Top Scholar

Chapter 161 Searching for Him a Thousand Times

When Zhu Zhang returned from seeing off his guests, Su Lu finally met the third master of the Zhu family, whose name was only one character shorter than that of the current emperor.

He had a full forehead, a square jaw, sharply defined cheeks, and prominent, chiseled brow bones. His phoenix eyes were slightly upturned at the corners, and his gaze was as sharp as lightning!
Zhu Zihe whispered, "Someone visited the Shu Prince's Mansion and saw the portrait of the founding emperor. They said my third uncle looks remarkably like him..."

Good heavens, Su Lu thought to himself, it's a pity that the Ming Dynasty doesn't make TV dramas, what a waste of a character actor.

He showed no fear of the 'Emperor Taizu' and stepped forward, bowing deeply, saying, "Student Su Lu greets Master Gangshan!"

"Come in," Zhu Zhang said, glancing at him. His voice was as firm as metal.

~~
After entering the room, Su Lu bowed again and apologized, saying, "I should have come to become your disciple before the New Year. Unfortunately, I was caught up in official business by the county magistrate and finished my duties at the end of the year, so I only came to Luzhou after the New Year. Please forgive me, sir."

"You're not working hard enough! Is the New Year more important, or your studies? With this attitude, I think you shouldn't even bother studying." Zhu Zhang snorted coldly, even his fiery temper was very similar to that of the founding emperor.

"Yes, sir, you are right. I know I was wrong." Su Lu replied honestly, without arguing further.

“Third Uncle, didn’t Huang Bingxian tell you that Hejiang is busy suppressing bandits during the New Year? It’s chaotic and war-torn, how can you expect him to come?” Zhu Zihe spoke up for Su Lu.

“There are no uncles and nephews in class, only teachers and students!” Zhu Zhang glared at him and said, “If you call someone by the wrong name again, you’ll have to stand and listen to the lesson.”

"Huh? Class is starting already?" Zhu Zihe asked in surprise.

"If you don't want to go, then get out." Zhu Zhang didn't tolerate him at all.

"Yes, sir." Zhu Zihe was now obedient.

"To study the rites, one must first know and abide by them, and punctuality is the most basic requirement." Zhu Zhang then said to Su Lu, "If it weren't for Huang Bingxian telling me that there was a war going on where you were, and the saying 'the times are not uniform,' I wouldn't be seeing you today."

"Yes, I won't dare to do it again. I will definitely be punctual from now on." Su Lu's attitude was extremely upright. He had been a teacher before and knew how to appease a teacher...

However, this gentleman had an exceptionally strong temper, and he snorted coldly:

"Don't rush to call yourself a student. Although Lao Jiu recommended you, I haven't decided whether to accept you or not."

“Uncle…Sir,” Zhu Zihe hurriedly defended Su Lu, saying, “Brother Hongzhi is truly the best in our academy! He is exceptionally gifted, quick-witted and eager to learn. He will surely be able to explore the mysteries of the Book of Rites and rectify its traditions. How could he not achieve success?”

Fearing that Zhu Zhang would find fault with them again, they were forced to use classical Chinese.

“Mastering the Four Books doesn’t necessarily mean you can master the Book of Rites. The Book of Rites is completely different from the Four Books and the other Four Classics,” Zhu Zhang replied in a deep voice. This wasn’t because he had any prejudice against Su Lu.

“Please test me, sir,” Su Lu said through gritted teeth.

"You don't understand anything now, what's the point of testing you?" Zhu Zhang said irritably. "Study with me for a while first, and I will decide based on your performance."

"Yes!" Su Lu replied happily. This meant that Mr. Gangshan was just eccentric, but not as prone to causing trouble as the headmaster.

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's begin the lesson," Zhu Zhang said in a deep voice.

"Ah, the student didn't bring his books." Now it was Su Lu's turn to be dumbfounded. This was too sudden! He came to become an apprentice, not to attend class.

