Shen Qingchen was somewhat at a loss, letting one sleeve be lifted, wrung out, and put down, then the other sleeve was lifted, and he could only stammer, "Thank you, sir..."
"No need." After Qingchen wrung out his sleeves, he strode towards the back room.
Shen Qingchen stared at his retreating figure, somewhat dazed.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, the junior scholars arrived at the Hanlin Academy one after another.
Gu Shaoheng threw down his book and rushed to Shen Qingchen's side, excitedly saying, "The teacher who's coming today is indeed surnamed Song!"
History books have proven me right. Shen Qingchen felt a little relieved.
"I was worried about you last night. I only heard the news halfway here with my father today. I should have placed a bigger bet yesterday, so that Xu Silin would have cried."
Qingchen shook his head helplessly without replying.
He looked her up and down again. "You've been caught in the rain today. You're all soaked. Do you want to go to the outhouse and take off your clothes? I'll share with you. I'm stronger than you, so I won't feel cold." Her robe was almost completely soaked, covering her slender shoulders and arms. Even the collar of her undergarment was wet, clinging to her fair neck.
Shen Qingchen quickly shook his head, "No need, it's not cold today, it'll dry in a bit."
Although she had wrung out the water, her clothes were still damp and uncomfortable. Especially her legs; the wind chilled them to the bone. But men and women should be different; how could she possibly go to the outhouse with him?
At this moment, the people on the left and right started to talk, and the topic was all about their new teacher. Gu Shaoheng also joined the discussion.
"Yesterday our esteemed teacher retired, and I never expected that the new teacher we have today would be Lord Song. The highest rank in the Hanlin Academy is only the fifth rank. Lord Song holds a high position and is very busy with many affairs. How could he possibly become our teacher?"
"I heard that the decree was issued last night, and Eunuch Huang from the Directorate of Ceremonial personally went to the Song residence on the orders. Even the Grand Secretary was unaware of it."
"In my opinion, the Emperor values our position as junior officials, otherwise he wouldn't have sent Lord Song here. If we can really become his students, we would be very fortunate."
Gu Shaoheng blurted out, "I heard from my father that there are quite a few girls who want to be our teacher's wife..."
Just then, Xu Silin arrived.
When everyone saw Xu, the Grand Secretary's son, they all asked him about the new teacher, but he didn't respond. He simply walked straight to Shen Qingchen, leaned against her desk, and looked down at her. His dark eyes were deep and unfathomable, his face full of suspicion.
"How did you know?" he asked bluntly. "Your surname is Song."
"Just a guess."
I don't believe it.
Qingchen looked at him, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, her voice calm and composed, "Are you going to back out?"
He stared at her, his handsome face slightly furrowed. After a long while, he scoffed, stood up, and turned away, saying, "Don't be so smug. There's plenty of time in the future."
Shen Qingchen let out a slight sigh of relief, lowered her head, and flipped through the notes she had made in the past few days.
Then, a scribe from the Hanlin Academy hurriedly entered the hall and reminded them to return to their seats.
Soon after, amidst everyone's expectant gazes, the new teacher arrived as promised, his scarlet official robes followed closely by black boots, appearing at the door.
Shen Qingchen's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and her heart began to race.
He stepped onto the podium, his refined and elegant eyes looking down at his students.
It turned out to be that high-ranking official of the second rank from earlier.
The almanac clearly states that this official is thirty years old this year. Yet he looks only in his twenties, appearing like a handsome young man just entering officialdom. He is actually the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, and concurrently the Minister of Rites, a second-rank official…
The officials stood up, bowed respectfully, and greeted in unison, "Greetings, Grand Secretary."
He glanced at them, then nodded slightly and said, "My name is Song Yue, and from today onwards, I will be your teacher." The sunlight after the rain shone on his profile, making his jade-like face appear pale and his eyes clear as water. Every gesture he made exuded a cool and refined aura.
"When we meet again in the future, you don't need to call me Grand Secretary, just call me Teacher."
Qingchen couldn't help but imagine how brilliant and talented he was when he entered the palace examination at the age of seventeen, standing proudly in the Golden Palace, still carrying a hint of naivety.
The attendant took the register of all the officials and began to read out the names of Grand Secretary Song.
As Song Yue listened, he would occasionally ask them questions. These questions ranged from local customs and traditions to music, chess, poetry, and dance, but none of them were related to academic studies or official careers. They seemed to follow no particular pattern and were more like casual conversation.
"The first place in the second class is Shen Qingchen."
When they finally sang Shen Qingchen's name, she stood up, bowed respectfully, and waited for Song Yue to ask a question.
