Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

Zhu Han shook his head: "It is because it is impossible to ask for it that it is worth asking for."

The old monk looked at him for a long time, and finally said: "The donor has a noble air, not like someone from the temple, but his mind is as calm as a practitioner."

Zhu Han stood up and bowed: "I am not a Buddhist, but I believe in cause and effect."

"My nephew Zhu Biao is full of benevolence, but the world is full of twists and turns. I only hope that he can walk steadily and not lose his heart."

The old monk lowered his head and said, "May your wish come true."

That night, the lights in the East Palace's bedroom were still on.

Zhu Biao leaned on the table and thought deeply. Gu Qingping came over and put a white fox fur coat on him. "You have been thinking for half the night. Is it because of what Mr. Xu said today that you are confused?"

Zhu Biao nodded gently: "Mr. Xu only said 'The prince needs to be calm first', I thought about it for a long time, but I don't understand."

Gu Qingping chuckled: "That's strange indeed. But do you still remember what your uncle Wang said when you were young?"

Zhu Biao's eyes moved: "He taught me to 'hide yourself first and then move others', and said 'the more you do, the less you appear, that is the way of a prince'."

Gu Qingping continued softly, "That's it. What you are doing now is the right thing to do, but if you reveal it too quickly and too fully, people will only think that you are showing off and will not be willing to submit to you."

Zhu Biao pondered for a while, then nodded slowly: "I understand."

"I should slow down my pace, hold back my edge, and soften my voice - but my uncle... has already walked ahead for me."

Gu Qingping glanced at him and said softly, "You must remember that although he assists you, he can never replace you. If you rely on him every step of the way, others will not dare to approach you."

Zhu Biao lowered his head and bowed deeply, as if thanking someone who was not in the hall: "I will remember it."

It was late when Zhu Han returned home. When he entered his bedroom, he suddenly noticed something new on the desk.

It was a small wooden box. When it was opened, it contained a scroll that Gu Qingping had someone send over.

The painting depicts the scene of the Autumn Banquet in the Eastern Palace that day, with Zhu Biao standing with a scroll in his hand, Gu Qingping playing the zither, and ministers sitting around.

A line of small words in the corner made Zhu Han stop and stare for a long time:
"His heart is like jade, I hope the heavens will protect it from breaking."

Zhu Han chuckled, but there was a gleam in his eyes.

He slowly rolled up the scroll and called out, "Prepare the horses. I have to go to Chongrenfang early tomorrow morning."

The sun is still setting in the early morning when the sound of horse hooves breaks the dawn.

Zhu Han, wearing a light fur coat, walked straight along the old bluestone road, with only a trusted confidant following him, heading towards Chongrenfang, an old place for elegant gatherings in the capital.

This place is not a place for the rich and powerful to gather, but it is home to many hermits. Scholars, scholars, and retired Confucian scholars often live here, writing books or teaching students.

Zhu Han came here today just to find someone.

This man's surname was Yang, and his name was Fuchu. He once entered the Imperial College, but later he did not want to be an official, so he resigned and returned to his hometown. He lived in seclusion in Beijing for ten years. His lecture notes were privately praised as "the true master of pure discussion".

The system sound sounded at the right time:

[Sign in successfully]

【Location: Chongrenfang Yang's Book House】

[Reward: One volume of 'Question on Etiquette' (can improve character recognition and relationship judgment), obtain the 'Hidden Edge' talent skill (enhanced auxiliary effect)]

Zhu Han chuckled: "This really is a pair of discerning eyes."

In front of the library, the walls are covered with ivy and the eaves are covered with white tiles. An old man is sweeping fallen leaves, dressed simply and with a quiet look on his face.

Zhu Han did not show up as a prince, but only bowed and said, "Junior Zhu Han, I have long admired your elegance. I am willing to have a conversation with you today."

The old man put down his broom, stared at Zhu Han for a moment, and suddenly said: "You are not here to listen to the lecture, you are looking for a lecturer for others."

Zhu Han paused and smiled calmly: "Yes, and no. I came for the people, and I also came for the world."

