Xie Yun thought about it carefully, and he said, “Do you really want me to become a high-ranking official in Chang’an and stay in front of Jin’er all the time?”
Lu Chen said, “I’m not that petty, okay?”
Xie Yun recalled what Lu Chen had just said about gouging out his eyes…
Then Xie Yun asked, “Is the collection of books for the people of the world, not exclusively for the imperial palace?”
“Of course.” Lu Chen said, “I won’t covet your books. If you want a good name among the literati, I don’t mind giving it to you.”
Xie Yun pondered for a while and said, “Okay, then I will promise you.”
…
Qiao Jinniang went to the south study where the junior dukes and princes were having lessons.
When the junior dukes grew older, they would go to the Imperial College or famous academies like Qingming Academy to study. Now the south study only provided primer lessons to the children of the royal family.
In the south study, the Crown Prince’s teacher frowned and said to Lu Xi, “Why don’t you copy the calligraphy copybook, Your Highness?”
Lu Xi said, “My mother said that I shouldn’t practice calligraphy until I am five years old!”
The Crown Prince’s teacher was so angry that his white beards shook. “Nonsense, calligraphy has to be practiced as early as possible! Although you’re the smartest kid among the children of the royal family, your handwriting will be a lot worse than others if you don’t start practicing calligraphy now.”
“Since I’m responsible for teaching you by His Majesty’s orders, I’m your teacher, so you should respect me and practice calligraphy hard instead of just playing.
“After all, the Crown Princess came from the countryside, so she doesn’t understand that calligraphy is the most important among the six arts. Handwriting is like our face. Your Highness, you shouldn’t believe the Crown Princess too readily.”
Although Lu Xi was young, he knew the Crown Prince’s teacher was speaking bad of his mother. “Hmph, how dare you insult my mother? My mother will never harm me!”
“Yes! Her Highness is the best and often gives us snacks!” Junior Duke Bao, who was sitting beside Lu Xi, touched his bulging belly and said, “She gives us delicious food every day.”
Junior Duke Yun whispered to Lu Xi, “Brother Tuan, my mother said that calligraphy is very important, and when you grow up, others will judge you from your calligraphy, but unfortunately I’m too stupid to grasp it although I’ve been learning it for years.”
The Crown Prince’s teacher said angrily, “Quiet! If you disturb the class again, I will tell His Majesty that I can’t teach you two!”
Little Lu Xi said, “My mother said that I can’t practice calligraphy until I’m five, so I won’t practice it before I’m five!”
The Crown Prince’s teacher snorted contemptuously, and he happened to see the guard of honor of the Crown Princess coming, so he said arrogantly,
“Your Highness, this is school. I’m teaching the children. I hope you mind your own business! And don’t come here anymore.”
Qiao Jinniang remembered this old man. He asked her to be a virtuous wife and select concubines for Lu Chen only a few days after she married Lu Chen.
And what did he say again? Mind her own business?
Qiao Jinniang said crossly, “What do you mean? The imperial grandson is my son. You mean I have no right to educate him?”
“Auntie, what’s there to eat today?”
The chubby Junior Duke Bao ran to Qiao Jinniang’s side.
Hongling opened a box and said, “The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching. Today, Her Highness made a summer-snack called mung bean paste cake. This bean paste is cooked by Her Highness herself. It is different from the bean paste outside. It is very soft and sweet.”
Junior Duke Bao picked up a piece, tasted it, and said, “Yummy, Auntie, can I have one more?”
Qiao Jinniang said, “This snack is too sweet, so don’t eat too much. It’s not good for your teeth.”
After what happened last time, Junior Duke Bao was a lot more sensible. He gave up the idea of eating one more mung bean paste cake and said, “Auntie, just now Teacher said that you are from the countryside!”
Qiao Jinniang looked straight at the Crown Prince’s teacher and said, “Your Excellency, I’ve always been polite to you because you are His Royal Highness’ teacher, but why did you insult me in front of these children?”
The Crown Prince’s teacher said, “Your Highness, the imperial grandson is a smart kid, and he has already learned no less than a thousand characters at such a young age. He is a prodigy, but you don’t allow such a smart kid to practice calligraphy. Aren’t you doing him a disservice?”
“How can I harm my own son?” Qiao Jinniang said, “It’s just that practicing calligraphy before the age of five is not good for the child’s hand bones. When I was young, I saw one of my classmates suffer from hand dysplasia because she practiced calligraphy too early.
“After that, my academy only admitted students over the age of five, and those under the age of five were never allowed to practice calligraphy.”
The Crown Prince’s teacher said angrily, “Nonsense! The Crown Prince started to learn calligraphy when he was three years old, and now his handwriting is praised by everyone in the world. His Majesty also started to learn calligraphy at the age of three, so why can’t the imperial grandson?!”
“If you don’t allow the imperial grandson to practice calligraphy, then I’m afraid I can no longer teach the children. Please find another teacher to teach them!”
Qiao Jinniang said, “Okay, that’s just what I want!”
She was also afraid that this old man would misguide Lu Xi.
“Teacher! Teacher, don’t go. Auntie, you have gone too far in this matter.” A thin child ran out and said to Qiao Jinniang, “Teacher is doing this for Brother Tuan’s own good, but you contradict him so rudely. You should apologize to him!”
Qiao Jinniang didn’t know the child, so she asked little Lu Xi, “Who is he?”
Junior Duke Yun, who was busy eating mung bean cake on the side, said, “He is Prince Su’s concubine-born son, so he doesn’t have the title of Junior Duke. He is called Lu Zhen and is five years old. But he should be the eldest grandson of Imperial Grandfather.
Little Lu Zhen saluted Qiao Jinniang and said, “Auntie, please apologize to Teacher. After all, respecting teachers is a tradition of Datang.”
Qiao Jinniang said to the Crown Prince’s teacher, “Oh, Your Excellency, you have a good student, but I will never allow Xi’er to practice calligraphy before the age of five because it will do him no good. If you think you can’t teach him any longer, I can only find another teacher for Xi’er.”
The Junior Duke Bao hurriedly fawned on Qiao Jinniang. “Auntie, I want to have a new teacher too.”
Consort Qi, who had just come over, was ashamed. Why did she give birth to such a foodie? He didn’t have the air a junior duke should have at all!
After the rabbit thing during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Bao’er was very afraid of Qiao Jinniang and didn’t even dare to look at her.
But after eating Qiao Jinniang’s pastries for a few days, he wouldn’t even mind kneeling down and calling Qiao Jinniang ‘Mother’!
But seeing Junior Duke Yun’s fawning eyes, Consort Qi was a little more psychologically balanced. It seemed that it wasn’t just her son who was a foodie, but the children of the Lu family were all foodies.
“What happened?” Consort Chu came over and asked.
Qiao Jinniang said, “Nothing. The Crown Prince’s teacher asked Xi’er to practice calligraphy, but I didn’t allow it, so His Excellency said that he couldn’t teach Xi’er anymore.”
Consort Chu said, “Handwriting is very important. The imperial grandson is known as a child prodigy. Why not let him practice calligraphy?”
Qiao Jinniang said, “Well, when I was young, I had a classmate who was forced to practice calligraphy by her family when she was only three years old. When she grew up, her hands became so deformed that she could hardly carry things, let alone write..”
“Although His Majesty and His Royal Highness both started to practice calligraphy at the age of three, as a mother, I don’t want my child to take any risks, besides, most of the children start to practice calligraphy at the age of five among the folks.”
