Chapter 135: Gu Lie was shocked—this Lu Yuan brother is practically a saint!

Just this little thing, I still can't memorize it no matter what!

Immediately, Lu Yuan, holding the ancient book in his hand, said:

"This is the passage, right!!"

After Gu Lie glanced at it, he repeatedly nodded and said:

"Yes, yes, yes."

After Lu Yuan took a rough glance, he then looked at Gu Lie and said:

"Is this lousy thing really that hard? Listen, the central idea of this text is that as long as we solve clothing, food, housing, and transportation"

"The common people could have their own land, their own houses, and still have surplus grain year after year, and could engage in side businesses like weaving or whatever—this would be peace under heaven!!"

"For such a small thing, you say you keep going back and forth like a pig's head, crawling back and forth—you just can't memorize it!"

Having said that, Lu Yuan directly threw the book in his hand into Gu Lie's arms.

Gu Lie's eyes lit up and he said:

"So it's really that simple."

Lu Yuan glared and said:

"How hard could this one passage be? You didn't even understand the meaning of this text before, so of course you can't memorize it!"

Gu Lie gave a hehe laugh, then instead of talking to Lu Yuan, he started reciting again.

However, just as Gu Lie opened his mouth to say two words, Lu Yuan glared and said:

"Silent recitation—you can't just recite it in your heart?"

Gu Lie didn't argue with Lu Yuan, and immediately began earnestly closing his eyes to silently recite.

After about ten or so minutes, Gu Lie suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Lu Yuan with a look of surprise and said:

"Brother, you're really amazing!! Reciting like this is really much easier!!"

Lu Yuan crossed his legs, took out peanuts from his pocket to eat, and glanced at Gu Lie as he said:

"Nonsense, knowing the meaning makes memorizing it simple, doesn't it?"

After Lu Yuan threw another two peanuts into his mouth, he then looked at Gu Lie and raised his eyebrows, saying:

"By the way, why does your family make you read this kind of book? It's all outdated stuff."

Upon hearing Lu Yuan's words, Gu Lie felt like he'd found a kindred spirit, also pursed his lips, and poured out his grievances:

"Who says it isn't!!"

"My sister said, there's a spot check every day, a full inspection three days later; if I get a single character wrong, I won't be allowed to go out anymore, and I'll be locked up again."

Hearing Gu Lie's words, Lu Yuan looked at him with a strange expression and said:

"Is your sister especially fierce?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lie immediately nodded at Lu Yuan, nodding frantically and said:

"Super fierce!!"

"One could say it's downright brutal and vicious!!"

Immediately, an image appeared in Lu Yuan's mind.

A big, burly woman, like Liu Jie, or like Wang Danfeng, the blind date partner Gu Tingyu had before.

Holding a big stick, she roared at Gu Lie, "If you don't memorize this passage today, you might as well not live!"

Then Gu Lie was so scared he knelt on the ground, whimpering and crying.

Hmm... an image formed, an image formed.

At once, Lu Yuan felt a bit sorry for Gu Lie.

And after Gu Lie finished speaking, he then earnestly said:

"But anyway, my sister is indeed good to me, just a bit fierce, always losing her temper at me, but deep down she means well, wanting me to learn something."

"I've also figured it out recently—I should learn something."

Hmm.

As for that, Lu Yuan didn't really have anything to say.

No matter how the sister beats her brother, it's definitely for his own good.

And no matter how the brother is beaten by his sister, he will never hold a grudge against her.

Isn't it the same with one's own wife and younger brother-in-law?

One's own wife may not lift a hand, but such a gentle person also shows a bad face when seeing Su Changliang.

Su Changliang is the same, his mouth full of disdain.

But Lu Yuan believes that if any outsider dared to speak ill of Su Changliang's sister in front of him, Su Changliang would dare to draw his sword directly.

That's just how sisters and brothers are.

Lu Yuan also didn't say anything else, just gazing at the calm lake surface and said lightly:

"Whether we study or not, these things are outdated; in fact, they're just erroneous, deceiving people."

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Gu Lie blinked his eyes and then suddenly became extremely interested, saying:

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

Seeing Gu Lie's excited appearance, Lu Yuan couldn't help but purse his lips.

Gu Lie's current behavior is the same as my own when I was in school.

When the teacher lectures seriously, I'd fall asleep after just a couple of sentences.

But if the teacher doesn't lecture the proper textbook material and instead talks about other things, then Lu Yuan would become energetic.

Immediately, Lu Yuan looked at Gu Lie and raised his eyebrows, saying:

"Taking your passage as an example, it says that as long as the common people can eat their fill, have clothes to wear, have land to farm, and have surplus grain, that's peace under heaven—and that's wrong."

Ah??

