The little emperor leaned over to take a look. "Agriculture?"
"Did the imperial preceptor ask you to learn agriculture?"
Gu Xichao pursed his lips. "Today, father's lecture mostly revolved around labor, agriculture, and commerce.
I still don't understand.
I only dared to choose agriculture. "
Gu Xichao was a cautious person.
Especially after hearing that there was a punishment for the bottom ten.
He became more and more cautious.
Among the three categories, he was not familiar with craftsmen at all, and he knew nothing about commerce.
The only thing that made him feel fortunate was that he had the honor of listening to the old farmer next door talk about farming.
Although farming could not be completely copied, it could provide some clues.
The little emperor pondered for a moment.
"It seems that the imperial preceptor is very attentive to you this time. When he went to the imperial study to teach us, he was just like this."
Gu Xichao smiled.
The little emperor pursed his lips.
He felt inexplicably wronged, but he quickly recovered.
He immediately resurrected on the spot.
"I'll go back to the palace first. You can go to the palace to find me tomorrow."
It was getting late.
There were restrictions at the palace gate. As the emperor, he naturally should set an example. The little emperor waved his hand behind him.
He returned to the palace without stopping.
Gu Xichao was left thinking hard about the article on the table.
After a while, there was a sound outside the door.
The maid said respectfully outside the door, "Young master,
It's time for dinner. "
Gu Xichao woke up from his dream. He looked outside through the window. The crescent moon hung high. It was obvious that it was already night.
Gu Xichao packed his things.
He opened the door.
He said, "Let's go."
The maid bowed and said, "Yes."
She turned around and led Gu Xichao to the main courtyard where Xie Lige was.
After turning left and right, they passed through the dense bamboo forest and came to the main courtyard. Xie Lige was already waiting inside. The table was filled with all kinds of dishes. They were simple and delicious.
Gu Xichao said apologetically, "I'm late. Please forgive me, father."
Xie Lige shook his head and said, "It's okay."
"Let's eat first."
Silence reigned at the table.
After dinner, the servants removed the dishes from the table. Gu Xichao finally had time to spend with Xie Lige. He saw that his nominal father was resting with a cup of tea in his hand.
Gu Xichao hesitated for a moment before asking, "Father?"
Xie Lige opened his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"What you said today …"
Xie Lige immediately saw through Gu Xichao's hesitation and answered sharply, "You want to know why I'm talking about this?"
Gu Xichao was at a loss for words. After a while, he slowly replied, "Yes."
Xie Lige put down the fragrant tea in his hand and sighed. "The Emperor is young, and the ministers are old. This dynasty needs fresh blood, and not a stubborn seal."
"Father, are you worried about the people of the grasslands?"
"The grassland barbarians have not given up on their desire to take over the Central Plains. Although I schemed back then, I couldn't hold on for long. Fu Zongshu understood my intentions and willingly delayed the grasslands for three years. All of this was to buy time for this dynasty."
Xie Lige looked at Gu Xichao and sighed. "We don't have much time left. The rest is up to your generation."
Should it be said that Gu Xichao's mission was the easiest to complete?
Ever since Xie Lige adopted him, this mission had already been completed. The Seventh Madame's dying wish was that Gu Xichao could safely become his adopted son. Now, this wish had been fulfilled. The Second Madame was close to him and naturally did not want to drag him down.
In other words, Xie Lige could leave this world at any time.
However, the completion of the mission also meant that Xie Lige could not stay in this world for too long.
When the mission had been completed, the system had specially applied to the head office for an extension of time. The original one week had been extended to three years. This was also why Xie Lige had started to go to the Imperial College.
He did not have much time left in this world.
He needed to make full use of the remaining three years.
Of course, Gu Xichao did not know what Xie Lige was thinking. When he heard Xie Lige's sigh, his first reaction was to raise his head and look at his face. He was handsome and elegant, without any blemishes or wrinkles. If he were to go out and say that he was a young man in his twenties, he would have a surname.
It was really hard to believe that such a person would say that he was old.
Gu Xichao thought this in his heart, but on the surface, he still put on a serious expression and said, "Yes."
Xie Lige was very satisfied with his son's obedience this time. He thought back to when the little Emperor had done something well when he was young. How did he reward him?
It seemed like …
Xie Lige hesitantly placed his hand on the child's head and patted him. He said softly, "Good boy!"
Gu Xichao's body stiffened. He widened his eyes in disbelief. He only felt that the warmth of the large and warm hand on his head had almost warmed his heart.
Xie Lige saw that the child under his hand had put away the thorns on his body. He first stiffened defensively and then softened. He could not help but feel warm in his heart. As expected, he was still a child. His heart softened a little.
Looking at the sky, he stood up and said, "Go back. Sleep early."
Gu Xichao watched him leave.
Before Xie Lige left, he reminded him, "You must not stay up too late. You are still growing. It is best to strike a balance between work and rest."
Gu Xichao obediently agreed.
He watched Xie Lige's back disappear into the side room. Then he stayed for a while and turned to leave the main courtyard.
