Chapter 29: The Grand Hall

In the morning, the early court session had just ended.

In Jinshen Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang called Zhu Yong over, pointed at a memorial on the imperial desk and asked, "Yong Er, what's written here? Read it to me."

Zhu Yong leaned in to look; the memorial was densely filled with characters.

He scratched his head and honestly said, "Father, I don't recognize the characters."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.

Empress Ma, who was sipping tea nearby, lifted her head at the words and asked, "Yong Er, you… you never studied?"

Zhu Yong shook his head and replied, "No, when I was in the village, no one taught me."

In fact, his awakened memories included literacy, but those were simplified characters and partial knowledge from his previous life, not exactly the script of Great Ming.

Moreover, he had decided to keep pretending to be simple, so he couldn't reveal it.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma exchanged glances, each seeing the other's concern.

Their son, Prince Wu of Great Ming, was actually illiterate.

"It was Mom and Dad's oversight; we should have thought of this earlier," Empress Ma walked over, gently patting Zhu Yong's head as she said.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Then, starting tomorrow, you and Biao Er will go to Dabentang to study."

"Dabentang?" Zhu Yong was bewildered.

"It's the place where princes study, you, Second Prince, I'll teach you." Zhu Biao came in from outside, smiling.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Right, Biao Er is scholarly; you follow him, and those younger ones are also in Dabentang, so you can keep an eye on them as well."

Zhu Yong opened his mouth, seemed about to say something, but swallowed it back.

Study…

He recalled the terror of being dominated by textbooks in his previous life.

But now he was the simpleton Zhu Yong; a simpleton couldn't refuse.

"Oh." He responded mutely.

Zhu Biao saw his younger brother was reluctant, smiled, and said, "Second brother, don't worry, studying isn't hard; the elder brother will teach you slowly."

Early the next day, Zhu Biao took Zhu Yong to Dabentang.

Dabentang is on the east side of Wenhua Hall, the place where princes study.

When they arrived, several youths were already seated inside.

Besides having seen Zhu Shuang, Zhu Gang, and Zhu Di, the three younger brothers.

There was also a younger one, the sixth prince Zhu Su, only seven this year, and at the back two tiny ones, about five years old, Zhu Zhen and Zhu Fu.

Seeing Zhu Biao and Zhu Yong enter, Zhu Di was the first to stand up, "Elder brother, second brother!"

Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang also stood, though reluctantly.

Zhu Su was still young, but timidly called out, "Elder brother, second brother."

"Elder brother, second brother…" The two five‑year‑old tots also looked at them, their faces full of curiosity toward Zhu Yong.

Although it was inside the palace and they were still young, both had heard of some of the Second Prince Zhu Yong's past exploits.

Zhu Biao nodded and said to the younger brothers, "From today onward, the second brother will also study at Dabentang; you should look out for each other."

Zhu Shuang's eyes flicked, "The second brother also studies? Isn't it enough that he can fight?"

"Lao San." Zhu Biao gave him a glance.

Zhu Shuang shrank his neck and dared not speak further.

Zhu Di, however, was delighted, "Second brother, sit beside me!"

Zhu Biao placed Zhu Yong beside Zhu Di, and took the frontmost seat himself.

Soon, the teachers arrived.

Three teachers came today: Song Lian, Tao Kai, and Kong Keren.

All three were renowned scholars of the age, responsible for teaching the princes.

The three entered, first bowing to Zhu Biao, saying, "Crown Prince."

Then, upon seeing Zhu Yong, they were all startled.

Song Lian, the eldest, his beard and hair all white, stepped forward and asked, "Is this… Prince Wu?"

Zhu Yong stood up, naively saying, "I am Zhu Yong."

Song Lian nodded; he had already heard of Prince Wu returning to the palace, but hadn't expected him to come to Dabentang.

"Prince Wu, please sit," he said warmly.

After seeing a few, Tao Kai and the other left, leaving only Song Lian inside the classroom.

