Chapter 70 Accepting with a smile
Being a teacher is not easy. After returning from the workshop in the south of the city once again, Shang Yuji secretly made up her mind that she would not go to Old Geng's workshop unless necessary.
Printing scriptures and historical records is fine, but when it comes to compiling textbooks on algorithms, natural sciences, medicine, and other subjects, we have to find top experts from various fields in Da'an to help...
The matter of finding the person should be left to His Highness to consider; His Highness's status is far more useful than that of a mere merchant's daughter.
When writing books on education, it's inevitable that some people will have their own selfish motives and mix in their own school of thought. Therefore, it's necessary to check the books before they are printed.
The beginning is always the hardest. She has already taken the first step; we'll see what happens next.
Good news kept coming from the capital. The Yangcheng army rewarded those who had made meritorious contributions, bestowing official titles and ranks upon them, and awarding them thousands of gold pieces. Everyone returned home laden with spoils.
Princess Zhou Chaoyun was clearly favored by the emperor and her influence in the court had increased significantly.
Only the princess's trusted confidants knew that this was not the case.
·
In the capital city, at the Thousand Garden of the Princess's Residence.
After returning from the celebration banquet, Zhou Chaoyun removed her smiling mask, and her confidants worried about being dismissed by her.
Ah Yi hadn't gone far; he was hidden in a blind corner of the courtyard wall, a place where His Highness couldn't see him at a glance.
Suddenly, a head popped out from behind the gate of the Thousand Garden. In order not to disturb the princess's peace, A Shuang had tried very hard to press down the silver bells on her body so that they would not make a sound, but as she walked, some bells always slipped through and rang out crisply.
Ah Shuang ignored the escaped bell. Even though she saw Ah Yi's wink from afar telling her to leave, she still slowly approached the eldest princess who was resting under the pavilion at the same speed.
"Your Highness, a letter from Yangzhou." A Shuang put down her hand that was pressing the silver bell, and as she rummaged through her clothes, the silver bells on her body suddenly started ringing frequently.
It wasn't harsh; rather, it had a captivatingly pleasant quality.
Zhou Chaoyun took it and waved for A Shuang to leave as well.
Ignoring A-Yi's glare, A-Shuang squatted down beside her. Her eyes darted around, scanning the layout of the Thousand Garden, pondering His Highness's decision to add more beautiful insects to the garden, a decision that His Highness had not yet approved.
What kinds of insects are good to keep?
Upon seeing the familiar handwriting on the letter, Zhou Chaoyun, who was in the pavilion, gradually calmed down.
After the banquet, her father summoned her alone.
That conversation was less a praise for her daughter's achievements and more a warning to her.
"Yun'er, I have seen your abilities. As the eldest sister, I must cherish my siblings."
"Your Majesty, I understand. You can rest assured now. Aren't all my younger siblings precious? I cherish them all. It's just a pity that I've been a bit busy lately. I hope that my younger siblings haven't grown distant from me, their elder sister!"
“We can get to know each other better later. You’re the eldest sister, so they have to listen to you.” He sighed again. “Father is getting old. No matter who hands the world over to in the future, you’ll still have to help them. Without you to keep them in check, they’re always a worry.”
"...Father is young and strong, how can he be old!"
She added a few compliments to make everyone happy before returning to the banquet.
From the very beginning, she was not on the list of candidates for the throne. Even if everyone recognized her abilities, so what?
People not on the list are not worth the effort to cultivate relationships with.
The emperor knew perfectly well that the princes were secretly fighting tooth and nail for the throne, yet for the sake of the harmonious and happy families and the brotherly affection he wanted to see, they all put on a fake show, their words sweet but their hearts daggers.
That location...
My initial annoyance vanished immediately after reading the letter.
Forget about being annoyed, she almost burst out laughing.
The story in the letter seemed to be encouraging her to rise up and become a "filial son" under her father's knees.
The methods of "rebellion" described inside, cough, methods of seizing power, have quite a few merits upon closer inspection.
Fortunately, it was a secret message; otherwise, if someone had caught them red-handed, they would have had no way to explain themselves.
Although one cannot understand the meaning of the letter and thus cannot discern its contents, sometimes it is possible to successfully frame someone even if that person is innocent.
You have to burn the letter after you finish reading it.
As Zhou Chaoyun flipped through the pages, he came across what could be described as opening up a new world... the imperial examination system for selecting officials.
She also discovered that most of the people recommended these days are all show and no substance, holding positions without doing any work and simply occupying them without contributing anything!
It was truly a case of "being recommended as a scholar but being illiterate; being recommended as a filial and incorruptible official but having a father who lived separately!"