"You come to my place without bringing any books? What are you even doing attending classes?!" Zhu Zhang raised a thick eyebrow, about to explode again.

"The students don't know what books to bring..." Su Lu said helplessly.

"You may not know about other things, but don't you know about the *Xiaodai Liji*?" Zhu Zhang said coldly.

"There's really no need to bring the 'Xiaodai Liji' (a book on rites), since I've already memorized it." In a short while, Su Lu had figured out how to get along with Mr. Zhu—just be straightforward with this kind of professional scholar who doesn't care about social niceties.

Going in circles is not only tiring, but it will also annoy him.

"Such arrogance," Mr. Zhu sneered. "Even if you can recite it from memory, can you keep up if I jump around while explaining it?"

"Teacher, just say which chapter and section, and I can recite it from memory," Su Lu said confidently.

"Then recite Chapter Thirteen," Zhu Zhang said, also wanting to test his abilities.

"The emperor's jade robes had twelve tassels, extending far and wide before and after, and were used for sacrifices. He wore a black cap and faced the sun outside the east gate, and listened to the new moon outside the south gate. In the intercalary month, he closed the left door of the gate and stood inside. He wore a leather cap and attended court at sunrise, then ate his meal. He ate at midday, and then presented a farewell feast..."

“I’m asking you to memorize the ninth section,” Zhu Zhang said again.

"In the morning, wear a black robe; in the evening, a deep robe. The deep robe has three layers, sewn neatly, with the front facing the side and the sleeves able to be turned up to the elbow..."

“The tenth section of ‘Special Sacrifice in the Suburbs’,” Zhu Zhang said again.

"The Emperor's Great Waxing Sacrifice is the eighth. The Yiqi clan was the first to perform the Waxing Sacrifice. Waxing means 'to gather'. In the twelfth month of the year, all things are gathered together to offer sacrifices. In the Waxing Sacrifice, the chief priest first offers sacrifices, and then the officiant offers sacrifices." Su Lu immediately recited.

Zhu Zhang then randomly selected a few passages to test, and Su Lu recited them fluently and without any hesitation, proving that he really didn't need to bring the book anymore.

"Hmm. It seems this year's holiday wasn't wasted too much." Zhu Zhang's expression softened slightly, and he raised his evaluation of the student a little. "Yes, I recite it every day, and I even recited a passage on the ship this morning," Su Lu said frankly.

He didn't have a moment's rest during this holiday; besides teaching phonetics, he was also memorizing texts... In fact, from the day he decided to study the Book of Rites, Su Lu began to memorize the Lesser Dai Book of Rites.

Because no matter who you study under, this book is a basic textbook, and you can't go wrong if you memorize it.

With the help of his second brother's snoring, he had already memorized the entire book and categorized it according to the 'palace memory method'. Whenever he thought of a chapter or section, his mind would automatically transport him to the corresponding wall.

On the walls of that spiritual palace hung banana leaf paper, on which were recorded all the contents of the "Xiao Dai Li Ji" (Book of Rites by Dai the Younger)...

~~
After checking Su Lu's understanding, Zhu Zhang began the first lesson without any transition.

Just then, the pageboy brought Zhu Zihe's books and stationery, giving Su Lu a set of writing brushes and ink, and a blank workbook. He whispered, "Now you know why I urged you to come, right? The old man has such a short temper; he'd be worried to death if you hadn't come..."

Su Lu nodded slightly, opened his notebook, picked up his pen, and listened attentively to the teacher's lecture.

"Our Confucian school has three rites: the Rites of Zhou, the Etiquette and Ceremonial, and the Book of Rites. The Rites of Zhou is the first of the three rites, which records the political system of the Zhou Dynasty in terms of the establishment of officials and the division of duties. The Etiquette and Ceremonial details the ceremonies of coming-of-age, marriage, funeral, sacrifice, court audience, and betrothal. The Book of Rites is an explanation and elaboration of the former two."

