Tang Huan, far away at Yunlu Academy, had no idea that the Empress had such high expectations of him.
At this point, he was already struggling to handle the students' passionate enthusiasm and had to ask Li Mubai and Zhao Shou to step in together to calm the restless students down.
But Tang Huan's words in front of the students clearly had a great effect. Many students immediately turned and left, and soon the sound of reading aloud could be heard coming from the bamboo forest in the distance.
"The arrival of Lord Tang has completely ignited everyone's enthusiasm. In the past, these students would have been eager to seize every spare moment to be lazy and play. They would never have been so spontaneous in their studies."
After the students left, the courtyard instantly became empty.
Li Mubai listened to the voice in his ear and stroked his beard with satisfaction.
He looked in the direction from which the sound came, as if he had thought of something, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
"The students' enthusiasm already existed; my arrival simply gave them another reason to strive harder."
Zhao Shou smiled and said, "Lord Tang, there's no need to be modest. We've all seen your contribution, and those four lines will likely become inspirational phrases for them to keep striving."
Faced with the sentiments of these two senior figures, Tang Huan was only interested in one thing.
He hesitated before asking, "In that case, do I still need to give the students another lesson?"
Li Mubai shook his head and said, "No need. The discussion we had in this courtyard this afternoon was more effective than a lecture."
They started talking at two o'clock and continued until almost evening.
Tang Huan put a lot of thought into this matter, and during that time he also told the students the stories of Mencius' mother moving three times and Mencius' mother stealing light by drilling a hole in the wall.
Of course, he needs to embellish and adapt it himself, otherwise he will face a lot of questions, which will give him a headache.
Inside the courtyard, Tang Huan sat facing two seniors.
The joy of the two was palpable.
"By the way, Lord Tang may not know this, but there is a Minister in the court who graduated from Yunlu Academy."
"Yeah?"
According to Li Mubai, Yunlu Academy had been declining for many years, while the Imperial Academy and Confucian academies had risen, giving many scholars more choices.
Judging from his age, the current Minister left Yunlu Academy about twenty years ago.
At that time, Yunlu Academy had already begun to decline.
"Who is it, sir?"
"Wang Tianze, Lord Wang."
It turned out to be Wang Tianze, who was deeply trusted by the Empress. Tang Huan hadn't expected this.
This made Tang Huan think of something, and he asked, "Wang's family wasn't well-off back then?"
"Yes, even among all the students at Yunlu Academy, Lord Wang was the most ordinary and inconspicuous one. However, he was the most hardworking among the students. If he wasn't smart enough, he would study diligently. So later, many people couldn't believe that he would actually rise to the position of Minister."
Even now, Wang Tianze remains a prominent figure for Yunlu Academy.
In the early years, Yunlu Academy would send someone to make contact every year, even if it was just to send some insignificant gifts, purely to strengthen the connection and not sever this relationship.
Unfortunately, the reputation of a high-ranking official was not strong enough, and the number of students at Yunlu Academy continued to decrease.
"Thinking back now, it's as if I can still see Wang Tianze confronting and arguing with someone in the bamboo forest. When he was young, he wasn't as gentle and refined as he is now. Instead, he was a sharp-tongued kid who intimidated everyone. Even several teachers didn't dare to argue with him."
I never imagined that the Minister would have such a side to him.
But if he is such a person, why would he agree to his son getting so close to Cui Yuanzhao?
Tang Huan thought for a moment. If his son had been painstakingly raised and raised, only to turn around and hang out with the son of a treacherous minister, committing all sorts of evil deeds, he would have broken his legs long ago.
However, Wang Jingze has been doing well all these years, and it seems that he has a good relationship with his father, the Minister.
It seems that Wang Tianze is not as simple as he appears.
After discussing Wang Tianze's matter for a while longer, it became increasingly late.
The two senior members of the academy still tried to persuade Tang Huan to stay for a few more days, but Tang Huan declined, citing the busy construction project in the southern district.
The students of Yunlu Academy escorted Tang Huan all the way to the mountain gate, and some even led them to the foot of the mountain, where they were given a carriage to take them directly back to the capital.
The scene of students standing busily in front of the mountain gate, shouting farewell, remains vivid in my mind even after a long time.
At the city gate, Tang Huan jumped off the carriage and smiled at the two students who had brought him back, saying, "I'll leave you here."
He gestured for Xue'e to hand several silver notes to the two of them, saying, "It's getting late. You should stay in the city tonight and return to the academy tomorrow. Otherwise, it's too unsafe to travel overnight."
The two students wanted to decline, but it was already past eight o'clock in the evening, and if they had to travel another two hours by carriage back, the road up the mountain would indeed be prone to accidents.
They finally agreed.
Tang Huan and the other two were not in a hurry and began to stroll leisurely toward the mansion.
"Those students really care about you," Qin Yu said, walking beside Tang Huan with a touch of emotion.
“That’s right.” Tang Huan raised her head.
Qin Yu continued, "To establish a moral compass for heaven and earth... is that truly your personal pursuit?"
"You think this is just something I said to the students?"
Qin Yu shook his head slightly and asked seriously, "What if the world is unjust and there is no peace?"
"Then I will naturally do something," Tang Huan quickly replied.
But then he explained, "However, if it's too unfair, I can only do my best. It's impossible for me to try to stop a chariot by my own strength."
"Alright," Qin Yu sighed.
The group had just leisurely returned to the mansion, carrying fresh vegetables and meat they had bought on the street, ready to let Xue'e show off her skills.
Li Daikui rushed out of the courtyard to greet him, and said with a solemn expression, "Sir, something terrible has happened."
"What's wrong?"
Tang Huan glared at Li Daikui, disliking his flustered appearance.
Li Daikui forcibly suppressed his temper, "My lord, this afternoon the Prime Minister's residence sent a message that the Prime Minister is hosting a banquet for you at Chunfeng Tower tonight."
"Hmm?" Tang Huan frowned in surprise. "At Chunfeng Tower?"
Li Daikui explained, "The messenger said that the Prime Minister was worried that it would be too late for you to return, so he made a special trip to host a banquet for you at Chunfeng Tower."
"It's so late, they should all be done by now, right?" Tang Huan asked.
"Not yet. Someone came over a quarter of an hour ago asking about you."
Tang Huan clicked his tongue, "This prime minister also has this kind of hobby. I wonder if his wife can keep him in check."
Seeing this, Qin Yu said helplessly, "Shouldn't we be worried about this trap right now? Why are you concerned about where the banquet will be held?"
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