Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 647 A Lesson Learned While It Was

Master Li has been somewhat lax lately.

In less than two days it will be the new moon, which is the Dragon Boat Festival.

The students in the academy were already distracted, whispering among themselves in twos and threes, discussing the calamus wine and five-colored silk prepared at home.

The old scholar stroked his white beard, squinted at the deepening greenery outside the window, and thought: "Enough, at this time of year, who would have the mind to read?"
His later years were quite difficult, and now he only wishes to spend more time playing with his grandson. In any case, there aren't many students at Jintian Academy who are actually going to take the imperial examinations.

The teaching duties can be left to the new teaching assistant.

Thinking of that old teaching assistant, who was both shaking his head and smug, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

What a prestigious title—a disciple of Yu Gong of Jintian Academy, and former prefect of Dongye County. Elsewhere, such a figure would be treated as an honored guest. But Qiantang is a place teeming with hidden talents, where even the prefect must bow his head.

When the old master first heard that Xu Xuan had recommended this person, he was quite apprehensive, fearing that he might be a difficult character.

When the real person arrived—ha, he was just a pedantic scholar, even worse than Song Youde of the county government, whom they could manipulate at will.

Within a few days, this teaching assistant, Zhou, had a major falling out with the students.

Jintian Academy was originally a place where rich kids could just coast along, with a lax academic atmosphere. How could they possibly withstand his strict discipline?

Unfortunately, Zhou Ju was a stubborn man. When he saw that his students were not convinced, he even brought up the "way of sages" to reprimand them, which caused the whole room to burst into laughter.

"You brat, you brat!" He was furious, his face turning ashen, yet utterly helpless.

He wanted to assert his official authority, but he was now a commoner; he wanted to invoke the name of his teacher, Mr. Yu, but he felt ashamed. In the end, he could only slam his fist on the lesson plan, causing the ink in the inkstone to splash out.

Finally, he realized that he had no means to deal with the situation. Was he also so incompetent in the way of teaching?

The old master appeared at the right moment, smiling and advising, "Mr. Zhou, in the end, one must know how to 'harmonize with the light' in order to 'embrace yin and yang'; and 'mingle with the dust' in order to adapt to the circumstances."

A classic reborn!

It's just different from Xu Xuan's attitude of superficial respect but actually making crazy modifications based on the situation.

Zhou Ju immediately lost his temper: "I have always upheld integrity and uprightness under my master's tutelage! These fallacies of the Daoist school about conforming to the world should not be used to mislead young people!" With that, he turned and left, seemingly unwilling to share a room with this old geezer.

The old master wasn't angry. Although Instructor Zhou seemed very angry, it was hard to say how much of it came from his heart and how much from his outward expression.

Having been adept at social maneuvering his entire life, his discerning eye is no joke.

He even noticed some clues when Xu Xuan first started to become abnormal, and made the most worthwhile investment of his life, instantly gaining the friendship of the Holy Father. This ability is terrifying.

He had seen many stubborn middle-aged men like Zhou Ju who were all bark and no bite.

They study hard, but they don't cultivate morality or reason.

Being a hermit and taking care of oneself is fine, but being a manager is definitely not an option, and even teaching is done so poorly.

"What a pity," the old scholar muttered to himself, gazing in the direction Zhou Ju had gone. "He's studied so much he's forgotten how to be a decent human being, and yet he can't change his external circumstances."

That night, Zhou Ju sat alone in a side room of the academy, staring blankly at a solitary lamp.

The sound of the Qiantang River tide, sometimes near, sometimes far, drifted in and out of the window, much like the fluctuating emotions of my heart. A copy of the *Chu Ci* lay open on the table, the ink still fresh on the page containing the *Li Sao*.

After falling into the lowest point in his life and taking a few more punches, it's impossible to say there were no changes.

"Am I really wrong?"

Zhou Ju, caught in self-doubt, felt even more melancholy the next day. Looking at the listless students below, he wanted to get angry but was too lazy to do so.

Seeing the streets outside gradually becoming more lively only fueled his resentment, as he felt the holiday was utterly tasteless.

The more I thought about it, the more agitated I became, so I simply picked up my brush and wrote a poem entitled "Lamenting Qu Yuan on the Dragon Boat Festival":
Soon, a poem commemorating Qu Yuan, full of craftsmanship, was written.

"The river roars, weeping for the loyal souls; the mugwort leaves rustle, stained with tears. How could they emulate those who vie for rice dumplings? They alone leave behind their pure integrity to illuminate the world."

At this time, the Dragon Boat Festival customs commemorating Qu Yuan were not yet fully established, but his patriotism and noble character had already earned people's admiration.

