Ever since I heard from Wang Guinian that day that he was promoted to a doctor and went to teach in the palace, a carriage stopped in front of the Meng Mansion not long after. Inside was Wang Guinian who came to welcome Meng Xinghe to the harem.
This harem is different from other places. It is the residence of many concubines and princesses. Without the emperor's permission, ordinary people dare not step into the harem easily for fear of being beheaded. Although Meng Xinghe is going to teach , but certain etiquette must still be followed. Wang Guinian is the Minister of Internal Affairs in the palace. He walks around the harem all the year round and explains to Meng Xinghe very carefully.
When Meng Xinghe heard the words that he couldn't talk to the concubines, he couldn't wander around in the harem, and he couldn't harass the palace ladies, Meng Xinghe kept it in mind and waved his hand for the carriage to run towards the palace.
It is true that Li Shimin, in order to call on the whole people to support his teaching reform plan, actually let his children set an example and set up a separate palace in the palace to study arithmetic and neophysics. What is even more despicable is that he did not look like a master at all. Meng Xinghe went to teach those princes and princesses. Before going, Meng Xinghe had inquired about the truth in the Hanlin Academy. He heard that the emperor's children in the palace were not good people. As a wife, he did not dare to beat them. He once ran away in anger because of this. Therefore, when Meng Xinghe packed up his things and left, the people in the Hanlin Academy looked at Meng Xinghe with sultry eyes and cold eyes. I am afraid that his entry into the palace to teach this time will definitely be unlucky. Less.
When they arrived at the East Palace, carriages and horses were not allowed inside, so Wang Guinian led Meng Xinghe out of the car and walked.
The emperor's harem is different, everything is decorated with antiques, and you can even smell different types of high-end rouge in the air. Occasionally, a group of beautiful palace maids carrying palace lanterns pass by in some carved corridors, and they suddenly see Meng Xinghe, a tall man, wow Her face turned as red as a flower in the garden, and she immediately covered her face and ran away.
"You're so shy, don't leave." Meng Xinghe would usually not be dull when meeting a good-looking girl. Saying hello was a must. However, when he saw those beautiful palace maids walking away in shame, Meng Xinghe said in disappointment: "It's a pity that a flower kept in a deep palace has no one to pick it. It is a waste after all,"
His words made Wang Guinian blush: "Brother Meng, walls have ears."
Wang Guinian is familiar with the intrigues in the harem. Although it is rumored that there are three thousand beauties in the harem, it is not much better than outside. We have seen many things like laughing today and crying tomorrow. But Meng Xinghe's unstoppable mouth is not good in this harem. Talking nonsense will always lead to disaster.
Meng Xinghe did not expect such a disaster, so he did not express his emotion about the flowers blooming but no one liked them. He followed Wang Guinian and soon came to a magnificent palace.
"Brother Meng, in front of you is the Guanwen Hall. In the past, this was the place where the princes and princesses in the palace learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and poetry. Because of what the brother said that day, the Holy Father set up an additional school here for the princes to learn. The princess and I are here to take an elective course in arithmetic and science, you go in, brother, I will go back to resume my duties." Wang Guinian pointed the way to Guanwen Hall for Meng Xinghe, and he did not disturb him. He said a few words and stood up to leave.
"Brother Wang, go slowly. I will host a banquet and invite Brother Wang to my house for a drink someday."
"Definitely, definitely,"
After bidding farewell to Wang Guinian, I walked along a road about two feet long and stepped on a total of eighty-one white jade steps. My pace was neither fast nor slow. I finally reached the Guanyun Hall and saw it through the half-open door. There are sandalwood desks neatly arranged inside, and the four treasures of the study are neatly placed on the desks. Young men and women dressed in noble clothes sit upright inside, waiting for something.
Before Meng Xinghe walked in, the princes and princesses who couldn't sit still inside had already begun to make disrespectful noises, scolding the master who had never met before, and they were not at all dignified as princes and princesses should be.
"Ahem,"
Meng Xinghe coughed outside Guanwen Hall, opened the door and walked in. Suddenly, gorgeous eyes stared at him.
"Wow, he's not an old man, that's great," several younger princesses kept blinking at Meng Xinghe. In this harem, except for their father, who was a man, they rarely saw any men. Walking around here, the people who came to teach in the past were all old men, but now that this young and good-looking teacher suddenly appears, it is indeed a happy event.
At the same time, those noble princes had disdain on their faces, as if they sincerely looked down on the ability of this man of the same age as them to dare to be their wife. They looked quite arrogant and rude, and did not regard Meng Xinghe at all. What's more, he didn't even say hello when his wife came into class. He just laughed and talked with the kings and brothers around him about the unique scenery in Chang'an and the suitable places for sightseeing.
Seeing how proud these pampered princes and princesses were, Meng Xinghe, who had no intention of teaching them knowledge, simply sat on them without saying a word, closed his eyes and dozed off.
The whole classroom was in chaos for a while.