Gu Lie stared at Lu Yuan, completely clueless.

This...

How could this be wrong!

Although Gu Lie usually doesn't like reading books, he felt this statement made perfect sense!

If everyone can eat their fill, isn't that peace under heaven?

Without waiting for Gu Lie to ask further, Lu Yuan gazed at the calm lake, eating peanuts and swinging his legs, saying:

「The mistake is that, while everyone being able to eat their fill can only solve the dynasty's internal worries, it absolutely cannot solve external threats! 」

「If external threats cannot be resolved, how can there be peace under heaven?!! 」

「The Great Zhou Dynasty has had prosperous ages in the past thousand years, but has the Gilded Dynasty stopped harassing the Great Zhou? 」

Gu Lie suddenly felt enlightened, gazing at Lu Yuan before him, as if a sage had descended into the world.

Moreover, Gu Lie had never heard such words before.

From the mouths of those pedantic scholars, he had never heard such talk.

For a moment, Gu Lie felt as if his thoughts had been immersed in some new realm.

And Lu Yuan continued:

「Is the Gilded Dynasty harassing the Great Zhou because they're hungry? Impossible—they have vast grasslands and are natural nomads; how could they possibly go hungry? 」

「It's because they don't just want to be full; they want to eat well! 」

After Lu Yuan finished speaking, Gu Lie, with a serious expression, said:

「Brother, how can the world achieve peace? 」

Lu Yuan shook his head bluntly:

「I don't know. 」

I only know a hammer; I only know how to eat bananas.

Don't even talk about here.

Even on Earth, there's constant fighting—today here, tomorrow there.

Day after day, you hit me, I hit you.

Who the hell knows how to achieve peace.

Anyway, Lu Yuan doesn't know.

And Gu Lie was a bit dazed, huh?

Just... just this?

Just that straightforward?

Just directly say you don't know?

Gu Lie still thought his all-knowing big brother knew everything and understood everything.

Without waiting for Gu Lie to speak, Lu Yuan suddenly turned his head, looked at Gu Lie with a mischievous smile, and said:

「However, achieving world peace is difficult, but the point is, if we take charge of forging hammers for the whole world, we are people of the Great Zhou Dynasty—just ensuring the Great Zhou's peace would be enough, right? 」

Gu Lie stared for a moment, then suddenly broke into a grin and said:

「Yes!! As long as the Great Zhou Dynasty is at peace, that's enough!! 」

「Brother, how then should the Great Zhou Dynasty achieve peace? 」

Just as Lu Yuan was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed and he waved his hand, saying:

「I'm telling you nonsense, you uneducated fool—you can't even memorize this little bit, yet you still worry about the Great Zhou Dynasty. 」

「Saying this to you is like playing music to a cow—just scram. 」

「Hurry up and memorize your lessons, so you won't fall short later and blame me. 」

Lu Yuan realized, what's the point of talking with Gu Lie?

This landlord's son is pure foolishness.

It's a waste of breath.

Gu Lie stared, then gritted his teeth, "You look down on people, huh!!"

Fine, I'll memorize it!!

After that, it fell silent.

After an afternoon, Lu Yuan still hadn't caught a fish.

Gu Lie also hadn't caught a fish, and Lu Yuan didn't know what was going on, secretly thinking:

Hehe, this kid's newbie protection period is up.

If I don't catch a single fish while Gu Lie goes crazy catching fish, Lu Yuan would be furious.

Just like yesterday.

But if neither I nor Gu Lie catches a fish, Lu Yuan would be pleased.

Eh, comfortable, awesome!

After checking the time, Lu Yuan packed up and prepared to go home.

Gu Lie watched Lu Yuan packing up to leave.

He immediately urged:

「Eh?? Brother, don't rush off—I'm about to have it all memorized!! 」

Lu Yuan, without even looking at Gu Lie, said:

「Whether you memorize it or not, go home and have your sister memorize it for you—don't bother memorizing anything for me. 」

Let's go.

After packing up his things, Lu Yuan got on his horse, ready to leave.

Gu Lie, seeing Lu Yuan not listening to his recitation, felt a bit disappointed and thought he would memorize it all later to show off to his brother.

Alright, forget it.

There's just this bit left; I'll memorize it all and then go back to the palace for my sister to hear.

Immediately, Gu Lie hurriedly said:

"Brother, will you come again tomorrow?"

Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then shrugged and said:

"Feisty, I have something to do the day after tomorrow; I should come then."

The day after tomorrow is the opening of my second uncle's restaurant; I'll definitely go check it out then.

If I'm busy with this in the morning and noon, then I can only go to the Agriculture Bureau in the afternoon, so naturally I won't have time to come fishing.

Gu Lie, hearing that, felt a bit disappointed; you're not coming the day after tomorrow?

