A few young eunuchs were chatting when they saw the Eighth and Tenth Princes approaching. Startled, they quickly lowered their heads and paid their respects to the two princes before hastily departing.
Zhao Yao looked at the Eighth Prince, puzzled and curious, and asked, "Eighth Brother, what does 'adding beads' mean that they were talking about just now? What does it mean for Second Brother to be add eight beads?"
"Adding beads to a Prince was a tradition of the previous dynasty. Princes were classified as one-bead Princes, two-bead Princes, three-bead Princes, and so on, with the highest being seven-bead Princes. Eight beads were not for Princes because only the Crown Prince had eight beads, and nine beads were for the Emperor." The Eighth Prince had long heard about what happened in the morning court.
Zhao Yao understood and nodded, saying, "So that's how it is." Speaking, he looked at the Eighth Prince with admiration, "Eighth Brother, you're amazing, you even know this."
The Eighth Prince gently tapped Zhao Yao's little head and smiled, "If you read more books, you'd know these things too."
Zhao Yao rolled his eyes and said, "Eighth Brother, can you not always turn the topic to reading or studying, you know I don't like it."
Seeing Zhao Yao pouting in anger, the Eighth Prince reached out and poked his puffed-up cheek, "Alright, I won't mention it anymore."
Zhao Yao was not interested in the topic of adding beads, so he stopped asking about it and instead switched the subject to the breakfast they had earlier.
The Eighth Prince saw Zhao Yao brimming with excitement over the delicious food at breakfast, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. To the Tenth Brother, nothing seemed more important than good food. He didn't care at all about such an important matter as Prince Dai being awarded eight beads.
The Tenth Brother was the most naive among them all, but he had a pure heart that they did not possess. In the Imperial Palace, possessing a pure heart is rare but extremely dangerous.
In this palace, whether you are a prince, an eunuch, or a palace maid, everyone has hidden depths. Without some wits, you can't survive in this ruthless place.
Someone as simple as the Tenth Brother…fortunately, Liang Zhaoyi wasn't favored much, and her family had no power, which meant he wouldn't be dragged into this power struggle.
The Tenth Brother's simplicity wasn't entirely a bad thing, and he would protect them, ensuring they wouldn't get into trouble.
As Zhao Yao spoke, he noticed his Eighth Brother was lost in thought again, and sighed deeply with helplessness in his heart.
Ah, his Eighth Brother...
The two brothers had just entered Wende Hall when they heard the Ninth Prince recounting how Prince Dai achieved a major victory. He stood on a desk, animatedly and enthusiastically narrating.
Zhao Yao curled his lips, saying with a tone of disdain, "Ninth Brother is showing off again, it's not like he won the battle himself, just look at him acting like it was his own victory."
"Second Brother is the biological brother of Ninth Brother; for Ninth Brother, a victory for Second Brother is a victory for himself."
"Hmph, I think Ninth Brother should become a storyteller." Zhao Yao unkindly ridiculed, "Even storytellers aren't as talkative as he is."
"Just ignore him."
Zhao Yao grabbed the Eighth Prince's arm, looking at him with worried eyes and said, "Eighth Brother, you didn't come to study yesterday, and all day long today, Ninth Brother will keep going on about Second Brother's victory. If you ignore him, he'll be upset and won't leave you alone." For Eighth Brother coming to study today, it was a relief; at least Ninth Brother wouldn't just brag about Prince Dai's victory to him anymore. Thanks to Eighth Brother, he was free from it.
The Eighth Prince gave Zhao Yao a reassuring look, "I know how to handle him."
With that, the two entered the classroom together, and then greeted the other royal brothers.
As Zhao Yao predicted, upon seeing the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince couldn't stop himself from boasting.
The Eighth Prince pretended to listen very earnestly while feigning a look of awe and surprise.
The Ninth Prince was very pleased with the Eighth Prince's reaction and thus, spoke with even more enthusiasm.
Zhao Yao marveled at how good his Eighth Brother's acting was; compared to him, his performance yesterday was too perfunctory. However, Ninth Brother didn't notice.
"Tenth Brother."
Seeing the Fourth Prince, Zhao Yao immediately beamed and greeted him, "Fourth Brother."
"Since the teacher isn't here yet, let me test you."
The smile on Zhao Yao's face froze instantly, and he showed a pitiable look, "Fourth Brother…"
The Fourth Prince was unfazed, and very coldly said, "Recite what the teacher taught yesterday for me."
Zhao Yao's little face immediately turned into a bitter gourd expression, and he looked pleadingly at the Fourth Prince, "Fourth Brother, how about I don't recite?"
The Fourth Prince raised an eyebrow slightly, "Can't recite it?"
Zhao Yao scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Fourth Brother, you know I'm dumb; I can never remember when I try to memorize books."
"Did you understand what the teacher explained yesterday?"
Zhao Yao couldn't remember what the teacher explained yesterday because he didn't pay attention in class.
"No."
"Then I'll explain it to you once, and if you still don't get it, I'll explain it again."
