Bonus Chapter!
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Lin Yuan's birth seemed to transform Emperor Liu Shi.
Even his attendance at court became more active.
After all, before Lin Yuan's birth, Emperor Liu Shi once doubted whether he could have a son.
In the absence of a son, the imperial throne would eventually pass to someone else.
Although that person would be adopted into his lineage, treated as a true son, and provided for as a biological father would, having a son who was not his own blood felt somewhat strange.
This uncertainty led Liu Shi to a lack of motivation in handling state affairs.
"What's the use of trying so hard now? In the end, won't the throne fall into someone else's hands?"
However, everything changed with Lin Yuan's birth.
Emperor Liu Shi had a son, a son who could inherit everything from him.
Moreover, this son possessed such a powerful physique that even after a postnatal examination, Liu Shi found it unbelievable.
With such innate physical strength, he might be tearing apart tigers and leopards at the age of two or three.
However, Liu Shi understood that being a successful emperor required more than just martial prowess.
Political strategies were equally crucial.
In the current world, there were thirty-six states in the Central Plains.
Great Yan was just one of them, located in the southern part of the Central Plains.
It was not the weakest, but it had no significant advantage over the strongest.
Especially in this generation, the most important foundation of Great Yan, the Divine Armament Master, had not yet been cultivated.
This situation left Liu Shi somewhat distressed.
Without a Divine Armament Master, Great Yan would always be at a disadvantage against other nations.
Liu Shi planned to cultivate a Divine Armament Master during his reign, so that by the time he passed the throne to Lin Yuan, the Great Yan Dynasty would be a stable and powerful nation.
At that time, Lin Yuan would be able to realize all his political ambitions.
Whether it was reform or innovation, Liu Shi would leave the decision to Lin Yuan.
But all of this was contingent on Lin Yuan knowing how to be an emperor.
If he knew nothing and made decisions solely based on personal preferences, wouldn't Liu Shi be delivering Great Yan into the hands of an incompetent ruler?
Therefore, Lin Yuan was designated as the Crown Prince when he turned five.
Starting from the heir to the throne, he began his education.
Lin Yuan did not disappoint Liu Shi's expectations. He started reading and writing at the age of three or four.
At six years old, he left the highly educated Prime Minister speechless.
It was noteworthy that Lin Yuan's Prime Minister was a top scholar, not only born as a top scholar, but also hailing from a family renowned in the Great Yan Dynasty's literary world.
Such a person, regardless of the era, was someone who could lay the foundation for literature and leave a lasting legacy.
As a result, this scholar was left dumbfounded by a five-year-old child, causing quite a stir among scholars outside.
In the imperial court.
Prime Minister, with a helpless expression, complained to Emperor Liu Shi,
"Your Majesty, I really don't know how to teach him."
"What's going on? Has Yuan'er made you angry again?" Emperor Liu Shi immediately asked with concern.
In order to persuade the Prime Minister to teach Lin Yuan, Liu Shi had exerted considerable effort.
After all, threatening scholars with their lives would not work.
Most scholars, especially those pursuing literary fame, welcomed death bestowed by the emperor because it guaranteed a place in history.
Meanwhile, the emperor might have to bear some not-so-positive historical evaluations.
Moreover, with the Prime Minister standing behind him, a majority of scholars in the Great Yan Dynasty would be affected.
A move affecting a part would impact the whole.
Since the direct approach didn't work, it was time for a softer approach.
After Emperor Liu Shi made various promises and painted grand visions, the Prime Minister finally agreed to teach Lin Yuan.
However, what Emperor Liu Shi didn't anticipate was that within a year, the Prime Minister was considering quitting?
"If it's just about making me angry, then there's nothing much to it."
The Prime Minister sighed lightly. He had lived for decades and encountered all sorts of students.
His mindset was already extremely calm. Even when dealing with troublesome students, he was confident in correcting them.
However, Lin Yuan was not troublesome at all. Instead, he could be considered remarkably talented.
All the concepts taught by the Prime Minister were easily understood by Lin Yuan without any doubt.
This initially left the Prime Minister waiting for Lin Yuan to raise questions in confusion.
"I explained it once, and you understood?"
Then, what do I need to do?
At first, the Prime Minister thought Lin Yuan was pretending not to understand.
So he carefully prepared some questions with the intention of exposing Lin Yuan.
However, what the Prime Minister didn't anticipate was that Lin Yuan not only explained his questions but also expanded on many aspects that the Prime Minister hadn't considered.
This unexpected turn of events turned into a nightmare for the Prime Minister.
In the subsequent teaching sessions, the Prime Minister became nothing more than a tool.
He only needed to read the contents of those classics; there was no need for him to explain how to interpret them.
