Be that as it may, children should be dealt with by someone of their own size. Even if they were to get into trouble, it would be easily brushed off by saying that it was just a “squabble amongst children”.
If you want to know who hated Consort Xian the most in this Imperial Palace, that person would most definitely be Consort Hui.
The grievances between the two had been forged ever since when they were both living in the Eastern Palaces. Both consorts had an open rivalry and veiled their strife for many years. Later, Consort Hui gave birth to the eldest princess Lin Nianzhi. Because she was the first daughter of Emperor Lin, she was dearly beloved by the emperor. Thanks to that, Consort Hui’s prestige and influence had suppressed Consort Xian for several years. It was not until when Consort Xian gave birth to the fourth prince Lin Jingyuan that she managed to even out the harem situation creating the current status quo.
Lin Nianzhi was a clever and quick-witted child. Her character was cheerful and lively in front of Emperor Lin, but she was brazen and willful in front of others. The third princess Lin Xi was close to her as they were both of the same ilk. As such, Lin Nianzhi also disliked Lin Feilu. Recently, she had been hearing her mother complain many times about Lin Feilu. As the one who grew up beside her mother all these years, how could Lin Nianzhi not deduce her mother’s intentions?
It seems that it’s time to teach my Fifth Sister a little lesson.
Lin Xi was afraid of Lin Jingyuan, however, Lin Nianzhi was not.
Since ancient times, the Great Lin Empire revered the rule of seniority & prestige with great respect. Therefore Lin Xi must respect her fourth brother while Lin Jingyuan must respect his eldest sister. This was a reasonable justification if the matter was ever reported to their Royal Father. If Lin Jingyuan dared to go against his eldest sister for his fifth sister, that would be even better; she could mop both of them up under the pretense of not respecting their eldest sister. At the same time, she could alleviate some of her mother’s resentments.
Lin Feilu did not know that she had just entered the eldest princess’s blacklist. She was busy supervising Lin Jingyuan to recite “the Analects of Confucius”.
Consort Xian had specifically requested her to do this. If she could not even complete this request, then her worth in Consort Xian’s eyes was likely to be diminished by a lot. However, Lin Jingyuan really disliked reading books; asking him to read books was akin to asking him for his life. Lin Feilu did not attempt to coax him in a straightforward manner, instead she changed her approach.
She memorized it herself.
As she studied the verses, she asked, “Brother Jingyuan, how do you read this word?”
Lin Jingyuan took a look, “This whole sentence reads as ‘To remain unbothered
when one is not recognized’ and this particular word means unbothered.”
Lin Fei Lu blinked her big watery eyes, “Wow, Brother Jingyuan is so amazing.”
Lin Jingyuan instantly felt proud of himself.
After a while, Lin Feilu asked again, “Brother Jingyuan, how do you read this word?”
Lin Jingyuan went closer to take a look in full confidence.
Crap! I don’t know this one either!
Lin Jingyuan felt ashamed of his ignorance for the first time in the face of his little sister Feilu’s eager eyes. Moreover, Lin Feilu kept asking him one passage after another, “Brother Jingyuan, what does ‘In the morning hear the dao, in the evening die content’ mean?”
“What does ‘To study and at due times practice what one has studied, is this not a pleasure?’ mean?” She continued on.
“What does ‘The superior man is all-embracing and not partial. The inferior man is partial and not all-embracing’ mean?” Lin Feilu pressed on further.
Lin Jingyuan: ….
Lin Jingyuan collapsed out of sheer embarrassment.