Spiritual energy resurgence? My former empress wife has also revived!

Chu State, Shoushan County

When the sage arrived, the magistrate of Shoushan County, along with the people of the county, welcomed him back to his hometown.

Since Qin Zijun became famous, the name of the sage has spread far and wide, and Shoushan County, his hometown, has also received special treatment.

Although the magistrate of Shoushan County is still just a magistrate, his actual status is comparable to that of a prefect, just like the officials in the imperial city, whose positions are always one level higher than others.

The Qin clan members lined up on both sides, with elders leading children to pay homage to the sage.

Unbeknownst to her, Qin Zijun had also become a clan elder, and the one whose word was law in the clan.

Since Qin Zijun took office as the magistrate of Qingyang County at the age of seventeen, he has rarely returned to his hometown and has had little contact with his clansmen.

But even if Qin Zijun did nothing and did not treat her clansmen any differently.

The clansmen, who benefited from his influence, also enjoyed a certain privilege.

Those relatives and descendants who drove Qin Zijun out of the house and seized his property after his father's death are now marginalized members of the Qin family.

Those clansmen who maintained close ties with Qin Zijun after he left the Qin family have become prominent and influential families within the clan.

This wasn't something Qin Zijun did; it was a spontaneous rectification effort within the clan.

This is authority, this is the holy name. Qin Zijun doesn't need to do anything; everything and everyone revolves around his joy.

Qin Zijun refused her clansmen's offer to take her back to the Qin family mansion, and instead continued to live in the small courtyard she had previously purchased.

Perhaps after I pass away, this place will also become the former residence of a sage.

He inwardly mocked himself.

We rested for a day in Shoushan County.

The following day, Qin Zijun and Wang Shu, accompanied by many disciples, county officials, and members of the Qin family, went to offer incense to their father.

That place was also different from Qin Zijun's past memories.

The ancestral land of the Qin family was completely renovated, and a temple was built there, where all the ancestors of the Qin family were enshrined.

Qin Zijun took Wang Shu on a journey through this familiar yet unfamiliar hometown, with the county magistrate by their side.

"Is the Moon-Viewing Festival still celebrated in the county?"

Qin Zijun arrived at the altar where the moon goddess was once worshipped and asked a question.

"In response to Your Majesty, the Moon-Viewing Festival is now as important as the New Year in the county. Every year on the Moon-Viewing Festival, every household comes to worship the Moon Goddess."

"Besides the locals, many people from other prefectures and counties in Gangbuk Province also come to Shousan to celebrate the festival together. It's a very lively day."

"Today, the Moon Gazing Festival is a specific festival in Gangbuk Province. As the birthplace of the festival, Shousan has been sought after by many literati and scholars."

The magistrate of Shoushan County bowed as he answered.

Qin Zijun nodded slightly.

He actually knew long ago that the Moon Gazing Festival had spread throughout Jiangbei Province and become an important festival.

Now, as his holy name has spread throughout the world, the festival he established has begun to spread from Jiangbei Province to other provinces.

Perhaps a hundred years or several generations later, it will become a traditional festival of the Chu state.

In this era, information was primarily disseminated by scholars and writers.

Qin Zijun is now the leading figure among scholars, and everything about him will spread to various places along with other scholars.

Qin Zijun was already very familiar with Shoushan County, but after so many years, visiting it again for a day gave him a different feeling than before.

As evening approached, a somewhat tired Qin Zijun and Wang Shu returned to the courtyard.

Wang Shu, carrying a vegetable basket, went to the riverbank to buy vegetables, just as she had forty years ago.

Walking through the market, none of the vegetable farmers she used to know, the ones she always haggled with, were to be seen anymore.

Wang Shu walked around, stopping frequently, when she suddenly came across a butcher selling meat.

The butcher was in his thirties and looked very familiar.

She walked over and asked the butcher to help her choose the meat, smiling as she asked, "I remember forty years ago, the man selling meat here looked a lot like you. He had a large mole on his eyebrow. What was his relationship to you?"

The butcher laughed and said, "Young lady, don't joke around. How old are you? You're saying you bought meat here forty years ago."

He paused for a moment, then hesitated and said, "A big mole on his eyebrow? That looks like... my grandfather?"

In ancient times, people would get married and have children before they were twenty years old. Forty years was enough for three generations.

