Chapter 197: Sparking Public Debate

Translator: DragonRider

Yuwen Jin had an aggrieved look in his eyes. He had thought that Ling Zhang disliked school as much as he did, but now it turned out that Ling Zhang liked school, which he believed boded ill for his future – there would be nobody receiving punishment from the teacher with him, and his father would definitely compare him with Ling Zhang and scold him every time he was punished by his teacher. ‘How am I supposed to survive if that’s the case?’ he wondered.

‘No…’

He hoped that Ling Zhang would stop writing so many words, stop writing so quick, stop behaving so well and allow him a chance of survival, but there was no telepathic connection between the two of them. Ling Zhang was unable to receive his “distress signal” and soon finished another page. Seeing this, Yuwen Jin was nearly reduced to tears.

Ling Zhang completed his essay before Yuwen Jin could finish his. The old man, after reading it, gave a nod. ‘Although this kid’s essay is not as good as those of honor students in this college, it’s coherent and well-grounded. His viewpoints are different from those of most students but not really unorthodox, and some of his perceptions are pretty unique,’ he thought.

The old man, secretly satisfied, stroked his beard. Yuwen Tong’s presence had made it very clear to him who Ling Zhang was. He had thought that academic performance of a student like Ling Zhang, whose admission to the Imperial College had been granted by the emperor, and who came from a small city and was rumored to be rather arrogant and domineering, definitely couldn’t hold a candle to that of other students. And he had expected to see an essay riddled with mistakes or one of strained interpretation, but unexpectedly, this essay could be deemed excellent.

The old man unnoticeably flicked a glance at Yuwen Tong out of the corner of his eye, and then looked at Ling Zhang who was respectfully standing before him with a calm face. ‘There are indeed some resemblances between these two people. They’re both composed and unhurried,’ thought the old man.

“Though there are some defects in your essay, it also has something to its credit. The central theme of it is unique and rigorous, but it also shows a lack of depth. Now that you’ve enrolled in the Imperial College, you should concentrate your mind on studies and learn from others with modesty. Do not muddle along because of external influences. Otherwise you’ll be stranded where you are and end up among the mediocre, and all your time spent in this college would be for nothing.”

The old man exhorted Ling Zhang in a serious tone of voice. Though pleased with Ling Zhang’s essay, he didn’t show it on his face.

“Thank you for your admonishment, professor. I’ll keep this in mind at all times,” replied Ling Zhang.

The old man stroked his elegantly-trimmed beard, uttered “Um” and then told him to wait on the side.

Ling Zhang stood on the side. Though still looking very calm, he was secretly relieved somewhat. Actually he hadn’t focused his mind on learning for a long time, and he’d worried that he might have forgotten all he’d learned, but after he hit his stride, things had taken a favorable turn. Moreover, although he hadn’t really spent much time on study during these days, he had acquired a lot of perceptions unobtainable from books, which had significantly broadened his horizons. The Imperial College set great store by Confucianism, and many opinions in Confucian classics had been corroborated by what he had seen with his own eyes. Because of this, he had gradually formed his own perceptions. In fact, many of the views in that essay were not a full display of his true thoughts. It was not because he wanted to hide his weak points, but because he was aware that these viewpoints of him were divergent from the teaching principle of the Imperial College, that if he wrote them down, he not only wouldn’t get the old man’s recognition but also would be harshly scolded by him.

He’d also found that though he stayed up all night reading those books the day before, he still felt fairly energetic and what he’d memorized during his last-minute preparation was still in his mind. It seemed that after his proficiency in internal energy reached the first layer, not only his five senses had been heightened, his memory had become much better as well.

“Thi–This is the best I can do…”

Yuwen Jin’s tentative voice broke the silence in the room and also interrupted Ling Zhang’s train of thought.

The old man standing before Yuwen Jin was frothing at the mouth, glaring at him with rage. Yuwen Jin, shoulders in, had an aggrieved and scared face, fearing that the old man might hit him with the ruler again.

