Chapter 42: In the Face of Talent, Effort Is Worthless

"Your Highness, when it comes to scholarship, one must be earnest and never take it lightly. Otherwise..."

"Learn what?"

The little fellow, hands behind his back, interrupted before the man could finish, feigning a look of curious inquiry.

Kong An immediately assumed his scholarly posture, shaking his head as he declared, "Today, we shall study the Classic of Poetry!"

"The Classic of Poetry?"

Upon hearing this, the little fellow covered his mouth and chuckled. He had not expected that the princes and princesses were learning such things. He had thought they would be studying treatises on statecraft!

"Indeed! The wisdom and moral integrity of the ancients are hidden within these poems. Do not underestimate them!" Kong An pointed to the seat in the front row and said, "Your Highness, please take this seat from now on."

However, the little fellow pursed his lips and recited: "Tempered by a thousand hammers, taken from the deep mountain; burning in fierce fire, treated as a common thing. Fearless of being crushed to pieces, only to leave integrity in the world!"

"..."

Kong An was struck dumb. What a declaration—to leave integrity in the world! What a poem! What a poem!

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining one month of life extension!]

"Oh! My adorable little nephew can actually compose poetry?"

"And it is quite excellent, too!"

"Not only is the little nephew handsome, but he is also so talented!"

"I think this poem is far better than what the tutor could write!"

The princesses’ eyes sparkled, their affection for the little fellow growing even stronger.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining one month and twenty days of life extension...]

The princes, however, curled their lips in disdain.

Recovering from his shock, Kong An asked in amazement, "Your Highness, you can compose poetry?"

"Uh... a little bit, I suppose," Zhu Xiongying said, flicking his fingers dismissively. "The vitality of the Nine Provinces relies on wind and thunder; that ten thousand horses are silent is truly a cause for sorrow. I urge the Heavenly Father to shake off the lethargy and recruit talent without regard to convention!"

Hearing this, Kong An grew suddenly excited. "Are there more?"

"Do not discuss whether painting bamboo is easy or difficult; just as one claims complexity is hard, simplicity is harder. Look at the few shivering leaves—the entire hall is filled with wind and rain, unable to bear the cold!"

"The entire hall is filled with wind and rain, unable to bear the cold..." As Zhu Xiongying spoke, Kong An scribbled furiously, recording every word.

"New bamboo grows taller than the old branches, all thanks to the support of the old stalks. Next year, when new ones emerge, ten zhang of dragon-descendants will encircle the phoenix pond!"

"Ten... ten what?" The little fellow had recited it casually, but Kong An’s brush had run dry, causing him to miss the last phrase.

Zhu Xiongying ran over, grabbed the brush, and wrote it down himself!

Kong An’s pupils dilated, his shock beyond measure. It was not because the little fellow could spout poetry, but because of the calligraphy on the paper. It was bold and vigorous, like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing. Even after decades of practice, Kong An felt he could not match even one-tenth of the Prince's skill.

"Don't stare at me with such worshipful eyes. Isn't this kind of thing just something you say off the cuff? Does it really need learning?" Zhu Xiongying had long forgotten about the master-level calligraphy skill granted by the system, assuming the tutor was shocked by the poems. The reason he could recite so many ancient poems was thanks to the school rules during his morning readings in his previous life. Every morning at school, the first half-hour was spent doing nothing but reading poetry. Four poems a month—from elementary to middle school, he had memorized nearly three hundred!

"May I ask, which master of calligraphy did the Crown Prince hire to teach you?" Kong An asked, his voice trembling.

"Master of calligraphy? What master?" Zhu Xiongying did not understand the question.

Kong An tilted the paper slightly, and the little fellow was startled. "Holy cow!" *Did I really write this? Since when is my handwriting this good? With this talent, if I started a live stream, I’d definitely go viral!*

After the shock, he suddenly remembered the system rewards and realized the truth. He couldn't help but sigh: things produced by the system are always top-tier!

"There's no master of calligraphy. I just flip through the paintings and calligraphy my father collects, and I picked it up!" Zhu Xiongying brushed a lock of hair from his temple and boasted to Kong An.

Kong An felt his world crumbling. What had his years of diligent practice been for? Indeed, in the face of talent, effort is worthless!

For a moment, all the princesses in the Grand Hall were giggling, and the princes were whispering to one another. To save face, Kong An coughed twice and changed the subject. "Ahem... Your Highness, let us study couplets today!"

"Oh? Couplets? I think I might know a thing or two about those!" At the mention of this, Zhu Xiongying became even more enthusiastic. He had seen plenty of fun ones in short videos in his past life. This was the perfect time to use them!

"Ah? This... you know this too?" Having witnessed the little Prince’s talent for poetry and calligraphy, Kong An felt a bit insecure.

"Oh! Fourth Brother is here!"

"Why is Fourth Brother here today?" Just then, a sharp-eyed prince noticed Zhu Di passing by the window and shouted. Zhu Di was one of the older princes and had already begun assisting Zhu Yuanzhang with state affairs, so he no longer needed to attend the Grand Hall. Everyone was surprised by his arrival.

"Fourth Brother is the best at couplets! Let him handle this!"

"Yes! Let the Fourth Imperial Brother do it!"

"The Fourth Imperial Brother is so good at couplets that even the Emperor can't match him sometimes..." The princes turned their eyes to Zhu Di, who had just entered, and began to jeer.

"Silence! Silence!" Kong An began tapping his ruler again. "May I ask why the Prince of Yan is here today?" Zhu Di had also studied in the Grand Hall and was once his student; therefore, Kong An did not need to bow to him here.

"I heard my little nephew came to the Grand Hall today, so the Emperor sent me to check on him!" Zhu Di said with a faint smile. In truth, Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't sent him at all. He had come to see how many times the little brat had been caned by the tutor!

"I see..." Kong An nodded in understanding and praised, "The Prince is exceptionally bright; he is a fine seedling!"

"Hm?" Zhu Di was stunned. *That can't be right.* He had heard the boy had driven Lu Ben away in a rage; how could he not have angered Master Kong? Looking at the boy, who seemed cheerful and had clearly not been beaten, Zhu Di was baffled. *This isn't logical! I was caned plenty of times when I was in the Grand Hall; how is it possible this kid hasn't been punished?*

"Fourth Imperial Brother, you arrived just in time! The tutor was just about to challenge my little nephew to a couplet battle..." Zhu Qi teased. "Fourth Imperial Brother, since you are so good at them, why don't you face off against him?"

Zhu Di glanced at the little fellow, who was not yet as tall as the table, and gave a cold laugh. "Heh! Forget it. If I win, the Crown Prince will come after me, saying I bullied his son!"

"Don't worry, Fourth Uncle! If you can't come up with a response, Royal Grandfather will never blame me for bullying you!" Zhu Xiongying tilted his head and retorted sharply.

Zhu Di’s expression darkened. "Fine, fine, fine! If you want to challenge me, then come on!"

"Get ready, Fourth Uncle..."