Chapter 43

The position of the National Teaching Academy was on par with the other five academies of the Qingteng Six Academies, but it was located in the most remote corner, making it quite secluded. There was only one seat, which looked rather desolate and shabby. However, neither Chen Changsheng nor Luo Luo cared about such things, and they sat down casually.

"Did you recognize that student from the Heavenly Dao Academy earlier?" Chen Changsheng asked.

Luo Luo thought for a moment and said, "I've seen him a few times when I came to the Heavenly Dao Academy before."

Chen Changsheng, recalling the scene where everyone was gathered around, said, "He seems to be quite famous?"

Luo Luo didn't need to think this time and said, "Zhuang Huan Yu, many people call him Lord Huan Yu."

Chen Changsheng remembered that he had seen this name on the stone wall at the ancestral temple, and it was ranked quite high on the Qingyun List. Thinking that Luo Luo had mentioned the name without hesitation, he teased, "I didn't expect you to know his name."

Luo Luo pouted and said, "Master, you just said he's very famous."

Chen Changsheng said, "With your personality, you wouldn't necessarily know someone just because they're famous."

Luo Luo stuck out her tongue a bit sheepishly and said, "He's too close to ignore."

Chen Changsheng didn't fully understand her words, thinking she was referring to her past at the Heavenly Dao Academy. He looked in the direction of the Heavenly Dao Academy's seat, confirming that he hadn't missed anything earlier, and said, "That guy really didn't come."

Luo Luo knew who he was talking about and asked curiously, "Master, do you really know Tang Sanshiu?"

Chen Changsheng said, "Even though I don't know how I came to know him... but, I do know him."

As they talked, the preparations for the Qingteng Banquet were completed. All the seats under the canopy were filled, and the professors and students of the Qingteng Six Academies had all arrived. The last to enter were the Heavenly Dao Academy's chief examiner, who was hosting this year's Qingteng Banquet, and two important figures representing the court and the National Teaching.

The chief bishop of the National Teaching's Doctrine Office, Mei Lisha, and... the Eastern Imperial General, Xu Shiji.

When these two important figures entered, all the professors and students in the hall stood up to greet them, like a wave.

Mei Lisha had been in charge of the Doctrine Office for many years and had great influence in the various academies of the capital. Most importantly, he was a close confidant of the Pope. Although Xu Shiji's rank was lower than that of the chief bishop, he had achieved remarkable military success in recent years and was highly trusted and valued by the Empress. Moreover, the entire continent knew that he had a good daughter.

The Qingteng Banquet was a grand gathering of young geniuses of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the hall was filled with young talents. But thinking of the 14-year-old girl on the Holy Maiden Peak and looking up at the name on the Qingyun List, which seemed to be carved into bronze and could not be erased, who would dare to call themselves a genius?

Chen Changsheng looked at Xu Shiji, who was sitting at the top, with a calm expression, as if he had never heard of this name before. Only Luo Luo noticed that his breathing was slightly faster than usual, still steady but a bit more rapid. After spending many days together, she knew this indicated that his emotions were a bit off.

This was the first time Chen Changsheng had seen Xu Shiji.

In fact, one of the reasons he agreed to attend the Qingteng Banquet today was that the priest Xin had told him that Xu Shiji would be present. He wanted to see what the man who almost became his father-in-law and who almost caused him to fall into an irredeemable situation looked like.

Xu Shiji looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, but of course, he was not ordinary. Chen Changsheng watched him from a distance, sensing the hidden and unreleased aura of authority and the faint smell of blood. His eyebrows slowly raised, and his nostrils flared slightly—this was not a smell he liked.

He also thought of the Xu Lady he had seen at the General's Mansion and the humiliations and setbacks he had endured since coming to the capital. His eyebrows raised even higher, and his nostrils flared faster, and his breathing became heavier.

A couple like this had a daughter who was the reincarnation of a true phoenix. Indeed, the heavens were not fair.

Luo Luo had been paying attention to his reaction and knew that his mood was not good, but she couldn't help but ask cautiously in a low voice, "Master, it seems you and Xu Yourong don't get along... why is that?"

Chen Changsheng was taken aback and said, "I thought you could hold back and not ask."

Luo Luo tugged at his sleeve and shook it playfully, saying, "I'm just curious."

Chen Changsheng said helplessly, "I promised someone, I really can't talk about it."

They didn't realize how intimate their low conversation looked, nor did they realize that Zhuang Huan Yu had seen it all with his peripheral vision.

Zhuang Huan Yu's expression remained as calm as usual.

Another person also saw Chen Changsheng and Luo Luo talking privately, but his expression was not so calm.

The Heavenly Dao Academy's chief examiner收回了望向角落的目光，脸色寒冷到了极点，但很奇怪的是，他没有训斥陈长生和落落，也没有借题发挥，把对国教学院的怨恨尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅尅