Diana composed herself, waved away several young attendants with fire, and kept only her trusted old eunuch by her side.

She then asked her son in a harsh voice, “You fool, you didn’t admit it to anyone, did you?”

“Sixth Brother already knows.” Prince of Qi said in a low voice.

“He saw you?” Diana said through gritted teeth. “Even if he saw you, just don’t admit it. Who would believe the words of a ten-year-old child?!”

“He didn’t see…”

Just as Diana was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Prince of Qi gasp again, “But he said Mr. Lee saw it, and it was Mr. Lee who told him personally.”

“Mr. Lee?” Diana thought for a moment. There was only one teacher surnamed Liu in the Main Hall, but how could it be. “It couldn’t be Benjamin Lee, right?”

“It’s him.” Prince of Qi nodded.

“Nonsense, Mr. Lee is like an immortal, he’s long since stopped meddling in worldly affairs! Why would he care about such trivial matters?!” Diana refused to believe it.

“But, Sixth Brother, that’s what he said.”

“He’s just trying to trick you, you idiot!” Diana jabbed her finger hard at her son’s forehead, leaving a bloody mark.

“Does he even have that kind of cunning?” Prince of Qi was incredulous. He had always looked down on his simple-minded Sixth Brother, thinking that apart from Second Brother, the dumbest was Sixth.

“You were so scared you wet your pants, so who’s the real fool here?” Diana rubbed her belly with one hand and her chest with the other, wishing she had another hand to massage her throbbing temples.

She had survived the treacherous palace of Chen Youliang, and knew that at times like this, she must not act rashly, but think through the pros and cons first.

Fortunately, she had plenty of time left, enough to think everything through carefully.

……

By the time the sun was slanting westward, Diana had regained her beauty and instructed the old eunuch:

“Mr. Howard, go and invite Prince of Chu here.”

She planned to deny everything to the end, then scare Sixth Brother so he wouldn’t dare spout nonsense.

“Yes.”

“And also, go see Mr. Lee yourself and give His Highness a leave note.” Diana paused, then lowered her voice, “And complain to him, say that Prince of Chu is slandering my son, and see how he reacts.”

“Yes.” Chief Steward Howard asked, “But if Mr. Lee knows nothing about this, won’t it just make things more complicated?”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Lee won’t meddle in other people’s business.” Diana said with great certainty, “You know why he ended up like this, don’t you?”

“Your Highness is right.” Chief Steward Howard nodded in agreement.

“So I don’t believe for a second that Mr. Lee would gossip.” Diana said coldly, “But just in case, we still need to make sure.”

“Your Highness is truly prudent.” Chief Steward Howard quickly flattered her.

……

At the time of Shen (3–5 pm), the sound of the cloud board signaling the end of class rang out in the Main Hall.

“Ah, finally made it through another day!” Prince of Yan stretched and turned to James Johnson with a smile, “How is it, does it still hurt?”

“How could it not?” James Johnson looked at his left hand with annoyance, seeing it was still a bit red and swollen.

In the end, he had been struck on the palm by Benjamin Lee.

“Come, let me put some ointment on it for you.” Fifth Brother produced a small porcelain bottle. “This is a prescription from Zhang Zhongjing, and I’ve added a few more herbs. It’ll sting a little at first, but it works even better—guaranteed to reduce the swelling overnight.”

It stings a lot, okay! James Johnson complained inwardly, and politely declined Fifth Brother’s kindness:

“No need, it actually doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m just annoyed—how dare he hit a prince of Ming? Isn’t he afraid I’ll tell Father?”

“You’d better not. If Father finds out, he’ll just say it was well deserved!” Fifth Brother quickly stopped him from this foolish idea.

“And then give you an even worse beating.” Edward Johnson added, “You may be a prince of Ming, but first and foremost, you’re Father’s son. When Father loses his temper, even Eldest Brother can’t escape a beating.”

“Really…” James Johnson’s little face fell.

“That’s why you have to toughen up—we need to improve our ability to take a beating.” Edward Johnson put his arm around his shoulder, walking out while sharing his experience:

“I’m not bragging, but when it comes to taking a beating, no one is better than me.”

“Fourth Brother has calluses on both his palms and his butt. Without years of hard work, you can’t manage that.” Fifth Brother also promoted his own method, “Better to use my ointment…”

James Johnson was left dumbfounded, not even sure if the two were messing with him.

As they talked, the three of them left the Main Hall.

The Crown Prince only studied in the Wenhua Hall in the morning; in the afternoon, he went to the Wuying Hall to intern with Father, so only the three of them went back.

Chief Steward Howard had been waiting outside the Wenhua Gate for a while. Seeing the three princes come out chatting and laughing, he hurried forward, bowed, and respectfully said to James Johnson:

“Prince of Chu, my lady requests your presence.”

Chapter 9: Using a Bull Knife to Kill a Chicken

“Who are you?” James Johnson looked disdainfully at the old eunuch with a face full of eunuch features.

“Replying to Your Highness, this old servant’s humble name is Richard Howard, and I am the chief steward of Changyang Palace.” Chief Steward Howard replied with lowered eyes and a respectful manner.

“Anyone surnamed Hou is one of Diana’s people.” Edward Johnson whispered to Sixth Brother, “It’s probably about Seventh Brother. She’s famous for never letting things go. You made her son wet himself—of course she’s coming to settle the score with you.”