious about what Princess Consort Rong had done to infuriate Qi Haoran. Moreover, with their positions, it was much easier for them to gather information. Hence, many people sent people to keep an eye on Prince Rong to find out if he had gone to visit a brothel in anger. They were determined to find out the deeper reason.