Adoption brings disaster

As the saying goes, things have changed and people have changed. This is exactly what I am like now. When I first came here, I was a slave who could be beaten, killed and humiliated by anyone. Who would have thought that I would be a nobleman now.

I am not only a noble, I am also the noble of the Seventh Prince. My status is extremely noble. This time I entered the palace under the imperial order to take care of the Seventh Prince. Naturally, I am not as pitiful as last time.

Before daybreak, a carriage escorted by the Imperial Guards stopped outside the gate of the Minister's Mansion. Although entering the palace requires an auspicious day, no one urged me to hurry this time. Instead, they left me enough time to wait for me to come out.

After washing up, I didn't have to follow their rules for going to court. I also had a delicious breakfast before walking out.

As the saying goes, patriarchal power is not greater than imperial power. Even though the master and the lady are my nominal parents, they can only stand behind me and see me off with everyone in the Minister's Mansion.

As soon as he got on the carriage, a eunuch screamed, "Get up and return to the palace."

After receiving the order, the guards stood on both sides, and the sound of their uniform footsteps was shocking. The luxury inside the carriage was even more fascinating, and the eunuchs' meticulous care was so intoxicating that people were addicted. I think this is the charm of power.

The Jingzhao prefect and the patrol camp had cleared the way along the way, so the journey was naturally smooth. It wasn't long before we arrived at the palace gate. I got off the carriage with the help of the eunuchs, and there was immediately a sedan chair waiting at the palace gate.

When a group of eunuchs saw me coming, there was no need for all the previous preparations. They surrounded me and helped me to the sedan chair with the utmost hospitality.

As soon as I sat down, the leading eunuch immediately covered me with a warm blanket and put a fur-wrapped heater in my hand. The heater was very comfortable, warm but not hot.

The sedan chair carried me for a long time and stopped at a pavilion. The eunuch immediately whispered beside me, "Your Highness Yuan Qing, we have arrived at Qianqiu Pavilion."

Although Qianqiu Pavilion is named "Pavilion", it is not just a pavilion, but a large courtyard with three entrances and three exits. It is named because the main building is a three-story pavilion. This is just a side topic and will not be mentioned.

After getting off the sedan chair, I walked inside. The first thing that caught my eye was the plaque at the gate, with three beautiful big characters written on it - Qianqiu Pavilion.

Dozens of eunuchs and palace maids stood on both sides of the door. When they saw me, they immediately knelt down and saluted, saying, "Welcome to His Highness Yuan Qing. May His Highness Yuan Qing live a thousand years."

I asked everyone to stand up, and then led everyone into the pavilion to sit down. A group of eunuchs and palace maids followed me and quickly came in and stood in their respective positions.

Standing at the front was a palace maid, tall in stature, with an outstanding appearance and temperament. She looked smart and capable.

Seeing that I was looking at her with a somewhat inquiring look, she immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am the head maid of Qianqiu Pavilion. If His Highness Yuan Qing has any instructions in the future, you can assign me to do it."

Seeing me nod in response, she stood beside me and pointed to the three palace maids in the second row and said, "These three are your personal maids, serving in the pavilion. They are all well-educated, know some minor etiquette, and know a few people. If Your Highness needs to move around the palace, it will be more convenient to take them with you."

I didn't say anything after hearing this, but just picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and motioned for her to continue.

This tea is excellent. It smells refreshing and leaves a lingering fragrance in your mouth. Even someone like me who doesn't like tea couldn't help but drink a few sips. It turns out that a life with money and power is what life is all about.

As I sipped my tea, I listened to the head maid continue, "The four eunuchs behind are the elders of the palace, and they are very familiar with all the affairs of the courtyard. The ones behind them are the menial servants."

I looked at the dozen or so people kneeling on the ground, cleared my throat, and said, imitating the leader's manner, "From today on, we are all living under the same roof. As long as everyone does their job well, I will not treat you unfairly."

After hearing this, everyone expressed their gratitude. Taking advantage of this momentum, I took the promises my leaders had made for me all those years and gave them to this group of people in a new look.

Modern people are not easy to fool, so drawing cakes is useless. I hope that ancient people were easy to fool. My drawing of cakes can keep them eating for a while, and I will give them real cakes when I have the conditions.

He spoke passionately for a whole incense stick of time. The water in his mouth dried up and his throat felt like it was smoking. It felt just like the first month of being my teacher.

However, since their identities are different, their moods and thoughts are naturally very different, and they cannot be compared.

