Chapter 100 Crazy [Please give me a monthly ticket! ]

Ancestral Temple, Wentian Tower.

There is an absolutely forbidden area in the north of Longyuan City. It is the place where the royal ancestors are worshipped. No one is allowed to approach it unless there is a major occasion requiring sacrifices to the heavens and prayers.

But even in such a place, there is a group of people who can live freely and are respected by everyone.

There is a seven-story tower made of black stone in the ancestral temple. The stone walls are full of star-like light spots. I don’t know what special material is integrated into it, which seems to be able to absorb the surrounding light.

As soon as you step into an area of ​​several hundred feet in radius, you will feel that the surroundings have become dark, with only this building standing.

In front of the Wentian Tower there is a statue of a celestial maiden, a woman with a fluttering veil and a holy face with her eyes closed. She holds a brass star plate in her hand, facing the sky to receive dew.

On the sixth floor of this building, there are two women.

One of them had waist-length black hair, fair skin, and a jade mirror in his hand. He was none other than the Jade Mirror Priest that Liang Yue had seen before.

The other one had a white hood over his head and a long robe covering his body, revealing only a plain and peaceful face. In his hand he held a transparent colored glass ruler.

"Senior Sister Liuli," said the Jade Mirror Priest, "Is there really no room for Ruyi's wishes?"

"She committed adultery and attempted to steal the Chenglu Immortal Plate, which is a serious crime. Fortunately, I discovered it in time and stopped her behavior. But she refused to obey and escaped from the Wentian Tower." The Liuli priest opposite said in a cold tone, leaving no room for doubt, "I have informed the court. If she is caught, she will be sentenced to death."

"But she..." The Jade Mirror Priest seemed to want to say something, but remained silent in the end.

After a while, she continued, "Wentian Tower hasn't had any new people in seven years. It would be a great loss for us old people to leave. If possible, can't we put her in solitary confinement to reflect on herself?"

"If Master were here, I would also beg for mercy on her behalf." Liuli Priest said, "But now I am in charge of the laws of the building on behalf of Master, and I must not show any mercy."

The Jade Mirror Priest looked helpless.

The priests of the Heavenly Questioning Tower seemed to be high and mighty, but in reality they could not go out easily, nor were they allowed to have worldly desires, and they had access to very few things. The few fellow disciples around them were all people they had lived with day and night for decades, and they had a deep relationship with them.

Without any one of them, I would be extremely sad.

Just as their conversation was about to end, a ray of starlight suddenly fell from above their heads.

The material above was the same as the outside world, a dark stone wall and roof, dotted with tiny star-like light points. At this moment, it suddenly emitted light, and each light point seemed to come alive, and began to rotate and glow. The dark stone wall suddenly turned into an endless galaxy.

"Master!" the two priests called out in unison, "Are you awake?"

There is no staircase or door on the seventh floor of the Wentian Tower. Only when the high priest Beiluo Shimen wakes up will this strange phenomenon appear and the two floors can be connected.

The lower six floors are buildings, while the seventh floor is like another world.

Bei Luo Shimen usually sleeps on the upper level, as if she is practicing in seclusion. She will only wake up when something big happens.

Such as now.

As the sky filled with stars descended, the two priests seemed to be in outer space.

Soon, they heard a distant and ethereal voice at the same time: "He's back."

……

The next day, in the East Palace Library.

In a spacious bright yellow study room, both walls of the study have been opened up, leaving only a carved wooden frame, one side facing the courtyard and the other side facing the garden.

Directly in front of him was a small black wooden board, and below him were two desks side by side, with the Crown Prince sitting on one side and Liang Yue on the other. The East Palace attendants were waiting outside the porch, not daring to approach.

It wasn't because of the difference in status, but when Minister Xu was giving a lecture, they didn't want to get close. Otherwise, if anyone made some noise that disturbed the class, they would be beaten and scolded.

The classroom atmosphere is really depressing.

Before the gentleman arrived, the prince had already sat upright and did not dare to speak loudly.

He whispered to Liang Yue, "This is your first time taking Teacher Xu's class. You don't know how scary he is, so you must be very alert. He may ask you questions at any time. If you slack off for a moment, I won't be able to save you."

"Did all the previous tutors walk like this?" Liang Yue looked at the fat boy's cheeks trembling with nervousness, and felt that the terrifying image of Minister Xu was not false.

