Chapter 67: Daily Life (Third Request)

Since Sui Gongyan was absent, the Prince's Mansion did not impose overly strict requirements on the two children's studies, leaving them with more time to play in the afternoon.

Zhu Hao truly acted as Master Zhu, taking charge of the lectures.

Normally dry and tedious studies felt genuinely interesting because the instructor was a playmate of the same age. Coupled with Zhu Hao's easy-to-understand explanations, the children showed great enthusiasm for the lessons. Even Lu Bing cast serious glances at the blackboard and listened attentively, though how much he actually absorbed depended entirely on his own fortune.

That night.

Jing Hong still wanted Zhu Hao to take him out of the Prince's Mansion to listen to storytelling, but Zhu Hao refused.

Knowing there was a place to play outside brought a sense of reassurance, and in the end, it was better to leave a shred of anticipation. Besides, going every day might make Yu San suspect he was there to audit the accounts.

The profits from the storytelling pavilion mattered little to him; he was simply spending money for a bit of amusement.

The meager daily earnings held little significance for him. Improving his family's living conditions primarily depended on whether Mother Zhu's business could sustain itself, and secondly on his own need to remain within the Prince's Mansion.

The mansion provided free food and lodging, shielding him from covert plots and overt arrows from the clan.

If he were to rely on making money to change his future and destiny, the first prerequisite was growing old enough to stand on his own two feet—which would take at least six or seven years...

The journey was long and the task was arduous!

"What are you writing?"

Under the candlelight, Jing Hong and Zhu Hao each attended to their own business.

They had originally agreed not to interfere with what the other was doing, but as they grew more familiar with one another—coupled with his understanding of Zhu Hao—Jing Hong became convinced that whatever Zhu Hao was burying his head to write at night must be extraordinary.

Normally, Zhu Hao rarely picked up a pen during the daytime, but as soon as night fell, he would write furiously, a deep secret surely hidden within.

Zhu Hao said, "If I told you I was writing a storytelling script, would you believe it?"

"No."

With that, Jing Hong stood up, trying to peer over and see clearly.

Zhu Hao raised his palm vertically in front of him, put on a stern face, and demanded, "Jing Hong, what are you trying to do? A real man's word is as good as gold. We agreed that during evening self-study, we would not interfere with each other nor pry into what the other is doing. If you break this agreement now... not only are you no gentleman, but you are even worse than a vulgar street urchin."

For a seven-year-old child to lecture an eight-year-old on keeping one's word sounded absurd in itself.

How could children be as observant of rules as adults?

Yet Jing Hong came from an official's family, and the education he had received since childhood instilled in him the importance of keeping promises. Moreover, given his proud and lofty nature, he naturally did not want to be looked down upon by Zhu Hao.

Therefore, Jing Hong hastily sat up straight, abandoning any further attempts to peek at what Zhu Hao was writing, and cast his gaze down upon the book before him.

Zhu Hao said, "Actually, I am just preparing the lessons for what I need to teach you next."

"What is lesson preparation?" Jing Hong asked.

Of course, Zhu Hao was not preparing any lessons; he simply wanted to record the chaotic contents of his mind and transform them into economic value...

After being reborn, his rich reservoir of knowledge from his past life was like an innate skill. Every book he had read from childhood onward was deeply engraved in his memory, down to elementary school textbooks and extracurricular reading, to say nothing of the *Eight-Legged Essays* and various storytelling scripts and plays he had studied during his university and graduate school years. This was perhaps his only golden finger in this lifetime.

"Lesson preparation means organizing what needs to be taught. After all, much of this knowledge I learned a long time ago. If I don't organize it beforehand, re-comprehend it, and deepen my impression, what would happen if I suddenly forgot something halfway through while lecturing you in class? Should we continue the class or not?" Zhu Hao briefly explained.

Jing Hong understood and remarked, "No wonder you are so formidable. It turns out you prepare in advance."

Afterward, Jing Hong began to study with even greater earnestness.

Zhu Hao never expected that something he casually tossed out would be interpreted by Jing Hong in such an alternative way, even inspiring him to achieve a comprehensive understanding.

This brat...

