Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 141, Section 140: Heaven Covers All Things
After saying this, Prince Qian immediately became smug: "See? Was I right?"

"Sister, you—" he drawled, "you're not good at studying!"

Princess Wen sneered: "As long as a gentleman does things seriously and makes no mistakes, and treats others with respect and courtesy, everyone in the world will be his brother... Brother, this book of yours is not for the prince to read."

Prince Qiancai retorted, "How can the Analects not be correct? My father himself asked me about it!"

Actually, he skipped it. But the thought of being tested on the spot made his heart tremble.

Princess Wen proudly declared, "You are a prince of Qin. If you want to read, you should read Guanzi. Only those who are not of high enough status would try to establish harmonious relationships with others by calling each other brothers."

"As princes and princesses, they are naturally to be the overseers of all things and the rulers of all people."

Those in high positions naturally rule over other classes.

Qin Shi listened silently outside the carriage door.

The servant opened the carriage door, and she bowed to enter. She saw that Prince Qian was still angry—he couldn't remember what the "Guanzi" said, so he didn't know how to refute it and could only sulk.

Princess Wen was also unhappy. Even if she thought Prince Qian was a fool, she didn't want this fool to tarnish the royal dignity. At this moment, she couldn't help but feel depressed.
He had the same teacher, so what did he learn every day?
The words and deeds of a gentleman in the Analects are just for reading; do we really have to put every single one of them into practice?
Looking at them again, Qin Shi saw that one was fourteen years old and the other was twelve... Well, when she was fourteen and rebellious, she thought that math and physics were generally unnecessary for ordinary people to learn!

Thinking about it this way, seeing them is like seeing classmates from my childhood, and I can always be more tolerant of them.

She laughed and said, "The prince can actually recite this sentence and understand it thoroughly. It seems he has put his heart into it."

"As a reward, I'll allow you to ride for half an hour on the return journey. Are you happy?"

In fact, it would have been truly beneficial for Wang Ziqian to internalize these phrases about "brothers from all over the world."

Although he is not very bright, he is sincere and corrects his mistakes.

For a prince or a general, this is an extraordinary personal charisma that makes him stand out from the crowd and attract more like-minded people.

Even though we may suffer losses, what can be absolutely foolproof in this life?

Princess Wen has always relied on her status to be superior, lacking the magnanimity of a monarch, yet she has learned only a few of the tricks of a monarch—she only saw Ji Heng's cold and ruthless methods, but not his sincerity in treating others.

The road to learning is long and arduous!

Therefore, at this moment, she did not hold back her praise for Prince Qian.

Prince Qian was overjoyed. He stared intently at the paper and pen on the table and exclaimed, "Then I'll hurry up and finish copying these!"

We can't delay his return journey on horseback!

Princess Wen sneered.

My brother is incredibly stupid!

Now that the coffin is being carried back to its hometown, caution and prudence are naturally required.

But on the return journey, there were no such concerns. His father had ordered the two of them to travel, so he must have been allowed to ride at full speed... Now, with the addition of a reward, he actually fell for it!
At this moment, Princess Wen, who was only fourteen years old, felt a sense of vicissitude.

However, Qin Shi then looked at Princess Wen:

“Princess, if you think the Analects should be read or not, then in the chapter ‘Wei Zheng’ (On Governance) it says: ‘Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve around it.’”

Do you think that makes sense?

Princess Wen said frankly, "There is some truth to that. But can virtue alone make the subjects revere Father like the stars revere the North Star? Of course, Father must first be a monarch."

Qin Shi grunted in response.

She then asked, "Then, Guanzi said that one should treat one's subjects with 'kindness and care for them with righteousness,' is there any truth to that?"

Princess Wen smiled confidently: "Qin Qing, reading is to teach us how to do things, not to put it into practice in every word and deed."

"Wouldn't that be just rote learning?"

"A monarch should be kind to his subjects and cultivate them with morality... Is that what my father did? When he gave an order, the whole country moved and the world responded. Was that based on benevolence?"

No, it was his status as a ruler and his immense power that commanded the respect and obedience of all people, and none dared to disobey him.

Qin Shi sighed: Ji Heng, Ji Heng! Not only do you not teach the children, but you also set a bad example for them!

Princess Wen is so confident!
She believed that by becoming a monarch, she would naturally be able to rule the world.

"So, does the princess think she is better than the king?"

Throughout history, there has only been one emperor who possessed such absolute control over the entire empire!
"When General Yan was demoted and returned to his hometown, the King personally went to Pinyang to invite him back. The Yan family followed him all the way, and even when his three sons died in battle, they never retreated. Was it because of his power, or because of the King's status? Or was it because of the King's respect and trust in General Yan?"

"Now that General Yan has passed away, Your Majesty has personally planned the route for his funeral procession to ensure its safe return home. Wouldn't that be considered benevolent?"

Princess Wen was speechless for a moment.

But she quickly retorted, "But that's General Yan! He's the God of War of our Great Qin. My father's kindness towards him is naturally because he deserves it."

but--

"The head of Liyang Pavilion here is just a nobody who doesn't even reach the county level. Qin Qing has always contradicted me, so why is he being treated with such courtesy and sincerity?"

She was a princess, so what was the other party's identity?!

Qin Shi keeps repeating the same themes, and he's already tired of it.

She's already used all sorts of allusions and references; if she keeps using them, she might not be able to outdo Princess Wen in terms of pedantry.

Moreover, the princess loves to spout pedantic knowledge, which she dislikes.

She usually quotes these things only because she is worried that if she says anything else, people will easily notice the change of dynasties and cause more turmoil.

Therefore, he stopped laughing at this moment, and instead became indifferent:
"The princess is younger than the other party, and her contributions to the Qin Dynasty are also less than the other party's. In terms of managing local taxes, judicial mediation, and public sentiment, she is inferior to the other party in every aspect."

"While the princess was still debating the size of the carriage, the other side had already foreseen the unrest by observing the frequency of conscription..."

"My respect for him stems from my respect for his patriotism, dedication, and commitment to his post."

"As for you, Princess—according to you: isn't it normal for people to be looked down upon if they have no ability?"

After she finished speaking, she suddenly smiled again: "The princess always feels that everyone in the world should respect and submit to your status and position."

"Now that General Yan has passed away, several of his retainers wanted to be buried with him, but were stopped by Old Madam Yan and the King."

"And the princess? The princess is so noble. If you were to grow old and pass away one day, how many would be willing to follow you?"

She was unwilling to measure a person's virtue and charm by the act of being buried alive with the dead, but ironically, this is what people value at this moment.

Princess Wen was speechless.

How many of her will there be in the future?
Her maids were always trembling with fear, and as for her guards—she only remembered a few faces, but had no recollection of their names.

Then there are the palace officials...

She sat there, watching Prince Qian chuckle at her frustration, and felt even more bewildered.

　Qin Shi's use of erudition stemmed from a cautious reluctance to elaborate, leading him to rely heavily on contemporary texts.

　　Secondly, I'm supporting myself. This story wasn't well-received from the start, but I persisted because I genuinely want to grow and mature through this process again.

　　By researching materials, reading classical texts, studying and understanding them, and looking at different people's analyses and citations, and then reading it again after writing it down to understand it, I always feel that I am becoming more mature.

　　Every step of my intellectual growth as an adult has made me feel fulfilled.

　　[Although I forgot about it as soon as I finished writing it!!!]

　　Hopefully, you won't find it boring or difficult to understand and won't want to read it...

　　I will try my best to make it more interesting!

　　(End of this chapter)