Chapter 837: Chapter 500: What Use Are n to ?
“Did you guys go whoring?”
At this mont, amidst a small grove by the roadside, the atmosphere between the two Confucian scholars turned a bit odd.
Faced with Gu Yiwu’s soul-searching question, Zhao Rong didn’t understand, but he was greatly shocked.
He thought about it, then cautiously looked around, raised his hand to cover his mouth, and said, “Why didn’t you take with you… um, when did it happen?”
The young Confucian scholar reproached softly.
“Ah, take you along…”
Gu Yiwu was taken aback, then quickly realized he had misspoken in the rush; he waved his hand to explain,
“No, I an the last ti we were in Xingzi Town, you asked and the classmates to drink flower wine at Zuixian Building. In the eyes of Mountain Master Zhu, wouldn’t that count as seeking pleasure during official business down the mountain, not doing serious work?”
Saying this, the burly Confucian scholar beca deeply worried and couldn’t help but punch his palm, “If the Mountain Master knew… or already knows, would he take out his little notebook and cross out ‘Excellent Senior ntor Gu Yiwu’… Alas, Ziyu misled .”
“……”
How co I rember that when I asked you to drink flower wine to draw out the various powers of Great Li, you were quite happy when you left, not even saying a word of your usual modesty…
Zhao Rong’s eye twitched slightly, then he asked again, “…Excellent Senior ntor Gu Yiwu? Is your na that long on it?”
Gu Yiwu waved his large hand, saying with annoyance, “Hey, don’t worry whether it’s long or short; that’s not the point. It’s just an example, don’t get off-topic.”
“Understood.”
Zhao Rong nodded earnestly and said,
“Now that things have co to this, you shouldn’t worry about how the Mountain Master will see it. We should do well with what we have at hand. If the Mountain Master truly pays attention to this, then tomorrow’s Sealing and Sacrifice Ceremony is of utmost importance. If we manage to create a grand event, then going to Zuixian Building earlier wouldn’t matter. Perhaps your sophistication might even earn you so additional points.”
Then, he humorously quipped, “Hmm, this is a place where Senior Yu can’t hold an advantage; you must take hold of it.”
Gu Yiwu ignored him, inhaled, and nodded, showing so contemplation on his face, “What if we don’t do well?”
Zhao Rong smiled, gently pushed him away, and prepared to leave.
“If we don’t do well, then regardless of how well you perford before, it’s all for naught. Although I haven’t t the Mountain Master, such figures are typically pragmatic. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been sent by the Confucian Temple to our remote Du You City.”
The tone was leisurely.
Gu Yiwu watched his back, thought a bit, and couldn’t help but sigh, “Ah, Ziyu, you always stay calm in the face of things. Wait, don’t leave yet, I have one more question.”
Zhao Rong squinted at the top of Sacrificial Moon Mountain shrouded in night, where there were points of light.
He knew that a group of cultivators was carving cliff inscriptions there.
“Oh, what is it?”
“Do you think… by doing this, we’ve stolen the opportunity from your Senior Yu from Shuaixing Hall? That ng gentleman, the slot for the leading Sealing and Sacrifice Ceremony down the mountain, must have ant it for her, right? But we accidentally stumbled into it…”
“It should be so.”
Zhao Rong gently nodded, tidied his sleeves a bit.
Although ng Zhengjun and Zhu Yourong had so private disputes, he truly took care of Yu Huaijin, creating opportunities for her.
Gu Yiwu was puzzled, “Why would she so easily give this opportunity to us?”
Zhao Rong shook his head,
“Why else? Look at why she revised her choice afterward, selecting only the top twenty of us for Great Li, excluding Yu Huaijin, banking on us trouble-loving ‘salted fish’, expecting to be lazy and squander the opportunity.”
“Moreover, this ng gentleman intentionally or unintentionally arrived so late, reaching Great Li right on the dot, isn’t that giving us room to indulge and play? Hmm, perhaps she also doesn’t want to stay with us for too long.”
As he spoke, he felt a bit embarrassed, “So it shows that on that day on stage, she truly got enraged by , couldn’t lose face, even wasting the chance she’d prepared for Yu Huaijin.”
Gu Yiwu said speechlessly,
“You know too, at that ti her face was almost purple with anger, you openly defied her teacher’s authority, if she forbade you to go down the mountain, granting you the ‘right to be reckless’, wouldn’t that an she’s afraid of you, how could she back down so easily.”
He said in a serious tone,
“Ah Ziyu, I must say, as ng Zhengjun serves as the academic ntor, no matter how impartial she is, she is still a woman, well, an old woman at that, at her age still unmarried… cough, it’s the ti when the temper is at its worst, even the Sacrificial Officer fears her, why provoke her.”
