When Zhao Sui was a prince in the palace, he had two tutors who taught him exclusively. The literature tutor was surnamed Lu, and the martial arts tutor was surnamed Fan. Both were renowned masters actively invited for him by Imperial Consort Du, who did not have her own biological flesh and blood at the time. They possessed great talent and were extremely strict in their teaching.
Zhao Sui had always deeply respected these two tutors. No matter how strict their requirements were, he could fulfill them.
When the Fourth Prince turned three and was ready for early education, the thirteen-year-old Zhao Sui had already been praised by Emperor Yongchang as his most intelligent prince. Imperial Consort Du hoped that the Fourth Prince would surpass the Second Prince in the future, so she wanted to arrange for the two renowned masters to be by the Fourth Prince's side, and then randomly find two ordinary tutors with minor reputations for the Second Prince. However, she had to mention this matter to Emperor Yongchang first.
Looking at the merely three-year-old Fourth Prince, Emperor Yongchang revealed an utterly chilling smile to Imperial Consort Du. "If you do not have the energy to discipline Sui'er, I can arrange a new adoptive mother for him."
Imperial Consort Du had, after all, been the Second Prince's adoptive mother for over a decade. There was no reason to hand him over to someone else halfway through his upbringing. She quickly yielded and abandoned this idea. She then secretly hinted for the two tutors to relax their discipline over Zhao Sui. Unfortunately, the two tutors could not bring themselves to mislead a student, nor did they dare to be perfunctory when Emperor Yongchang had already taken an interest in the Second Prince.
And so, the two tutors continued to teach Zhao Sui until he turned eighteen, established military merit, and was granted the title of a prince, before changing to teach the eight-year-old Fourth Prince.
After teaching him for half a year, the Fourth Prince could no longer stand them. The two tutors also believed they could not teach a Fourth Prince who was both lazy and exempt from punishment. After reporting to Emperor Yongchang, Tutor Lu went to the Imperial Academy, and Tutor Fan went to the Western City Martial Arts Academy in the capital, which exclusively taught the children of nobles and officials.
Ever since Zhao Sui was granted his princely title and established his own estate, he had never seen the two tutors again, and rarely thought of them. However, upon returning from admiring the plum blossoms at Plum Ridge, Zhao Sui unexpectedly thought of Tutor Fan, who was serving at the Martial Arts Academy.
A few days later, on the sixteenth of the second month, Zhao Sui went to the Imperial Study to seek an audience with his imperial father. After reporting on official business, Zhao Sui said, "Imperial Father, the Martial Arts Academy is related to the cultivation of the imperial court's generals and commanders. Your son wishes to visit the academy in disguise a few times to see if there are any omissions in the teaching methods of the academy officials, and also to see if the study habits of the students are upright."
The request for this errand was reasonable, but it was not anything too crucial. Emperor Yongchang casually said, "Go then, arrange it yourself during your leisure time."
At dusk the next day, Tutor Fan came out of the Martial Arts Academy after his shift and was surprised to see a familiar face outside the academy gates.
Eunuch Cao, dressed in ordinary clothes, smiled at Tutor Fan and invited him onto a horse carriage parked nearby.
Upon arriving at Prince Hui's estate, Tutor Fan wanted to perform a kneeling bow to Prince Hui. Zhao Sui stopped him and said, "Sir, you imparted martial arts to me; I should respect you with the etiquette of a disciple."
Tutor Fan repeatedly shook his head. Prince Hui naturally possessed talent; to be able to teach Prince Hui was his good fortune.
After a simple exchange of greetings, Zhao Sui invited Tutor Fan to take a seat and brought up the matter of him visiting the Martial Arts Academy in disguise tomorrow. Since it was in disguise, he had to borrow Tutor Fan's connections to enter the academy.
Tutor Fan was merely a tutor who taught martial arts to the children of officials. Whether the Martial Arts Academy was run well was the responsibility of the primary fifth-rank Academy Director. Prince Hui's impromptu inspection would not bring him any trouble, so he remained calm after hearing Prince Hui's words. He pondered for a moment and said, "I will simply say that Your Highness is the son of an old friend of this humble official, entering the Martial Arts Academy to take a look out of admiration for its prestige. How about that?"
Zhao Sui nodded, agreeing to wait for Tutor Fan in front of the academy gates at exactly eight in the morning the next day.
