Chapter 4

After a chaotic scene of chickens flying and dogs jumping, the Emperor of the Great Wei, Zhao Yuansi, stood in the Wenzhao Pavilion with a stern face.

On the table lay the object that had caused the commotion, a huge kite.

In the spacious part of the pavilion, the Eighth Prince Hongrun and his ten clan guards knelt on the ground, heads hanging low, none daring to speak.

Especially the clan guard named Mu Qing, who had a white bandage wrapped around his head, clearly injured from falling from the air. In comparison, although a few of the other clan guards had scratches on their faces, they were much better off.

"Slap!"

The Emperor of the Great Wei slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Hongrun, you are too reckless! What have you turned the palace into? Your clan guard almost fell to his death!"

"It's all because of you, Father. If you hadn't coughed, how could this have happened..." the Eighth Prince Hongrun muttered.

"What did you say?!" Zhao Yuansi was completely taken aback that his son would dare to talk back, and he raised his voice to scold, "Are you saying this is all My fault?"

"The Prince did not say..."

Seeing his son back down, Zhao Yuansi let it go, but he coldly snorted and was about to speak when he heard his son whisper, "It was Father who said it..."

"You!" Zhao Yuansi was speechless with anger.

However, as a wise and enlightened emperor, he thought carefully and realized that if he hadn't coughed, the clan guard wouldn't have fallen from the air. In other words, he was indeed at fault.

Of course, as the Emperor of the Great Wei, Zhao Yuansi wouldn't easily admit his mistake, as it concerned the dignity of the emperor, not whether he wanted to or not.

"What is this?" Zhao Yuansi changed the subject, pointing to the huge kite on the table.

"It's a kite, also known as a paper kite. However, this kite of the Prince's is not made of paper but of a lightweight, windproof cloth, and its frame is made of sturdy bamboo, making it very strong..."

Mentioning the kite, Hongrun immediately became enthusiastic and began to introduce his creation to the Emperor of the Great Wei and the three Secretaries of the Zhongshu.

Unfortunately, the Emperor of the Great Wei was unimpressed: "Just a toy!"

Hongrun was unhappy and pouted, "A toy? It can easily fly over the high palace walls. Does Father still think it's a toy?"

The three Secretaries of the Zhongshu's faces changed slightly. They had been amazed that the kite could make someone fly in the air, but now, hearing the Eighth Prince's words, they became alert. They thought, if this thing were to spread, it would be a disaster. If some unscrupulous people got their hands on it, the palace walls would be as good as nonexistent.

"Your Majesty..." the Left Secretary of the Zhongshu, Lin Yuyang, immediately wanted to remind the Emperor of the Great Wei.

Zhao Yuansi raised his hand to stop him, as he had already thought of it: "Tong Xian, take this thing and destroy it privately. Also, order the guards on duty today not to spread this matter."

"Yes." Tong Xian bowed in response.

"Wait!"

Zhao Yuansi frowned and looked at Hongrun, displeased, "What do you want to say?"

Hongrun extended his right hand: "Forty taels."

"What?" The Emperor of the Great Wei didn't understand.

"This kite cost the Prince forty taels."

Zhao Yuansi was taken aback and then reacted, staring in disbelief and demanding, "You still dare to ask Me for money?"

"This kite cost the Prince forty taels. If Father wants to take it, you should return the Prince's cost. Is Father, as the Emperor of the Great Wei, going to take it by force?"

"You!" Zhao Yuansi's beard trembled with anger, and he shouted, "Tong Xian, take forty taels from My inner treasury and return it to the Eighth Prince!"

"Yes." Tong Xian bowed.

The three Secretaries of the Zhongshu watched in amazement, thinking that this Eighth Prince dared to ask the current emperor for the cost of the kite, no wonder he could propose the idea of 'a prosperous people and a strong country.' He was truly bold.

