The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 13 There is no road closer to success than hard work and perseverance

"I will follow your instructions, Master. Please teach me."

"Starting tomorrow, before the sun rises, wash your face, sit cross-legged in an empty space in the courtyard facing east, and be calm and at peace."

"Take the purple energy from the east that comes from the rising sun and practice, then practice the corresponding external skills for half an hour. You can eat after a rest for a cup of tea."

"Study literature and learn characters for another two hours, take a half-incense stick break after lunch, and then study for another two hours. You can take a cup of tea break between each hour."

"When the moon rises, take the moon's energy and practice it. After practicing for another half an hour, you can eat and sleep."

"You are still young, you don't need to build up your strength, it will be bad for your growth. First, you should cultivate your spirit and practice boxing and kicking."

"Rest one day every five days, but on that day you must absorb the essence of the sun and the moon without stopping."

"Disciple obeys your command, but I have something to say about the arrangement of future studies."

"Please speak, young master."

"I have been a little sleepy since I was young. I asked a doctor to see me. He said that I was too energetic. Because I was young and lacked energy and blood, I grew up sleepy. It's not a bad thing, but I need to get enough rest every day."

"But I'm afraid that this will delay my practice sooner or later. I dare not keep silent about this matter. Teacher, do you think there is any compromise?"

Zhong Cang pondered for a moment:
"My method is most concerned with morning and evening practice, so you can't delay it. In this case, study one hour less during the day and sleep one hour longer after lunch. Add in the practice of Qigong and meditation, and that should be enough."

"Thank you teacher."

Zhong Cang warned Ying Zheng:

"If you want to accomplish anything in the world, you must first set your mind. This mind is your lifelong ambition. If you don't have this mind, everything is in vain, just like grass, trees, and rotten soil."

"However, it is not a small matter to set great ambitions. One can only set one's own ambitions. Once one sets an ambition, he must persist in going forward, no matter how hard it is, until it is achieved."

"But if you are not mentally mature, how can you find your lifelong ambition?"

“There is nothing wrong with persistence and hard work, but you must find the right direction and method, otherwise it will be like looking for fish in a tree.”

“So to set a goal, one must first seek it, and to seek it one must first increase knowledge, broaden one’s horizons, temper one’s will, and experience the world.”

“When you have achieved all of this, have known the world, known your own heart, found your own pursuits, and made your own choices, then it is time to set your goals. True determination is by no means an empty promise.”

“Before you set your goals, you need to study hard and learn all you can, open your eyes and observe the world carefully. This is what a gentleman does: he hides his talent and waits for the right time to act.”

"Only by using oneself as a tool and honing oneself in every way can one strive for what is inevitable and let nature take its course."

"Do you understand, young master?"

Ying Zheng stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully to Zhong Cang:

"The teacher's wise words and wise sayings must be engraved in the disciple's heart. The disciple is young and ignorant now, so he dare not speak rashly about his ambitions. He should first listen to the teacher's teachings, increase his knowledge, and hide his talents in himself, and then set a lifelong ambition in the future."

Zhong Cang bowed back: "Young Master is of noble birth and has extraordinary talent. I look forward to your great ambitions in the future."

Zhong Cang then warned: "Young Master, do you know that if you want to succeed in the world, whether it is to achieve your ambition or to accomplish your goal, what is the most important thing?"

Without waiting for Ying Zheng to reply, he continued: "The most important thing is perseverance and persistence."

“A good horse cannot reach ten steps in one leap; a slow horse can reach ten steps in ten days if it persists. Nothing is difficult in the world, but perseverance is the key to success.”

“No matter how talented you are or what your background is, if you can’t persevere, you will never achieve anything great. Whether you study literature or martial arts, if you want to achieve something, you must persevere, study hard, and practice hard every day.”

"Learning is a very painful thing. This kind of pain is not a momentary pain, but the pain of tempering and persistence day and night. It is the pain of dull repetition and the pain of unknown confusion."

“Many people can endure hardships, courage and ruthlessness at times, but whether they can persist every day is the absolute key difference between mediocre people and outstanding talents.”

"Persistence is mainly about diligence. Diligence comes from being forced by others and from being forced by oneself. However, the final key is to force yourself. Outsiders can't really kill you to make you successful."

"Diligence is not something that can be forced by others, but initiative on your own. And you must devote yourself to it wholeheartedly. It is useless to deceive yourself and pretend to work hard."

"Those who have accomplished great things since ancient times have always been determined and perseverant. Without the determination of Yugong moving mountains, how can one accomplish extraordinary things? This is the true meaning of where there is a will, there is a way."

Zhong Cang stood up and bowed, then said solemnly, "Young Master is the ruler after all, and the subject is the subject after all. I hope that Young Master will not waste his own talents."

Ying Zheng bowed deeply in return: "Teacher, your words are from the bottom of my heart. I will keep them in my heart. In the future, I will obey your teachings and never slack off. Please discipline me strictly and don't be lenient with me because of my status!"