On the way back, Gu Xichao thought a lot. He had been on guard at the beginning, and now he was calm. He thought about Xie Lige's action of patting his head again and again. He was surprised to find that he did not seem to dislike it at all. Instead, he felt a faint sense of closeness.
Gu Xichao thought expressionlessly. Perhaps there was a part of his heart that he could not detect. Perhaps he really wanted a father.
After thinking about it, he came to the door of his courtyard. He entered the side room and began to do his homework. It was not until midnight that the lights went out. He had a good night's sleep.
The next day, Gu Xichao woke up early and went to the main courtyard. Xie Lige had not gotten up yet, but the servants were already busy in the courtyard. It was obvious that they had received good training.
He sat at the table, and the servants began to serve the dishes. After a while, Xie Lige came in.
Xie Lige was surprised to see him, "You are here so early?"
"How did you sleep last night?"
Gu Xichao replied seriously, "I had a good night's sleep."
After breakfast, the father and son left the mansion with full stomachs and went to the Imperial College. The students in the Imperial College had dignified expressions. It was obvious that they did not have a good time yesterday. After all, the homework this time was like someone holding a knife to their necks. If there was a problem, their ranking would fall to the bottom. It was still okay for some of the children of the aristocratic families who practiced martial arts. After all, it was hereditary.
They did not want to lose face!
No matter what, the scholarly families would not admit defeat in the field of their profession.
Last night, the wang fu could be said to have been extremely lively. The noble and talented uncles of the wang family were surprised to find that their usually intelligent nephews had a day where they were looking at their homework with a worried expression. They curiously began to inquire about who it was.
After hearing that it was the homework assigned by the Imperial Preceptor, they were all relieved.
He clapped his hands and said with a smile, "It is very normal. Your uncle used to be like this in the past. However, Zishi, what homework did the Imperial Preceptor assign? Tell me and make me happy."
Wang Shi Zi, "…"
Wang Shi Zi, "!!!!"
Very good, it was indeed his uncle.
"The Imperial Preceptor asked us to choose one of the three categories of labor, agriculture, and commerce to govern the land. I am hesitating."
Considering that his uncle might really be able to help, Wang Shi Zi hesitated for a while and decided to tell the reason.
Uncle Wang was stunned and said, "Is the Imperial Preceptor going to train you?"
"Wait, Zishi, tell me everything that happened this afternoon."
Hearing his uncle's anxious voice, Wang Shi Zi told him everything that happened this afternoon in a low voice. When he finished, it was already midnight. As soon as his uncle heard it, he ran away without stopping. It seemed that he was going to leave him alone to work on his homework.
When he finished his homework, it was already dawn.
He did not sleep all night.
Wang Shi Zi silently made a note of his uncle who made a fool of his nephew.
When he went to the Imperial College, he found Zhao Shi sitting next to him with a complacent look. He was sitting in his seat and had a tail wagging behind him. Obviously, he did a good job yesterday.
All the homework was handed in.
Zhao Shi Zi came over and asked, "How was your homework?"
Wang Shi Zi said with a sullen face, "It should be okay."
He secretly prayed that he would not be the last one.
Xie Lige went up and put away all the homework. He let the students start to study freely. He picked up a pen and began to grade the homework slowly. Those with good handwriting would be given extra points, those with ugly handwriting would be deducted points, those with good handwriting would be given extra points, those with good handwriting would be deducted points, and those with bad handwriting would be deducted points.
Because it was just an essay, Xie Lige did not set a word limit. Some students wrote more than others, but most of them wrote less. Naturally, his grading speed was not slow. Soon, he finished grading most of the essays.
Xie Lige slowly understood. Those who were able to go to the Imperial College had some foundation. Although he did not usually come into contact with workers, merchants, and farmers, he could get a general idea of most of them. Most of the nonsensical essays that he graded were written by rich playboys, but he could see that they were very serious.
What caught Xie Lige's attention the most was the essay written by a young man named Zhao. Perhaps it was because his talent for business was too strong, he was able to slowly apply the term "business tax" to various aspects of land. He read the essay a few times. Although the handwriting was not good, and the essay could only be said to be smooth, the strategy was actually able to combine what he said in class with his daily life.
What was commendable was that he grasped the psychological bottom line of the civil and military officials just right.
Xie Lige picked up the pen and gave the essay full marks. He could not help but praise in his heart. This boy was a talent.
If this was in his time, this boy could at least become a business tycoon. In ancient times, it was a waste of talent. After thinking about it, Xie Lige first put the essay aside and let it dry. He was going to take it back to show it to the little Emperor when he left.
With Zhao's son as the first, the other essays about business were not good enough. Xie Lige did not hold back and gave them all low marks.
The essay about craftsmanship was written by a student surnamed Wang. At first, what attracted Xie Lige was not his essay, but the words on the paper. The characters were placed neatly on the paper and were very pleasing to the eye. After reading it carefully, the essay was not bad. Although it was not perfect because of his young age, it was rare and valuable to be able to combine it with war.
Xie Lige also picked up the pen and gave a good score.