Chapter 41: The Confidence of an Honor Student

By the time Zhu Yunwen reached the end of his passionate monologue, he was practically immersed in it.

Yet, seeing Zhu Yunxun acting as if he didn't care at all, a wave of intense anger washed over him.

I am preaching such benevolence and righteousness, yet you refuse to even listen!

Still, not listening was perhaps for the best.

The more the other party refused to listen, the more benevolent and righteous he himself would appear, making the contrast all the more striking.

"Third Brother, you... you are truly cruel and devoid of human feeling," Zhu Yunwen said, wearing a heartbroken expression as if he believed Zhu Yunxun was utterly beyond redemption. "I have said so much, yet not a single word has reached your heart."

"Your Imperial Grandson," Qi Tai interjected with a grave expression, "what you are doing is completely unacceptable! You took a life yesterday. No matter how undeserving of sympathy they might have been, you should not have executed them with your own hands. Setting aside the matter of yesterday's bloodshed for a moment, let us speak only of Han Xin. He turned against his own benefactor and proved ungrateful. Could it be that Your Highness is cut from the same cloth?"

He, too, sought to seize the moral high ground to condemn Zhu Yunxun and further brand him with the label of cruelty and ruthlessness.

Listening from the side, Zhu Gu and the others felt only utter contempt.

They stood firmly with Zhu Yunxun, not Qi Tai or Zhu Yunwen.

Han Xin was fighting on the battlefield where it was strictly a matter of kill or be killed.

Anything could happen in the heat of war; was executing a mere woodcutter really worth making such a fuss over?

Zhu Yunxun, for his part, found the whole spectacle rather amusing.

He had half a mind to suggest they go try preaching their moral philosophy to Old Zhu instead.

After all, Zhu the Butcher had taken infinitely more lives than he ever had.

Too cowardly to point a finger at the Butcher, they instead directed their righteousness at him, choosing to bully the softest target available.

"So this is what imperial succession struggles look like."

Zhu Yunxun found such political maneuvering utterly naive. He mused inwardly: *Zhu Yunwen's entire political foundation rests on benevolence, righteousness, and conformity to Confucian standards—which conveniently aligns with the desires of the civil bureaucracy in the court. He is simply trying to expand his own advantage while taking the opportunity to suppress me.*

To be frank, from Zhu Yunxun's perspective, this style of suppression was indeed childish.

Yet, considering that Zhu Yunwen's intellectual ceiling wasn't particularly high, coupled with the series of ridiculous blunders pulled by the Three Idiots of Jianwen later on, it seemed entirely fitting and logical that they would resort to such naive tactics.

After all, their capabilities were limited to just this much.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Realizing what they were trying to achieve, Zhu Yunxun decided to stop playing along and simply nodded in agreement. "You are entirely correct. This student has been thoroughly enlightened and will forever engrave benevolence and righteousness in his heart, never to commit another cruel act."

With that, Zhu Yunxun simply sat back down.

Both Qi Tai and Zhu Yunwen froze in place.

Something felt profoundly wrong here!

Judging by his defiant, sword-drawing stance the other day, they had expected Zhu Yunxun to stubbornly cling to his convictions and argue to the bitter end.

They had assumed he was a stubborn fellow who wouldn't easily admit defeat. Since he had chosen to debate, they anticipated a fierce clash, yet he had surrendered halfway through, leaving them with the bizarre sensation of punching a thick pile of cotton—completely unsatisfying.

Most importantly, Zhu Yunxun had actually admitted fault.

They wanted to say more, but their mouths hung open without words. This outcome fell completely outside their meticulously prepared plans.

*Mr. Fang's strategy doesn't seem very effective after all!*

Zhu Yunwen thought to himself: *No matter, I will simply have people spread the word later that Zhu Yunxun is devoid of benevolence and justice, utterly cruel, while I remain the epitome of a good man.*

"Very well!"

Qi Tai snapped back to reality, feeling even more disgruntled than before.

He had a whole arsenal of prepared arguments left to refute Zhu Yunxun, but now he had no outlet for them. Clearing his throat, he said, "To recognize one's fault and correct it is the greatest virtue of all!"

"This student understands," Zhu Yunxun replied smoothly.

His nonchalant response left them feeling utterly powerless.

Still, if they were determined to slap labels on him, they could stick as many as they pleased; Zhu Yunxun couldn't care less.

"Teacher, what shall we study today?" Zhu Yunwen asked.

They had discussed this beforehand: today's objective was not only to paint Zhu Yunxun as unprincipled and cruel, but also to give Zhu Yunwen a chance to thoroughly showcase his erudition and talent, thus reclaiming the ground he had lost over the past few days.

