The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Such outrageous words naturally caused the air outside the Confucius Temple to suddenly freeze.

Wang Xuance and Lu Erlang looked at the young man sitting beside them with a wide smile, utterly astonished.

The gazes of the other students naturally followed theirs and focused on the young man's face.

"Who dares to utter such arrogant words!"

Kong Zhixuan, the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy sitting next to Kong Yingda, was about to stand up and reprimand him sternly.

"How dare you slander the imperial court..."

Her sleeve tightened as her father pulled her from behind.

Kong Zhixuan turned around and saw his father, Kong Yingda, with a twitching mouth and clutching a tuft of white beard he had accidentally plucked earlier. He said to him:

"Zhixuan, don't be reckless."

"This is Li Xiang, the grandson of the emperor."

"He is Li..."

This was the first time Kong Zhixuan had ever seen his father in such a distraught state.

Li Xiang, the grandson of the emperor, is the protagonist of the infamous incident at Furong Garden that has been making headlines in Chang'an these past few days, and a figure who has repeatedly damaged the reputation of the Kong family.

He had heard this name more than once in his father's unconscious murmurs.

So, he was just a young man?

He was somewhat puzzled by his father's caution and apprehension, but he restrained himself and did not get up to refute the young man.

The courtyard was already quiet, and although Kong Yingda's whisper was not loud, it clearly reached the ears of the students around him.

Upon hearing that the person spouting these outrageous words was none other than the infamous and rebellious imperial grandson Li Xiang, the crowd erupted in uproar, with low gasps of surprise rising and falling.

The students who were originally sitting near Li Xiang looked surprised and subconsciously stepped aside to avoid him.

Wang Xuance and Lu Zhaolin were also greatly shocked, staring at the young man beside them in disbelief, their minds in turmoil, unsure of what to say.

The students of the Imperial Academy mostly came from prominent families, and many of them had attended the elegant gathering at Furong Garden and had long heard how unorthodox and rebellious the words of this imperial grandson were.

At this moment, Li Xiang suddenly appeared at the Confucius Temple in the Imperial Academy, and publicly denounced the imperial examination system and the long-standing problems of Confucianism to Yingda. Everyone had the same thought in their minds:

Could this grandson of the emperor have come here on purpose to seek revenge against the Chancellor of Confucius once again?

"Your Highness, have you come to settle a personal score with me?"

Sure enough, Kong Yingda thought so too. He let out a long sigh, stroked his long beard, and made a helpless expression.

"The Imperial Academy is the place where the nation cultivates talents. Since Your Highness dislikes me, why did you come here specifically and take your anger out on our Imperial Academy?"

"As His Highness has reached this point, I, as his tutor, am indeed responsible for my inadequate guidance."

"If Your Highness wishes to vent your anger, I will go to Longqing Ward another day to apologize to His Highness the Crown Prince, and I will let Your Highness insult me."

This statement avoided the real issue, and Li Xiang rolled his eyes after hearing it.

His casual and rude behavior immediately angered a young man from a prominent family who had just passed the imperial examination.

The young man stood up straight, his face filled with righteous indignation. He bowed to Kong Yingda, then turned to look directly at Li Xiang, his tone stern:

"The imperial grandson, relying on his imperial status, previously humiliated the Grand Master of Ceremonies at the Hibiscus Garden. Now he has even come to the Imperial Academy, spouting wild words and making irresponsible remarks about the nation's education. Every word is piercing to the heart; he is clearly fabricating accusations to frame the Grand Master of Ceremonies!"

"The Grand Master of Ceremonies is kind-hearted and considerate of the royal family's dignity, unwilling to stoop to the level of a junior, and has already yielded to this extent. Yet the imperial grandson continues to press on and refuses to give up. Does he perhaps intend to use his status as an imperial grandson to intimidate the three thousand scholars of our Imperial Academy and wantonly humiliate the Confucian masters?"

"Your Highness, you must know that the students of our Imperial Academy uphold the sacred teachings and study the classics diligently. They possess the integrity of scholars and will never yield to power!"

"Well said!"

"That's right! We, the students of the Imperial Academy, will not allow anyone to arbitrarily insult the Confucian community!"

