Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

The sudden "caught in the act" left both of them stunned!

Just because you glanced at her (him) in the crowd?

Minglan said, "Sir, I am just a woman and I have never thought about this."

Zhou Ning stood up and bowed: "Sir, my opinion is the same as Brother Changbai's; the eldest son should be chosen."

"Oh? Tell me about it," Zhuang Xuejiu said.

Zhou Ning thought for a moment and said, "Anyone who disagrees with establishing the eldest son as heir is welcome to debate with me; I'll take on any challenge."

Zhuang Xuejiu shook his fan and chuckled, "Interesting. Who wants to go first?"

Sheng Changfeng was the first to stand up, and once again mentioned that the Prince of Yan and his son were shrewd and capable, and highly respected.

"Third Brother, you are mistaken. Virtue and wickedness are easily disguised; who can tell the difference? What we hear and see is often what others want us to hear and see. Second Brother Gu is a living example. There is a saying that one's actions, both inside and outside the home, are called honest. This saying first appeared in the 'Lost Book of Zhou, Chapter on Posthumous Titles,' and it describes inconsistency between words and deeds, that is, being two-faced. Do you understand, Third Brother?" Zhou Ning argued.

Sheng Changbai nodded in agreement. That makes sense!

Gu Tingye wholeheartedly agreed, believing that his reputation was mostly due to the slander from the other branches of the family!

When Ru Lan saw Zhou Ning lecturing Chang Feng, she laughed so hard she almost fell over.

Qi Heng saw that Zhou Ning was stealing the spotlight, and even Minglan stopped writing and listened attentively, seriously considering how to debate with him!

"And what about Emperor Hui of the Western Jin Dynasty? Everyone in the court knew he was foolish, but because he was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, he was still chosen, which led to Empress Jia Nanfeng's dictatorship and the War of the Eight Princes. If a different prince had been chosen, they wouldn't have had to retreat to Jiangnan!" Seeing her brother being lectured, Mo Lan took the initiative to continue the discussion!

"How so? It's divine retribution! This all started with the traitorous leader of the Sima family. Fourth Sister, have you heard of the oath made by the Luo River? Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu, once swore an oath by the Luo River and kept his promise, a story that has become a legend. But since Sima Yi became the leader of the traitorous family, the Sima family not only openly broke the oath made by the Luo River, but also exterminated Cao Shuang's entire clan!"

"It was this trend that led to the imitation by powerful ministers like Liu Yu and Xiao Daocheng. Not content with just usurping the throne, they also wanted to eradicate the previous dynasty's royal family! Furthermore, even at seventy years old, the old scoundrel Sima was able to launch a coup, making it difficult for emperors to trust veteran ministers anymore. How tragic and lamentable!" Zhou Ning said indignantly.

Mo Lan retorted angrily, "I'm discussing Emperor Hui of the Western Jin Dynasty with you!"

"Of course! So let me first tell you the story of his ancestors, to connect the past and the future. It is said that the old scoundrel Sima did not enjoy his success for long, because he had to establish the eldest son of the legitimate wife. So Sima Shi, who poisoned his wife, was established instead of Sima Zhao and others."

"Good heavens, from then on, Sima Shi's lineage could no longer produce a single child. Sima Shi only had five daughters born to Xiahou Hui until his death. This is the benefit of establishing the eldest son as heir. Otherwise, when would the Sima family have received their retribution? Of course, later he had an adopted son, who was Sima Zhao's second son, Sima You."

"Speaking of which, Sima Shi should have chosen his eldest son, Sima You, as his successor, right? You know, Sima You was very talented when he grew up, and his reputation was even better than his brother Sima Yan's! But he just wouldn't choose him, and insisted on choosing his virtuous younger brother, Sima Zhao, who had killed the emperor in the street. From then on, father and son became a legendary tale, vows could only be believed in ghosts, and the emperor was no longer considered sacred! Isn't that hilarious?"

"It is precisely because they acquired the country illegitimately and lacked morality that the Sima family would always cleverly refrain from establishing the eldest legitimate son as heir whenever it was time to do so! And when retribution struck, they would be constrained by the circumstances, so I would establish him as heir!"

