The Thousand Character Classic only has a thousand characters in total. Xiao Yu explained it to Li Jue clearly in just one morning. After checking several times to make sure that Li Jue had memorized it all, he then assigned Li Jue his homework.
"Go back and review the Analects today, and I will break it down for you tomorrow!"
"Sir, I can recite the Analects from memory..."
"oh?"
Xiao Yu looked at Li Jue with surprise upon hearing this. How could someone who had never even received a systematic education in elementary school be able to recite the Analects?
"Children shouldn't lie, okay?"
"What lies are you telling..."
"Don't you know my grandfather's temper? If I can't memorize it, he might beat me to death..."
"oh?"
"Hahaha!"
Xiao Yu burst out laughing upon hearing this, and grabbed Li Jue's hand to join in the吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments).
"Your grandfather has such a fiery temper, hahaha, he really is the kind of person who would do such a thing..."
"But don't worry, I never physically punish my disciples..."
"real?"
"Of course it's true! Your master will only tell His Majesty so that he can punish you physically, hahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue's face darkened with anger. He had thought he had met a good man, but it turned out he was just like Li Er, a scoundrel.
Xiao Yu smiled even more happily when he saw Li Jue like this. He found himself liking the child more and more. After finishing his studies for the day, he would have to talk to His Majesty about making the child his personal disciple.
"Since you can already recite the Analects, I won't give you any homework. Just go home and write down two hundred words, and hand it in tomorrow!"
"You can write anything?"
"certainly!"
Li Jue returned to his seat, spread out paper, and began to write with great enthusiasm. In no time, he had finished writing two hundred large characters and handed them to Xiao Yu's desk.
"Sir, this is tomorrow's homework!"
Xiao Yu was quite surprised to see this.
"You finished writing it so quickly?"
"ah!"
"It was done exactly as the gentleman requested!"
When Xiao Yu opened his homework, he was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at his face.
He now understood why His Majesty had punished the child; the child was truly damn deserving of a beating!
"You actually wrote two hundred ones for me?"
"Sir, didn't you say that I could write anything..."
"But you can't just write 'one'!"
"Sir, the character '一' has the fewest strokes, so writing anything else isn't worthwhile..."
"you!"
Xiao Yu tried his best to control his anger, but in the end he couldn't hold back and slammed his hand heavily on the table.
"Go stand at the door as punishment!"
"promise!"
Xiao Yu watched as Li Jue obediently stood at the door, and felt a pang of pity in her heart.
After all, this child's background is too pitiful. He lost his parents at a young age and was finally brought back to the palace by His Majesty. How could I bear to punish him?
But when Xiao Yu saw the two hundred "one" characters on the table, he immediately threw aside any pity he felt.
This child is exceptionally intelligent. If he is not disciplined, he will become another rebellious King of Qi!
Even if I don't care about His Majesty's sake, I still have to consider the former Crown Prince who died unjustly. I can't let the former Crown Prince's only legitimate son end up being killed for rebelling!
Xiao Yu sat in the Chongwen Hall for a while, but he couldn't sit still any longer, so he left the East Palace and went straight to Li Shimin's Ganlu Hall.
Upon hearing that Xiao Yu had arrived, Li Shimin immediately knew that his eldest grandson had caused trouble.
After all, Xiao Yu, that old man, would never come looking for me unless there was something wrong!
Therefore, Li Shimin ordered people to give Xiao Yu a seat and serve him fragrant tea, hoping to shut the old man up and make him take on the important task of teaching his grandson.
"His Majesty……"
"Minister Xiao, there's no rush. First, try some of the new tea I've acquired and see if it suits your taste!"
"This tea is indeed excellent. If Your Majesty has some surplus, could you please grant this old minister two catties?"
"Granted!"
"Zhang Anan, quickly pack ten jin... no, no, twenty jin for Minister Xiao. I'll personally send someone to deliver it to Minister Xiao's residence in a little while!"
Seeing His Majesty's courteous treatment of scholars, Xiao Yu felt somewhat embarrassed to complain about his eldest grandson. His eldest grandson's actions had gone too far, crossing his bottom line. Therefore, after a moment's thought, he still submitted his eldest grandson's homework.
"Please take a look, Your Majesty!"
"What's this?"
"Today, I have assigned my eldest grandson two hundred characters of homework. He can just write whatever he wants and hand it in."
"Then, the eldest grandson handed over this..."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nervously opened the box, only to find it filled with the number "one," which nearly made him faint with anger.
"That grandson wrote two hundred ones?"
"yes!"
"The imperial grandson said that 'one' has the fewest strokes, so writing this is the most cost-effective..."
"He still dares to say it's a good deal?"
"I'll give him two hundred lashes in a moment, and see if he still dares to say it's worth it!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu quickly offered some advice.
"Your Majesty, the imperial grandson has made a mistake, but there is no need to punish him. We should focus on educating him!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's face immediately turned bitter.
"Minister Xiao, you don't know my eldest grandson at all. That grandson is so unruly that he's practically climbing on the roof if he's not disciplined for three days straight!"
"Do you think I want to hit him? Every time I do, my arm aches for three days afterward..."
Seeing Li Shimin say this, Xiao Yu could only cup his hands and smile.
"Your Majesty has worked hard!"
"But Your Majesty should not punish the eldest grandson, lest the child develop a dislike for school."
"His eldest grandson is exceptionally intelligent. With proper guidance, he will surely become a wise and virtuous king of the Tang Dynasty!"
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