"Fourth Brother, I'm so dumb, even if you tell me many times, I won't understand; it's better if you don't teach me." He liked Fourth Brother a lot, but not this part of him.
The Fourth Prince reached out and patted Zhao Yao's head, speaking gently, "No problem, after I teach you a few more times, you'll understand."
Zhao Yao had tried to use this to get the Fourth Prince to give up on teaching his dumb little brother, but the Fourth Prince was persistent in teaching him.
"Well, then I'm troubling you, Fourth Brother."
Before the teacher arrived, the Fourth Prince explained the previous day's content to Zhao Yao in detail.
Meanwhile, the Ninth Prince sat directly on the Eighth Prince's desk, endlessly talking about how his Second Brother wisely and bravely defeated the rebels. Even when the teacher arrived, the Ninth Prince was still talking. If the teacher hadn't stopped him, he would have continued.
Shortly after class began, the Ninth Prince interrupted the teacher to ask about the practice of adding beads to Princes in the previous dynasty.
Before coming to Wende Hall, the Ninth Prince heard about the plan to add beads to his Second Brother.
The teacher hadn't anticipated the Ninth Prince to ask about adding beads to Princes and was initially taken aback, but soon began to explain what it meant.
After the teacher finished explaining, the Ninth Prince asked, "Teacher, my brother has achieved so many merits, how many beads do you think my brother can be awarded?"
The teacher was momentarily stunned by the question and then said, "Adding beads to Princes was a rule of the previous dynasty; our dynasty does not have this regulation. Moreover, Prince Dai is already a Prince, a position of great honor."
The Ninth Prince arrogantly retorted, "Teacher, you're wrong. Our dynasty is just about to have Princes with added beads, my brother is about to get them."
The teacher was unaware of what happened in the morning court and was quite surprised upon hearing this from the Ninth Prince: "Prince Dai is going to get beads?"
"Yes, and it will be eight beads." The Ninth Prince made an "eight" gesture with his hands, "My brother is going to be an eight-bead Prince."
"Eight beads?" The teacher's expression immediately darkened and he said sternly, "Ridiculous, how can Prince Dai receive eight beads?"
The Ninth Prince was displeased by the teacher's words and stood up, angrily questioning, "Why can't my brother be an eight-bead Prince?"
The teacher stated firmly, "Only the Crown Prince can have eight beads; at most, a Prince can have seven beads."
The Third Prince spoke up, "Teacher, what Ninth Brother means is that Prince Dai is to become the Crown Prince."
The Fifth Prince echoed the Third Prince's words, "Ninth Brother thinks that considering Prince Dai's achievements, he should be the Crown Prince."
The Sixth Prince added, "Wanting to be an eight-bead Prince isn't just about becoming the Crown Prince."
The Seventh Prince commented, "The Crown Prince is still around, yet Prince Dai desires to be the Crown Prince? That's truly ambitious."
The Fourth and Eighth Princes remained silent.
Zhao Yao thought if he had as foolish a brother as the Ninth Prince, he'd be furious. Although Prince Dai had always harbored intentions of becoming the Crown Prince and wasn't concealing it anymore, he wouldn't be foolish enough to openly declare his ambition.
Now that the Ninth Prince was publicly declaring that Prince Dai wanted to be the Crown Prince, it wasn't helping his Second Brother but instead undermining him.
Realizing his mistake after hearing the Third Prince and others, the Ninth Prince hurriedly said, "Third Brother, stop slandering us. I said my brother would become an eight-bead Prince, not the Crown Prince."
The Seventh Prince rebutted, "Didn't the teacher just say that only the Crown Prince can have eight beads and that a Prince's highest honor is seven beads? So you're practically saying Prince Dai wants to be Crown Prince by suggesting he gets eight beads."
"Zhao Jing, stop falsely accusing me and my brother. Eight beads are for the Crown Prince according to the rules of the previous dynasty, not our dynasty's." The Ninth Prince's mind worked quickly, "Father might make the eight beads the highest honor for Princes in our dynasty. Third, Fifth, Sixth Brothers, and Zhao Jing, stop falsely accusing me and my brother. I know you're jealous of my brother's achievements."
The Third Prince said, "Ninth Brother, it was you who mentioned becoming an eight-bead Prince."
"But I didn't say my brother wanted to be the Crown Prince; you said that." The Ninth Prince sneered, "I know you're jealous of my brother's continuous achievements, and you want to frame him. All the things you've just said, I'll tell Father that you all want to harm my brother."
Zhao Yao clicked his tongue inwardly, impressed by the Ninth Brother's quick thinking, turning the accusations back on the Third Prince and the others.
The Third Prince and others were about to argue further when the teacher intervened, disinterested in witnessing the charade any longer: "Quiet, let's continue with the lesson."
The Ninth Prince shot a provocative glance at the Third Prince and the others, and then kept quiet for the rest of the class.
Meanwhile, in the court, ministers were heatedly debating whether to award beads to Prince Dai.