"Sir, to be honest with you, the orphans from the hospice have already been adopted by my second uncle." Since Mr. Xiao had already guessed it, Zhao Yao saw no point in hiding it. Besides, he believed Mr. Xiao wouldn’t spread his affairs. "It was me who arranged for my second uncle to adopt them."
"You wish to cultivate them?"
Zhao Yao nodded and said, "Yes, I want to cultivate some of my own people, so that when I grow up and receive a title, I can take them to my fief and have them help manage the territory."
Mr. Xiao, always stern, showed a look of surprise upon hearing this.
"If your three friends are willing to accompany me to my fief, I hope they can continue teaching, educating the children in my territory." Zhao Yao sat upright, an unprecedented expression on his young face, "Last time I invited you to teach in my fief, I was not joking. I sincerely invited you."
"I know you are serious."
At this moment, Tong Xi came over to remind Zhao Yao that it was time for lunch.
Zhao Yao asked Tong Xi to bring the lunch to Mr. Xiao’s place, as he wanted to discuss the matter of teaching while having lunch with him.
Shortly after, Tong Xi brought Zhao Yao’s lunch over. Zhao Yao invited Mr. Xiao to join him for the meal, and Mr. Xiao did not refuse.
"Sir, you should know that I am different from my royal brothers. Except for the eighth brother, the others have powerful maternal clans supporting them, so they are eager to vie for that position. But I am not interested in that position at all." Zhao Yao thought, since Mr. Xiao had seen through his disguise, it would be better to be honest. This way, perhaps he could move Mr. Xiao to agree to his request.
"I just want to grow up safely, avoid being drawn into my brothers’ struggles, wait until I am titled a prince, then go to my fief and live as a carefree, idle prince." Zhao Yao said, somewhat embarrassed, "Sir, does this make me unambitious?"
Mr. Xiao chuckled softly, "No, your way of thinking is very good."
"Do you really think so, sir?" Zhao Yao said, "Everyone believes a prince should compete for that position." Saying this, he mischievously raised his chopsticks, "A prince who doesn’t want to be emperor is not a good prince."
Mr. Xiao was amused by Zhao Yao’s last remark, "Everyone has their aspirations; there’s nothing wrong with not wanting that position."
"I have no interest in that position whatsoever."
Mr. Xiao said, "I can see that."
Zhao Yao smiled and continued, "I am not favored by the emperor, nor do I have the support of a powerful maternal clan, so I can only conceal my abilities within the palace to avoid being embroiled in my brothers’ battles."
Hearing Zhao Yao’s words, Mr. Xiao felt a pang of pity for him. He was merely six years old, just beginning his education, yet to survive safely in the dangerous palace, he had to carefully disguise himself.
"What you are doing is right."
"I suspect that my fief in the future will probably be Qingzhou."
Mr. Xiao, somewhat surprised, asked, "Why do you think it will be Qingzhou?"
"Because Qingzhou is small and located by the sea, besides being very poor," Zhao Yao said, "My brothers certainly won’t want it, leaving me as the last to be titled a prince, so Qingzhou will be left to me."
Mr. Xiao found Zhao Yao’s analysis somewhat reasonable, "Compared to the other regions, Qingzhou indeed is not a favorable place."
"I read the local chronicles of Qingzhou, and it’s indeed poor, often experiencing strong winds and heavy rain," Zhao Yao said, "I also deliberately checked the origins of court officials and found none from Qingzhou. I checked the educational situation there and found very few literati and students, suggesting a scarcity of learned individuals."
Mr. Xiao, hearing Zhao Yao, thoughtfully recalled, "It seems so; there aren’t any students from Qingzhou in the Imperial College."
"So, when I go to Qingzhou, I want to build a free school and let the children of Qingzhou become literate."
"A free school?" Mr. Xiao heard the term "free" for the first time and did not understand what it meant.
Zhao Yao explained, "Free means no cost. I wish to establish a school that charges no fees, so the children of Qingzhou can receive an education."
Mr. Xiao was visibly shocked.
"Perhaps you think my idea is far-fetched, but I genuinely wish to do this," Zhao Yao said sincerely, "There must be many children there unable to afford schooling, spending their lives illiterate. I want to change this situation, so I wish to invite some teachers to Qingzhou to teach and educate the children there."