Chapter 55
In the Emperor's study, a line of princes, from eldest to youngest, stood respectfully.
Upon returning from farming today, Xiao Yunzhou felt deeply that entrusting the education of children to the tutors in the study room was ultimately unreliable, especially after encountering the issue with the Minister of Justice's daughter.
It's like Lord Tong, the father of the Empress, who was once the Prime Minister of Three Reigns, what good did it do? The students he taught were worse than pigs and dogs.
On his way back to the palace, Xiao Yunzhou thought about his own children.
"Princes, you will be responsible for the development of the entire Jing Country in the future!"
Therefore, as soon as Xiao Yunzhou returned to the palace, he called his sons for assessment.
"Your Majesty, the articles written by the princes are all here," the eunuch holding a stack of papers handed them to the Emperor.
These were impromptu essays.
Xiao Yunzhou had called the sons from the study room and asked them to write a recent reflection.
But at this moment, as he held the papers in his hand, he couldn't bring himself to read further. His gaze suffocatingly fixed on Concubine Liu as she walked in, carrying their adorable daughter.
Looking at his beloved little princess, Chu Chu, the Emperor felt increasingly suffocated.
"Whoa, the Fourth Prince's intelligence is 49, two points lower than the maid Autumn Pear beside my mother!"
Chu Chu, nestled in Concubine Liu's arms, with her palm-sized rosy cheeks, curiously looked at the princes in the hall.
They were all her nominal brothers.
"Oh my swan, the little eunuch who pours tea for my Emperor father has an intelligence of 56, ten points higher than my Fourth Prince brother!"
"Save me!"
Emperor Xiao Yunzhou held the princes' essays, feeling like he was about to spew old blood.
What?
His Imperial sons, stupider than palace maids and eunuchs?
That little eunuch who pours tea, just punished the other day for clumsily spilling tea, was scolded by Wei Zheng as dumb as a pig!
His own Fourth Prince, a royal prince, was even worse than a pig?
Xiao Yunzhou's face alternated between red and black.
Several princes were oblivious, only the Fifth Prince, Cheng Qian, and Concubine Liu at the door silently lowered their heads, pretending not to have heard anything.
Wei Zheng, who came in with Concubine Liu, had always been the worm in the Emperor's belly, and inexplicably, he felt a chill down his neck.
Did the Emperor seem to blame him with his gaze?
Seems a bit accusing!
Unfair.
Wei Zheng couldn't understand, did he do something wrong?
Xiao Yunzhou's expression was ambiguous, he reached out to Concubine Liu, lowering his voice as gently as possible so as not to startle their precious daughter.
"Come, bring Our little princess over here."
Concubine Liu lowered her head, glanced at Chu Chu who was excitedly comparing the intelligence of the princes and eunuchs with her grape-sized eyes, then slowly brought her over.
"I'll rest in the warm chamber for a while."
Xiao Yunzhou breathed a sigh of relief, took the child and nodded approvingly, "Yes, you go rest."
Even if others couldn't hear, just having one less person present made the Emperor feel a bit more comfortable about his sons being as dumb as pigs.
After having Wei Zheng close the door, Xiao Yunzhou played with Chu Chu for a while, then slowly walked over to the Crown Prince.
"Regarding the appointment of the Crown Prince, Our arrangement, you've all heard from the tutors in the study room, right?"
Emperor Xiao Yunzhou's gaze fell upon the face of the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince immediately lowered his head, answering with his brothers, "Son understands."
"Son thinks Father's decision is right," the Crown Prince was the first to express loyalty.
Xiao Yunzhou nodded in satisfaction, but he was soon taken aback by the criticism from his beloved little princess in his arms.
"So, this is my eldest brother, the Crown Prince? I heard that the Crown Prince ranks first in the study room. Oh, it turns out the Crown Prince's intelligence is the same as my mother's, 76."
Xiao Yunzhou was greatly shocked.
What?
His eldest son's level of intelligence, the same as Concubine Liu's?
Then, the one who bore Concubine Liu, Liu Lao, must be very clever!
How could he have mistakenly thought Liu Lao was dull before? It turns out the Liu family has always been wise, despite appearing foolish.
