Chapter 52 Comparing Learning, Learning, and More Learning
Zhao Liangxu left these words for Manager Chen and informed An He about going to the Siyi Pavilion. An He readily agreed: "Go wherever you want. If you think the Siyi Pavilion is suitable, then stay there."
"Is Eunuch An so tolerant?"
An He, busy with other things, didn't even look up and said, "Even if you want to be a minor official in the Ministry of Justice or a military officer in the Ministry of War, so what? You can't escape our watchful eyes anyway, Princess Zhao." He was so at ease because there were many spies in the Six Ministries. As long as she was under his watchful eye, what difference would it make if Zhao Liangxu acted a little more lively?
Anhe wasn't concerned with that matter, and instead asked about something else: "What do you think of this Manager Chen you mentioned?"
He personally supervised the matter at the Ministry of Rites that day, yet someone still dared to make underhanded moves?
His original intention was to punish Manager Chen severely, but Zhao Liangxu was not a bad person. She had already intimidated Manager Chen in the yamen, which was enough to make him unable to eat or sleep. So she asked Anhe, "Then why don't you ask Eunuch An to deduct a few months' salary from him after a while? When he breathes a sigh of relief, you can remind him that he was fined for this matter, which will make him even more fearful."
These words prompted An He to snort softly: "You're quite kind-hearted, still willing to let him live." If it were him, he would definitely make this stupid thing suffer. "Well, your idea is not bad, it suits our tastes."
After discussing this with Anhe, Zhao Liangxu went to the Siyiguan (Foreigners' Hall) on behalf of the Ministry of Personnel. Having already been familiar with the Siyiguan once before, she entered the gate with ease and bumped into Zhang Changfei and Chen Qinglie.
"What brings Secretary Zhao here?" Upon seeing Zhao Liangxu, Zhang Changfei's face tightened for a moment before he asked her with nonchalant enthusiasm.
After Zhao Liangxu explained his purpose, Zhang Changfei leaned back, exchanged a glance with Chen Qinglie, and chuckled, "So it turns out that Secretary Zhao is also interested in these things. What a coincidence! Brother Chen and I are learning a foreign language. Although I'm not very good at it, Brother Chen is a properly admitted translator, and he learns quite quickly. If Secretary Zhao has any questions, you can ask Brother Chen."
He nudged Chen Qinglie's arm. Chen Qinglie, who was empty-handed this time and didn't have many documents, bowed solemnly and said, "If Secretary Zhao doesn't mind, I would be very happy to do my best to help Secretary Zhao."
Despite his polite demeanor, his palms were sweating slightly as he spoke. It wasn't for any other reason than that if he were to have the opportunity to meet Zhao Liangxu, it would be a dream come true for him.
He thought that he and Zhao Liangxu were just strangers who met by chance, and their first encounter was in such an awkward situation. He also thought that he and Zhao Liangxu had no connection in their lives, and that it would be a luxury to even exchange a few words with her.
Zhao Liangxu didn't know what the so-called "foreign language" was. She was starting from scratch at the Siyi Pavilion and would have to ask for help from the people there. So she put the matter of that day behind her and carefully returned Chen Qinglie's greeting: "Then I still have to thank Chen..." She didn't seem to know the other party's name yet.
Chen Qinglie hurriedly replied, "My name is Chen Qinglie, just an unknown student at the Imperial Academy."
"Then thank you very much, Chen Yisheng." Hearing Zhao Liangxu call him that, Chen Qinglie felt disappointed, but also felt it was reasonable. He had hoped that Zhao Liangxu would call him "Brother Chen" like his classmates, but he also knew that the two were not very familiar with each other, so "Chen Yisheng" was the most appropriate way to address him.
Zhang Changfei then took the initiative to introduce himself: "My name is Zhang Changfei. I'm sure Secretary Zhao already knows me from Lady Qiu. If Secretary Zhao doesn't mind, you can call me Changfei." Zhang Changfei unconsciously put on his usual flirtatious manner.
Zhao Liangxu chuckled, too lazy to even perform the usual courtesies, and simply nodded politely to him, saying, "Zhang Yisheng." Although she said she was turning the page, it only meant she wouldn't pursue the matter with Chen Qinglie, who hadn't said anything particularly rude. As for Zhang Changfei, she was already being lenient by not scolding him.
Zhang Changfei opened his mouth, but despite feeling discriminated against, he could only laugh awkwardly and say, "I was being presumptuous, very presumptuous. 'Zhang Yisheng' is a fine title, haha." He thought bitterly to himself, "Indeed, the world always lumps women and petty people together!"
Zhao Liangxu entered the room where foreign languages were taught. The people inside stirred for a moment upon seeing Zhao Liangxu, but then quieted down again.
There was no other reason than that most of them were students of the Imperial Academy or minor officials temporarily transferred from other departments, and they knew nothing about foreign languages. However, the caravan would arrive in three months. The minor officials could still slack off a bit, but the other students all had to pass the assessment. Time was tight, and no matter how curious Zhao Liangxu was, it was not as important as the work they had to do.
Zhao Liangxu felt as if she had become younger, as if she had returned to the days when she buried herself in her studies.
She asked, "In just a few months, you probably won't have mastered the foreign language?"
Chen Qinglie replied earnestly, "That's right. The Siyiguan originally had dedicated document translators and accompanying translators, so they were naturally more adept at speaking foreign languages. However, it is said that there are more people coming this year than usual, so they had to temporarily find students from the Imperial Academy to fill the positions. We can communicate simply by recognizing characters. Furthermore, since the caravan has come to Nanzhou, they naturally need to understand Nanzhou Mandarin. After a few months of learning, we should be able to handle the caravan."