After a while, seeing that everyone was convinced, he dismissed them all, leaving only four palace maids and four eunuchs. He took a sip of water to slow down and said, "Tell me your names."

Upon hearing this, the maid in charge hurried forward, pointing at the three maids behind her, and said, "Your Highness, the four of us are slaves. We don't have names, only titles. Our titles are Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The other four are slaves. We don't have names, only numbers."

I nodded to show that I understood, and then said, "Lift your heads up so I can see you."

The moment they raised their heads, I was completely stunned. I actually saw Xiaotao among them. I excitedly took Xiaotao's hand and said, "Xiaotao, why are you here?"

This Xiaotao is not that Xiaotao. Seeing me acting so arrogantly, she was scared to death and could only look at Chun in panic.

But I am the master, they can't and dare not stop me. Chun felt sorry for Xia and could only say, "Your Highness may have made a mistake. The four of us grew up together in the south. Later, something happened in our family, and we were sold to the palace to be maids."

Chun’s meaning was also clear. They had always been in the south and would definitely not know me, who grew up in a walled compound in Beijing.

The four greatest joys in life are meeting an old friend in a foreign place.

This palace maid who looked exactly like Xiaotao made me panic for a moment, but I also calmed down immediately. Based on Xiaotao's intelligence, no matter what identity he had after traveling through time, he should not be a person who only knew how to hide behind others and be at a loss.

Thinking of this, I calmed down suddenly.

I ordered them to retreat, but Xiaotao's image kept lingering in my mind. I had to do something.

After a while, I called them in again and asked, "Since you don't have names, how about I give you some?"

When everyone heard this, they looked at me in confusion at first. Chun was the smartest and immediately understood what I meant. He hurriedly knelt down excitedly to express his gratitude. Although the others didn't know what was going on, they all knelt down to express their gratitude.

The maid who looked exactly like Xiaotao took Chun's hand and asked in a neither-too-soft voice, "Your Highness gave us a name. Why are you so happy?"

When Chun heard Xia's question, she didn't dare to answer at first, but when she saw me signaling her to answer, Chun said, "That's because the nobleman gave us a name in order to change our status. His Highness gave us a name, and then in His Highness's name, we can go to the government office and spend some money to change our status."

The palace maid, seeing Chun had answered her question, did not understand what she meant, so she boldly continued to ask, "What does it mean to raise one's status?"

I felt so tired when I saw his stupid look. Xiaotao in the original world is still better. Many things don’t need to be said. Just one action or one look can make you understand.

As for Xiao Tao, it doesn't matter if she doesn't say anything. I put down my teacup and said speechlessly, "Chun, find some time to explain it to her."

"I want to know now. Your Highness and sister, please tell me now." Seeing that I didn't blame her, Xiao Tao also boldly acted like a child.

I had never seen Xiaotao like this before, and my heart was already melted. I had to signal Chun to explain to Xiaotao right away.

Chun received the order, so he naturally pulled Xiaotao and whispered to her. The others also pricked up their ears to listen. The more they listened, the more excited they became. They kept kowtowing to express their gratitude, and their voices actually drowned out Chun's.

I saw that Xiao Tao understood, and she looked at Chun and said, "Spring rain is as precious as oil. I hope you can nourish others like the spring rain. Your name should be Chunyu."

After that, I looked at Xia and said, "Summer is my favorite season. It's full of vitality and everything is thriving. You can be called Xiaotao."

Xiao Tao was confused by what she heard and was about to act like a child, asking why he called her Xiao Tao, but Chun Yu stopped her in time and scolded her, and she finally calmed down.

I looked at Qiudong and said, "Spring brings life, summer grows, autumn harvests, winter stores. Let's call you two Qiushoudongzang."

I looked at the four eunuchs and said, "My dream is to see all the heavens, earth, mountains and rivers in the world. You can call them Little Heaven, Little Earth, Little Mountain and Little River."

After everyone got their names, they were naturally overjoyed and expressed their gratitude. I also changed their names and stamped my seal on their ID cards.

They just needed to find a time to register with the government and change to a new identity card, and then they could be freed from the status of slaves and become civilians.

After the matter was settled, I asked them all to leave, leaving only Xiaotao.

Looking at Xiaotao like that, I couldn't help but think of the time when we camped together on the top of the mountain. My colleagues all left to create opportunities for us. I was feeling the mountain breeze and looking at the sky, and I said inexplicably, "If I had money, I would take you to see the world and mountains."

I am now saying this again.

What Xiaotao answered me at that time? I remember it was, why do you have to wait until you are rich to take me to see the world and mountains and rivers.

