Duanmu Qingchen's self-indulgent nature has a lot to do with Yuchi Yanxia's special way of educating him.
Duanmu Jinhong's self-discipline is also related to his mother, Concubine Ya, who taught him to be disciplined. Concubine Ya was strict with Duanmu Jinhong since he was a child. He had to get first place in the studies of the princes, and his mother would not refuse even if he surpassed the crown prince.
The reason why Concubine Ya did not object to her child's academic performance surpassing that of the crown prince was because she knew that Yuchi Yanxia's education method was different from hers. Yuchi Yanxia did not value Duanmu Qingchen's grades, and even often helped cover up for Duanmu Qingchen when he skipped classes. The concubines in the harem knew about these things, and sometimes they would help the queen cover up.
In addition to being hindered by the Queen's orders, they also had their own reasons for shielding other concubines. For example, Concubine Ya was gentle and humble on the surface, but she was unwilling in her heart. It would be best if the prince ignored his studies, and then her child would be deeply loved by Emperor Cheng. Even if the clan law could not make his child the prince, as long as Emperor Cheng valued him, he would definitely be crowned a king and given a city in the future, and would definitely be the best among other princes.
Since her child had no chance of becoming an emperor, she wanted him to have great achievements recorded in history, so that future generations would only remember the Duanmu Jinhong in history, rather than the lazy Duanmu Qingchen. She even believed that Emperor Cheng had sharp eyes, and he would see his child's transcendence, and he would not destroy the century-old foundation of the Qian Dynasty in the hands of a second-generation rich man.
Concubine Zhuang and Concubine Rui, who were sitting on both sides, looked at each other with pleasant expressions and smiled. Everyone knew that behind Duanmu Jinhong's performance of music in front of Emperor Cheng was Concubine Ya's great ambition.
Fortunately, they are all living peacefully and just taking care of their own children.
The other princes were also sitting aside. Duanmu Ruifeng and the others admired Duanmu Jinhong's piano skills very much. The seventh princess Duanmu Yaxin was also a little fan of Duanmu Jinhong.
The third prince is handsome, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and has a serious character. He is not like Duanmu Qingchen who is playful and loves to play pranks. The third prince is such a good boy and a top student, so he is naturally more popular in the palace.
"Third brother plays the piano so well!" Duanmu Yaxin gave him a loving look like a fangirl.
Duanmu Yankang and Duanmu Ruifeng clapped their hands in admiration. Xiao Ba was still sitting in Concubine Rui's arms, staring blankly at Duanmu Jinhong playing the piano. Concubine Rui whispered in his ear: "In the future, you have to study hard like your brother Jinhong, understand?"
When Concubine Ya heard Concubine Rui's words, she felt proud again. Then, she secretly looked at Duanmu Qingchen beside her, but saw that Duanmu Qingchen was distracted. She was secretly happy in her heart, maybe the emperor would be angry again when he saw the prince's careless look.
Duanmu Qingchen's mind was naturally not on Duanmu Jinhong's piano music. Duanmu Jinhong practiced the piano every night. The palace was so small and it was late at night. The brothers lived next door to each other, and he had long been tired of listening to her music. What he was thinking about was the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
"Cen—" Duanmu Jinhong slowly retracted his slender fingers, the strings of the zither continued to vibrate, the ending note did not end with his hand, but with the autumn wind, leaving an endless lingering sound.
"Clap, clap, clap." Duanmu Yaxin, Duanmu Ruifeng and others applauded.
Emperor Cheng also slowly opened his eyes from his aftertaste, with a look of admiration in his eyes: "Hong'er's playing of the zither is getting better and better."
Duanmu Jinhong stood up and saluted: "Thank you, father, for your praise."
"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. Hong'er's piano skills still need to be improved." Concubine Ya said humbly.
"Still need to improve?!" Duanmu Qingchen almost jumped up, "I've heard this since I was a child. Concubine Ya, are you too harsh on the third prince? His piano skills are already unique in the capital. A prince should focus on state affairs. Why should he play the piano all day? We don't lack piano players in the palace."
"Puchi!" Duanmu Yaxin burst out laughing. Although she admired her third brother in her heart, the Crown Prince was the most entertaining because he was humble.
Ya Fei's face froze. Duanmu Jinhong was immediately angry when he saw Duanmu Qingchen embarrassed his mother, and his face darkened.
Empress Yuchi Yanxia showed a trace of embarrassment and gently rebuked Duanmu Qingchen: "Prince, Jinhong is a great zither player, how about you? You should learn from Jinhong."
Emperor Cheng was also a little amused by Duanmu Qingchen's disturbance. He actually felt that his son was right. As a prince, he should focus on government affairs rather than piano skills. But he also knew that Concubine Ya was just being polite.
"I have to take care of state affairs and have no time to learn the piano." Duanmu Qingchen waved his sleeves with heroic spirit.
Emperor Cheng sighed softly, feeling very tired. After all these recent events, he knew that what he saw was just Duanmu Qingchen's naughty side. In fact, he had the talent to govern the country, which had been proven by the Grand Tutor. However, Duanmu Qingchen did not have the authority of an emperor. As an emperor, if he had no authority, how could he intimidate his ministers? ! The relationship between the monarch and the ministers is a big question.
For a moment, everyone in the water pavilion looked at each other, each with their own thoughts.
Seeing this, Concubine Zhuang smiled dignifiedly: "I heard that the prince's article "On Human Nature" also made the Grand Tutor amazed. Your Majesty, the prince is wise but appears foolish. He actually cares about the people. It is a blessing for our Qian Dynasty."
Concubine Zhuang was dignified, elegant, moderate and peaceful.
Concubine Zhuang's words made Emperor Cheng happy, but made Concubine Ya unhappy.
Emperor Cheng had read Duanmu Qingchen's "On Human Nature". Not only was he deeply shocked, but even the Grand Tutor was also surprised. Emperor Cheng never thought that his seemingly carefree prince actually had such a deep understanding of human nature. The case of Yu Pingting also touched him deeply, which made him re-examine the status of women in the Qian Dynasty.
"When a person is born, his nature is good, but I think it is evil..." Concubine Zhuang could even recite it, "Because it is evil, it is easy to learn evil, but difficult to learn good... I was deeply moved by this opening sentence. Why do ordinary people say that it is easy to learn bad things, but difficult to learn good things? Now, the prince has solved my confusion. Because human nature is evil, it is evil by nature, but goodness must be learned. The case of Yu Pingting made me realize that it is so difficult for people to learn goodness, but evil seems to be brought from the womb, and is learned without a teacher." Concubine Zhuang was quite touched. She also loves reading.
Coincidentally, the eldest princess Duanmu Yushu and the fourth princess Duanmu Jinghui were her children, and now they have married into other countries and become queens. The two daughters she taught were as dignified and gentle as she was, well-educated and well-mannered, and they did not lose the face of Emperor Cheng at all when they got married.
Duanmu Qingchen was already showing a smug look when she saw Concubine Zhuang mention her "On Human Nature": "You are too kind, Concubine Zhuang. I just wrote it casually as I felt."
"Look how proud you are!" Emperor Cheng shouted, his words were harsh, but his eyes were clearly full of affection, and a smug smile was overflowing from the corners of his mouth, "Concubine Zhuang, please stop praising him. You see, the more you praise him, the less he behaves like a crown prince."
Concubine Zhuang smiled gently, with a sincere look of admiration for the Crown Prince in her eyes. (To be continued)