Zhu Hao ignored Jing Hong and went back to burying his head in writing his storytelling script.

...

...

The next day.

Zhu San and Zhu Si still appeared in the study courtyard, though they arrived slightly later. Not long after they arrived, Sui Gongyan showed up.

This could be considered the most complete attendance of teachers and students in the mansion's schoolhouse.

Not a single person was missing!

Yet Sui Gongyan clearly intended to perfunctorily go through the motions. After making a few casual arrangements for the students to continue reviewing *The Analects*, he took advantage of the children swaying their heads while reading, quietly walked out the door, and did not reappear for a long time.

Zhu San exchanged a glance with Lu Bing.

Lu Bing understood, stepped out of the study room, ran to the courtyard entrance, craned his neck to look outside, and returned with a pleasantly surprised cry: "The teacher is gone!"

With that, the sound of reading inside the room immediately ceased.

Zhu San smiled and said, "I told you Ah Bing was somewhat useful. I'll reward you with some sorghum candy later."

"Heh."

Lu Bing also felt proud of himself for being able to contribute to his classmates.

Jing Hong frowned and asked, "What if the teacher is just outside and catches Ah Bing peeking?"

Zhu San said, "Are you stupid? How old is Ah Bing? Even if you tried to make him study, he wouldn't learn... Kids have to pee and poop a lot; if he insists he's going to the outhouse, could the teacher possibly stop him?"

Jing Hong quickly realized that while Zhu San might not seem as learned as himself, her mind was extremely agile, and she possessed a high talent for figuring out how to get others to do things.

"Where did Master Sui go?" Zhu Si propped his book up to shield his face, terrified that Sui Gongyan might return unexpectedly. His question was actually directed at Zhu Hao.

In his subconscious, only Zhu Hao could answer this question.

Zhu San jumped in: "I guess he has no heart left to teach us... I overheard Palace Administrator Zhang telling someone that His Highness is going to hire another tutor, but before that, he has to dismiss Master Sui first. They probably don't value his abilities much."

When Prince Zhu Youyuan had previously tested them, he had already mentioned to the children about recruiting another tutor.

Zhu Si pondered this and felt it made complete sense.

If they weren't dissatisfied with Sui Gongyan's teaching quality, why would they hire another tutor? They claimed it was to teach zither, go, calligraphy, and painting, but in reality, it was just finding someone to replace Sui Gongyan.

Zhu San suddenly looked at Zhu Hao, who was staring blankly at the sky outside, and asked, "I think Zhu Hao would be the best replacement for Master Sui. His ability is no less than Master Sui's... Zhu Hao, what do you say?"

This could be considered an indirect expression of goodwill.

Zhu Hao glanced at her sideways, said nothing, and turned his head back to continue staring into space.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Jing Hong corrected her, "Master Sui is a Juren (Provincial Graduate)... Do you know how hard it is to pass the Juren examination? Every three years, only a few dozen Juren are born in the entire Huguang province, and they are qualified to become officials."

Perhaps because his own father was also a Juren by background, Jing Hong spoke of Juren as if they were something extraordinary, his gaze filled with yearning.

Zhu San curled her lips: "A Juren, that's all, not a Jinshi (Metropolitan Graduate). Every three years, the Great Ming produces several hundred Jinshi. By your logic, shouldn't every Juren be able to pass the Jinshi exam?"

"You..."

Jing Hong flushed red, wanting to argue with Zhu San, but suddenly remembering that the other party was the Heir Apparent of Xing Wang, he swallowed his retort with a red face and said no more.

Zhu Hao, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke: "The teacher told us to self-study, and it's not like he didn't assign you tasks to do. Hurry up and stop dawdling!"

Zhu San said, "The teacher isn't here; who are we putting on a show of self-study for?"

Turning around, she saw that Jing Hong and Zhu Si had already buried their heads in their books, leaving only her waiting eagerly for the others to go out and play with her.

Zhu Hao continued looking at the sky outside the window and said, "There's no telling when the teacher will return. If we're caught playing outside during class hours, he might very well slap us with the label of disliking study... If you really don't want to self-study, just sit at your desk, daydream, or sleep, as long as you don't disturb each other."

