Chapter 62 Examination and Testing

Jing Hong returned to the Prince's Mansion early in the morning, bringing with him bags and bundles of various items.

It was obvious that his inadequate preparation last time had caused him quite a bit of hardship inside the mansion. After complaining to his family, his magistrate father naturally had to prepare some essential daily living supplies for his son, even packing dried rations. Jing Hong had initially felt rather proud, thinking he could finally compete with Zhu Hao. However, when he saw the new chest of belongings Zhu Hao had brought, his enthusiasm deflated once more.

Comparing oneself to others only brings frustration.

When they arrived at the study hall, Lu Bing had already been there for a while, playing cuju and running around in pursuit of the ball. Seeing this, Zhu Hao shook his head and entered the classroom alongside Jing Hong. He took out his compiled lesson notes, opened them, and pondered what to teach for the day. After waiting for quite a long time, Zhu San finally made a tardy appearance.

"Teacher Zhu, what are you teaching us today?"

Zhu San asked with a teasing smile.

Zhu Hao closed his notebook and said offhandedly, "We have already finished the 'Zichang' and 'Yao Yue' chapters of the *Analects*. Today, we begin the *Mencius*."

Zhu San smiled faintly, not taking it too seriously, whereas Jing Hong appeared solemn and earnest.

Not only was Jing Hong fiercely competitive, but he was also very diligent in his studies. Since there was no regular tutor present, he was willing to accept Zhu Hao's lectures, and he was eager to find out just how much superior Zhu Hao's scholarship truly was.

"A-Bing, get inside and attend the class! Listen to Teacher Zhu's lecture... If you keep kicking that cuju around, I'm going to throw it away!"

Apart from her attitude toward Zhu Hao, which could be considered normal, Zhu San maintained her customary dominance over both Lu Bing and Jing Hong.

Lu Bing pouted, clutching the cuju to his chest as he walked into the room and sat down reluctantly. For him, this was purely a case of accompanying the crown prince in his studies; he neither understood nor wished to understand what was being taught in class. The Prince's Mansion had made him a study companion simply to ensure he grew up healthily within the estate—after all, since both his parents had official "jobs," they were essentially treating the Prince's Mansion like a day-care center.

Zhu Hao officially began the lecture.

"Mencius had an audience with King Hui of Liang. The King said, 'Venerable Sir, since you have not considered it too far to travel a thousand li, may I assume that you have also brought something to profit my state?' Mencius replied..."

"...King Hui of Liang is none other than King Hui of Wei; 'Hui' is his posthumous title. In the thirtieth year of King Xian of Zhou, the capital of Wei was moved from Anyi to Daliang. Daliang is the Kaifeng of the Great Ming, hence he is also called King Hui of Liang..."

...

...

In the afternoon, at the second quarter of the *Wei* hour.

The study in the Prince's Mansion.

Zhu Youyuan sat upright behind the desk, holding an ancient scroll. He was as motionless as a deep pool or towering mountains. Yuan Zonggao stood respectfully to one side, while two little fellows stood before the desk—none other than Zhu San and Zhu Houcong.

At this moment, both Zhu San and Zhu Houcong felt anxious and uncertain, having no idea why their father had summoned them.

Yuan Zonggao smiled and said, "My young princes and princess, the Prince of Xing wishes to test your learning. The questions will pertain to your current coursework, so simply speak of what you have learned and know."

An examination...
And a face-to-face examination at that...

In any era, most children disliked this form of teaching, especially when they were not performing well, as an exam was tantamount to tearing down their facade.

If they failed to pass their father's test, it would not only mean an increase in coursework for the foreseeable future, but they might even be placed under house arrest and ordered to study behind closed doors.

For a moment, both Zhu San and Zhu Houcong shared the exact same thought... If only they could run away!

While the two youngsters stood there with bitter faces awaiting their father's examination, Zhu Youyuan was in no rush to pose questions. He was still perusing the lesson plans submitted by Sui Gongyan, wanting to check the learning progress of the two children.

When the Prince's Mansion hired tutors to educate the heirs, they certainly did not let things take their course. Every once in a while, lesson plans had to be submitted so that the mansion could monitor the heirs' educational progress at any time. These plans served as the syllabus to check whether the heirs had grasped what the tutor taught in class. Sometimes, Zhu Youyuan or Yuan Zonggao would even prompt the tutors to modify the syllabus to strengthen certain aspects.

