Chapter 12
"A-choo," Xie Ling, who was reading in the library, sneezed and thought someone was talking about him.
What's going on? Strange.
Before coming to the library, Xie Ling originally thought that they were just looking for a place for him to read books like before, but when he arrived, he found that it was not the case at all.
As soon as Xie Ling entered, the eunuch next to him looked ahead and bent down.
"Thank you, Master. His Majesty has invited a great scholar for you and he is on the second floor."
"It is inconvenient for me to go up, so I will wait for you outside. If you have any instructions, you can ring the bell beside the table."
What? What great scholar?
When did he look for the great scholar?
Xie Ling went up to the second floor with a bewildered look on his face. Without even taking the time to look around the quaint and elegant First Library of the Imperial Palace, he saw the old gentleman sitting at the table.
This time I was really confused.
No, could it be that His Majesty Emperor Wu really intended to let him take the imperial examination, or was he really fed up with his illiterate appearance?
No matter how shocked he was, Xie Ling still bowed obediently in front of the amiable scholar who was completely different from the group of Hanlin scholars at that time.
"Well, hello, sir."
Mr. Zheng opposite nodded when he saw this.
Although his etiquette was not very standard, his natural grace and gracefulness outweighed this.
"Thank you, Sir. Please sit down."
"I was invited by His Majesty to teach Master Xie the scriptures."
He opened the four books in front of him and asked casually after a few simple greetings.
"This year's autumn examination is about to begin. I heard that Master Xie has been very attentive in the palace these past two days. I would like to ask how far Master Xie has reviewed so far."
He can also adjust the coaching plan according to Xie Ling's progress to meet His Majesty's expectations.
Zheng Wanyun is not pedantic. On the contrary, his way of teaching his disciples is very flexible. Otherwise, he would not have been born in a poor family and yet gained fame among the children of aristocratic families.
However, no matter how flexible he was, he did not expect that there were only three months left before the autumn exam, and the young man in front of him was still only able to recognize the words, read them, and occasionally add a "famous saying" or two.
Zheng Fangyun: ...
Their eyes met and they were both silent for a moment.
Xie Ling blinked his eyes, feeling a little ashamed. Oh no, it seemed like he had exposed his illiteracy, and he felt embarrassed in front of strangers.
The system knew that he had already been exposed in front of Emperor Wu: .... He wanted to say something but stopped. Forget it.
Looking at the frank and honest eyes opposite him, Zheng Daru finally understood the difficulty of coaching this time. No wonder the chief academician of the Imperial College came to him with an embarrassed look on his face, saying that he was the only one who could do this.
Mr. Zheng pressed his forehead, laughed and shook his head, just treating the person in front of him as a new disciple and starting over from the beginning.
"Okay, then I'll start from the beginning."
"Thank you for your help, old sir." The illiterate Xie Ling nodded dryly.
After an incense stick of time, Xie Ling would awkwardly take a sip of water every time the teacher reminded him, and by now he had finished the whole pot of water.
Xie Ling: "Help, System, what on earth is His Majesty thinking? Why is he looking for someone to teach me the Four Books and Five Classics?"
"I finally graduated from college. Now that I have traveled through time, do I have to experience the pain of taking exams again?"
Originally, it would have been okay for him to just ignore it, but the old gentleman opposite him was such a virtuous teacher, and Xie Ling was embarrassed to do anything bad in front of him, so he had no choice but to listen carefully.
His handsome face became increasingly gloomy, and he successfully put on the mask of pain half an hour after entering the library.
I'm dying of laughter. If anyone says that a modern person can pass the imperial examination easily when traveling back to ancient times, I promise I won't beat him to death. The Four Books and Five Classics are really difficult to learn, especially for a modern person with no basic knowledge, it's almost like a book of heaven.
The system feels inexplicably guilty and can only comfort the host at this time.
"Hey, host, what a great opportunity this is. Other travelers can't even learn it. If you work hard, you might actually be able to get into high school!"
"It will be a great honor to our family then."
Xie Ling: …
"It is hard to imagine that there would be great-great-great-great-great-grandsons who would travel back to ancient times to bring honor to their ancestors."
System, don't be too outrageous!