Ling Zhang, “…”

Eventually the old man sharply criticized Yuwen Jin for his one-page essay which he’d managed with great difficulty. Yuwen Jin, head hanging low, was in such deep shame that he wished the ground could have swallowed him up.

“I did my best.”

The old man, “…”

Seeing this, Ling Zhang felt somewhat sympathetic towards him.

Yuwen Tong, however, was still as unconcerned as always. Watching his cousin standing there like a frightened bird, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood, which slightly surprised Ling Zhang.

Though Yuwen Jin’s essay was criticized by the old man as unreadable rubbish, in the end he was still assigned to the same class as Ling Zhang’s, and the two of them were supposed to promptly attend classes in the Imperial College from the next day on.

Yuwen Jin, though having received a harsh scolding, was still very happy to know that he was now Ling Zhang’s classmate. “Fortunately, we’ve still been assigned to the same class.”

And then he implored Yuwen Tong, “Cousin, can you please not tell my father what happened today?”

Ling Zhang shook his head, feeling that Yuwen Jin was very tenacious in some way.

After Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin left the campus, news of the two of them having enrolled in the Imperial College soon spread through the whole city. Leaving aside reactions of people from other walks of life, in the Imperial College alone there was a wide variety of opinions.

“The Marshal accompanied Ling Zhang here?”

“Yeah, Jiang Yu wanted to lead the way for the Marshal but the Marshal rejected his offer, which made him seem so awkward.”

“Pooh, his family background is the only thing he could rely on, yet he actually believes everybody would show him respect because of who his father is. Marshal Yuwen is not the kind of person who’d give a damn about his respectability.”

“It seems that we’ll be crossing paths with Ling Zhang quite often from now on. Who gave him the test?”

“That old man surnamed Gu.”

“Him? This Ling Zhang guy was so unlucky. The old man chewed him out, didn’t he?”

“Well… not really. Actually it’s said that Professor Gu was fairly satisfied with his essay, which is kind of surprising. It was Yuwen Jin who got chewed out.”

“The old man has always been as stubborn as a mule, yet he took into consideration Marshal Yuwen’s face?”

“Could it be that Ling Zhang’s essay was actually not bad?”

“Pooh, I don’t believe that’s true. He’s a countryman. Back then in that year, it was by sheer luck that his grandfather got the position of assistant minister, which he resigned from very soon because of his incompetence. That Ling Zhang guy is his grandson. How able could you possibly expect him to be?”

“Tell me about it. That Ling Zhang guy is so cocky and bossy. He dared to talk back to the Ninth Princess when he hadn’t even entered the city yet. Rumor has it that he also angered Lord Yuwen so bad that he hasn’t left home for over half a month. I wonder what the Marshal sees in him and why he cares about him so much.”

“Let’s meet him and find out when he comes to school tomorrow.”

…

Ling Zhang, after sparking a heated debate in the whole Imperial College, leisurely went back home. Wang Dashan and others had been waiting for him. On hearing that Ling Zhang had passed the test, they all offered their congratulations to him.

“What’s the Imperial College like, Young Master? Is it a messy place?” asked Wang Dashan. He and a couple of others had got a bad impression of the Imperial College when they’d been told about the rather chaotic situation in it.

After a few moments’ thinking, Ling Zhang replied, “It’s not bad. At least the professor giving me a test is truly a learned man.”

Today he and Yuwen Jin had merely gone there to take a test, and they hadn’t got acquainted with any students except for Jiang Yu.

On hearing this, Yuwen Jin standing on the side had a sulky face. ‘I was hit and got a harsh scolding from that old man. How is it ‘not bad’?

Besides…’

“Seeing that Jiang Yu guy will be a daily occurrence for us, and I’m not sure how much longer I can keep from beating him up.”

“Who’s Jiang Yu?” Wang Dashan and the others, who were unaware of who Jiang Yu was, asked about it when they saw that Yuwen Jin seemed to be quite contemptuous of this person.

