Old Master Murong was the first to get up and led the scholars down the mountain.
Chu Yuning followed two steps behind the others, his head down, but the strands of hair on his forehead could not hide the gloom in his eyes.
idiot!
How did he end up getting involved with that idiot, Master Wang?
Now all his hard work has been ruined, all because of this idiot!
He truly regretted begging Aunt Zhao to get out of prison. The Wang family had nothing but a little money and no brains!
Shen Yuan sat in the pavilion for a long time until the group of people from the mountainside came down.
She looked at the group of scholars, her gaze sweeping over them before finally spotting Chu Yuning at the very back of the crowd.
In the past, no matter how many people were around, Shen Yuan could always spot Chu Yuning in the crowd at a glance, even if he wore the same clothes as the students of Ziyun Academy, and even if Shen Yuan was standing far away at the entrance of Ziyun Academy, she could still recognize Chu Yuning from the group of students leaving class.
Because at that time, Chu Yuning was different in Shen Yuan's heart.
Even though his clothes were exactly the same as everyone else's, she felt that only he looked the best in that blue-collared white robe. The ordinary academy robes looked extraordinary on him, as if no one in the world could wear white.
But now, the young man who was once so otherworldly in Shen Yuan's heart had his head down and his face drooping, his brows full of gloom and dejection. The white clothes he wore looked more like ill-fitting mourning clothes, making people not want to look at him again.
Shen Yuan withdrew her gaze and gently shook her head; her previous judgment was indeed very poor.
At the foot of the mountain, the chefs of Tianxiang Tower had prepared a banquet for the "Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream" feast. Scholars who had come down from the mountain sat around the stream, in groups of three or five. Old Master Murong and Prefect Jiang sat upstream, followed by officials and scholars from Jian'an City.
The other family members and women sat in the pavilion with Shen Yuan, and their meals were brought in by maids and servants.
Shen Yuan did not know the families of these high-ranking officials, so the pavilion where she sat was only occupied by her and an old woman, unlike the other pavilions where the people sitting inside were all daughters of officials who knew each other.
Shen Yuan accepted the food brought by the maid, placed it on the small tea table, and smiled at the old woman in front of her: "Grandma, please have your meal."
The old woman had a kind face and said with a smile, "If we eat together, and no one else sits with us, then all this food will be ours!"
Shen Yuan shook her head and chuckled, but suddenly a few sarcastic remarks rang out behind her.
"To use something already written as a last-minute work—such a cunning trick is truly despicable!"
Shen Yuan turned around upon hearing the voice and saw Chu Yuning sitting by the stream outside her pavilion, coldly saying to the person who spoke, "Even if my poem was written a few days in advance, how could you have written it a few days earlier?"
Seeing that the other party was speechless, Chu Yuning sneered: "You can't compare to my talent, so you keep making fun of my character. You're just jealous of me!"
"Character is the cornerstone of a scholar; without good character, reading the classics a hundred times is useless."
"Heh—" Chu Yuning curled her lips in disdain. "There's no point in wasting words when we don't see eye to eye. Whether my studies are useful or not is none of your business; Elder Murong will judge for himself!"
Yes! Elder Murong will have his own judgment!
Shen Yuan's lips curled up slightly.
After several rounds of drinks, the exquisite bowls and plates floating in the stream had already swirled around a few times. Suddenly, the old gentleman Murong, sitting at the head of the table, put down his wine cup and raised the issue that needed to be discussed at today's banquet.
"What is the relationship between ruler and subject? What is the relationship between father and son? What is the relationship between husband and wife?"
Whoever can answer three questions in a way that satisfies Master Murong the most can become his student.
Upon hearing this question, Chu Yuning couldn't help but smile. This was far too easy!
He was the first to stand up, and this time he didn't deliberately wait until the end.
When answering questions, the first person to answer correctly has the best chance of winning. Otherwise, once the people in front have finished speaking, the people behind will have nothing left to say.
Chu Yuning stood up and bowed to Elder Murong and Prefect Jiang: "As the ancient saying goes, the ruler is the guide for the subject, the father is the guide for the son, and the husband is the guide for the wife. I believe that a subject should be loyal to the king, a child should respect and be filial to his father, and a wife should be absolutely obedient to her husband."
"But what if the monarch is incompetent, the father is useless, and the husband is heartless?"
Chu Yuning was taken aback when Mr. Murong immediately posed a second question. She paused for a moment, then quickly responded, "If your husband is unfaithful, as a wife, you should first reflect on yourself and see if you are not gentle and virtuous enough, which may have displeased your husband. Then you should correct your mistakes, learn from virtuous wives and chaste women, and strive to please your husband."
"Since the father is incompetent, the children should study harder, strive to pass the imperial examinations, and bring glory to the family. They should also urge the mother to be considerate of her husband and care for the head of the household."
"If a ruler is incompetent, his ministers should offer timely advice. If a ruler behaves improperly and his ministers do not correct or advise him, but only flatter him, it will be detrimental to the country."
Chu Yuning answered in one breath and looked at everyone with confidence.
But before he could even rejoice, he heard the old man Murong ask again: "If the monarch is incompetent and tyrannical, and refuses to listen to advice, what should a subject do? If the father is incompetent, addicted to gambling and drinking, and squanders the family fortune, what should a child do? If the husband is unfaithful, seeks new love, and keeps a mistress, what should a wife do?"
"This..." Chu Yuning's forehead was covered in a fine sweat. The questions that Old Master Murong had given were so tricky and harsh, clearly meant to make things difficult for him!
If a monarch is incompetent and refuses to listen to advice, he can't very well say that he should overthrow the dynasty and establish a new monarch, can he?
So many officials are here today to attend the banquet for learning the Way. If his words were to reach the court or even the emperor's ears, how could he possibly be promoted in the future?
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