"The East Palace is going to set up a lecture platform. After much thought, I think that the only person in the capital who can control the literary spirit and the Confucian heart is you, sir."

Yang Fuchu walked slowly into the study, without looking back, and said, "I will not be an official, I will not teach, and I will not fight."

Zhu Han stepped into the doorway and spoke in a voice as fast as the wind: "If the forum is for fame, I will not force it; if the forum is for teaching, I dare not speak nonsense; but if the forum is to gather pure-hearted people from all over the world for the prince, and to establish a 'non-official and non-bureaucratic' channel for him to speak - sir, are you willing to help him keep this clean stream?"

The study is extremely quiet.

After a long while, Yang Fuchu picked up a few pages of old manuscripts and sighed softly: "What a good phrase, 'neither an official nor a clerk'. When I was young, I also believed in these four words."

He looked up at Zhu Han, his eyes showing a long-lost warmth: "I am not going for the prince, I am going for those four words."

Zhu Hanyi bowed and said: "The prince has gained a teacher, not only a lecture, but also a 'true word'."

Half a month later, the East Palace Bamboo Forest Forum was set up.

No notice had been posted, no decree had been issued, and it had not been widely announced, but for a time, the scholars in the capital spontaneously rushed around to tell each other.

There were even Confucian scholars from other places who requested to be admitted to listen, just to see Yang Fuchu's lecture.

When Zhu Biao first met Yang Fuchu, he was extremely respectful and asked, "Sir, do you need a plan for your lecture?"

Yang Fuchu simply said: "There is no principle to be determined, only 'what the heart desires'."

Gu Qingping also attended the first lecture and later whispered to Zhu Biao: "Your uncle Wang has a very good eye. When this man sat down, the whole room fell silent."

Zhu Biao nodded slightly, feeling even more respectful.

Zhu Han was drinking tea in the side hall, not showing any emotion. He knew that today was just the beginning. What he was planning was not only the forum, but also the clean stream.

Rather, it was to make Zhu Biao's "benevolence" begin to have a voice; to let the world hear that the prince's ambition was not only for the happiness of one person, but for the safety of all people.

He murmured in a low voice: "There are words to be said, and people to listen. Next...it's time for someone to remember."

He stood up and called out, "Go to Wenfang and call Lu Wenzhao."

Zhu Han stood in the corridor, watching the mist rising after the drizzle. In the distance, the lecture hall in the East Palace was still full.

Yang Fuchu was wearing a plain shirt, holding an ancient book in his hand. His voice was distant but could touch people's hearts.

He was not lecturing, but seemed to be chatting with the students in the room.

"I ask you, what is right and what is wrong in your heart?"

"If the words and logic do not reach people's hearts, then they are not logic, but empty words."

Zhu Han nodded silently. With this voice, the East Palace could finally leave a few clear marks in the wind and rain.

Footsteps were heard, and it was Wang Zhen leading a young man.

"Your Highness, the person has been brought here."

The young man was dressed simply, but his eyes were bright and his face had a clear scholarly air.

He was Lu Wenzhao, a former member of the Hanlin Academy. Zhu Han had long noticed him because of his elegant writing style and upright words. Zhu Han did not rush to speak, but raised his hand and pointed to the bamboo forest outside the window: "Would you like to leave your writings for the East Palace Forum?"

Lu Wenzhao was stunned for a moment, then he said seriously: "If what Your Highness said is a record of the facts and not embellishment, and is to preserve the truth for future generations, then Lu is willing to write it down."

Zhu Han smiled: "It is only for recording, not for embellishment. Every word must be true, every sentence must be real."

He sighed softly, "If he wants to practice benevolence, someone must record every step along the way for him, so that a hundred years later, people will not only remember that he was the prince, but also that he was the 'Friend of the Speakers'."

"You should listen to the lectures every day, record the words and events, and select the most important ones to compile into a 'Lecture Notes'. If what you record is true and without falsehood, print ten copies and give them to the Imperial College for safekeeping."