"Whether it was the War of the Eight Princes or Jia Nanfeng's dictatorship, shouldn't we blame Sima Yan? According to historical records, Sima Yan also disliked Jia Nanfeng for being 'ugly, short, and dark-skinned,' and considered deposing her. However, after much pleading, he actually preserved her status as Crown Princess. It was an arranged marriage. If a father leaves a wicked woman for his foolish son, how can we blame the eldest son, Emperor Hui of Western Jin, for everything that followed?"

"The Book of Jin, Biography of Emperor Xuan, also clearly records that Emperor Ming of Jin was so ashamed after learning about his ancestors' deeds that he covered his face and lay in bed, believing that the world obtained by betraying trust could not last long! Sure enough, the two Jin dynasties together lasted only 155 years. Who still wants to argue about it?" Zhou Ning scanned the crowd.

Mo Lan was so angry she couldn't speak!

The scholar's fan could no longer be waved. What a sophistry, yet it was both logical and well-founded!

Gu Tingye only wanted to watch and appreciate, feeling as if he wasn't in a class, but rather listening to a storyteller in a teahouse!

Sheng Changbai believed in the concept of retribution and began to recall if his ancestors had committed any major misdeeds. Suddenly, he discovered a big problem!

It seems like my family has a long-standing tradition of favoring concubines over wives.

The ancestors may not know, but from my grandfather, who was a third-ranked scholar, to my father, Sheng Hong, it has always been like this. I wonder if I will end up like this in the future?

Changbai shuddered involuntarily at the thought!

"Brother Pengqi spoke so well!" Rulan clapped her hands in approval.

"Thank you for the reward, Fifth Sister!" Zhou Ning cupped his hands in thanks.

"Hey, I didn't say I'd reward you!" Rulan said anxiously.

“Praise is a reward! Since Fifth Sister praised me, that’s a reward!” Zhou Ning said with a smile.

Rulan was overjoyed and laughed, "You're so sweet-talking!"

Zhuang Xuejiu interrupted their conversation by tapping the table with a ruler!

Flirting?

This is a school!

A place to read!

Minglan was equally astonished, wondering how such a small head of his could hold so much knowledge.

After becoming stupid from reading too much, they even start to dabble in history?

The scene fell silent for a moment!

After holding back for a long time, Changfeng couldn't help but say, "Emperor Wu of Han was not the eldest son of the legitimate wife from the beginning. Isn't that one of the benefits of establishing a virtuous and capable ruler?"

"Third brother, can you only hear the praises for expanding our territory, but can't you hear the cries of the people? Do you know that with taxes doubling and years of war, children were abandoned and killed as soon as they were born in order to avoid taxes?" Zhou Ning was furious.

"Millions of refugees, cannibalism everywhere! The population has been halved! Can you imagine such a scene? In his later years, Emperor Wu of Han himself issued an edict admitting his mistakes. You praise him as virtuous? These are all recorded in history, not just my wild guesses! Besides, he listened to slander, exterminated Li Ling's entire clan, castrated Sima Qian, forced the crown prince to commit suicide, and praised Empress Wei Zifu, etc... Come on! What other virtuous or illegitimate children do you want to argue about? Keep talking! I'll keep you company to the end!" Zhou Ning shouted.

No one in the world is perfect!

The more I talk about it, the angrier I get!

No matter who tries to stir up trouble today, we'll dig up their dark past!

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop!

They've gone berserk!

It's just a policy discussion, why are you arguing about it!

"Pengqi, if I remember correctly, I personally gave you the Biography of Emperor Wu of Han. Yet you have such a different interpretation of the same book. I am truly ashamed!" Sheng Changbai said with emotion.

If Zhou Ning hadn't brought him to his senses, he too would have been captivated by Emperor Wu of Han's great achievements!

The price paid by the people was far too high!

"Third brother, hurry up and continue to recommend good illegitimate sons! I could take this kind of lesson for the rest of my life!" Rulan urged.

The little cutie is putting on a show.

As the second daughter of Wang Ruofu, whose personality is most like hers, she is very straightforward.

I don't care what you feel or think, I'll say whatever I want!

"You!" Mo Lan turned around and glared at her fiercely.

Rulan wasn't afraid at all. Seeing Molan's face flushed red and Changfeng's face pale, she thought that if she could feel this relieved every day, she might as well ask her mother to marry her off to Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning: "???"

......