Although they had not seen each other for many years, Meng Yi, as Meng Tian's younger brother, was very keenly aware of his brother's gloating.
Meng Yi had been warned many times by Meng Tian, so when he was stumped by Ying Xiaozheng, he was in a good mood.
He knew that the prince was a great talent who was personally taught by Duke Zhu Xiang, and no one of his generation could compare to him. It was normal for him to be stumped by the prince, and the prince himself would definitely think it was normal.
The key to winning the prince's favor was not only to show his talents as much as possible, but also to show his good attitude.
Meng Yi had performed very well. His sweat showed his effort, and his neither humble nor arrogant expression showed his mentality, which made Ying Xiaozheng show a look of satisfaction on his face.
But after seeing Meng Tian's gloating expression, Meng Yi, who was still a young man, lost his temper and couldn't help but give his brother an angry look.
Ying Xiaozheng also noticed Meng Tian's little expression and stopped testing Meng Yi.
"You have been in the army with the teacher for so long, have you neglected your studies?" Ying Xiaozheng said with his hands behind his back and a straight face, "The teacher never puts down his books even on the warship or on the war horse. You should not have neglected your studies, right?"
Meng Tian: “…”
He didn't lose it originally, but he was busy with military affairs when he was preparing to defend the city, so... uh.
Meng Tian immediately said: "I will try my best!"
Ying Xiaozheng said slowly: "Anyone can swear something, it can't be taken seriously. Have you tried hard before? Let me test you."
Meng Yi immediately raised his lips and gave his brother a beautiful smile.
Meng Tian glanced at Meng Yi, thinking about how to teach his disrespectful brother a lesson of love.
The two brothers exchanged glances, and the atmosphere was very friendly and respectful, which made Ying Xiaozheng very happy.
He immediately stumped Meng Tian on the test, then praised Meng Yi and scolded Meng Tian, saying that Meng Tian, as a brother, did not set a good example for Meng Yi.
After scolding him, he reminded Meng Yi that studying is important, and practicing martial arts is also important. He saw that Meng Yi was weak and did not look like someone who could lead troops to fight. Meng Tian had already made military achievements, far surpassing his peers. Meng Yi should not only study book knowledge, but also go to the battlefield if he has the opportunity in the future.
Ying Xiaozheng learned the skill of pulling down others without any instruction.
Well, pull some and step on others, this is the strategy of the emperor.
After Ying Xiaozheng successfully "sowed discord" between his brothers, he took the imperial edict written by his father and king and went to the bow of the boat to read it while fishing.
Xue Ji seldom saw Meng Yi. She treated the children of Zhu Xiang's friends as her own children, although her own children were also close to each other, but Ying Xiaozheng was definitely unique.
Being bored on the boat, Xue Ji took out some cloth and wanted to make a set of clothes for Meng Yi.
Meng Yi didn't know about this yet. When he got the clothes that Xue Ji had sewn, he was happy and embarrassed, and was teased by his brother for a while.
Without Xue Ji watching over him, Ying Xiaozheng could read the letter while speaking rudely to his king and father.
"Huh? My uncle backstabbed me?" Ying Xiaozheng frowned and said unhappily, "My uncle is really too much. When I return to Xianyang, I will go to Xun Weng to complain."
What Ying Xiaozheng called Zhu Xiang's backstabbing was that Zhu Xiang himself was busy with official duties and felt unhappy, so he wrote a letter to Zichu, describing a large number of problems that Qin would encounter in its territorial expansion, which made Zichu unhappy.
Let’s put aside whether Zichu was depressed or not. When he saw that Zhu Xiang’s letter had arrived but Ying Xiaozheng had not returned yet, he knew that Ying Xiaozheng had probably just been having fun on the way. He immediately issued an edict to reprimand Ying Xiaozheng and ordered him to return to Xianyang to be scolded.
Ying Xiaozheng was dismissive of Zichu's harsh words, with an arrogant attitude of "what can you do to me if my king and father are angry?"