Lu Wenzhao bowed his hands in agreement, but a warm feeling surged in his heart.

This is the highest aspiration of a clerk. It is not to write history or biography, but to set up a mirror for "the hearts of modern people".

Zhu Han saw his expression and knew that he had agreed. He said no more and only said, "Next to the Bamboo Forest Study, there is a small vacant pavilion called 'Tingwu Pavilion'. You can stay there temporarily."

Lu Wenzhao thanked him and left with Wang Zhen.

After a moment, Gu Qingping came in from the side door and smiled softly, "Have you chosen this person?"

Zhu Han nodded: "He writes neither hurriedly nor slowly, just like the sound of a guqin. Such people have a sense of moderation in their writing and will not over-describe people."

"The prince needs people's trust now, not praise."

Gu Qingping's eyes moved slightly: "Aren't you afraid that he will write about you?"

Zhu Han turned to look at her and smiled: "If he really writes about me, then I should save myself the trouble."

That evening, after the lecture ended, the crowd slowly dispersed in the bamboo forest. Only Zhu Biao remained standing, looking at the words left by Yang Fuchu on the stone table:
“Knowledge is like a lamp, it illuminates oneself and others.”

His fingertips lightly brushed over the words, as if pressing them into his heart.

Suddenly, a child's voice called out, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

A little boy came running over, his face full of shyness, holding a scroll of paper in his hand: "I am so bold that I have a doubt after listening to the lecture today. I dare not speak it out in front of everyone, so I can only ask Your Highness to read this scroll of paper."

Zhu Biao took it and unfolded it. It was a page of childish questions from the boy, titled "What is a Great Duke?"

He lowered his head to finish reading, raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and bowed to the little boy: "What you asked today is exactly what I, the crown prince, ask myself every day."

He said softly, "I will keep this paper. If I can no longer answer you in the future, you can take it and ask every gentleman on the pulpit."

The boy knelt down and kowtowed. Zhu Biao personally helped him up and said, "The etiquette of a scholar is in the heart, not in kneeling. If you can tell others about it in the future, it will be a true answer to me."

Outside the bamboo forest, the night deepens.

Zhu Han walked alone, listening to the wind blowing through the shadows of the trees. Suddenly he stopped and looked back, saying, "Gu Qingping."

The woman slowly appeared from the side, with a gentle look between her brows.

Zhu Han looked at her for a moment, then suddenly said, "Do you remember you once said that I never express my emotions or reveal my thoughts?"

Gu Qingping smiled: "It's still the same now."

Zhu Han's eyes darkened slightly, but his voice was light: "I will say one thing from my heart today - if the prince becomes successful, I will be at peace."

It was late at night and the moon was bright. The lights in the palace were still on. In a corner of the inner courtyard of the East Palace, the candlelight was flickering like a bean, and the clusters of golden light made Zhu Han's eyebrows look even more clear and stern.

He was wearing a blue-gray suit and sitting alone in front of a low desk, playing with a black jade paperweight between his fingers. He was in an uncertain state of mind, as if he was pondering, or listening quietly to the occasional chirping of birds in the distance at night.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from outside. Wang Zhen quietly entered the room, bowed his hands and whispered, "Your Highness, the prince has not yet gone to bed."

Zhu Han didn't even raise his head, as if he had expected it: "Where is he?"

"He is still outside the Tingwu Pavilion behind the lecture hall and has not left yet." Wang Zhen paused for a moment and then said softly, "He said that he wanted to wait for Lu Wenzhao to sort out the first day's minutes and then personally review them."

Zhu Han finally put the paperweight down gently, his eyes rippling like a deep pool, and said, "Call Gu Qingping to come with me."

Wang Zhen took the order and left. Not long after, Gu Qingping, with her hair tied up in a white bun and her skirt flowing like smoke, came silently from the side hall. She entered and saw Zhu Han, and whispered, "Aren't you going to rest?"

Zhu Han nodded slightly and raised his hand to signal him to follow.

It was late at night, but the lights were bright outside Tingwu Zhai.

