Chapter 1402: Princes compete!

Hearing that Ah Da was ambushed in order to avenge Ah San, Murong Qingwu was also very angry and said:

"Didn't I tell him not to act rashly or impulsively?"

Feeling her master's anger, Ying Er quickly defended Ah Da:

"My queen, after all, Asan is Ada's biological brother, and they have a very good relationship. After Asan was killed by Zhang Xinjian, Ada was heartbroken, and that's why he wanted to kill Zhang Xinjian to avenge his brother!"

"Ah Da has served the family for many years and has always been hardworking and willing to work hard. Please, Madam Queen, be lenient with him!"

Murong Qingwu continued to ask after hearing this:
"How is he now? Is his life in danger?"

"Ada was shot in the hand by Zhao Yuan. Although his life is not in danger, his arm is seriously injured. Although I have arranged for a doctor to treat him, I am afraid that two of his fingers may not be saved!"

Hearing this, Murong Qingwu's expression was also very solemn. She didn't have many shadow killers under her command, but each of them was a ruthless character with high martial arts skills. The death of Asan last time had already made Murong Qingwu heartbroken, and now even Asa was in trouble!

This Ada is the strongest shadow killer under her command. Murong Qingwu relies on him to complete many things. If anything happens to him, it will be a huge loss for Murong Qingwu!
Thinking of this, Murong Qingwu also ordered:
"Let Ah Da go to Qilu to hide for a while, and then find the best doctor in Qilu to treat Ah Da's injuries!"

“As for the punishment, we can talk about it later, but Ah Da must understand this mistake, and he will never make it a second time…”

Ying Er immediately said after hearing this:

"Thank you for your mercy, my lady! I promise he will learn from his mistakes and won't make this mistake again!"

Murong Qingwu nodded slightly when she heard this and then asked:
"Has your majesty returned to the palace?"

"Not yet! His Majesty took the Crown Prince and others to a county near Yijing to do some research!"

"They?" Murong Qingwu keenly realized a key word and immediately asked back:

Ying Er nodded and said:

"Crown Prince Jingren, Third Prince Jingcheng, and Fourth Prince Jingxuan have all gone with His Majesty. Princess Xingtong was supposed to go with him, but because of the previous incident, Concubine Bai did not allow Princess Xingtong to go."

"Do you know what His Majesty took them to investigate?"

Ying Er shook her head and said:

"Your Majesty, His Majesty's whereabouts have always been top secret, and the Attendant Department has not released any information."

Murong Qingwu nodded slightly and said:
"When your majesty returns to the palace, notify me as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

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Because they had to rush back to Yijing in the afternoon the next day, Ye Mingsheng brought Jingren and others to Baishou Academy, another educational institution in Baishou County early in the morning!
Unlike Baishou Public School which was established just over two years ago, Baishou Academy has a history of over a hundred years. It has trained more than 20 scholars and seven Jinshi in history, and it also has a good reputation in Youyan. This has also attracted students from Baishou County and surrounding areas to come and study.

Unlike Baishou Public School, which is completely free, if you want to study in Baishou Academy, you have to pay three taels of silver in tuition every year. In addition to the tuition, if you want to live in the academy, you have to pay at least two taels of silver for accommodation, and you have to pay at least three taels of silver for food every year if you eat in the academy.
In addition, there are some miscellaneous expenses such as textbook fees. If you want to find a teacher for private tutoring, you may also have to give the teacher a gift separately.

Adding all these things together, it might take seven or eight taels of silver every year to support study and life in Baishou Academy. But even so, Baishou Academy still attracted nearly two hundred students to study and live here!

Even though these more than 200 students were not born into official families, their families were all very wealthy.

Therefore, as the place where they live and study, Baishou Academy has a very elegant environment. Not only is the school antique, but there is also a small garden covering several acres inside the academy, with birds singing, flowers blooming, and rockery and ponds...

