Chapter 5: The Palace Examination Ruined (5)
Zhu Qingchen stood outside the Wenyuan Hall, listening to the students talking inside. He raised his hand and touched the tip of his nose.
The system didn't understand: "Are these students cannon fodder? Why are they so hostile to the students outside? Wait a minute, I'll check the original book to see if they have any role."
“① Cannon fodder: a person who acts as a stepping stone for others and does not gain anything for himself.”
The system also kindly gave him a note.
Zhu Qingchen smiled and said, "No need to check, they are not little...cannon fodder, they are just ordinary students."
"Really?" The system's responsibility is to ensure that the mission goes smoothly, but it is still a little worried.
"They paid a lot of money to study in the academy, but the teacher was reading articles to students who didn't pay during his day off. If it were me, I would feel uncomfortable too."
"That's right." The system paused, "Then did you do something wrong?"
"If I were a teacher hired by a family, it would be inappropriate for me to teach other students."
"But this is not a private residence, this is a school, I am a school official, my salary and the carved beams and painted buildings here are not only given by them, but also by the blood and sweat of the people."
"I earn the people's salary and solve their problems. It is my job to read articles for students, no matter where they are from."
The system asked: "Who is wrong?"
Zhu Qingchen said calmly: "Yesterday I asked Song Feng--"
Songfeng is the servant beside Zhu Qingchen. He has gone to park the carriage now.
"He said that when the country was first founded, the academy was open to the whole world. But now, the tuition fees have risen, and poor children are excluded, leaving only the children of the rich and powerful."
Zhu Qingchen made a conclusion: "No one is wrong, it is the court that is wrong."
The students in the temple are still complaining.
Zhu Qingchen took a few steps back, until he reached the corridor, then he cleared his throat and reminded them from a distance that the teacher was coming and they should shut up.
To give them enough time to pack up, Zhu Qingchen adjusted his official hat, walked forward again, stood in front of the door, and pushed open the palace door.
The students, dressed in green, stood up and saluted: "Master."
Zhu Qingchen nodded slightly at them, walked to the side of the lecture hall, lifted his robe and sat down: "Morning."
He picked up the small stone hammer on the table and struck the small bronze bell next to it, which made two "ding ding" sounds.
"Today's essay topic is, 'So the teaching of etiquette is subtle.' Write an essay."
The system explained: "'Therefore, the teaching of etiquette is subtle', which comes from the Book of Rites, which means 'Therefore, the teaching of etiquette starts from the smallest places'."
"Do you want to tell them that helping outside students read articles is also a form of education?"
The student standing at the front seemed to notice something and looked up at him.
The Master was clearly talking about what happened yesterday.
Zhu Qingchen smiled, but did not answer. He picked up the incense sticks on the table, placed them in front of the candle flame and lit them: "Three sticks of incense."
Students:?
"Master, light three incense sticks at the same time!"
"Yes." Zhu Qingchen's eyebrows curved, "Hurry up."
The students had no time to think about anything else and hurried back to their seats, unfolding their scrolls and working on their ink.
Zhu Qingchen inserted three incense sticks into the incense burner. The system said, "You haven't answered my question yet. You want to teach them with strategy, right?"
"No." Zhu Qingchen said confidently, "I just slept too late last night and forgot to prepare what I was going to tell them today, so I asked them to write their own articles to kill time."
"Besides, I don't even know them. When they hand in their papers, I can take the opportunity to get to know them."
system:?
Because I didn't prepare the lessons, I asked the students to do their own homework.
Because I forgot the student's name, I asked the student to hand in the homework by himself.
You are so skilled, Zhu Qingchen, and you still say you are not a teacher!
The students were writing furiously. Zhu Qingchen supported his head and flipped through the list on the table, trying to match the names on the list with the students below.
Before the "three incense sticks" time was up, a student in the front row put down his pen, picked up his essay, and gently blew away the wet ink.
When the other students saw this, they started whispering again.
"No way? Senior Brother Liu is so fast again? I've only written the first line."
“I just wrote my first word.”
"I didn't write a word."
"Brother Liu, just blow the words, but don't blow the three incense sticks on the Master's desk."
Zhu Qingchen smiled, extended his hand to "Senior Brother Liu", and motioned him to hand in the article.
He stood up, held the article in both hands and placed it in front of Zhu Qingchen.
Zhu Qingchen lowered his eyes and glanced at his name.
Willow bank.
The Anyang Liu family is a prominent family.
Liu An was tall and thin, with cold eyes and brows. He was wearing the green clothes of a student in the academy. He really looked like a weeping willow standing on the bank, proud of his aloofness.
