It was late at night, but there was light coming out of an ordinary room in the capital. The flickering candles flickered up and down, reflecting the faces of several angry middle-aged men sitting around the room.

"The letter "Donggong Chuge Lecture Notes" was retained."

"Although His Majesty is in his prime, he was unwilling to accept a concubine at first. Now he only has an only son and has repeatedly delayed the time for the East Palace to give lectures! In two or three months, His Highness will be eight years old. Even for ordinary people at this age,

Children, it’s time for you to become enlightened!”

"Yes! Taizu said back then: The son of the emperor is different from the son of the official, scholar and common man. The son of the emperor, the scholar and the common man is related to the prosperity and decline of the family, while the son of the emperor is related to the safety of the world. If you inherit the weight of the master's weapon, you will bear the responsibility of the world.

Yes. Your Majesty’s family affairs are also state affairs. How could you miss such a major event as studying in the East Palace because of your love for your son?!”

"Yes! I'll play it again later! I'll play it again later!"

…

The area around the East Palace's Xiefang Hall was also pitch black.

In the darkness, as the palace door opened with a creak, a lantern floated outward.

"Where are we going?" A seven or eight-year-old child asked the old eunuch holding his hand.

"I went to see your father. Your Majesty was overworked and fell ill."

"What happened recently? What makes father so worried?"

The old eunuch continued to speak with his voice: "There are some annoying people in the outer court. They want to force your father to make you get up early and study late every day. Those days are boring and hard. But they are not like your father.

The emperor loves you so much."

"Forcing...the Emperor?"

In the past, these were historical terms to him, but now they all really appear around him.

The old eunuch couldn't explain in a few words who could force the emperor. He just sighed and said, "You will understand when your highness grows up."

The person who spoke was Liu Jin.

After walking for a long time, Zhu Houzhao, who had small hands and feet, was also a little out of breath. Especially at night, the wind blew so much that he couldn't open his eyes.

The Qianqing Palace was brightly lit, but there was no movement. The eunuchs and maids who walked by even walked lightly.

Before he even reached the dragon bed, he heard a cough.

Zhu Houzhao got a look of "Go in" from Liu Jin. He also recalled the etiquette in the TV series, and then walked in.

"My son, please see your father."

"Zhao'er...?" The emperor's hand in the yellow sleeve stretched out in the direction of his son.

Zhu Houzhao was a little curious and looked up at the emperor.

I noticed that he had faintly dark bags under his eyes, but his lips were white. Judging from his facial features, he looked thin, and his square face made it difficult to smile.

He also knew history. Based on his age, the emperor was probably not even thirty yet. What a sin.

Not to mention that this man is his father, even if he bumps into him on the road, he will still feel some compassion.

"Father..." Zhu Houzhao squeezed the emperor's hand. It was somewhat cold, and his heart was always tightening.

"Father, it's okay. Father just misses you." The emperor tilted his head and smiled at his son as hard as he could, his eyes full of doting.

Then he took a long, labored breath and looked up at the people in the room, "Everyone, please go down. I'll talk to the prince."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After everyone retreated.

The emperor touched the prince's little hand and said in a voice as weak as a gossamer: "When I was a child, I would lie next to my father like you. At that time, I always thought that it would be great if my father could play with me for a while.

."

"Then...has Grandpa Huang played with Father?"

The emperor was stunned for a while, as if he was remembering or recovering his strength.

"No." He shook his head and said, "That's why I want to play with my emperor now... Unfortunately, the state affairs are busy, and my body can't support it..."

What he said made Zhu Houzhao feel so sad.

How could an emperor be treated like this?

"I can always stay with my father," he said.

The emperor smiled and said, "Your Majesty also wants to study."

Zhu Houzhao suddenly thought of what Liu Jin said to him on the way here.

"I heard that the ministers in the outer court wanted their sons to learn calligraphy and study, which made the father depressed. But has the father actually agreed in his heart?"

"How can a father not let his son study?" The emperor said slowly, "It's just that... the emperor is too young and is still a child. They can force me, but they should not force you."

It's hard to say that Zhu Houzhao is not a good father. Although he is a bit weak.

As for reading, Zhu Houzhao did not object, and would even take the initiative to read. He could not understand ancient Chinese and write calligraphy like a dog crawling. If he finally couldn't understand and asked the eunuch to approve the red, what kind of emperor would he be?

But in fact, what the ministers talked about reading was probably talking about the learning of saints, warning the prince over and over again that he could not do this or that, otherwise he would be a coward and would be reviled by history.

It would be boring to follow the path of the disciples of these saints and turn yourself into a wood carving and clay sculpture.

It is understandable that they want to prevent the prince from becoming a coward without learning and skill, but the method is rough, which actually forces you to obey.

This emperor can only satisfy them if he is a robot programmed with Confucian values.

After they are satisfied with the key, will the world really be peaceful and the people really prosperous?

"What do you want, Father?"

The emperor touched his son's head and said, "I think we'll wait until winter comes. At least we have to wait until next spring when the weather gets warmer. Your Majesty, please spend more time with me."

Zhu Houzhao asked: "Then, will the ministers in the outer court agree?"

Hongzhi didn't expect that his such a young son would ask this question.

He suddenly felt a little heartache,

Zhao'er was the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, his only son. What could have planted the seed of 'fear of foreign ministers' disapproval' in the heart of such a young child?

"Ahem."

"Father?"

"I'm fine." The emperor didn't want to infect his son with his emotions, but he still forced a smile, "Let's do this, I will make an agreement with the emperor, and I will definitely help you do this, okay?"

Zhu Houzhao did not expect that the emperor had such playful intentions.

"Okay. Then I will listen to my father."

"Yes." The emperor's mood calmed down a lot. He was a little tired after talking so much, and then he became a little tired.

Zhu Houzhao exited Nuange at the right time.

But I still can’t let go of what happened tonight.

He glanced at the white-haired father-in-law who sent him out,

"Your Highness." This person is Xiao Jing, who has served Emperor Hongzhi for many years.

"Eunuch Xiao, are there many memorials urging me to study recently?"

"Your Highness asked, and I dare not refuse to answer. It's just a memorial, related to state affairs, and I..." He smiled sheepishly, "I don't know."

"Where is the memorial?"

"In the imperial case."

"Okay, then Eunuch Xiao, let's go."

It's normal for these eunuchs not to be able to touch Zuo Shu, but he can do it.

Anyway, Emperor Hongzhi would not and would not do anything to him.

At any other time, this would have been a grave sin.

Zhu Houzhao didn't care about that and went to the imperial court. He was small and couldn't reach it, so he climbed onto the dragon chair.

On the desk are arranged folds, the four treasures of the study are gathered together, and fine rice paper is also placed.

Only one memorial was thrown aside,

Traditional Chinese characters can only be roughly recognized, and ancient people wrote articles without punctuation marks, so it is a bit difficult to recognize them. But it is not impossible to read them.

Especially this name, Zhu Houzhao understood it at a glance: the East Palace came out of the cabinet to give lectures.

In serious history, ministers did engage in a long battle of wits and courage with the emperor over the education of Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao.

The education of the crown prince is also a huge problem in this era.

The emperor always prevented the crown prince from studying. There were at least two things that civil servants could never accept.

First, if the crown prince is not with the teachers, he will definitely be with the eunuchs all day long. The children will kiss whoever they play with, especially Zhu Houzhao who is seven years old.

If this continues, the prince will be closer to the eunuchs than to the civil servants. Every day that passes, the civil servants group will be further away from the core of decision-making.

Secondly, the status of Imperial Master has a great halo. If you keep blocking it, you will block the glory and wealth of many people.
To be continued...