Adoption brings disaster

As the ruler of this country, the emperor naturally employs the best people. The lightness skills of the guard who fetched the wine are not something that ordinary people can achieve.

Although Zhuangzi was not far from the capital, it would still take at least half an hour to go back and forth even on horseback, but the guard returned in less than half an hour.

I was shocked to see that the guard was even faster than the carriage.

Speaking of this high-level martial arts world, no matter how long I have been here or how many times I have seen such things, I still find it magical.

Although I have started practicing martial arts myself, and according to the Taoist priest I am considered a third-rate master in the martial arts world, things that I couldn't see or hear before can now be seen and heard.

But I still couldn't see how the guard appeared, and how the ugly gourd was placed on the emperor's table. The sudden appearance of the ugly gourd really scared me, and even my posture became a little messy.

When they saw my surprised look, they knew that I was shocked by the sudden appearance of the ugly gourd. Li Jian smiled contemptuously, showing his disdain. Chunyu did not notice my loss of composure, but just served me carefully by the side.

The Seventh Prince glanced at Li Jian with a sneer on his face, and didn't pay much attention to him for the time being. However, based on Chongguang's temperament, he was afraid that Li Jian would be in trouble after returning to the palace.

But I didn't notice any of this. I only heard Qi ask in my head, "Yuan Qing, didn't you see that person come in?"

When I heard the Seventh Prince ask me this, I felt embarrassed and wanted to deny it outright and pretend.

But I thought to myself that the Seventh Prince knew exactly how strong I was. Instead of lying to him and letting him look down on me, I might as well be honest with him. At least my character would be impeccable.

I thought it over and pretended to be unhappy and said in my head: "I just didn't see it, so what?"

My words were not polite, and Chongguang knew what I was saying. I felt a little unhappy and quickly said, "Don't be upset. I just thought that if Yuanqing didn't see it, I could help Yuanqing."

This was clearly an attempt to tempt him, but I genuinely wanted to know how the guards came and went, so I ignored the Seventh Prince's plans and hurriedly asked, "Do you really have a plan?"

Chongguang saw me asking and chuckled, "When have I ever lied to Yuanqing? This is very simple. As long as Yuanqing and I practice dual cultivation, I will use my true energy to help you open up your meridians, and you will naturally be able to see."

This statement actually makes me feel a little moved. After all, getting something for nothing is the dream of modern people, living a life of idleness and waiting for death is the criterion of modern people, and doing less and getting more is the creed of modern people.

Although I thought it was not right, I remembered that I had seriously criticized His Highness the Seventh Prince before, saying that dual cultivation was a strange and cunning trick that was of no benefit to one's cultivation.

If I practice dual cultivation with His Majesty the Seventh Prince just to increase my strength, wouldn't that be contradicting myself? I'm worried that His Majesty the Seventh Prince won't listen to anything I say in the future.

Thinking of this, even though my heart was bleeding, I still kept a straight face and said in a vicious voice in my mind: "I have said before that dual cultivation is a strange and cunning trick and has no benefit to cultivation. You didn't listen to a word I said, thinking about this matter every day. If you dare to mention this matter again, don't blame me for punishing you."

Chongguang is the most thick-skinned. If he could really practice dual cultivation, not to mention this harmless threat, even if he had to be attacked by a poisonous anaconda after practicing dual cultivation, he would still be eager to practice dual cultivation.

Chongguang knew I was moved, and regardless of my threats, he continued to seduce me, "Yuanqing, are you really not moved? If you rely solely on your own cultivation, I'm afraid it will take at least three to five years to see it. But if you practice dual cultivation with me, three or two times at most will be enough."

How could I not be moved? But I am a teacher. Morality should be my priority. How can I go back on my word and be immoral?

On the surface, I spoke righteously, but in my heart I was crying. I didn't dare cry loudly for fear that the Seventh Prince would find out.

I know I don't have a strong willpower, and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation, so I quickly turned off the secret voice transmission.

Then she pinched herself hard inside her clothes. This time she pinched me very hard and it hurt me a lot. I was unhappy and pinched the Seventh Prince hard again. I won’t mention it anymore.

Having said that, I talked so much with Chongguang, but in fact, less than a cup of tea had passed, and the ugly gourd was still placed steadily on the table.

This ugly gourd is really ugly. When the emperor saw the ugly gourd on the table, although he did not show it on his face, he could not hide the disgust in his eyes.

But thinking that it contained the priceless Monkey Wine, he still picked up the gourd, opened it, smelled it, and said, "This fine wine from heaven shouldn't be kept in this. It should be kept in a glass bottle from overseas, or at least in a cold jade pot. If it is like this, it's not an exaggeration to say that it is a precious pearl in a mud pond."