With his background and knowledge, it is normal and understandable that he is a little arrogant.
Zhu Qingchen smiled at him, lowered his eyes and continued reading his article.
Um……
Zhu Qingchen's smile froze on his face.
He seems a little... too aloof.
Liu An wrote in his article that "When the sage expounds the Tao, the superior men are happy to hear it, while the middle and inferior men laugh when they hear it, and it is better not to hear it", "The people are like cattle and sheep. The superior men follow the great way, encourage, guide and educate them, just like herding cattle and sheep", and "When cattle and sheep gather in groups, the world will be united".
Liu An bowed and saluted, and asked softly, "Master, is there anything wrong?"
Zhu Qingchen raised his head and met his gaze.
It’s not right. It’s absolutely not right!
Zhu Qingchen put down the article and smiled at him: "Go back first."
"Yes." Liu An leaned forward and walked back to his seat to review his lessons.
Zhu Qingchen's forehead throbbed as he read his article.
Liu An is a child of destiny, but he is a little too arrogant.
Zhu Qingchen asked in his mind: "System, is Liu An's name in the book? What happened to him?"
The system checked for him: "He took the same palace examination as Pei Xuan, and he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar of the Lantai Academy."
"Later, Prince Jing rebelled and the army attacked the city. Prince Jing sent people to persuade him to surrender, but Liu An would rather die than surrender. He took less than a hundred officials from the court and climbed the tower to defend the city. When the city was breached, he was shot dead by Prince Jing with an arrow."
"The author said that Liu An was a vicious cannon fodder and deserved his punishment. Because he looked down on poor students like Pei Xuan, when Pei Xuan fainted during the palace examination, he hid aside, looking very disgusted. King Jing killed the people who had insulted Pei Xuan in the past to avenge him."
Zhu Qingchen paused and said, "Didn't the book hold King Jing accountable in the end? Liu An was a vicious cannon fodder who insulted Pei Xuan, so what was King Jing?"
"Prince Jing is... the protagonist who doesn't know how to love. As long as he learns to love, he can be forgiven."
“……” Zhu Qingchen held his forehead with his hand.
Hiss, he has a headache.
*
Soon, the three incense sticks burned out, Zhu Qingchen picked up a small hammer and knocked on the bronze bell, and the students stood up one after another and put their articles on his desk.
Zhu Qingchen took the opportunity to check their names and remember a general idea of them.
After writing the article, I gave a brief talk and the students expressed their opinions. The morning passed quickly.
There were no classes in the afternoon, so the students went home to review their lessons. Zhu Qingchen sat on the podium, slowly packing up his things.
The students carried their book boxes and walked to the table to greet him: "Teacher, we will take our leave."
"Yeah." Zhu Qingchen nodded slightly, and when he looked up and saw Liu An about to leave, he called him, "Liu An."
Liu An turned around: "Master."
Zhu Qingchen asked: "Are you free this afternoon? I have a few articles here, would you like to take a look?"
Liu An nodded: "Since the Master invites me, I will go."
Liu An asked his servant to go home and tell them, then he followed Zhu Qingchen into the carriage, carrying a book box on his back.
The servant drove the carriage and said to Zhu Qingchen, "Let's go have lunch first."
Liu An sat beside him and nodded slightly: "I will listen to you, Master." He opened the curtain and said to the servant: "Excuse me, let's go to the Tide Viewing Tower."
"Go outside the city." Zhu Qingchen said hurriedly, "The Master invites you."
"Yes." Liu An paused and asked, "Master, but my writing today was not good? So you want to keep me?"
Zhu Qingchen just smiled and said nothing.
Liu An lowered his eyes, tapped his knees with his fingers, and wondered what was wrong with today's article.
Soon, they arrived at Pei's Winery outside the city.
As soon as Zhu Qingchen got off the carriage, Madam Chen came to greet him.
She remembered Master Zhu's carriage.
Madam Chen smiled and said, "Master Zhu is here? Ah Xuan went to the city to deliver some wine and brought some fresh fruits to Master Zhu. Can Master Zhu see him?"
Zhu Qingchen shook his head gently: "No, maybe we missed each other on the way."
"I think Xuan is too slow. I will teach him a lesson when he comes back. Master, please come in." Madam Chen invited him in and saw Liu An following behind Zhu Qingchen. "This young master, I think he is your student. Please come in too."
The winery was very busy today. A few hunters happened to pass by and stopped here to have a drink.
Madam Chen still reserved the warmest seat in the center for Zhu Qingchen.
