Yun Shou stuck his head into the dog hole, but his body couldn’t squeeze through. Li Xiang hugged his head and pulled outward, while Li Yanrong pushed his bottom from behind. After great difficulty getting in a little, Yun Shou discovered he was stuck even tighter.

Li Xiang sat on the ground keeping Yun Shou company in conversation, while Li Yanrong wept on the other side of the wall. A eunuch accidentally discovered this scene and immediately began shouting at the top of his lungs. Then a large group of guards came flanking from both sides…

Several patches of skin had been scraped off Yun Shou’s waist and back. Zhangsun held a teacup drinking tea, watching as the imperial physician applied medicine to Yun Shou. Li Xiang stood trembling beneath the corridor. If it weren’t for Li Yanrong holding onto him, he would have wanted to flee.

Li Xiang’s behavior did not escape Zhangsun’s eyes. She couldn’t help but sigh, put down her teacup and asked Yun Shou: “What happened this time? Why crawl through a dog hole when there’s a perfectly good main gate? Even if you wanted to crawl through a dog hole, you should have checked whether you could fit through. Where did all your usual cleverness go?”

Yun Shou said dejectedly: “My father said that as long as the head can squeeze through, the body can definitely follow. But something went wrong—perhaps I’m too fat.”

Laughter immediately filled the great hall. Zhangsun walked to Yun Shou’s side, patted his round body and said with a smile: “What your father says generally makes quite a bit of sense, but does this apply to you? Such a small child grown so fat, like a big Afu doll. How could you squeeze through a one-chi dog hole? Look, you’ve hurt yourself and destroyed a wall in the palace.”

Yun Shou took off a gold collar from his neck and handed it to Zhangsun, saying very boldly: “I’ll pay for it!”

Zhangsun took the gold collar, looked at the inscription on it and said without good humor: “Fortune and Longevity Forever—this is the birthday gift your Grandfather Cheng gave you, and you’re using it to pay for a wall?”

“I’ve kept Grandfather Cheng’s gift in my heart. This is just a gold collar, not worth much. My father said that gifts are never important—it’s the sentiment that matters most. We should keep the sentiment in our hearts; the gift itself doesn’t need to be minded.”

Zhangsun raised a thumb in praise: “Worthy of being a child of the Yun family—your actions are so magnanimous. What you say makes sense. Forget it, you don’t need to pay for that wall. Just don’t be so mischievous in the future.”

Zhangsun personally put the collar back around Yun Shou’s neck, instructed the palace maids to dress Yun Shou properly, then shooed them out of the palace. Yun Shou quietly gave Li Xiang and Li Yanrong a look and was about to leave. Just as he reached the door, he heard Zhangsun say: “Come back! I almost let you slip away. You still haven’t said why you crawled through the dog hole to the Cold Palace. It’s not easy to get past me—how many times has this been?”

The matter of Li Yanrong wanting to see her mother absolutely could not be mentioned even under threat of death. Everyone in the palace knew what these three children were trying to do, yet no one dared say it. Zhangsun also knew; she just wanted to see whether these three children had any sense of responsibility.

Yun Shou turned to look at Li Xiang and found him trembling behind his back. Li Yanrong was the same. He could only steel himself and say: “Yanrong missed her mother and kept crying without stopping. Your imperial grandson-in-training could only accompany her. Little Xiang was also dragged along by me. If you’re going to punish anyone, just punish me alone. It has nothing to do with them.”

“Is this really so?” This time Zhangsun didn’t ask Yun Shou but instead asked Li Xiang, who was hiding behind Yun Shou. Li Xiang was questioned until his head was covered in sweat. After trembling for a long time, he finally squeezed out a single word: “Yes.”

The disappointment in Zhangsun’s brows became even heavier. She turned and instructed the palace maids: “Bind these two wretched children to chairs for me. Don’t release them until one hour has passed.” After giving the order, she left with a large group of palace maids and eunuchs, thinking through gritted teeth: Since the Li family’s descendants have no sense of responsibility, let them all suffer together. If they can’t even endure suffering, they should be enfeoffed as princes and sent far away as soon as possible.

Being bound to chairs meant being put on public display—this was the rule in the palace. Bamboo boards were stuffed behind Yun Shou and Li Xiang’s waists so they couldn’t bend down. Their bodies were held perfectly straight. The princesses and consorts who came and went through the palace all laughed heartily when they saw this scene before leaving.

Yun Shou didn’t care. He’d heard that his own father had been put on public display like this quite often, and he himself had already been displayed several times. Fortunately, this was at the entrance to the Hall of Two Principles, not Zhuque Avenue. Yun Shou really didn’t care about this kind of scene.

Li Xiang’s complexion alternated between pale and flushed. Whoever dared to mock him would immediately receive an angry glare. For him, staying in this chair one moment longer was immense torment. He didn’t know when it started, but from the time Li Xiang began to understand that he would be the future emperor of the Great Tang, he developed a strange sense of superiority. Previously just a timid child, he had now become an extremely arrogant child. He no longer looked up to his younger brothers and sisters, and even looked down on his uncles and cousins.

Yun Shou was different. Li Yanrong was different. He believed that only these two people were qualified to study and play with him. Just now, when faced with his imperial grandmother’s questioning, he had actually said the word “yes”—this was something his proud heart could no longer bear.

