Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 554: Chapter 292: Mr. Meng Wants to Meet the Tenth Royal Highness_2

The Eighth Prince tried to interrupt Zhao Yao several times, but Zhao Yao interrupted him every time.

Zhao Yao was chattering away like a little old man, nagging at the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince didn’t find it annoying at all. Instead, he felt warm inside. In this world, besides Yu Hai, the person who cared most about his health was his tenth brother.

It wasn’t until they saw the Crown Prince that Zhao Yao finally closed his mouth and stopped talking about the Eighth Prince.

The Crown Prince, upon hearing the coughs of the Eighth Prince, expressed great concern and said that after the lecture, he would ask the Imperial Physician to check on the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince thanked the Crown Prince for his concern.

The Crown Prince led the Eighth Prince and Zhao Yao towards Chengguang Hall. Today, the Emperor would also attend the lecture.

When they arrived at Chengguang Hall, they were surprised to find that Prince Dai was already there and had breakfast with the Emperor. The Crown Prince’s eyes flashed with a hint of gloom, but it quickly disappeared as if nothing had happened.

The Emperor waved his hand grandly, took his sons, and went to attend the lecture.

By the time they arrived, the training ground was already full of people. Not only that, the surroundings were also crowded with people standing.

Zhao Yao took a glance and exclaimed in his heart: "Good heavens, so many people."

The training ground of the Imperial Guard could not accommodate all the scholars of the capital, so many could not sit or stand on the training ground. However, they lined up and sat all the way to the main road of the capital—Vermilion Bird Street.

Zhao Yao and his group naturally sat at the front, and he obediently sat beside the Eighth Prince.

Suddenly, he remembered something, leaned towards the Eighth Prince, and whispered, "Eighth Brother, didn’t Father and them not have morning court today?" Normally, at this time, Father and the others would be attending the court.

"Today is Mr. Meng’s first day of lecturing, so Father canceled today’s morning court." Although the Eighth Prince had not been enfeoffed yet, he had been attending court for two years and naturally understood matters of the court. "Tomorrow will proceed with the usual morning court."

"Oh." Zhao Yao suddenly realized, "Then Eighth Brother, won’t you have to attend the lecture tomorrow?"

"After the court, we will attend the lecture," the Eighth Prince saw through Zhao Yao’s little intention at a glance and said with a laugh, "Tomorrow, you’ll still have to come to the lecture early just like today."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao’s face instantly fell, and he said discontentedly, "I thought I wouldn’t have to attend the lecture tomorrow." To be honest, he would rather read in Wende Hall than attend the lecture here. Reading in Wende Hall, at least he could sit properly, unlike now, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Mr. Meng will be here soon, sit properly."

Zhao Yao obeyed and sat properly.

A short while later, Mr. Meng appeared.

Though Mr. Meng was an old man in his eighties or nineties, he looked very spirited, like a person in their sixties.

When Zhao Yao saw Mr. Meng, a phrase immediately popped into his head: "Celestial demeanor and bone structure."

Everyone present was extremely excited upon seeing Mr. Meng, and they all stood up together, chanting in unison: "Mr. Meng."

Mr. Meng had a kind smile on his face and raised his hand to signal everyone to sit down.

Once everyone had settled down, Mr. Meng first introduced himself, then said that he was old and wished to share his life’s research with everyone before he died.

He didn’t say too many polite words. After greeting everyone, he went straight to the point. He began to explain the "Analects of Confucius."

This time, Mr. Meng’s lectures were primarily about the teaching of classics. He would explain all the classics he had studied. During his stay in the capital, he would only explain the "Analects of Confucius" and "Mengzi," and the other books would be explained elsewhere.

Zhao Yao originally thought it would be very dull, but to his surprise, Mr. Meng’s explanations were very clear and intriguing. Most importantly, they provoked deep thought.

Soon it was noon, and the morning lecture was over. Everyone present listened with such gratification that they couldn’t believe it was already noon.

Zhao Yao initially thought he would feel sleepy during the lecture but surprisingly, he listened very attentively all morning without a hint of distraction.

After the morning lecture, many people stayed at the training ground without leaving.

They wanted to go up and discuss with Mr. Meng, but he had already been taken away by Minister Li.

The Emperor brought his sons back to the palace and unusually had lunch with them. During lunch, the Emperor asked his sons if they had any insights after listening to the morning lecture.

The Crown Prince was the first to speak, detailing his impressions to the Emperor.