Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne
Chapter 91 The Fourth Prince’s Sincere Effort

Chapter 91: Chapter 91 The Fourth Prince’s Sincere Effort

Zhao Yao looked at the empty seat beside him, his eyes filled with envy.

The owner of the empty seat was the Eighth Prince. He hadn’t come to Wende Hall to study today but had gone with the Crown Prince to Hulong Temple. He would accompany the Crown Prince to pray at Hulong Temple for forty-nine days.

Zhao Yao also wanted to go to Hulong Temple to pray, as it meant he wouldn’t have to study for forty-nine days. Unfortunately, his elder brother said he was too young to go to Hulong Temple to pray.

His elder brother also mentioned that the temple only served vegetarian food and worried that Zhao Yao wouldn’t be able to endure it. For Zhao Yao, not eating meat was less of a hardship than studying. He would rather eat vegetarian every day at the temple than come to Wende Hall to study every day.

Sigh... so envious of my elder brother...

The Fourth Prince, hearing Zhao Yao sighing constantly, turned his head to him and asked with concern, "Tenth brother, what’s wrong? Why do you keep sighing?"

Zhao Yao leaned forward slightly, getting a little closer to the Fourth Prince, and then lowered his voice to say, "Fourth brother, I’m fine. I’m just envious of our eighth brother."

The Fourth Prince frowned slightly and asked, "Why are you envious of him?"

"I’m envious that he can go to Hulong Temple to pray for the late Empress." Zhao Yao’s small face was full of "I’m so envious," and he said, "I also want to go to Hulong Temple to pray for the late Empress."

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince immediately understood Zhao Yao’s intentions. He reached out to pinch Zhao Yao’s small face lightly and laughed, "You want to go to Hulong Temple just to avoid studying, right?"

Zhao Yao didn’t feel embarrassed at having his thoughts exposed by the Fourth Prince but instead was very open: "Yes, as long as I don’t have to study, I’m even willing to become a monk..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the Fourth Prince pinched his nose. The Fourth Prince deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Don’t speak nonsense." To avoid studying, he could even say things about becoming a monk; this tenth brother was really...

Zhao Yao smiled pleadingly at the Fourth Prince: "I won’t say it anymore." After finishing, he sat obediently and picked up his pen to copy what he had just learned.

It was only at the beginning of this year that he started learning, only beginning to write, and his writing was very ugly. Thanks to this, he didn’t have to copy Buddhist scriptures for the late Empress to pray.

Zhao Yao was quite good at writing with a quill, but not so with a brush.

Mr. Xiao came down to check if the princes were diligently copying. When he came to Zhao Yao’s side and saw his crooked writing, he moved behind Zhao Yao, then bent down and held Zhao Yao’s hand to teach him to write.

Zhao Yao looked up in surprise at Mr. Xiao, who had suddenly grabbed his left hand, "Sir..."

Mr. Xiao glanced down, expressionless, and said, "Write properly."

Zhao Yao instantly became well-behaved and focused on writing seriously.

While teaching Zhao Yao to write hand-in-hand, Mr. Xiao corrected his writing posture.

Zhao Yao was the only prince who wrote with his left hand. When he first came to learn writing, all the teachers tried to correct him to use his right hand, but Mr. Xiao never made him switch hands.

It seemed Mr. Xiao had said something to the other teachers; after that, no teacher ever advised him to switch to his right hand.

Mr. Xiao, though very strict and solemn, was very responsible to his students. He patiently taught Zhao Yao to write until Zhao Yao’s writing improved a lot.

"Your Highness is doing well," Mr. Xiao praised.

Being complimented, Zhao Yao was naturally very happy. He lifted his small head and gave Mr. Xiao a sweet smile: "It’s because sir teaches well."

Seeing the pure and clean happiness in Zhao Yao’s eyes, Mr. Xiao’s eyes also showed a hint of a smile.

"Your Highness, don’t rush when writing. Write slowly, one stroke at a time."

"Understood, sir." Zhao Yao had an impatient nature, so he wrote quickly, resulting in unsteady writing.

Mr. Xiao couldn’t help but stroke Zhao Yao’s little head, then asked gently, "Did Your Highness understand the content earlier?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yao’s writing hand paused. He didn’t look up and softly said, "No, I didn’t..."

"It’s alright if you didn’t understand." Mr. Xiao said, taking the seat of the Eighth Prince, "I’ll explain it to Your Highness again."

Zhao Yao felt embarrassed to say it was troublesome for Mr. Xiao. He obediently nodded: "Thank you, sir."

"It’s not a big deal, Your Highness. It’s my duty." Mr. Xiao picked up Zhao Yao’s book and began to explain it word by word to him.

Even after hearing it once, Zhao Yao still didn’t quite understand. So, Mr. Xiao explained it again.

Going back and forth over ten times, Mr. Xiao showed no impatience or annoyance until the eleventh time, Zhao Yao finally understood.

Once Zhao Yao understood, Mr. Xiao even praised him with a "Not bad."

Before class ended, Mr. Xiao reminded Zhao Yao that if he forgot what he learned today, he could come to him the next day for further explanation.

Zhao Yao thanked Mr. Xiao and then followed the Fourth Prince out of Wende Hall.

"Fourth Brother, where is Mr. Xiao from, and does he have a family?"

