On the day of the Fu family's grand ceremony, the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince finally set off. Emperor Xuanzhi and Jiang Changning took Xiaobai and Xiaoqian and sent them to the outside of the city gate.
Xiao Bai repeatedly told his elder brother, "If you see anything delicious or fun on the road, ask someone to bring it back to me, no, to my sister."
"I know. You and your younger brother and sister have them." The prince patted his shoulder, "Take good care of your younger brother and sister, and don't make mother angry."
"I never make my mother angry." Xiaobai said.
The prince was silent for a moment, then said, "The Queen Mother knows that you asked me to copy the article for you."
Xiaobai was horrified and hugged the prince's arm, "Brother, please take me with you, please!"
"You'd better go to your mother and admit your mistake instead of running away. You should know that I can't take you away." The prince rejected him coldly and ruthlessly.
"Brother, I am your dearest brother, how could you bear it?"
"I can't bear it."
Xiao Bai knew he couldn't escape, so he asked with a sad face, "Brother, will the Queen Mother be so angry that she will beat me?"
"The Queen Mother doesn't beat people."
"What if he gets really angry?"
The prince looked at Xiaobai and said, "You have a thick skin and can take a beating."
"Brother, do you still have any brotherhood?" Xiaobai complained angrily.
"I'll take you to the Queen Mother and tell her that you've admitted your mistake and that you won't let me help you copy articles anymore. How about that?"
Just as Xiao Bai was about to say something, the eunuch came over to urge the prince, "The Queen Mother is in a hurry to leave."
The prince didn't say any more to Xiaobai, and got on the carriage to escort the empress dowager to Sichuan Province.
Watching the convoy go away, Jiang Changning said to Yan Yinyao: "Let's go, we are going back to the city too."
"Hmm." Yan Yinyao withdrew his gaze with some reluctance.
"Why are you doing this?" Jiang Changning sighed.
Yan Yinyao pursed her lips and said, "I don't want to see those two people."
Jiang Changning was not quite clear about what happened between her and her biological father and stepmother, but one should not advise others to do good without having experienced their suffering.
Yan Yinyao still cannot forgive her biological father and stepmother after so many years. You can imagine how abominable what these two people did were.
"By the way, what did you give to the prince?" Jiang Changning asked curiously.
"To prevent the prince from coming back and bringing you something for a daughter-in-law." Yan Yinyao said with a smile.
"No, I have taught the prince, and His Majesty has also arranged people to be by the prince's side to prevent such a situation from happening." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"Cousin, some people in the Yan family are shameless and will resort to any despicable means. Gentlemen's tactics cannot defend against them." Yan Yinyao said.
Jiang Changning's eyes flashed with a stern voice, "Then they should fill it with their lives."
She would not show mercy just because they were the empress dowager's family, and the same went for Emperor Xuanzhi.
"Is Xiao Yuer sitting very steadily?" Yan Yinyao changed the subject.
"He's sitting pretty steadily, but he's anxious to stand up and learn to walk." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"Then we can't let her go. Her leg bones haven't grown strong yet."
The aunt and sister-in-law talked all the way into the city. Yan Yinyao did not follow them into the palace, but was escorted home by a small team of guards.
When they arrived at the palace, Jiang Changning took his two sons back to Qiyuan Palace, while Emperor Xuanzhi went to Qinzheng Hall to meet with the ministers.
When she entered the palace, Nanny Feng told her, "The little princess has grown teeth."
"So early?" Jiang Changning remembered that his three sons took almost seven months to grow up, and now his daughter is only more than five months old.
The nanny brought Xiao Yu'er over. Jiang Changning washed his hands and lifted her lips. Sure enough, he saw small white spots appearing on her pink gums.
"The little princess has teeth that grow early and can speak early. She is a smart girl and is no worse than her three brothers." Nanny Feng said with a smile.
Xiao Yuer giggled and seemed to like this very much.