Zhao Liangxu understood, and Chen Qinglie added, "If there are any outstanding individuals, they might be able to be invited to the Wanshang Banquet at that time, so that they can experience the grand occasion and perhaps even have the honor of witnessing the Emperor's countenance."
Chen Qinglie spoke with longing, but when he looked at Zhao Liangxu, he noticed the complexity on her face. She raised an eyebrow, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopped. Only then did he realize that Zhao Liangxu had already obtained the Emperor's Pass and had seen the Emperor's face countless times.
He looked embarrassed.
Zhao Liangxu skipped over this topic and asked, "You came to the Siyi Pavilion before the New Year? You must have learned quite a bit by now."
Chen Qinglie picked up the conversation, nodded, and said with a hint of pride in his tone, "Brother Zhang always exaggerates. I'm not that great either, but I have indeed gained a deeper understanding of the foreign language these days." He was one of the best learners among this group, but he still restrained himself and tried to be humble.
Zhao Liangxu and the two found an empty seat and sat down. After learning about it, they discovered that "foreign language" was just a general term. The Southern Zhou Dynasty unified the country by treating foreign countries as "foreign states" and foreigners as "foreigners." However, in reality, the caravans came from different countries, and the foreign languages were not all the same. The languages most people learned were Persian and Siamese. This really piqued Zhao Liangxu's interest.
Just hearing these languages made Zhao Liangxu imagine the merchant caravans coming to the court wearing exotic clothing, carrying local specialties and novelties. If she got to know them well, she could hear some interesting stories from the road and experience the customs and etiquette of foreign lands. Wouldn't that be much more interesting than staying at home reading books? Books were interesting, but these things were even more attractive.
Therefore, Zhao Liangxu devoted herself to learning these languages. Thanks to her talent for memorization and observation, coupled with her interest, she made rapid progress, almost like a literary genius descended to earth.
Before her transmigration, her learning experience came from learning English. However, when it comes to learning, she was good at integrating knowledge and memorization was the least of her worries. Unfortunately, her real communication practice was limited to conversations with the old scholar at the Siyi Pavilion. Just by listening to the old scholar speak, Zhao Liangxu knew that it was the language of the Southern Zhou Dynasty. People who were truly proficient in these languages were rare and hard to find. Zhao Liangxu could only catch them a few times, so she could barely understand the general idea by listening carefully and communicate by speaking. She only reached this level in a short period of time.
However, in the eyes of Zhang Changfei and Chen Qinglie, Zhao Liangxu's progress was astonishing. Zhang Changfei always harbored contempt for Zhao Liangxu. No matter what the reason, when he saw Zhao Liangxu so eager to try the foreign language, he always had a sense of wanting to laugh at her. At first, he couldn't help but secretly ridicule Zhao Liangxu for overestimating herself. What could she possibly learn in less than two months?
Zhao Liangxu always humbly asked Chen Qinglie for advice. Sometimes, if she couldn't find Chen Qinglie, she would reluctantly ask Zhang Changfei for help. After all, Zhang Changfei had also been encouraged by his family to study hard for a while. Zhang Changfei watched Zhao Liangxu learn from the very basics and gradually surpass him, and even Chen Qinglie. This made Zhao Liangxu quite accomplished.
From initial disdain to disbelief, and then to resigned resentment, Zhang Changfei felt that he had never suffered such a great injustice in his life. He was a scion of a scholarly family with a rich family background. Although he was a bit playful, he was not a blockhead. How could he have been outdone by Zhao Liangxu?
Therefore, Zhang Changfei, who had been arrogant and domineering in the capital for more than ten years, also went all out and refused to be outdone by Zhao Liangxu. Despite his grandfather's astonished and suspicious gaze, he studied hard for a period of time, which made his family wonder if their unfilial son, whom they had spoiled since childhood, was possessed by an evil spirit. Zhang Changfei's mother even invited someone to perform a ritual at home, which Zhang Yuan called nonsense.
By March, after all this competition, Zhao Liangxu, Chen Qinglie, and Zhang Changfei were all ultimately selected for the Wanshang Banquet.
Needless to say, Chen Qinglie, who had mediocre talent since childhood, unexpectedly discovered some talent in languages and studied hard, so no one objected to his selection. However, what surprised Zhao Liangxu and Chen Qinglie was that Zhang Changfei, this playboy, also studied diligently and was eventually selected by a narrow margin.
"What are you looking at! My family has produced so many Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). I don't usually flaunt it, but I'm not one to be trifled with!" Zhang Changfei said irritably, jumping up and down at the other unselected translators.
Zhao Liangxu watched the commotion from the sidelines. Although she still disliked Zhang Changfei, they had become somewhat acquainted. There was no absolute enmity between people. If Zhang Changfei did something disgusting behind her back in the future, she could still talk to him properly.
In the past two months, the archway in her house has been completed. Apart from the days of working hard at the Siyi Pavilion, she would also practice martial arts with Lu Xuan to strengthen her body when she had free time. With these busy days, she didn't see An He often. He went to the palace early every day, and sometimes stayed in the palace for several days in a row without returning home. It can be said that this period was the time when Zhao Liangxu saw An He the least.
Zhao Liangxu wasn't in a hurry at all. As the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder.
What if the two of them grow to dislike each other more and more after seeing each other every day?
She didn't think Anhe could always tolerate her.
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