They were amazed, but the Emperor of the Great Wei felt uncomfortable, being forced to pay forty taels by his son. He thought about how Hongrun was always mischievous and had been so unruly that morning in the Wende Hall, not only being late for the imperial examination but also daring to leave early. Zhao Yuansi felt that if he didn't take this opportunity to discipline him, this royal seed would surely grow crooked.

With this in mind, Zhao Yuansi put on a fatherly demeanor and asked, "Hongrun, at this time, you should be in the palace school, listening to lectures and studying. Why are you playing outside the palace?"

"Oh, to answer Father, the Prince finds the palace school very boring, so I skipped class." Hongrun said it very seriously, as if it were the right thing to do.

Zhao Yuansi was both amused and angry. He knew that all princes must study in the palace school, which was a tradition of the Great Wei. Other princes, even if they wanted to be lazy, would make excuses about being unwell. But this son of his said the palace school was boring and skipped class.

"Very boring? Do you mean that the knowledge taught in the palace school is not necessary for you to learn?" Zhao Yuansi's intention was to tell his son that he was far from being qualified to say it was boring.

To his surprise, Hongrun pouted and said matter-of-factly, "The Prince's ambition is not to be an emperor. Why should I learn those things?"

This statement left not only the Emperor of the Great Wei, Zhao Yuansi, speechless but also the three Secretaries of the Zhongshu, who were all scholars, dumbfounded. The palace school taught the classics of the sages, but in this prince's mouth, they became "those things."

The Left Secretary of the Zhongshu, Lin Yuyang, couldn't help but speak up, "Teaching makes one a sage, not teaching makes one a tyrant. Reading the books of the sages and practicing righteousness is the foundation of education and the legacy of the sages. ... The Eighth Prince's words, I cannot agree with!"

The Emperor of the Great Wei was taken aback. He had intended to discipline his disobedient son himself, but he didn't expect the Left Secretary of the Zhongshu, Lin Yuyang, to be unable to tolerate the prince's disrespect for the sages and to step forward.

This was a good thing!

These three Secretaries of the Zhongshu were all learned men. With Lin Yuyang's help, the Emperor of the Great Wei was naturally pleased.

But no one expected that the Eighth Prince Hongrun would tilt his head and look at Lin Yuyang for a long time before suddenly smiling, "This official's words, I cannot agree with."

"Oh?" Lin Yuyang chuckled and asked, "Does the Prince wish to debate with me? I am all ears."

Seeing that the Eighth Prince Hongrun was directly challenging the Left Secretary of the Zhongshu, the Emperor of the Great Wei found it interesting and waved for his son to stand up. He wanted to hear what this prince, rumored to be mischievous, could say.

"Debate, I dare not. I just have a few questions for this official." Hongrun stood up, dusted off the dirt on his legs, and asked casually, "Did Yao and Shun have teachers? Did Jie and Zhou have teachers?"

Before Lin Yuyang could speak, the Right Secretary of the Zhongshu, Yu Ziqi, frowned, thinking that Lin Yuyang might be in trouble.

Sure enough, Lin Yuyang seemed to realize something and frowned, saying, "Jie and Zhou, as kings and emperors, naturally had teachers. As for Yao and Shun, ancient sages, there is no record of who taught them."

"Since that's the case, why did those with teachers become tyrants, while those without teachers became sages? ... Can it be understood that teaching is worse than not teaching?"

Lin Yuyang's expression changed slightly, thinking that if this were true, the prince's skipping class in the palace school would be justified.

Thinking of this, he quickly said, "Although Yao and Shun were sages, I believe they were also taught by sages. As for Jie and Zhou, even if they were taught by sages, they probably had no interest in learning."

"This official changes his words so quickly." Hongrun laughed without a care.

Lin Yuyang couldn't help but blush, but with the situation as it was, he had no other choice.

Although Lin Yuyang had blocked this path, Hongrun's face showed no change, and he continued, "The Prince has another question for this official. Reading the books of the sages and practicing righteousness, who wrote these books of the sages?"

"Of course, the sages of past generations." Lin Yuyang found it strange that the prince would ask such a low-level question.

