He knew that David Carter was not valued, so at every banquet he would pull David Carter to sit by his side.

He knew that Henry Carter liked to read historical books, so he found a way to collect a complete set of pre-Qin history books for him.

He knew that Charles Carter liked to eat meat, so at every banquet he would share some of his own meat with his younger brother.

This was a gentle and benevolent ruler. To be honest, when Charles Carter first arrived, out of sheer boredom he had fantasized about whether he should compete for the throne. But after getting to know this older brother better, he lost all such thoughts. There was a reason why the Han dynasty could become a powerful nation.

In Charles Carter’s view, this brother was definitely a qualified heir to the throne. Whether in personal virtue or ability, he was far inferior to him.

After William Carter arrived, the princes all stood up, even Richard Carter, who was determined to compete with him for the throne, also stood respectfully to the side, showing great respect for this elder brother.

Only Charles Carter still lazily sat in his seat. “What can I do if I’m not used to it? Anyway, I’m just waiting for the day I’m made a king.”

William Carter chuckled and said, “This is for your own good. You will be a feudal king in the future. As a feudal king, if you don’t even have the ability to govern a territory, how can you let the people under your rule live good lives?”

“After you’re made a king, you may not live as comfortably as you do now. Being a feudal king is not easy…”

“You need to understand household registration, agriculture and sericulture, water management, military affairs…”

“As for household registration…”

William Carter began his lecture, talking more and more, getting more and more excited. The old teacher who taught them nodded in satisfaction—this was how a crown prince should be. The other princes also put on attentive expressions, and the four old men who always followed William Carter couldn’t help but want to applaud.

Speaking of which, the princes of the pre-Qin era loved to play this game: find someone with a flaw, then deliver a long lecture, persuade the other party, ideally making them see the light and turn over a new leaf, and then record the event in history… In the future, this would become a refined pastime among the scholar-officials.

But Charles Carter clearly didn’t like this at all.

He widened his eyes—how could the crown prince talk even more than those old teachers?

William Carter started quoting the classics, telling all sorts of stories about the benefits of studying, recounting tales of prodigal sons turning over a new leaf. But he was too long-winded and verbose. Charles Carter’s ears were ringing, his expression shifting from helplessness to shock, then from shock to anger, and finally to despair.

“All right, brother, I was wrong! I’ll definitely study hard… and become an outstanding feudal king!!”

Charles Carter really couldn’t take it anymore. He hurriedly interrupted William Carter. If it were the old Charles Carter, he might have actually started a fight. He could finally understand why his former self was so annoyed by this brother. The man’s character was fine, but he just talked too much, and everything he said was a lecture, always the same point, which was extremely irritating.

William Carter put on a “this child can be taught” expression and nodded with a smile.

“Very good. In a few days, I’ll come check on you again. I hope you’ll study diligently.”

“Come on… I’ll study, all right?!”

William Carter left. Charles Carter looked fearfully at his departing figure, then quickly turned to the old teacher and asked, “Sir, can I go back to studying alone like before?”

Chapter Five: Brotherly Love and Respect

The old teacher calmly shook his head.

Richard Carter couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He called out, “Chang, just study well here. We, as your elder brothers, will keep a close eye on you. If you act up again, we’ll invite the crown prince over!”

“What’s it to you?!”

“Of course it matters. If you act like this as a king, it’s the people under your rule who will suffer—the people of the Han dynasty. Each of us has the right to make sure you become a qualified feudal king!”

“Hah, don’t worry, I’ll definitely be better than you!”

“Better in what way? The way you are now, I bet after you’re made a king you’ll go steal the peasants’ oxen to eat!”

“You want to fight, don’t you?!”

Losing ground in the verbal sparring, Charles Carter flew into a rage (naoxiuchengnu), suddenly standing up, ready to “reason” with Richard Carter. I can’t hit the crown prince, but I can hit you, can’t I? Fighting was Charles Carter’s only advantage. Although he was young and small, Charles Carter was very strong—ordinary children couldn’t beat him.

Historically, this Charles Carter was also burly and brave, able to lift a ding. He really did lift a ding, and a certain unnamed overlord called him an expert.

It was Frank Carter who hurriedly stepped forward to stop Charles Carter. His chubby face was full of helplessness. “All right, Chang, stop fooling around. Sit down.”

It wasn’t until the old teacher cleared his throat that Charles Carter reluctantly sat down. The old teacher resumed the lesson. Richard Carter looked at Charles Carter with a beaming smile—he just loved seeing his little brother wanting to beat him up but unable to do so.

Oh, my foolish little brother.

When class ended, to prevent Charles Carter from causing trouble, several eunuchs surrounded him and prepared to take him back. Charles Carter glared fiercely at Richard Carter, but had no choice but to be escorted away. Richard Carter burst out laughing again.