"Not at all, not at all. When Manyin delivered the letter to my residence that day, the steward leaked its contents. If it weren't for that, I really wouldn't have known that my steward, Tian Er, was Li Si's man!"
"Otherwise, His Majesty would not have actually believed it and gone to the imperial prison, which is how I was exonerated."
"Oh? So you already knew Tian Er was Li Si's man?"
"No, no, no, I didn't know."
Li Lin shook his head. "But I'm certain that Li Si has planted someone by your side."
"That's right. Besides Tian Er being Li Si's man, even my concubine Yun'er is Li Si's man."
Fusu was both amused and exasperated.
After all, his steward and concubines were spies planted by outsiders, and he hadn't discovered it for so many years.
On the contrary, Li Lin discovered it before leaving Xianyang City.
If he hadn't been reading Li Lin's works recently, he would have been so astonished that his eyes would have popped out of his head.
"Young master, you are too kind. Years ago, I had some conflicts and friction with you because of Li Yao. Today, I would like to apologize to you."
"Well, these are all minor matters. I'm not that petty. After all, Li Yao is too cunning. If I were to marry her, I'm afraid I would really become a lonely bachelor."
Fusu shook his head. In his younger years, he had indeed liked Li Yao, this pretty girl.
Back then, Li Yao was innocent, cute, and completely guileless.
That's why he fell in love with Li Yao.
pity.
Li Yao changed later on, she became a different person, turning into a so-called "scheming woman," so naturally he couldn't like her anymore.
"Haha, young master, you jest. His Majesty has now arranged for you to be involved in government affairs. I wonder what insights you have gained from handling the affairs of the Qin Dynasty over the past six months?"
Li Lin and Fu Su walked and talked until they reached the pavilion. They looked at the pond in the courtyard, with a slight breeze blowing by.
The lotus flowers haven't bloomed yet, but their fragrance has already seeped out, giving off a refreshing and pleasant aroma.
"Alas, the affairs of state are too difficult to manage. Back then, I was afraid I really misunderstood my father. What my father warned me before was right. I was too young and did not understand the affairs of state. If I had understood my father's behavior earlier, I would not have made him so angry."
"Haha, it's quite remarkable that you have such insights, young master. Now, what are your thoughts on my past criticisms of Confucianism?"
He burst into laughter upon hearing this.
It seems that Fusu has grown a lot in the past six months. In his early years, he was just a loyal Confucian disciple, and he had no idea what court politics, the people of the world, or tyranny were.
He did not understand these elusive and fantastical concepts.
He just spends all day like those Confucian disciples, engaging in empty talk that harms the country and criticizing the government.
They believed that "those who eat meat are base and incapable of long-term planning." Each of them thought they were as remarkable as Cao Gui, but unfortunately, this group of people who only knew how to complain were just pedantic scholars.
Let alone Cao Gui, they would look up to even Zhao Gao's toes.
The fact that Fusu has such insights shows that he has put them into practice, and such a person is a promising talent.
"Prime Minister Li, I, Fusu, apologize to you. I was indeed angry with you about this matter before, and even wanted to put you to death. But after reading some of your works, I have come to understand your thoughts more deeply."
"Oh? Some of my works? When did I ever write those works? Didn't I just write 'The Thirty-Six Stratagems'?"
Li Lin looked surprised and doubtful, because he really hadn't written many books.
The only book he ever wrote was a plagiarized copy of "The Thirty-Six Stratagems".
Could it be that Fusu read "The Thirty-Six Stratagems" and discerned his governing philosophy?
This is just too surreal.
"Haha, it seems that Prime Minister Li is unaware of this. The Construction Department has already categorized and published Prime Minister Li's past thoughts, viewpoints, and the knowledge he taught them in subjects such as mathematics. Look, this book that Fusu has been carrying all along is your collection of quotes!"
"What?"
At this moment, Li Lin felt like a million grass mud horses were running through his mind. He took the book "Li Zi's Sayings: Collector's Edition" that Fu Su handed him, unfolded it, and took a look.
Wow!
The words on the title page were truly painful to see.
Published by Chengjian Sishuju.
Compiled by: Mo Zhiyuan et al.
Author: Li Lin.
"I'll go to the construction company tomorrow and settle accounts with that Mo Zhiyuan!"
“Ah, Prime Minister Li, if it weren’t for Mo Zhiyuan’s efforts, you probably wouldn’t remember any of these things. They would have been lost in the past. You can’t blame him too much.”
"Cough cough!"
Li Lin was quite embarrassed. He flipped through a few pages and came across some rather wild and even radical statements. These were things that could be said in private.
If it could be published as a book, would His Majesty be pleased if he saw it?
"I truly didn't know about these matters. If I had known, I would never have let that old geezer Mo Zhiyuan become the head of the construction company. This was a miscalculation on my part!"
"Prime Minister Li, you may not know this, but the Great Qin has already established corresponding schools, and you already have a large number of students and followers. Moreover, your mathematics has attracted quite a few followers from other schools of thought!"
"What? Mathematics?"
"Yes, doesn't your mathematics include branches like chemistry and physics?"
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