The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity

Chapter 346 - 314: This Backbreaking Task Is Simply Inhuman! (Part 1)

Having temporarily acquired a spacious bedroom and a magical canopy bed, Yuanbao felt quite pleased.

On the first day as a companion, the Imperial Palace appeared wonderful to him, reading made him happy, and the Eldest Prince was amiable and easy to get along with.

When, before the early morning hours, someone knocked on the door, Yuanbao, too sleepy to open his eyes, felt that this job was simply inhumane.

Realizing the magnitude of his task, Yuanbao didn’t delay; no matter how sleepy, he forced himself awake, quickly dressed, and went to open the door.

Outside stood a young eunuch who served Zhao Xi, holding a delicate horn palace lantern. Hearing the door creak, he leaned in and asked, "Young Master Song, are you awake?"

Yuanbao yawned as he asked, "Has His Highness gotten up?"

The young eunuch replied, "Already washed and dressed, just waiting for Young Master Song."

Yuanbao said, "...Did His Highness not close his eyes all night?"

"He still slept for a good while," the young eunuch answered truthfully.

This "good while" was probably really just a good while.

Yuanbao struggled to keep his eyes open, "His Highness certainly is energetic."

He had seen many who slept late and rose early, but someone who kept it up for years was a first, and moreover, the person was only thirteen.

How many years has this child not had a good sleep?

The young eunuch didn’t dare say that His Highness was under a lot of pressure too.

Before the birth of the Second Prince, there was only this one prince in the palace, and people outside would say he was showered with all kinds of love, but that was not the case at all.

Fewer princes meant a higher chance of His Highness inheriting the throne, and at the same time, more responsibilities.

So he had to put in several times more effort than others.

Since the age of six, His Highness had been running to the Study Room every day.

From the initial two hours of study, it gradually increased to four hours, six hours, and even, there were nights when he studied all night, yet still had to make it to class the next day.

In the Royal Family, there was no throne inherited without merit. Without ability, even the sole heir, the Emperor wouldn’t pass the realm into such hands.

Therefore, even though the Eldest Prince held a noble identity, he couldn’t act as freely as Young Marquis Lu before. Not only did the Emperor have high expectations, but he also held himself to high standards, so high that even the much older servants felt distressed watching him.

...

Before long, Yuanbao finished washing up and followed the young eunuch to the main hall.

Zhao Xi was sitting at the table drinking tea.

It was probably to wake himself up; he specifically had strong tea brewed, and Yuanbao could smell the strong tea aroma from a distance.

"Your Highness," Yuanbao gave a simple bow.

Zhao Xi lifted his eyes to look at him, "Awake?"

Yuanbao made a sound of acknowledgment, "Shouldn’t we head out?"

If he were at home, he’d probably still be dreaming under the covers at this hour.

Zhao Xi put down the teacup and got up, heading directly to the Study Room.

Outside, the sky was not yet light, and the palace lanterns along the long corridor swayed shadowily in the wind.

Following behind Zhao Xi, Yuanbao felt the chill of the early morning, rousing his senses and dissipating his sleepiness.

Arriving at the Study Room, the two took their seats.

The book Zhao Xi was going to read today had already been sent by the young eunuch, with a copy placed on the table in front of each of them.

Zhao Xi opened his book, and years of habit quickly allowed him to fully concentrate.

Yuanbao had never tried reading so early in the morning. He patted his face to wake up, reached out to turn the book pages, and was about to start from the beginning when a hand reached over from the side. It was slender, neat, slightly long, not quite fair, with calluses visible at the thumb joint, currently half-gripping the book spine, flipping to a certain page, and pushing forward, the tone carrying undeniable authority, "Go up there and read."

Yuanbao: "???"

Zhao Xi, seeing his reaction, smirked, "Reading quietly, are you planning to be mute?"

Yuanbao said, "I can read, but why do I have to stand at the podium? I can do it right here."

Zhao Xi said slowly, "Because I said so."

Alright then, you’re the boss, whatever you say goes.

Yuanbao took the book, quickly skimmed the content on the page, and looked at Zhao Xi, "So, does Your Highness want me to read softly or loudly, or both at once? As for the tone, should it be emotional or stern, or a combination of both?"

Zhao Xi: "...Where do you get so much nonsense?"

Yuanbao muttered, "They say serving the Emperor is like serving a tiger, and I’m timid, always afraid of tigers."

"......Are you going to read or not?"

"Reading, of course, but could Your Highness first specify the requirements before I start?"

