Shao Xi just acted out a big show with Xiao Changyi, and managed to get rid of the old guy Yu Ji in just a few words.
Now that the Ministry of Industry's work on building warships has finally come to an end, Xiao Changyi is very satisfied with this. He never expected that Shao Xi would accomplish so many things during his half-year mission, constantly bringing surprises to him.
After leaving the Imperial Study Room, Shao Xi walked towards the East Palace. The distance was not close, and Shao Xi walked for a long time.
Now many eunuchs and guards in the palace know that Shao Xi has the right to walk in the palace, so they did not encounter any obstruction along the way.
But when he arrived outside the East Palace, the guards checked his waist badge. Seeing that it was a silver medal given by the prince, he naturally no longer stopped him.
However, the eunuch's guidance and notification are naturally indispensable.
Not long after Shao Xi entered the East Palace, he saw King Xiao Yuzhan running towards him.
Shao Xi was a little confused. Did King Cheng have nothing else to do all day long? Why are you always wandering around the East Palace? Could it be that the prince teaches him how to study on weekdays?
After thinking about it, he couldn't ask more about this kind of thing. After the two met, Xiao Yuzhan took Shao Xi to the prince's study.
Xiao Yuzhan and Shao Xi have now become acquaintances. Along the way, he has been asking questions about Shao Xi. There is nothing that he is not curious about and does not inquire about.
Due to his status as a prince, Shao Xi could only answer patiently.
However, Xiao Yuzhan's studious and inquiring temperament is the kind that Shao Xi likes very much. It feels like he has a curious little brother following him around asking questions, which satisfies some of Shao Xi's vanity.
Only when facing Xiao Yuzhan, Shao Xi was not as cautious and guarded as when facing the prince.
"Brother Shao, the emperor is not in the study at this time. My father has been busy with the construction of warships in Hai'an County recently. The emperor has been discussing this matter with the ministers of the Ministry of Industry for the past two days under the order of my father. You are too busy to study with me, so the two of us will go to the emperor's study first, and we will come back when he is finished."
Shao Xi secretly lamented that it was indeed not easy for the prince Xiao Yuming. Xiao Changyi would leave many matters in the court to him. It was said that he was often busier than Xiao Changyi.
It seems that becoming a qualified successor to the emperor is not as simple as imagined. Before sitting on that seat, you must handle almost all the government affairs of the DPRK and China with ease, laying a solid foundation for ascending to the throne and taking over the world in the future.
A person has to passively accept being a top student from the day he is born, and the pressure on him can be imagined.
"His Royal Highness is not here, would it be inappropriate for me to go to the Prince's study privately?"
Xiao Yuzhan had an indifferent expression on his face and said to Shao Xi with a smile: "Of course it's not appropriate for you to go alone. Isn't it with me? There's nothing wrong with you going with me. I usually go there by myself if I have nothing to do. I went to the imperial brother's study to look through his collection of books, and everyone in the palace is used to it."
Thinking about it, Shao Xi didn't say anything more and followed Xiao Yuzhan to Xiao Yuming's prince's study.
Shao Xi had been here before, and he didn’t feel anything special when he entered the study. However, Xiao Yuzhan asked Shao Xi as soon as he entered the study: "Brother Shao, I see you are holding such a big cloth bag, but what gift do you have?" Give it to my royal brother? I wonder if I deserve this gift?"
Shao Xi looked at the cloth bag in his hand. It was the copybooks and rubbings of famous calligraphers that he had carefully selected from Yuyan Bookstore and intended to give to Xiao Yuming.
Seeing Xiao Yuzhan asking about it at this time, he smiled and said: "It is indeed intended to be given to the prince, but it is just some calligraphy copybooks and rubbings. If His Highness Prince Cheng likes it, he can take two copies back. I don't think His Highness the Prince is interested." I'll mind."
"Oh? If my guess is correct, these copybooks and rubbings by Brother Shao should be selected from the bookstore he opened, right? Don't look at me. I don't go out of the palace very often, but I know all the big things that happen outside. You know, I’ve also visited the Yuyan Bookstore opened by Brother Shao.”
With that said, Xiao Yuzhan took the cloth bag from Shao Xi's hand, opened it on the desk, and read the copybooks and rubbings one by one, muttering to himself as he read.
"There are several copybooks and rubbings among them that I have never seen before. It should be because the emperor brother has not collected them here. It seems that you are good at choosing gifts. If the emperor brother sees them, he will definitely like them. There are not many others here. He has the most books, and he has collected a lot of this family’s calligraphy copybooks and rubbings alone.”
When Shao Xi selected these copybooks and rubbings, he did not expect these things to bring any surprises to Xiao Yuming. He just promised Xiao Yuming that he would give him priority in the latest publications in the bookstore.
Since he agreed, he naturally wanted to fulfill his promise, but he never thought of using it to please Xiao Yuming.
But when Xiao Yuzhan said that some of the things he had sent were things that Xiao Yuming had not yet collected, Shao Xi felt a little surprised.
