Chapter 77

Yu Qing chuckled, "It might not be mockery, perhaps just a misunderstanding of you, sir."

Mr. Ming slapped down his teacup, "Don't talk to me in riddles. If you have something to say, just spit it out."

Yu Qing continued to chuckle, "What can I say about you? Whatever I say, you can probably guess. They say you spend your days drunk in the company of women, lacking the virtue of a teacher. In my view, it's just jealousy. They also say you've taken the imperial exams nine times... Well, I won't repeat it, the words are quite harsh, and it's a disgrace to you. In a fit of anger, I had the Zhong family lock him up, and he even dared to protest... Forget it, it's not worth dealing with such a petty person."

After saying this, he reached into his sleeve, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to Mr. Ming, "Sir, take a look at this."

Mr. Ming observed his expression for a while before taking the paper, shaking it, and recognizing Yu Qing's handwriting at a glance.

After these days of interaction, he had to admit that Yu Qing indeed had a good hand, with a dynamic and graceful style.

After reading the content on the paper, he looked up and asked, "What does this mean?"

Yu Qing chuckled, "We've been together for about half a month, and I've never had the chance to properly seek your guidance. Today, I felt inspired and came up with a few questions to ask you. I wonder if you can answer them, to broaden my horizons?"

Mr. Ming sneered, shaking the paper, "Are you testing me?"

"Absolutely not," Yu Qing clasped his hands in a pleading manner, "I just want you to leave some of your wisdom for me to study in my free time."

Mr. Ming glanced at the content on the paper, "The questions cover strategy, classics, essays, and poetry. These four questions follow the standard format of the Jin State imperial exams, especially the essay question, which touches on the relationship between a statesman and the ruler. The questioner has a high level of insight. Did you really come up with these questions?"

Hearing this, Yu Qing muttered to himself, it really might be an imperial exam question. On the surface, however, he laughed, "I came up with them, just casually. There's no high level of insight."

Mr. Ming casually threw the paper away, sneering, "To answer these four questions would take more than an afternoon. It's not worth the trouble."

Yu Qing picked up the questions and presented them again, "Sir, an afternoon is enough. Just answer them casually."

Mr. Ming looked busy, turned his body, and started arranging pillows, preparing to sleep.

Yu Qing then respectfully presented the questions again, "Sir, I remember clearly what you said when you first arrived. You said you would teach those who are willing to learn, and teaching those who are unwilling is useless. Now I am sincerely eager to learn, I hope you won't go back on your word!"

Mr. Ming's movements froze, and after a long pause, he put down the pillow, turned around, and stared at Yu Qing for a while, then grunted, "I'm not going back on my word, but answering these four questions requires a lot of energy. I didn't rest well last night, and I'm not in the best state to answer them."

Yu Qing wanted exactly this state of him, drained by wine and women, lacking energy. If the other party really put in the effort, he wouldn't dare to ask him to answer the questions. He quickly said, "How can I dare to trouble you to pour your heart and soul into this? Just a little bit of your wisdom would be enough. Sir, don't delay, just answer them casually, just a simple answer will do!"

Next, it wasn't a request anymore, but direct action. He grabbed Mr. Ming's arm, pushed and pulled him to the desk, and had him sit down. He helped arrange the questions, laid out the paper, and even ground the ink for him.

Looking at the pen in his hand, Mr. Ming was speechless, giving a cold glance to the attentive Yu Qing, not believing for a moment that these were Yu Qing's questions.

He suspected that the so-called insolent servant had come up with the questions.

As he said, the questioner had a high level of insight, no wonder they dared to speak so boldly.

Yu Qing told him to answer casually, but he secretly gathered his energy.

Holding the pen, his gaze fell on the questions, and the scene seemed familiar. Time seemed to warp, and for a moment, he felt as if he had returned to the past.

Facing the questions, a surge of emotion welled up in his heart. The feeling of indulging in wine and women, of wasting his days, which had long disappeared, began to stir again.

The pen in his hand hesitated, and he stared at the questions for a long time, then slowly put down the pen.

Yu Qing thought he was still unwilling to start, but then he noticed something. He saw that Mr. Ming had entered another state and quickly fell silent.

Mr. Ming slowly stood up, hands behind his back, pacing back and forth in the study, sometimes looking down, sometimes raising his head and closing his eyes, sometimes walking, sometimes stopping.

Yu Qing immediately retreated to a corner to avoid interfering, allowing him to think.

After about half an hour, Mr. Ming suddenly walked back to the desk, sat down, picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and began to write. He first copied the questions, then wrote according to the format, the pen dancing on the paper, the characters quickly appearing.