Zhao Xi pinched his eyebrows, "Please, read like a normal person."

"Oh."

Song Yuanbao held the book, stepped onto the platform, and read sentence by sentence from the page. His voice, neither too loud nor too soft, reverberated in the spacious Study Room, filled with the unique vigor of a young man.

Zhao Xi pulled Song Yuanbao’s book in front of him, his gaze lowered.

After Song Yuanbao finished reading and returned, he noticed that what Zhao Xi was reading wasn’t the same content as what he had recited.

After sitting down, Song Yuanbao asked, "Did His Highness hear what I read earlier?"

Zhao Xi gave a faint "hmm" through his nose, "The eighth sentence from the beginning, you misread the third word; second to last sentence, you skipped the fifth word."

Song Yuanbao: "..."

He did it intentionally, just to test if Zhao Xi was really listening.

Then, he was quite certain that the Eldest Prince, when flipping through the book earlier, wasn’t looking at the pages he read, yet the Eldest Prince remembered exactly which sentences he misread or skipped.

Unless he had the skill to multitask and a memory that grasped everything after hearing it once, the truth might be that when he flipped through the pages, he wasn’t reading seriously, using it as a cover, but was in fact, listening to him read all along.

But Song Yuanbao thought, it was probably the former.

Before coming, Song Wei had already told him that although this His Highness was the favored candidate for the Crown Prince, he never acted arrogantly due to favor. His strictness towards himself far exceeded what others could endure.

At that time, Song Yuanbao didn’t think deeply about it, nor could he imagine it because he had no such person around him.

Song Yuanbao himself was a little genius adept at learning and applying, did not like rigidity in reading, disliked others being strict with him, and also disliked putting pressure on himself.

Because of this, he was somewhat restless in nature.

And Zhao Xi, the young Prince of the same age as he, had a personality entirely opposite to his.

Zhao Xi was accustomed to being sternly demanded by others and also accustomed to being harsh on himself.

What might be mere pretense for others was seven solid years for him.

After just one day of interaction, Song Yuanbao found it easy to imagine how dull and tasteless Zhao Xi’s past seven years had been.

Daily cycles of running to the Study Room, Stable, and training ground.

Lack of sufficient sleep, little entertainment, and the childhood pleasures ordinary children should have, he essentially had none.

Ever since stepping into the Study Room, for seven years, his life could be summarized in two words: busy.

As long as he was awake, he was busy.

Lacking the childhood joys of ordinary children, what he had more of was a nearly harsh self-discipline and tenacious character.

Whether it was the archery skills that could hit a willow leaf a hundred steps away, or the exceptional skill of quick reading and perfect recall, without his persistent efforts over these seven years, reaching such heights would have been impossible.

...

After morning reading, a young eunuch brought breakfast, served in the side hall next door.

Zhao Xi and Song Yuanbao went together to eat.

Compared to the plentiful lunch and dinner, breakfast appeared much lighter, yet since it came from the Imperial Kitchen, the taste was naturally exquisite, even if it was just a bowl of porridge, it tasted different from those outside.

Zhao Xi had a small appetite and set the meal aside halfway, washing his hands in the copper basin the young eunuch offered, followed by carefully drying them with a silk cloth.

The busy young Prince, amidst his bustle, also had a slight obsession with cleanliness.

After breakfast, with just about a cup of tea’s time until class, the two could rest for a short while.

Song Yuanbao took the opportunity to ask Zhao Xi, "Doesn’t Your Highness feel tired being this busy every day?"

Zhao Xi lifted his gaze, giving him a faint look, "You are not me, of course, you wouldn’t understand."

Song Yuanbao touched his nose, in his family there was no throne to inherit, how could he possibly understand?

...

When the class finished at noon, after meals, they went to the Upper Garden Stable.

Zhao Xi, like that day when he asked Su Yaoqi, asked him if he could ride a horse or knew how to shoot arrows.

Song Yuanbao shook his head, saying he couldn’t do either.

Zhao Xi also used the same method to dismiss him, asking him to run errands to pick up prey.

Song Yuanbao disagreed, saying he was there to be a sparring partner, not an errand boy.

Zhao Xi, already mounted on the horse, tightened the reins upon hearing this, "How can you be a sparring partner if you can’t ride?"

Song Yuanbao looked up at him, "I can’t, but His Highness can!"

...

A quarter of an hour later, Song Yuanbao sat behind Zhao Xi, serving as a human quiver, with arrows strapped all over his back.