Ewangye's cleverness with the Lu Ban lock and the nine linked rings, as told by Du Yanguang, has already spread throughout Kaifeng City.

  Temples and courts, restaurants and taverns, everywhere proclaiming the wisdom of King E. Adding to the past mistakes that were not his fault, almost all the people believe that Great Song will have a wise emperor.

  Of course, ordinary people and officials have different views on this matter.

  The closer one is to the imperial court, the less mysterious and awe-inspiring the Son of Heaven becomes, and the less likely they are to believe in auspicious phrases like "Heaven's blessing on the Great Song" or "Heaven's bestowed fortune". The discrepancy between what people say out loud and what they think in their hearts is most prevalent among officials and scholars.

  The scholars of the Song Dynasty were a very special group, historically xenophobic, their exclusion was not only limited to soldiers and commoners, even royal relatives were also despised by them.

  So, as for the legend of how clever Duke Zhao Xie of Hubei was, it has never been discussed, and even if the topic is occasionally brought up, it is always glossed over.

  Can you open the nine linked rings? Who are they kidding? These social elites, who can't even accomplish what ordinary people have achieved with great effort, want us to believe a three-year-old child? Isn't this ridiculous?

  Even the officials in the imperial court have many subtle words. Why is that? For a new policy, even the integrity of scholars has been lost.

  Sun Fu was in the Guozi Jian, and also a proofreader in the Secretariat, so it's natural to have such thoughts. The only imperial son, if not proclaimed like this, would be insufficient to demonstrate his uniqueness and legitimacy.

  The heavenly mandate of the emperor is even less impressive than the divine child sent from heaven in inspiring loyalty to the royal family.

  Sun Fu, as a temporary lecturer, with an attitude of teaching and educating people, he was fair to Zhao Xi, putting aside the talk of prodigies. Like ordinary children, he started from the Thousand Character Classic.

  At this moment, Sun Fu was already at a loss for words to describe the shock in his heart.

  The cleverness of King E of Wu was not exaggerated, but a true and objective fact.

  The surging tide of thought in his mind, how could he not know? And yet at this moment he was ashamed of the disdainful face he had shown to himself.

  Dedicated to teaching and explaining for many years, yet still unable to break free from rigid thinking, believing that if one has not done it or seen it before, then it is not real.

  "Your Majesty, have you ever recited the Thousand Character Classic in the past?"

  Although Sun Fu had already determined Zhao Xi's cleverness in his heart, he still asked this sentence very cautiously.

  Uh...... Zhao Xi was confused by his question.

  I myself was not enlightened until I was three years old; who in any family is enlightened at this age? This is not the case in later generations.

  Looking at Sun Fu's expression again, Zhao Xi suddenly understood. So that's how it is, being too demonic can indeed lead to distrust. Especially for the scholar-officials, this special group of people who think they are superior to others!

  "Back to the teacher, never enlightened, nor recited the Thousand Character Classic. If there are other enlightenment readings, the teacher can also let students recite."

  Zhao Xi really got angry! You said it very clearly, don't you believe me? Alright, bring other books, bring the ones that you think I've absolutely never read before, let me try.

  Zhao Xi felt particularly confident at this time. He was originally well-read and had a strong memory, but he didn't expect that the process of coming to the Great Song would actually improve him in this aspect.

  He himself did not expect that after reading three to five times, he could recite three to five hundred words. Although he had never recited a thousand words, he felt that with three to five more times, he should be able to recite the whole thing without much problem.

  There is one thing that Zhao Xi overlooked, he is actually a man in his 40s, and when reciting, it's not really like a child, memorizing by rote. The process of recitation itself is the process of understanding the article, which contains elements of personal experience and insight, this is the reason for rapid memorization.

  "I dare not again, I beg Your Majesty to forgive my crime."

  What a farting sin! I know Grandpa doesn't have that ability now, what's the point of playing League of Legends?

  However, Sun Fuming is a straightforward person. If he has any doubts, he will raise them directly. He won't go behind people's backs to gossip.

  "Your Majesty, how many times must one recite it before memorizing? Can a thousand characters correspond to recognizing several?"

  "Sir, just five more times and it's done. As for recognizing characters, I think there shouldn't be any problem."

  Since you don't believe me, I'll make you completely convinced.

  ……

  Zhao Xi still thought that at his age, there would be special exceptions for going to the association, such as only needing to go in the morning. He didn't expect that he would actually have to stay until 4 or 5 pm before being able to leave...

  At noon, the ones accompanying him were still those eunuchs and palace maids who followed him everywhere, not much different from being in Ciming Palace. It seemed that even the food was sent over from there.

  "Your Highness, during yesterday's training, they were basically in order. It's just that when standing at attention and turning around, they're still a bit disorganized."

  Wang Zhongzheng looked very excited, a ten-year-old kid, playing this game with great enthusiasm.

  "When standing in line and shouting 'right dress', it means that the person on the far right doesn't move, everyone else uses him as a reference point, with an arm's width of space between each person."

  "Turn your body and shout towards the back, all must turn to the right, so turning left and right you also let them practice together."

  Zhao Xi was discussing the formation and lineup training of the ceremonial troops, but he didn't know that the Secretariat was in an uproar at this time.

  Sun Fu, although recommended for officialdom, has devoted himself to teaching and education for nearly twenty years, enjoying great prestige among the scholar-gentry class.

  But at noon, his words became the target of public criticism.

  There were several new jinshi who had gone to the Donghua Gate last year, and in the morning they were idle and solved the nine linked rings. Everyone brought out all the milk from their childhood, but in the end, they couldn't even touch the edge.

  At noon during lunchtime, it was inevitable to say a few words of criticism about Zhao Xi and the other gentlemen, Sun Fu also casually refuted a few sentences...

  "Tomorrow again, brother, a scholar must be diligent in his studies and cannot follow others blindly."

  "My brother Ming Fu is a man of integrity and learning, who seeks truth from facts and does not spread false rumors or listen to the nonsense spoken by street vendors and runners."

  "Abilities are abilities, inabilities are inabilities; it is a matter of course."

  Sun Funa was really depressed. E Wangye studied at Zishantang, which wasn't a well-known fact, and even among the secretarial team, only he knew that he had personally taught him.

  At this age, one cannot spread the news because of a momentary anger.

  The way of being a minister is to guard one principle, and he still adheres to it.

  He didn't say it, doesn't mean Zhao Xi can wait for him steadily.

  After finishing his meal, Zhao Xi was idle and bored. He had always been interested in the group of scholars, so he coaxed and deceived Wang Zhongzheng into bringing him over.

  "Sir, when is your class?"

  At the end of school, Sun Fu was already replaced. It's just that Zhao Xi heard the discussion inside from outside the door... Even a clay man has three points of fire, and even Wang Zhongzheng is a bit indignant, and Zhao Xi's heart is also quite uncomfortable.

  He was the king himself and didn't bother with them. Zhao Xi walked in calmly and greeted Sun Fu very politely.

  "Uh... Your Highness, how did you get here? I'll be right back."

  This is actually King E himself coming, not just saying it out loud. Sun Fu really wanted to let Zhao Xi show off a bit, in order to prove that he was not someone who spoke nonsense and empty words.

  "Nine Linked Rings, you guys play this too?"

  Zhao Xi dressed as if he had unintentionally seen it, staring at the nine linked rings on the table, and asked a sentence in a nonchalant manner.