Lin Yuan understood the meaning after hearing it once.
Moreover, Lin Yuan sometimes noticed the Prime Minister's confusion and would reinterpret more obscure content for him.
After hearing these reinterpretations, the Prime Minister felt enlightened, realizing that he had wasted decades of reading.
This led to a strange scene.
In front of the bookshelf, the elderly Prime Minister seemed more like a student, spending most of his time listening attentively.
Meanwhile, the few-year-old Lin Yuan spoke eloquently, revealing many unknown facets of countless sage texts throughout history.
Most importantly, the Prime Minister surprisingly found Lin Yuan's words very reasonable.
Countless sages and scriptures throughout history, when spoken by Lin Yuan, revealed many unknown aspects.
Although the Prime Minister was fascinated by this feeling, he immediately realized that this couldn't continue.
If he continued to stay with Lin Yuan, he might not be able to resist bowing to him as a teacher.
Even if he restrained this thought, what would other passing palace maids and eunuchs think?
Was he teaching Lin Yuan, or was Lin Yuan teaching him?
Precisely because of this, the Prime Minister formally resigned early in the morning and sought an audience with Emperor Liu Shi.
He really couldn't face it anymore.
"What do you mean by this, Prime Minister?"
Emperor Liu Shi sat on the dragon throne, carefully examining the Prime Minister.
Initially, he thought the Prime Minister came to complain or perhaps wanted to raise some conditions.
However, after looking for a while, he found that the bitterness and helplessness on the Prime Minister's face were not a facade but genuine.
This made Emperor Liu Shi very curious. What had his son done to make the esteemed Prime Minister, a literary giant, show such an expression?
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's grasp of the situation and his approach to major matters far surpasses the old minister."
"We ordinary folks have no qualifications to teach him."
The Prime Minister said with a bitter smile.
"Surpasses you?!"
Emperor Liu Shi blinked.
Being praised like this by the Prime Minister, a literary giant, would probably be a joy for anyone else.
But for Liu Shi, his six-year-old son?
Couldn't you praise him in a more reliable way?
Emperor Liu Shi suddenly felt like the Prime Minister might be playing with him.
"If the Prime Minister wants to propose other conditions, feel free to do so. No need to be hesitant."
Emperor Liu Shi frowned slightly, showing some dissatisfaction.
Hearing this, the Prime Minister smiled with difficulty.
If it weren't for personal experience, he himself would think he was taking advantage of the situation to propose conditions.
But that was really not the case.
The Prime Minister breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he said solemnly:
"With my virtue, I am no longer worthy of teaching the Crown Prince."
In order to make Emperor Liu Shi believe in what he was saying, the Prime Minister had already begun to abandon his dignity, directly admitting that he was not as good as Lin Yuan.
"The Prime Minister's words..."
Emperor Liu Shi was slightly surprised.
It's crucial to note that scholars value their reputation the most, striving not just for fame in their lifetime but for a lasting legacy. Especially for someone like the Prime Minister, a literary giant, even if he was unwilling to teach Lin Yuan, he wouldn't openly admit that he was inferior to a six-year-old mischievous child. Acknowledging oneself as inferior to such a child would be a significant blow to the reputation of any scholar, particularly one of the Prime Minister's stature.
"Prime Minister, what do you mean by this?"
Emperor Liu Shi remained silent for a while before finally speaking.
"I, as the Prime Minister, have ushered in a Holy Emperor for the Great Yan Dynasty."
"Holy Emperor?"
Emperor Liu Shi found it somewhat unbelievable.
Since ancient times, the highest praise for an emperor has been "Holy Emperor." Emperor Liu Shi did not expect the Prime Minister to hold such a high opinion of Lin Yuan, predicting him to be a Holy Emperor even before ascending to the throne.
"Your Majesty, the old minister takes his leave."
The Prime Minister, seeing that Emperor Liu Shi didn't respond, bowed and took his leave.
Emperor Liu Shi did not stop him, silently watching the Prime Minister leave the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Once the Prime Minister had completely left, Emperor Liu Shi waved his hand, dismissing the attending palace maids and eunuchs.
Alone in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Liu Shi sat there, lost in thought.
After a while, unrestrained laughter echoed from the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"Hahaha?!"
"My son, Liu Shi, will be a Holy Emperor?!"
"Hahaha!!!"
"May our ancestors bless us! May our ancestors bless us!"
"I, Liu Shi, will also have a Holy Emperor as my son?!"
"Heaven bless Great Yan! Heaven bless Great Yan!"
"Hahaha!!!"
Emperor Liu Shi's laughter reverberated through the hall as he contemplated the unexpected prospect of having a son who might become a Holy Emperor.
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