He slightly lifted his eyelashes, his gaze falling on her. After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth and asked, "Is your robe dry?"
Shen Qingchen was slightly taken aback. Everyone around her looked at her with curiosity on their faces.
"...Yes, teacher, I'll do it."
"When I saw you outside the Daming Gate, I wondered if you were my student." The voice was calm.
No wonder, a high-ranking official of the second rank would help me wring the water off my clothes.
"Why did you choose to take the imperial examination?" he asked again.
Shen Qingchen frowned, her fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of the table. She hadn't expected him to ask such a question.
She took the imperial examinations to survive, to take care of herself and her father, and to cure her father's illness. However, she had never revealed that her father suffered from hysteria, and she didn't want to talk about it now, lest people think she was deliberately trying to gain sympathy. She didn't want them to think she was any different from them.
She was a little nervous. She glanced at Song Yue and found that he was also looking at her, his face still expressionless.
Shen Qingchen took a breath and replied, "For world peace."
As soon as the words were spoken, the hall fell into an eerie silence. The junior scholars exchanged glances, then began to furrow their brows in deep thought, trying to decipher the profound meaning behind those four words.
Song Yue raised the corner of his eye slightly.
The word "world" originates from Buddhist scriptures. The definition of this word in Buddhist scriptures is quite esoteric. It is said that it takes Mount Sumeru in ancient India as the center, plus the nine mountains, eight seas, four continents, and the sun and moon surrounding it, collectively called one world. A thousand such worlds make a small chiliocosm, a thousand small chiliocosms make a medium chiliocosm, and a thousand medium chiliocosms make a great chiliocosm. Therefore, a great chiliocosm is also called a three-thousand-great-chiliocosm.
In the Ming Dynasty, the word "world" was not commonly used; the world people referred to was the world in Buddhist scriptures. Therefore, Shen Qingchen's answer seemed quite mysterious, as if it contained a profound meaning.
The solemn lecture hall was completely silent. The elites of the Ming Dynasty were immersed in analyzing the significance of world peace, while others quietly opened the books beside them, seeking answers within.
Song Yue looked at the top-ranked student in the second class, the best among the junior scholars, who was awkwardly wringing the water off his sleeves under the eaves. After a long while, he finally said, "Sit down." He didn't know if he had seen through her nonsense, but he didn't ask any further questions.
Gu Shaoheng winked at Shen Qingchen, clearly wanting to pounce on her and ask for an explanation. Shen Qingchen gave him a guilty smile in return.
Years of disguising herself as a man have made her very accustomed to protecting herself. She rarely expresses her inner thoughts, afraid of saying the wrong thing or letting others see through her disguise. That's why she had to act mysteriously just now.
After sitting down, she glanced at Song Yue and noticed that he was also looking in her direction, so she immediately lowered her head.
When Xu Silin's name was called, he stood up with a relaxed expression, his hands hanging down and his back straight.
His father was the Grand Secretary, and also Song Yue's superior. Years of exposure to the situation had led him to believe that the current Vice Grand Secretary was far too young. In his father's eyes, he was merely a lucky candidate who had been pulled into the cabinet to make up the numbers, and couldn't cause any real trouble. Therefore, he didn't take Song Yue seriously.
Looking at the confident student before him, Song Yue's tone remained calm, "What do you think righteousness is?"
This question was all too common for the junior scholars; it was a question they had been tested on since childhood. Not to mention the junior scholars of the Hanlin Academy, even a student could answer it. These junior scholars were all highly learned, able to cite ten thousand different interpretations from the Four Books and Five Classics to provide their answers.
Xu Silin looked at Song Yue, a slightly smug twitch at the corner of his mouth, and then quickly answered the question, his answer being impeccable.
"Then what do you think filial piety is?" Song Yue asked again.
This question is not difficult to answer. Xu Silin, having answered the first question smoothly, did not take Song Yue seriously and said, "Disobeying one's parents is certainly unfilial, but obeying one's parents in everything is also unfilial. I believe that as long as one does not do anything unjust and obeys one's parents in everything, that is filial piety."
There was nothing wrong with the answer. But as soon as he said it, Xu Silin regretted it.
Song Yue is young, but he is even younger.
His father's many unjust deeds were an open secret in the court and among the people, and even the emperor turned a blind eye. If one day the Grand Secretary asked his son to do the same, would he do it or not? According to him, doing it would be unfilial, and not doing it would also be unfilial, putting him in a dilemma.
Grand Secretary Song is indeed no ordinary man.
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