Due to his imperial dignity, the emperor could not show that he was too fond of something. He stared at the ugly gourd with burning eyes for a long time, played with it for a while, and then reluctantly gave the ugly gourd to Li Jian.

Although the ugly gourd was held by Li Jian, the emperor would glance at it from time to time, which shows how much the emperor cherished the monkey wine.

"Yuanqing, your loyalty to the servants and the farmers has paid off. You deserve a reward." The emperor, feeling much better after receiving the monkey wine, said, "I will give you the mountain east of this farm as a reward, and exempt the farmers from corvée labor for three years."

"Thank you for the reward, Your Excellency." I said while making a kneeling gesture with my fingers. It was very troublesome for the emperor to leave the palace. In order to make it more convenient, these things were agreed upon when he left the palace so that his identity would not be exposed.

"Thank you for your reward, sir." When Li Er saw me thanking him, he also led the farmers to kneel down to express his gratitude.

"Such loyal servants and farmers are indeed rare and deserve to be rewarded." As soon as the Seventh Prince finished speaking, A Da took out something and gave it to Li Er. Li Er took it without even looking at it and expressed his gratitude again.

The Emperor and His Highness the Seventh Prince had both given their rewards, but I remained motionless, just sitting there laughing. Finally, when the Emperor looked at me, Chunyu whispered in my ear, "Your Highness, according to custom, you too will receive your reward."

I didn't know about this custom, and I was suddenly asked to reward it, which made me feel troubled. I thought for a while and said, "Parents who love their children will make long-term plans for them. The farmers are so loyal, so I must also make long-term plans for them."

At this point, something came to mind, and I laughed, "How about building a school in the highest place in Zhuangzi, so that children of appropriate age can read and write. They don't seek fame, but just hope to recognize a few words and understand things, so that they won't be deceived in the future."

After listening to my appreciation, Li Er led the farmers to express gratitude, so I won’t mention it.

Building a school is not an easy task, and Li Er cannot be allowed to do it casually, otherwise it would be bad if his good intentions turn into bad results.

I understood the situation and apologized to the emperor, then went outside to discuss the specific matters of the school with Li Er.

Because this school is for enlightenment purposes, so that children can learn to read, the things they learn cannot be the same as those in ordinary schools.

Also, because farmers have no extra money, their children are also an important part of the family's labor force. They are definitely different from those in wealthy families, so the way they go to school is naturally different as well.

Li Er also understood this principle, and we discussed it for a while. Finally, we decided that the school would teach literacy, arithmetic, agronomy and other courses.

After hearing about our course plan, Ah Da suggested that he had a comrade-in-arms who happened to be in the capital, was good at machinery and understood farming, and could come and be our teacher.

Seeing that it was Ah Da who recommended it, Li Er naturally found it difficult to refute. He also thought that if he was good at machinery and understood farming, it would be great for him to teach the farmers in the village how to farm, so he was naturally happy.

In this way, the curriculum of this school was finalized into four categories: literacy, arithmetic, agronomy and mechanics. Students would study for one hour every morning. If there were students with good character and talent, Zhuangzi would pay for them to go to schools outside and study under the teacher.

It is not acceptable in this era to just know how to read but not learn the teachings of the sages. However, considering the actual situation, Li Er asked some stonemasons to carve out the teachings of the sages and place them in order in the manor. As long as these children can read, they can read the teachings of the sages by themselves.

The educational methods of this era are very different from those of modern times. If children are willing to make progress, although the sage knowledge in Zhuangzi cannot make them successful, it should not be a problem for them to find an ordinary job.

At this point in the discussion, the specific framework of the school has been established. The next step is for Li Er to gradually improve it according to the actual situation. Li Er is smart and proactive, so I think this matter will be done very well.

After saying all this, it was time to return to the palace. We walked out of the house and the farmers immediately surrounded us and stood in front of us. They were not standing in a neat row, but it was obvious that they had discussed it beforehand. There was a kind of queueing that I couldn't understand, but it did exist.

The farmers chattered and shuffled around, finally settling into position. The leading farmer stepped forward, knelt, and said, "Thank you, my dears, for the reward."

The farmers behind him also shouted in unison: "Thank you for the reward, nobles."

The emperor accepts the worship of all officials every day, and he is very calm in the face of this. However, this is the first time for me to accept such a ceremony as a superior.

In the past, I was always the one who bowed and expressed gratitude, but now I am so excited that I don’t know what to say. I just keep smiling.

Just when I was feeling proud, a peasant woman rushed up from behind the farmer. Her face full of wrinkles and half-white hair showed that she was quite old and had experienced a lot of hardships over the years.

