APSIL -Chapter 74 The Newly Compiled Sayings of Master Ge (Part 1)

“Hahahaha…!”

Inside the private room on the top floor of Moonlight Pavilion, Zhu Ying could no longer maintain the graceful bearing she usually displayed before Princess Yongping. Laughing so hard that she nearly collapsed, she threw herself across the Dowager Duchess’s lap.

Beside her, Zhanjin and Liuyin both lowered their heads, trying their best to hide their smiles, but the corners of their mouths simply refused to cooperate.

The Dowager Duchess gently patted Zhu Ying on the back as she scolded her with mock severity.

“Yingying, how many times have I told you? Sit properly, stand properly. Look at you—where are your manners? Consort Yu may indulge you, but you should show at least a little restraint.”

“No matter.”

The speaker was Consort Yu.

Just past thirty, her face was somewhat slender. She wore a moon-white blouse with a lotus-blue skirt of understated elegance. Her jet-black hair was gathered into a simple round bun secured only by an unusually crafted wooden hairpin, without a trace of gold or silver jewelry. Apart from the pair of white jade bracelets on her wrists, there was nothing particularly expensive about her attire.

Smiling gently at the Dowager Duchess, she waited until Zhu Ying finally straightened up, wiped away the tears she had laughed out, and stepped forward to apologize.

Only then did Consort Yu pull her down beside herself on the couch before asking with a smile, “The young man downstairs only said a few angry words. Was it really that amusing?”

Zhu Ying proudly lifted her chin and deliberately shot Princess Yongping, seated below Consort Yu, a sidelong glance before answering brightly, “Qi Liang is usually very calm and cautious. The only time he puts on airs as the senior disciple is when he’s teaching those troublemakers at Qingfeng Xulai Hall in A-Shou’s place. Especially if someone slacks off—he’s terrifying!”

“When I heard him accusing people of misleading students, I immediately remembered the way he scolded Zhang Chen!”

Unable to contain herself, she leaned into Consort Yu’s embrace again, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

“Just wait, Your Ladyship. If someone downstairs can’t resist reprimanding Qi Liang, A-Shou definitely won’t just stand by. That’s when the real fun begins!”

Princess Yongping had remained quietly seated to Consort Yu’s right all this while.

Unlike Zhu Ying, whose beauty was dazzling and flamboyant, Princess Yongping admired simplicity like her mother.

Her delicate oval face was almost always framed by pale green, lotus-purple, light blue, or frost-white robes. Instead of gold or silver ornaments, she preferred bamboo and jade accessories. A faint melancholy perpetually rested upon her refined features, giving her the appearance of a beauty one could not help but pity.

Watching Zhu Ying become increasingly unrestrained while Consort Yu merely smiled and the Dowager Duchess remained silently amused without the slightest rebuke, Princess Yongping finally could no longer hold herself back.

“Even if Zhang Shou is Grand Tutor Ge’s disciple, Grand Tutor Ge has scarcely left the capital except for those few months several years ago. He simply hasn’t taught Zhang Shou for very long.”

“Meanwhile, many of the essay editors below earned their reputations through the imperial examinations themselves. They’ve compiled countless collections of model essays.”

“Even if a disciple of Master Ge enjoys extraordinary status, is there really any need to make enemies so casually?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to value harmony?”

“Harmony?”

Zhu Ying immediately bristled.

“Was A-Shou the one who provoked anyone first?”

“It was that blind old fossil who thought A-Shou was easy to bully!”

“Besides, I heard every word Qi Liang said. Grandfather Ge really did say those things!”

Privately, Zhu Ying had already made up her mind.

As long as I insist it came from Grandfather Ge… then whether he actually said it or not, he said it!

Utter sophistry…

No… utterly unreasonable!

Princess Yongping no longer wished to argue with Zhu Ying.

Yet when Consort Yu cast her a mildly reproachful glance, she could only lower her head, suppressing the anger in her eyes.

“Even if Grand Tutor Ge truly said those words, his reputation and official rank are beyond comparison with those essay editors.”

“But that boy surnamed Qi swept every essay editor into the same basket with just a few sentences.”

“Wouldn’t people conclude that even Grand Tutor Ge is biased?”

Rising gracefully, she continued, “I’ll send someone downstairs to smooth things over.”

“We can’t have today’s literary gathering descend into chaos before it even begins.”

“Zhang Shou is still young. If he offends so many people today, won’t it harm his future?”

With that, she nodded respectfully to Consort Yu before leaving the elegant private room that Moonlight Pavilion’s owner reserved exclusively for her.

Stepping outside, she was about to issue instructions when more voices floated up from below.

Remembering Zhu Ying’s earlier excitement, curiosity got the better of her.

She walked to the window, lifted one edge of the bamboo curtain, and looked down.

“Just as expected!”