The students from prominent families around him echoed his sentiments, their emotions running high. They all stood up and raised their heads, their eyes fixed on Li Xiang, their expressions filled with a sense of shared hatred for the enemy.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the outer courtyard of the Confucius Temple became increasingly tense, as if if Li Xiang uttered even half a word, it would draw unanimous criticism from all the students present.

The Imperial Academy is the main base of Confucianism throughout the land!

Kong Yingda was a renowned Confucian scholar with an outstanding reputation throughout the country!

Even though there were some criticisms of Kong Yingda among the common people, his reputation in the Imperial Academy, which had been established for many years, remained as high as the sun!

As soon as someone took the lead in condemning him, almost in the blink of an eye, Li Xiang was like a lone, helpless boat, swept up by the surging waves of criticism and completely plunged into the denunciation and questioning of a whole host of officials.

Upon seeing this, Kong Yingda on the high platform had a hint of smugness in his eyes, but he still maintained a pained and helpless expression on his face, and raised his hand to urge others to calm down: "Fellow students, please calm down and do not be disrespectful to the imperial grandson."

While verbally offering advice, he tacitly approved of the students' denunciations, subtly using the momentum of the three thousand students of the Imperial Academy to frame Li Xiang as someone who bullies others and insults the Confucian community.

Beside Li Xiang, Wang Xuance silently moved aside, his brows furrowing in silence.

He looked at Li Xiang, the handsome grandson of the emperor, who was being protected by the guard with a sword behind him.

But to my surprise, I saw that the other person seemed to be... spacing out? Distracted?

Having been worldly-wise for many years and having struggled in the Imperial Academy before finally succeeding, Wang Xuance was extremely confident in his ability to read people.

He was quite certain that the smiling grandson of the emperor was daydreaming.

He completely ignored what these people were saying to him!

After the students' indignant rebukes gradually subsided, Li Xiang snapped his fingers and straightened up.

The casual smile on his face vanished, his eyes calm and unwavering. He swept over the student who had spoken earlier, then over the clamoring crowd of scholars, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

"Are you finished talking?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a penetrating calmness that instantly silenced the remaining noise around him.

"Have I asked your name yet?" Li Xiang looked at the student who had spoken first and asked with a gentle smile.

"Does the imperial grandson intend to coerce me? A true man does not change his name. I am Zheng Jingzhi of Xingyang!" The scholar straightened his neck, his face full of righteousness.

"The Zheng family of Xingyang is one of the five prominent families and seven renowned clans. I have long admired them," Li Xiang praised, seemingly completely unaware of Zheng Jingzhi's hostility towards him.

"May I ask which school you, Brother Zheng, belong to? And what category did you take the imperial examination for today?"

"...I am a student of the Imperial Academy, and I have passed the Mingjing examination this year." Zheng Jingzhi was a little confused, wondering what Li Xiang was up to.

But one shouldn't hit a smiling face, so he answered instinctively.

"Oh, the Mingjing Department!" Li Xiang smiled, looking completely harmless.

"Your Excellency has passed the imperial examination with distinction in the classics; your understanding of their meaning must far surpass that of others!"

"...I wouldn't dare, it was just a fluke." Zheng Jingzhi replied cautiously, his face showing suspicion.

"Hehe, it was indeed a stroke of luck." Li Xiang suddenly straightened up.

"The only way to get into the Imperial Academy is for the sons of officials of the fifth rank or above. You were born into a good family and were fortunate enough to get into the Imperial Academy."

"According to the system, the Imperial Academy has always given priority to candidates from the Imperial College, the National Academy, and the three schools of the Four Gates. The three schools of law, calligraphy, and mathematics for commoners are all untraceable."

"You were lucky enough to pass the Mingjing exam by relying on your family's scholarship and memorization. You were lucky enough to take advantage of the system and enjoy all the benefits of being a member of the aristocratic family."

"Further explanation of the classics: the focus is on copying the classics and memorizing their meanings. The exam tests rote memorization and does not involve current affairs, consideration of advantages and disadvantages, or exploration of the principles of governance."

"This method of selecting officials first excludes those from poor families, and then lowers the difficulty of the examinations, thus opening the door wide for the gentry."

"Those who can only recite scriptures and pass the imperial examinations think themselves superior and arbitrarily criticize others!"

"Now you stand here talking about the integrity of scholars, and immediately accuse me of abusing my power and insulting great Confucian scholars?"

"You, a mere scholar who passed the imperial examinations, dare to challenge me?"