"Recently, Senior Shi Yuan and I have discussed inviting several more tutors for you in the future. Aside from the necessary instruction in the Four Books and Five Classics, we also intend to cultivate your abilities in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting."

Zhu Youyuan delivered his opening remarks.

***

The faces of the two children darkened.

This was clearly the rhythm of signing up for multiple extracurricular tutoring classes!

With more tutors coming to lecture in the future, it meant their playtime would be drastically reduced.

Zhu Youyuan said, "Master Zeng said: 'Grand and imposing is Zichang, yet it is difficult to practice humanity alongside him.' What are your views on this?"

The examination had begun.

The very first question left the two youngsters dumbfounded.

Extracting a passage from the *Analects* as an exam question and asking the examinees for their opinion on it—even if it wasn't the writing of an eight-legged essay, it was still very much the routine of imperial examination articles.

Two children who were only seven or eight years old, having barely started their formal education two years prior, and who still frequently made mistakes even just reciting the *Analects*, were suddenly asked to answer such a question. Wasn't that being far too harsh?

Yuan Zonggao was slightly startled and thought about reminding Zhu Youyuan... Your Highness, your expectations for the two children are far too high; how can you expect them to answer this?

Zhu Youyuan was merely basing his questions on Sui Gongyan's lesson plan, completely unaware that his questions were beyond their grade level, paying no heed to the children's ages or their capacity to comprehend.

"Fourth, you answer!" Seeing neither child step forward to answer first, Zhu Youyuan assumed they had not studied well and immediately put on a stern face.

"I... I..."

Zhu Houcong was nearly moved to tears. The only thing he could remember was that this sentence came from the "Zichang" chapter of the *Analects*, but because of his fondness for play and his daydreaming in class, he didn't even know what it meant. He might manage to recite it from memory without error, but that was his absolute limit. To ask him to express an opinion...

Zhu San blinked at the side, vaguely recalling something.

With a dark expression, Zhu Youyuan chided, "How do you usually study?"

"Your Highness..."

Yuan Zonggao couldn't help but want to step forward and put in a good word for the two youngsters.

At that exact moment, Zhu San spoke up, "Father, I know."

Zhu Youyuan and Yuan Zonggao looked at her simultaneously. Zhu Youyuan frowned and commanded, "Speak!"

Zhu San appeared quite confident. "Master Zeng meant that Zichang is grand and imposing in appearance, but it is difficult to achieve humanity together with him."

While the literal meaning had been explained, this was clearly not the answer Zhu Youyuan wanted to hear. He immediately pressed further, "Then why is that?"

Zhu San replied, "Because Master Fan said, 'Zichang has a surplus on the outside but is insufficient within, hence none of his disciples regarded him as humane.' The Master said, 'Firmness, resoluteness, simplicity, and caution are close to humanity.' Rather than being insufficient on the outside while having a surplus within, one might perhaps be considered humane. His humanity is not true humanity. Therefore, Master Zhu Xi commented on Zichang, saying, 'This speaks of how he strove for external loftiness, making it impossible to assist others in achieving humanity, nor could he possess anything to assist in another's humanity.'"

After rattling this off in one breath, Zhu Youyuan furrowed his brows deeply, looking somewhat unsatisfied.

I asked for your own opinion, and you fobbed me off with content from the *Collected Commentaries on the Four Books*? I asked you, did you take me for someone asking for the answer given by Zhu Xi?

Zhu Youyuan said, "What on earth are you reciting? I asked for your understanding of the matter, not for you to parrot things by rote."

Zhu San had originally wanted to show off her capabilities before her father, but hearing this, she lowered her head crestfallen, wearing an aggrieved expression.

Meanwhile, Zhu Houcong glanced sideways at his elder sister. That look was sheer worship, as if saying: *Wow, Sister, you are truly amazing! How on earth did you come to know all these things?*

Only then did Yuan Zonggao step in to explain, "Your Highness, the two princes and princess have not yet studied the contents of the *Collected Commentaries on the Four Books*. To be able to understand to this extent merely through the literal text is already quite an achievement."

Zhu Youyuan was slightly stunned, suddenly realizing that the question he had set was indeed beyond their level.

Yuan Zonggao looked at Zhu San and asked curiously, "The insights raised by the third princess incorporate her own thoughts, progressing from cause to effect; it can certainly be considered a unique understanding."

Zhu San had thought she had made a fool of herself, but upon hearing Yuan Zonggao's words, her heart blossomed with joy, and a smile returned to her face.

