Chapter 321 The Master's Favoritism
Since Shen Xu returned to the palace, he has been living a life of being the center of attention.
Empress Xue doted on her like the apple of her eye, wishing she could make up for the six years she had missed.
Everything from food and daily necessities to the servants around him was meticulously arranged.
As the emperor's only son and the eldest son of the legitimate wife, he is highly respected both in the palace and in the court.
Therefore, when faced with someone like Grand Secretary Wu, who didn't hesitate to reprimand him, Shen Cong was both ashamed and angry, his face turning from green to red, then red to white.
Just as he was about to lash out, a sneer suddenly came from outside.
"It's this lively on the first day of class?"
Shen Xu turned his head to look over.
Shen Cong, dressed in a crimson brocade robe, walked in from outside the door.
Behind him was a little boy of about eight or nine years old, with a chubby face. He poked his head out from behind Shen Cong and waved to everyone in the hall with a grin.
His eyes shone with an astonishing light, as if he had discovered a treasure.
"So many people are coming here to study, that's great! I'll have playmates now."
As he spoke, he stepped out from behind Shen Cong with great excitement and bowed to Grand Scholar Wu.
"Student Wei Zizhao greets Master."
Scholar Wu stroked his beard.
"Are you the son of Princess Lanyang and Lord Weiyan?"
"It is indeed you, young man."
Wei Zizhao nodded with a smile.
Scholar Wu looked at Shen Cong.
Shen Cong explained, "Lord Wei said that this boy is too unruly, so Princess Lanyang specially begged His Majesty to allow him to study at Jingxing Academy."
Wei Zizhao's eyes widened in fury.
"Your Highness, I'm still here. Could you be a little more subtle with the word 'mischievous'? Don't I have any dignity?"
Shen Cong glanced at him sideways, then kicked him.
"What do you need face for, little brat? Go find a seat yourself!"
Wei Zizhao rolled on the spot to avoid the kick.
She didn't forget to greet Shen Xu.
"I just overheard the Master outside saying he was going to punish His Highness by making him copy 'Exhortation to Learning' fifteen times. I'm an expert on this kind of thing."
"If Your Highness doesn't know how to copy it, you can come to me."
Shen Xu's face darkened, and he said in a muffled voice, "No need."
Wei Zizhao pursed his lips, slid to the table next to Li Nanke, and sat down.
He greeted Li Nanke in a very cheerful manner.
"You must be the Princess of Fu'an County? I am Wei Zizhao, and I will be sitting next to you from now on."
This overly familiar manner bears a striking resemblance to his father, Wei Yan.
Li Nanke smiled slightly.
"good."
Noticing a gaze upon her, she turned her head and met Shen Cong's unseeing gaze.
She nodded slightly as a greeting.
Shen Cong pursed his lips slightly, withdrew his gaze, and began chatting with Scholar Wu.
"His Majesty has instructed me to continue my studies, and I have now resigned from my position as Commander of the Imperial Guards to focus on my studies."
Li Nanke was extremely surprised, and his heart sank.
Shen Cong resigned from his position as commander of the Imperial Guards to focus on his studies.
She remembered that in her dream, Shen Cong lived in his fiefdom of Chengdu Prefecture.
She didn't know when Shen Cong went to his fiefdom. Could it have been in the last two years?
First, he resigned as commander of the Imperial Guards; the next step was to go to his fiefdom.
"Ke'er, what are you daydreaming about? The teacher is about to start class."
Suddenly, someone tugged at her arm, bringing Li Nanke back to her senses. She saw Wang Tongyun standing her book upright on the table, covering her face, and curiously looking at her.
"You don't look well, are you alright?"
Li Nanke shook his head.
"I'm fine."
Looking around, I found that Shen Cong was no longer in the hall.
She asked softly, "Where did the prince go? Wasn't he here to study too?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from the right.
“Alas, our lessons are too easy for the prince. He has already read them. Master Wu asked the prince to go to the next room.”
