What a noble aspiration to establish a heart for heaven and earth, to create a destiny for the people, to perpetuate the lost teachings of the past, and to bring peace to all future generations!
He had lived half his life and had never heard such an enlightening and piercing statement.
In that moment, he felt that his own chest, as the ruler of the kingdom, had become narrow.
"Uncle, Uncle! Why aren’t you speaking? Jingkong is greeting you!" The little princess clung to his leg, tugging at the tassels of his jade pendant.
Only the little princess would dare to be so bold.
When Prince Ming was young, he was punished harshly for doing the same thing, the king’s face turned dark instantly.
The king came to his senses and gently removed the little princess’s hand: "Do not grab this."
"Alright." The little princess obediently withdrew her small hand.
The king stopped dwelling on the past. Under his little niece’s eager gaze, he amiably greeted Jingkong and asked, "Why are you all playing in the water?"
"It’s fun!" the little princess responded.
A daughter should behave like a daughter... The king had just thought to say this but then remembered Shangguan Yun was even more mischievous than the little princess when she was young. At least the little princess only stepped in puddles, while Shangguan Yun jumped into muddy pits.
The palace didn’t permit her jumping, so she ran to the Xuanyuan family to jump.
Thinking of Shangguan Yun, the king’s expression grew complex.
Since the king had come, playing in the puddles was no longer an option.
"Consort, please return to the palace," the king said to Consort Han.
Consort Han smiled gently, saying: "It’s raining, Your Majesty. Why not bring the little princess and her young classmate to my palace for a while? I will have someone prepare dinner, including the fried meat that the little princess loves."
The king looked towards the little princess, who shook her head: "I don’t want to go to the consort’s place."
The king then took the two little ones back to his own sleeping palace.
Consort Han was angry, her foot hurt even more seeing that the king didn’t show her any concern throughout!
Little Jingkong had a delightful evening at the imperial palace, splashing in puddles, and having an imperial meal—although he could only eat vegetarian dishes, they tasted quite good.
It was getting late, so the king called Zhang Dequan: "Go to the Duwei Prefecture and have Wang Xu send Jingkong back to the National Master Hall."
The royal eldest grandson was very fond of children and had kept him company at the National Master Hall.
The king was very lenient towards his dying grandson.
As long as he didn’t kill or commit arson, the king let him be.
Wang Xu had a good relationship with the royal eldest grandson, so asking him to send Jingkong back was also a way for the grandson to see an old friend in his last days.
Unfortunately, Wang Xu was not there; he had gone out on an errand.
"In that case, you personally take him back," said the king.
"Yes." Zhang Dequan took two expert guards and escorted little Jingkong back to the National Master Hall.
Little Jingkong, holding his book bag, said: "Alright, I can go in myself now, Grandfather Zhang, goodbye!"
Zhang Dequan replied: "I’ll take you inside."
Little Jingkong waved his hand: "No need! I know the way!"
He had walked from the entrance to the Qilin Palace many times now!
The rain had stopped by now.
Little Jingkong jumped off the carriage with his book bag and ran towards the Qilin Palace.
"Slow down—"
Zhang Dequan couldn’t catch up with him.
How could this little guy run so fast?
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