Today, in addition to the concubines and the Grand Tutor, several lecturers also came to listen to Song Xia's lecture. Among them were people from His Majesty's side and people from other forces.

Song Xia calmly stepped onto the podium. From the moment she announced that she would be giving a lecture, the Imperial Study rearranged a classroom according to her request, painted the blackboard black and set up the podium in accordance with her habits.

The six seats below are arranged in pairs, not sorted by age like in this era, but decided by drawing lots. She will also adjust the seating from time to time in the future, and who sits with whom is fate.

Consort Zhuang looked at her second son, whom she had given birth to, sitting together with the eldest prince, whom she hated the most. Her brows furrowed so tightly they almost formed a knot. This room was so big, there was plenty of room, why did they have to sit next to each other? And even share a desk?

Consort Xian and Consort Li were equally displeased. Consort Xian disliked Consort Li's vulgarity, saying that sons resemble their mothers, and the Third Prince's fondness for those fancy clothes was an eyesore to her. Consort Li, on the other hand, felt that the Fourth Prince, at such a young age, was just as pretentious as Consort Xian, and she didn't want him to lead her son astray.

As for Consort Shu and Consort Zhen, they were happy to see it happen. They hadn't expected the princes to sit side by side. However, they had never seen their sons looking so nervous and curious before!

Song Xia looked down with a smile. It was fate that the tables were arranged according to age this time. She wondered what kind of sparks would fly.

However, although His Majesty is autocratic and manipulative, his princes are all outstanding in appearance and demeanor. They are pleasing to the eye. Such excellent young children must be guided onto the right path and not sacrificed in the struggle for power.

With their own thoughts, everyone rose and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."

"Please sit down. Once you enter this classroom, there's no need for formalities." Her voice was gentle and calm, which unconsciously put people at ease. "My knowledge is not as good as the lecturers, much less the Grand Tutor. I can only teach the princes some interesting and curious knowledge. What I will teach in the future will all be things I have stumbled upon from rare books in the past. Please discuss the reasons behind them together."

Consort Zhuang curled her lip, thinking to herself that since she knew the prince was not very knowledgeable, why did she still come to give lessons? Wasn't she just corrupting her son? If the Empress was deliberately letting her son become addicted to playthings and lose his ambition, she would definitely report it to His Majesty.

"Today's first lesson is for us to do a small experiment together: how to use the sun to spontaneously combust without fire."

The Grand Tutor and his students exchanged bewildered glances. What was this? Although they had heard that wildfires could break out in certain forest areas during hot weather, could they really cause one themselves?

Song Xia took out a magnifying glass: "This is a glass mirror that I asked the palace servants in Liulichang to make before I entered the palace. Using this, the sun can be focused to generate heat, thereby igniting the paper."

Consort Shu asked curiously, "Does Your Highness mean that this alone is enough to start a fire?"

"That's right."

People became increasingly skeptical. Was it real or fake? It seemed impossible no matter how they looked at it.

"I know you don't believe me, so why don't we go out and do an experiment now and witness the miracle together?"

Consort Zhuang and Consort Li were the first to stand up. They wanted to see how the Empress would explain herself. If she couldn't succeed, they would make a scene and force the class to be suspended.

"You can all examine these lenses and paper to see if I've done anything to them."

Having their thoughts guessed, Consort Zhuang and Consort Li did not refuse or feel embarrassed. However, after checking, they could not find anything wrong, so they returned the item, their disbelief becoming even stronger.

"Xiao Huanzi, go ahead."

"twitter."

Song Xia had trained Xiao Huanzi yesterday, so after he put the paper on the ground, he immediately stepped back a few paces, then found a suitable angle to let the sunlight shine on the magnifying glass and focus it on the paper.

"Your Majesty, is this all there is to it?" Even the Grand Tutor was starting to have doubts. The paper hadn't even been touched, and it was placed on the ground so far away. Could it really catch fire?

"That will do. Everyone, please wait with me."

Time passed second by second, and Xiao Huanzi was covered in sweat under the sun. Everyone's patience was also running out, especially the two youngest princes. If their mother hadn't signaled to them, they probably would have been told to come inside.

"Smoke! Mother, smoke is coming out!" The eldest prince suddenly exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention back to the paper. Upon closer inspection, they saw that the paper, which hadn't moved much, was now emitting white smoke.

After a wisp of smoke, right before their eyes, the paper actually burst into flames.

Everyone gaped, as if they had witnessed something incredibly amazing.

Consort Xian murmured, "It actually caught fire."

The Grand Tutor's eyes burned: "Does Your Majesty know the underlying principles?"

Song Xia calmly replied, "When I was young, I once read a storybook. It said that sunlight has energy, which is the principle of focusing. In addition to glass lenses, ice can also be used. It said that a person lost his tinderbox in the wilderness in winter and accidentally started a fire with ice, which saved his life."

The Grand Tutor nodded with a sigh: "So that's how it is. It's clear that the man's life wasn't meant to end there."

Consort Zhuang scoffed, "Even if it's somewhat miraculous, it's nothing more than a lowly folk art. Your Majesty, aren't you afraid of making your princes a laughingstock by teaching them these things?"

Song Xia glanced at her indifferently: "In Consort Zhuang's mind, are only the Four Books and Five Classics the only great principles? In my opinion, farming, observing celestial phenomena and terrain, building ships and bridges, etc., are equally important and equally fundamental to the country."

"But what does what Your Majesty just taught have to do with these things?"

"How can it be unrelated? As a prince, you are the role model for all the subjects of the land. Do you expect them to only know the Four Books and Five Classics and be ignorant of common sense? The sun has many wonderful uses, this is just one of them. Even this, could it be used during military campaigns? When enlightening the barbarians and Huns, could it convince them? If this knowledge is used by swindlers to pretend to be supernatural, could we expose them and use it to educate the people and consolidate our regime?"

Song Xia snorted lightly: "I hope the princes can learn something truly useful, not just those tests that cater to the masses."

Consort Shu and Consort Zhen almost burst out laughing. This was practically an open admission that Consort Zhuang had only allowed the Second Prince to study the classics that His Majesty liked, and that was indeed true. After all, there's no harm in learning more, and knowledge always has its uses.

Seeing the Second Prince's somewhat ashamed and indignant expression, Song Xia softened her voice: "Of course you must learn the Four Books and Five Classics, and you must learn them thoroughly. But at the same time, I also hope that you can broaden your horizons and explore what other wonders this world has to offer. When you grow up and become pillars of the nation, you will know how to utilize those learned people, instead of being fooled and losing your own judgment."

These words left Consort Zhuang with no chance to refute them, though she still harbored doubts about Consort Zhuang's motives.