In addition to far surpassing Baishou Public School in hardware facilities, Baishou Academy also has great differences in curriculum from Baishou Public School!
Baishou Academy mainly teaches the articles of traditional Confucian sages, and interspersed with some knowledge of history, geography, and law. They sneer at arithmetic and sports, thinking that these are things that businessmen and farmers should learn, while they aspire to become officials and serve the king!

In terms of teaching staff, Baishou Academy is also very strong. The principal of Baishou Academy, Chen Congwen, is a Jinshi of the previous dynasty and has worked as an editor in the Hanlin Academy for three years. The other six lecturers also all have the title of scholar.

Therefore, when they heard that an inspector from the Ministry of Rites was coming to inspect Baishou Academy, compared to Wang Hui, the supervisor of Baishou Institute of Technology who was somewhat fawning, the principal Chen Congwen was neither humble nor arrogant. Especially when he was introducing the history of the academy to Ye Mingsheng, his face was full of pride and pride.

Just like he inspected Baishou Public School yesterday, Ye Mingsheng also went to the classroom of Baishou Academy to take a look. The students in the academy were all dressed in fancy clothes, and each had a desk with pens, ink, paper and inkstone on it, which formed a very sharp contrast with the shabby appearance of the students of Baishou Public School yesterday.

As for the teacher, although Ye Mingsheng only listened to a part of the class, he could clearly feel that this teacher’s lectures were easy to understand and profound, much better than that of Mr. Xue in the public school yesterday.

After taking a tour around the academy, Ye Mingsheng asked questions to the academy's principal, Chen Congwen, before leaving.

"The court now advocates the development of science and technology and abandons the idea that everything is inferior except for studying. So will your Baishou Academy consider introducing courses like arithmetic in the future?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's inquiry, Chen Congwen not only gave a clear negative answer, but also told Ye Mingsheng that their Baishou Academy was a formal academy with a long history that had cultivated countless talents, not a public school that taught people unorthodox ways...

Their academy cultivates talents who are willing to serve the court and the king, not profit-seeking and stingy merchants!

In addition, Chen Congwen also suggested that after Ye Mingsheng returned, he must advise His Majesty and the ministers not to indulge in those unorthodox ways, but to focus on the words of the saints. It is not too late to set things right!
Ye Mingsheng was speechless about his words. He knew that this kind of person's thoughts were deeply rooted and difficult to change. Even if he reasoned with him and presented facts, it would be difficult for him to accept new things. So Ye Mingsheng was too lazy to waste words with him and left Baishou Academy immediately.
According to the plan, they were going to set off back to Yijing in the afternoon, so after inspecting Baishou Academy, Ye Mingsheng took everyone back to Shunfeng Inn for dinner. After the meal, they had to hurry on their journey, as they might not be able to return to Yijing until late at night. Therefore, if they didn't eat now, they would have no time to eat on the road later.

While Ye Mingsheng was eating chicken legs with rice, Jingren beside him seemed a little dazed. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng was a little confused. After coming out of Baishou Public School yesterday, he felt that Jingren, who was always sunny and cheerful, seemed to have something on his mind.

Originally, Ye Mingsheng thought that the child’s matter would be resolved after a while, but he didn’t expect Jingren to be so worried today!
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but ask:
"Jingren, what are you thinking about?"

Facing his father's question, Jingren hesitated for a moment and then said:
"Dad, why is there such a big difference between public schools and colleges, both of which teach people to study?"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:
"Jingren, have you ever heard the saying, 'The rich are feasting and drinking, while the poor are freezing to death on the streets?'"

Jingren nodded and said, "Mr. Gu told me that this sentence comes from Du Fu's poem "On the Way from Beijing to Fengxian County" in the Tang Dynasty!"

After saying this, Jingren recited:
“Today, the halls and temples are complete, and the buildings are not missing. Sunflowers lean towards the sun, and the nature of things is hard to change. But ants just try to find their own holes...”

Listening to Jingren reciting the entire poem, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"Jingren, you memorized it very well. Through this poem, you should know that people are born unequal!"

"Father, are you saying that people are born to be destined, rich people are rich and poor people are poor?"

"No! I never thought of it that way!"

