Chapter 108: The 108th Day of Wanting to Die

Yin Zhuo was just planning how to torture his "students" when he saw Kangxi's expression turn ugly.

Yin Zhuo shook his head, feeling a little helpless.

He held Kangxi's arm and said, "Father, I will never forget you again. Please believe me."

Kangxi came back to his senses and heard Xiaoliu saying this. He didn't explain, but patted Xiaoliu's hand, squeezed it, and changed the subject: "You've gained weight."

Yin Zhuo looked down and saw that small dimples had appeared on his skinny hands.

Good man, you really fattened yourself up.

Yin Zhuo reached into his clothes and pinched his belly.

There is also some soft flesh on the belly.

Yin Zhuo suddenly became a little nervous. He touched Kangxi's belly with a panicked look and said, "Well, Father Huang, you should exercise."

Kangxi was confused: "What do you mean? Am I weak?"

Yin Zhuo patted his own belly and then patted Kangxi's, then said, "Father Emperor, you don't have abdominal muscles."

Kangxi was simply speechless. At his age, why did he still need abdominal muscles?

"I don't have a big belly, and I have a nice figure now, which is not a bad thing."

Kangxi was very dissatisfied and tried to prove himself.

Kangxi even sucked in his stomach, and finally held Xiaoliu's shaking hand and led him out of the palace: "Okay, let's go see how your third brother is doing."

Yin Zhuo clenched his other hand into a fist and said, "Okay, I'm still waiting to make some stationery for the students."

Yes, the sixth grade school has been renovated, and now only the interior decoration is left. The tables and chairs are made according to the design drawings he gave. They are the same as the chairs that each student has at a desk in modern primary schools, but they are bigger because most of the calligraphy is still done with a brush.

Yin Zhuo believed that the technology of the Qing Dynasty was not yet capable of inventing a fountain pen and a fountain pen, and that at best they could use a pencil.

But the ingredients of a pencil are very simple. Students all know that the pencil core is made of carbon and concrete in a certain proportion.

Now that rubber is available, he can make erasers.

In this way, the double-layer pencil case he asked the craftsman to make was completed, and he would use it to appease Fourteen.

I wonder if he will be happy.

He was scared too. Little Fourteen was already worried before, and now what should he do if he gets depressed after what he did?

But Yin Zhuo did not regret it. When he saw Xiao Shisi's face turned red from being slapped, he was so scared that his heart stopped beating.

He should learn a lesson from this and stop seeking death.

Kangxi silently prayed for little Fourteen in his heart. Alas, poor Fourteenth met little Six, and there was no one to speak for him.

On the way, Yin Zhuo also saw his fourth and fifth brothers coming to the residence with some gadgets.

When they saw Kangxi, they greeted each other and felt a little awkward.

They came to comfort Fourteen and were seen by Little Six. I wonder if Little Six would mind.

Even Yinzhen touched his nose feeling a little guilty.

Yin Zhuo didn't care. He saw through the two people's intentions at a glance and pointed to the back: "Fourteen is studying hard. In two days, his younger brother will give them a test. If the two older brothers are interested, they can come. The test will focus on biology knowledge and there will be rewards."

Yin Zhuo rubbed his fingers together, and Yin Zhen thought it was silver. He said, "I have silver."

Yinqi also said: "I have some too. The Emperor gives me a monthly allowance every month."

Although they have left the palace and established their own residences, the princes still have monthly allowances, and they are also rewarded for what they do. Now the rewards have become the bulk of their monthly income.

The emperor has always been generous to his sons.

Yin Zhuo's eyes widened slightly, like a kitten with its fur standing on end. He protested to Kangxi with his claws and teeth bared: "How come I don't have it?"

The money he spends now is all Kangxi's. No, it could be said that when he wants someone to do something, he just opens his mouth and naturally someone will do it for him.

He thought that the emperor would hire them with a monthly salary.

So he doesn't have to pay.