"These three elements form a system of 'systems, rituals, and principles,' rather than being subordinate to each other. Scholars studying the *Book of Rites* should approach all three simultaneously, without neglecting any one of them. In specific studies, the order is exactly reversed: first study the *Book of Rites* to understand its meaning; then study the *Book of Etiquette* to practice the rituals; and finally study the *Rites of Zhou* to understand its system..."

"So today we'll start by talking about how to study the Book of Rites..."

After listening for about half an hour, Su Lu sensed a stark difference from previous classes. He wasn't sure if this was typical of the classical studies phase or just Mr. Zhu's personal teaching style, but the information density was extremely high; there wasn't a single wasted word, and missing even one sentence could lead to misunderstanding…

You need to be highly focused throughout, with your hands, brain, and ears all working at lightning speed to keep up...

~~
Meanwhile, the military affairs office of Xuzhou and Luzhou.

The Military Commissioner was first established during the Hongxi era. It was originally intended to address the issue of military officers being unfamiliar with written language. Civil officials were sent to various military commands to organize documents and discuss confidential matters, thus pioneering the participation of civil officials in military affairs.

Following the Tumu Crisis, civil officials gained complete control of the central military power, and the military circuits became a crucial tool for them to control local military power, being established nationwide. Their main responsibilities were to regulate local military affairs, including managing the army, finances, land reclamation, and training within their jurisdiction.

In addition, the military circuit commanders were also responsible for commanding military units within their jurisdiction, suppressing refugees, and apprehending thieves—duties that originally fell under the jurisdiction of the provincial military commissioners. This significantly weakened the power of the provincial military commissioners and strengthened the control of civil officials over the military garrisons.

For example, the Xuzhou-Luzhou Military Circuit Commander governed Luzhou, Xuzhou, and the three garrisons and one Pacification Commissioner's Office. Basically, the Sichuan Provincial Military Commander had little to do with it...

Therefore, if Magistrate Lu wanted to use the army to suppress the bandits, he not only had to report to the prefecture, but also to the military commissioner.

At the end of last year, he came to Luzhou again for this purpose, specifically to consult the prefect, and obtained permission to report directly to Huang Bingxian.

So as soon as the bandit suppression was successful, he rushed to the Daotai's office to report.

Because it was during the Lunar New Year, Huang Bingxian was not in office. So after being informed, the gatekeeper led Magistrate Lu to the back residence.

"My master said that Magistrate Lu will be coming in the next few days. If he happens to be away, please ask him to wait a moment." The steward, having received instructions from Huang Bingxian, invited Magistrate Lu to the flower hall for tea.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the flower hall, Magistrate Lu quietly instructed Su Tai to wait outside while he went inside first.

He was too far below Huang Bingxian in rank to bring Su Tai directly to him. He needed permission first.

Su Tai waited patiently outside, but Huang Bingxian never returned.

Because he had been waiting for so long, Magistrate Lu unconsciously kept drinking tea, which made him feel the urge to urinate. However, fearing ridicule from Huang Bingxian's family, he held back from relieving himself, only to find his bladder becoming increasingly tight...

Sutai, on the other hand, had no adverse reactions other than his legs going numb from waiting.

After an unknown amount of time, Magistrate Lu was starting to see stars when he finally heard a hearty laugh coming from behind the screen…

Hearing the laughter from under the eaves, Su Tai knew that Huang Bingxian had finally returned. He quickly straightened up, took a deep breath, and adjusted his energy to its best.

Don't let his憨憨 (simple-minded) appearance fool you; he knows when to glare at you...

Just then, he suddenly heard a woman's exclamation from the end of the corridor: "Hey, it's you?!"

Upon hearing this, Su Tai turned his head in confusion and saw two unfamiliar girls standing under the corridor leading to the moon gate.

One of them looked somewhat familiar; it was the same woman who had called out earlier, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before.

"Me?" He pointed to his nose.

The girl was initially a little unsure, but upon hearing his unique self-designation, she no longer doubted him and exclaimed, "Yes, it's you! I've finally found you!"

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(End of this chapter)