Chapter 75

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The next day, the teaching hall was filled with groans, and most people were frowning. They looked at each other, and out of the six hundred students, less than a third could produce excellent essays.

One day was too short, even for the top students from each county, to consider all the details thoroughly, let alone for Xun Sheng's famous work, "Encouragement to Learning"?

Most people were just making things up, and many grumbled when they saw "the wicked student" Yue Heng arrive.

"Brother Yue, have you finished your three essays? If you can't complete the task, I have an extra one that can barely make up the numbers," Ji Cong greeted him with a smile, offering his help.

Yue Heng bowed and replied, "I have already finished my essays. Thank you for your kindness, Brother Ji. By the way, do you know if there is a strange fragrance that can make people drowsy when they smell it?"

Ji Cong, being a smart person, asked with some caution, "Could it be that yesterday...?"

Yue Heng nodded slightly, and Ji Cong said no more, "I'll ask my cousin and get back to you later."

They chatted for a while, and soon Du Jiaoyuan entered, accompanied by several other elderly instructors, including Huo Zhangyuan from the Literary Academy.

The hall was silent, and Du Jiaoyuan said, "Yesterday, I lectured on the ancient Xun Sheng's 'Encouragement to Learning' and the Music Bureau's 'Long Song.' I asked each of you to write an essay because it is very important, not because I wanted to deliberately make things difficult for you. To better understand each of your levels, I have invited several senior instructors to evaluate your work today. Excellent essays will be engraved in the Academy's bulletin for all students to appreciate, and the Academy will also reward you with contribution points."

Hearing about the contribution points, many people's faces lit up, and their initial resentment towards Du Jiaoyuan and Yue Heng disappeared.

The evaluation team included Huo Zhangyuan, Cheng Jiaoyuan who taught the classics to the first-level students, Yan Jiaoyuan who taught poetry and prose to the second-level students, and Shen Jiaoyuan who taught literary warfare and debate skills to the third-level students, forming a five-person evaluation panel.

Many students took out their prepared essays from their book boxes, while others, like Yue Heng, stood empty-handed, waiting until the last moment to start writing, wanting to think a bit more.

"Where is your essay?" Du Jiaoyuan walked up to Yue Heng, looking at him with a frown.

Yue Heng calmly took out paper and pen, spreading them on the writing board in front of him, "Can I write it now, sir?"

Du Jiaoyuan grunted and returned to the evaluation panel, taking out a Fuxi Wenpan and shouting, "Eliminate the inferior, preserve the superior. Fuxi Wenpan, divide!"

The character "divide" flashed, and the Wenpan was thrown into the air, emitting a red light, supported by the continuous talent energy from the Academy's array.

The worthless essays in the hall were turned to ashes by the red light, and the students holding them looked miserable, sighing as their papers turned to dust.

The remaining students held their essays high, looking proud.

"Not bad, it seems there are still over thirty valuable essays."

"This year's students have good literary talent."

"Du Jiaoyuan, lower the brightness of the 'divide' character on the Wenpan and give them more time. Many are still writing."

The instructors nodded slightly, and Du Jiaoyuan used his mental power to reduce the speed at which the Wenpan drew talent energy from the array. The red light became faint, almost invisible, maintaining only the minimum "divide" character power, slowly rotating in the air.

Huo Zhangyuan watched with interest, noticing Yue Heng writing with his pen, and couldn't help but smile. He was curious about this young man and walked over.

Yue Heng chose a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Zhenbai. He seemed oblivious to the surroundings, focusing on entering the "heart path" realm.

"Reading without realizing it is already deep into spring... It's only early spring, this child has some interesting ideas..." Huo Zhangyuan smiled as he read, but the second line moved him.

"One inch of time is worth one inch of gold! This line is brilliant! An inch of time is a very short period, and using gold to describe time highlights its preciousness, reminding other scholars to cherish time and improve themselves. To think of this and express it so vividly, this child has extraordinary talent, very good!"

Huo Zhangyuan's face was full of appreciation, eagerly awaiting the next two lines.

Yue Heng felt someone standing beside him, looked up, and saw Huo Zhangyuan smiling at him. His heart stirred, and he completed the remaining two lines in one breath.

"Reading without realizing it is already deep into spring,

One inch of time is worth one inch of gold.

Unaware that the instructor has come to laugh,

Zhou's emotions and Confucius' thoughts are being pursued."

After writing the poem, he titled it "Encouragement to Learning I," put down his pen, and slowly returned to his normal state.

Buzz!

A light hum came from the Fuxi Wenpan floating above the hall. The faint red light was suddenly intensified, focusing on Yue Heng's paper, enveloping "Encouragement to Learning I" in a pale red glow, each character shining with a strange light.

"Resonant text!"