***

Zhu Youyuan recalled his daughter's previous answer and nodded, "She did indeed add a few personal observations... By the way, Third, you haven't yet studied the *Collected Commentaries on the Four Books*; where did you acquire these insights?"

Zhu San was taken aback.

She had wanted to claim she was self-taught, but then she thought: *If I brag and get caught, and they test me on something else, won't all my flaws be exposed?*

"Father, it was... it was Zhu Hao who taught me..." Zhu San answered honestly.

The content Zhu Hao had been teaching over the past few days covered the final two sections of the *Analects* and the first two sections of *Mencius*. Zhu Hao had not unnecessarily meddled with the parts Sui Gongyan had already taught; he simply felt intuitively that their classroom could not fall behind Sui Gongyan's teaching pace.

His teaching method was vastly different from Sui Gongyan's.

He ensured that Zhu San and Jing Hong thoroughly understood the material he taught, absolutely forbidding rote memorization. The reason Zhu Xi's *Collected Commentaries on the Four Books* could become the cornerstone of imperial examinations in later generations was precisely because Zhu Xi's understanding of the Four Books possessed genuine originality, covering practically everything that needed to be said. Thus, Zhu Hao used the *Collected Commentaries* as his blueprint, supplementing it with easy-to-understand explanations to let Zhu San and Jing Hong quickly grasp the underlying meanings.

Once they understood the meaning, reciting it became twice as effective with half the effort.

Being at the prime age for absorbing knowledge, with solid foundations and sharp minds, Zhu San and Jing Hong learned exceptionally fast under the guidance of a good teacher.

"Zhu Hao taught you?"

Hearing this, Zhu Youyuan could not help but cast a glance at Yuan Zonggao.

A look of awkwardness appeared on Yuan Zonggao's face as he promptly said, "Third Princess, are you saying Zhu Hao taught you these things? He..."

Given Yuan Zonggao's shrewdness, his natural reaction was to wonder if that boy harbored some ulterior motive or scheme in imparting scholarship to Zhu San. But upon second thought, even Zhu Youyuan himself had not known what questions he would ask prior to the test; surely Zhu Hao couldn't have known there would even be an examination, so how could he have provided the answers in advance?

This left people utterly speechless.

Sui Gongyan, a licentiate hired at great expense by the Prince's Mansion, could be considered the most renowned Confucian scholar in Anlu. Yet Zhu Houcong, whom he taught, sat there blankly and clueless, while Zhu San, instructed by a seven-year-old child, could actually comprehend the meaning and discourse fluently before the examiner?

Zhu San said, "Father, Master Yuan, over the past few days, Master Sui seems to have been busy with other matters and rarely showed his face in the study hall. He told us to recite the *Analects* and *Mencius* on our own, but we had already memorized them long ago, so Zhu Hao wrote down what he knew on the blackboard and taught it to us."

"Zhu Hao's lectures are so interesting! He explains everything very clearly, and I understand it as soon as I hear it once... He even lets us discuss among ourselves to verify the principles in the books..."

To anyone listening, it sounded heretical.

Debating the rights and wrongs of Confucian classics? Boy, you're really trying to turn the world upside down.

Yet the problem was...
This teaching method was genuinely effective. Otherwise, why would Zhu San—who was usually so playful and whose learning progress no one paid attention to—manage to come out on top in this examination?

Just as Zhu Youyuan was about to speak, Yuan Zonggao reminded him, "Your Highness, why not test the two princes and princess with a couple more questions to see how their insights stand."

Earlier, Yuan Zonggao had merely wanted to inspect the children's coursework progress. Now, he was even more eager to evaluate Zhu Hao's educational proficiency—or rather, the firmness of the knowledge Zhu Hao had imparted.

Zhu Youyuan nodded. "Then let's pose two more questions. Listen closely..."

The subsequent questions remained drawn from the final two sections of the *Analects*. When the questions were cast out, Zhu Houcong unsurprisingly could only stare blankly.

While Zhu San could not answer every part completely, after a brief moment of contemplation, she was basically able to articulate the general meaning of the questions, adding some so-called personal observations of her own. In truth, these observations were simply what Zhu Hao had instilled in them during class, which had subtly made her feel that these were the correct answers.

By the end, Yuan Zonggao, who had been listening intently from the side, wore a bitter smile.

Yuan Zonggao thought to himself: *They say a great teacher produces brilliant students. It seems the person who taught Zhu Hao must be of extremely high caliber! Could that person truly be the world-renowned and frustrated Tang Yin?*