The peasant woman moved very quickly. The village leaders who were leading the group tried to stop her, but she pushed them away.

The woman rushed forward and shouted, "Your Highness, I have no children at home. Building a school is not a reward for me. I would like to ask for an additional reward."

"Why doesn't she have any children? Aren't Goudan and Fencao of school-age?"

"Mrs. Kou is notoriously stingy. There's no way she'd let her two grandsons go to school. Otherwise, who would feed the chickens and ducks she raises?"

…………

I waved my hand to stop the discussion below, but the farmers did not stop. Instead, they talked even more fiercely. Finally, Li Er glared at everyone and they quieted down.

"That makes sense. What reward do you want?" I asked.

Hearing this, the old peasant woman was overjoyed and said quickly, "I don't ask for much. I just want to waive the rent for ten years."

I looked at the old peasant woman's smile, which was a bit disgusting, as if she was threatened. I felt unhappy but still said with a smile, "Okay."

After hearing this, the peasant woman felt a little regretful, wondering why she didn't ask for more. The farmers behind her also felt very regretful, wondering why they didn't come out to ask for rewards. Several farmers stood up and prepared to rush forward to ask for rewards.

Compared with these farmers, the village heads all had solemn expressions, looking at the farmers who were ready to make a move with stern faces, and Li Er was so angry that his face turned black.

I looked at everyone's faces and found them a bit amusing. I continued, "There's no need to ask for a reward for this. If we don't rent it out next year, there won't be any rent, right? Li Er, don't you think?"

Li Er, upon hearing what I said, knew exactly what I meant. This incident had left him feeling extremely embarrassed and unhappy, so he quickly said, "Your Highness is right. Captain Wang, please remember this."

After hearing this, the old woman panicked and said quickly: "Your Highness, this is not what I meant. This is what I said..."

"I just want to ask, do you really not have any children who need to go to school?"

The old woman wanted to argue, but a village head nearby stepped forward and said, "Not to mention the four children of his eldest son, even the five children of his youngest daughter are of school age. Even her second son, who is with her, has two sons who are also eligible for school."

After the village head finished speaking, the old woman wanted to argue, but another village head sneered, "Deceiving your master is a serious crime. Your Highness is kind-hearted and will not punish you. I'm afraid there is no master in the world as kind as Your Highness Yuan Qing. Why don't you thank him quickly? Are you holding a grudge?"

These words were heartbreaking, and the old woman didn't know how to respond. However, thanking him would mean that there would be no land to rent, and the whole family would starve to death because of her greed.

The old woman dared not answer, but kowtowed and admitted her fault, then cried incessantly. At this time, a young man rushed up from behind, crying out in a sobbing voice: "Manager Li, please have mercy on me and spare my mother this time."

After saying that, he also followed the old woman and kowtowed continuously. After a while, his head was broken and blood was flowing.

I can't stand this, but if there is no punishment, I'm afraid that some of the unruly people in Zhuangzi will follow suit in the future.

So he said with a cold face and expressionless face: "I was originally happy today, but it turned out to be so unpleasant. It's really unlucky. I will not take care of this matter. Li Er, you can handle it. Just give me a light punishment or a big warning."

After saying this, they surrounded the emperor and left Zhuangzi.

It is true that the old woman's behavior was a bit disturbing, but considering the situation throughout the day, it was more of a positive than a negative.

And it seems that for this era, there is nothing wrong with my behavior. If I have to say something wrong, it is that I am too kind.

So in the carriage, the Emperor said to His Highness the Seventh Prince, "Yuan Qing has only been in the palace for a short time, and his ability to control his subordinates is still a little lacking. Guang'er should protect Yuan Qing more."

The Seventh Prince agreed. The carriage drove for a while, and gradually more people came outside. Later, the carriage was full of people. After driving for a while, there was no sound outside.

The Seventh Prince bowed, said "Father, I'm leaving," and then pulled me out of the carriage.

I had no idea what was happening and could only watch the carriage leave in confusion.

After the carriage had driven away and was out of sight, I finally realized what was happening and hurriedly asked, "Aren't we going back to the palace?"

"Last night you drank too much and insisted that I take you to the hot spring palace. At first, the emperor refused, but you hugged him and cried so miserably that the emperor had no choice but to agree."

I felt a little embarrassed after hearing this, so I could only pretend to look around and say, "There's nothing here. How are we going to get to the hot spring palace?"

The Seventh Prince did not answer, but just looked ahead. Soon he heard the sound of clattering. The Seventh Prince said happily, "Here they come."

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw a horse galloping towards us. The seventh prince held me in his arms, jumped on the horse, and headed towards the hot spring palace.

To find out what will happen in this hot spring, please stay tuned for the next episode.