“Jiang Changfeng’s grandson. Earlier this day, he was so presumptuous as to try to stop my cousin, showing a total disregard of me and Brother Zhang. The very sight of him disgusts me,” remarked Yuwen Jin.

Wang Dashan and the others, though uneducated, were quite scrupulous where Ling Zhang was concerned. In addition, ever since they’d come to the capital city with Ling Zhang, they had dealt with a lot of people and grown very wary of people in this city.

“So that Jiang Yu guy is a troublesome character?” queried Wang Dashan.

“Jiang Changfeng is the incumbent Prime Minister and His Majesty’s uncle. His grandson probably has a lot of followers in the Imperial College.” Liu Yi also expressed his opinion.

‘The Prime Minister’s grandson?’ Others also pricked up their ears and looked at Yuwen Jin.

Beneath their gaze, Yuwen Jin felt his flesh creep. “Wh–Why are you giving me this look?”

“How does that Jiang Yu guy look?” inquired Qiu Bing.

“Ah?” Yuwen Jin was puzzled. “Just like everybody else – two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth. He’s not even as handsome as me.”

“Oh,” Qiu Bing replied, “so he’s less attractive than you.”

Yuwen Jin wondered, ‘Why would any man care so much about his appearance? But Jiang Yu is definitely not as handsome as me.”

“Then why did he stop the Marshal?” asked Zhou Xiang.

Yuwen Jin responded, “Who knows what got into him? He even insisted he lead the way for us. My cousin didn’t even know him. He came to us of his own accord and his eyes were on my cousin from start to finish, as if Brother Zhang and I were just passers-by.”

‘His eyes were on the Marshal from start to finish?’

Qiu Bing and the others who had just relaxed became vigilant again, clustering closer around Yuwen Jin.

Ling Zhang, seeing they were scaring Yuwen Jin, told them to take their leave so that Yuwen Jin could be at ease.

Of course Wang Dashan and others wouldn’t disobey Ling Zhang. Though looking somewhat worried, they still cleared off.

Yuwen Jin heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t know why these security guards were acting like this, but he kept feeling that he had just had an escape from something unpleasant, which he knew wasn’t true.

“Brother Zhang, I think I’ll go back home first. I’ll come back and pick you up tomorrow morning.”

After saying this, he hurriedly slunk away.

Yuwen Jin had just left when Ling Zhang’s face slightly darkened. ‘That Jiang Yu guy doesn’t seem to have any particular intentions for the moment, but him having history with Yuwen Jin means that he regards me as an enemy as well. I should indeed keep an eye out for him in the future.’

…

“Your Highness, according to your instructions, I found someone suitable in terms of both appearance and personality. Would you care to meet him?”

In the residential compound of the King Duan, Zhou Mingyuan had just returned from the court meeting when his henchman came to his report, as if claiming credit.

“Where is he? How’s his background?” queried the King Duan, his countenance slightly changing.

“He lives elsewhere in the city. As regards his background… You might find this quite coincidental – this person happens to be a student of the Imperial College as well, but his father is merely a county magistrate in Youzhou. Because of his achievements in his official career, His Majesty granted special permission for his son to study in the Imperial College. It’s been only half a year since his son enrolled,” replied his henchman.

Zhou Mingyuan gave an inexplicable smile. “Bring him to me when it’s convenient. I’d like to see him in person.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” answered the henchman. “Have you heard that Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin showed up in the Imperial College together today? It’s said that Marshal Yuwen personally accompanied them there.”

“Um. It turns out Yuwen Tong is quite protective of that Ling Zhang guy,” observed Zhou Mingyuan.

“Tell me about it,” his henchman responded. Then he added, “I also heard that Jiang Yu of Jiang family chanced upon them and offered to lead the way for Yuwen Tong but Yuwen Tong rejected his offer categorically.”

“Jiang Yu? I almost forgot that he is also studying in the Imperial College. You’re to keep a close watch on him. I’d like to spend some time and reconnect with my cousin when the occasion arises.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”