Until the end of the class, Su Xia was still surprised. He thought that the barbarian's learning pace was really too fast. If this person's pronunciation was not accurate, he stumbled when he read and needed his correction, he would suspect that this person had learned "The Book of Songs" before, and was only pretending to be stupid.
As the day's teaching came to an end, Su Xu had just stepped out of the palace when he was called over by a eunuch.
"Su Doctor, the King summons you!"
The King is summoning me?
Su Xu immediately realized that the King's summoning him at this time must be related to the person he taught today.
Su Xu's heart became even more confused. Who was this barbarian, whom the King valued so highly?
Su Xu followed the eunuch to a palace.
Inside the palace, Ying Zheng was handling state affairs. Seeing Su Xu arrive, he asked casually, "How is the person you taught today doing?"
Su Xu replied, "This person's progress is incredibly fast. If it weren't for his inaccurate pronunciation, there would still be stumbles in his reading, and I would suspect that he had already learned it earlier."
"Oh?"
Hearing Su Xu's words, Ying Zheng became interested. He put down his pen and said, "Tell me in detail!"
"Yes!"
Su Xu detailed to Ying Zheng the experience of teaching today, and Ying Zheng was also somewhat surprised, thinking to himself: 'This person is also a genius?'
After hearing Su Xu's story, Ying Zheng asked, "Do you think this person will be able to learn our Qin culture by when?"
After thinking for a moment, Su Xu replied, "According to my observation, it only takes a month for this person to read 'The Book of Songs', 'The Book of Documents', 'Rites', 'Musics', 'I Ching' and 'Chun Qiu'."
That is indeed not slow. Ordinary people may not even be able to recognize the characters of these several books in a month, but this person can achieve this in a month.
But what Ying Zheng was thinking was not about how soon Li Nian could read through these books, but rather when he could communicate with Li Nian.
Only able to communicate can one know the origin of Li Nian.
Ying Zheng would never tell Su Xu this, and said instead, "Teach well. A great reward will be given if this is done well. Go back down!"
Su Xu accepted the order and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will not disgrace my mission!"
After Su Xu left, Ying Zheng asked the eunuch standing nearby Meng Yi: "What do you think?"
Meng Yi said: "I think it may not take a month!"
Ying Zheng looked at him, and Meng Yi explained: "Your Majesty desires to communicate with this person, not to have him become as learned as the other scholars. The reason Your Majesty ordered Professor Su to teach is to let him quickly learn the language of our great Qin state. What Professor Su said about a month refers to the time it takes for this person to learn those classic texts, not the time it takes for him to be able to speak with Your Majesty. Just like when I was young, I learned to speak first before learning to read."
Ying Zheng understood Meng Yi's meaning. Knowing that reading and speaking are two separate things, reading can help one learn to speak, but one can also learn to speak without reading. It may take a month to learn the characters of those few books, but it is not necessary to use that time for just being able to communicate with him.
On the other side, Li Nian was also studying diligently to learn the language of Qin. Emperor Qin Shi Huang was his biggest support in this era, and learning as soon as possible would enable him to communicate with the Emperor and solidify his reliance on him.
Therefore, even when there was no time for Su Xu to teach, Li Nian continued to learn from the people around him, such as asking his guards, eunuchs, and palace maids about the names of various things, conversing with them, and having them correct his pronunciation and grammatical errors.
When Ying Zheng learned that Li Nian was studying hard, he laughed and said, "It seems that this person also wants to communicate with me as soon as possible."
Meng Yi said, "The King's words are very accurate. This person's origin may not be insignificant. He has a great secret that he wants to tell the King."
Can someone appear out of thin air in his palace without having a significant secret?
Ying Zheng said, "I am waiting for his secret!"
But he wondered whether this person's origin would be what he expected.
A few more than half a month had passed.
On this day, Guo Dian came to Li Nian's side and said, "Li Nian, the King invites you!"
These days, Li Nian has informed others of his name.
Li Nian was not surprised at all to be summoned by the Emperor, for over the past half a month, he had improved his ability to speak Qin language greatly and could engage in some relatively complex communication.
Of course, in order to speak as smoothly as the local people, at least two and a half years of practice would be necessary.
During this period, Li Nian also learned that this year was what year and that Emperor Qin Shi Huang had just unified the country, meaning that according to the original historical trajectory, Emperor Qin Shi Huang could still live for another eleven years.
This was undoubtedly good news for Li Nian, meaning that as long as he gained the Emperor's trust, in the next eleven years, he would have a very solid backing from the strongest power in Qin.
For how to gain the trust of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Li Nian has already imagined many times in his mind, and today was the time to put it into action. Whether he would live or die would depend entirely on this day.
Taking a deep breath and calming his thoughts, Li Nian followed Guo Dian to the palace where he had traveled through.
There were few people in the palace, at least not on the surface, as it seemed that Emperor Qin Shi Huang didn't want too many people to know of his presence. The Qin general whom he had met before was still there.
Li Nian also knows the identity of the Qin general, Minister Meng Yi, who is one of the most trusted and close advisors of Emperor Qin Shi Huang!
To what extent is he close and trusted?
He would accompany Emperor Qin Shi Huang on outings, and when at court, he would serve by the Emperor's side, never straying far. Unfortunately, his fate was not good; he was poisoned by Zhao Gao and Hu Hai.
Li Nian dare not look at him and bowed to the Emperor Qin Shi Huang sitting on the high throne: "A common person named Li Nian pays his respects to the King!"
"Get up!" Ying Zheng said: "You're doing well. You're improving very quickly."
Without any more nonsense, Ying Zheng got straight to the point: "You should know why I summoned you here."
Li Nian nodded and said: "As a common person, I understand why you summoned me here. However, before I can speak, I have a very important matter to ask the King. This matter is of great importance to both you and the common people."
Ying Zheng found it interesting. This person didn't reveal his origin first but instead asked for something first, saying it was useful to him.
But out of curiosity, Ying Zheng did not refuse. "Speak, what do you ask of me?"
Li Nian said: "This matter cannot be directly stated. Please allow Minister Meng Yi to bring the writing implements, and I will write it on Minister Meng Yi. Then, please have Minister Meng Yi present it to the King. During the presentation, please ensure that no one else sees it."
What kind of matter needs such secrecy? It has to be personally presented by Minister Meng Yi, and no one else should see it?
This made Ying Zheng even more curious. He said, "Minister Meng Yi, do as he says!"
Meng Yi said, "Understood, Your Majesty!" In the palace, there were brushes and bamboo slips. Meng Yi took them and brought them to Li Nian's side. Meng Yi also had a guard bring over a desk for Li Nian, so that he could write more comfortably.
Meng Yi stood by the desk, watching Li Nian write some characters on the bamboo slips with a brush. His handwriting was terrible compared to Meng Yi's, but the content of what he wrote was so shocking that Meng Yi was left in awe:
Please ask the King to dismiss everyone else, especially those associated with Hu Hai, Zhao Gao, Li Si, Chun Yu Yue... The commoner has a great matter to report.
A string of names made Meng Yi's heart surge with a gigantic wave.
Not to mention the first three, Prince Hu Hai, Minister of the Royal Carriage Zhao Gao, and Prime Minister Li Si, all of whom are influential figures in the great Qin state. They are favorites of the King, with immense power that could shake Xianyang with a single step.
