usatvline Chapter 5: The Good Grandson
Chapter 5: The Good Grandson
Upon hearing this, the children quickly got up and walked towards Emperor Yonglong.
Their hearts were pounding, they held their breath, their expressions were stiff, and they dared not look up at anyone.
Only Xia Chengzong remained fearless, even daring to look up at Emperor Yonglong.
Emperor Yonglong bore a striking resemblance to his adoptive father, with his white hair and sharper eyes, like an eagle soaring in the sky overlooking the earth.
Meanwhile, Emperor Yonglong's gaze, which had been fixed on these little ones, was immediately drawn to Xia Chengzong.
At first glance, his heart almost melted, and he instantly fell in love with his beautiful grandson.
Emperor Yonglong's positive emotions +1 +1 +1
Receiving positive feedback, Xia Chengzong was completely relieved.
He used the same methods he had employed in his past life to please the top-ranked woman on the popularity charts.
"Grandpa, hug me!"
He innocently stretched out his arms and walked towards Emperor Yonglong, his eyes filled with filial piety.
At that moment, Prince Chung-jang, who was still kneeling on the ground, held his breath, and his heart almost stopped beating.
He never expected that Zong Ge'er would be so bold. What if he angered his father?
Fortunately, the next moment, he heard his father's hearty laughter:
"Haha, good grandson, come here and let Grandpa hold you. What's your name?"
Xia Chengzong was picked up by Emperor Yonglong and laughed happily.
He reached out and tugged at Emperor Yonglong's beard, saying, "Grandpa Emperor, my name is Xia Chengzong. Grandpa Emperor is so good, the best grandpa in the world!"
Emperor Yonglong laughed loudly again, "Good, good! He's truly my good grandson."
Taking advantage of the situation, Xia Chengzong pleaded, "Grandfather, my father is unwell. Please let him get up, okay?"
Emperor Yonglong nodded and said, "Alright, for the sake of my beloved grandson, you may stand up and speak."
Prince Zhongzheng quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and as he got up, he said, "Thank you, Father Emperor!"
Emperor Yonglong ignored him and instead asked Xia Chengzong, "My dear grandson, have you been studying in the manor?"
Xia Chengzong said, "Our father taught us that studying helps us understand principles, and he told us to study hard. My siblings and I have been studying for several years now!"
Emperor Yonglong said, "At least he did something decent. I wonder how many books you've studied?"
Xia Chengzong said, "My elder brother and I started reading the Four Books. We've memorized more than half of Caiwei and Lao Liu's Thousand Character Classic, and Lao Ba is almost finished with the Three Character Classic."
In fact, Xia Chengzong's progress far exceeded that of his eldest brother, Xia Chengqian.
However, he couldn't say it directly, because this era valued brotherly love and respect, and the order of seniority.
He couldn't intentionally belittle his elder brother to elevate himself. He had to subtly let Emperor Yonglong discover this for himself.
At this moment, Xia Chengqian mustered his courage and said, "Grandfather, you don't know, but my third brother is smarter than all of us. He's progressing much faster than me in his studies!"
"Now my third brother has learned to compose poetry, and even Father and Mother praise his poems!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yonglong was greatly surprised and hurriedly asked, "How old are you? How can you compose poetry? What poem did you compose? Quickly recite it for your imperial grandfather."
Xia Chengzong said embarrassedly, "Grandpa Emperor, I didn't do well. Please don't laugh at me when I read it aloud."
Emperor Yonglong laughed and said, "No, no, you're only seven years old and you can already compose poetry. Your Majesty is overjoyed, how could I possibly laugh at you?"
Xia Chengzong began to recite: "Where the sun never shines, youth still comes. Moss flowers, as small as grains of rice, also learn to bloom like peonies."
Emperor Yonglong was deeply moved upon hearing this poem.
He laughed loudly, "Excellent! Excellent poem! There was a poem about geese written by Luo Binwang of the Tang Dynasty when he was seven years old."
"My dear grandson has just written a poem about moss flowers, and his poem is even better than Luo Binwang's!"
"You are truly my beloved grandson!"
The phrase "good grandson" surprised and delighted both Prince Zhongzheng and Prince Zhongshun below.
The title "Good Grandson" is not something to be said lightly.
They had anticipated that their father might like Zong Ge'er, but they hadn't expected him to like him to this extent.
But now that Zongge'er has the title of "good grandson", the Prince Zhongzheng's mansion is completely secure!
Emperor Yonglong then said, "Since you can compose such a poem, your imperial grandfather will have to test you."
It turned out that Emperor Yonglong quickly realized what was going on after his initial excitement.
The poem "Moss Flower" is fresh and natural, without piling up fancy words or using allusions. It could be said to have been written by a seven-year-old child.
However, this poem is profound and captures the essence of poetry, and it doesn't seem like something a seven-year-old child could write.
Of course, Emperor Yonglong was not prepared to expose him.
Whether he wrote it or not is not important; what is important is that Zong Ge'er cannot have any stain on his reputation. Therefore, regardless of the truth, this poem must have been written by him.
However, Emperor Yonglong intended to give him a warning, to let him know that his grandfather was not confused, but just too lazy to expose him.
Xia Chengzong readily agreed, "Alright, Grandfather, just give me the test."
Emperor Yonglong immediately began to test him.
He proceeded step by step, from easy to difficult, from the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic all the way up to the Four Books and Five Classics.
However, no matter what question he asked, Xia Chengzong answered fluently.
Even when asked about the meaning of the Four Books and Five Classics, Xia Chengzong could give a decent answer.
Some answers, though naive, are still largely correct.
Emperor Yonglong became increasingly alarmed as he tested him. Later, he tested him on many other topics, including poetry and prose, but even these questions proved challenging.
This made Emperor Yonglong think that his grandson was truly a genius. Could it be that he really wrote this poem?
Emperor Yonglong stopped his examination and laughed heartily, saying "Good!"
Then they tested the knowledge of Xia Chengqian and the other three boys.
This time it was much more normal, but their progress has already surpassed that of the other imperial grandsons.
Despite the prince's residence being sealed off, the education of the imperial grandson not only did not fall behind, but actually surpassed that of the other imperial grandsons.
This made Emperor Yonglong even more satisfied, and his dislike for Prince Zhongzheng lessened considerably.
At this moment, Xia Chengkun boldly said, "Grandpa, it's all because of Third Brother that we're making sure we can memorize our lessons."
"If it weren't for Third Brother, we wouldn't have been able to learn so quickly."
Emperor Yonglong exclaimed again, "Intelligent, resilient, courageous, and filial—truly my splendid grandson!"
Emperor Yonglong mentioned the phrase "good grandson" again, which shows that he genuinely liked his grandson Xia Chengzong.
Emperor Yonglong put Xia Chengzong down and said to Prince Zhongzheng, "Your mother has shed countless tears for you these past few years."
"If it weren't for the Empress and the Fifth Prince pleading for you at the New Year's Eve banquet the other day, I would never have lifted the ban on your Prince's residence."
"Now that you're here, go and see the Empress, so she can be at ease."
"Yes, Father! Your son takes his leave!"
"Grandpa, I must take my leave now. We'll come to see you again when we have more time!"
Emperor Yonglong suddenly said, "Dai Quan, take a jade waist token and give it to Zong Ge'er. From now on, when he comes to the palace, he will not need to announce his arrival and can enter and leave directly."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"