Li Er finished his morning court session and strolled through the imperial palace with his hands behind his back. When he passed the Hall of Two Principles and discovered this interesting scene, his interest was immediately piqued. He walked before the two children, lifted Yun Shou’s drooping head, then lifted Li Xiang’s head which he was trying to stuff into his crotch, and asked Yun Shou with a smile: “Little fatty, what act is it again today? Didn’t memorize your books? Or did you make your Empress Grandmother angry again? By the looks of it, today’s mistake is not light.”

After speaking, without waiting for their answer, he entered the Hall of Two Principles. Coming to the rear palace, he found Zhangsun sitting alone in a daze, with not a single servant around her. This was somewhat strange—normally, two children making mistakes wouldn’t be enough to make the Empress so worried.

“Guanyin Maid, they’re just children making mistakes—what big matter could it be? You’ve always been broad-minded. Why are you angry at two children today? It’s not worth it. These two children are just mischievous—they won’t make any serious mistakes.”

Zhangsun stood up and took Li Er’s arm, sitting together on the barbarian bed. Only then did she say: “It’s not a big matter. Yanrong wanted to see her mother, so Li Xiang and Yun Shou took her to crawl through a dog hole. As a result, Yun Shou got stuck in the dog hole and destroyed a wall. But I discovered that the difference between Yun Shou and Xiang’er, these two children, is too great. That’s why I’m in a sullen mood.”

Li Er made an “oh” sound and said: “Not to that extent, surely? In terms of learning, Xiang’er seems even better than Yun Shou. Xiang’er has the ability to remember everything he sees, which Yun Shou doesn’t have. Could it be that I misjudged? Does this child Yun Shou also have hidden depths?”

“What I’m talking about isn’t learning. Xiang’er has memorized more books, but that’s all there is to it. The Yun family can already be seen to have worthy successors, but our family—I can’t see it. Qian’er acts with upright moderation and balance—these are the qualities of a capable ruler who maintains what has been achieved. There’s no need to worry about him. But Xiang’er has not the slightest bit of a man’s sense of responsibility. Today, under my questioning, he actually tried to shirk responsibility and push it onto Yun Shou. When I asked him if it was Yun Shou’s idea to crawl through the dog hole, his answer greatly disappointed me.”

Li Er immediately burst into hearty laughter, patting Zhangsun’s hand and saying: “We only need to pass the empire to Chengqian. As for how Chengqian manages it, that’s his business. If I, Li Shimin, have cultivated a qualified emperor, whether he, Li Chengqian, can cultivate a new emperor—that’s his business. The one you should be blaming is Li Chengqian, not those two children outside. Duan Hong, release the two children. Summon the Crown Prince to see me.”

Duan Hong acknowledged the order and went outside. Zhangsun said thoughtfully to the Emperor: “Could it be that the imperial palace environment truly cannot produce outstanding talent? You didn’t come from the imperial palace, nor did Yun Ye, nor did Qingque. Is there an error in my educational methods? If so, Li Xiang should enter the Academy. His age is appropriate for entering the Academy to be tempered. In the Academy, there won’t be so many people serving him or flattering him. When old Li Gang gets angry, no one can save him.”

Yun Shou had no idea what the imperial couple had discussed. His only current difficulty was how to explain to his mother where the injuries on his body came from. If he told her he had crawled through a dog hole in the imperial palace trying to reach the Cold Palace, it would scare her to death.

After waiting a while, he gritted his teeth and jumped down from the carriage, rolling in the dirt. He told his family’s coachman that his waist had been scraped on the carriage shaft. Li Yanrong stared wide-eyed at Yun Shou, who looked like a mud monkey.

“Don’t ask, don’t ask anything. To tell one lie, you have to fill it with other lies. From now on, let’s try to lie as little as possible. After this time, I absolutely won’t lie anymore. It hurts too much.”

Yun Shou had calculated everything except his mother’s explosive temper. Seeing her son injured, she wanted to punish the coachman. Just as the coachman was about to suffer misfortune, Yun Shou’s lie couldn’t be maintained any longer. He confessed the entire sequence of events from beginning to end. Grandmother listened with delighted brows and eyes, praising him endlessly. Mother was frightened until her beautiful face lost color and she could barely stand. Aunt clapped her hands saying he did well and to take her along next time he did this. As a result, Aunt received a slap from both Grandmother and Mother.

Father had said that when women handle matters, nothing is reliable—this was true. Watching them argue into a chaotic mess, nobody paid attention to his dirty state. He could only go into the room himself and instruct the attendants to bring water to wash his face and hair. Since he had injuries on his body, he skipped the bath.

After lying by the window watching for a long time and confirming that Xiao Wu wasn’t peeking, he took off his clothes. The areas on his waist had been rubbed raw by clothing and hurt terribly. Being bare-chested felt much better. After lying on the bed groaning for a while, Yun Huan rushed in, threw two pears onto his brother’s bed, and ran out quickly. Only at the window did he stick his head back to tell Yun Shou that Mother had decided he wouldn’t get dinner tonight. He had taken two pears for his brother to tide himself over, and tonight he would definitely get him a fat chicken.

Yun Shou had long been mentally prepared for his mother’s changeability. He didn’t know what she was thinking, insisting on locking up Yun Mu, and also confining Yun Lu and Yun Xiang, forbidding them from going downstairs when there was nothing to do. When Father was here, the family never had such rules. As for missing dinner, Yun Shou looked at his own fat belly—going without food for a meal or two shouldn’t matter, right?