In front of the pavilion, Zhu Biao was sitting upright on the stone steps, holding a scroll of cursive writing in his hand, and the tea cup beside him had gone cold. Although he was wearing casual clothes, his brows still showed a self-restrained and upright character.

Lu Wenzhao stood under the lamp, his clothes slightly wet, obviously he had been out in the rain for inspection, and he spoke with some fatigue: "Your Highness, this is an excerpt from today's lecture. It was written hastily, so if there are any inappropriate parts, I hope Your Highness will correct them."

Zhu Biao did not answer immediately, but looked up at him and said in a clear voice: "Is what you recorded true?"

Lu Wenzhao was startled, then he said solemnly: "Not a single word is false."

"That's good." Zhu Biao smiled softly, reached out to take the book, flicked open the pages and read. Under the lamp, the paper was slightly blurred with ink, which was actually quite touching.

Zhu Han and his party approached and saw this situation, so they slowed down their steps. Gu Qingping stepped forward first and said with a smile: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is reading all night. Are you afraid that your writing will not be as good as what people hear?"

Zhu Biao looked up and saw several people coming. He stood up and saluted: "Uncle, Qingping."

Zhu Han stopped him from bowing: "Who are you worrying about when you are awake at night?"

Zhu Biao smiled with a hint of fatigue: "I was suddenly moved while listening to the lecture today. It has been said since ancient times that 'learning is the way of the ruler', but what is a 'rule' and what is a 'way', but no one can explain it in detail. So I want to listen to Wen Zhao's words to see if he can give me some clues."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Wenzhao whispered, "Your Highness, I dare not speak rashly about what you asked. I can only record what I heard and thought. If I can compile it one day, it may help scholars trace back to the origin of the forum."

Gu Qingping leaned against the pillar, her eyes gentle, "Are you going to revive the legacy of the Imperial College and bring back the spirit of the literati of the past?"

Zhu Biao smiled lightly, but his tone was solemn: "It's not about calling it back, but about preserving a lineage. The Imperial College was abolished, and the scholars can disperse, but the desire to seek the truth cannot be broken. Now that the lecture platform of the Eastern Palace has been established, it can no longer rise and fall with the wind."

Zhu Han listened to his words quietly, and finally whispered: "Biao'er, you know the wind direction, but you don't know how fast the wind is."

Zhu Biao looked up in astonishment, only to see Zhu Han's face was calm and his tone was normal, but there was a calm and sharp aura that pierced his heart: "Although the forum is popular nowadays, not everyone will admire it. You spread the voice of benevolent governance, which is a blessing for the people, but it may not be welcomed by the scholars."

"The scholar may not necessarily believe the one who has the right reason; the scholar may not necessarily respect the one who has the support of others."

Gu Qingping smiled lightly, as if to ease the atmosphere: "Your Highness, what you said is too heavy to hear tonight."

Zhu Han did not turn around, but just looked at Zhu Biao and said: "In this world, the most difficult thing is not to be able to reason, but to be able to win people's hearts. You set up a lecture platform today, and you have won famous scholars and scholars. This is a good thing. But you must remember that the direction of scholars can change in a single thought; the hearts of the world can be moved by the slightest breeze."

Zhu Biao remained silent for a long while before he asked softly, "Does the emperor have any good ideas?"

Zhu Han walked slowly forward and stepped onto the jade steps. His voice seemed to float in the wind: "The lecture hall is not short of reputation, but it lacks sparks. You teach scholars how to govern the world? It is better to teach them to read people's hearts and write about human affairs first."

Gu Qingping added: "People's hearts are easily chilled, but memories are indestructible."

After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Lu Wenzhao and said, "Would you like to choose a day to recite the text recorded on the lecture platform in front of scholars, not to recount your achievements, but just to trace the source?"

Lu Wenzhao bowed deeply and said firmly: "Wenzhao is willing to serve as a painter and keep this heart for the East Palace."

Zhu Biao heard this, his eyes gradually brightened, and he nodded slowly: "That's good." (End of this chapter)