"Bah! Knowing you're smart and don't need to self-study, humph!"

Zhu San actually wanted to say: *You're setting the example by slacking off, yet you expect us to study?*

Feeling somewhat sullen, Zhu Si tilted his head and reminded her, "Third Brother, don't compare yourself to Zhu Hao. He's very capable; ideally, we can secretly surpass him so he won't look down on us, and then we can lecture him!"

Even children could harbor schemes.

Zhu San thought for a moment, felt her younger brother's words made complete sense, and promptly began studying earnestly as well. However, after reading for only a little while, she found it boring, rested her chin in her hands once more, and imitated Zhu Hao by staring blankly out the window.

...

...

Sui Gongyan did not show his face for the entire day.

By afternoon, Lu Bing had been called away by Lu Song and did not return, whereas Zhu San and Zhu Si remained in the study room to learn all along.

During breaks, there were Cuju (ancient football) activities and chess games available.

Unfortunately, when playing chess, Zhu San and Zhu Si could only act as spectators. Although they knew a little bit of Go, their standard was subpar—inferior even to Jing Hong's, let alone Zhu Hao's.

Zhu Hao daydreamed while casually dropping stones, watching Jing Hong rack his brain in deep thought.

"Little Jing, you're utterly useless. I told you to play here, look at this... this entire section is dead."

Zhu San's voice was very loud.

Jing Hong remained silent and continued to think.

Zhu Si wore a cheeky expression that seemed to say "if you think you can do better, you go," as if waiting to watch his sister make a fool of herself.

At that moment, Zhu Hao was pondering the recent personnel changes in the Prince's Mansion.

Sui Gongyan's departure from the Xing Wang Mansion was surely a settled matter.

To compensate Sui Gongyan, the Xing Wang Mansion would likely arrange a local official post for him, allowing him to step down from his position as tutor and fill a vacant post around the seventh rank somewhere in Huguang.

With the experience of serving as a tutor in the Xing Wang Mansion, Sui Gongyan's official career would henceforth be smooth sailing; this trade-off was not a loss for him.

The problem, however, was that finding another local Juren with rich teaching experience was no easy task. Most local private school teachers were Shengxuan (Imperial Students) by background; once they passed the Juren examination, they stepped into the official class—how many of them would open a school to teach?

Searching from other places...

Weren't they afraid the Xing Wang Mansion would be infiltrated by imperial spies?

Connecting this to what they had asked him earlier about "Mr. Lu," they must have learned Mr. Lu's true identity from Sui Gongyan. Could it be they wanted to recruit this person into the Xing Wang Mansion?

Yet the problem was, if that person truly were Tang Yin, Tang Yin had already gone to Nanchang to become a political advisor to the Prince of Ning. Even if they wanted to recruit him... according to historical trends, they would have to wait until next year when Tang Yin saw through the situation and feigned madness to escape...

Without finding a suitable replacement, what was the meaning of rashly driving Sui Gongyan away?

"Zhu Hao, it's your turn!"

Zhu San reminded him from the side.

Zhu Hao turned his head, glanced casually at the chessboard, and picked up a stone from the bowl to drop it.

"So perfunctory?"

Zhu San was extremely dissatisfied with Zhu Hao's attitude toward chess. She wanted to see an exciting battle of wits and tactics, but the current state was a completely one-sided steamroller. Then she turned her frustration on Jing Hong: "Which nerve of yours is acting up now? Hurry up and move!"

"Move" was a modern slang term Zhu Hao had introduced first; such novel terms spread among the children with flying speed, and Zhu San picked it up the moment she heard it.

Jing Hong ignored Zhu San and continued calculating in his heart.

Zhu Si chimed in from the side: "Jing Hong, I heard adults say that when playing chess, you must avoid prolonged deep thought, because long calculations tend to produce terrible moves. You should be like Zhu Hao, cutting through the Gordian knot swiftly."

Jing Hong frowned and said, "Some people say that watching a game in silence marks a true gentleman. With you two talking right next to me, how can I settle my mind to think? Zhu Hao's chess skill is so high; if I don't calculate deeply, the faster I drop my stones, the faster I die..."