The birth of Lin Yuan seemed to have transformed Emperor Liu Shi into a completely different person.
Even his attendance at court became much more proactive.
After all, before Lin Yuan was born, Emperor Liu Shi had harbored serious doubts about his ability to father a son.
The prospect of the imperial throne passing to someone else, however reluctant he might have been, was a perpetual worry.
Although that would-be successor would be adopted into his family line, treating him as if he were his own father, it just felt peculiar that he would not be his biological son.
This lack of motivation pervaded Liu Shi's handling of state affairs.
What's the point of working so hard now if, in the future, these lands ended up in someone else's hands?
But now, everything had changed.
Liu Shi had a son, a son who could inherit everything he had worked for.
Moreover, this son possessed an innate talent and body constitution so formidable that Liu Shi found it astonishing even upon personal inspection.
Such innate qualities were likely advanced enough for him to tear apart tigers and leopards by the time he was two or three years old.
Of course, while pleased, Liu Shi understood that being a good emperor required more than just martial prowess.
What was more important was the ability to manage political affairs.
The world of today was divided among the Thirty-Six Nations of the Central Plains, with the Great Yan being one of them in the south.
It wasn't the weakest of the nations, but neither did it pair up with the strongest.
Especially in this generation, when developing a divine weapon master had become paramount, Great Yan still hadn't managed to cultivate one, leaving Liu Shi rather flustered.
With no divine weapon master in place, Great Yan always had a disadvantage compared to other nations.
Of course, given Great Yan's rich foundations, they weren't likely to face significant issues in the short term, even without a divine weapon master.
In Emperor Liu Shi's plans, his generation would aim to cultivate a divine weapon master to ensure that when the throne was passed on to Lin Yuan, Great Yan would be a stable nation internally and externally.
By then, Lin Yuan could realize his political ambitions, whether through reform or any other means, leaving decision-making entirely in his hands.
But all this depended on Lin Yuan knowing how to be an emperor.
If he did nothing but act on whims, then Liu Shi worried he might hand the Great Yan to a misguided ruler.
Therefore, early on, when Lin Yuan was just five years old, he was made the crown prince, starting his training as heir.
Lin Yuan did not disappoint Liu Shi’s expectations; by the age of three or four, he began reading and writing.
At six, he left Emperor Liu Shi's carefully chosen tutor speechless.
It should be known that Lin Yuan’s tutor was not only a top scholar of renown, his family was also a well-known literary family in the Great Yan Dynasty.
Such individuals, in any era, were characters who sealed the cultural fate, destined to leave their names behind in history.
Yet, Lin Yuan, just a young boy, left the tutor stupefied, unable to respond for half a day.
Were this to spread, it would certainly shock the scholars who regarded the tutor as their foremost mentor outside.
Within the Heavenly Conquest Hall, the tutor helplessly recounted his woes to Emperor Liu Shi.
"Your Majesty, I truly can't teach him anymore," confessed the tutor, looking at the Emperor, sitting solidly on the Dragon Throne.
"What’s the matter? Did Yuan'er anger you again?" Emperor Liu Shi asked with genuine concern.
He had put in significant effort to persuade the tutor to teach Lin Yuan.
For scholars, threats to life held no sway; many perceived it as a noble ending granted by the emperor, ensuring their name endures in history, even if the emperor had to bear the brunt of public criticism.
Moreover, the tutor had the backing of many scholars in the Great Yan Dynasty, making it a move not to be undertaken lightly.
Thus, Emperor Liu Shi chose persuasion and promises to entice the tutor into teaching Lin Yuan.
However, he never thought that not even a year in, the tutor would be ready to quit.
"If it were just him riling me, it would not be a problem."
The tutor sighed.
Having lived for decades, he'd met all sorts of students.
His mindset had long since stabilized, confident in straightening even the most unruly ones.
But Lin Yuan was anything but unruly; on the contrary, he displayed extraordinary talent.
What he taught, Lin Yuan grasped instantly, leaving no questions.