"Mr. Xiao doesn’t have any family." Mr. Xiao had some connections with the Fourth Prince. "He studied at the Li family when he was young."

He was a bookworm when young, reading day and night. He finished all the books in the Li family’s collection. He was so engrossed in reading that he never paid attention to anything beyond studying; hence, he became very distinguished in literature.

The Fourth Prince’s grandfather once wanted to recommend Mr. Xiao to become an official, but Mr. Xiao wasn’t interested in that path and declined. Later, the grandfather recommended him to teach at the Imperial College, and he agreed.

Though he was rigid and stern with a bit of a strange temperament, he was an excellent teacher. After learning about him, the Emperor decreed to invite him to the palace to teach the princes.

The Fourth Prince’s grandfather thought Mr. Xiao would refuse since he had no interest in power and didn’t want to become an official, but he surprisingly agreed.

He told the grandfather that teaching the princes was a great responsibility. Properly teaching the princes was beneficial for the nation and people. If not taught well, they could bring ruin to the court and country. Therefore, he was willing to teach the princes.

"He has no family at all?" Zhao Yao asked in astonishment. "Does he not have a wife or children?"

"Mr. Xiao is an orphan with no family." The Fourth Prince understood Mr. Xiao’s situation, "He is not married."

"Is Mr. Xiao really that pitiful?" It was unexpected that Mr. Xiao was a solitary person.

"Mr. Xiao doesn’t see himself as pitiful. To him, having books to read is a great happiness."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao’s small face showed a horrified expression.

"Thinking of reading as a great happiness is truly terrifying!"

"You are quite the opposite of Mr. Xiao." The Fourth Prince said, "Actually, Mr. Xiao likes children. If you often ask him about academic matters, he would be very happy."

Hearing this, Zhao Yao furrowed his small brows, looking very troubled.

"Fourth Brother, this... is quite troubling for me..." Although he liked Mr. Xiao, he didn’t enjoy asking about academic matters.

The Fourth Prince was amused by Zhao Yao’s conflicted and troubled expression, "You don’t have to ask academic questions when you visit him; you can just chat."

"Ah, chat about what?"

"Tell him what your favorite foods are."

"Does Mr. Xiao like to hear such things from me?"

"He does."

"Alright, then I’ll visit Mr. Xiao for a chat when I have time." Yes, he could now build a good relationship with Mr. Xiao. When he grows up to be a prince and goes to his territory, he could invite Mr. Xiao to teach there.

"Mr. Xiao would be very pleased."

"Fourth Brother, I’ll head back now. See you this afternoon." Zhao Yao waved to the Fourth Prince and bounced away.

"Your Highness, Tenth Prince is like a little rabbit." So adorable. "Your Highness, why did you encourage the Tenth Prince to speak with Mr. Xiao?"

"Firstly, to have the tenth brother accompany Mr. Xiao, and secondly, I hope the tenth brother could benefit from Mr. Xiao’s teachings." The Fourth Prince chuckled, "Perhaps after spending more time with Mr. Xiao, the tenth brother might grow to enjoy studying."

Wei Mian wasn’t convinced, "Is that possible?" The tenth prince is still young and it’s normal to dislike studying. A few years from now, when he’s older, he might naturally grow to love reading.

"How do we know without trying?" In fact, the Fourth Prince’s reason for encouraging Zhao Yao to be near Mr. Xiao wasn’t entirely as he stated.

"If Tenth Prince knew you wanted him to chat with Mr. Xiao just to encourage him to love reading, he might blame you." Wei Mian said, "Your Highness, in a few years, the Tenth Prince will surely be willing to study."

"But I won’t be here then." In two years, the Fourth Prince would leave the palace as a prince and move to his territory.

Hearing this, Wei Mian instantly understood the Fourth Prince’s real intention.

"Your Highness, you allowed the Tenth Prince to approach Mr. Xiao because..."

"In two years, I won’t be in the palace, and I worry about the tenth brother." The Fourth Prince didn’t believe the Eighth Prince could protect Zhao Yao. "Mr. Xiao is highly respected by the Emperor, and the Ninth Prince and others wouldn’t dare act recklessly in his presence."

"But Your Highness, hadn’t you planned to take Mr. Xiao to your territory?" Wei Mian asked in surprise, "Weren’t you planning to build an academy on your land and invite Mr. Xiao to teach there?"

"Once the tenth brother grows up and becomes a prince, it’ll not be too late to invite Mr. Xiao then." Though the Fourth Prince had two years before becoming a prince, he had already planned what to do when he got to his territory.

"Your Highness, you overly protect the Tenth Prince."

"Once I leave the palace, I’m afraid the conflict between the Crown Prince and Prince Dai will become fiercer, and the tenth brother might get entangled if he stays in the palace." The Fourth Prince always thought ahead. Even before he left, he envisaged the tumultuous state of the capital two years later. "Liang Zhaoyi isn’t favored, and the Liang family holds no power, so by then..." Here, the Fourth Prince stopped speaking.

"Your Highness, your consideration is thorough as always."

"The tenth brother is different from us, I hope he can live well."

"With your protection, the Tenth Prince will surely be fine."

Zhao Yao, who had already returned to Kunde Hall, had no idea the Fourth Prince was so worried for him.