Mr. Xiao felt a surge of excitement. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Your Highness trusts me so much, I will certainly pile the dictionary and the idiom dictionary well."
"Sir, piling dictionaries and idiom dictionaries is a very plex and troublesome matter. You certainly can’t manage it alone. I suggest you report this to my father, the Emperor, and get his approval for you to pile it. Then you can select trustworthy individuals to help you." Zhao Yao thought, though he couldn’t introduce the imperial examination for now, he could create dictionaries and idiom dictionaries to benefit the people.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will write a memorial to seek the Emperor’s approval." This was indeed a great thing that would benefit people of the time and future generations. Although he did not care about making a lasting name, once the dictionaries and idiom dictionaries were piled, he would certainly be remembered in history.
"I believe that you, sir, can pile the dictionaries and idiom dictionaries well." Zhao Yao felt that Mr. Xiao was most suitable for this task.
"I will not disappoint Your Highness." Mr. Xiao was being increasingly impressed with Zhao Yao.
"By the way, Sir, don’t you know people from the Quadrant Hall? You can also suggest them to pile a foreign language dictionary, which will help more people learn foreign languages and make it easier to look up foreign terms." The Quadrant Hall was a translation department where officials specialized in translating foreign scripts, such as Xiongnu, Wusun, Dawan, and Annan languages.
The establishment of the Quadrant Hall was also originally suggested by Zhao Yao. The name "Quadrant Hall" was also chosen by him, following the example of the Quadrant Hall from the history of the world he dreamed of.
Mr. Xiao hadn’t thought in this direction, but upon hearing Zhao Yao’s words, he realized there was indeed a need for a foreign language dictionary.
"Rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely inform the people at the Quadrant Hall."
"Sir, I shall leave you to your work now and return for lunch without disturbing you further."
"Safe travels, Your Highness."
After seeing Zhao Yao off, Mr. Xiao marveled in his heart: what a rare genius His Highness is. Even the great scholars of today wouldn’t think of piling dictionaries and idiom dictionaries to benefit people of the time and future generations, yet His Highness conceived this at such a young age.
Mr. Xiao was extremely excited. He couldn’t even bother with lunch and hurriedly wrote a memorial. Once done, he immediately submitted it to the Imperial Study.
The Emperor knew Mr. Xiao’s disposition, that he would never e to the Imperial Study without good reason. If it weren’t something important, Mr. Xiao would never write a memorial to seek him out.
He didn’t let Mr. Xiao leave, asking him to wait for a moment.
After reading the memorial, the Emperor was very shocked, "It was Xiao Shi who suggested you pile the dictionary and idiom dictionary?"
"Yes, the tenth prince just mentioned this to me." Mr. Xiao himself wouldn’t have thought of piling dictionaries and idiom dictionaries. He felt it was inappropriate to conceal this from the Emperor, so he spoke honestly.
The Emperor curled his lips into a laugh and said, "Good, good, good, worthy of being my son." This little rascal, Xiao Shi, really surprises him time and again. "I agree to the endeavor of piling dictionaries and idiom dictionaries. Mr. Xiao, you will be fully in charge of this matter."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"As for how many people you need and who you need, decide for yourself," the Emperor said with a smile, "Once you have chosen, tell me directly, and I’ll assign them to assist you."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Mr. Xiao thought of Zhao Yao’s suggestion about the foreign language dictionary and brought it up with the Emperor.
The Emperor also thought piling a foreign language dictionary was a good thing and agreed.
"I will issue an edict for the Quadrant Hall to pile a foreign language dictionary." Where did this little rascal Xiao Shi get so many brilliant ideas?
Seeing the Emperor had other matters to attend to, Mr. Xiao took his leave after finishing their discussion.
After Mr. Xiao departed, the Emperor laughed and scolded, "That rascal Xiao Shi, for such a major affair, he actually told Mr. Xiao and not me."
"Your Majesty, the servant thinks it is because the tenth prince is afraid of you, so he dares not speak to you." Sun Kui marveled internally at how the tenth prince came up with the idea of piling dictionaries and idiom dictionaries. The tenth prince is really... Even the word ’smart’ isn’t enough to describe him. ’Wise’ would be more fitting.
"What’s there to be afraid of? I don’t eat him," the Emperor felt a bit jealous. That rascal Xiao Shi always told others first, never him, his own father. And he, the father, always heard of his doings from others.
"You often tease him."
"I’m just playing with him," the Emperor felt as if his kind father’s heart had been wounded, "I need to teach that rascal a good lesson."
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