This left the tutor bewildered at first.
He understood with just one explanation? What's left for me to do?
Initially, he suspected Lin Yuan was merely pretending to understand, so he carefully prepared several questions to expose him.
Yet, unexpectedly, Lin Yuan not only solved his questions but expounded more perspectives the tutor hadn't considered.
To the tutor, it was the beginning of a nightmare.
In the ensuing lessons, he became nothing more than a vessel.
He merely needed to read the texts aloud, leaving interpretation to Lin Yuan, who comprehended everything in one go.
Sometimes, perceiving the tutor’s perplexity, Lin Yuan would re-explain the more obscure sections.
The tutor found these illuminations enlightening, as if his years of study had been for naught.
This led to an unusual scene: an aged, venerable tutor appeared a mere student, spending most of his time with his ears keenly attuned.
Meanwhile, young Lin Yuan was eloquently discussing history and ideas across time.
Critically, the tutor found Lin Yuan's explanations profoundly logical, revealing many unheard aspects of sacred texts.
While the tutor was enthralled by this enlightenment, he knew this could not continue.
Hanging around Lin Yuan any longer and he might inevitably seek him as a teacher.
Even if he resisted, how would the passing palace maids and eunuchs perceive it? Who was teaching whom? It was for this realization he sought an early meeting with Emperor Liu Shi to quit.
"What do you mean, tutor?" Emperor Liu Shi stared at him.
At first, he thought the tutor came to complain, possibly to demand more perks.
But noticing the genuine distress on the tutor's face, he realized this was heartfelt.
This piqued Liu Shi's curiosity about what his son had done to leave a literary elder so affected.
"Your Majesty, the crown prince's grasp of affairs and his handling capabilities far surpass us commoners. How could someone as humble as I deserve to be his teacher?" The tutor said, weariness evident.
"Far surpass you?"
Emperor Liu Shi blinked his eyes.
To be held in such esteem by a literary giant like the tutor would make anyone elated.
But Liu Shi was skeptical.
His son, just six years old?
Was the tutor jesting with him?
"If the tutor seeks other terms, speak plainly without needing to..."
Liu Shi frowned, slightly vexed.
The tutor managed a strained smile.
If he hadn’t experienced it firsthand, he’d doubt his own words as opportunism.
But it wasn't the case.
Taking a deep breath, he confessed further, "My virtue is insufficient to teach the crown prince."
Abandoning his dignity to make Liu Shi believe him, the tutor openly admitted his inadequacy compared to Lin Yuan.
"Are you serious?" Liu Shi was astounded.
A scholar's reputation is what they prize most and would protect across generations.
Recanting and admitting inferiority to a six-year-old, even a tutor of renowned standing? Impossible.
Yet here was the tutor making a shocking admission...
"Is this what you mean?"
Silent for a moment, Liu Shi inquired anew.
"Our Great Yan Dynasty," the tutor hesitated briefly, awash with emotion, "will welcome a Sage Monarch."
"A Sage Monarch?" Liu Shi was dazed.
The highest accolade for an emperor in history had always been "Sage Monarch."
It stunned Liu Shi to hear such words about Lin Yuan, a child yet to ascend the throne, predicted to become one.
"Your Majesty, this old minister takes his leave," said the tutor, bowing and departing.
Liu Shi didn’t stop him, watching his departing figure until completely out of sight, then waved for the palace maids and eunuchs to withdraw.
Alone in the hall, lost in thoughts.
After a good while, boisterous laughter filled the Heavenly Conquest Hall.
"Hahahahaha?! A Sage Monarch, my son the Sage Monarch?!!"
"Blessed by the ancestors! Blessed by the heavens!!"
"Even I, Liu Shi, will have a Sage Monarch for a son?!! Heaven protects my Great Yan! Heaven protects us!!!"
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!!"
Special thanks to the book friend 'Don't Want to Miss' for gifting 100 Book Coins.
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(This chapter ends)