After he finished his lecture to us, he would go next door to give a private lesson to the prince. In short, the prince was giving him special instruction.
Li Nanke looked in the direction of the sound.
Wei Zizhao imitated Wang Tongyun, holding up his textbook to cover his face and winking at her.
He lowered his voice and said, "However, Master Wu said that the prince is well-read and has extraordinary knowledge. Every day, the prince will lecture us on the laws of the Great Chu and the local chronicles."
From now on, we'll be able to hear the Prince give lectures. You haven't heard the Prince give lectures before, have you? Let me tell you...
"Cough cough cough!"
Wei Zizhao's words were suddenly interrupted by Wang Tongyun's cough.
"Tongyun, what happened to you...."
When Li Nanke turned and met Wu Fuzi's displeased gaze, he was startled and slowly uttered the last word.
"Huh?"
Master Wu held the book that Wang Tongyun had been using to cover her face, tapped the table, and his beard twitched.
He scoffed, "Princess of Fu'an, please stand up and explain to everyone the meaning of the saying, 'A gentleman is not born in a town, but makes good use of things.'"
Wang Tongyun and Wei Zizhao gave her a helpless look almost simultaneously.
Wei Zizhao clasped his hands together and kept muttering to himself.
"You can't see me, Master, you can't see me, please don't call me, Buddha, please protect me."
"If I get punished by copying from a book on the first day of school, my dad will beat my butt into eight pieces when I get home!"
All eyes were on Li Nanke.
Princess Zhaoning wore an undisguised look of schadenfreude.
“Master, Li Nanke didn’t pay attention in class at all, so she definitely can’t answer the question.”
If she can't answer, the teacher will punish her, making her copy the "Exhortation to Learning" fifteen times!
Shen Xu's eyes brightened slightly.
If Li Nanke were also punished by copying books, it wouldn't be her who would be embarrassed.
Thinking about it this way, he actually felt a little hopeful, hoping that Li Nanke wouldn't be able to answer.
Although Zhao Wanqing didn't say anything, she secretly hoped that Li Nanke wouldn't be able to answer and would be severely punished by the teacher.
Li Nanke's lips twitched slightly under the gazes of the crowd, but he stood up calmly.
This means that the nature of a gentleman is no different from that of an ordinary person; the only difference is that they are good at using and utilizing external things.
It means that ordinary people can also utilize resources, improve themselves through learning, and reach the level of a virtuous person.
She smiled slightly.
"Master, I wonder if my explanation is correct?"
Scholar Wu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Those who lack profound ambition will not achieve brilliant success; those who do not engage in diligent and meticulous work will not achieve outstanding accomplishments."
Li Nanke thought for a moment and said, "Without a focused and firm ambition, one cannot possess the wisdom to distinguish right from wrong; without persistent effort, it is difficult to achieve remarkable success."
The hall was completely silent.
Scholar Wu looked at Li Nanke with a newfound appreciation.
The text "Exhortation to Learning" is quite long, and children around eight or nine years old usually haven't started learning it yet, or have just begun.
Unexpectedly, when he casually asked a couple of questions, Li Nanke was able to answer fluently.
Have you read "Exhortation to Learning"?
Li Nanke shook his head, "I haven't read it carefully, I only heard my father read it. I figured out these two sentences myself."
Scholar Wu was even more shocked.
He was able to figure out the meaning of something just by listening to others read it, which shows his intelligence.
Scholar Wu looked at Li Nanke with increasing satisfaction and did not criticize her for talking during class.
He simply said, "You still need to follow the rules in class and listen attentively."
Li Nanke immediately apologized and admitted his mistake.
"...The student has remembered and will not dare to do it again."
"Sit down."
Li Nanke sat down and saw Wang Tongyun and Wei Zizhao give her a thumbs up at the same time.
Princess Zhaoning and Shen Xu were very disappointed.
Li Nanke wasn't punished at all; the teacher is so biased!
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