"Grandfather? Is he still alive?"

He passed away twenty years ago.

The butcher said, "It's been so long that I've forgotten what my grandfather looked like. If you hadn't mentioned the mole on his eyebrow, I wouldn't have remembered at all."

Wang Shu took the wrapped meat from the other party, inspected it, and said with a smile, "You are more honest than your grandfather. The first time I bought meat from him, he picked out only the scraps for me."

She paid and turned to leave.

The butcher only realized what had happened after the other person had walked away.

Wait a minute, that young lady seems to have actually met her grandfather, but she looks so young, could she be a fairy?

Leaving the market and returning to the courtyard, Wang Shu suddenly felt a sense of loss, as if everything had changed.

This was a feeling she had never experienced before, back when she was still in the ancient heavens.

At that time, even after ten thousand years, she did not feel that the outside world had changed.

But now, only forty years later, she feels that everything has changed.

Without realizing it, she seemed to have grasped something.

Collect your thoughts and stop overthinking.

Wang Shu started thinking about the mundane details of daily life again and cooked a meal that Qin Zijun liked.

The dishes started using less seasoning, becoming less heavy and more bland.

Qin Zijun complained several times, but Wang Shu just smiled and shook her head, refusing to listen.

They stayed in Shoushan County for three days before continuing their journey back to the capital.

Early in the morning, Qin Zijun sat in front of the mirror.

Wang Shu stood behind him, gently combing his long hair with a comb.

His hair was now a mix of black and white, his skin was wrinkled and rough, and the wrinkles around his eyes were even deeper.

After putting his hair in a bun, adjusting his sleeves and collar, and carefully checking him over, she was finally satisfied.

Qin Zijun said softly, "Wangshu, we should go back to the capital."

"Okay, let's go back to the capital."

Wang Shu responded just as gently.

……

In the 505th year of the Jingyuan calendar, Qin Zijun was fifty-nine years old.

The sage spent twelve years traveling the world, spreading the way of cultivation, and possessing the virtue of teaching and enlightening, thus achieving perfect merit.

The King of Chu, accompanied by his ministers, went ten miles outside the city to welcome the sage back.

For the next few days, the king did not hold court, but instead talked with the sage about heaven and earth, inquired about the common people, and asked him questions.

Everyone thought that once the sage returned to the central government, he would continue to serve as his prime minister.

Unexpectedly, a month later, the king directly abolished the position of prime minister, and there was no prime minister thereafter.

Qin Zijun, as if she had retired into seclusion, returned to her courtyard in the imperial city, closed the door to visitors, and seemed to be sorting out the spoils of her recent tour.

one year later,

In the 506th year of the Jingyuan calendar, Qin Zijun was sixty years old.

On his birthday, Qin Zijun suddenly announced that he would build the Jixia Academy in the capital to teach people all over the world.

Any talented student can come to the academy to study, and all expenses will be borne by the imperial court.

On the day the academy was established, the king and his officials went to offer their congratulations.

King Chu Jingshan of Chu knelt down in public, calling himself a student and honoring Qin Zijun as the "Imperial Tutor"!

From then on, Jixia Academy became a sacred place for Confucian scholars.

Even if the State of Chu were to perish in the future, the Jixia Academy would have long since become a ruin.

However, the lineage of Confucian practitioners continued uninterrupted. In other dynasties and other places, as long as there were Confucian practitioners, there would be later sages who would rebuild the academies.

Inside the academy, the sound of reading aloud filled the air.

In the very center of the academy, a human-shaped stone sculpture is gradually taking shape.

Upon closer inspection, it is a stone sculpture of Qin Zijun, with every detail exquisitely crafted, as if the real person were alive.

That was Wang Shu, who meticulously carved a stone statue for him. It took half a year to even take shape, which shows how much Wang Shu strives for perfection.

She also wouldn't allow anyone else to participate; she insisted on carving the stone herself, stroke by stroke.

The sounds of wind, rain, and reading aloud fill the air.

I care about everything, from family matters to national affairs to world events.

Standing under a pine tree in the academy, Qin Zijun stood with his hands behind his back and sighed, "At twelve I set my heart on learning, at thirty I stood firm, at forty I had no more doubts, and at fifty I knew the will of Heaven."

He already knew his destiny.

He doesn't have many years left to live.