“A madman raises students who show no respect whatsoever for their elders!”

The speaker was Xu Fengyang, a well-known compiler of examination essay anthologies in the capital region.

His mouse-like mustache quivered with rage as he pointed accusingly at Qi Liang.

Princess Yongping ignored the furious old licentiate and instead looked directly at Zhang Shou.

He was easy enough to identify.

First, Chang Ning, Consort Yu’s chief steward, stood beside him.

Second…

She had already heard Zhu Ying praise him as an “elegant gentleman of bamboo-like grace” so many times today that her ears had practically developed calluses.

Though he wore dark indigo today instead of green, his bearing remained equally refined and handsome.

Princess Yongping had always disliked Zhu Ying’s tendency to judge people by appearance, so she deliberately shifted her gaze away from Zhang Shou and toward the agitated essay editors instead.

At that moment, however, Zhang Shou spoke.

“Sir, you say my disciple shows no respect for his elders because of my teaching.”

“In that case, may I ask something?”

“Are you his father?”

“His teacher?”

“Or perhaps the magistrate responsible for his district?”

“Since you’re none of those things…”

“On what grounds do you call yourself his elder?”

Xu Fengyang’s narrow face instantly darkened.

Zhang Shou continued calmly, “Now, if you mean you’re his senior in the examination halls, then you’re absolutely right.”

“Achievement deserves respect.”

“My disciple was indeed impolite.”

“And it’s also true that because his father repeatedly failed the examinations, he carries resentment toward collections of model essays.”

“That prejudice isn’t entirely fair.”

Princess Yongping’s expression finally softened.

A moment ago Zhu Ying praised him for never yielding in an argument while simultaneously calling him a gentleman of moderation.

I thought she was exaggerating…

But hearing him myself…

He truly is remarkably fair.

“Hmph!”

“At least you recognize that!”

“Like master, like disciple! Because his father repeatedly failed the examinations, he blames heaven and everyone else. That alone proves—”

Before Xu Fengyang could finish, Zhang Shou interrupted him.

“I haven’t yet asked your honored name.”

“And which collections of model essays have you compiled?”

Xu Fengyang lifted his chin proudly.

“As expected from a teacher and student pair who hardly read books.”

“You’ve probably never even seen my Elegant Essays of the Capital Region!”

As he spoke, he extended a hand.

Immediately, a quick-witted servant hurried over with a book.

Taking it, Xu Fengyang proudly raised it for everyone to see.

“This anthology is studied carefully by countless aspiring scholars throughout the capital.”

“Only the ignorant and unlearned would fail to appreciate it!”

“Oh?”

Zhang Shou smiled.

The next instant, a figure flashed before him.

A book appeared in his hands.

It was A-Liu.

Without waiting for instructions, the young man had simply snatched the volume from the servant and delivered it straight to Zhang Shou.

Seeing A-Liu anticipate his intentions once again, Zhang Shou felt both amused and helpless.

Ignoring Xu Fengyang’s furious glare, he casually flipped through the slim volume.

He skimmed the essay titles…

Read several opening paragraphs…

Finally…

His eyes rested on the price.

One thousand two hundred copper coins for a complete six-volume set.

Closing the book, Zhang Shou chuckled.

“After reading this, I finally understand why my teacher—whose seven consecutive first-place examination victories are unmatched in history, whose examination essays once stood unrivaled beneath heaven—has never published anything like this.”

“No wonder Teacher always says—”

“Those who learn from me will live.”

“Those who merely imitate me will die.”

Not far away, Ge Yong and Qi Jingshan had quietly arrived.

Qi Liang’s earlier speech had already been explosive enough.

Now, hearing Zhang Shou confidently quote yet another supposed saying, Qi Jingshan immediately looked sideways at his old friend.

Ge Yong nearly exploded.

When did I ever produce disciples and grand-disciples like this?

Making up books for their teacher…

Fabricating quotations for their teacher…

The books they invent are mathematics texts they themselves read with fanatical devotion…

And now they’re even compiling an entirely new collection of “Master Ge’s Sayings” that sounds suspiciously like something I might actually say!

If Zhang Shou weren’t such an unparalleled mathematical genius…No, if he weren’t, would I ever have accepted him as a disciple before he’d even performed the formal ceremony?

Just as Ge Yong opened his mouth to protest—

“I never said any such thing!”

Qi Jingshan leisurely remarked, “Although Brother Ge’s fame is known throughout the empire, ever since your retirement it’s been many years since I’ve heard you utter anything so proper… yet so incisive.”

Ge Yong immediately swallowed the denial that had reached his lips.

Lifting his chin proudly, he snorted.

“Hmph!”

“Those scholars who memorize nothing but model essays and pass the examinations that way are salary parasites!”

“Learning from me is perfectly acceptable.”

“But merely imitating me?”

“They deserve to fail!”