Chapter 1199: Inquiry

Before entering the small study, Fan Zijin turned back to look at Qi Haoran. In the end, he had no choice but to compromise, knowing that Qi Haoran was right.

Their goal was to let the children build a better Great Qi, not to guard against the ministers in the court. Only by seeing further could they last longer.

As a jinshi, the intelligent Fan Zijin was not inferior to those Hanlin scholars who taught in the Royal School. Also, he didn’t face the same restraints as those teachers and could teach the children however he wanted.

Now that he broadened his vision, his guidance became even more incisive.

Didn’t Haoran want to nurture more and more talents for Great Qi?

Actually, Little Treasure and Little Bear had been working towards this goal all along, but their strength was limited since there were only about 20 Treasure-Bear Academies now. However, wouldn’t having more people start free schools solve the problem?

If Fan Zijin or Qi Haoran were to raise this suggestion, the Imperial Court could find it coercive. However, it would not feel strange if the children brought it up.

However, they had to take it slowly and mustn’t rush it.

When Fan Zijin found the children, the first thing he said was, “Since you’ve been discussing for a long time, who has an idea?”

Tiger Head, Little Lion, and Qi Wensu scrambled to express their opinions. However, Little An looked at his father strangely, surprised that he actually asked for their opinions first.

Knowing what his son was thinking at a glance, Fan Zijin patted his little head and said, “You go first!”

Little An tilted his head and said, “Fourth Aunt said that the most important thing for children is to grow up happily, so we should write about happy things?”

Fan Zijin scoffed. “How many parents in this world have the ability to make their children grow up happily? Are you doing it to make everyone jealous of you?”

Little An choked, but Tiger Head didn’t seem to hear his Second Uncle’s sarcasm. He raised his hand and shouted, “I love riding and hunting the most, so I want to write about riding and hunting!”

Fan Zijin nodded approvingly. “Not bad. Riding and archery have a significant importance among the six arts. Now that Great Qi places equal importance on both civil and military matters, we indeed need to greatly promote riding and archery. After you’re done writing, hand it to me. I’ll help you review it before you hand it to your teacher.”

Being the first person to have his idea be approved, Tiger Head immediately became smug.

Little Lion immediately said, “Then I’ll write about our fun adventures at the farmsteads. Those are happy times.”

Fan Zijin stroked his head and said, “This is not bad either. Every time you go to the farmstead, don’t you always have endless questions? Why don’t you sort it out and include those questions in your article to see if the other children have any answers?”

Little Lion fell deep in thought.

Qi Wensu was about to raise his hand to express his opinion when Little An pressed him down and said angrily, “Daddy, you’re discriminating against me. Why can Tiger Head and Little Lion write about happy things while I can’t?”

“You’re the older brother, so can’t you give in to your younger brothers? Since they’re writing about happy things, you can write about sad things.”

Qi Wensu immediately fell silent. Looking around, Little An snorted. “Hmph, then I’ll write about you favoring my younger siblings over me, making me sad.”

Fan Zijin couldn’t ask for more. This way, the world could see how well he treated Qi Haoran’s sons. He stroked his son’s head and said, “Alright, go ahead.”

Little An pouted.

Qi Wensu scratched his head and said, “Then what sad things should I write about?”

Fan Zijin asked him, “What makes you sad”

Qi Wensu lowered his head and whispered, “Does my Mother Consort not treating me well count?”

As the saying went, ‘A son should not criticize his mother’. If Wensu really wrote about this, other than children of the same age, no one else would relate to it and he would be criticized for it.

Fan Zijin said with a serious expression, “This is too sensitive a topic and can’t be published in the newspapers.” Seeing that Wensu’s eyes were red, he changed the topic and asked, “Do you really want to write this?”

Qi Wensu asked in a daze, “Didn’t you ask me to write about things that make me sad?”

“…” Fan Zijin stroked his head and said, “Child, you’re too honest!”

Tears streamed down Qi Wensu’s face. He looked at him accusingly and said, “Second Uncle, how can you scold me?”

Fan Zijin dazedly turned to look at the three kids beside him and asked, “Isn’t calling someone honest a praise?”

Tiger Head was the first to jump out and say, “If someone is honest, that means they’re stupid. In other words, you’re calling Wensu stupid.”

Fan Zijin almost went crazy. “Who taught you all this? That’s clearly a compliment!”

He turned around and coaxed Qi Wensu. “Alright, what did you want to write previously?”

“I forgot…”

Fan Zijin decided to take the children out tomorrow to witness the sorrows and joys of the common people.

Tiger Head asked in surprise, “Second Uncle, don’t you have to attend court tomorrow?”

Fan Zijin coughed lightly and said, “I have the day off tomorrow. Alright, hurry up and pack up. It’s dinnertime.”

The children started discussing as soon as they left the study. Fan Zijin heard Tiger Head say in an envious tone, “Brother Little An, your daddy sure has it good, to be taking breaks all the time. If only my father had so many holidays. He would definitely take us out for horse-riding.”

Little Lion’s hateful voice then sounded. “Brother, you’re so stupid. Since Second Uncle and Father are both officials in the Imperial Court, they have the same rest days. The reason why Second Uncle doesn’t have to go to court is because he’s skipping work.”

Tiger Head looked at Little An in shock. “Is it true, Brother Little An?”

Fan Zijin heard his son snort softly. “I’m already used to it. My father often skips work, but he also often works overtime.”

Tiger Head asked hesitantly, “Then, does Royal Uncle leave him be?”

After a while, Fan Zijin heard Tiger Head say excitedly, “Then we’ll skip class and go out to play too. We just have to make up for it later…”

Fan Zijin gritted his teeth, feeling that these children really needed to be taught a lesson.

Qi Haoran, too, gritted his teeth. Seeing that Fan Zijin did not even know how to teach by example, he felt that it was a mistake to let him teach the children.

As Fan Zijin was going out with the children the next day, Qi Haoran and his wife only carried the boy-girl twins home at night. The other children decided to spend the night at Prince An’s Residence.

Qi Haoran said worriedly, “Can Zijin really teach the children well? This is the first time he’s bringing the children out alone.”

Mu Yangling was very assured and said, “How can a child not have any flaws? Don’t worry, their temperaments are more or less stable. Moreover, Zijin won’t teach them bad things. Haven’t you already spoken to him regarding this?”

With a sigh, Qi Haoran said, “If our children are as smart as Zijin, I’d rather they be as mischievous as Zijin. That way, no one can bully them. However, they’re not very bright. If they really learn Zijin’s ways, they won’t be as smart as him. In that case, it’s not shrewdness but foppishness. With neverending things to worry about, it’s really difficult to be a parent.”

Qi Haoran looked at the boy-girl twins in his arms and whispered to Mu Yangling, “What do you think these two little things will turn out to be like in the future?”

“Let nature take its course. We just have to provide them with the necessary educational resources.” Mu Yangling was very relaxed. “It’s all good so long as they don’t grow up to be bad people.”

“How can my children possibly turn out to be bad people?” Qi Haoran muttered.

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