We can go and see the rivers, lakes, seas, the sun, moon, stars, and all kinds of life now. As long as you want, I will go with you.

Then I looked at Xiao Tao, who was puzzled and said, "Your Highness, I'm standing on the ground now. If I go out to the yard and look up, I see the sky. If I look in the distance, I see mountains and rivers. What's so interesting about the sky, earth, and mountains and rivers? Only storybooks are interesting."

Looking at her innocent look, I felt a little depressed for a moment. I pounded my chest and drove Xiaotao out, who didn't understand what was going on.

Not long after, Xiao Tao came running in with someone and said, "Master Tianshu, please take a look at His Highness. He has chest discomfort."

The man came over to me, not caring at all about my status. He grabbed my wrist and said after a moment, "Your Highness's pulse seems fine, but as for why your chest hurts, I really don't know. My medical skills are limited. If Your Highness is still in severe pain, please ask the imperial physician to take a look."

I looked at the serious man in Taoist robes in front of me, and after confirming that I had never seen him before, I said humbly, "Thank you, Taoist priest. My chest is fine, I just feel a little stuffy. Thank you for your concern."

After saying that, he looked at Xiaotao angrily.

The Taoist priest followed my gaze and immediately understood. He continued, "Although Miss Xiaotao's words are sometimes unpleasant to the ear, she is innocent and a good girl. If she has offended Your Highness in any way, I hope Your Highness will forgive her and not take it to heart with these servants."

Seeing Taoist Tianshu defending Xiaotao so much, I felt very uncomfortable, but I didn't show it on my face and changed the subject. "I just entered the palace and there are many things I don't understand yet. May I ask who the Taoist master is?"

"Master Tianshu is the seventh prince's martial arts master. He is very powerful and can even fly." Xiao Tao said proudly.

"Seventh Prince's martial arts master, why didn't I see you just now? Have you encountered any difficulties? If there is anything I can help with, I will definitely do my best to help." I asked hypocritically.

Taoist Tianshu smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. It's not that I encountered any difficulties. I was just contemplating the heavens and earth during morning prayers when I suddenly had an epiphany. Therefore, I missed the time. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

"Master, you are too polite. How long have you been in the palace?" I asked.

“It’s been almost two years.”

Two years have passed, and now the Seventh Prince has only celebrated his sixth birthday, which means that the Seventh Prince started practicing martial arts at the latest when he was four years old. If you want to wear the crown, you must bear the weight. He thought to himself that being a prince is not easy.

"Master Tianshu has been in the palace for so long, he should know the Seventh Prince very well. Could you tell me about it so that I can take care of the Seventh Prince in a targeted manner?"

After hearing this, Taoist Tianshu felt a little embarrassed and sighed, saying, "To be honest, in the two years since I entered the palace, I have only met the Seventh Prince once on the day I entered. On weekdays, I also practice martial arts and cultivate Taoism. When it comes to understanding the Seventh Prince, I may not be as good as Chunyu."

After hearing this, I asked, somewhat puzzled, "You are the Seventh Prince's martial arts master, how come you have only met him once in two years?"

"I only taught the Seventh Prince for one day. The next day, the Imperial Concubine came in person to tell him that it was freezing cold and he couldn't get up. He should wait until the weather warmed up before continuing his training. When the weather warmed up, the Seventh Prince fell ill again and remained ill until winter. Two years passed like this."

After hearing this, I slowly thought in my mind, it is true that the Seventh Prince cannot get up, and it is probably not true that he is sick. A loving mother often spoils her son. This Imperial Concubine is so spoiled to the Seventh Prince. Based on my many years of educational and teaching experience, the Seventh Prince may be difficult to educate.

But it doesn't matter. The Seventh Prince is only a six-year-old child after all. Besides, I am acting on behalf of his father. If he really doesn't listen, at worst, good people will be produced under the golden stick. It won't be more annoying than being a teacher.

I thought about it in my heart and chatted with Taoist Tianshu for a while. I made a brief arrangement on the time arrangement for the seventh prince's martial arts teaching and put forward some reasonable teaching requirements. The Taoist priest then stood up and said goodbye, and disappeared in an instant.

Education is by no means something that can be done behind closed doors. No matter how much you think about it now, it will be of no avail. You can only wait for the Seventh Prince to arrive and formulate a suitable plan based on his actual situation.

Then we need to counter each move with our own tactics, so that we can guide him onto the right track and educate him to be a person who contributes to society.

Predict what will happen in the future, and listen to the next decomposition.