Scholarly learning, benevolence, righteousness, and literary talent were Zhu Yunwen's primary pillars of support.

He absolutely could not afford to appear inferior to Zhu Yunxun.

"Today, I shall teach you how to compose poetry and ci verses," Qi Tai announced.

With that, he stepped up to the podium and began lecturing with utmost earnestness on the art of poetic composition.

Having passed through the Tang and Song dynasties, poetry and ci had entered a period of decline by the Ming dynasty. Almost every conceivable artistic conception and mood had already been thoroughly exhausted during the Tang and Song eras, leaving very few truly renowned poets and lyricists in the post-Ming periods.

Zhu Yunxun had no idea what other tricks Qi Tai was trying to pull, but out of basic courtesy, he played along and listened to the lecture.

"Zhu Yunxun," Zhu Gu leaned over and whispered, "how could you just admit defeat like that?"

Zhu Yunxun shrugged. "Debating with them is dreadfully boring. If I didn't concede, they'd just keep nagging endlessly."

The surrounding princes nodded slightly, finding his logic hard to dispute.

"Do you genuinely believe that woodcutter deserved to die?" Zhu Yong asked quietly.

"Of course he deserved to die!" Zhu Yunxun replied firmly. "When marching and fighting in a war, one is responsible for the lives of every single soldier in the army. When it comes to individuals who must be executed, one can never show weakness. A benevolent general does not command an army!"

"Well said! *A benevolent general does not command an army!*"

The voice belonged to their fifteenth uncle, Zhu Zhi, the Prince of Liao.

It was only then that they realized Zhu Yunxun was actually so much to their liking.

Up front, Qi Tai was lecturing with great relish on the nuances of poetry and verse, while down below, the princes were whispering amongst themselves.

Those imperial uncles didn't take Qi Tai seriously in the slightest.

Especially the younger, more rebellious ones among them.

Had they not formally performed the disciple's ceremony, and had Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang not granted Qi Tai absolute authority, it was entirely uncertain whether anyone would even bother showing up to his classes.

"Silence!"

Unable to tolerate the whispering any longer, Qi Tai slammed his hand down and snapped, "Third Imperial Grandson, are you just like the rest of them? Rotten wood cannot be carved!"

Only then did the group quiet down, feigning attentiveness for a brief moment.

"Fine! Since none of you wish to listen, then let us write poetry!"

Sensing an opportunity to grant Zhu Yunwen a stage to shine, Qi Tai continued, "Whoever can compose a satisfactory poem or ci verse may consider today's class dismissed."

"Splendid!"

Hearing that they could leave early, Zhu Gu and the others cheered excitedly.

For them, writing poetry seemed like a remarkably simple task—as long as it meant an early dismissal, they could churn something out off the cuff.

"Teacher, what is the theme?" Zhu Yunwen asked, playing the role of the diligent, well-behaved student to perfection.

Even Zhu Yunxi, who usually followed closely behind him, put on an obedient and sensible facade, looking nothing like a mischievous troublemaker.

"Snow scenery!" Qi Tai recalled for a moment, then proclaimed in a resonant voice, "I once traveled to the north and witnessed the snow there—a world draped in silver, pristine and pure white. The theme is snow!"

Instantly, the rustling sound of paper being unfolded filled the Grand Secretariat hall.

The model student, Zhu Yunwen, was clearly well-prepared. After pondering for a brief moment, he lifted his brush and began to write effortlessly.

"Writing about snow?"

Zhu Yunxun thought to himself that he could utterly crush everyone present with minimal effort.

However, he was in no particular rush to show off just yet.

"Zhu Yunxun, do you know how to write this?" Zhu Gu nudged him with his elbow.

"Of course," Zhu Yunxun nodded.

"Write one for me, then?" Zhu Gu pleaded with a flattering smile.

Zhu Yunxun looked at him in amusement. "Wait a minute, you guys were just shouting with excitement earlier as if writing poetry was the easiest thing in the world. Why can't you write it now?"

Zhu Pi chimed in, "We were only excited because we heard we could leave early, not because we were excited about writing poetry."

Zhu Yunxun: "..."

As expected.

These imperial uncles were all academic slackers and thoroughly unreliable.

Still, Zhu Yunxun had no intention of writing essays for them; after all, the poems and verses he memorized from his past life were limited.

"Teacher, I am finished," the model student Zhu Yunwen announced before long, rising to his feet with rigid posture, fairly radiating confidence. He was certain that his poem would stun the entire Grand Secretariat.