15: Chapter 8: Taking a Disciple 15: Chapter 8: Taking a Disciple Although Manbao recognized many characters, she still couldn’t understand overly complex stories; she could only comprehend these stories based on her instincts.
Fortunately, these books differed from those on Mr.
Zhuang’s bookshelves because they were written in plain language; as long as she recognized the characters and read through, she might not understand everything, but she could grasp the general story.
Manbao became excited and read the book with great interest.
While the story was about a despicable father, the tragic aspect wasn’t immediately apparent.
The first story was ranked tenth and was about an emperor named Kangxi.
It was about how he raised his sons like nurturing venomous insects, pitting them against each other to ensure his authority, deliberately balancing power amongst them.
At first, Manbao didn’t see how this father could be considered bad, just seeing it as a story.
That’s when the system reminded her, “Look at the fates of his sons, aren’t they all pretty tragic?”
Manbao paused, then asked, “They are all princes and emperors, what’s so tragic about that?”
Keke analyzed for her, “You see, they are princes, but most of them ended up confined or exiled.
Do you know what confinement and exile mean?”
Manbao proudly said, “I don’t know.”
The system choked a bit and then explained in detail about confinement and exile to her.
In the end, it was just like being imprisoned and serving a sentence.
Manbao was shocked, “Their own father is the emperor, their brother is the emperor, and they still have to go to prison?”
Keke said, “That’s why he’s called a scummy dad.”
Manbao pouted her lips, feeling indeed that this father was not very good.
She read the story back and forth twice and started to understand the meaning of the story.
This was actually about a father who wanted to preserve his power and who deliberately let his sons fight against each other for the sake of balance.
In the end, he confined three of his own sons and then chose one son to be the emperor.
That emperor son then confined and exiled a few more, thus all of his sons ended up miserable.
Manbao did not story much, and reading it gave her a headache, as there were several names she did not recognize, so she pointed them out and asked Keke.
Keke not only taught her how to pronounce the characters but also took the opportunity to explain their meanings.
Manbao turned to the next story, then she cried.
This father was much worse than the previous one; he actually starved his daughter to death just because she accepted a piece of cake from a neighbor.
Manbao was still kind-hearted, and she wailed, critiquing Keke sharply, “This dad is really too bad, why is he still a high official of the Qing dynasty?”
Keke replied, “His being a high official doesn’t conflict with being a scummy dad.”
Although seemingly high officials should be good, Manbao still resolved to loathe him.
The little girl in the story was about her age, and she was starved to death, which must have been agonizing.
Manbao’s eyes turned red from crying.
Zhuang returned from class and the system detected someone at the door, it immediately confiscated the book from Manbao’s hands.
Zhuang arrived, he only saw Manbao sitting on the steps, crying, with reddened eyes.
Zhuang’s grandson was just a bit older than Manbao and liked her the most, so he felt incredibly heartbroken.
He quickly approached and gently asked, “Manbao, has someone bullied you?”
Manbao, wiping her tears, clutched Mr.
Zhuang’s sleeve and looked up to ask, “Are you a good father, sir?”
Zhuang paused, then after some thought, he said, “Manbao, my grandson is older than you, and even in terms of seniority, I should be considered a grandfather.”
“Wahhh, sir, are there many bad fathers in this world who bully children on purpose?”
Zhuang asked, “Did your father scold you?”
Manbao shook her head, “My dad is very kind to me; he’s not a bad dad.”
Zhuang looked at her and knew she was still young, so he sat beside her and patiently asked, “Then why do you ask such a question?”
“I read a story about a high official.
His family had little to eat, and his daughter was hungry.
A neighbor saw this and gave her a piece of cake.
After she ate it and he found out, he became very angry and locked her up until she starved to death.”
Zhuang’s cheeks twitched as he said, “How could there be such officials?”
Trusting the book that Keke had shown her, Manbao insisted, “There are, I saw it with my own eyes.”
Knowing not to argue with a child, Mr.
Zhuang said, “Even if there are, such officials are just seeking a reputation, falsely acclaimed as upright officials.
Just over a piece of cake, no need for such extremity.
If they were truly honest and upright, they’d pay back double to the neighbor.”