She read it word for word, her heart pounding. She instinctively held her breath and focused, only taking a deep breath after she came to her senses.
What a daring idea!
Unfortunately, it was too idealistic. It's not just that there are few talented commoners who can enter the court as officials, but Shang Yuji's idea that everyone can learn and everyone can learn will inevitably face all kinds of obstacles in the implementation stage.
However, the saying "From a peasant in the morning to a high official in the evening" is enough to make many people kowtow and bleed in order to follow it.
Even she felt a surge of passionate blood rush to her head after reading it, and she couldn't help but want to write a great chapter in her life!
After calming her breathing, Zhou Chaoyun threw her head back and laughed, all the little worries that had bothered her vanished.
If such a talent selection system is implemented, it will surely be remembered in history!
His name will be etched in history!
Such enticing praise! As for what the emperor said, it was overshadowed by his fame in history. What could be more captivating than having something recorded in history books?
No!
Zhou Chaoyun slammed her hand on the table in anger, the loud noise attracting the attention of her subordinates who had been watching her expression closely.
She raised her arm and shouted, "Summon people to the study for a meeting!"
After saying that, she put the letter away and walked towards the study.
A-Yi was not surprised and immediately followed behind. Seeing this, A-Shuang, who was squatting on the ground, suddenly stood up and followed as well. She then whispered behind A-Yi, "A-Yi, A-Yi, do you think His Highness has calmed down his unhappy mood?"
With a stern face, A-Yi walked away silently, and after a moment replied, "Your Highness... will not be saddened by difficult matters."
Just now, under the pavilion, I only needed some time to consider a way to break the deadlock.
Ah Shuang curled her lip behind the princess's loyal subordinate and strode to catch up with her: "Alright, let's just say Your Highness is an invincible iron woman. So, do you think Your Highness likes blue butterflies? I can raise a few blue butterflies and put them in the Thousand Garden."
"...Hmm, I'll ask Your Highness later."
.
"You little brat, Shang! You didn't even inform this old man about such an important event as your marriage!"
An unexpected guest arrived at the Shang residence. Shang Yuji greeted him with a smile and poured the old man a cup of tea to quench his thirst: "I never expected that the busy Dr. Yan would come in person."
"Hmph!" Yan Qing took a sip of tea and snorted, "If it weren't for my junior brother writing to me, I wouldn't have known that you were about to have good news."
Upon receiving the letter from Fang Mu, Yan Qing immediately recognized its boastful tone, highlighting that Shang Xiaoni had invited him to her wedding banquet, while he himself had to miss it due to being far away.
But who is he?
A traveling healer who fearlessly traverses mountains and rivers!
How could I miss Shang Xiaoni's important life event just because of a short distance?
So he packed his bags and rushed back to Yangzhou before the wedding. Fortunately, he returned in time, just ten days before the wedding.
Ultimately, Yan Qing already regarded Shang Yuji as his junior, and he couldn't miss such an important occasion for his junior.
"Old Yan, you've been buried deep in the mountains and forests, and I don't know how to contact you," Shang Yuji replied as she brought over some mung bean cakes.
That makes sense. Fang Mu was able to deliver the letter to him by going through the Xuanhu Valley route. How could a young girl like Shang Xiaoni find him, whose whereabouts are so uncertain?
Even he might not know which way he'll go next.
Given their relationship, it wouldn't be a problem to inform the source of information about Xuanhu Valley...
Yan Qing became more and more convinced of his point, and finally clapped his hands in delight: "That's how it should be!"
Doctor Yan wanted to hand over the contact information for Xuanhu Valley so that Shang Xiaoni could find him if she needed anything in the future.
However, Shang Yuji, on the other hand, harbored different thoughts.
Or how about we try to abduct Dr. Yan?
She envisioned establishing Da'an's first centrally administered medical college, not to treat the powerful and wealthy, but to train qualified and professional doctors, just like the medical colleges of her previous life.
It would be such a pity if the medical knowledge of these medical luminaries could not be passed on.
Modern medicine is like that of Dr. Fang, who takes on a few apprentices and entrusts his life's experience to them. Once the apprentices have learned their skills and started their own schools, Dr. Fang's mission is already half accomplished.
However, this method of inheritance is too fragile. If something goes wrong along the way, the inheritance will be broken, or even the magnificent medical heritage will be lost.
Take Dr. Fang as an example. If Xiao Mu and Xiao Shi were to have an accident while traveling and practicing medicine and lose their lives, then Dr. Fang's medical lineage would be in grave danger. Even if he later took on new apprentices, he would not have much time left to teach them the complete lineage from beginning to end.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that some traditions have simply vanished.
