Chapter 339: Passing by the Imperial College
The Imperial College was situated behind the central hall to the right.
A group of people walked around and arrived at the Imperial College. The young eunuch guarding the entrance hurriedly knelt to pay respects, but the Emperor promptly gestured to stop him.
The Emperor strode inside. The Imperial College had three or four lecture halls: one Enlightenment Hall for teaching three- or four-year-old children, one Women's Hall for princesses, noble daughters, and daughters of aristocrats, and another University Hall that the Emperor valued most, where princes and young nobles studied after Enlightenment, taught by the most esteemed scholars of the Imperial College. The current Mr. Wang had been personally invited back by the Emperor through multiple letters.
Strolling slowly, the Emperor ascended the steps and peered through the window lattice. He could see Mr. Wang standing on the platform, interpreting a piece of parallel prose.
The students below were listening attentively, except for...
The Emperor's expression abruptly changed.
He saw the sixth prince in the last row, slouching lazily in his chair with his head tilted back against it, a book covering his face—clearly asleep.
As the Emperor's gaze sharpened, a young man sitting beside the sixth prince keenly sensed it and covertly turned his head, whispering, "Your Highness Cheng Wang, wake up..."
The sixth prince didn't hear at all. With a slight movement of his hand, the book on his face fell off.
With a rustle, the students in front turned around and immediately spotted the large crowd standing outside the lecture hall.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress..."
The students hastily paid their respects.
The Emperor strode directly inside.
Mr. Wang cupped his hands and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty. I did not know Your Majesty was..."
"We happened to be passing by and came in to take a look."
Mr. Wang: "..."
The students: "..."
With such a large entourage arriving at the lecture hall, it was hard to believe they were merely passing by.
Yun Chu stood at the back of the crowd and immediately spotted Chu Hongyu sitting in the lecture hall. Being the youngest, he was seated in the front row.
The little fellow, seeing both his parents had arrived, grew restless in his seat. Yun Chu believed he would have rushed over if not for the presence of the Emperor and Mr. Wang.
The sixth prince was jolted fully awake, terrified. Ever since he lost his ear, his father had shown him exceptional favor, bestowing countless treasures upon him.
His mother had advised him to seize this opportunity to perform well, hoping the Emperor would assign him an important official position with real authority.
Therefore, he had specifically been having Meng Shen do his assignments for him every day. Each time, Mr. Wang praised his work as exemplary, having all the students circulate and read it.
He had been eagerly anticipating the day Mr. Wang would report his performance to the Emperor.
Unexpectedly, before that day arrived, the Emperor had personally witnessed him sleeping in class. He felt utterly wretched and on the verge of tears.
The Emperor's gaze swept over his face like a sharp blade, causing him to shudder.
"Mr. Wang, it must be quite taxing to discipline these undisciplined students," the Emperor said, turning his attention to the stack of assignments on the desk. "Have you reviewed these yet?"
Mr. Wang shook his head. "I plan to examine them carefully while the students are studying on their own."
The Emperor reached out and picked up the assignments. "Since I have some free time, I'll share a bit of your burden."
These were the assignments Mr. Wang had assigned three days ago: to write an essay focusing on "the people," with no restrictions on the type of writing—poetry, parallel prose, or policy discussions were all acceptable.
On top was a poem, a five-character quatrain. The Emperor glanced at it, nodded repeatedly, and placed it on his left side.
The following essays, however, grew increasingly unsatisfactory. The Emperor's expression darkened more and more.Soon, another excellent piece appeared—a lengthy parallel prose essay, brimming with witty phrases that drew enthusiastic applause. It, too, was placed on the left side.
The Emperor continued reviewing the assignments one by one. The students in the classroom held their breath in concentration, while the standing members of the imperial family waited quietly. By the time all assignments had been examined, only five were placed on the left side.
"Out of thirty students, only five assignments are even worth reading," the Emperor remarked with a cold laugh.
Chu Hongyu, sitting in the front row, wriggled his little bottom as he pulled one assignment from the large stack and presented it with both hands: "Grandfather, please take another look. Is this one truly unworthy?"
The Emperor glanced at it—the handwriting was passable but lacked strength; the content had no major flaws but lacked depth. However, for a six-year-old child, it was indeed acceptable.
So the Emperor picked it up and placed it on the left side.
Chu Hongyu sat back down with a smug grin, shooting Yun Chu a look that said, "See how impressive I am?"
Only then did the Emperor carefully check who had written the five selected assignments, as the names were written on the back.
The first one he flipped over bore Meng Shen's name.
The Emperor nodded. He had long known that Qinghua's legitimate eldest son was an outstanding scholar, having just entered the Imperial Academy this year.
The second was by the son of the Marquis of Boyuan—bold in perspective, a promising talent.
When he flipped to the last one... the Emperor froze in astonishment. Could it be the Sixth Prince? Was this brilliant parallel prose really written by him?
"Sixth Prince, is this your assignment?"
Hearing this, the Sixth Prince immediately looked up, hesitated for a moment, and replied, "Yes, Father... I stayed up late for days working on this essay, barely sleeping at all. That’s why I fell asleep in class earlier. I beg your forgiveness."
The anger that had been rising in the Emperor instantly dissipated.
The Sixth Prince had always been mischievous, but it seemed that after a major injury, he had improved. Such an outstanding essay, coming from him, was proof enough that he had talent for scholarship.
"You've done well."
The Emperor praised him.
The Sixth Prince broke into a wide grin—this was the first time he had ever received praise from his father. So this was what it felt like to be commended.
"Sixth Prince, come up here. Read your essay aloud and explain why you wrote it this way, and what inspired your viewpoints."
The smile on the Sixth Prince’s face instantly stiffened.
But under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn’t refuse. With heavy steps, he walked to the front, picked up his assignment, and began to read.
He read on until he stumbled over a few characters he didn’t recognize: "The people’s pain... pain..."
Chu Hongyu, in the front row, stood on tiptoe and said, "‘The people’s pain in the backbone’—that character is ‘backbone’! How can you not recognize it, Sixth Imperial Uncle? This is your own writing!"
"Right, it’s ‘backbone,’" the Sixth Prince hurriedly replied. "I just didn’t recognize it for a moment."
He continued reading but soon stumbled again.
"Bang!"
The Emperor slammed his hand on the desk.
His face darkened like storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
Trembling with fear, the Sixth Prince’s knees gave way, and he dropped to the floor. "Father, I was wrong..."
If he couldn’t even read it smoothly, how could he possibly answer questions about the essay’s meaning? It was better to admit his mistake honestly and hope for leniency.
"How dare you! You had the audacity to hire a ghostwriter!"
The Emperor lifted his foot and kicked the Sixth Prince squarely in the chest.He then looked at Mr. Wang standing nearby: "Did you not know about this, sir?"
Mr. Wang replied calmly: "Your servant was aware, but saw no need to expose it."
The Emperor narrowed his eyes: "Why not?"
"Meng Shen completes two sets of assignments using different handwriting, different perspectives, and different writing styles. This practice helps him develop more agile thinking and teaches him to analyze problems from multiple angles." Mr. Wang spoke slowly, "Your servant believes this is beneficial, as it also trains Meng Shen's resilience and perseverance - qualities most essential for those serving as officials."
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