Zhuang Hong gave a slight nod. "It's good that you remember. But remembering is not enough—you must understand. Do you understand now what your teacher meant by his parting words?"
Kneeling there, Xia Lingpei fell silent for a moment. "I think I understand a little."
"Alas!" Zhuang Hong sighed. "When Niu Youdao was leaving, he told me that he had not actually taught you anything. He apologized to me and hoped I would not blame him for leading a student astray. He said that someone who could recite an entire poetry collection backward and forward could not possibly be stupid, and would grow up someday. He said he had nothing to teach you, but for the sake of you calling him 'Teacher,' he had some advice for you and me, mother and son. Only then did he give you those parting words."
"At the time, not only you—even I did not quite understand what his words to you meant. Later, it was like a dream. You became Emperor, and I became Empress Dowager. I watched with my own eyes as Qin Kingdom was founded, then spent so long in this palace. With more freedom and more contact with people and affairs, I gradually came to understand the deeper meaning of your teacher's words."
"You do not merely seem to understand a little. You know full well. Who was the mockery on that face meant for? You understand, but you are unwilling to accept it."
"A while ago, you asked why that palace maid who had been close to you had disappeared. At first, I did not know why she was gone either. Later, I vaguely heard that she had said things she should not have said to you, and had already been killed. Since entering the palace, quite a few