Xiao Yunzhou felt a bit of a headache; after all, he used to favor the Crown Prince the most.
If it weren't for the recent prominence of the Fifth Prince and the overbearing nature of the Queen's family, he would have indeed given the position of Crown Prince to the Crown Prince.
But now knowing that the Crown Prince's intelligence is on par with one of his palace concubines, Xiao Yunzhou felt a bit speechless.
Concubine Liu is not like the princes who have great scholars from the Hanlin Academy as their teachers!
"Huh? The Second Prince is actually smarter than the Crown Prince; his intelligence is 80. Well, he hides it really well; he's always inconspicuous."
Xiao Yunzhou was shocked.
Standing beside him, the Fifth Prince Cheng Qian, upon hearing his sister's words, subtly flickered his lowered eyelids.
Who would have thought that the most low-key Second Prince in the study room actually had a talent?
But when Xiao Chuchu's tone changed, she chuckled, "The intelligence of the Third Prince is only 67, the same as the chief eunuch Wei Zheng."
"Pfft—" Xiao Yunzhou had just freed up a hand to drink tea and ended up spraying it all out.
Okay.
One prince is worse than a tea-carrying eunuch, one prince has the same intelligence as his concubine, and one prince finally catches up to the most skilled flatterer, the chief eunuch!
Xiao Yunzhou was truly about to vomit blood.
What's going on?
Does heaven really want to destroy his Jing Country?
Each generation is worse than the last!
"Thankfully, my mother is clever. Heh heh, so my brother also inherited this wisdom, with an initial intelligence of 88."
Xiao Chuchu's gaze of satisfaction fell on her own elder brother, Fifth Prince Cheng Qian.
Xiao Yunzhou finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Alright, alright, finally, his efforts weren't in vain, he gave birth to an intelligent one.
With an intelligence of eighty-eight, compared to the forty-something of the previous three princes, it's directly doubled!
Xiao Yunzhou was touched, looking at his fifth son Cheng Qian, he really felt that his solemn adult appearance, especially with his clear and intelligent eyes, exuded a sense of cleverness.
The Liu family is good; from Liu Lao to Concubine Liu, they're all smart.
This gave him a son with extraordinary intelligence!
Xiao Yunzhou looked forward to his own little princess, really wanting to know what his own intelligence was, but also feeling a bit shy.
As for Xiao Chuchu, after seeing the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince, both at the level of seventy, she became a bit bored and cast her gaze on her emperor father.
Not looking, not knowing, one look startled her.
Xiao Chuchu widened her eyes, "Emperor Dad's intelligence is actually the same as my brother's, also eighty-eight."
Xiao Yunzhou burst into laughter instantly.
Indeed, it's him!
His daughter said that apart from Cheng Qian, she had never seen such high intelligence!
Alright, alright!
He's also a clever one.
Xiao Yunzhou breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately raised an eyebrow and summoned Wei Zheng.
"Go, send someone to summon all the ministers of the Imperial Cabinet and the six ministries to the palace."
Wei Zheng was puzzled. Didn't the Emperor just allow the ministers to return home from the countryside?
But he dared not disobey and quickly accepted the decree to carry it out.
Before long, the ministers, who had just laid down for a rest at home, were both surprised and puzzled, and could only support their aging bodies and hurriedly enter the palace.
"Why has the Emperor summoned us?"
"If it's not urgent, on days of leisure, the Emperor should let us rest at home more. We ministers are all nearing sixty, as Confucius said..."
The ministers grumbled.
Who the heck farms in the morning and has to enter the palace at night?
Today is supposed to be a day of rest, for rest's sake!
But Xiao Yunzhou, with a complicated expression, held the princess in his hands as if she were a treasure, passing by each of them.
Not only did he ignore their protests, but his face also grew darker and darker.
[Oh my, who is this? The Vice Minister of Personnel, an accomplished scholar? Smart as a whip with an IQ of 39? Competing with the Fourth Prince who can't even recite texts?]
[Heavens above, even the eunuch who serves tea to the Emperor has an IQ of 56 and could become the Minister of Personnel!]
Xiao Yunzhou nearly fainted!