Jiang Changning didn't have the strength to throw her up and down, so he just held her sideways and spun her around a few times, making her laugh so hard that her saliva was streaming down her face.
"What a brave girl you are." Jiang Changning put her on the couch.
"Ah ah!" Xiao Yuer waved his little hands and shouted.
"Still want to play? Mom doesn't have the strength anymore. Let your two brothers play with you." Jiang Changning went to change clothes.
When she changed into light clothes, took off most of her hairpins and rings, and sat on the kang by the window to drink tea, Xiaobai slowly moved over, laughed dryly and called out, "Mother."
"Yeah." Jiang Changning lowered his eyelids and didn't look at him.
"Mom, you've worked hard today. Let me give you a leg massage." Xiaobai picked up the small cork hammer next to him and said.
"It's not hard. Tell me, what trouble have you gotten into?" Jiang Changning asked knowingly.
Xiaobai knelt on the ground, put down the wooden stick, and pinched his earlobes with both hands, "Mom, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time. I won't dare to do it again."
"Tell me, why did you ask Xiaoqian to help you copy the article?" Jiang Changning asked seriously.
"Mr. Gao Meng is quite knowledgeable about laws and regulations. He once copied a book by himself. The clerk felt sorry for his old age and wanted to do it for him, but he refused, saying, 'I will write it myself and read it ten times.' In other words, he could remember it after copying it once. Why did he copy it so many times? It's a waste of time. Mother, you said that time is money and money can't buy time. I can't waste time." Xiaobai said confidently.
"Is it enough to just remember the article? Do you know the meaning of the article?" Jiang Changning asked.
Xiao Bai's eyes lit up, "Mom, if I remember it, does that mean I don't have to copy it so many times?"
Jiang Changning looked at him with a sneer and uttered two words cruelly: "No."
Xiaobai pouted, like an eggplant hit by frost.
Jiang Changning helped him up and pulled him to sit down beside her. "Mom knows that copying articles over and over again is indeed boring, but Xiaobai, copying articles is a process of discovery, learning, and cognition. It not only exercises one's writing ability, but also cultivates perseverance and tempers one's will."
After talking about the benefits of copying articles, Jiang Changning pushed him and said, "Go call your brother."
"Mom, it's all my fault. It has nothing to do with me. Please don't punish him. If you want to punish someone, punish me." Xiaobai said quickly.
"I know you brothers have a good relationship, but in this matter, both of you are wrong. Go and call your brother over." Jiang Changning said.
Xiaobai had no choice but to go over and call Xiaoqian.
Xiao Qian also knew the situation very well, "Mother, I was wrong."
"What's wrong?" Jiang Changning asked with a stern face.
"I shouldn't have indulged my second brother in being lazy, and I shouldn't have helped him copy articles and deceive the teacher." Xiao Qian said to her finger.
Jiang Changning asked: "Xiao Qian, you did this for the sake of brotherhood, right?"
"Mother, you said that brothers only have this life but no afterlife. Brothers with one mind can break metal. My second brother doesn't like copying articles, but I do. I will help copy them. It's not a big deal."
"Brothers and sisters should support each other, help each other, and achieve each other, but it is wrong to cover up, condone, or even collude in doing bad things. Good brothers should correct each other when they make mistakes and help their brothers get back on the right track."
Jiang Changning tried to warn the two brothers as simply and clearly as possible, and the two brothers said in unison: "Mother, I understand."
"If you do something wrong, you should be punished. You decide how you should be punished."
Xiao Bai thought for a moment and said, "My son copied the Book of Rites ten times." He hated copying articles the most, and this punishment was the heaviest for him.
"My son increases his boxing practice time by half an hour every day." Xiao Qian doesn't like sports.
Jiang Changning smiled slightly, "Xiaobai just needs to copy it three times, and Xiaoqian can add a quarter of an hour every day."
The Queen Mother reduced the punishment, and the two brothers were very happy, "Thank you, Queen Mother."
(End of this chapter)