"If it's as you said, how can a scoundrel become the Emperor Gaozu of Han who aspires to rule the world? Your father, I can't unify the world!"

Facing his father's question, Jingren, who was already very confused, was undoubtedly even more confused. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng said as simply as possible:

"People have desires, and in order to satisfy their desires they will instinctively fight and snatch everything of value. However, there are only a limited number of things in the world. If some people take more, then naturally others will take less, and the gap between the rich and the poor will naturally appear!"

Jingren nodded, not quite understanding, while Ye Mingsheng continued:

"The gap between Baishou Public School and Baishou Academy is actually a reflection of the current gap between the rich and the poor in Daqian. The rich are living a life of luxury and debauchery, but the poor have to fight hard for the most basic food. Although this is cruel, it is reality!"

Upon hearing this, Jingren suddenly said:
"Father, how can we make everyone in Daqian live a rich life?"

Hearing Jingren's somewhat naive question, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but smile and said:
"Through continuous development and the advancement of science and technology, we can make the lives of most people better!"

“But it is almost impossible to make everyone live a rich life…”

"Father, why is this happening?"

Looking at Jingren who had turned into a curious baby, Ye Mingsheng continued:
"Jingren, I just told you that people have desires, and some people's desires are endless!"

"In order to satisfy their own desires, they will want to take more, and if they take more, naturally someone will take less, so it is impossible for everyone to live a rich life unless productivity develops to the point where everyone's desires can be satisfied!"

Listening to his father's words, Jingren still seemed not to understand, but Jingxuan beside him seemed to be thinking about something.

After thinking for a moment, Jingren shook his head and said:

"Dad, I still don't understand what you're saying, but can you give some money to the students at Baishou Public School so that they can study as well as the students at Baishou Academy? I feel sorry for them!"

Seeing Jingren's serious expression, Ye Mingsheng's expression was also a little complicated. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything, Jingren quickly pulled his third brother Jingcheng aside and said:

"Jingcheng, do you think I'm right? Are the students of Baishou Public School very pitiful?"

Jing Cheng, who was concentrating on eating, did not notice the conversation between his father and elder brother at all. When he heard his elder brother mention him, he was confused and had no idea what his elder brother was talking about.

Although he didn't know what the elder brother meant, seeing that the elder brother looked like he wanted him to agree, Jing Cheng hesitated for a moment and said:
“I think what Big Brother said is right…”

After saying this, Jing Cheng took another bite of the chicken leg in his hand. With the support of his third brother, Jing Ren immediately gained confidence and repeated his old tricks, and asked his fourth brother Jing Xuan with expectation:

"Fourth brother, do you also feel that the students of Baishou Public School are pitiful?"

Originally Jingren thought that his fourth brother Jingxuan would support him like Jingcheng, but what the eldest brother did not expect was that Jingxuan did not say a word!

Seeing this, Jingren was also very disappointed and preached:

"Jingxuan! Speak up! What do you mean by not speaking?"

Under the pressure of his elder brother Jingren, Jingxuan had to say:
"Brother, I don't feel sorry for them. On the contrary, I think they are lucky!"

When the word "lucky" came out, Jingren was stunned for a moment, then said in shock:

"Fourth brother, why do you say that? Have you forgotten the black buns they eat and the patches on their clothes?"

Jingxuan continued after hearing this:

"Of course I won't forget this!"

"But I think this is the reality that my father talked about. My mother told me that some things can be changed, but some things can never be changed, not even by the emperor!"

"There are many public schools like this. Even if Father can change one, what about the others?"

Jingxuan's words immediately left the eldest brother Jingren speechless. He didn't know what to say. After hesitating for a while, he could only say:

"Even if it can't be changed? Fourth brother, why do you say they are lucky? Who would be lucky enough to eat black steamed buns?"

Jingxuan heard this and said seriously:
“Although the black steamed bun tastes bad, it is still edible. Although the conditions in the public school are simple, it is free. I say they are lucky because there has never been an emperor in all dynasties who would let them go to school and eat for free. Only my father gave them these…”

(End of this chapter)