Therefore, some literati and poets would create poems and songs during the Dragon Boat Festival to express their remembrance and reminiscence.

The crooked tree wrote poetry to express its aspirations, because it felt that it had a certain spiritual resonance with Qu Yuan.

They all harbored great ambitions, but unfortunately, they were unlucky and ended up living in obscurity on the banks of the Qiantang River.

Just as I was brewing my grief and indignation, I saw the person I least wanted to see—that "other people's child." Although I wanted to avoid him, my "crooked-necked tree" instinct kicked in, and I stood frozen in place as if I hadn't seen him at all.

Xu Xuan was much more enthusiastic, as this was a continuous quest item for winning over Yu Gong.

Moreover, he has such a magnanimous heart; he has almost forgotten about the events in Dongye County.

So when they meet, they just wave goodbye.

"Brother Zhou."

"How are you doing in Qiantang?" "I'll treat you to a meal sometime."

Their enthusiasm made the other person feel uncomfortable, and they went on to express things like:
“I must speak to Yu Gong about how such a talented person is being wasted teaching at Jintian Academy.”

"If Yu Gong disagrees, we still have Chongqi Academy."

In short, the feeling was refreshing and pleasant, without any of the arrogance described in the letter. There was also no awareness of being a mastermind behind the scenes, as if the exile of the other person wasn't something they had instigated.

Zhou Ju hesitated for a moment. Could it be that he had misunderstood him?

But when the other person looked at the table, my heart skipped a beat. Oh no!

Unfortunately, it was too late; Xu Xuan had already seen the poems on the table.

"Brother Zhou, what a refined taste you have!"

With a tremor of his hand, a drop of ink fell onto the two characters "innocence," spreading into a stain.

"What brings Instructor Xu here?" Zhou Ju asked coldly, deliberately emphasizing the word "instructor".

Xu Xuan was not annoyed, but instead came over to look at his poems.

Good grief, you think you can empathize with Qu Yuan? Do you even deserve it?
Since that's the case, let me teach you a lesson.

"Ahem, I must say, you do bear a resemblance to Qu Yuan." The Father's sigh went straight to the heart.

Zhou Ju's heart skipped a beat, and before he could even feel smug, he heard Xu Xuan leisurely recite:

“Promote the virtuous and appoint the capable, and follow the rules without deviation.”

“Select people with talent and virtue, give important positions to people with ability, and follow the law without any deviation or error.”

"Brother Zhou's adherence to the law is commendable."

Zhou Ju felt a pang of anxiety, because he only met half of the criteria in this sentence. Even though he was quite confident in his talent and virtue at the beginning, he felt somewhat ashamed after calming down.

Fortunately, Xu Xuan only mentioned the second half of the sentence and never mentioned the first half. I wonder what he meant by that. Could it be that he did it on purpose?
Afterwards, the Holy Father also had an in-depth exchange with him about Qu Yuan's "The craftsmanship of the times is indeed skillful, deviating from the rules and making mistakes. They turn their backs on the plumb line to pursue crookedness, competing to be accommodating as the standard." "Clear the doubts about the law, the country is rich and strong and the law is established, and loyal ministers are appointed daily." and so on.

Each time, only the part that the two had in common was affirmed, while the part that was not achieved was not mentioned at all.

On the contrary, it made those things that weren't done resonate even more deeply with people, like poisonous thorns piercing their hearts.

What was meant as a compliment ended up sounding like a lack of talent, inflexibility, neglect of farming, and being a mere figurehead.

After Zhou Ju realized what was happening, his face turned red with anger.

After reading so many classic texts, you've figured out how to curse people?
And you even put on an act of criticizing me on behalf of Qu Yuan, how inhuman!

I'm just bad at talking, and after thinking for a long time I still couldn't come up with a way to fight back. I was so angry that my blood vessels were bulging. I made up my mind that if I ever paid any more attention to this despicable person, I'd be a dog.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan knew the time was right, so he immediately changed the subject.

"Didn't Master Li tell you about blending in with the world?"

"Hmph!" Zhou Ju snorted and decided to remain silent, letting this guy perform a one-man show.

“He said the same thing to me.” Xu Xuan said with a nostalgic expression.

"Hmph!" The crooked-necked tree sneered inwardly, thinking, "They're birds of a feather!"
"Do you think I listened to this advice?"

"Hmph! He must have listened, otherwise how could he stir up trouble in Jiangnan at such a young age!" Zhou Ju finally lost his composure, revealing a disdainful expression as he vented his anger.

(End of this chapter)