gnovel Chapter 29: A Test for One
Chapter 29: A Test for One
夏承志正面情绪+1+1+1+1+1
Xia Chengzong smiled. This little guy's mood was like the weather in June, changing in an instant.
After entering the Prince's residence, he first went to pay his respects to Prince Zhongzheng and his wife.
Prince Chung-jung waved his hand and said, "Go see your mother first, then come back to the study to see me."
"Yes, Father."
Xia Chengzong went to pay his respects to the princess. The princess held his hand and asked him about his well-being for a long time, presenting a heartwarming scene of maternal love and filial piety.
Xia Chengzong, however, vaguely sensed that the princess was no longer the same as before.
He suddenly thought of a story about a boy by the sea who possessed a pure and innocent heart.
Seagulls like to fly around him, and even land on him or on his hands to play with him.
One day, the boy's father fell ill and wanted to eat seagulls.
When the boy went to the beach again, the seagulls would stay far away and would no longer approach him.
This is probably what the mother-son relationship between him and the princess was like.
He shook his head, dispelling the sadness in his heart. This was something he was bound to encounter on the road to the throne. He then walked towards the study of Prince Zhongzheng.
Upon entering the study and exchanging greetings, Prince Chungzheng said with satisfaction:
"Zong-ge'er, you got first place in three exams on your first day at the main hall. You did very well, and your father is very proud of you."
"You must continue to work hard and be even more filial to your royal grandfather. Don't make your royal grandfather dislike you."
Prince Zhongzheng gave him a long, detailed instruction, which Xia Chengzong then agreed to one by one.
After a moment of hesitation, Prince Zhongzheng spoke up, "Brother Zong, although our palace has now been unsealed..."
"But your royal grandfather has never assigned your father any work. When will you quietly ask your royal grandfather when he's in a good mood?"
My father summoned me to his study, and it turned out that it was for this very matter.
Originally, his father was a loyal member of the Crown Prince's faction.
He was stripped of his throne for taking the blame for the crown prince, and his royal residence was sealed off for seven years.
After the Prince's residence was reopened, the Crown Prince's harshness and ingratitude chilled his heart.
His own rise, however, stirred his ambition.
A prince who doesn't want to be the emperor is not a good prince.
Which prince hasn't fantasized about ascending the throne?
His rise to power inflated his ambitions.
Having ambition is a good thing, but we must never let him mess things up.
My grandfather will pass the throne to him in the future, because he values his mediocrity.
In other words, as long as he lay back and did nothing, the throne would be practically within his grasp.
But if he tries hard to win the throne, he may very well lose it.
The truth is hurtful. Xia Chengzong mentally processed his thoughts, carefully choosing his words before speaking:
"Father, flowing water doesn't compete for being first, it competes for being endless."
"Our Great Qian Dynasty is now facing an empty treasury, a tense border situation, and internal and external troubles."
"What my grandfather wants is a ruler who can maintain the status quo. Conquering a country is difficult, but maintaining it is even more difficult."
"A qualified ruler who maintains the status quo must be patient and possess great wisdom."
"Therefore, I feel that Father does not need to deliberately strive for anything."
"It is enough for Father to be filial to Grandfather, respectful to the Crown Prince, and friendly to his brothers."
Xia Chengzong's words were too bold, almost revealing his ambition to seize the throne, which startled Prince Zhongzheng and made him very alarmed.
However, after listening to Xia Chengzong's entire speech, he felt as if he had been enlightened, and everything became clear to him.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that what Zong-ge said made perfect sense.
What the Emperor wants is a ruler who can maintain the status quo; if he tries to compete for it, it will only backfire.
Moreover, even if he tried to compete, how could he possibly defeat the Crown Prince and his allies who had been plotting for so long?
Thinking of this, Prince Zhongzheng hurriedly said, "Zong-ge'er, what you say is absolutely right. Your father will do as you say."
"You must be tired from studying all day. Go back and get some rest."
"Yes, Father."
The next day, the sun shone brightly, the weather was fine and warm.
Wearing a brocade robe, Xia Chengzhi strode around the Prince's Mansion like a general going into battle.
His forehead was covered in sweat, and steam was rising from it.
Xia Chengqian, the eldest brother, couldn't stand it anymore and quickly advised, "Little Eight, it's so hot today, you can't wear this. Take it off quickly!"
Xia Chengzhi wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and said, "Brother, it's not hot at all!"
Having said that, fearing that Xia Chengqian would ramble on, he turned and left.
Xia Chengqian shook his head and had no choice but to let him be.
Then, Xia Chengzhi kept wearing it until noon.
As the weather grew hotter, Xia Chengzong wished he could change into a light shirt.
Xia Chengzhi was so hot that he had no choice but to take off his brocade robe.
His clothes were almost soaked through; if he didn't take them off soon, he might get heatstroke.
Xia Chengzong smiled and told him to go take a bath and change into new clothes.
In the afternoon, the weather gradually turned cold again, and Xia Chengzhi put on his brocade robe once more.
It wasn't until just before going to bed that he reluctantly took off the brocade robe and returned it to Xia Chengzong.
Xia Chengzong instructed Xia Xi: "Wash this robe thoroughly, dry it in the sun, and store it carefully."
"Yes, Third Master."
Although Xia Chengzong is not a germaphobe, he does not like others wearing his clothes.
He especially liked the clothes very much.
He only did this to show his brotherly affection and respect.
……
The next day, after breakfast, Xia Chengzong and his brothers went to Dabentang together.
In the first lesson on mathematics, Dr. Song, who had been ill the day before, appeared before the students.
Xia Chengzong saw that his hair was messy, he had large dark circles under his eyes, his face was pale, and he was in very poor condition, so he guessed that his illness had not yet recovered.
Stepping onto the podium, Dr. Song began, "Today, we will conduct a diagnostic test to assess our learning progress over the past period."
After saying that, he had someone send out the sample curlers.
The students in the school all looked bewildered.
Didn't you just take the exam a few days ago?
It's only been a few days, and there's another exam?
You haven't said much new content, so what are you testing?
Soon, the exam papers were handed out.
Xia Chengzong quickly glanced through the questions and found that there were only five questions this time.
However, each question was very difficult, no less difficult than the last two questions of the last exam, and even more difficult.
In the last exam, I was the only one who solved the last two questions.
This time, Dr. Song set an even more difficult question, clearly designed to test me.
This made Xia Chengzong fall into deep thought.
He can solve all of these problems.
However, the most difficult problem even requires knowledge of calculus.
Should we show it or not?
After thinking for a while, Xia Chengzong made a decision: he was not going to hide his talents.
Dr. Song is a true scholar; what he lacks is perhaps just inspiration and some guidance.
If he could have these things, he could have taken a solid step forward in advancing the mathematics of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Why not do things that are beneficial to the Great Qian Dynasty?