Emm, after being in the Qing Dynasty for so long, Yin Zhuo still has no money.

He had it in his warehouse, but he never brought it with him.

Kangxi was upset, as if he was deliberately biased.

"Why don't you have it? I saved it for you to marry Fu Jin."

Kangxi hits Xiaoliu's sore spot directly.

Yin Zhuo was embarrassed. He felt very embarrassed to be spoken of like this in front of his two brothers.

"Your Majesty... your son will not marry Fu Jin..."

"Bullshit, why wouldn't I marry Fu Jin? Then people will gossip about me and me."

When Xiaoliu reached that age, Kangxi really had to make arrangements for him.

Yin Zhuo: …

Never mind, they will know after some time.

Yin Zhuo compromised, but then he stood up again: "No, I have to keep the money myself."

Kangxi was just teasing Xiaoliu. Although he, as a father, had embezzled a lot of Xiaoliu's rewards, he didn't touch any of the monthly allowance. "Go back and ask the eunuch in charge of your brother's office."

Yin Zhuo nodded in confusion. That was right. Kangxi would not be greedy for such a small amount of money.

Before Yin Zhuo parted with his fourth and fifth brothers, he showed a mysterious smile: "Fourth brother, fifth brother, I have a surprise for you in a while."

[Hahahahaha I feel like laughing already. I've asked someone to draw the character design. Hehehe, I'll ask a few brothers to do some advertising for me then. Wow, I'll make a lot of money.]

Yes, Xiaoliu still hasn't given up his story of the Nine Dragons seizing the throne.

[Nine princes, each of them has their own reasons for ascending to the throne. Even if the road ahead is full of thorns, they must kill each other to survive. Come and vote to help them. ]

Yin Zhuo has already thought of a slogan.

Yinzhen and Yinqi were sweating profusely. They looked at Kangxi, their eyes widened in shock. Would the emperor just do nothing about such outrageous words?

Everyone knows that Xiaoliu is talking about the story of them brothers.

Except for the victors Yinzhen and Yinxiang, the others all had a bad ending.

Kangxi was watching the show on the side. Now he felt anxious to save his face. Where did the enthusiasm that had made him wish his brothers dead go?

"Send me a copy when the time comes, so I can see the good things you have done."

Yin Zhuo's eyes wandered, and his head nodded randomly: "Hmmmm..."

[Oh my god, if I were caught by the Emperor, he would definitely skin me alive. After all, the Qing Dynasty's literary inquisition was so severe that it was criticized by later generations.]

Kangxi felt a little uncomfortable, as literary inquisition had existed in every dynasty.

Especially since they entered the pass to seize the Ming Dynasty, they were still somewhat unsteady on their feet, and those Ming thieves at the time often treated them strangely.

Therefore, the literary inquisition in the Qing Dynasty was a bit severe, but this should be a normal phenomenon.

Why was it criticized by later generations?

[Does the imperial examination in the Qing Dynasty still use the eight-part essay format? If the college entrance examination is to be conducted in the format of the eight-part essay, I feel like the students who jumped off the building will have to include me. This method of selecting talents is too rigid.]

After hearing this, Kangxi could only smile bitterly.

Didn't he try hard?

He proposed abolishing the eight-legged essay in the second year of Kangxi's reign, but restored it in the seventh year of Kangxi's reign.

He understood that the eight-legged essay restricted the thinking of many literati.

What he needed were students who were creative and inventive. However, due to the influence of the eight-legged essay, after the reform, he was not clear about what new learning content the admitted students would need to learn after the abolition of the eight-legged essay.

What is even more frightening is that after he abolished the eight-legged essay that restricted people’s thoughts, the phenomenon of students’ laziness in study did not ease at all.

Instead, I became more lax.

His purpose of recruiting talents was not achieved at all.

Later, the reformists were attacked by conservatives, who said that the imperial examination reform violated the stability of social order and the maintenance of morality.

Therefore, a proposal was put forward to reinstate the eight-legged essay as the content of the imperial examination.

