At this moment, James Johnson felt much more at ease. He looked up toward the Main Hall, but with the rockery blocking the view, he could only see a corner of the second floor.

The window there was open, so someone should be inside.

……

James Johnson left the rear garden and returned to the front of the Main Hall.

This two-story building with double eaves was roofed with black glazed tiles, and its doors, windows, and railings were all green, making it stand out in the Forbidden City of red walls and yellow tiles.

Because this was also the royal library, it was said that black represents water, which can suppress fire, and green can ward off fire as well.

But what truly protected the library were the pools in front and behind the building, as well as strict fire prevention management.

The lecture was still ongoing on the first floor, so James Johnson lightened his steps and went upstairs via the left staircase.

The second floor was the library itself, with neatly arranged bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling, blocking out the light from the windows. Since lighting candles was forbidden for fire safety, it was naturally quite dim.

Once his eyes adjusted, James Johnson followed the numbered bookshelves all the way to the east end of the library.

There was the duty room of the library steward, and the door was ajar.

James Johnson knocked gently, but no one answered from inside.

So he pushed the door open and walked in.

By the window, an elderly man with graying hair, dressed in a cloth robe, was sitting at a desk.

The old man was engrossed in reading. Because the room was dim, even though it was late autumn, the window was still open.

James Johnson was in no hurry. He walked in, found a chair to sit on, and picked up a book from the table to read.

After reading a few lines, his eyes lost focus... Damn, traditional characters and classical Chinese—just reading it made his head hurt.

Before long, he fell asleep with his head on the table.

……

“Wake up, wake up.”

He didn’t know how much time had passed when an old yet still magnetic voice woke him up.

James Johnson rubbed his sleepy eyes with his chubby little hands and saw the old man’s face.

It was a deeply wrinkled, clear-featured, long-bearded, and very handsome old grandpa.

“Your Highness, did you come here just to sleep?” The old man looked at him helplessly. The copy of "Wenzhang Zhengyin" under his chin was already soaked with drool.

James Johnson was completely unaware, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and asked, “Sir, have you finished reading?”

“If I waited until this old minister finished reading, this 'Wenzhang Zhengyin' would turn into 'Wenzhang Shuiyin'.” That’s a Song dynasty rare edition! The old man’s heart was bleeding, so naturally his tone wasn’t pleasant.

“It’s fine, once it dries it won’t affect reading.” James Johnson felt no guilt at all about the dragon saliva he left behind.

“You really have no sense of propriety!” The old man almost twisted his nose in anger and muttered, “Your Highness, what brings you here? If there’s nothing, go back to class.”

“There is, there is, of course there is.” James Johnson quickly smiled and said, “I wanted to ask, sir, how many children in the Main Hall are about my age?”

“Is Your Highness testing this old minister?” The old man’s face darkened even more.

In his view, though the Prince of Chu usually acted silly, he had been studying in the Main Hall for years—how could he not know such a simple thing?

Even the foolish Prince of Qin wouldn’t be so clueless!

He was already a suspicious person, so he couldn’t help but think the Prince of Chu was mocking him for hiding in the library all day instead of teaching.

“Uh, I wouldn’t dare test you, let’s just discuss.” Ever since James Johnson accepted his identity as a prince, he no longer cared about people’s expressions.

“Heh, so Your Highness is convinced this old man is just a dog in the manger?” The old man felt a pang of bitterness. Fine, not only does the father bully me all day, now the son comes to mock me too.

“Go on, say it.”

“Only your seventh brother, the Prince of Qi!” The old man’s beard bristled with anger as he said,

“There are four kinds of people in the Main Hall: the teachers, the librarians, the imperial princes who study, and the noble children who accompany them!”

“The first two are all adults, and none of the noble companions are under fifteen; as for Your Highness’s brothers, surely you don’t need to test me on that!”

After speaking, the old man started coughing violently, not expecting to be angered like this by a child.

Truly, a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs...

“Uh, why are you so agitated, sir?” James Johnson was a good person, so he quickly stepped forward to rub the old man’s back and handed him a cup of tea.

The old man took the teacup and finally felt a bit better.

“Oh right, I haven’t asked your esteemed surname yet, sir.” James Johnson asked sincerely, “Are you a teacher or the librarian?”

‘Pfft...’ The old man nearly spat tea all over him.

“Just because I’m in the steward’s duty room, does that mean I’m the steward? Then why aren’t there any lions in braised lion’s head?!”

“Oh, so you’re a teacher then.” James Johnson suddenly understood.

“I am your teacher Benjamin Lee, and you don’t recognize me?!” The old man slammed down his teacup in anger and said furiously,

“Your Highness is still mocking me for hiding in the library all day, isn’t he? Or does His Majesty want to see me gone and is about to issue a dismissal order?!”

Chapter Five: A Prince Can’t Be a Prince for Nothing

“Liu, Benjamin Lee?” James Johnson raised his thick eyebrows at these words, his eyes wide as copper bells: “Aren’t you also called Benjamin Lee?!”