Ying Zheng just felt that he was very lucky to have met such a good teacher who educated him and cultivated his moral character. What more could he ask for? His gratitude came from the bottom of his heart.

Zhong Cang nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "I am still confident in the young master."

"Young Master, please go back and have a rest. It's important to combine work and rest. When studying, you should avoid being impatient for quick success and getting results. You should rest when you need to. It's also important to eat well and sleep well."

"Madam should be anxious too." "Tomorrow, according to the arrangement, we will officially start studying. I will wake up the young master."

"But it will be inconvenient for Madam in the future. Besides, the young master is getting older. Today, please ask him to move to the front yard as well. It will be more convenient this way."

"As the teacher instructed, I will ask my mother to arrange it for me after dinner today."

The two said goodbye to each other.

Zhao Ji was sitting by the window at this time. The peerless beauty stared blankly at the moon outside the window, supporting her face with one hand.

Under the moonlight, her pretty face, fair arms, skin as white as jade and as soft as snow.

She spent half a day in the backyard today and felt bored without Zheng'er around.

Ever since Ying Zheng was born, the mother and son have been inseparable. Ying Zheng has never left her side for so long. Although it was only half a day, it felt particularly long.

Zhao Ji was thinking at this time, 'Why hasn't Zheng'er come back yet? It's so late. Is he hungry?'

"Zheng'er is still so young, he won't be tired, I don't know if the teacher will let him rest."

There was still some resentment in his heart: "Zhong Cang is such a bad teacher. He didn't let the class end yet. What should I do if Zheng Er is starving? He is said to be strict, but he shouldn't be so strict. "

Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard Ying Zheng's voice: "Mother, I'm back."

Zhao Ji's face lit up with joy, and she quickly ran out of the door and hugged Ying Zheng.

"Oh, Zheng'er, you're finally back. I missed you so much. Did you miss your mother?"

As he spoke, he pinched Ying Zheng's little face.

Ying Zheng replied flatly: "No, I have been studying hard today. Besides, it's only half a day, so what is there to think about?"

Zhao Ji was furious: "You are a heartless person, just like your father. Mother misses you so much, but you don't miss me."

As he spoke, he squeezed it even harder.

Ying Zheng broke free and skillfully changed the subject:

"This teacher Zhong Cang is really talented. I have benefited a lot from studying today. He is a man of both literary and martial arts, knowledgeable, and upright. My father is really lucky to have this man to help him."

I can't help but feel emotional:
"Such a great talent, but his family background is not good enough, and because of his appearance, he wasted many years. People judge people by their appearance, how unwise. Just think about it, there are so many talented people like this in the world. I will never be like this in the future."

Zhao Ji successfully diverted the topic:
"Come on, who in the world doesn't judge people by appearance? Regardless of whether they are men or women, who doesn't want to be beautiful? Regardless of whether they are men or women, who doesn't like beautiful people?"

"Just like my housekeeper, he has an extraordinary demeanor at a young age. He will definitely be very popular with girls in the future."

"Confucius said: I have never seen anyone who loves virtue as much as he loves beauty. From this we can see who does not love beauty."

"You are still young now. If you become like your father in the future, you will be slapped in the face if you say such things~"

Ying Zheng rolled his eyes at Zhao Ji and said, "Mother, what you said makes sense, but even though I like beautiful people, as long as I don't ignore talented and virtuous people, isn't it enough to put talent and virtue first?"

Seeing that Zhao Ji was about to refute again, he quickly changed the subject: "Mother, I'm hungry."

"Yes, yes, yes, mother has forgotten. Please sit down first. The food is ready and is being warmed up. I'll go get it."

The maids and servants sent by the Qin State had just arrived yesterday. They were exhausted from the long journey, so Zhao Ji asked them to rest for a few days.

Only Zhong Cang, Geng Ying and Yan Jin started working early this morning, while the others were still resting.

King Xiaocheng of Zhao withdrew all the people he had sent before. It had been a while since Zhao Ji had been working personally, and only today did Geng Ying help her.

The food was ready, and Zhao Ji asked Geng Ying and Yan Jin to eat first, and the two of them left for the time being.

While the two were having dinner, Ying Zheng told Zhao Ji about today's teaching and praised Zhong Cang repeatedly.

Zhao Ji couldn't help but agree and praise, saying that Zhong Cang was indeed a good teacher and a talented person, and asked Ying Zheng to listen carefully to his teachings.

When they were almost done eating, he told Zhao Ji about Zhong Cang's study arrangements at the dinner table.

Before Zhao Ji could complain about the hard study assignment, she continued:

"Starting tomorrow, I will practice self-cultivation and exercise every morning and evening. Mother, in order not to cause any inconvenience to you and to facilitate the teaching of Teacher Zhong Cang, I will move to the front yard today and find a guest room close to Teacher Zhong Cang."

When Zhao Ji heard this, she stopped eating and slammed her chopsticks to refuse: "No, you are still so young, how can you live alone?"

(End of this chapter)