Chapter 107: The Master Begins to Poach People

The first day of the eighth lunar month marked Su Lu's first day living in the academy.

Early that morning, he, Su Dan, Cheng Wanzhou, and Cheng Wanfan arrived at the academy grounds, carrying their bedrolls. The group of brothers, now as close as kin, naturally moved together.

The academy gates traditionally opened at the hour of the Rabbit (between 5:00 and 7:00 AM), but when the four arrived, the main gate was still shut. No longer greenhorns, they were not about to wait patiently, so they pounded on the gate until it opened. The gatekeeper grumbled as he unbarred the entrance, but after Cheng Wanfan offered a few kind words and slipped him a few copper coins, the old man’s expression softened. "My thanks to you young scholars. In the future, just call for 'Old Qin' when you arrive, and I’ll come open up immediately."

"It's no trouble at all, thank you, Elder Qin," the four replied, heading straight for the dormitories in the fourth courtyard.

They had expected their fellow students to be just waking up, but to their surprise, everyone was already dressed and standing in the courtyard, reciting classical essays at the top of their lungs.

"You guys are really pushing yourselves," Cheng Wanfan remarked, giving a kick to Li Qiyu, who was reciting with his eyes closed. Li was about to snap, but upon seeing who it was, his face lit up. "Brother! You’ve arrived?" He hurriedly took Su Lu's bedroll and shouted, "Lads, come and greet our foster father!"

Hearing the commotion, the other students gathered around, helping with the bedrolls and book chests, and joyfully escorted the four into the Ren-character dormitory.

Su Lu and Su Dan had originally been day students, and the three Cheng brothers had also lived off-campus, leaving only Li Qiyu, Tao Cheng, Wang Chong, and two others in the room. Knowing Su Lu and his group were moving in, the others had already cleaned the beds and polished the lockers until they shone. It was as if they were waiting to hang a banner that read "Welcome, Foster Father," a display of "filial piety" that was quite something to behold.

Once the neighboring students departed, Tao Cheng, Wang Chong, and the two other roommates each produced a tael of silver and placed it on Su Lu’s bed, clearly having discussed it beforehand.

Su Lu, watching his "dear son" Li Qiyu help him make his bed, was momentarily confused.

"This is the wager from the day of enrollment," Tao Cheng said with a look of shame. "We had eyes but failed to recognize a titan, actually mistaking our foster father for a bottom-ranker."

Su Lu remembered and laughed. "What’s the rush? The year isn't over yet. Who will emerge victorious remains to be seen."

"Brother, you’re joking. You’re already ranked first in the entire school..." Wang Chong said sheepishly. "Actually, we’ve known we lost for a long time. We just haven't had the chance to give you the money."

"Keep it. If we had our old relationship, I would certainly take it, but what is our relationship now?" Su Lu laughed heartily. "We are brothers as close as family; how could I possibly take your money?"

His family’s situation had improved, and he would not sacrifice his reputation for mere pennies. In fact, if he truly wanted to make money, his talent for tutoring was such that his wealthy classmates would pay whatever he asked. But doing so would ruin his name. To Su Lu, money was merely fuel for his studies and the imperial examinations—enough was sufficient. His reputation, however, was something that would follow him for a lifetime.

Besides, since these students regarded him as their "foster father," how could he possibly accept their money?

"Brother, you must accept it. We made a pledge with a handshake," insisted another student named Feng Chen, looking serious. "You can’t let us fail the Xiucai examination because of this!"

"In that case, I suppose we have to pay up too," Cheng Wanzhou chimed in, clicking his tongue. "I was hoping to muddle through."

"But brother, we can’t afford this much all at once. We’ll have to owe you for now," added Cheng Wanfan, shameless as ever.

Su Lu smiled at the four of them. "Fine, let’s consider it a debt of one tael of silver each. If I run out of money, I’ll come asking for it, and you aren't allowed to refuse."

"Ah, alright, Brother..." The four reclaimed their silver with gratitude. They knew perfectly well that Su Lu was finding a way to ensure they didn't violate their vow while also sparing them the financial burden. They were still young, and even from well-off families, it had taken a significant effort to scrape together that single tael. If it were to disappear for no good reason, they would inevitably face a beating upon returning home.

"Let's go, let's go, time for class," Li Qiyu called out, bored that the drama had ended. The students gathered their books and headed together toward the Shengshen Hall.

~~

By this time, Master Zhang had finished lecturing on the *Doctrine of the Mean*.

The academy's curriculum now entered the "Five Classics General Knowledge Stage." Five different masters would lecture on the *Classic of Changes* (*I Ching*), the *Book of Documents* (*Shangshu*), the *Classic of Poetry* (*Shijing*), the *Book of Rites* (*Liji*), and the *Spring and Autumn Annals*.

With only five months left in the academic year, it was a daunting task for the five masters to cover all the Five Classics. Even for the relatively simpler "Four Books," Master Zhang had spent a full half-year lecturing at a rapid pace.

Fortunately, the academy only required students in the lower hall to "grasp the general principles of the Five Classics"—meaning a broad understanding of the basic content, core ideologies, and academic schools of thought. It did not require the rote memorization and deep analysis of the full texts and commentaries as the "Four Books" had.

The goal was to provide students with a general overview, allowing them to choose one classic as their specialization for in-depth study in the coming year—what was known as "specializing in one classic."