Shang Yuji was worried that the fragile tradition might be interrupted for some reason. In addition to having the masters write down what they knew and thought, she also wanted to print many copies of the book. Even if some books were lost in the process of transmission, as long as many copies were printed, some would be able to survive by chance.
The fact that it has survived is a victory for inheritance.
In addition, the college's approach of cultivating students broadly is similar in principle. By relying on students to spread and pass on knowledge, and by casting a wide net, more can be gained.
Compared to carefully selecting apprentices and meticulously teaching them their lifelong knowledge, the academy may lack in-depth teaching, but what is more important now is to cultivate a wide range of medical students in a broad and comprehensive way.
There aren't many doctors in Da'an. In the vast city of Yangzhou, the number of doctors is very small, let alone in the villages and counties.
I'm afraid that people in rural areas who want to see a doctor will have to travel for one or two days to get treatment in the city.
Even if there are doctors in the township or county, their skill levels vary greatly, and sometimes they become the final, fatal blow.
In her childhood village, when people fell ill, they would go to a shaman who performed a ritual to cure their illness. After drinking a bowl of talismanic water, their fate was left to fate.
If you can survive, you live; if you can't, you die.
Looking back now, those who survived did so by sheer willpower and had nothing to do with witch doctors. But among those who died, some could have survived, but the ineffective use of talismanic water delayed their treatment, ultimately leading to their demise.
Shang Yuji pondered: Breaking away from outdated ideas is also urgent.
Although changing one's mindset is not something that can be done overnight, this matter is undoubtedly of great importance.
This concerns the working population!
In a society with low productivity, every member of the workforce is indispensable!
Yan Qing coughed lightly, and said casually, "Little girl, if you need anything in the future, you can ask Junior Brother Fang to pass on your message. Of course, you can also—" write a letter to inform me...
At the same time as him spoke was Shang Yuji, who seemed a little reserved. Based on Yan Qing's understanding of her, her awkwardness was mostly due to ill intentions; she was probably planning to trick someone.
Unfortunately, he was so busy thinking about making contact that he didn't notice anything amiss.
By the time they realized it, it was too late.
"Master Yan, if I were to establish a medical academy, would you be willing to teach there?"
"?" Yan Qing, who hadn't quite caught on, replied, "I've traveled all over the country for many years, and I might not be able to stay in one place to teach for an extended period of time."
"It's alright," Shang Yuji said with a smile. "Whenever you pass by the academy, just set aside a few days to teach there. You can be a specially appointed teacher and share your experiences from your travels with the students."
"You don't need to stay at the university to teach for long periods of time; you can come whenever you want."
Yan Qing was deeply moved. His junior brother had taken on a disciple to inherit his mantle, and he had considered taking on a disciple himself. However, he did not have the same patience as his junior brother and could not provide the same earnest guidance and patient instruction.
Not to mention his apprentice is making a fuss and disobeying him, he himself can't sit still!
In addition, he often travels over mountains and ridges, sleeping in the open and in the grass, so what family would be willing to send their children to suffer with him?
Her words really struck a chord with him.
Just as he would occasionally check on Xiaomu and Xiaoshi's studies, he was somewhat interested in teaching.
Yan Qing pretended to think about it, then nodded hesitantly, accepting her suggestion.
Unexpectedly, Shang Yuji took the opportunity to flatter him, serving him tea: "The academy is vacant for a dean. The two medical sages are unmatched in the medical field. You are unavailable for the dean position, so I would like to invite Elder Fang to take it. You and he are fellow disciples. Could you please put in a good word for me?"
He drank half of the tea, but couldn't bring himself to spit it out or swallow it. Yan Qing felt like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. He realized that this little girl was busy setting traps for him, and she hadn't even spared his junior brother.
Yan Qing glanced at her twice, and Shang Yuji quickly pleaded, "Elder Yan, please, when the time comes, I will personally speak to Elder Fang, and you can say a few good words for me on my behalf, okay?"
"Hmph!" Yan Qing patted his plain hempen clothes. "I rushed back to Yangzhou to see you, and you just dump the burden on me like this?"
Shang Yuji sensed that his attitude was softening and decisively said, "How could that be? I have definitely prepared a gift. I'll have to trouble Elder Yan then."
"That's more like it."
Both parties knew that it wasn't about the value of the gift, but about the sentiment behind it.
He's getting on in years, he can't possibly be tempted by the little gifts from the younger generation, can he?
Until Shang Yuji brought over a brand-new, high-quality set of medical knives and silver needles, Yan Qing stared wide-eyed, unable to look away.
Well, he accepted the payment with a smile.
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