Kangxi had no choice but to agree.

More than 20 years had passed since then, and he had never cared about anything related to the imperial examinations, except for the measure of including mathematics in the imperial examinations.

When he proposed it, it was not only unwelcome among the conservatives, but even the reformists were not happy with it.

After all, there is no math or anything like that in the science exams.

Yin Zhuo also remembered.

[No, the eight-part essay was abolished in the early Qing Dynasty, but you restored it. Tsk, the emperor is courageous, but he lacks execution and creativity.]

But this is understandable, as Zhu's Neo-Confucianism had too great an influence on the imperial examinations.

【Fortunately, the imperial examination system has been abolished. It is still better to go to university, where you can develop in an all-round way and study whatever major you want.】

Kangxi's eyes widened slightly. It turned out that the university that Xiaoliu mentioned was not a school like the Imperial College, but a place of diversified development.

By the way, Xiaoliu said before that his major is history.

It’s good to study history, so you can study them.

Kangxi's eyes became hot as he thought about it. He really wanted to see what Xiaoliu would look like when he went to college. Seeing the painful history of the Qing Dynasty must have made Xiaoliu hate it very much.

Kangxi felt somewhat guilty and ashamed.

He should have performed better so that Xiaoliu wouldn't see only flaws.

Yinzhen and Yinqi were also very curious. Is the school built by Xiaoliu called a university?

No, it’s a primary school. I don’t know if he will be interested in building a university in the future when he is in sixth grade. He also wants to be a university student.

They learn the same things as sixth graders, except that sixth graders study the Qing Dynasty, while they can only study the Ming Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty.

They began to look forward to the university that Xiaoliu had mentioned.

"Hurry up."

When Xiaoliu came back from his distraction, he saw the four of them standing there looking at each other.

Then he pushed Kangxi and was about to leave.

Kangxi followed his force and moved forward, leaving Yinzhen and Yinqi behind.

The two looked at each other, what a shame!

They haven't heard enough.

But I'll go find Xiaoliu to ask about it when I get a chance.

"My dear father, look, isn't it very festive?"

Now the outside of the square has been decorated with red banners and other decorations to create a festive atmosphere.

Kangxi's eyes also lit up. He had never felt that this door was so clean and festive.

"In front of us are the stools made by representatives of the common people. It is not realistic for every village to come, so we invite the village chiefs to come and let them go back and publicize you. Then everyone will know that you are a good emperor."

Yin Zhuo said very honestly.

Kangxi felt a little uncomfortable listening to this.

What Xiaoliu said means that just because I invite them over, they think they are good emperors?

It's not that easy.

The gap between the Manchus and the Han still exists today.

Kangxi admitted that he was a little biased.

But I am willing to make efforts to eliminate the barriers. Let's see if Xiaoliu's efforts are effective this time.

But as soon as he turned a corner, Kangxi saw a crowded street.

Kangxi looked at the identical empty stalls in front of him and felt a little confused.

How come this street on the right side of the palace gate is turning into a vegetable market?

Kangxi's expression changed suddenly.

"What are those? Tricycles?"

Kangxi saw that there was something like a small house with an open window in the front, but no windows. It was completely empty, and there was also a small door in the back.

Kangxi took a closer look and noticed the sign in the front.

“Wanshou Festival Snack Street.”

“Is this what you call making money?”

"Well, Father Emperor, the imperial guards must maintain good order and avoid kidnapping and theft, which would be detrimental to your reputation."

Yin Zhuo warned.

"Isn't this what you should do? And it's just a matter of time. What does it have to do with my reputation? Shouldn't this be your fault?"

Kangxi was puzzled.

Yin Zhuo patted Kangxi and felt that the emperor was getting a little senile.

"Father Emperor, you must know that I am doing this in your name. In the eyes of outsiders, all of this is done by you and has nothing to do with me. This is also the case in the eyes of foreign envoys."

Kangxi laughed: "So I am here to take the blame."