At the end of the month, the emperor wanted to inspect the homework of the princes, and the princesses' homework was handed over to the queen for testing. On that day, the princes and their mothers and concubines who were attending class together gathered in the queen's middle palace, and the princesses too, Of course, companion reading is indispensable to accompany them
If a prince or princess has excellent grades, the emperor and empress will reward them, and their mothers and concubines will have bright faces as companions. Shen Huan knows that it is not easy. He can neither be too stupid to embarrass the princess nor embarrass the princess. She can't be too smart to make the princess jealous, so she can only keep her tail between her legs and be a mediocre person.
Everyone in the room was sitting in the warm pavilion of the central palace. The emperor and empress sat at the top. Next to them sat Taifu Xie and a wife who taught the princesses "The Female Ring". Below them were the princes, concubines, etc.
The emperor first asked the eighth prince: "In ancient times, if you wanted to show your virtue to the world, what should you do first?"
This is a passage in "The Great Learning". The Eighth Prince bowed first and then replied: "In ancient times, those who wanted to show virtue to the world first governed their country; those who wanted to govern their country, first organized their families; those who wanted to regulate their families, First cultivate one's body; those who want to cultivate one's body, first rectify one's mind; those who want to rectify one's mind, first sincere one's intention; those who want one's intention sincere, first achieve knowledge and knowledge. After studying things, they will know and achieve, and after knowing and achieving, they will understand. Sincerity, sincerity in mind will lead to a righteous heart, a righteous mind will lead to body cultivation, body cultivation will lead to a harmonious family, a harmonious family will lead to a country being governed, and a country being governed will lead to peace in the world."
The Eighth Prince answered in a catchy manner without any pause. The Emperor nodded slightly while listening, and waited for him to finish with a smile on his face. He then said to Taifu Xie beside him: "Your Majesty, I have great achievements. Your Majesty is really smart and eager to learn."
Taifu Xie hurriedly said: "All the princes are smart and eager to learn. A tiger father has no dog son."
Shen Huan muttered to himself: "Thousands of wears are worn, but flattery cannot be worn. I didn't expect that the Taifu would be like this."
Then, the emperor asked the ninth prince, tenth prince and twelfth prince in turn. The tenth prince in the middle barely managed to pass the test while the other princes all answered fluently. The emperor was very satisfied and gave rewards one after another. Among them, the eighth prince and the twelfth prince were rewarded The most generous, both Concubine Rou and Concubine Hui showed satisfied looks on their faces
Then it was time for the Queen to test the princesses. The Queen asked Princess Dechang amiably: "In "Etiquette? Mourning Clothes? Zixia Biography", what are the 'three obediences' that women are required to follow?"
Princess Dechang calmly replied: "Before you are married, you will obey your father, when you are married, you will obey your husband, and when your husband dies, you will obey your son."
The queen nodded with satisfaction and asked a few more questions, then turned to Shen Huan and asked: "What are the four virtues proposed for women in "Zhou Rites"?"
Shen Huan replied: "The four virtues of a woman are 'womanly virtue, womanly speech, womanly appearance, and womanly workmanship'"
The queen asked again: "What do you mean by 'women's virtue, women's words, women's appearance, women's work'?"
Shen Wan replied again: "Being leisurely, chaste and quiet, observing integrity and neatness, acting with shame, and acting in a lawful manner are called women's virtues; choosing words to speak, not saying bad words, always speaking later, and not being disgusted with others, are called women's words; It is called a woman's appearance to wash away dust and filth, keep her clothes fresh and clean, take a bath regularly, and keep her body free from dirt and disgrace; she who concentrates on spinning and spinning, does not like to laugh, and keeps all her food and wine in order to serve guests, is called a woman's workman."
Without any pause, just like the Eighth Prince, finish it in one go
Everyone looked at her in surprise, and even the queen was slightly surprised. Shen Huan usually dozed off or deserted during class. The queen originally wanted to take advantage of this to embarrass her, but instead she took advantage of it.
The emperor smiled and nodded, saying: "Not bad, let's take a look."