"Yes!" said the prince, "Master Xu will not chase you away, but he is really cruel when he scolds you! Once he gets angry, you should kneel down and beg for mercy, so that you can get less punishment. If he scolds you too much, no one can bear it. The previous tutors all resigned voluntarily because of the scolding. The most terrible thing is that if you are all scolded away, he can only scold me, and I can't leave."

No matter how harshly you curse someone, can it be harsher than my mother?
Liang Yue was skeptical about this.

"I will definitely stay with the prince for a while longer." Liang Yue said.

"Hehe..." The prince was about to laugh.

Suddenly, the attendant behind called out: "Master Xu is here——"

The prince's expression immediately changed from "hehe" to "not hehe", his face straightened and he sat upright.

Liang Yue followed suit.

Then, the sound of heavy footsteps was heard coming from outside, and a tall and mighty man wearing a simple Confucian robe walked in. He had high eyebrows, deep eyes, a straight nose, a solemn face, and was about fifty years old, with a long beard under his chin.

"Master Xu!" The prince immediately stood up to greet him.

Needless to say, this person is naturally the current Minister of Rites, Prince Grand Tutor, and also a famous Confucian scholar in the world, Xu Zhan'ao.

"Your Highness, please take a seat." Xu Zhan'ao nodded in response, then looked at Liang Yue who was standing at the same time, "Are you the new companion?"

"I am Liang Yue, a student, and I pay my respects to Your Excellency the Grand Master." Liang Yue bowed quickly.

Although the title of Grand Tutor in Yinchao was more of a nominal position without real power, Xu Zhan'ao was mainly known as the Minister of Rites.

But in this situation, it is definitely more appropriate to call him by this identity.

"Perform well. I hope you are different from those dull-witted people before." Xu Zhan'ao waved his hand, indicating that they could sit down.

The name Liang Yue has become a little famous in the court recently.

After all, preventing the Tower of Babel case was a great achievement, and it would also spread the news about that little Imperial Guard.

What's more, he rode on horseback in a parade through the streets with Chen Su, and was later promoted to the prince's companion. This meant that the Evil-Slaying Yamen and the Eastern Palace could be connected through him. At this time, even a small figure could play a big role.

Those in the court who are interested will definitely pay attention to this name.

But there still seems to be no presence here.

It was not targeting Liang Yue. In the past, the prince's companions were also descendants of important officials. However, in Xu Zhan'ao's eyes, as long as they came to the class, there was nothing special about them. If they didn't study well, they were just cattle and horses. So Xu Zhan'ao didn't even bother to say a few words and started teaching directly.

The two students quickly took their seats.

Xu Zhan'ao in front lowered his head, took out a thick booklet, and said, "I have already informed you that today we will study the book "Nine Strategies to Suppress Yang" written by your majesty in his early years. Have you all prepared in advance?"

Both students went to get books from the book basket, but the prince's hands suddenly froze.

"Oh no..." The little fat boy's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he thought to himself, "I was still reading before going to bed last night, and I left the first volume next to my pillow."

He quickly turned around and looked at his attendants, hoping they could get a copy for him.

But the journey was long, and if Master Xu found something wrong, he would be punished immediately. Carelessness and lack of rigor in study were always one of the faults that Master Xu hated the most.

How to do?
Just when the little fat boy was sweating anxiously, a book was suddenly handed to the table.

The prince looked over in surprise.

It turned out that Liang Yue noticed something was wrong and quickly put his book next to the prince. But he only had one copy, so Liang Yue's desk was empty.

But he acted as if nothing had happened, and looked up at Master Xu calmly.

Brothers……

The prince immediately realized that Liang Yue was sacrificing him to save himself.

If I hadn't been afraid that Master Xu would find out something was wrong, tears of emotion would have welled up in my eyes immediately.

But Liang Yue has lost his book, so he might face a storm today.

But this is his first time here. If his apology is sincere, maybe Master Xu won't be too harsh, right?
really.

When Xu Zhan'ao looked up, he saw that there were books on the prince's desk, but not on Liang Yue's desk, so he asked expressionlessly, "Where are your books?"

Liang Yue raised his chin, looked up confidently, and answered, "I didn't bring it."

What?
The prince was completely stunned.

Brothers.

Are you that crazy?