He flipped through Zichu's edict with a clatter, then threw it aside, lay down on a bamboo chair covered with a cotton mat, crossed his legs and closed his eyes to fish.
This comfortable posture was also learned from Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang always found the most comfortable posture, never caring about his image. Ying Xiaozheng learned this bad habit from Zhu Xiang.
When Meng Yi saw this, he said to Meng Tian with an expression of admiration and envy: "The prince is very similar to Duke Zhu Xiang."
Meng Tian nodded first, then saw Meng Yi's envious expression and wondered: "Do you want to learn from Duke Zhu Xiang?"
Meng Yi nodded vigorously.
Meng Tian immediately frowned and reprimanded his brother, saying, "Duke Zhu Xiang is worthy of respect, but not imitation."
Meng Yi was stunned, not understanding why his brother, who had written full of respectful words to Duke Zhu Xiang in the letter, would say this.
Meng Tian sighed and said, "Duke Zhu Xiang is a saint. Saints are to be respected but not imitated."
Meng Yi lowered his head and thought for a while, then nodded: "I understand, brother."
Meng Tian patted his brother's shoulder and said, "But it would be a blessing for you to accompany Duke Zhu Xiang. A saint like Duke Zhu Xiang should have disciples who are not saints around him to protect him."
Meng Yi nodded vigorously this time: "I will definitely work hard."
Meng Tian smiled encouragingly at his brother, but in his heart he was thinking, do you want to be a disciple of Duke Xiang of Zhu? The prince was the first to disagree. However, if Duke Xiang of Zhu could like his brother, his brother could go to Duke Xiang of Zhu's house with him for meals. Brothers are united, and they can definitely suppress Li Si and Han Fei.
Meng Tian still felt resentful about being suppressed by Li Si and Han Fei during his student career.
Although he has now joined the army and is probably not on the same path as Li Si and Han Fei, he still keeps it in mind.
My brother is so smart, and with my help, he will definitely be able to defeat Li Si and Han Fei in the debate, right? Meng Tian thought optimistically.
Although Ying Xiaozheng disdained Zichu's edict, the boat still increased its speed.
Ying Xiaozheng bowed respectfully with an extremely respectful expression.
Zichu was not going to indulge Ying Xiaozheng, so he stretched out his hand and grabbed Ying Xiaozheng's face: "Without Zhu Xiang watching, you've gone wild, right? I sent three imperial edicts in a row asking you to come back for training, but you were just sightseeing along the way? Tell me, where have you been? Xue Ji, don't speak for him."
Xue Ji smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I will not speak for him."
She waved to the child hiding behind Zichu and said, "Chengjiao, don't you recognize your aunt?"
Although he was already seven years old, Cheng Jiao, who was even smaller than when Ying Xiaozheng was five years old, was picky about food and didn't like to move. He poked his head out and asked, "Aunt is back?"
Xue Ji bent down and stretched out her hand, smiling, "Aunt is back."
Cheng Jiao carefully moved out from behind Zichu, then walked to Xue Ji in small steps: "Aunt?"
Xue Ji took Cheng Jiao into her arms and said, "It's my aunt. Hey, Cheng Jiao, why have you lost so much weight?"
She picked Cheng Jiao up and shook him, frowning and saying, "Are you being picky about food again?"
Ying Xiaozheng, whose face was pulled by Zichu, interrupted: "He must be picky about food. When I left Xianyang, he was still plump even when he was a vegetarian. Now that the mourning period has been over for more than a year, he has actually lost weight... Ouch, father, be gentle."
Zichu scolded, "I am teaching you a lesson, why are you butting in? Come here!"
He grabbed Ying Xiaozheng's face, "pulled" Ying Xiaozheng into the carriage and continued to scold him.
Ying Xiaozheng looked pitifully at Lin Zhi, his beloved Uncle Lin, who was standing behind Zichu with his hands in his pockets.
Uncle Lin gave Ying Xiaozheng a gloating smile, even showing eight teeth.
Ying Xiaozheng: “…”
As expected of you, Uncle Lin, you are indeed such a person!
