Chapter 72: Please Enlighten Us
Withdrawing from school was a major matter, and withdrawing from the Heavenly Dao Academy made it an even greater one.
The reason Vice Dean Zhuang reacted so strongly was because he knew very well that once a student left the Heavenly Dao Academy, what other academy would dare to accept them? Yes, the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute, the Detached Palace and its Affiliated Palaces, the Star-Plucking Academy, and the Qing Yao Thirteen Lures all had their own backgrounds, but in the capital, the Heavenly Dao Academy was ultimately special…
How could he have imagined that this matter would take such a turn in the end? The National Academy had actually stepped forward.
Zhuang Huanyu looked at Vice Dean Zhuang’s worried expression, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth, and said to Chen Changsheng, “He is, after all, a student of our Heavenly Dao Academy. Even if the National Academy currently has no dean or teachers and is unaware of these rules, you can’t just accept him as you please.”
Just as Zhuang Huanyu said, Chen Changsheng was unaware of those unspoken rules and had never considered that the National Academy couldn’t accept Tang Thirty-Six. He instructed Luo Luo, “When you go back, add his name to the roster. Don’t forget to have him press his fingerprint.”
Hearing this, Tang Thirty-Six’s expression turned somewhat strange, feeling as if this was akin to signing an indenture.
Luo Luo responded with a crisp “Mm,” agreeing without the slightest hesitation.
The people in the hall were somewhat surprised, especially those seated nearby who could see clearly. From beginning to end, Chen Changsheng’s attitude toward her was truly like that of a student toward a teacher. This only deepened their shock and confusion. What virtues and abilities did this young man surnamed Chen possess to earn such respect from Princess Luo Luo?
“It’s a pity it’s a bit late.”
Since he had already agreed to join the National Academy, Tang Thirty-Six naturally wouldn’t go back on his word. But watching Luo Luo’s attitude toward Chen Changsheng, he felt a bit regretful, thinking that if he had joined the National Academy earlier, this matter would have been more interesting. Sticking out for a friend, propping up the scene at a dilapidated academy—how dashing would that be? But now that the entire continent knew Princess Luo Luo was studying at the National Academy, his joining now couldn’t prop up any scene; instead, it might give people the impression he was clinging to a powerful figure.
Chen Changsheng knew what he was thinking and felt he was overthinking it. He said, “Don’t worry about these details. Ignore others’ opinions. Right now, there are only a few of us in the academy. The beauty lies in simplicity. Complicating things would be pointless.”
Tang Thirty-Six thought this made sense, but being lectured by him was irritating, so he mocked, “So this is starting the lessons early?”
The people in the hall watched Chen Changsheng and the other two discussing the affairs of the National Academy as if no one else was present, their moods mixed and their feelings complex. They knew well that after tonight, that cemetery, which had lain in ruin for over a decade, would gain true rebirth. The long-forgotten National Academy had officially returned to the world’s view. Yes, the National Academy now had only four students, no dean, no teachers, not even a single servant, and it remained utterly desolate. But after tonight, who would still dare to ignore the National Academy as before?
Suddenly, applause rang out in the hall—crisp and steady, neither hurried nor perfunctory, not deliberately slow, and not mocking.
As the applause sounded, Gou Hanshi’s voice also rose.
He looked at Chen Changsheng and the other two and said seriously, “Congratulations to the National Academy.”
The crowd’s expressions tightened.
This was the second sentence Gou Hanshi had spoken at tonight’s Ivy Banquet.
Earlier, when Chen Changsheng had produced the marriage contract and plunged the entire hall into silence, his first sentence had been a hope that Chen Changsheng would consider Xu Yourong’s opinion more. That sentence was calm and gentle, yet it struck directly at the softest, weakest part of the heart. If not for the white crane arriving from the north, who knew how tonight’s situation might have developed?
Now, he began to speak again.
The people in the hall grew tense, knowing something was about to happen.
Miss Mo Yu had once thought of directly interrupting the Ivy Banquet to end this farce of a marriage proposal, but she was thwarted by the intervention of the Little Song Palace and the shocking appearance of Jin Yulu. So, what would happen next?
Tang Thirty-Six’s withdrawal from the Heavenly Dao Academy was an internal dispute among the Zhou people, and his subsequent joining of the National Academy had nothing to do with the Southerners. The Southern delegation’s silence did not mean they had accepted reality. The Ivy Banquet was not over; it had only just begun.
Gou Hanshi’s expression was very calm, showing no trace of the repeated blows he had suffered from Chen Changsheng and the others earlier.
“On the journey to the capital, I learned of the news that the National Academy had reopened. I’ve been thinking that after more than a decade, a place with such extraordinary history as the National Academy was indeed due for revival. I am very happy about this, but I’m curious about what kind of person could bear such a mission.”
He looked at Chen Changsheng and the other two and said, “Only tonight did I learn that Princess Luo Luo is at the National Academy, and that the princess’s teacher is also a student of the National Academy. Seeing this, how could the National Academy not flourish again?”
“Many people want to know how far the National Academy has progressed, and I am no exception… I thank Her Majesty the Holy Empress for allowing all sect disciples from the South to participate in the Grand Examination. This year, the court has even invited us to attend the Ivy Banquet.”