Huo Zhangyuan's expression changed dramatically. As a fifth-level literary master, he was very familiar with this phenomenon.

Because the red light from the "divide" character on the Wenpan was already faint, the resonance phenomenon from Yue Heng's text went unnoticed. Huo Zhangyuan's hand moved, and a small bead appeared between his fingers. He flicked it, and the bead landed on Yue Heng's paper.

Puff...

A faint muffled sound followed, and the bead exploded, releasing a layer of black mist that quickly enveloped the paper, cutting off the red light and severing the connection with the "divide" character on the Wenpan.

Yue Heng took a step back in surprise, but Huo Zhangyuan's sharp gaze stopped him from making a scene.

Just like yesterday, no student was willing to get within three feet of him, so only Huo Zhangyuan and Yue Heng knew what had happened. Even Du Jiaoyuan, the holder of the "divide" character Wenpan, was only puzzled by Huo Zhangyuan's interest in Yue Heng.

Du Jiaoyuan walked over and saw no unusual phenomenon in front of Yue Heng. The essay, though not turned to ashes by the Fuxi Wenpan, was just an ordinary piece of paper.

Du Jiaoyuan came to Huo Zhangyuan's side and said flatteringly, "Lord Huo, this child, due to his contempt for Xun Sheng and disregard for the Academy's rules, is unlearned and arrogant. I punished him by making him write three essays. Even if this mediocre piece passes, he still has two more!"

Huo Zhangyuan didn't delve into the true reason for their conflict and smiled, asking, "How did Mr. Du determine that he was unlearned and arrogant?"

Du Jiaoyuan replied, "Xun Sheng's 'Encouragement to Learning' is the first chapter of the 'Child Scholar's Canon,' the primer for millions of young scholars. He ignored it and fell asleep. Isn't that unlearned and arrogant?"

This made some sense, and Huo Zhangyuan didn't want to say more.

Yue Heng was criticized by Du Jiaoyuan again, and this time in front of the highest official of the Academy. He couldn't help but feel angry.

"Since you say I am unlearned, I'll show you what unlearned looks like!" He ignored Du Jiaoyuan, placed a second blank sheet of paper, and began to think, determined to write an excellent poem, preferably one that would resonate.

"Lord Huo, there are a few excellent pieces over there. Would you like to go and appreciate them with me?" Du Jiaoyuan approached, flatteringly.

"No need, Yue Heng was recommended by the Literary Department of Qi Prefecture. Compared to ordinary students, I prefer to read his work!" Huo Zhangyuan stroked his beard and smiled.

"Ah?"

Du Jiaoyuan was stunned, seeing the playful expression on Huo Zhangyuan's face and his reluctance to explain, as well as Yue Heng's calm demeanor, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Isn't this guy one of the four "wicked students" of this year, the "wicked child" who was ruthless and forced a fellow student to death before becoming a child scholar, and who, upon entering the Academy, bullied the older students and set up a tent in the center of the dormitory?

But how did this tyrannical and fierce person become a highly recommended student by the Literary Department of Qi Prefecture?

Thinking of Huo Zhangyuan's ambiguous attitude, Du Jiaoyuan's mind flashed with doubt. Could the rumors about Yue Heng be false?

But when he saw Yue Heng's focused and thoughtful state, he felt an inexplicable disgust. He hated disobedient students the most, and most talented scholars were often disobedient.

If Yue Heng had talent, he needed to be disciplined and made to obey.

If Yue Heng had no talent, he was evil and needed to be disciplined and made to obey.

Yesterday, he deliberately targeted Yue Heng to set an example, and today he continued to pick on him. Now, it was like an arrow on the string, and he had to act, or he would be slapping his own face, losing his authority in front of the six hundred students.

Yue Heng opened his eyes, and the content of the Yan Zhenqing calligraphy copy in his mind was vivid, as if floating in front of him, within reach.

With his mind set, he began to write.

"At the third watch, the lamps are lit, and at the fifth watch, the roosters crow,

It is the time for young men to study.

Black hair does not know the importance of early diligence,

White hair regrets the delay in studying."

Yan Zhenqing, the famous calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, was not only the founder of the Yan style of regular script but also a renowned literary figure and politician.

Yan Zhenqing's family fell into poverty when he was three years old. His mother, emulating the example of Mencius' mother, moved three times and supervised his studies daily, strictly disciplining him. Yan Zhenqing was diligent and passed the imperial examinations smoothly. After becoming a Jinshi, he wrote this "Encouragement to Learning" poem to encourage future generations.

After writing the poem, Yue Heng titled it "Encouragement to Learning II," held his breath, and put down his pen.

Puff...

A second bead flew over and exploded above the poem, the faint black mist blocking the red light from the Wenpan. The poem became still, neither turning to ashes nor resonating with the Fuxi Wenpan, appearing like an ordinary piece of paper.