But Gu Lie also knows that no one can idle around all day like he does.

He immediately nodded and said:

"Fine, then I'll be at the fishing spot."

Lu Yuan, while pulling the reins to turn his horse, said:

"Hey, head back early, so your sister won't worry later."

Having said that, Lu Yuan rode his horse and leisurely went away.

Gu Lie, seeing Lu Yuan leave, immediately lowered his head and began to earnestly recite his text.

After about half an hour, Gu Lie closed the book in his hands, muttering to himself for a moment.

He then opened the book again, and soon a look of pride appeared on his face.

Come on, let's go.

Go back and show off to your sister!

Today I returned rather late; on the way I didn't run into my wife, but I bumped into an old acquaintance.

Gao Tingyu.

We haven't seen each other for quite a few days, after all our schedules clash.

Now Gao Tingyu is really full of himself and proud.

Chen Taohua is pregnant, and Gao Tingyu also successfully promoted to second-rank forging worker in the year-end assessment.

He makes twenty-six or twenty-seven yuan a month, which is quite a pride in the courtyard.

He walks with his head held high.

"Hey, Brother Tingyu, off work already? You came back pretty quick!"

Lu Yuan, on horseback, looked at Gao Tingyu and laughed.

And Gao Tingyu, after looking back at Lu Yuan, raised his eyebrows and said:

"I've also been assigned to the Threshing Machine Factory, it's closer to home—hey, didn't Sister Su tell you?"

Gao Tingyu used to not want to see Lu Yuan, but now it's different; Gao Tingyu is feeling proud.

His son is pregnant, and he himself is now a second-rank forging worker~

Not much worse than Lu Yuan~

Then Lu Yuan gave an amused look and said:

"My wife is about to forget your name—how would I tell her how you are?"

Gao Tingyu: "..."

However, Gao Tingyu didn't rise to the bait; he immediately raised his eyebrows proudly and said:

"My wife is pregnant, you know?"

And Lu Yuan also laughed and nodded, saying:

"I know, my side should be soon too; then if you have a daughter and I have a son, we could arrange a marriage between our children."

"It's better if the girl is a bit older than the boy; she'll know how to take care of people."

"Look, your sister Su is also two years older than me, taking such good care of your brother me."

Having said that, Lu Yuan hehe-laughed while riding his horse, bouncing along.

And Gao Tingyu, standing there, gritted his teeth, instantly lowered his head, wanting to turn away.

I'll fucking beat you to death, you despicable thing!!

You're the one who will have a daughter!!

You still have the nerve to mention Su Liyan!!

Look what you've turned people into, making them work every day!!!

I really want to beat you to death!!

After Lu Yuan rode his horse far away, he turned back and glanced at Gao Tingyu, unable to help but hehe-laugh.

As for Gao Tingyu's reaction:

Tch~

If you're not happy, then I'm not happy either!!

"My wife is so beautiful; the son she bears will be incredibly handsome?!"

"Your daughter? I wouldn't even look at her~"

…………

At this moment, Gu Lie sat on the ground in the imperial palace.

He looked very pleased with himself.

Gu Qingwan, seated on the dragon throne, looked at Gu Lie amusingly and said:

"Yo, you want to show off your abilities and even call all the tutors?"

Gu Lie raised his eyebrows and said:

"That's a given; I must call them."

Seeing her brother's full-of-confidence appearance, Gu Qingwan found it somewhat amusing, shook her head, then looked at the senior eunuch beside her and said:

"Go call them."

Gu Qingwan originally just wanted to hear her brother recite a little; if he could manage the first passage, that would be enough.

At the very least, it would prove that her brother had put in effort, right?

As it turned out, her brother came swaggering, and then named those tutors of his to come listen.

Seeing his smug attitude, it seemed as if he could recite the entire text from memory.

Soon, the tutors Gu Lie had previously had all arrived.

They had come running all the way from the palace gate, drenched in sweat.

Everyone wondered, 'Since the prince is no longer being detained by the emperor, we don't have to tutor him daily anymore—why is this more exhausting than before!'

Why do we have to come running here every day now…

Before, at least when one tutor came, the others could rest at home; or when another came, the rest rested at home.

Now, however, it's come to the point of a trip every day…

What on earth is going on!!

When Gu Qingwan saw the people arrive, she looked at her brother, amused, and said:

"Alright, everyone's here—what exactly are you up to? Spit it out!"

The next second, Gu Lie dropped the act, laid his cards on the table, stood up, swayed his head and body, and began to recite the entire text.

After a short while.

Everyone in the hall stared, dumbfounded, at Gu Lie below.

"Impossible!!"

"Absolutely impossible!!"

"Gu Lie has recited the entire text word for word!!"

(End of chapter)