Yu Qing quickly helped, grinding ink continuously to keep the pen moist, ensuring the writing didn't stop.

Once he started writing, he didn't stop.

After finishing one question, he pulled out more paper to read the next, and quickly wrote again.

He kept writing, time passing bit by bit.

He kept writing, and it seemed like a long time had passed.

He wrote until his hand started to tremble.

He wrote until his cheeks turned red, then a deeper red, as if he were drunk.

The feeling of writing was something Yu Qing had never seen in this decadent, day-wasting teacher, a very special feeling, as if he were dancing and running wildly in the icy snow, singing loudly and refusing to stop even if he froze to death.

Yu Qing couldn't help but sigh and shake his head. Indeed, a man who lived in madness, no wonder he ended up like this.

As the sky grew darker and the room dimmer, Yu Qing quickly lit the lamps, lighting all the lamps in the room to make it as bright as day.

When he went to other rooms to fetch more lamps, he saw a servant peeking at the door, preparing to deliver a meal. Yu Qing waved his hands, telling him to go away and not to disturb them. The servant had to retreat.

Not long after, Mr. Zhong and Manager Li also came.

The East Courtyard always claimed to be studying and preparing for exams, not allowing outsiders to enter and disturb, but no one knew what was really going on inside. This time, it gave them a chance, an excuse, to quietly enter the East Courtyard and investigate.

They saw the study brightly lit, exchanged glances, and wondered how many lamps were lit.

The two men went to the door and looked inside. They saw a circle of seven or eight lamps on the desk, bookshelves, and around Mr. Ming. At this moment, Mr. Ming truly lived up to his name, "Mr. Ming," even his back was illuminated.

Of course, these details were not important. What was important was that Mr. Ming was fully focused, writing diligently, while Yu Qing was helping to grind ink.

It was a perfect scene of mutual benefit in teaching.

This sight relieved Mr. Zhong, and he looked at the sky, nodding in approval.

Mr. Zhong and Manager Li were not thieves, and their footsteps couldn't escape Yu Qing's ears. Yu Qing turned around, immediately signaling them to be quiet, not to enter, and not to disturb.

Mr. Zhong understood and decided not to enter.

Since Mr. Ming was still working even at the time to go home, and the student was respectfully learning, what more could he say? He was pleased and immediately left with Manager Li.

At the gate of the small courtyard, Mr. Zhong stroked his beard and sighed, "I once heard that this Mr. Ming might not be very dedicated, but today I see that it's a false rumor. It's almost dinner time, how can we let Mr. Ming go home hungry? Tell the kitchen to add a few more dishes, I want to treat him well."

"Good," Manager Li agreed.

Not long after the two left, Mr. Ming at the desk pulled out a blank sheet of paper and stared at the last question, a poetry question.

The theme was just two characters: "Achievement and Fame!"

It required the writer to write a poem based on the meaning of "Achievement and Fame."

Since it was a poem, Yu Qing thought he would need more time to think, but Mr. Ming just glanced at the question and started writing again, writing "Chao Tian Que" as the title, and then the poem:

When good fortune comes, much is sown,

Studying until the hair turns white for fame.

Once in the emperor's hall,

All past and future concerns are laid to rest.

He wrote it in one breath, the final stroke seeming to exhaust his life, making him lean back, slumping in his chair, his face not looking good, breathing heavily, his hand trembling, his gaze scattered as if recalling something.

Yu Qing turned around, seeing his poor condition, his weak and lifeless appearance, and was startled. He quickly took out a medicine bottle, poured out a small pill, and put it in Mr. Ming's mouth.

The pill immediately refreshed his mind, leaving a sweet aftertaste in his mouth, and quickly moistened his tongue. Mr. Ming, slightly more conscious, realized it was a blood and qi replenishing medicine and swallowed it subconsciously.

The medicine gradually spread through his body, his cheeks began to turn red, and he slowly came to life, his breathing became stronger, and he slowly sat up.

At the same time, Yu Qing, who was taking his pulse, finally relaxed, let go of his hand, and asked, "Sir, if these were imperial exam questions, do you think your answers would be enough to pass?"

This was like poking a sore spot. Mr. Ming's face turned red, and he didn't dare to say he could pass in front of his student. He said vaguely, "I wrote them in one breath without reviewing. I'll take them home and revise them carefully." He then reached out to take the answers.

But Yu Qing was faster, quickly snatching all the papers, and laughed, "No need to revise, no need to revise, this is fine. As agreed, just a casual answer will do, no need to trouble you further!"