So he asked casually: "The prince is well-read. There are so many books in such a large study. How come there are some that are not collected? I don't know what copybooks and rubbings the prince has collected?"
When Xiao Yuzhan saw Shao Xi's question, he seemed to have a childish attitude, and said to Shao Xi with a bit of showoff: "Brother Huang has a lot of collections! I have read books in Brother Huang's study almost every day since I was a child. .
"The copybooks and rubbings collected by Brother Huang are all authentic works by famous calligraphers! I'm going to get some for you to see. I guarantee you will be surprised! I practice calligraphy very hard with Brother Huang on weekdays, so you can Look at the calligraphy techniques of famous masters that we have learned.”
Originally, Shao Xi just asked casually, but His Highness Prince Cheng actually took it seriously and actually ran to the pile of bookshelves to rummage around.
Because there are too many books, the bookshelves in Xiao Yuming's study are not only densely packed, but each bookshelf has many layers. The tall bookshelf almost reaches the roof.
Some books are placed on top, and if you want to rummage through them, you need to climb to a high place with the help of a special wooden ladder. This is somewhat similar to some of the old libraries that Shao Xi had seen back then.
I saw Xiao Yuzhan turning twice between several tall bookshelves, then pushed the wooden ladder to the bookshelf and climbed up.
It could be seen that Xiao Yuzhan was very familiar with everything in the study, and he was quite skillful in climbing up the wooden ladder. He was rummaging through several wooden boxes on the top of the bookshelf.
Speaking of these wooden boxes, it is because some books are relatively precious, and there are also some broken copies and scattered pages. In order to keep and store them more properly, they will be packed in wooden boxes and hung with bamboo on the wooden boxes. Label the contents of the box to make it easier to find.
At this time, Xiao Yuzhan was rummaging through several camphor wood boxes placed on the bookshelf. The reason why the boxes were made of camphor wood was naturally to prevent insects and moths.
The books in the prince's study must be moved outside to dry by the eunuchs and palace maids every year during the Xiaoshu to prevent them from becoming moldy and moth-eaten due to moisture caused by long-term storage indoors.
However, because the number of books is too large to be exposed, they can only be taken out in different batches every year.
The books that were not taken out to dry in those days could only be stored in camphor wood boxes or camphor wood boxes, firstly to prevent moisture, and secondly to prevent insects.
The annual publication of books is also a big project for the East Palace, which makes the maids and eunuchs miserable.
You must know that if there are too many books, they are not light. Posting books is also a heavy physical labor.
Not only does it have to be moved, but the maids and eunuchs also have to keep an eye on the books during the process of drying them, not only to prevent the books from being damaged or lost, but also to pay attention to the weather at all times.
Once the weather changes slightly, the books have to be returned to the study room in a hurry, so the annual book display has become a major event in the East Palace.
Everyone knows that the prince loves to read and collect books. Every book is a treasure to the prince. If something goes wrong, these maids and eunuchs will have to carry it around with them.
Therefore, there are guards and eunuchs patrolling around the study at all times, firstly to prevent theft, and secondly to prevent fire.
If there was a fire in this study, I don't know how many people would die, so the defense level of Xiao Yuming's study was no less than that of Qiufang where he rested.
It is such a place that is extremely important to Xiao Yuming, but Xiao Yuzhan can come and go as he pleases every day.
Even the princess is not allowed to enter the prince's study on weekdays. Xiao Yuzhan actually feels like going home, coming and leaving whenever he wants. This shows that the relationship between the two brothers, Xiao Yuming and Xiao Yuzhan, is far beyond what others can compare with. .
In this East Palace, except for Xiao Yuming's woman, everyone else is like Xiao Yuzhan himself. Looking at Xiao Yuzhan's tumbling in the study, you can know his status in the East Palace.
Shao Xi was a little confused. Did Xiao Yuzhan never consider the identity difference between himself and the prince?
Being so casual in the East Palace, even though they have a deep relationship as brothers, is somewhat contrary to the etiquette in the palace. Didn't anyone remind him about this?
Shao Xi was thinking about all this nonsense when he heard Xiao Yuzhan exclaim, followed by a "crash" sound.
Shao Xi was heartbroken when he heard this. Could it be that Xiao Yuzhan lost his balance and fell from the wooden ladder?
This is no joke!
If a prince is injured under his nose, even if he is not careful, you, as a minister, will not be able to escape the blame of insufficient protection.
Shao Xixin said: Why am I so unlucky? He climbed up to find the book by himself. If he fell down, wouldn't he get himself into trouble out of thin air?
If someone accidentally damages these books of the prince, it will be adding insult to injury.
If I came to the prince's study today, I wouldn't encounter such an inexplicable disaster, right?
Although his relationship with Xiao Changyi, Xiao Yuming, and Xiao Yuzhan, father and son, is pretty good now, they are still different from each other.
If something like this really happened, even if these two men didn't pursue it, the old guys in the court would probably keep talking nonsense.