At this time, Li Shimin, who was standing in a secret place outside the Guanwen Hall and had been watching what was going on inside, shook his head and said to the little Sizi next to him: "Jinyang, why don't you go and listen to his lectures?"
Xiao Sizi, who was dressed in a pink palace maid outfit, smiled slyly, her face turned red instantly, and said: "I'm going, but father, you have to promise Jinyang that you can't tell him that I am a princess. Xiao Sizi is just Xijia's cousin now. A little palace maid beside me,"
Why did this daughter suddenly become so petty? He glanced at the two women beside him, Li Shimin laughed loudly and said: "Okay, you go in with your father, and Xi Jia can go in too,"
"Thank you, father (uncle)," the playful and cute little Sizi took Chai Xijia's hand and followed Li Shimin with some pride: "Cousin Xijia, you are not allowed to reveal Xiaosizi's identity,"
Chai Xijia smiled bitterly: "Okay,"
"Hehe," Xiao Sizi laughed happily, and the three of them walked towards Guanwen Hall one after the other without saying much.
In front of the hall, Li Shimin, who was of medium stature and slightly fat, walked towards him like he was leisurely but under heavy pressure, which immediately silenced all the princes and princesses in the hall.
Meng Xinghe thought that the pampered dragons below had become better behaved, so he opened his eyes and wanted to teach them a few words, but he saw Li Shimin coming with two women. It turns out that it is you who are here, so you are so peaceful. What a shame. I thought you had discovered it because of your conscience.
Li Shimin looked around at the people around him. His plain and frightening expression made the princes and princesses dare not breathe. They knew that this father was not only selfless in the court, but also cruel to his own children. Among his dozens of children, except for Princess Jinyang who had lived in Liangyi Palace since she was a child, no one dared to act coquettishly in front of Li Shimin, let alone the unfavored princes.
"Since you are still young, this time I will avoid the crime of disrespecting the Master. If anyone does not study hard here, he will not have to come to Guanwen Hall in the future." Li Shimin showed no favoritism to his dozens of children. Chai Xijia and Xiaosizi sat at the front table. They were dressed as a master and a servant. The princes and princesses who knew the two of them behind them were surprised but did not dare to say anything. They wondered why this princess sister who was most loved by her father and the king was so embarrassed. The deputy concubine is dressed up, but she looks more quiet and playful.
Li Shimin just stopped by for a look today. He also wanted to go to Concubine Xiao in the Manlu Palace, so he didn't plan to stay for a long time. He just taught his dozen children a lesson and walked away. However, Li Shimin's words were more effective. Long Zi, who was very artistic, all calmed down and began to prepare to listen to Meng Xinghe's lecture.
"Okay," Meng Xinghe first thought about what he was going to say: "Let me introduce myself first. My single surname is Meng and my double name is Xinghe. I used to be a small historian in the Hanlin Academy. I never intended to teach you about the good things about life these days. Princes and princesses, if your father hadn’t called me to teach you arithmetic and science, I wouldn’t have bothered to pay attention to you guys who are full and waiting to die. Well, I won’t ask for too much when I teach. If anyone doesn’t want to learn, come from the gate immediately. Get out of there, and if you want to learn, stay here, and don't call me master, I may be younger than some of you,"
There was no gorgeous language, nor was he preaching with a venerable face like a master. Meng Xinghe's words were almost like those of a street rogue.
"How could you do this?" Chai Xijia, who was standing in front of Meng Xinghe, frowned and cursed, "You don't look like a wife at all."
Meng Xinghe directly ignored her words, "Since none of you are leaving, let's start class."
He said that there was a class, and everyone immediately took out the books on the table. Meng Xinghe saw that they were all "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Book of Songs". He had forgotten that there were no science books in the Tang Dynasty at this time.
"Everyone put down those useless books in your hands," Meng Xinghe ordered directly. Then he took the ground ink from Chai Xijia in the front row and poured it on the white wall behind him, while thinking in his heart, I hope this simple blackboard can be used for a long time.
"What is he going to do?" Everyone was puzzled. They stared with wide eyes at the young man who didn't look like a master. He actually turned a perfectly white wall into black. He was really bold.
The whispered curses below did not affect Meng Xinghe. After the ink on the wall dried, an irregular blackboard was hung under the statue of Confucius directly above the school. He asked the palace attendants outside to find a white stone. Then he said to the princes and princesses below: "Today we will teach arithmetic first."
"Oh," there was a burst of booing from below. It wasn't that they had never studied arithmetic, but they felt a headache just looking at the incomprehensible words in the arithmetic books.
Meng Xinghe also knew that even he, a top student who graduated from Peking University, could not understand the arithmetic books written in the Tang Dynasty. This can only be attributed to the fact that our ancestors were too smart, and even mathematics was turned into a profound subject.
Turning his back to the group of princes and young masters below who had no interest in learning at all, Meng Xinghe clapped his hands, ignoring the surprised eyes, and with a few strokes, he wrote a series of strange words on the simple blackboard. The symbols are clearly Arabic numerals used in modern mathematics.