Proud Feather

Chapter 52 Uncle Master
At the beginning of the founding of Daxiang, Taizu had a strategist who came from the Taoist school. He was resourceful and decisive, and had made great contributions.

What is rare is that he retired after achieving his goal, declined the title, built the Sanqing Temple on Yuntai Mountain, dozens of miles away from the capital, and went there to practice seclusion.

Taizu was grateful for his noble character and appointed him as the national teacher to protect the country's destiny.

From then on, Sanqing Temple became a royal Taoist temple.

……

In the early morning of Yuntaishan, the sun shines through the woods, and the clear sound of bells comes from afar. Only a trace of the sound remains here, making the place seem even more quiet and peaceful.

"Little knowledge is not as good as great knowledge, young age is not as good as great age. How do you know this is true?" The low and slow voice flowed gently in the woods, like a clear spring in the mountains, soft and slightly cool.

The girl who was listening in the woods fell asleep in the coolness. She was originally sitting cross-legged, but she unconsciously tilted to one side. Her head nodded and she only relied on her elbows to support herself and not fall down.

"The morning mushroom does not know the new moon and full moon, the cicada does not know spring and autumn..." The voice stopped here, and drops of cold water splashed out.

"It's raining!" The girl woke up with a start and jumped up suddenly. When she looked up, she met a cold face with eyes covered with gauze.

She looked at the sunlight above her head and the teacup held by the young man sitting on the rock, and said embarrassedly, "Junior Master, you are still young, how come you can't even hold a cup of tea steadily?"

The blindfolded youth calmly put down the teacup and asked, "Where was I reading just now?"

"..." The girl was silent for a moment, then decided to give up. "Alright, I just fell asleep, so what? What kind of crappy sutra is that? It's meaningless. Can listening to it solve my problem? If it can't solve the problem, what's the point? It's useless to listen to it!"

After saying that, she sat back down and waved to the Taoist boy next to her: "Give me a cup of tea!"

The Taoist boy obediently served her tea. She took a sip and frowned, "What kind of tea is this? It doesn't taste like tea at all!"

The Taoist boy was implicated for no reason and whispered, "Princess, this is scented tea. You praised it for being delicious and beautiful just a few days ago."

"That's why it's not good today," the girl argued, muttering, "What's the point of looking good? You get tired of it after one or two times. No matter how beautiful the flowers are, they will wither in a few days!"

After she finished speaking, the young man on the rock suddenly laughed, and the Taoist boy shuddered with fear: "Little Uncle, don't be angry, Master will come as soon as he finishes the ritual..."

The girl showed no fear, but looked at him provocatively.

I'm talking about you! I tolerated your good looks a couple of days ago, but today I don't want to tolerate it anymore! Good looks can't be eaten!
The boy had his eyes covered and could not see her expression, but it was not difficult for him to sense her malice.

After laughing, he said, "No matter how beautiful the flowers are, they will wither in two days. Princess, since you know this, why are you still wasting your time?"

The girl frowned: "What the hell?"

The young man continued, "Princess, do you know why you're sitting here, filled with resentment and unable to find a solution? You're clearly not at fault, and it's clearly others who are at fault, but in the end, you're the one who's ignorant and disobedient, and you're the one who's been driven here to think about past mistakes that didn't exist."

These words hit a sore spot, and the girl's face quickly darkened.

"The answer lies in that sentence just now," the young man said softly. "Small knowledge is not as good as great knowledge, and a small age is not as good as a big age. How do we know this is true? A morning mushroom doesn't know the new moon and full moon, and a cicada doesn't know spring and autumn!"

"What do you mean?" she said angrily.

"I don't understand?" the boy replied calmly, "Now you understand the harm of not studying, right?"

When had Her Royal Highness been mocked like this before? She was about to explode: "You..."

"Morning mushrooms know nothing of the beginning and end of the month, and cicadas know nothing of spring and autumn. Because they live only for one day, one season, how could they know the waxing and waning of the moon, the transition from spring to autumn? Just like you, you only know the palace and father and son, how could you understand the world and power?"

The girl paused, pointing at his hand for a long moment without moving. "Your Majesty, why do you think you're ignorant? He's seen the moon wax and wane, the seasons change. He's not just the father of one person; he has other children. He holds power, and he must balance the court, tighten his grip on it, and pass it down."

The girl sat back silently.

The Taoist boy was a little nervous and whispered, "Little Uncle, Master said to just read the scriptures..."

"Let him talk!" The girl interrupted the Taoist boy, a fierce glint in her eyes. "Let's see what he can say!"

"You think this is family affection, this is fairness, but to your father and your brother, this is a game of power. Who lives and who dies? Who is the master of this world?"

The boy had his eyes covered and could not even see the cup of tea in front of him, but he helped the girl clear the fog of the world.

"Your eldest brother is gone, but others are still alive. The Xiang Dynasty's imperial lineage must be passed on, and the world must be governed. While you were losing your temper, the Yellow River burst its banks, border generals died, the people struggled, and the country declined... This is the new moon and dark moon that the morning fungus cannot see, and the spring and autumn that the cicada cannot perceive."

The young man paused and whispered, "Your brother lives in this world. You speak up for him, wanting to redress his wrongs, but you don't know why he died. What's your purpose?"

After a long silence, the girl scoffed, "If you say that, I'll never get justice for my brother."

"Yes." The boy answered coldly.

"Nonsense!" the young girl flew into a rage. "I may not have read as many books as you, but I know that a life for a life, and that the wicked must be punished, is the universal truth! As a father, if you can't seek justice for your son, and as the Son of Heaven, if you can't uphold justice for the Crown Prince, how can you be a father? How can you be the Son of Heaven?"

She stood in front of the rocks, her head held high, her eyes lit up by the rage that gushed out, as hot as a ball of fire.

"If even the crown prince can't get justice, how can the people get justice? If a bad man sits on the throne, can he be a good emperor?"

The boy was silent.

"Why aren't you talking? Where are your moral principles? Are you scolding me for not studying?" The girl sneered, "You're just a big talker!"

"Little Master," the Taoist boy said in even greater panic, "quickly apologize to the princess!"

The gauze covering the boy's eyes fluttered gently in the wind, revealing the lower half of his face as calm as cold jade.

She was still provocative: "Why, what I said was wrong?"

"You're right." Unexpectedly, the boy admitted.

The girl was about to laugh, but he continued, "But how do you get others to listen to your reasoning?"

"you……"

"Making sense isn't a skill; making others listen is. Just like now, even if I think you're right, I can only read the scriptures to you, and the temple master can only make you reflect on your mistakes."

……

As the distant memories came back, Chu Ling felt a wave of sadness.

The next seven years gradually verified those words.

Morning fungi don't know Hui Shuo, worms don't know Spring and Autumn.

Only the truth that others have to listen to is the truth!
I wrote while looking at the owl and turned my head, and they accused me of being too slow. It was my fault.