The following morning, Zhao Sui changed into a more ordinary dark silk robe and arrived at the academy a quarter of an hour early.
Tutor Fan arrived even earlier than Prince Hui. When leading Prince Hui through the main gates of the Martial Arts Academy, Tutor Fan proactively introduced Prince Hui's identity as "the nephew of an old friend" to the two guards stationed there.
The guards smiled and said, "Tutor Fan, you are too polite. Please, both of you, feel free to look around."
There were no secrets within the Martial Arts Academy. They stood guard here mainly to prevent the students inside from running out. Ordinary citizens outside would never come here without reason. When nobles or officials preparing to send their family's children to the academy brought the younger generation over to familiarize themselves with the situation inside, academy officials would naturally come out to lead the way, not even needing to greet them.
The guards very cooperatively let them pass.
Zhao Sui took an extra glance at the academy's practically useless main gates.
Tutor Fan secretly broke a sweat for the Academy Director, then introduced the students' daily curriculum to Prince Hui as they walked. They had to get up at the hour of Mao for a morning run and practice. After morning practice, including breakfast, they rested for half an hour. At this time, the students were already attending a half-hour-long literature class. After the literature class, there were two martial arts classes, each lasting half an hour.
Zhao Sui asked Tutor Fan to take him to see the literature classrooms.
The weather was nice, and most classrooms had their windows open. Zhao Sui would pause for a moment at the back of each classroom, listen to the content the tutor was teaching, and then cast a glance at the students inside.
The students inside also noticed Tutor Fan and his companion passing by the window. What shocked them was that while Tutor Fan, who taught martial arts, was already strict enough, the handsome man beside him was currently looking at the students sleeping on their desks with a gaze even colder than Tutor Fan's.
As they walked, Zhao Sui's footsteps paused.
Tutor Fan followed Prince Hui's gaze and saw a very robust youth standing outside the classroom ahead. His eyelids were drooping, looking as if he could fall asleep while standing. He was clearly being punished to stand outside.
Tutor Fan only felt embarrassed, extremely embarrassed!
Zhao Sui stopped in front of this youth.
Yao Lin finally jolted awake and raised his head. The handsome, unfamiliar man only made him confused, but Tutor Fan, who was frowning and suppressing his anger, directly scared away all his drowsiness. He hurriedly straightened his back.
Zhao Sui glanced inside the classroom and asked this youth, who also had a pair of round, black eyes, "Why are you being punished to stand?"
Yao Lin touched his head and said, not caring much, "Yesterday I was practicing horsemanship and forgot to memorize the text. Just now, the tutor randomly checked and I couldn't recite it..."
Zhao Sui: "Who is your esteemed father?"
Yao Lin: "...No way, I just failed to recite it this once, there's no need to inform my dad, right?"
Tutor Fan glared at him. "Just speak when you are told to!"
Yao Lin had no choice but to say very quietly, "My name is Yao Lin. My father is a centurion in the Eastern Camp, named Yao Zhenhu."
Zhao Sui: "What is your purpose in entering the Martial Arts Academy?"
Yao Lin didn't know why this person talked so much, but seeing that even Tutor Fan seemed afraid of him, Yao Lin honestly continued to answer, "I want to pass the imperial martial arts examination to become a martial scholar."
Zhao Sui: "The martial arts examination has both martial and literary tests. Failing either one will cost you the chance to become a martial scholar. Since you have the ambition to become a martial scholar, you shouldn't slack off in your studies."
Yao Lin lowered his head and said, "I know, I didn't do it on purpose this time. I will definitely change next time."
Zhao Sui: "No need for next time. You can use the time you are standing here in punishment to memorize the text."
Yao Lin: "..."
Zhao Sui led Tutor Fan and continued walking forward.
After inspecting the various classrooms, Zhao Sui successively inspected the academy's dining hall, dormitories, martial arts training grounds, and other areas. Finally, they arrived at the rather large racecourse on the eastern side of the Martial Arts Academy, where students would practice horsemanship and mounted archery.
Zhao Sui pointed to the grandstand on the eastern side of the racecourse. "What is that?"
Tutor Fan: "The Martial Arts Academy frequently holds polo matches. This place is for the academy officials and students to sit and watch the games."
