The two drank a few more rounds.
The conversation gradually drifted away from Fang Luming to the grand state of the world.
Though Old Master Cheng was merely a teacher, he harbored a scholar’s innate concern for the court’s affairs.
He spoke of the abuses in Jiangnan’s taxation, of the hollowed defenses along the border passes. When speaking of grievous matters, he struck the table and sighed deeply; when speaking of helplessness, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile.
Chen Zui listened more than he spoke.
Only occasionally did he interject with a word or two about the hardships of the common folk he had witnessed firsthand across the martial world.
Though the two came from vastly different backgrounds, at this moment, they found each other’s company remarkably agreeable.
After several rounds of wine, Chen Zui held up his wine bowl and suddenly asked, “Old Master Cheng, The Academy is well-informed. Have you heard any rumors from the capital?”
“What rumors?”
Old Master Cheng set down his wine bowl, his brows furrowing slightly.
Seeing Old Master Cheng’s reaction, Chen Zui was not surprised.
It was just as he had expected.
Chen Zui set his wine bowl on the stone table.
“Two months ago in Luoyan City, I heard a piece of news. The one on the Dragon Throne likely doesn’t have much time left.”
Back then, even Qiu Baisheng, an Earthly Immortal, had been unaware of this news, which meant the Emperor of Grand Zhao was deliberately concealing the gravity of his illness.
Old Master Cheng’s hand holding the wine jerked violently, spilling half a bowl of Huadiao wine onto his sleeve.
Those aged eyes that had seen all the ways of the world locked onto Chen Zui, as if trying to discern the truth of those words from his face.
“Is this... true?”
Chen Zui nodded.
“Senior Gu told me in person. It shouldn’t be false.”
Chen Zui met Old Master Cheng’s gaze directly.
“Old Master Cheng surely has former students and old acquaintances in the imperial court. You might as well write a letter to verify it.”
Old Master Cheng slowly set down his wine bowl. No expression showed on his weathered face, but the hand resting on the stone table trembled faintly.
Having lived for over seventy years, he had witnessed more than one transition of imperial power and understood all too well what this entailed.
Moreover, in such a momentous affair, none of his students had sent word to inform him, which meant the situation in the capital had to be exceedingly dire!
At this thought, Old Master Cheng abruptly stood up, his movements swifter than ever, utterly unlike an elderly man in his seventies.
“I must go inform the Mountain Lord!”
With that, he hurriedly left Xiao Langgan and walked briskly toward the bamboo pavilion on the back mountain.
The night wind swept through the woods, making the bamboo leaves rustle.
Chen Zui looked in the direction of the bamboo building and muttered to himself.
“I wonder if Zhizhou Tower, which claims to be all-knowing of all things and backed me into a corner, knows this palace secret?”
He truly couldn’t understand it.
This intelligence network whose motto was “all-knowing of all things to aid the world” never took sides, never meddled in martial world disputes, and merely sold intelligence to the highest bidder.
Why would such a neutral behemoth target a mere Nameless Spearman like him?
What puzzled him even more was that if Zhizhou Tower really wanted to deal with him, why did they only release such a harmless rumor?
With Zhizhou Tower’s capabilities, they could easily have fabricated a far more vicious crime to make it impossible for him to take a single step in the martial world.
Yet they hadn’t; they had merely told a lie.
Looking back on everything that had happened over these past few months, he faintly felt an invisible hand pushing him forward from behind.
Pushing him from Luoyan City to Meiwu Town, and from Meiwu Town all the way to Qingya Academy.
...
The night was as dark as ink, yet the lights inside the bamboo building were still burning.
Old Master Cheng practically stumbled as he pushed open the door to the bamboo building.
Without even bothering to bow, he recounted everything Chen Zui had just told him in full detail, his voice trembling.
Lu Chenzhou was copying a piece of calligraphy. When he heard the words “the Emperor is critically ill,” the brush in his hand paused slightly.
Yet in the next moment, it descended steadily again, continuing to copy the fragmented rubbing to completion.
His movements were neither hurried nor slow.
“Mountain Lord!”