Then a eunuch shouted: "The Holy One has decreed that you will reward——"
Shen Huan hurriedly knelt down and thanked her: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The queen was embarrassed to be surprised again, and smiled and said: "What a smart boy, you have to keep working hard!"
Shen Huan replied respectfully: "I will follow the Queen's teachings."
There was a smile on her lips, you want to make things difficult for me? There is no way! Although she usually behaves like that in class, she also knows that there will be an assessment at the end of the month, how dare you take it lightly? The married woman chattered endlessly during the class, which made her annoying. Even though he was dead, after returning home from class, Shen Huan would still read the book thoroughly and copy it three to four times. In this way, during the assessment, of course, he would be able to memorize it thoroughly.
After the examination, the princes all breathed a sigh of relief, and the eighth prince said with lingering fear: "Cousin, you don't know, when the queen mother asked you, my heart was in my throat, for fear that you wouldn't be able to answer."
Shen Huan smiled and said: "Cousin, you underestimate me too much."
Concubine Rou said to them at this time: "Come on, Ah Huan, if you are embarrassed today, I won't teach you a lesson! Come on, I have prepared snacks and fruits in the palace. You must be hungry, go and eat some snacks."
The eighth prince took Shen Huan to Yuping Palace. The ninth prince looked at his mother and concubine. Yu Zhaorong smiled kindly and said: "Since Concubine Rou invites you, you can go."
Concubine Hui also smiled and said: "Let's go together. I wonder if Concubine Rou has prepared enough?"
Concubine Rou said with a smile: "What a joke, how much can you eat? I have plenty there. Don't wait here. The children have been scared for a long time. It's serious to eat something."
Concubine Hui and Yu Zhaorong smiled as they walked: "It seems that they have benefited from the children."
In the Yuping Palace, Concubine Rou, Concubine Hui, and Yu Zhaorong were sitting in the inner room talking, while several princes and Shen Huan were eating snacks and playing beast fighting chess in the outer room.
"Oh, you're so stupid. Isn't this antelope seeking death here? It's better to put it next to the tiger." Shen Huan held the shortbread in one hand and pointed on the chessboard with the other.
The opponents were the Eighth Prince and the Twelfth Prince. The Twelfth Prince glared at her and said: "A true gentleman who watches chess without saying a word, you are so wordy."
Shen Huan said nonchalantly: "I am not a gentleman, I am a woman."
The eighth prince followed Shen Huan's instructions and placed the antelope next to the tiger and said, "Okay, let's place it as my cousin said."
Antelopes are bait and are usually placed by the river, but Shen Huan's idea is a bit strange. Twelve laughed at her and said, "What do you know! Sometimes, a jumping antelope can also deliver a fatal blow to someone!"
But the Eighth Prince's chess style is just like himself. It's too elegant. The chessboard is like a battlefield. How can it be elegant on the battlefield? It's better to be like Twelve, who thinks deeply before making a move, is decisive when making a move, and doesn't regret looking at him afterward. They were playing chess together. Shen Huan felt sorry for the Eighth Prince, but she was a little impressed by the Twelve Princes.
Only halfway down, Shen Huan knew that the Eighth Prince would definitely be defeated, and had no intention of watching anymore. He walked quietly to the inner room and listened to the concubines talking.
The first thing I heard was my aunt's sharp sarcastic voice: "How come that one has become a decoration? It makes people laugh when you spread it, and even the people around you can't stand it! It makes the emperor look down on you!"
Shen Huan was shocked. Could it be that her aunt was talking about the affair between the maid next to the queen and the emperor? Who would have thought that her aunt also knew about this? But then again, there must be no airtight walls in this harem.
Then came the voice of Concubine Hui. She asked with some uncertainty: "Does that person not know? Is it his own idea? He deliberately let the emperor take notice of the people around him so that she can have more helpers."
Concubine Rou sneered: "Is she so bad? There is no one around her, so she can only use the palace maid as a shield?"
Concubine Hui said: "I am just guessing. Otherwise, if the people around her really took advantage of the loophole, why would she remain silent?"