Seeing that Prince Hui was interested in polo, Mr. Fan elaborated a bit more. For instance, polo matches were divided into official matches hosted by the martial arts academy and private matches organized by the students themselves. Private matches were mostly held on rest days. All participating students had to use the academy's well-trained warhorses, so they had to pay a sum of silver. The academy would also arrange for martial arts instructors and physicians to supervise the matches to minimize the risk of students getting injured.
Zhao Sui asked, "Are there any private matches this rest day?"
Mr. Fan replied, "Yes. Would Your Highness like to come and watch?"
Zhao Sui said, "Hmm. It sounds like an easy occasion for accidents to happen."
Mr. Fan was speechless.
On the twentieth of February, Yao Huang invited six girls of similar age from Changshou Alley. Bustling with excitement, they sat on a mule-drawn flatbed cart belonging to one of the girls' families, driven by Yao Huang's own brother, Yao Lin, heading toward the martial arts academy in the west of the city.
Yao Lin drove the cart, while Li Tingwang, Luo Kun, and Luo Peng rode horses or mules alongside them.
Li Tingwang had handsome features, and Luo Kun, Luo Peng, and Yao Lin were all fine-looking young men. The young girls kept glancing at the four of them, guessing whether Yao Lin's team could win today's polo match.
Yao Huang had specifically brought a bag of melon seeds. She chatted with the girls while cracking seeds. Just as the seeds were finished, they arrived at the martial arts academy.
They certainly could not enter through the main gate of the academy, but there was a small side door near the racecourse. For these private matches on rest days, many participating students would bring their own sisters to watch, and each sister would bring a few close friends for company. Therefore, Yao Huang's group was actually considered late. More than a dozen horse or mule carriages were already parked near the small door, showing that those young ladies came from better family backgrounds than they did.
Some young ladies who arrived at the same time saw Yao Huang and her friends sitting on the flatbed mule cart as they stepped down from their carriages. They immediately raised their handkerchiefs and smiled at each other in amusement.
Fortunately, Yao Huang and her friends were used to this. They simply held hands and ran toward the familiar small door.
On the other side, Mr. Fan had led Prince Hui in through the main gate of the academy. After walking a bit further to the racecourse, they saw that the stands were already dotted with young girls in colorful skirts, and even more girls were fluttering in like butterflies through the small door.
Mr. Fan, who was a renowned teacher at the academy because he had taught the princes and was therefore exempt from taking turns supervising the students' private matches, hesitated. "This... Should I go and drive them out?"
Zhao Sui replied, "There is no need. Let us first see if there are any hidden dangers."
People could only sit in the stands. The left side of the stands was allocated to other students coming to watch the match, while the right side was allocated to the young ladies. The middle was left empty, creating a clear boundary that was quite proper and respectful of etiquette.
Mr. Fan led Prince Hui to the high platform on the left.
Zhao Sui chose to sit in the very back row, which was the emptiest and highest section. This position did not offer the clearest view of the match, but it provided a panoramic view of the entire field.
Once seated, he used his peripheral vision to observe the female guests' side. As he was looking, a young woman in a light yellow dress walked up to the other end of the stands. The gentle morning spring sunlight shone on her jade-like, translucent cheeks and neck, also illuminating her round, clear eyes that resembled a mountain spring. She chatted with the girl behind her while looking for a suitable seat. When she smiled, the sunlight falling around her seemed to become brighter than anywhere else.
When Zhao Sui snapped back to reality, he realized that not only were the young students sitting in front of him staring at Miss Yao, but even the young ladies who were already seated were tilting their heads to look at her.
Yao Huang was already accustomed to such scenes. Since the front-row seats near the entrance had already been taken by the young ladies who arrived earlier, and she did not want to sit in the back, she led the girls from Changshou Alley further to the front. They sat on the side that, although still in the female guests' territory, allowed the students opposite them to observe them more closely.
The other girls were a bit shy, so Yao Huang took the initiative to sit on the outermost seat.
Someone on the students' side whistled.
Yao Huang ignored it.
Following that, she heard an angry shout. "Who can't keep their mouth shut? Step forward and let me see you!"
Yao Huang and the other young ladies all turned their heads.
Yao Huang saw a very majestic-looking man in his forties standing in the back row, and she also saw the person sitting next to the majestic man with his eyes lowered...
Yao Huang was slightly surprised. It was actually him?