Lin Zhi also happily followed Zichu onto the Qin King's carriage, even though Zichu didn't call him at all.
How could he not have fun watching Zheng'er being scolded? After reading it, he would write it down and send it to Zhu Xiang, so that Zhu Xiang could enrich his diary of raising Zheng'er.
Xue Ji carried Cheng Jiao and got on the carriage behind.
Cheng Jiao hooked his arms around Xue Ji's neck and soon found the familiar feeling of intimacy in Xue Ji's arms.
He rested his head on Xue Ji's shoulder and complained, "Brother Crown Prince always scolds me whenever we meet."
Xue Ji smiled and said, "He's not scolding you, he's just worried about you. You were still chubby when he left, but you've lost so much weight in less than a year. How could he not be worried?"
Cheng Jiao tilted his head and said, "Really? Are you feeling sorry for me? If the prince feels sorry for me, will he not arrange homework for me?"
Xue Ji rubbed Cheng Jiao's little head, which felt very nice, and said, "He will double the homework for you."
Cheng Jiao cried out in pain and closed his eyes.
Although he was still young, when he heard his brother's scolding, the memories of his brother's impatient teaching came to his mind, making this seven-year-old child look as if he was seventy years old.
Although he knew this would happen, he still pestered his eldest mother to send a letter, asking his father to pick him up and wait for his brother, the prince, at the dock.
Xue Ji quietly asked Cheng Jiao about his past years and asked about the Queen Mother Huayang and Queen Mother Xia.
After Cheng Jiao answered Xue Ji's questions, he unknowingly told Xue Ji about some of the child's troubles.
He didn't even tell his grandmother about these troubles, because he thought his grandmother looked silly and was afraid that she would worry.
However, his father was too strict with him. He always felt that he was inferior to his elder brother, the Crown Prince, in every way. He would ask him about his homework whenever they met, which made Cheng Jiao very unhappy.
Cheng Jiao also knew that he was very stupid and far inferior to his brother the Crown Prince, but he also didn't like to hear others say that he was stupid.
"My uncle clearly said that Cheng Jiao is very smart." Cheng Jiao felt aggrieved.
Xue Ji immediately said with a straight face: "Of course Cheng Jiao is very smart. Does being the first in everything mean being smart? In this case, are all the ministers in the court not smart except for the prime minister? Zheng'er's wisdom is enough to make him a prime minister, and Cheng Jiao's wisdom is enough to make him a left or right prime minister, and even a general. Compared to everyone in the world, Cheng Jiao is still the smartest one."
Cheng Jiao pouted: "My uncle said so too. My uncle said that besides the Crown Prince, Cheng Jiao is the smartest child, the second smartest child in the world. The most powerful Crown Prince will be the King of Qin, and Cheng Jiao, the second smartest, will be the Prime Minister."
Xue Ji nodded and said, "That's right. No matter how powerful Zheng'er is, he is just one person. He needs someone to assist him, help him, and protect him. Cheng Jiao is the most powerful prince of Qin who protects, assists, and helps the King of Qin. You see, your uncle is not the smartest person in the world, but no one in the world says that your uncle is bad."
Cheng Jiao was puzzled: "How could my uncle not be the smartest person in the world?"
Xue Ji said: "Of course, not to mention Xunzi, there are also your uncle Cai, uncle Lin, uncle Li, and your father Jun, all of whom are smarter than your uncle."
Cheng Jiao thought about it carefully and whispered, "Really? Father Jun is smarter than uncle?"
Xue Ji rubbed Cheng Jiao's head again and said, "Of course. Next time your father says you are stupid, you can say that your uncle and aunt said that your uncle is not the smartest person in the world and is far inferior to your father. Will your father say that your uncle is stupid?"
Cheng Jiao hesitated and asked, "Is it okay? Can I refute my father like this?"
Xue Ji smiled and said, "Of course. Just say it was your uncle and aunt who said it, and father Jun won't blame you."
Cheng Jiao raised his little head: "Okay!"
(End of this chapter)