……

Forgetting to bring books to class is such a serious matter, why do you speak in such a nonchalant tone?
Do you still not understand how terrifying Master Xu is?
Liang Yue was still calm, but the prince next to him was already extremely anxious.

Minister Xu glanced at the young man, and for a moment, he wondered if he was here to cause trouble.

"Should I have informed Donggong in advance about the courses he will teach today?" Xu Zhan'ao asked.

It sucks. It sucks.

The prince clenched his fists, knowing that this was Master Xu's first move to scold him.

Liang Yue smiled and said, "I have memorized the Nine Strategies of Ping Yang, so it doesn't matter if you don't bring the book with you."

"Oh?" Xu Zhan'ao looked at him calmly, "Then recite it."

As soon as Liang Yue finished speaking, the prince groaned in his heart.

Just honestly say that you have forgotten it, let Master Xu give you a lesson, and the matter will be over.

Why do you have to lie?

"Nine Strategies to Suppress Yang" was a summary of national policies written by Emperor Mubei with the assistance of his court staff after he ascended the throne. It took him several months to write. The analysis of Yinchao and Jiuyang in the article is very in-depth, penetrating, and has many key points, so it is famous in the world.

At that time, people inside and outside Kyushu were still skeptical about the young emperor. It was not until the end of the war a few years later that it was proven that Ping Yang's Nine Strategies were all true.

However, this article is not a teaching book in major academies. At most, students read it when studying policy essays, and no one would recite it specifically. Only for the special student, the prince, who will need to govern the country in the future, Xu Zhan'ao will make this a key course.

The lecture content was just given to Liang Yue two days ago. It was good enough that he had time to finish reading it. The full text is nearly 20,000 words. How could he possibly memorize it all?

If it were any other easy-going gentleman, he might have turned a blind eye and let you get away with it, but Master Xu would not let you get away with it like that.

Sure enough, Xu Zhan'ao asked him to stand up and recite.

Liang Yue actually stood up and said fluently: "The late emperor passed away, and the four seas mourned together. The barbarians invaded our borders. I declared this war, raising a thousand-year-old national hatred and a ten-thousand-year-old grudge; I mobilized the strength of the nine states and my determination to fight a hundred battles. The ministers offered their opinions and the officials offered their strategies. Now I have gathered the talents of my country and put the nine strategies into practice. There is no reason why we cannot win..."

It is a fluent and eloquent article of over 18,000 words.

Could he really recite it word for word?
The prince was stunned as he listened. He didn't know whether what he was reciting was true or false, but in front of Xu Zhan'ao, if Liang Yue made a mistake in a single word, Master Xu would definitely not forgive him.

After listening for a long while, when Liang Yue recited the second half, Xu Zhan'ao raised his hand to stop him, signaling him to stop. His face was still expressionless, and he said, "It seems that you are ready."

"Since I'm here in the East Palace to study, I naturally have to prepare in advance." Liang Yue smiled modestly.

"It's no use just memorizing it. You need to learn without books. You must integrate the Nine Strategies. You can immediately find any point I mention in your mind, mark it and understand it." Xu Zhan'ao continued, and suddenly asked: "Do you know the meaning of 'If a country governs with virtue, it can still be defeated in war; if a country governs with tyranny, it cannot win in war'?"

Liang Yue answered without thinking, "The key lies in people's hearts."

Then he started talking, and the prince next to him and the waiters behind him were all stunned.

"Under a benevolent government, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and they feel a sense of belonging to the country and the court, and they will share a common hatred for foreign races. Even if a city or a place is lost, the nine provinces will surely recover under the common hatred. If heavy taxes are imposed for the sake of war and the people are exploited, even if the enemy is defeated, the country will be in chaos, the people will be displaced, and they will no longer feel a sense of belonging, and the court will lose its foundation. A temporary victory will bring greater losses."

"For example, Liangzhou Bashan..." At this point, Liang Yue paused and smiled embarrassedly, "Sorry, I made a mistake."

"It's okay, go on." Xu Zhan'ao's expression eased a lot, and his eyes were quite bright: "You said it very well."

The prince standing next to him had stars in his eyes.

what.

Is there really someone who can answer questions fluently in front of Master Xu?
Is there really someone who can get Master Xu's approval?
Liang Yue is really amazing.

I was also good, so I immediately chose him to be my study partner.

whee.

(End of this chapter)