Seeing his composure, Old Master Cheng was so anxious his beard was trembling.
“Once the Emperor passes away, the court will inevitably be thrown into turmoil, and The Academy’s former students in the imperial court...”
“Brother Cheng.”
Lu Chenzhou finally set down his brush and lifted his eyes that had witnessed countless vicissitudes.
The candlelight flickered in his cloudy pupils, yet revealed not the slightest panic.
He picked up the cup of tea on his desk that had long grown cold, took a sip, and only then spoke slowly.
“It has been one hundred and thirty-seven years since our ancestors founded Qingya Academy.
“During these one hundred and thirty-seven years, five emperors have occupied the Dragon Throne, countless chancellors have come and gone in the court, and countless sects in the martial world have risen and fallen.”
He set down the teacup, his voice not loud, yet every word was steady and resolute.
“Yet The Academy is still The Academy, the students are still students, and the books are still the same books.”
Old Master Cheng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Lu Chenzhou raised a hand to stop him.
“I know what you are worried about.
“Those former students and old acquaintances of yours in the imperial court—you fear they will take the wrong side and be dragged down in the aftermath.
“Yet, Brother Cheng, you have taught them for decades; what did you teach them?”
Old Master Cheng froze.
“It was the Four Books and Five Classics, the principles of the sages, how to conduct oneself, and how to serve as an official.
“If you taught them all of this and they still do not know how to hold their ground in the imperial court, then it is because they have failed to master their learning. They cannot blame their teacher.”
Lu Chenzhou’s tone remained calm, yet carried an undeniable conviction.
“The Academy never takes sides.
“It is not that we dare not take a side; it is that we cannot.
“Once The Academy takes a side, the students who walk out of here in the future will no longer be scholars, but the private soldiers of some faction or party.
“Then, would The Academy still be worthy of being called an academy?”
Old Master Cheng fell silent.
It wasn’t that he had never heard Lu Chenzhou say this before, but hearing it today felt heavier than ever.
He knew his old friend’s temperament better than anyone.
Ordinarily as gentle as water, yet whenever it concerned The Academy’s principles, not even nine oxen could pull him back.
“But Mountain Lord...”
“There are no buts.”
Lu Chenzhou waved his hand, stood up, and walked to the window with his hands behind his back.
Outside the window, bamboo shadows swayed gracefully. The mountain breeze swept through the bamboo forest, producing a series of rustling sounds, as if countless people were whispering.
“Whether the one on the Dragon Throne lives or dies, or what those below the Dragon Throne are fighting over—what does that have to do with us?
“Let them fight their battles, and we will teach our lessons.
“No matter who sits on that throne, in the end, they will always need scholars to govern the world for them.
“As long as The Academy nurtures good students, we have nothing to fear.”
He turned around to look at Old Master Cheng, his gaze taking on a meaningful depth.
“Therefore, regarding this matter, since we know, so be it. There is no need to make a fuss, no need to discuss it, and even less need to write letters to the capital to verify it.
“What is meant to come will come; what is not, worrying will not help.”
He paused, then suddenly changed the topic.
“However, there is one matter that is more urgent than whether the one in the capital lives or dies.”
“What matter?” Old Master Cheng asked hurriedly.
Lu Chenzhou looked up at him, a faint, imperceptible smile in his eyes.
“Five days from now is the Caiqin Trial.
“The number of applicants this year is thirty percent higher than last year. Are there enough seats in the examination grounds?
“And for the examinees arriving from out of town, has lodging been properly arranged?”
Old Master Cheng was stunned for quite a while before finally coming to his senses.
Lu Chenzhou dipped his brush in ink, lowered his head to continue writing, and spoke in an unhurried voice.
“The affairs of the imperial court are not for us to worry about.
“Yet when it comes to the affairs of The Academy, not a single detail can be overlooked.
“This alone is our duty.”
Old Master Cheng stood in place, gazing at the back of his old friend bent over his desk, wielding the brush. After a long while, he gave a bitter smile and offered a deep bow.
“The Mountain Lord’s teachings... I have taken them to heart.”
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