Chapter 154 Change of Mind
Zhu Chong seemed to be immersed in it.

However, he remembered the bet clearly, and he dared not slack off in teaching the three children to read.

Therefore, I taught them to read over and over again, and sometimes I got anxious and couldn't help but curse.

"How can you be so stupid that you can't write like this?"

The three children were so frightened that they dared not breathe.

Zhu Chong had no choice but to be patient again: "Hey, hey... After all, there are only a few people as smart as me in the world. Come, I will teach you again, and you watch carefully."

For more than half a month, Zhu Chong enjoyed it.

Deng Qianqiu almost ignored Zhu Chong and seemed to have forgotten the existence of such a person in this thousand households.

For Deng Qianqiu, what he needs to do now is to make money.

He has begun to level a piece of land in Jiangning County, instructing people to build roads and establish docks, in preparation for creating a bonded area for workshops.

However, it takes a lot of effort to formulate a reasonable strategy and encourage merchants to invest.

Of course, the most important thing is people, because all ideas need people to realize them.

Just when Deng Qianqiu was thinking hard every day, one day, Zhu Chong suddenly sneaked into Deng Qianqiu's public housing.

Deng Qianqiu was startled and asked, "Your Highness Prince Qin, what are you going to do?"

The King of Qin waved his hands and said, "Hush, hush, don't make any noise, don't make any noise, don't shout."

Deng Qianqiu said: "Everyone here is my people, if you dare to act rashly..."

"Don't be rash, don't be rash..." Zhu Chong said hurriedly.

Deng Qianqiu was relieved. Looking at the ferocious prince in front of him, he said without any nonsense, "What's the matter?"

"This...this..." Zhu Chong began to become hesitant, as if he had mustered up his courage, but after a while, he became like a deflated ball.

Deng Qianqiu looked at him strangely, so he said, "You can talk as you like."

"Don't tell anyone." Zhu Chong repeatedly warned, "Don't tell anyone."

Deng Qianqiu looked at him with a half-smile: "What nonsense are you talking about? How can I tell others about it?"

"I...I...I don't quite understand something, so I want to ask for advice, but after thinking about it, I think asking others for advice will inevitably make people laugh at me."

"Won't you be laughed at if you come to me?" Deng Qianqiu said.

Zhu Chong coughed: "This... this, you are different, after all, my father asked me to study with you."

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "Okay, if you have any questions, just ask."

Zhu Chong immediately pulled out a copy of the Analects from his bosom, placed it in front of Deng Qianqiu, and said, "It says on it, 'Zi Gong asked, "What is Ci like?" Confucius answered, "Female, a vessel." He asked, "What vessel?" Confucius answered, "A coral and a jade ring."' What does this mean? I don't understand it."

Deng Qianqiu was stunned and looked at Zhu Chong: "No way, no way, you don't understand something as simple as the Analects?"

Zhu Chong scratched his head and said with some embarrassment: "Hey... when I first started learning, didn't the teacher explain it clearly?"

Deng Qianqiu naturally didn't believe it, so he said, "The teacher hired by your majesty can't even explain the Analects clearly?"

Zhu Chong blushed: "Maybe... maybe he knows it in his heart, but he has been a little confused since I beat him up."

Deng Qianqiu's face suddenly froze and he felt his neck go cold with fear. He coughed hurriedly and his attitude became gentler and less sarcastic.

Zhu Chong said, "Just now, Da Gou asked me what this meant and why there was the sentence 'woman, instrument'. This sentence clearly does not make sense and I couldn't explain it clearly at the moment, so I came to ask you."

"Oh." Deng Qianqiu said, "This 女 is not 女. It is 求儒, which actually means you. The combination means that Zigong asked Confucius, what do you think of me? Confucius said you are like a vessel. Zigong then asked Confucius, what kind of vessel is it? Confucius said, it is Hu Lian."

Zhu Chong suddenly realized and couldn't help asking: "If it's Ru, why write it as Nv?"

“This is a homophone.”

"A homophone?"

“It’s almost like a typo, actually.”

Zhu Chong's eyes widened: "If the word is wrong, why don't you correct it?"

Deng Qianqiu said seriously: "The monk is chanting the sutra. Even if the sutra is wrong, it is passed down from ancient times. How can it be changed? If it is changed, it will no longer be the original flavor."

Zhu Chong couldn't help but curse: "Fuck it, I couldn't understand it after watching it for a long time, and I almost made a fool of myself in front of three dogs. These people who chanted scriptures are all dogs."

Deng Qianqiu frowned and said, "Your Highness, don't insult others."

Zhu Chong snorted angrily and said, "Not only will I insult him, but next time I meet such a bastard, I will beat him to death."

As he said this, Zhu Chong put away the book and warned, "Don't tell Zhu Gang and the others that I was here."

"Uh..." Deng Qianqiu blinked and said, "I usually have a big mouth."

Zhu Chong said: "Even if you tell them, don't tell them that I came to seek advice from the Analects. You can compile some more profound knowledge, which will make you look better."

Deng Qianqiu said calmly, "I don't really understand this profound knowledge. I've only been watching 'The Lovely Wife' recently."

"Huh?" Zhu Chong asked in surprise, "You also have this hobby? But I haven't watched it for a long time."

Deng Qianqiu was stunned: "Why?"

Zhu Chong pursed his lips: "I'm serious!"

Deng Qianqiu: “…”

"Let's go." Zhu Chong raised his proud head again and left without looking back.

After that, Zhu Chong came every few days.

Because he underestimated the difficulty of the Analects. Although the Analects is an entry point, the kid is very troublesome and you can't deal with him perfunctorily. Every time Zhu Chong was stumped by a question, Zhu Chong regretted that he shouldn't have beaten the teacher in the first place. At least... he should have waited until he had fully understood the lesson before beating him.

After a few visits, Deng Qianqiu became familiar with the place.

Once, Deng Qianqiu was sleeping in the dormitory of the Qianhu Office. In the middle of the night, someone suddenly jumped down from the beam. Deng Qianqiu opened his hazy eyes as if he had sensed something, and saw a dark shadow. He was so scared that he woke up all of a sudden and wanted to shout: "Help..." "Shh, it's me... I saw you locked the door, so I came down from the roof."

Deng Qianqiu was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, but he recognized the voice and asked angrily, "Why didn't you knock on the door?"

"Don't I just want you to sleep a little longer?" Zhu Chong said.

Deng Qianqiu was speechless and quickly got up to light the lamp. It was dark and he felt unsafe to be in the same room with someone like the King of Qin.

After seeing Zhu Chong's appearance clearly, Deng Qianqiu asked in a bad tone: "What do you want to do?"

"I have something that I have been thinking about all night but still can't figure out."

Deng Qianqiu was immediately furious: "What's the matter?"

"Da Ri Da Gou asked me, why does Confucius talk about great principles every day? What is the use of these great principles?"

"Uh..." Deng Qianqiu glanced at the roof, then at him, and then asked, "That's all you're asking?"

Zhu Chong showed an annoyed look, and then said in frustration: "Isn't it that I can't answer it? This little kid can stump me. If I tell others about it, won't it tarnish my reputation?"

Deng Qianqiu's anger finally subsided, and he sighed, "You asked a good question. Confucius talked about these great principles because... he wanted to establish an order."

"order?"

"Rites and music... do you understand? It is the order of Zhou Gong."

"I understand. Father wants to restore the Han system of the Tang and Song dynasties."

Deng Qianqiu nodded and said, "Yes, that's about it. If your majesty wants to restore the Han system, all he needs to do is issue an edict. But Confucius is different. He could only travel around the countries and encourage everyone to abide by and maintain this set of etiquette and laws."

Zhu Chong asked: "Will this work?"

Deng Qianqiu thought for a moment and said, "It's useful, but also useless."

"Why?"

"Because of human nature..."

"You might as well make your words clearer."

Deng Qianqiu said: "I just want to sleep."

Zhu Chong said: "Then lie down and talk."

Deng Qianqiu shuddered: "I think it's more practical to sit down and talk."

One night, there was a conversation...

……

Boom...

Thunder and lightning.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched the dark clouds rolling in.

But then, the dark clouds seemed to stop moving, as if they had just fired a blank shot, and soon after, the weather cleared up again.

"This is a good sign." Zhu Yuanzhang said to Empress Ma, "You are about to give birth, and these dark clouds have been dispersed. This shows that... this child will be blessed in the future."

Queen Ma smiled gently and said, "I remember that when Xun'er was born, it was raining heavily."

Speaking of Zhu Chong, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed. Whenever he thought of this child, he felt a headache.

"I heard that he is studying with Deng Qianqiu now. I wonder if he has behaved better." Queen Ma said expectantly.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "It is not easy to change a person's nature. Deng Qianqiu is not a god. We, as his parents, cannot discipline him. How can we rely on Deng Qianqiu?"

Empress Ma sighed and said, "We, as his parents, have done nothing wrong, but why is he so tyrannical and willful?"

"I remember now." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Deng Qianqiu swore that within a month, he would make Zhu Chong change his ways, and he even said he wanted to make a bet with me!"

Empress Ma laughed and said, "He would never dare to bet with Your Majesty. It must be Your Majesty who wants to bet with him."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and felt that his memory was indeed biased. He couldn't help but smile: "It seems so."

Empress Ma stopped smiling and continued, "I dreamed of Xun'er last night, and I felt very upset... He was sent to Fengyang... and he has such a bad temper. It would be fine if we, his parents, were still alive. I am worried that one day, when we are no longer alive, with his reckless temper... who will tolerate him in the future?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned after hearing this: "I counted with my fingers, and it seems... it has indeed been a month. Why not... go and see him?"

"Hmm?" Queen Ma asked curiously, "Why doesn't Your Majesty summon him?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I know this kid's character too well. He is very pretentious in front of me. If I don't go and see for myself, how can I know what kind of trouble this kid has caused?"

Empress Ma said, "If so, I will go with you."

"You? I'm afraid it's not appropriate." While saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Empress Ma's belly.

Empress Ma said, "It's a good opportunity to ask Deng Qianqiu to take a look... He is the best at gynecology."

At this moment, someone outside said, "Father, Mother, I also want to see my second brother."

……

Zhu Yuanzhang took the car to Qianhu Suo with ease.

As soon as the carriage arrived, the guards quickly took the badge and asked the captain guarding the gate to make way immediately.

Then the carriage went straight in.

As soon as he entered the Qianhu Household Unit, Zhu Yuanzhang heard the sound of someone reading.

"Govern with laws and discipline, and punish with punishment, and the people will escape punishment without shame. Govern with virtue..."

(End of this chapter)