"Master Zhu, what would you like to eat today? A hunter happened to pass by, so I'll go buy some game from them."
Recalling the scene yesterday when Pei Xuan took the whole pot off the stove and gave it to him, Zhu Qingchen was startled and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, let's eat something light today, light porridge and side dishes, light porridge and side dishes."
He emphasized it twice.
Madam Chen looked quite disappointed: "Okay, I'll go down and prepare. Master, please wait a moment."
"Yeah." Zhu Qingchen sat down on the bench and raised his chin towards Liu An, "Sit down."
"Yes." Liu An dragged out another bench, quietly wiped it with his sleeve, made sure it was clean, and then sat down.
A few hunters were drinking and chatting, and their voices were a little loud.
Liu An looked gloomy. He glanced at the teacher and moved closer to him.
All the scholars and elegant guests gathered in Guanchao Tower, so he could just accompany the Master there, why did he have to come here?
The noise made his ears hurt.
Zhu Qingchen stretched out his hand and flicked his ear: "Liu An, listen carefully."
Liu An came back to his senses and the noisy sound in his ears suddenly became quieter.
"Lao Xu, we caught such a good fox today. If we sell it, it will be enough for your family to live on for half a year."
But Lao Xu said firmly: "Not for sale."
"Why not sell it? Sell it and use the money to buy your son two pounds of meat to supplement his body. Isn't he going to take the exam soon?"
"It was a cold snap during the exam, and it was freezing cold at night. I kept this nice fox for myself and made sleeves for my son to cover his hands during the exam."
"Then let's make a deal. When your son gets into high school, we must lower the hunter tax. Otherwise, don't let him into the house."
"That's for sure, come on."
Everyone shouted and raised their wine bowls.
At this time, Madam Chen also came up with the "light porridge and side dishes" that Zhu Qingchen had ordered.
"Master, I just bought some meat yesterday. I've stewed it all for you. Please enjoy it slowly."
"Where are the vegetables?"
"Yes, yes, it is stewed with the meat. It is inside. You can find it if you look around."
Mrs. Chen is also very honest.
Liu An lowered his head, changing his cold expression, and couldn't help laughing.
*
After lunch, Zhu Qingchen took Liu An away from the winery.
Madam Chen escorted them to the carriage and said, "Master, take care. Master Liu, take care."
The carriage rumbled by, Zhu Qingchen closed his eyes and rested, nodding his head slightly as the carriage moved forward.
He feels sleepy as soon as he eats.
Liu An sat next to him, head down, fingertips lightly tapping his knees, wondering what he was thinking about.
Zhu Qingchen asked softly: "Do you understand where your article went wrong?"
Liu An raised his head slightly and said sternly, "The people are not cattle or sheep. Saints do not wield long whips or tame cattle or sheep. I was wrong. I shouldn't...look down on them."
Zhu Qingchen nodded: "Indeed, this young man is teachable."
Liu An was much easier to teach than Prince Jing. He only gave him a few pointers and Liu An understood.
The servant was driving the carriage on the way back.
From a distance, he saw someone guarding the side door: "Master, Master Pei Xuan is here."
"Huh?" Zhu Qingchen came to his senses, lifted the curtain and looked outside.
Pei Xuan was carrying a backpack and standing behind the asparagus fern planted next to the side door, waiting for someone and reading a book, looking inconspicuous.
By the way, Madam Chen just told him that Pei Xuan went into the city to deliver wine and brought some fruits for him.
This kid is too honest. In the middle of winter, he didn't go in to wait but just stood outside. I don't know how long he waited.
At this time, Pei Xuan also saw the carriage coming, and hurriedly put away the book and bowed.
The carriage stopped in front of him and Zhu Qingchen got off.
"Master." Pei Xuan raised his head and looked at him with those sparkling eyes again. "I have finished revising the article you instructed me to revise yesterday. I brought it to you for your review. I also brought some seasonal fruits for you to taste."
"Okay, have you been waiting for a long time?" Zhu Qingchen patted his shoulder, "Go in."
"It wasn't long, just a short wait."
Pei Xuan and Liu An followed Zhu Qingchen together.
Liu An glanced at Pei Xuan, then quickly turned his head away, raised his chin, quickened his pace, and got closer to the teacher.
Although Pei Xuan was puzzled, he hurried to catch up, fearing that he would be left behind by the teacher.
It's like a kitten and a puppy are racing.
Zhu Qingchen felt something was not right. Why did they seem to be walking faster and faster?
Why did the two students at the back start running?
What were they doing? Why were they chasing him?
Is there someone chasing them? Or is it on fire?
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