Chapter 95: Xu Miaoyun's Heartache

Upon hearing this, Lao Zhu agreed without a moment's hesitation.

He had no time to manage this little monkey, and in his view, Zhu Gaoxu was simply asking for a beating; having Song Lian manage him put his mind much more at ease.

"Third, the relationship between this old subject and His Highness is merely that of teacher and student, with no distinction of rank; in the future, regardless of the occasion, His Highness need only address this old subject as Teacher."

There was no need to even mention this point; Zhu Yuanzhang had no objections at all and nodded to signal for Song Lian to continue.

"Fourth, this old subject knows the Little Prince has many affairs to attend to; this old subject wishes to ask the Little Prince to agree to let this old subject reside at your Military Camp outside the city, as this would save both trouble and time."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu gave Lao Zhu a somewhat reluctant look.

Seeing Lao Zhu glare at him, he then nodded, albeit unwillingly.

Although he respected Song Lian, he wanted to study and go to school even less.

In this way, he truly had nowhere left to run.

Yet Song Lian seemed not to see Zhu Gaoxu's reluctance at all, and after finishing, he immediately stated he would take Zhu Gaoxu under his wing.

Seeing this, Lao Zhu was overjoyed and said, "Hahahaha, good! Little monkey, why don't you hurry up and pay your respects to your teacher."

"Student pays respects to Teacher."

With this, Song Lian had officially and thoroughly taken Zhu Gaoxu as his student.

And having finished this matter regarding Zhu Gaoxu, it was clear Lao Zhu still had words for Song Lian.

He immediately said to Zhu Gaoxu, "Alright, go wherever you need to go; I still have things to discuss with Minister Song. This time, you had better study honestly for me. If I ever find out you are being mischievous or causing trouble, I will have Fourth Brother peel a layer of skin off you."

Having said this, he waved his hand impatiently and shooed Zhu Gaoxu out.

Following Zhu Gaoxu's departure, Lao Zhu sat back down behind his desk.

Subsequently, Lao Zhu said to Song Lian with implied meaning, "While playing chess with my grandson just now, did you discover anything?"

Lao Zhu clearly had something else in mind, but Song Lian seemed not to hear it, lowering his eyes and replying in a conventional manner, "Your Majesty's grandson has extraordinary chess skills; to possess such skill at such a young age is truly remarkable."

Hearing Song Lian's obviously evasive words, Zhu Yuanzhang said with some annoyance, "What, are you unwilling to speak your true thoughts to me now?"

Clearly sensing Lao Zhu's dissatisfaction, Song Lian knew he would not be able to get past this without saying something.

After a secret sigh, Song Lian said, "At first, I gave the Little Prince a four-stone handicap. The Little Prince knew his chess skills were inferior to this old subject's; at that time, although he was strong, it was a false strength. Therefore, when he was strong, he played steadily, appearing to lack decisiveness, but he was actually recognizing the situation and knew to stabilize his rear first. Later, as this old subject gradually encroached, many times the Little Prince intentionally gave up territory to me, all for the sake of consolidating the territory he had already taken."

"Afterward, relying on my chess skills, I slowly gained the advantage. Who would have thought the Little Prince had already created a bad situation, and even this old subject fell into his trap. At this moment, the Little Prince displayed the decisiveness and dominance he should have, fighting me head-on. Relying on the rear he had previously stabilized, he fought me to a draw for a time, and then, using that brilliant move, he won the game directly."

"It can be said that the Little Prince began his layout from the very first move. The caution and methodical approach in the early stage, the feigned compromise and secret layout in the middle stage, and the decisiveness and dominant fighting spirit in the late stage—it can be said that the Little Prince possesses everything he should."

Song Lian's final sentence also carried hidden meaning. Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, and he continued, "Minister, your evaluation of this little monkey of mine is so high; if in the future I were to give this throne..."

"Your Majesty, absolutely not!"

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could finish, Song Lian immediately interrupted him and continued, "Your Majesty, although the Little Prince is as talented as a demon, the current Crown Prince is still here. The state policy of primogeniture is something upheld by sages of all ages; it must never be changed. If the court were to learn of Your Majesty's thoughts, I fear it would lead to a massive upheaval!"

Hearing Song Lian say this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly.

How could he not know what Song Lian was saying? As an emperor, he had already thought of everything he should.

But in his previous Simulations, his Biao'er did not have much time left.

Especially in the most recent Simulations, he always felt that several points in the Simulations secretly conflicted with previous ones.

Zhu Biao's lifespan was sometimes good and sometimes bad; he even wondered if this system had been broken by him.

For this reason, he had to consider the future of this Great Ming.

But he could not tell Song Lian this; he could only swallow his bitterness alone.

And one thing Zhu Yuanzhang could not have imagined was that, since ancient times, the most unpredictable thing is the human heart.

The human heart is far more complex than a system; in the end, Zhu Di still gave birth to thoughts he shouldn't have ahead of time.

This caused many subsequent things to change, and Zhu Gaoxu's attitude would change accordingly. As for how history would ultimately turn out, even Zhu Yuanzhang's system could not accurately calculate it.

Sighing, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and did not continue this topic with Song Lian.

After leaving, Zhu Gaoxu returned home. Thinking that he would be "starting school" soon, Zhu Gaoxu did not rush back to the Military Camp, but decided to rest at home for the night.

At dinner time, since Zhu Gaoxu was finally home, Xu Miaoyun ultimately did not nag him anymore, but kept putting food into Zhu Gaoxu's bowl; clearly, having not seen him for so long, she missed her son very much.