Zhao Rong shook his head,
“I think her ritual is not right, and the sa with Yu Huaijin, yet she is more so than Yu Huaijin. Our Confucian rituals are guidelines, ant to lead toward kindness, not a cage, not re formality… this isn’t about like or dislike, our concepts differ, how could we not clash?”
He nodded, affirming to himself: “Moreover, I now find that this ng Xuezhen often performs actions with so personal bias within rigid rules, this is both her difficulty to deal with and… her shortcoming.”
Gu Yiwu couldn’t help but look at Zhao Rong more.
Zhao Rong then continued:
“She’s also not suitable to be Yu Huaijin’s teacher. On the contrary, Zhu You… Teacher Zhu being Yu Huaijin’s teacher is quite good, like how Teacher Zhu writes the word ‘righteous’, respecting the rules but not confined by them, carrying an intent to break free from the limitations of ritual…”
He didn’t know what he thought of, but he smiled at the corners of his mouth and looked down at his palm.
A woman friend of considerable status had written several numbers here before.
Gu Yiwu sighed, “I know, but I’m worried for you, you rascal… So, tell , what do you want to do?”
Zhao Rong clasped his hands behind his back, strode away, leaving behind a playful voice:
“Fighting with people, the joy is endless… Actually, what I don’t understand right now is why this Mr. ng wants to highlight the matter of the Mountain Master to us tonight…”
The young Confucian Scholar left with a thoughtful tone.
Only the burly Confucian Scholar was left there, at a loss, his forehead filled with black lines.
Why does it feel like the encounters between you and your teacher are beyond the intellect of ordinary people, everywhere is a bout…
…
In the central large tent, after the guests dispersed, a certain strict female teacher did not leave imdiately to rest in her arranged accommodation.
She sought out Dugu Chanyi.
The two were alone in a large tent.
Before Dugu Chanyi behind the curtain could curiously ask, ng Zhengjun directly spoke:
“I have observed it, tomorrow’s Sealing and Sacrifice Ceremony will be unremarkable, with no auspicious ons occurring, do not try any artificial ans to fool the citizens of Great Li.”
She spoke bluntly.
The tone was flat and certain.
The face of the Dugu clan first turned pale, her body seeming to sway as if about to fall.
The Empress Dowager of Great Li bit her lip and bowed her head, softly saying, “I… I dare not.”
ng Zhengjun remained calm, and after hearing her weak words, her tone also slightly relaxed, nodding:
“No incidents are best, I will be present… Hmm, do not be so disheartened, the Sealing and Sacrifice Ceremony being ordinary is the norm, considered neither a rit nor a fault, prepare to stabilize the courtly and public sentints afterward, do not entertain further ambitions and thoughts.”
Dugu Chanyi buried her head in sobbing; her face could not be seen, only a low voice could be heard:
“I… understand.”
She seed like a tender and lovely begonia, her voice carrying a bit of strength and sorrow, resonating in the cold and quiet tent.
ng Zhengjun held her posture, ticulously, quietly watching this Great Li Empress Dowager for a while, nodded gently, and left directly.
Offered no consolation.
She did everything by protocol, said all that should be said, considering the Sealing and Sacrifice Ceremony arranged by the son-in-law she caught sight of during the day, he didn’t even grasp the most crucial ritual, expecting an auspicious on from heaven and earth would be strange, and still expects her to give a high score?
“Heh…”
The strict female teacher shook her head and disappeared.
In the tent after she left, the stunning woman who was crying behind the first seat curtain, her shoulders trembled for a while more, her sobs tender…
“Wu wu…”
A dozen breaths later, Dugu Chanyi suddenly ceased crying and threw the tear-stained wet handkerchief from her hand.
It fluttered lightly to the ground.
She stood up, looked toward the direction ng Zhengjun left, and sneered:
“Heh, indeed, what the ‘King’ said is correct, all the Confucians are hypocrites, be wary at critical monts, not reliable at all…”
Dugu Chanyi squinted and stared ahead for a while, and after a mont, not knowing what she thought of, couldn’t help but curse, “Pah, even that Zhao Ziyu too… What use are you n? Still have to rely on our sisters…”
Inside the tent, it was quiet again for a mont.
The stunning woman stood proudly in place.
A short while later, her delicate brows, free from makeup, furrowed slightly.
She reached out for a piece of snow-white fur coat, draped it over, and turned to leave the tent…
Her graceful silhouette vanished into the night.
…
————
PS: The 500th chapter! Tossing flowers in celebration～
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