"Then where did the sages of past generations learn their knowledge?"

"Of course..." At this point, Lin Yuyang's heart sank. He finally realized the trap in this question.

"It seems this official has figured it out. Indeed, the Prince wants to ask, between the creation of writing by Cang Jie and the legacy of the sages, who taught the sage who left the first book of the sages? If he had a teacher, who taught his teacher?"

Lin Yuyang was speechless. Tracing back to the earliest times, there must have been a sage without a teacher, but he couldn't say this. Once said, it would fall into the Eighth Prince's trap, proving that teaching and not teaching were not much different.

"Forgive me for my lack of knowledge..." The Left Secretary of the Zhongshu, Lin Yuyang, retreated with a red face.

The Emperor of the Great Wei was secretly amazed. He had intended to use Lin Yuyang to discipline his mischievous son, but he didn't expect the prince's twisted logic to stump the learned Lin Yuyang.

But then he felt a bit happy. After all, his son, rumored to be mischievous, could stump Lin Yuyang, proving that he had real talent.

The Emperor of the Great Wei turned to look at the Right Secretary of the Zhongshu, Yu Ziqi.

Yu Ziqi, seeing Lin Yuyang's red-faced defeat, found it amusing and became interested in the fourteen-year-old Eighth Prince Hongrun. Seeing the Emperor's signal, he immediately stepped forward and bowed, smiling, "I am Yu Ziqi, paying my respects to the Eighth Prince."

"Are you here to pick a fight? ... Speak up." Hongrun's helpless tone made everyone in the hall find it a bit amusing.

Yu Ziqi, suppressing his laughter, thought for a moment and said gently, "The sages teach that reading the books of the sages and practicing righteousness is a person's duty. Without learning, how can one know loyalty and filial piety? Without learning, how can one know righteousness and integrity? The key is not in teaching or not teaching, but in learning or not learning. Does the Prince agree?"

"You are more skilled than this official. You didn't fall for the trap." Hongrun looked at Yu Ziqi in surprise.

"Where, where." Yu Ziqi glanced at the embarrassed Lin Yuyang and smiled at the Eighth Prince.

Hongrun thought for a moment and suddenly smiled, "Before that, let me ask this official a question."

"Please go ahead."

"I heard that hundreds of years ago, before the founding of the Great Wei, in the state at that time, theft was a capital offense?"

"Stealing a hook is punishable by death... Yes, according to records, it was indeed a capital offense." Yu Ziqi nodded, not understanding the point.

"Then what about in the Great Wei now?" Hongrun asked with a smile.

Yu Ziqi was confused and frowned, "According to the law, the punishment is imprisonment, with additional penalties based on the severity of the crime. ... Why is the Prince asking this?"

"You are still young." The Chancellor, He Xiangxu, muttered and shook his head, knowing that Yu Ziqi had also fallen into the Eighth Prince Hongrun's trap.

Sure enough, Hongrun smiled and asked, "The laws of the Great Wei are different from the ancient laws. Can this be understood as the conditions of the Great Wei not being suitable for strict laws? By extension... the books written by the sages hundreds or thousands of years ago, why does this official think they are necessarily suitable for the Great Wei? Times have changed, and the world has transformed. Perhaps those principles are already outdated."

"Can principles ever be outdated?" Yu Ziqi frowned and asked.

"Why not? ... In ancient times, in warfare, one did not forget the great rites in the face of great events, a gentleman did not inflict a second injury (on an already injured enemy), did not capture a gray-haired veteran, did not take advantage of a narrow pass, and did not attack an unformed enemy. Today, it is said that in war, there is no limit to deceit and cunning. ... This official, do you think the world has changed, and so have the principles? If so, why does this official think that the legacy of the sages from hundreds of years ago is necessarily suitable for teaching today?"

"This..." Yu Ziqi was speechless. He knew the prince's arguments were twisted, but he couldn't think of a counterargument.

Seeing this, the Emperor of the Great Wei, Zhao Yuansi, was amazed.

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