However, this did not mean the next half-year would be easy, as Master Zhang would continue to lead them in the intensive study of the "Four Books" every afternoon. This round of study focused on Zhu Xi's *Questions and Answers on the Four Books*. Spanning thirty-nine volumes, the work was written by Zhu Xi to address doubts in the study of the Four Books, providing supplementary explanations for difficult points in his own *Collected Commentaries*. It was essentially a reference book for a reference book.

Yet, the monthly examinations for the rest of the year would still focus solely on the Four Books. In fact, the study of the Four Books would persist throughout a student's entire academic career. Though no one would admit it, everyone knew that the first, most important session of the imperial examinations consisted entirely of questions from the Four Books. For scholars, the Four Books were the foundation, and one could never afford to neglect them.

~~

Because it was a general knowledge course, the morning session on the *Classic of Changes* was held as a joint lecture for all three halls.

After the recent weeding-out process, only forty students remained. Forty people in one lecture hall was not too crowded. The master teaching the *Classic of Changes* was the white-haired Master Zhu, who began by bluntly telling his disciples that he would be the one teaching the intensive course next year, so he hoped they would listen well and choose his class at the end of the term.

Of course, the choice was mutual; if anyone was inattentive or performed poorly, he would certainly not accept them into his specialization.

After finishing, Master Zhu began: "The *Classic of Changes* is the head of all classics, the book of established teachings!"

The students exchanged glances, thinking to themselves, *Is Su’s four-character opening style becoming contagious? How did the Master even learn to speak like that?*

"It is divided into two parts: the *Classic* and the *Commentary*. The former consists of the hexagrams and line statements of the sixty-four hexagrams, which can be used for divination. The *Commentary* contains ten essays explaining the hexagram and line statements, collectively known as the 'Ten Wings,' traditionally attributed to Confucius."

The students, who hadn't taken it seriously at first, suddenly perked up. One raised his hand and asked, "Master, once we learn the *Classic of Changes*, will we be able to tell fortunes?"

"Certainly," Master Zhu replied blandly. "But we scholars do not study the *Classic of Changes* for divination. We study it as a classic for governing the state and cultivating the self. We pursue its principles and wisdom; do not abandon the roots to chase the branches."

"Yes, the disciple will take the Master's teaching to heart," the student replied, sitting down in shame.

Master Zhu then officially began the lecture:

"We shall now discuss the first hexagram, the Qian hexagram. Qian represents Heaven; it is Qian above and Qian below."

"The Image says: 'The movement of heaven is full of power; the superior man makes himself strong and untiring.' 'Hidden dragon, do not act,' means the yang energy is below. 'All day long, the superior man is creatively active,' implies the cycle of the Way. 'Might leap in the deep,' means there is no blame in advancing. 'Flying dragon in the heavens,' means the Great Man is active. 'Dragon in the high place will have cause to repent,' means fullness cannot last long. 'Use of nines,' means the virtue of heaven cannot be made the head..."

Master Zhu recited the first hexagram with rhythmic cadence, then began to explain it clearly, following Zhu Xi's annotations. Master Zhu’s level of scholarship was remarkably high, rendering the obscure and difficult *Classic of Changes* fascinating, and the students were soon completely engrossed.

~~

Before they knew it, the hour of the Horse (noon) arrived, and the cloud-patterned clapper in the courtyard rang out. Master Zhu took off his spectacles, closed his book, and announced the end of the class.

The students rose to express their gratitude and see the Master out. But Master Zhu did not get up; instead, he waved his hand and said, "Go and eat."

"Yes," the students replied, filing out one by one.

Su Lu walked to the podium and bowed deeply to Master Zhu.

"Hahaha..." Master Zhu stroked his goatee and laughed happily. "You still remember this old man?"

"Yes, I will never forget it," Su Lu said respectfully. He would never forget the dramatic turn of events on the day he took the entrance exam, nor would he forget the old master who had inscribed his name on a gift pen and encouraged him.

"Heh, I haven't forgotten you either. Back then, I saw you were clever, handsome, and mature for your age—I knew at a glance you were a good child." Master Zhu looked at Su Lu with gratification. "Not bad, not bad. It’s been over half a year, and you’ve grown taller and fairer, and more importantly, you've progressed from the bottom of the list to the very first!"

"It is all thanks to the Master's encouragement back then," Su Lu said with a smile.

"Hahaha, I told you, having your name fall to the ground was an auspicious omen, didn't I? Now you believe me? You will certainly pass the examinations in the future!" The old master leaned in close to his ear and whispered mysteriously, "Do you know? When I heard you took first place in last month's exam, I thought it was incredibly magical. So, I went to look at the blank wall where the results were posted, and guess what?"

"What happened?" Su Lu played along.

"All the other names were gone, but your name was still there, clearly visible on the wall!" Master Zhu said with great gravity. "How about that? Does that mean something?"

"Is it perhaps because my name was written on the wall with the Master's pen, while the others were written on paper?" Su Lu offered a rigorous deduction.

"..." Master Zhu, not expecting the youth to be so grounded, had no choice but to nod. "Yes, after the wind and rain of spring and summer, that red notice is long gone. So, only your name remains—this is a great, auspicious sign!"

"Indeed. But does the Master have any further instruction?" Su Lu asked, puzzled. He had eaten at 5:00 AM and was now starving.

"What I mean is, come study the *Classic of Changes* with me, lad!" Master Zhu finally revealed his true intent. "There are destined patterns in the dark that bind us together. This is Heaven telling you to study the *Changes*!"