Chapter 4: No More Hiding Your Skills, or the Mighty Man’s Joyful Rod Won’t Survive!

Old Zhu rolled his eyes and said, "I will entrust Wang Jinghong with this matter; it will be settled within two days at the soonest."

"Two days? I can't wait that long. How about I rough it out in the Wuying Hall for a couple of nights?"

Old Zhu puffed up his beard, nearly bursting with anger.

This guy was really too much!

Hadn't he already been given enough rewards? Now he even wanted to occupy the Wuying Hall?

"Qin Feng! Don't get too insolent!"

"If you insist on staying in the palace, then first go cleanse yourself; otherwise, it would break protocol."

"I'll call Wang Jinghong right now to take you to the cleansing chamber."

Qin Feng instinctively clamped his legs together, shaking his head hurriedly. "Forget it, forget it. That price is too high. I'd rather die than become a eunuch."

Wasn't traveling to the Ming Dynasty precisely to enjoy the pleasures of having multiple wives and concubines?

Want to take away my manly joy? In your dreams!

Old Zhu smiled slyly, suddenly realizing Qin Feng’s weak spot.

Even a sage has fears!

Having a soft spot means he can be controlled.

Since the heavens warned against killing him, but never said anything about castrating him!

"Qin Feng, if you truly benefit our Great Ming, I shall treat you well; but if you bring disaster upon it, I will first cleanse your body!"

Under Old Zhu’s combination of kindness and authority, Qin Feng nodded, "I certainly will not disappoint His Majesty."

To protect his manhood, he could no longer hide his talents before Old Zhu.

He had to show some real skills, or else he might lose himself entirely!

"How about I give a trial lesson today? Let you see my knowledge?"

"I was just thinking the same. Otherwise, the position of Grand Tutor you just secured might stir criticism among the ministers."

"Shall we conduct the lesson here, or in the main hall?"

"Right here will do. Conveniently, my princes are waiting outside the Wuying Hall. Let them come in and pay their respects first."

Qin Feng stretched lazily, plopped down on the bed, and grabbed some pastries from the table, shoving them into his mouth.

Old Zhu was too lazy to correct Qin Feng’s lack of decorum and called out to the hall, "Wang Jinghong, bring my princes in!"

"Your Majesty, the ministers are still waiting outside."

"Tell them to wait until the morning court session tomorrow for any business."

"Yes."

Within the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Wang Jinghong had sent away the ministers and ushered the elder princes into the Wuying Hall.

---

Prince Zhu Biao was especially curious about the time Old Zhu was spending with the so-called time traveler. Grabbing Wang Jinghong’s hand, he asked, "Is that fellow who claims to be a time traveler also inside?"

"Your Highness, he is currently discussing matters with His Majesty within the hall."

"Why would Father spend so long negotiating with him? Could the strange celestial phenomena be related to this man?"

"Old servant... old servant does not know!"

Faced with Prince Zhu Biao’s questions, Wang Jinghong was sweating coldly, his clothes nearly soaked.

Was he supposed to tell Zhu Biao that the time traveler had just cursed him with an early death?

Zhu Xuan, Zhu Chang, Zhu Di, Zhu Tuo, Zhu Zhen, and Zhu Bo all followed behind Zhu Biao, looking puzzled.

"Big brother, who exactly is this time traveler?"

Zhu Biao shook his head.

With his knowledge, he naturally could not grasp the meaning of a time traveler, but since Father valued him so highly, this man must be extraordinary.

"Let’s go in and see for ourselves."

Zhu Biao led his brothers into the inner chamber.

A youth about his age sat shamelessly on their father’s bed, eating pastries with no manners.

He immediately shouted, "How dare you be so disrespectful in the hall! Who are you?"

Old Zhu patted Zhu Biao on the shoulder and said calmly, "No matter! From now on, Qin Feng will be your tutor. Come, pay your respects to your teacher."

Zhu Biao was stunned.

Tutor?

This person looked about his age, yet could become his tutor?

"Father, is this man a great Confucian scholar?"

"He..."

Old Zhu was thinking about how to introduce Qin Feng, who claimed to be a time traveler.

Qin Feng wiped his mouth and stood up, saying, "I am no great Confucian scholar, but with my knowledge, teaching you all is more than sufficient."

Old Zhu breathed a sigh of relief, nearly expecting Qin Feng to reveal things from over six centuries later.

To Old Zhu, such unbelievable matters were best kept to as few people as possible.

"If you are neither a great scholar nor have achieved any official rank, how can you be our tutor?"

Qin Feng said, "I’m not here to teach you Confucian classics, so what do rank and titles matter?"

Zhu Biao was confused, scratching his head. "Then what will you teach, sir?"

"I will teach you arithmetic and science."

"???"

---

Question marks popped up over Zhu Biao and the other princes’ heads.

In the early Ming, it was still an era ruled by Confucianism; arithmetic was not as developed as in the Song period, and was even declining.

The Great Ming had just been established; everything was yet to be developed, and Old Zhu had not had the chance to cultivate these fields.

"I’ll start with a simple arithmetic problem to test you."

"There is a cage containing pheasants and rabbits. There are thirty-five heads and ninety-four feet in total. How many pheasants and rabbits are there respectively?"

"Your Highnesses, can you solve it?"

Zhu Biao and the princes all started counting on their fingers, wishing they could use their toes as well.

Seeing the princes struggling so hard, Old Zhu suddenly realized something grave.

If even these gifted princes were stumped by such a basic arithmetic problem, did the Great Ming lack any true mathematical talents?

If so, how could the Ministry of Revenue, managed by those old officials, properly handle the empire’s finances?

A frown appeared on Old Zhu’s face as he began counting on his fingers alongside them.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, the princes scratched their heads in frustration, still unable to reach an answer.

Qin Feng smiled and said, "You princes come from the imperial family, yet you’ve taken so long on such a simple problem?"

Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said, "Please, sir, enlighten us."

The other princes also looked at Qin Feng with pleading eyes.

"Listen carefully, I’ll show you how to solve it."

"Assuming all the heads are pheasants, there would be seventy feet in total. But there are actually ninety-four feet, which is twenty-four more."

"Those extra feet belong to rabbits, so there are twelve rabbits and twenty-three pheasants."

After hearing Qin Feng’s explanation, Zhu Biao and the other princes were utterly shocked!

Such a complex arithmetic problem suddenly became so simple with Qin Feng’s guidance?

They used to be terrified of arithmetic, but now found the subject extraordinarily interesting.

Even Old Zhu slapped his thigh, thinking to himself, "Hey, such a simple problem and I couldn’t solve it! This Qin Feng fellow is something special."

Old Zhu beckoned Wang Jinghong over and whispered, "Quickly prepare a residence for Master Qin."

Such a gifted arithmetic talent as tutor for my sons is more than enough!

However, among the princes, the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, was the most unruly.

He snorted coldly and sneered disdainfully, "What use is learning arithmetic? Can it help govern a family, rule a country, and bring peace to the world?"