The Regent’s Secret

“Class dismissed!”

The assistant stood at the side of the platform and announced.

Guo Jijiu stood up on the platform, but all the students remained seated. Only Li Yi stood up alone and bowed to Guo Jijiu. Guo Shen returned the gesture, and the rest of the students followed suit. After the ceremony, Li Yi was the first to leave the side hall, followed by Guo Jijiu and the assistant. Only then were the other students free to come and go.

In addition, for all the classes attended by the Crown Grandson, the location of the lectures was changed from Exhorting Virtue Building to the side hall of Dacheng Hall, where Guo Jijiu taught the classics, Chen Boshi taught the Spring and Autumn Annals, and Xia Boshi taught the poetry, to match Li Yi’s status.

Being able to study with the Crown Grandson was a great honor for this group of students who had graduated from their teenage years. Those who had not yet been admitted to the academy and had not yet had the opportunity to enter were all envious of their good fortune.

As soon as Li Yi walked out of the hall, Liao Zhao, the son of Grand Scholar Liao, came up to him and bowed, saying, “The other day, I saw Your Highness enjoying the taste of Da Hong Pao tea. Today, I have brought some tea that I picked from the mountains in my hometown. It’s nothing valuable, I hope you will accept it.”

He then had his servant hand over the tea box to Li Yi’s attendant.

Thanks to Li Yi’s presence, the other students had access to new and exciting things to eat, use, and play with every day.

Yesterday, you bring some new tea, today I bring some flower paper, and tomorrow you might bring some incense. In short, anything that literary scholars or noble children could use, someone would bring it for them.

The wealthy families could distribute these items among their fellow students, and the ordinary students would give them to their friends who they interacted with more frequently. But no one could leave out Li Yi, as these things were ultimately meant to be given to the Crown Grandson. However, giving it along to other people made it seem less intentional.

Although these actions may seem flattering, they were just human nature, and they couldn’t be completely banned. Moreover, given Li Yi’s status, no matter how precious the things were, he could handle it. The presence of this troublesome student had made this group of students act in an unscrupulous way, but the teachers had no choice but to pretend not to know.

After walking just two steps, Li Yi was stopped by Qin Wang Shizi, Lidi, who hadn’t even descended the stairs in front of the corridor. “Your Highness, have you received my invitation? The lotus flowers are in full bloom in the manor, and our classmates are all going to play there. I hope you can come and join us.”

“If you find their noise bothersome, there’s a new flower pavilion by the water where you can paint some lotus flowers with ink. I wonder if Your Highness would be interested?”

The princes all had estates in the suburbs of the capital city where they could go to cool off in the summer. Li Yi had been the Crown Grandson for many years and was used to various forms of flattery. Receiving gifts like good tea and writing supplies was expected of his station.

Families like those of the princes were wealthy enough to hold banquets and bring all kinds of exotic delicacies and novelties to impress and please their guests. If Li Yi felt like going, he would attend; if not, he would decline. Today, he was in a good mood, so he agreed.

As someone who frequently received gifts, Li Yi also knew the importance of giving back at the right time. But when the Crown Grandson gave gifts, it was not considered returning a gift, but giving rewards.

It was now summer, and Li Yi had brought out some pills made by the Imperial Medical Bureau. Most of them were detoxifying and purifying, cooling and calming formulas, of which there were four or five types that he could distribute among the classmates.

These pills were all sewn into palace-made purses, which were both practical and aesthetically pleasing. When hung up, they added to one’s dignity.

Naturally, everyone would receive a share of the rewards. However, the eunuch in charge of distributing the gifts suddenly remembered a thorny issue and asked Li Yi quietly, “Your Highness, should Dian Nan Wang Shizi also receive a share?”

Li Yi thought of Zhao Shen, and the first impression that came to his mind was the scene he witnessed on the square that day. After more than a month of school, he had not had any contact with him.

Zhao Shen was almost punished to stand every day. On the days when Li Yi came to attend class, he could always see Zhao Shen standing in the square outside the hall from a distance. 

According to fellow students in the school, in order to demonstrate publicly, the place where Zhao Shen stood was also determined by the location of their class. If the class was held in Exhorting Virtue Building, he stood in the garden. If Li Yi attended class in the side hall, he stood in the square. In short, everyone could lift their heads and see him outside the window, serving as a warning. 

Dian Nan Wang Shizi was an outlier in this Pan Palace, with no one to talk to and no one to accompany him. Everything that happened among the students seemed to have nothing to do with him. 

Zhao Shen was ostracized by everyone.

Li Yi glanced at the person and said, “Isn’t Shizi still a fellow classmate?”

The eunuch did not expect Li Yi to be angry about this and quickly apologized before leaving.

Qin Wang Shizi, who was sitting closest to Li Yi, heard the commotion and said, “Your Highness is too kind. This kind of person has already been stripped bare several times. Why bother giving him face?”

Li Yi was not aware of Zhao Shen’s history in the school, but from the tone of the words, he knew that Zhao Shen must have been a repeat offender and had already been punished several times.

As Li Di made a fuss, many classmates gathered around. Li Yi asked straightforwardly, “Why is he being punished again today?”

“It’s because his exercise books are all dirty and unreadable. The professors said that he cannot enter the classroom until he submits clean exercise books.”

“For how long has he been punished like this?” Li Yi couldn’t help but ask.

“I can’t even remember.”

“It’s been going on since last year, roughly speaking.”

It had been so long that people had to recall it in order to answer.

“Even when it’s raining, he still has to stand?”

“Yes. Speaking of which, he’s from the barbarian lands, with tough skin and thick flesh. He hardly ever gets sick.”

Li Yi was speechless. Although he had only met Zhao Shen once, he couldn’t believe that he was that kind of person.

Seeing that Li Yi didn’t believe them, everyone started talking at once.

“Your Highness, you can’t judge people by their appearance.”

“You’ve only been here for a short time and don’t know that he never treats any of his classmates well.”

“Not only is he mischievous, he’s also very stupid.” Young Master Liao also chimed in, “He can’t speak noble words clearly, either he doesn’t talk or he can only say one or two words. When it comes to reciting books, he’s even worse, mixing up words and even throwing in that Dian Nan bird language. All the teachers find it headache-inducing.”

“He’s just a fool, and only occasionally amusing.” Li Di concluded, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Li Yi glanced towards the side hall and saw the eunuch handing out rewards to Zhao Shen.

The young man with black hair and red clothes raised his head and looked towards the side hall. Although they were far apart, Li Yi could still feel his gaze as if it were substantial, forcing him to look at him.

But when Zhao Shen opened the box, he didn’t tie the purse right away like everyone else. Instead, he put it in his pocket and stood there, unmoving.

The eunuch obviously found this disrespectful and began to scold him.

Li Yi slowly turned away, curious and confused about Zhao Shen, but because of his identity, he couldn’t get close or find out more.