However, no matter how Xie Ling complained about the system, he could only sit obediently in front of a serious teacher. The class lasted for two hours, and Xie Ling felt terrible when it ended.
He originally thought that he could always go out to eat at lunch time, right?
However, it was not known whether it was arranged in advance or what, but when this thought came to mind, the eunuchs waiting outside immediately clapped their hands and asked the palace servants to bring in the food.
"Thank you for your hard work today, Mr. Zheng and Mr. Xie."
"Lunch has already been prepared. If you don't like it, please tell me."
Xie Ling: Oh, do I have to eat face to face with the teacher?
This is too much of a lack of privacy.
He looked up at Zheng Da Ru, who remained calm and had no objection, so Xie Ling had to swallow his words.
Fortunately, in ancient times, people followed the custom of not talking while eating or sleeping. Even though Zheng Da Ru was sitting face to face with him, he was not so devilish as to ask questions on the spot. But he could forget about taking a nap after the meal.
Xie Ling finished her meal in a hurry and soon saw Zheng Daru put down the cup for rinsing his mouth and immediately returned to teaching.
To be honest, even Zheng Daru could not stand this kind of cramming education. His back and waist ached after working all day at his old age.
However, seeing Xie Ling's pale face, he still consoled her earnestly:
"Thank you, don't feel tired."
"Your Majesty means that Master Xie must get a place in this autumn examination. Whether the ranking is high or not can be discussed, but it must be high."
"Mr. Xie needs to hold on for a while longer."
These were indeed Xiao Huan's original words. It was Xiao Huan who considered again and again and decided to let the great scholar teach Xie Ling. The novel written by Xie Ling during this period made him quite addicted. No matter what, Xiao Huan would definitely keep him in the palace so that even if anything strange happened, he would be able to discover it at the first time.
However, the palace eunuchs also have requirements. Xie Ling is not a eunuch who can be kept with a single stroke of the knife, and the method of using a male favorite is even more unacceptable to Xiao Huan.
Xiao Huan felt like there was something stuck in his throat when he thought about the fact that Xie Ling had once coveted his looks.
After much consideration, Xiao Huan decided to let Xie Ling take part in the autumn examination and strive to pass it this year. Then he would grant him the official position of a attendant, so that it would be legitimate for him to stay in the palace.
The country has its own laws, and Xiao Huan does not want to be partial in this regard.
It was a good idea, but the reality was a bit cruel. Even though Xiao Huan had long thought that Xie Ling was uneducated and unskilled and was not suitable for the imperial examination, he did not expect that he was only able to read and write.
After Qian Mingxiao finished reporting on today's learning progress, he couldn't help but look up at His Majesty.
"Well, Your Majesty, although Master Xie's innate foundation is not good, Zheng Daru said today that Master Xie is very smart. If he works hard these days, he may not be unable to catch up."
Xiao Huan: ...It sounds like you are being uncertain.
Never mind, this is all I can do for now. He lowered his head to glance at the memorial, paused for a moment and remembered: "Give Zheng Da Ru a portion of cake before leaving the palace."
It seemed that this was meant to appease him, and Qian nodded in understanding.
Xie Ling, who was being discussed, collapsed on the couch as soon as he came back, his mind full of those obscure ancient texts.
"System, I didn't study so hard when I was dominated by the college entrance examination."
system:……
Although the system is very sympathetic, it still needs to say what needs to be said.
"Host, take a rest and then update. It will be too late if you delay any longer."
What, another update?!
Xie Ling sat up in shock from his dying illness, pointing at the system with trembling fingers in disbelief.
"System, are you so inhumane?"
He is already like this, and we still need him to update.
However, the reality is here. Even if the system feels guilty, it can only harvest energy from the Martial Emperor: "This can't be helped. If the pain shield is not updated today, there will be no energy to maintain it. Host, think about it. If you can't recite the article tomorrow, what will Zheng Daru do to hit you?"
I thought of the wooden ruler that I had put down on Zheng Daru's desk at some point.
Xie Ling was silent for a long time, wiped his face and sat up.
"Eunuch Qian?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a young eunuch with an unfamiliar face walked in.