As he said this, Gou Hanshi left his seat and took a few steps down the stairs. Though he was only slightly closer to Chen Changsheng and the others at the hall’s entrance, it felt as if he were standing right before them, speaking to them gently and calmly.
“Tonight is the third night of the Ivy Banquet, and it is also the last opportunity for the Ivy Academies and invited students to compete and spar.”
“We have traveled ten thousand miles to be here. Since we are attending the Ivy Banquet, we naturally cannot miss this.”
“The Li Mountain Sword Sect requests the National Academy’s instruction.”
…
…
The hall was quiet, but not deathly silent like before. Strangely, people were not surprised by Gou Hanshi’s words and proposal. It seemed that deep down, everyone had already guessed this would happen and had even secretly hoped for it.
But before Gou Hanshi spoke these words, no one had actually thought of it—tonight was the Ivy Banquet.
For the Southern delegation, Gou Hanshi’s proposal was the best choice.
If he directly challenged Chen Changsheng, the world would think the Li Mountain Sect was resentful that Senior Brother Qiu Shan’s marriage had been obstructed and was venting its anger by attacking him. He also didn’t bring up the sword-and-palm clash between Elder Xiao Songgong and Jin Yulu, nor the ancient story behind it. He didn’t mention Princess Luo Luo’s identity or Tang Thirty-Six’s insult to his own sect. He only mentioned the Ivy Banquet.
The Ivy Banquet had rules: academies could challenge each other.
This was not a rule set by the Great Zhou’s Founding Emperor, nor was it related to Emperor Taizong. The Ivy Banquet was not the Grand Examination, but its history was nearly as long, so its rules were still worthy of respect. Were the Zhou people prepared to break them?
The hall was silent, and everyone remained wordless.
Then, unexpectedly, Gou Hanshi spoke again.
He looked at Chen Changsheng calmly and said, “Yes, what I just said were excuses, or rather, reasons.”
Chen Changsheng was slightly startled, Luo Luo was slightly tense, and Tang Thirty-Six was slightly surprised, wondering why he would suddenly say such a thing.
The people in the hall were even more bewildered.
“Too many things have happened tonight. Whether right or wrong, for us Southerners and for our Li Mountain Sect, none of it has been very pleasant. Most importantly, our senior brother is not here, and his opinion on this matter cannot be heard. I believe this is unfair.”
Gou Hanshi gazed steadily at Chen Changsheng and said, “As a disciple of Li Mountain, I have a responsibility to uphold the sect’s reputation. As a junior brother, I must represent my senior brother and show an attitude. So, even though I know that using the Ivy Banquet as an excuse or reason is somewhat dull, I must do something, because we need to leave this hall peacefully.”
Finally, he clasped his hands toward Chen Changsheng and said, “Please enlighten us.”
The hall fell silent. Everyone looked at Chen Changsheng and the other two.
Chen Changsheng looked at Gou Hanshi and was silent for a long time.
He understood Gou Hanshi’s thoughts. The Li Mountain Sword Sect wanted to salvage some face by challenging the National Academy, and in the process, they could prove that he was far inferior to Senior Brother Qiu Shan. In fact, Gou Hanshi hadn’t hidden his intentions at all, laying everything out in the open.
Was this magnanimity?
He looked at Gou Hanshi and said, “It only seems magnanimous.”
Gou Hanshi replied calmly, “It’s not magnanimity; it’s just being upright and aboveboard.”
Yes, the Li Mountain Sword Sect’s intentions were not magnanimous, but Gou Hanshi’s approach of laying everything in the open and directly challenging the National Academy was upright and aboveboard, with nothing to criticize. Thus, it was very difficult to respond to.
Given Chen Changsheng’s temperament, if not for the schemes of the East Divine General’s Mansion and the figures in the palace tonight, he would never have taken such a strong stance on this marriage. If he were alone, facing Gou Hanshi’s challenge, he would have simply turned and left.
But now, he was not alone; he represented the National Academy.
He had already developed feelings for that campus with its large banyan tree, its lake, its buildings full of books, and its broken walls and crumbling wells.
The Li Mountain Sword Sect was not challenging him, but the National Academy.
So, he couldn’t act entirely according to his own wishes.
He looked at Luo Luo and Tang Thirty-Six, wanting to know their thoughts, but was somewhat helpless to find that both their eyes burned with intense desire, bright and even scorching, hard to look at directly.
These two’s craving for battle and their fearless attitude were indeed hard to face.
“Well… fight or not?” Chen Changsheng asked.
The National Academy had no dean or teachers, only these few students. For such a major matter, they naturally had to discuss it together.
Luo Luo remained obedient and said in her childish voice, “If the teacher says fight, then we fight.”
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him as if he were an idiot and said, “He’s put it that bluntly, and you still have the nerve not to fight?”
On the surface, there was no clear answer—Luo Luo said she would follow his lead, and Tang Thirty-Six used a rhetorical question—but in reality, everyone understood their meaning.
Fight.
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(The chapter title was chosen with Butterfly’s help, and then we cut over four hundred words. This chapter… so much money, just gone like that.)