Becoming the Fourth Prince's Teachers

But even they could not understand it. They had never done anything to wrong the Fifth Prince, had they? Why would he insist on killing them the moment he ascended the throne, heedless of the infamy of murdering his own teachers?

Not only did they not know the answer, Jiang Nuan did not know either.

[Guagua, do you know why Jiang Ruihui would do that?]

Whenever she encountered something she did not understand, asking Guagua was always the right choice.

[Actually, it was because all they taught Jiang Ruihui was loyalty to the sovereign and love for the country, brotherly affection and respect, and things like that. They never taught him anything about gaining an advantage in the struggle for the throne. In Jiang Ruihui's eyes, the two of them were deliberately blocking his path to the throne, so he had held a grudge against them for ages.]

Hearing this, the two men wanted to shout that they had been wronged. Wasn't it common knowledge that the Crown Prince would inherit the throne? Besides, the Crown Prince had done a decent job and enjoyed a reputation for virtue among the people. If they taught another prince to seize the throne, wouldn't they be inviting an early death?

To think he had held a grudge over that! Where could they possibly go to plead their case?

[But Jiang Ruihui's two teachers also helped fan the waves behind the scenes. After all, Jiang Ruihui was so obedient that having the two of them as his teachers was enough. If more teachers came along and threatened their position, they certainly wouldn't want to see that happen.]

So that was why! The two men ground their teeth. Just who were these two teachers of Jiang Ruihui's?

The next moment, Guagua gave them the answer.

*[Jiang Ruihui's two teachers, Hu Junchen and Qiu Chenwei, came from the Dragon-Following School in the martial world. The school generally assisted emperors in governing the realm and had produced many famous figures, but it withdrew from public life before Great Xia was founded.

But these two had long since been expelled from the school for their crooked hearts. They refused to accept it and decided to strike out on their own. When they first went looking for a prince to assist, they approached the Fourth Prince.]*

Hearing that he was involved too, Jiang Yehua looked bewildered. Why had he never known about this?

[My Fourth Brother? Then there's nothing to worry about. He really has no interest in that seat at all.]

Jiang Nuan had complete confidence in her Fourth Brother.

[Exactly. No matter how they hinted at it or spelled it out, the Fourth Prince was like someone impervious to oil and salt. All he cared about was helping the Crown Prince secure his position. After sounding him out for a while, they gave up.]

So that was what had happened! There had indeed been a time when two men kept saying ambiguous things to him, but Jiang Yehua had never taken them to heart and had long since put the matter behind him. If Jiang Nuan had not suddenly brought it up, he would have forgotten all about it.

When Jiang Chengze heard that his fourth brother was wholeheartedly devoted to assisting him, he felt rather overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. In his eyes, his fourth brother was a strong contender for the throne himself.

[Hahahaha, that's my Fourth Brother for you! Actually, come to think of it, Grand Academicians Qu Weide and Han Yaou would be perfect teachers for him! The three of them would definitely hit it off right away.]

Qu Weide and Han Yaou thought so too. If they had been assigned to the Fourth Prince back then, they would have been able to keep their lives.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yehua was too clever. Jiang Yunsheng had worried that assigning him teachers would create a faction that might interfere with the Crown Prince's accession, so he had simply let him grow freely instead.

Jiang Yunsheng trusted Jiang Nuan's inner voice unconditionally. Since she said these two were suited to teaching his fourth son, he would give it a try.

As it happened, he had originally thought these two were the villains fanning the flames behind Jiang Ruihan, so he had called them forward, intending to find a pretext to deal with them. Later, he discovered they were not, but since he had already summoned them, sending them back would have seemed a little too deliberate.

"I have heard that you are both learned and talented, and that your students are renowned for their abilities. Thus, I wish to appoint you as the Fourth Prince's teachers. What do you think?"

The two men nodded eagerly.

From the look of things, the Fourth Prince and Jiang Nuan were very close. If they boarded the Fourth Prince's ship, wouldn't they also be able to cling to Jiang Nuan's thigh indirectly? If they ran into danger in the future and Jiang Nuan revealed even a little of it in her thoughts, they would reap a tremendous benefit.

There was a downside, though: they risked having their gossip dug up at any moment. With the Ninth Princess's inner voice leaking like a sieve, once she started feasting on their gossip, everyone would know about it.

But compared with their lives, having a little gossip exposed was harmless enough.

Suddenly gaining two teachers made Jiang Yehua quite happy too. He felt that not everything he did was necessarily right, so having teachers who could offer him some guidance would be quite nice.

Still, his ninth sister understood him far too well.

[Speaking of which, the Fourth Prince's experiences are pretty funny too.]

Guagua suddenly came out with that remark.

Jiang Nuan's eyes immediately lit up. When it came to gossip, feasting on gossip about someone she knew was the most fun.

[Guagua, tell me! What gossip is there about my Fourth Brother?]

Jiang Yehua's expression stiffened. How had the topic suddenly shifted to him? And now they wanted to dig up his gossip? Surely he had no embarrassing gossip, right?

Jiang Yehua thought that rather uncertainly.

*[When the Fourth Prince was very young, before he could remember things, a consort who was out of favor tried to harm him. But fortune favored him, and after half a year of careful nursing, he recovered. Because of that, his mother, Consort De, started seeing enemy soldiers in every tree and blade of grass, practically cutting off all his social contact.

So ever since he was little, the Fourth Prince has especially longed for the brotherly affection and respect found in ordinary families. He has always wanted to connect with his siblings, but most of them barely pay him any attention, thinking he might have ulterior motives.

But he doesn't mind. He keeps being good to them in his own way. For example, when the Crown Prince went to provide disaster relief this time, that unexpected shipment of grain donated by a wealthy merchant actually came from the Fourth Prince. There was also that time with the Second Prince, and the last time with the Sixth Princess, and the time before that...]*

Guagua rattled off several things he had done behind the scenes in one breath.

Almost no one knew about any of them.

Jiang Yunsheng was a little surprised. He had actually managed to father someone so pure-hearted? No wonder Nuannuan liked him.

Hearing all this, Jiang Yehua had no particular reaction. To him, these were perfectly ordinary things. Wasn't it normal for siblings to help one another?

[None of that is much of anything. What happens afterward is the fun part.]

Guagua said with a laugh.

*[Although the Fourth Prince is a good person, he has the face of someone full of schemes. Whenever he looks lost in thought, it seems as though he's plotting something, but in reality, he's simply spacing out.

And he really isn't scheming at all. He speaks plainly and directly. But some ministers want to quietly throw their support behind him, and he doesn't pick up on it at all. Everything he says is simply what he truly thinks.

But certain ministers love trying to read people's minds whenever they have nothing better to do. They assume there's some deeper meaning in his words, and in the end, they talk themselves into it and become members of the Fourth Prince's faction.

By now, even Jiang Yehua himself probably has no idea that he already has a substantial base of support at court. Hahahahaha!]*