The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

Jiang Lin strolled into the courtyard, where Su Shi was gazing at the bright moon, nodding his head and holding a small wine pot.

"When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky... Ah, it always feels like something's missing." Su Shi smacked his lips and tilted his head back to take a swig of wine.

Jiang Lin leaned forward, snatched the wine pot without hesitation, and took a big gulp.

"Zizhan, why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night, and instead of expressing your feelings to the moon?" After saying that, he stuffed the wine pot back into Su Shi's arms.

Su Shi's inspiration was interrupted, but he wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and said, "Headmaster, the moonlight over Taihu Lake is absolutely stunning. I was inspired to write a poem about it, but I just can't seem to get it right."

"What's missing? A woman!" Jiang Lin got straight to the point, pulling Su Shi to sit down on a stone bench in the courtyard and decisively getting to the point.

Su Shi blushed and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Headmaster, please don't tease me. I'm currently focused on government affairs and writing, I don't have time for such romantic pursuits."

Jiang Lin stared at him, then began to earnestly paint a rosy picture: "Zizhan, broaden your horizons! What did the ancients say? Cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. Look at you, you're a prefect, you've written countless masterpieces—that's what you call a fully-fledged public servant. But when you go home, there's not even anyone to fuss over you or offer you a hot towel. Is that appropriate?"

Su Shi scratched his head and sighed, "Headmaster, to be honest, when I was in Bianjing, my family also urged me to get married. But I thought those women were too vulgar, only concerned with daily necessities, and we couldn't understand poetry and literature at all. If I were to settle down with someone I had no chemistry with, I'd rather stay single and be safe."

"Slap!" Jiang Lin slapped his thigh. "You've hit the nail on the head! You're a top influencer in our Great Song Dynasty, how could ordinary women be worthy of you? You need to find a soulmate! She has to be a talented woman, the kind who can share romantic moments with you under the moon and flowers, adding fragrance to your life!"

Su Shi gave a wry smile: "Such a gem is hard to find even with a lantern."

"How could it be hard to find? It's right here, even though it's not far away!" Jiang Lin lowered his voice and leaned closer mysteriously. "What do you think of that Lu family's eldest daughter, Lu Mingyue, from earlier today?"

Su Shi froze for two seconds, then shook his head violently, "No, no, no! Headmaster, are you crazy? That was specially ordered by Master Lu to be given to you! I, Su Shi, am an upright man, how could I do something like this, stealing the headmaster's place? If word gets out, how will I ever face anyone again?"

Jiang Lin's face hardened, and he instantly switched into his dramatic persona: "Zizhan, you're being too polite! What do you mean by 'stealing someone'? I, Jiang Lin, have always been unrestrained and free-spirited, and I hate those ridiculous rules of wealthy families. If I really became a son-in-law of the Lu family, being watched every day would be worse than death for me! I don't have even the slightest improper thoughts about that Miss Lu."

Su Shi asked with some skepticism, "Headmaster, you really don't like it?"

"Swear!" Jiang Lin raised three fingers, then abruptly changed his tone, applying maximum pressure. "But you need to understand the situation, Zizhan! The Lu family is desperately insisting on a marriage alliance. What are they after? They want to tie our academy and your government office to the same boat. If I were to flip the table, that old man Lu would destroy us in court in a heartbeat. That old fox Cai Jing is just looking for an excuse to get rid of you! Do you want to see all our hard work in Jiangnan go to waste?"

Su Shi frowned deeply: "Then... does that mean that for the sake of the greater good, we have to wrong the headmaster?"

"I'm not aggrieved, you're the one who should be aggrieved this time!" Jiang Lin patted Su Shi's shoulder heavily, his tone extremely tragic. "Zizhan! You're an official of the imperial court, far superior to me, a mere commoner; in terms of talent, you're the pinnacle of the Song Dynasty. If you marry Lu Mingyue, the Lu family will have absolutely no complaints! Besides, she's a great talent herself, guaranteed to understand your poetry. This isn't a blind date, this is a marriage for the country, a sacrifice for the academy! The future of the Song Dynasty rests on your decision tonight!"

Su Shi was completely fooled by this combination of "national righteousness" tactics.

He had already been somewhat fond of Lu Mingyue's aloof and scholarly air, but now that Jiang Linyi had elevated her to an even higher level, he felt that if he didn't marry her, he would be a sinner for all time in the Song Dynasty.

"But...would Old Master Lu agree to this trick of substituting one thing for another?" Su Shi swallowed hard, his heart pounding.

"Don't worry about that! As long as you agree, I'll handle things with the old man." Seeing the fish take the bait, Jiang Lin quickly reeled it in. "Tomorrow, don't do anything else but prepare your best poetry. Give her a cultural crushing victory! If you can impress Miss Lu with your talent, half the battle is won!"

Su Shi took a deep breath, stood up straight, and bowed deeply to Jiang Lin.

"Since the headmaster is making such a strategic decision, for the sake of the bigger picture, the students will do it!"

Jiang Lin inwardly burst into laughter, but outwardly wore a look of fatherly satisfaction as he solemnly helped Su Shi up: "Good! As expected of the pride of our great academy, you've shown responsibility! Go back to sleep now, get plenty of rest, and tomorrow we'll see you dominate the field!"

Watching Su Shi walk back to his room as if he had been injected with chicken blood, Jiang Lin let out a long sigh of relief.

This perfect replacement is all set. Now, the next blind date is just a matter of how to set up a stage for this top disciple to put on a show.