The lesson began.

Today's topic was the Analects.

Song Lian recited, "The Master said: To learn and practice at due times, is it not a pleasure…"

Zhu Yong sat below, listening attentively at first, but soon his mind began to wander.

Those "zhi, hu, zhe, ye" he heard were like clouds and fog to him.

Moreover, in his awakened memories, the interpretation of the Analects differed from Song Lian's.

He glanced secretly to the side.

Zhu Di sat upright, listening earnestly.

Zhu Shuang yawned.

Zhu Gang was playing with a brush.

Zhu Su, being so young, was already lying on the table, nearly asleep.

Zhu Yong looked again at Zhu Biao ahead.

Zhu Biao listened attentively, occasionally jotting notes on the paper, but since he is older, he had already learned these books long ago and can study on his own.

However, he stays in the school only to set an example for his younger brothers.

Prince Wu.

The voice of Song Lian suddenly rang out.

Zhu Yong came to his senses and saw Song Lian looking at him.

"Prince, can you understand what the old man is saying…?" Song Lian asked.

Zhu Yong honestly shook his head and said, "I don't understand."

A low chuckle rose in the hall.

Zhu Shuang laughed out loud.

Song Lian frowned and looked at Zhu Shuang, "Third Prince, why are you laughing?"

Zhu Shuang hurriedly adopted a serious tone, "Student… the student recalled something joyful."

"What joyful thing?"

"Student… the student made progress in reading yesterday, feeling happy in his heart," Zhu Shuang blurted.

Song Lian could see he was lying, but did not probe further, turning to Zhu Yong and saying, "Prince, as a beginner, not understanding is normal; the old man will repeat it."

He repeated it again.

Zhu Yong still shook his head, "Still don't understand."

Song Lian was somewhat helpless.

At this moment, Zhu Biao said beside them, "Teacher Song, my second brother has never studied before; perhaps he needs to start with literacy."

Song Lian thought for a moment and said, "Then today the Prince will begin with literacy, and the other Prince will first review the material I just spoke of."

He had the page boy bring the Thousand Character Classic.

"Heaven and Earth, mysterious and yellow; the universe, vast and wild; Prince, recite together," Song Lian intoned.

Zhu Yong recited along, "Heaven and Earth, mysterious and yellow; the universe, vast and wild."

He read it somewhat stiffly, but his pronunciation was correct.

Song Lian pointed to the characters in the book, "This is 'Heaven,' this is 'Earth'…"

Zhu Yong looked at those traditional characters, yet simplified characters from his past life floated in his mind.

Strangely, he could match them.

Heaven is Heaven, Earth is Earth; only the writing differs.

"Prince, have you memorized it?" Song Lian asked.

Zhu Yong nodded, "Memorized."

"Then the old man will test you: what is this character pronounced?" Song Lian pointed to the character "xuán" and asked.

Zhu Yong glanced and said, "Xuan."

Song Lian then pointed to the character "huáng".

"Huang."

"Yu."

"Yu."

"Zhou."

"Zhou."

He tested more than a dozen characters in a row, and Zhu Yong answered all correctly.

Song Lian was somewhat surprised.

He then pointed to the next phrase, "hóng huāng".

Zhu Yong looked and said, "Red Crown."

"Sun and moon wax and wane."

"Sun and moon wax and wane."

"Stars and constellations line up."

"....."

Song Lian grew more astonished with each test.

Wasn't this Prince Wu said to have never read a book before?

How can he learn literacy so quickly?

"Prince, truly had you never known any characters before?" Song Lian couldn't help asking.

Zhu Yong said innocently, "I truly never learned them; they just look… familiar."

The familiarity he mentioned came from simplified characters in his past‑life memories.

But to the Three Elders, this was a sign of extraordinary talent.

"Photographic memory..." Zhu Biao, who was also listening to his second brother and the others, couldn't help but widen his eyes and whisper softly.