Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 567: Chapter 295: The Crown Prince Is Getting More and More Stupid_3

"Big brother, Mr. Meng will definitely meet you, don’t worry too much."

"Eighth brother, you said it’s because of what Tenth brother has done that Mr. Meng wants to meet him. Why do you think Mr. Meng cares about what Tenth brother is doing?" The Crown Prince still couldn’t understand and was perplexed.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince’s question, a trace of coldness flashed in the Eighth Prince’s eyes, but his expression remained gentle.

"Big brother, you’ve forgotten that Mr. Meng is very concerned about agricultural affairs. He has written numerous books on the subject."

"Oh right, after Mr. Meng retired to the mountains, he started farming himself, planting vegetables and grains." Hearing this from the Eighth Prince, the Crown Prince finally remembered this fact.

"Mr. Meng once wrote a book about farming, starting from plowing the land, and he lamented in the book about the difficulties of farming."

The Crown Prince shook his head and said, "I haven’t read it." He hadn’t read any of Mr. Meng’s books or articles on agriculture.

"Big brother, if you read it, you’ll understand why Mr. Meng wants to meet Tenth brother," the Eighth Prince continued, "Mr. Meng prefers to be called ’old farmer’ more than ’great scholar’."

"I don’t understand that," the Crown Prince said with a slight frown, "Mr. Meng is not a farmer, he is a great scholar. I don’t understand why he cares so much about agriculture; he should care about academic matters."

"Big brother, do you think the world belongs to scholars?"

"Yes, I don’t agree with grandpa’s statement that the world belongs to the people."

The Eighth Prince thought: If father knew you thought this way, he might strip you of your title as Crown Prince.

"Scholars are scholars, and farmers are farmers," the Crown Prince said solemnly, "Scholars cannot be farmers, and farmers cannot be scholars."

"Big brother, do you believe that scholars shouldn’t farm and farmers cannot study?"

"Each should do their own job."

As the Eighth Prince heard these words, his eyes turned very cold for a moment as he lowered his head.

"Eighth brother, don’t you think so?"

When the Eighth Prince raised his head, his expression was as usual, with a gentle look in his eyes.

"What big brother said is true."

Seeing the Eighth Prince agree with him, the Crown Prince smiled contentedly.

"Regarding Mr. Meng..." He, as a younger generation, couldn’t criticize Mr. Meng, so he didn’t continue. When he met Mr. Meng, he would tactfully remind him not to focus too much on agricultural matters.

The Eighth Prince said nothing, but sneered coldly in his heart.

"Tenth brother is still a child and doesn’t like to study usually. If he meets Mr. Meng, he might not be able to talk to him properly, and might even upset him." He should meet him himself.

"Big brother, as long as father is here, there won’t be a problem."

"Father he..." The Crown Prince wanted to say something but didn’t dare. "Forget it." He sat back at the table and continued reading the memorials.

Seeing the Crown Prince not speaking anymore, the Eighth Prince also remained silent, pretending to continue handling matters with his head down.

As the Crown Prince, you say such things; no wonder the father is increasingly dissatisfied with you.

In recent years, the Crown Prince has become more foolish, to the point where the Eighth Prince can hardly control himself.

After looking through the memorials for a while, the Crown Prince glanced at the hourglass on the table and realized it was almost noon. He called out to the door, "Lv Cong."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince call him, Lv Cong quickly walked in, "Your Highness."

The Crown Prince asked, "Has father and the others returned?"

Lv Cong respectfully replied, "Not yet."

"Not returned yet?" The Crown Prince was surprised, "It’s almost noon, and father and the others have not returned yet?"

"No."

The Crown Prince waved his hand at Lv Cong, who obediently withdrew.

The Eighth Prince smiled and said, "It seems father and Mr. Meng are having a delightful conversation."

"I wonder what father is discussing with Mr. Meng?" The Crown Prince was curious; he wanted to know if father talked to Mr. Meng about him or Prince Dai, and whether Mr. Meng discussed Confucian teachings with father.

The Eighth Prince shook his head and said, "I don’t know."

"And I wonder if Minister Li has handed over my essays and poems to Mr. Meng."

"Big brother, haste makes waste."

This time, Mr. Meng’s visit to the capital to give lectures made the Crown Prince very anxious and concerned.

The Crown Prince said jokingly, "Then let’s have tofu for lunch later."

"Big brother, you..." the Eighth Prince smiled wryly.

At the Imperial College, the Emperor played chess with Mr. Meng and chatted with him. They talked from poetry and songs to people’s livelihoods.

While discussing people’s livelihoods, they found many common viewpoints and talked more, which extended their conversation to noon. Seeing it was time for lunch, the Emperor stayed to have lunch with Mr. Meng.