Zhao Hanzhang looked at Fu Tinghan in surprise, then immediately turned to look at the happy little bean sprout behind her, breaking into a smile. “Good idea.”

Zhao Renjia stopped in her tracks, tilting her little head to look at her mother, then at her father, calling out loudly, “Father, good afternoon!”

Fu Tinghan replied, “It’s almost evening now, and you’re saying good afternoon? When I passed by you at noon, you didn’t call me.”

Zhao Renjia looked confused. “I didn’t see you.”

“Yes, you were digging for ants in the flower bed. Were the ants fun?”

Zhao Renjia lowered her head. “Not fun. They wrapped my hands and feet in cloth strips, it was so hot.”

Fu Tinghan said, “Ant bites can kill people. No one knows if the ants you encounter next time will be poisonous ants.”

Feeling even more strongly that she should start studying, Fu Tinghan said to Zhao Hanzhang, “She has too much energy. You think martial arts training is too early, so let’s have her study. Three years old isn’t too young.”

Before Zhao Renjia was even one year old, Wang Shi had loved holding books and reading them to her—everything from the Book of Songs, the Thousand Character Classic, and the Analects. Whatever books Wang Shi liked, she read them all to her.

Mingming had fallen asleep listening to these books. After she learned to speak, she recited the Thousand Character Classic and the Book of Songs along with them. Whether she recognized the characters was another matter, but she could recite the poems and texts from memory.

When she got a bit older, her toys became various character recognition cards. Eventually, Fu Tinghan’s character cards couldn’t keep up with her learning speed, so he simply used books to teach her characters.

So now at three years old, though she had never held a writing brush, she recognized quite a few characters and had memorized many poems and texts.

Previously, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan had considered her physical and mental health, worried that starting school too early would create an aversion to learning. But now it seemed she was so happy that a bit of pressure in her life would be appropriate.

Zhao Hanzhang looked down at her daughter and nodded. “Let her enroll.”

The next day during court, Zhao Hanzhang began looking for teachers for Zhao Renjia.

All the officials knew that Zhao Renjia would very likely become Crown Princess, so they all wanted to be her teacher. Even if they couldn’t become the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor, being a lecturer would be good too.

Zhao Hanzhang knew well that people with good knowledge didn’t necessarily make good teachers, and to be Zhao Renjia’s teacher, besides having good knowledge and teaching ability, they also needed to have good moral character, less selfishness and more public spirit, and even understand both benevolent governance and authoritarian methods.

So after much selection, Zhao Hanzhang chose Zhao Cheng, He Xun, and Ming Yu to be her primary teachers.

Zhao Hanzhang said to Fu Tinghan, “When she’s a bit older, I’ll have Zu Ti teach her military strategy, have Beigong Chun teach her martial arts, Ji Yuan teach her arithmetic, Zhao Ming teach her the Doctrine of the Mean, and Guo Pu teach her the Book of Changes.”

When Zhao Ming turned thirty, he finally determined that his main study was the Doctrine of the Mean. Zhao Hanzhang had talked with him several times and had to admit he had considerable insight in this field, so she decided to have Zhao Renjia study directly under him.

Zhao Cheng had always favored Laozi and Zhuangzi, He Xun was a Confucian master, and Ming Yu was an advocate of benevolent governance.

However, Ming Yu’s benevolent governance was somewhat distorted. On the first day of class, seeing three-year-old Zhao Renjia, he said, “Your Highness the Eldest Princess is heaven’s favored daughter and can be king among children of the same age, but can you also be king among children older than yourself?”

Mingming said, “Once I learn my mother’s martial arts, they’ll submit to me.”

Ming Yu asked, “What if they still don’t submit?”

Mingming replied, “Then I’ll beat them into submission.”

“Using force to resolve matters is the worst strategy, and Your Highness is only one person—two fists are hard-pressed against four legs. There are so many children in this world older than you, how can you make them truly convinced and submit to you?”

Zhao Mingming pondered but didn’t answer Ming Yu at the time. That evening at dinner, her gaze couldn’t help sliding over her parents’ faces, finally settling on Fu Tinghan’s. “Father, can you lend me Uncle Shi?”