"Master Xie, Eunuch Qian just went out for something. Do you have any instructions?" He did not mention that Qian Ming was going to report to His Majesty. His smile was very pleasing at this time. Fortunately, Xie Ling did not care: "Forget it, please make me a cup of hot tea, preferably the kind that can refresh my mind."
Oh, I see.
The young eunuch understood and hurried downstairs to prepare a cup.
…
As soon as Xiao Huan arrived, he heard Xie Ling ordering a cup of hot tea. He thought that after a whole day of teaching, this guy would be too lazy to even get up, but he didn't expect that he actually ordered hot tea to write a novel.
Yes, Xiao Huan has already figured out how to write novels. Usually, Xie Ling is writing novels at this time.
The encouragement I had originally prepared was no longer necessary.
He opened the curtain and walked in, and saw Xie Ling sitting on the couch with lifeless eyes. No matter how many times he saw this scene, Xiao Huan couldn't help but remain silent for a moment, as if he was a corpse that had been dead for hundreds of years.
Fortunately, Xie Ling quickly came to his senses:
"His Majesty."
Xie Ling didn't hear anyone coming at first. It was only when he heard the voice of greeting that he came to his senses. When he turned around, he saw Emperor Wu coming and was almost scared to death.
Why did it come at this time again?
Could it be sleepwalking?
Xie Ling was very cautious. At this moment, whatever Emperor Wu did seemed like he was going to draw his sword and kill someone. He was afraid that the loud noise might irritate the other party. He heard that sleepwalking should not be awakened by being startled. If one was awakened by being startled... Tsk, that would be scary.
Xiao Huan didn't understand what was going on. Seeing him staring at him, he raised his eyebrows:
"Are you memorizing?"
He paused and said, "Don't worry about me. Just keep doing what you are doing. I just happened to come and see Zheng Daru's homework today."
Zheng Daru specially assigned homework before leaving, which was also the reason Xiao Huan gave himself for coming here this time.
I found this teacher for him, so it's reasonable for me to come and take a look at his progress now, right? After all, I can't waste my hard work.
Sleepwalking is so scary, do we still need to check homework?
Xie Ling twitched his lips, but did not dare to refute.
"Look, look."
The homework on the desk was neatly arranged. Xie Ling saw Xiao Huan sleepwalking to check it, so he withdrew his gaze and immediately started updating as quickly as possible.
Originally, he didn't feel any sense of crisis, but when His Majesty shook him like that in the middle of the night, Xie Ling had the illusion that a head was hanging on his neck.
Write!
Three thousand words, must be written immediately!
He will fight to the death with anyone who tries to stop him!
Xiao Huan saw that he was lifeless one moment, and immediately became excited the next. He was a little surprised and didn't know what this guy suddenly thought of.
The golden light in front of him was dense and dense, and Xie Ling's expression was serious:
"After the host crawled around for a while, His Majesty finally realized that something was wrong. Sure enough, this strategy was correct. Not only did the host survive, His Majesty even called for someone to rescue him. After several hours of feeding him soup, he finally woke up."
"At this time, the host decided to play dumb."
"My goodness, a pulse check scared the imperial physician so much that he became dumbfounded. Who wouldn't find this strange?"
"What's more, His Majesty is a very suspicious emperor, so Xia Changli, who was in mourning, was temporarily recalled!"
"Okay, the host is relieved."
"It would be better if Your Majesty could stop having people staring at me all the time. I have to eat with my face. Fortunately, I have a lot of experience in going crazy, so no one can see any flaws."
Xiao Huan: ...So what is there to be proud of about this kind of thing?
Xie Ling: "But speaking of it, the matter of elixir poisoning cannot be blamed entirely on your Majesty. How many emperors throughout history have longed for immortality? Your Majesty even restrained his sexual desires for this. This shows how strong his willpower is."
"I'm a little curious. Will His Majesty the Emperor remain a virgin until his death?"
"I heard from the history books that Emperor Wu finally adopted a descendant of the royal family, right? Could it be that he was really that person all his life?"
"Boom!" Xiao Huan never expected that the novel would be written to this point. His body stiffened and his face turned red in an instant.
How outrageous! Which historian wrote this?
What virgin? How could such a ridiculous thing be recorded in history books!
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