The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Qiao Rong and Song Qianyuan were of similar age, both arrogant young men. They were arguing, neither willing to give in. Song Qianyuan said, "My father's letter of resignation has been delivered to the palace. I'm sure the emperor has seen it by now. Not only has my father resigned from the position of Prince Taibao, he's also resigned from the position of Shanglin Ling."

Qiao Rong smiled coldly, "If that's the case, then that's great. After all, your father Song Ting's position as the Supreme Forest Magistrate wasn't glorious, so resigning from that position is understandable. As for resigning from the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, I thank your father on behalf of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He truly doesn't deserve the position."

Song Qianyuan was furious. This was too derogatory of his father. "Why is my father not qualified to teach the prince? This position was given by the emperor."

"Heh, that's quite interesting. They look down on the royal family, yet they want to serve as officials. We all know why officials serve. Why don't such a noble family retire? If I were you, the Song family, we would all retire. We would definitely not want to serve as officials and then act noble in front of outsiders. Eh? Is your Song family really honest? Was your grandfather really an incorruptible official?"

"My grandfather was certainly a good official. Like Lord Yan Qilian, he enforced the law impartially and was a very honest person. He made great contributions to the court, and for this, the emperor rewarded our Song family many times."

"What's there to brag about? As an official in the court, you earn a salary and are supposed to share the emperor's worries. What's there to say? If your grandfather was completely worthless, how could he be worthy of his title of a third-rank official? But I, Qiao Rong, am very curious: is your Song family truly incorruptible?"

"Of course my grandfather was honest. He always speaks with evidence. If you have any doubts, you can produce evidence of my grandfather's corruption and abuse of power."

"I don't have any evidence, but the story of your grandfather, a high-ranking official of the third rank, visiting the Crown Prince's residence at night with 1,000 taels of silver is true, right? This isn't something I, Qiao Rong, fabricated out of thin air, is it?"

"You..." As soon as these words came out, Song Qianyuan's face turned red with embarrassment. This one thing alone was enough to make him unable to raise his head in front of Qiao Rong.

Cheng Feng was afraid the two teenagers would start a fight if they didn't agree, so he stepped out to smooth things over. "Why are you arguing in such hot weather? Aren't you embarrassed enough?"

Qiao Rong shut his mouth, and Song Qianyuan remained silent.

A group of onlookers were listening with their ears pricked up. Everyone wanted to know who the people these two people were talking about were.

Cheng Feng was still asking Song Qianyuan at this time, "Did your father really resign?"

Cheng Feng was chatting with Song Tizhi just now, and Song Tizhi didn't mention a word about this. However, Song Qianyuan was obviously not the kind of kid who would talk nonsense. It was impossible for him to say such nonsense without this incident.

Song Qianyuan nodded and spoke to Cheng Feng in a more modest manner. "My father had to take the imperial examination and was not qualified for the positions of Shanglin Ling and Prince Taibao, so he resigned."

Qiao Rong chuckled: "You have some self-awareness."

"Qiao Rong, what do you mean? My father is extremely talented and has real talent."

"Humph, a man of such caliber would lead the Crown Prince to swing a hoe in the scorching sun? Look at how Huang Chenming served as the Crown Prince's guardian. He taught our Highness the ways of governing a country. Then look at your father, Lord Shanglinling. He didn't even mention a word of the book, and yet he made the Crown Prince do hard labor outside the city. In my eyes, this is nothing but revenge. But I'm very curious. He paid for an official position and then resigned. Could he be playing hard to get with the Emperor? To be honest, the Emperor won't buy it. If you want to resign, do it now. Don't mislead our Crown Prince here."

Cheng Feng raised his hand and hit Qiao Rong on the head lightly. Such sharp and merciless words were rarely spoken by Qiao Rong. It seemed that Qiao Rong really couldn't stand the Song family. Not to mention Qiao Rong, even Cheng Feng could see that Cheng Youning was not liked by the Song family father and son. However, the gentleman was selected by Wan Lianxing, and Cheng Feng could not have any objection.

The reason is nothing more than Cheng Youning's recent bad reputation. The Song family is aloof, and Cheng Youning was arrogant when they first met. Such an attitude makes it difficult to change Cheng Youning's image in the eyes of the Song family.

Cheng Feng believed that all of this was Cheng Youning's own fault. People who disrespect their elders should be taught a lesson. There was no harm in swinging a hoe under the sun for a few days, and it could also temper the child's will.

And the most important point is that without Wan Lianxing's instruction or acquiescence, no matter how tough Song Tingzhi was, he would not dare to humiliate the current crown prince in this way.

"Qiao Rong, sit down and eat. If you don't want to eat, go to the fields and reclaim the wasteland."

Qiao Rong's face was as cold as a pool of water. After hearing what Cheng Feng said, he sat down obediently next to Cheng Youning. Cheng Youning, who was concentrating on eating, seemed to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the two teenagers who had just quarreled.

In fact, he felt very relieved after hearing what Qiao Rong said. He had had enough of Song Tingzhi's lukewarm attitude towards him and Song Qianyuan's sarcastic remarks in the past two days.

If Cheng Youning had not been afraid of being branded as someone who betrayed his teacher and ancestors, he would have already cursed at this time. However, some of the words coming out of Qiao Rong's mouth were not offensive. He said that it was just a lack of rules and respect for elders.

If it is true that Song Tingzhi resigned from his official position, then he would have to burn incense when he goes home at night.

Cheng Feng asked Song Qianyuan, "Have you eaten?"

Song Qianyuan twisted his body slightly and said awkwardly, "I've eaten the sesame cakes I brought with me.

Cheng Feng saw that the young man hadn't gained the upper hand in his confrontation with Qiao Rong. He lowered his head with a red face and a thick neck, looking ashamed to face others. It was quite funny. Cheng Feng raised his hand and patted his shoulder, comforting him: "Qiao Rong is not targeting you or the Song family. He is worried about Youning. You see Youning is tall, but he is actually only nine years old. He is strong and healthy, so he can swing the hoe. If you were smaller, you would be too tired to get out of bed all day."

Song Qianyuan glanced at the heartless Cheng Youning, who was enjoying his meal. He had thought that he would quit, but unexpectedly, he did not complain about the hard work or being tired. He was just a little picky about food and drink, and a little greedy. He did not find any major problems in him after two days of contact.

At this moment, Song Qianyuan suddenly thought of something. He looked at Cheng Feng fiercely and said, "Prince, His Highness is selling katydids. Does Your Highness know about this?"

Cheng Youning looked at Song Qianyuan. Qiao Rong pushed Cheng Youning's hand holding the bowl and said, "Just focus on eating. This guy is like that. He's not smart. He doesn't even keep his complaints secret."

This man is Song Tingzhi's son, his teacher's son, so he would give him some face. He couldn't argue with him like Qiao Rong did, as doing so would damage the prince's face and dignity. Besides, Song Qianyuan didn't dare to confront him head-on. With Song Qianyuan's temperament, he would at most say that he was using imperial power to suppress him.