Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 333, Section 332: The Moon Swallow's Unruly Behavior
The King of Qin's personal letter from Zhangtai Palace was quickly delivered.

Qin Shi stared silently at the two characters above. Although the messenger eunuch hadn't been able to relay any message, but...

Wearing round shoes and square shoes, holding a watch and a rope.

This phrase, which should have been included in the Huainanzi eighty years later, was used by Ji Heng today. Although the original phrase is different, the meaning it conveys is exactly the same.

The world is a square earth and a round sky; as people walk within it, they should naturally respect the order of heaven and earth.

Embrace the cycle of heaven and earth, and be grateful for their blessings.

Lifang Auction House.

Qin Shi murmured the recitation once, and for some reason, a silent surge of emotion welled up in his chest.

She paused for a moment before giving the order:
“Order a bronze stele to be built, and have the king’s inscription in bronze script engraved on it.”

As for the auction that will begin in two days, let's stick to the original plan and cast a large name in glass in the same proportion!

……

With more manpower available, there are advantages, such as being able to take a break whenever we finish these tasks.

Ganquan Palace is desolate in winter, but the few winter plum trees planted in front of the gate are fragrant and refreshing.

Qin Shi stood outside the palace, hoping that the winter snow would come later, much later.

Of course, it's also not good if it doesn't snow, otherwise without winter snow to retain moisture and kill pests, the crop yield next year will probably be greatly reduced.

She slowly exhaled a breath of white air, and the crisp fragrance of plum blossoms filled her chest again, giving her a sense of extraordinary peace and happiness.

Then, with a slight movement of her shoulder, a maid brought over a cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

Since the Red Maiden already has a heavy responsibility, the one who follows her now is the newly selected Gan Zhi.

The other person was also quite young, only eighteen years old, with a round, rosy, and cute face.

Despite his small stature, he possesses an exceptionally delicate mind.

Seeing the Queen admiring the plum blossoms, he discreetly draped the cloak he was holding over her shoulders.

The queen had previously disliked using the fur because she found it too heavy. The servants were even reprimanded by the head of the Zhou household, who said they had become negligent because of the queen's kindness...

In short, this cloak was newly made by the Imperial Household Department, using layers of fine silk floss sewn together, making it light and warm.

It just doesn't have the fur that everyone usually uses to protect against wind and snow.

But for Qin Shi, she rarely goes out nowadays; a short walk or some light exercise is enough for her.

At this moment, she only asked again, "How is Mr. Wen doing?"

Gan Zhi replied in a sweet and clear voice:
"As instructed by the Queen, Mr. Wen is still writing policies for governing the country, while his disciples are all teaching the selected scholars from the common people to read and write in the Wenxue Hall."

"According to the teachers, they were able to write 177 characters in the quiz the other day."

"Among them, ten people, including A, B, and C, were given extra meat, eggs, sugar, and salt."

Gan Zhi was able to serve the Queen because of her outstanding abilities. Now she is very adept at understanding the Queen's intentions—

Although these talented individuals were not particularly skilled, since they were personally selected by the Queen, they would certainly be closely monitored. Therefore, she personally led the eunuchs to distribute the rewards this time.

Some of them came from wealthy families, while others were from impoverished backgrounds with nowhere to stand. But fine salt and brown sugar were enough to appease the wealthy, while meat and eggs were enough to comfort the poor.

want to?

Then study hard and strive to be the best!

She recounted the events to the Queen in detail, and Qin Shi listened with a knowing smile.

He knew more than 170 characters; in later generations, that number wouldn't even qualify him for a kindergarten diploma.

However, firstly, in the environment where children live in later generations, literacy is a skill that everyone acquires gradually and naturally, and they can access it anytime and anywhere. Moreover, the vigorous promotion of simplified characters has greatly reduced the difficulty involved.

However, now that the clerical script and seal script are being promoted, and since they were personally selected by the queen, they will inevitably be subject to imperial decrees in the future. Therefore, they need to learn both the clerical script and seal script.

Knowing 177 characters means you've mastered both seal script and clerical script.

Secondly, at that time, studying was a privilege reserved for nobles, and many merchants could spend millions of coins but still not be able to hire a good teacher who was willing to humble himself.

Among those selected, some were young, like Yu Yu, while others were older, some of whom already had two or three children.

Teaching adults and young children is a completely different matter.

Therefore, Qin Shi was already satisfied with the progress of 177 characters in the first stage of learning.

Once you get started in this way, all other learning becomes much easier and more efficient.

By combining winter with other training and cultural classes, when a large number of people are needed in the spring of the following year, they will be able to recognize at least a thousand or eight hundred characters, making it easier for them to understand the emperor's intentions.

If one is motivated to improve, learning another two thousand or so characters would be enough to meet daily needs.

Thinking of this, Qin Shi felt a great sense of relief.

Originally, the maids and palace servants were required to teach it, but one of them wrote a wrong character without realizing it, and then taught it to everyone else.

Mr. Wen's disciple went to discuss philosophy with someone and made an unexpected discovery.

It only took one or two hours to learn the misspelled word, but it took a full half day to correct it.

After much deliberation, we decided that Mr. Wen's disciples would have to take on the responsibility once again.

At first, the disciples didn't take it seriously, because passing on knowledge and teachings was something they were very good at.

Unexpectedly, given their reputation and status, the students they had taught were already quite learned.

Many of the people in front of us have never even known how to write "one, two, three" in their entire lives!
Therefore, he spent a lot of time and effort trying to figure out the basics. In the end, he found that there was no trick to it and he could only memorize and practice hard.

In this way, he would not lose face in front of the Queen.

Alas! Teacher, when will you finish writing your policies for governing the country? And how can you truly get them to shoulder their responsibilities?

……

Besides this, there was another matter that Gan Zhi carefully considered before finally reporting back:
"The maid Yueyan, whom we brought back from Guanzhong, has been behaving improperly. Should she be punished?"

Moon Swallow? Acting improperly?
Qin Shi was taken aback, only then realizing that this was the daughter that Lady Hu Wan had forcibly brought out after her divorce.

She had a clear understanding of Yueyan's situation: Madam Hu was capable and well-suited to manage Su Su Manor, so it was not unreasonable to let her take her daughter away from her father, considering Madam Hu's maternal heart.

But if it really is...

The laws of Qin cannot be violated, and Ji Heng will not tolerate any offense. If it really comes to that, with a single order from Ji Heng, Lady Hu will have no choice but to go with her child.

She frowned slightly: "Madam Hu is currently at Su Su Manor, and she is very capable and meticulous in her work."

"Her daughter..."

She smiled and said, "If there is any misconduct, a minor punishment will suffice as a warning. We can keep her here for now, and we can also have the mother and daughter communicate with each other."

Alternatively, Yueyan, having grown up in the palace, could also utilize her previous household management skills.

Alternatively, she might not be able to bear the "torture" and beg Mrs. Hu to help her again...

It's a pity. Madam Hu was indeed capable, but her children were unworthy.

Gan Zhi nodded: "This servant understands."

　Here they are! That's all for now, I'm going to grab a bite to eat.

　　(End of this chapter)