Fu Tinghan asked, “What do you want him for?”

Zhao Mingming replied, “I have some small matters I’d like him to handle.”

Shi Hongtu was Fu Tinghan’s guard captain. Perhaps from following Fu Tinghan, he had learned woodworking skills and did quite good carpentry work, having carved many fun things for Zhao Mingming.

Fu Tinghan thought she wanted him to carve something. Considering that tomorrow was the grand court assembly and the projects reported by the Bureau of Research would need approval, he estimated he would be staying in the palace all day.

In the palace was the safest place, and Shi Hongtu would have essentially nothing to do, so Fu Tinghan nodded. “Alright, I’ll lend him to you, but you’re not allowed to bully him.”

Zhao Mingming patted her little chest, guaranteeing she wouldn’t bully him.

The next day, she took Shi Hongtu and her own guard detail to stand at the academy entrance, waving her little hand. “Bring all the children older than me here and have them acknowledge me as their leader!”

Shi Hongtu and the guards thought: Children nationwide enrolled at age seven. Everyone studying at this academy, without exception, was older than her.

Shi Hongtu and the guards looked at each other and didn’t move.

Zhao Mingming was displeased, calling out in her baby voice, “What are you standing around for? Hurry up and go!”

In the end, Shi Hongtu and the guards carried Zhao Mingming back to the palace. “Your Highness, the academy has its own rules. If we disrupt the academy’s rules, Your Majesty will surely punish us severely.”

Unable to resist, Zhao Ming cried out as she was carried back to the palace.

Having just finished the morning court assembly, Zhao Hanzhang soon learned about this. She was speechless for a long moment, then made time before the small court council to see her daughter and curiously asked, “Why did you want to go to the academy and make them acknowledge you as their leader?”

Zhao Mingming replied, “Teacher Ming told me to. He asked me what method I had to make the older children in the academy acknowledge me as king.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “And this was your method?”

Zhao Mingming said dejectedly, “But Uncle Shi and the others wouldn’t listen to my orders. I only knew that Uncle Zeng wouldn’t listen to me, but I didn’t expect Uncle Shi wouldn’t listen either.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Do you know why they wouldn’t listen?”

Zhao Mingming answered, “Because I’m still too small.”

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head. “Because you don’t have the prestige to make them convinced.”

“How do I get prestige?”

Zhao Hanzhang replied, “Do things that can establish authority.”

Zhao Mingming’s eyes brightened. “Mother, be more specific.”

“The most basic thing that can establish authority is to do your own duties well.”

Zhao Mingming asked, “What are my duties?”

“Eat well, exercise well, sleep well, study well, and listen well to your teachers’ advice.”

Zhao Mingming said anxiously, “How long will that take?”

“That depends on how well you do. The first thing is to guard against impatience and arrogance. Today Mother will teach you an idiom: haste makes waste.”

After teaching her daughter, she sent her off to play before going to the small court council where the important ministers were gathered to discuss major government affairs.

Before beginning, Zhao Hanzhang specifically brought up this matter to share with everyone, her gaze sweeping over Ming Yu and the other ministers with deep meaning. “Haste makes waste—these words are not only for the Eldest Princess but also for you all.”

The ministers’ hearts trembled as they bowed in acknowledgment. The aggressive faction that had proposed taking advantage of the opportunity to capture the entire Western Regions and even conquer Wusun fell silent.

Ming Yu wasn’t part of the aggressive faction, but he couldn’t help wiping the sweat from his forehead, only now realizing he had been forcing growth on the Eldest Princess.

Even Fu Tinghan reflected on himself. “Is it bad to have her learn so many things at this time?”

Zhao Hanzhang suggested, “Ask her?” She herself wasn’t certain—first time being a mother, no experience.

So the couple went to ask Mingming.

Zhao Mingming didn’t think there was anything bad about it. She was very happy, and enrolling made her even happier. “Before, when I wanted to find playmates, I had to go out or have uncles invite them. Now I don’t have to. Every day when I open my eyes, I can see my little friends. I’m younger than them, but I’m better than all of them.”

Zhao Mingming even proposed, “Mother, I want to go study at the academy, to compete with more people. I think none of them can match me.”