There is a curved lake in the Imperial College, as flat as a silver mirror.
Because it looks like an inkstone, it is named Moyan Lake.
There is an ancient pavilion by the lake with a plaque saying "washing ink". I heard it was the pen and ink of the current imperial master.
This lake and this pavilion are a lively place for the Imperial Academy students to recite poems and compose poems in their spare time.
It's just that it's the teaching time of the Imperial College at this moment.
There are very few tourists by the lake.
But there were two people playing chess in Ximo Pavilion.
The person holding the sunspot is a middle-aged Confucian scholar with a thin face and bright eyes. He holds a sunspot in his hand and turns it gently with his fingertips.
The person holding the white piece is an old man in rich clothes, quite rich, with a focused expression. He is looking down at the chessboard, undecided.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar suddenly glanced outside the pavilion and saw a figure striding towards him not far away.
The person who came was wearing a green shirt, carrying an oil-paper umbrella, hanging ink jade from his waist, with regular features. He looked young, but his expression was indifferent and his temperament was quite otherworldly.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar raised the corner of his mouth and turned his attention back to the chessboard. The overall situation was decided, and the white piece was powerless.
The old man in colorful clothes seemed to have noticed something, but he did not immediately throw in the pieces and continued to place pieces on the chessboard, looking more focused.
Zhao Rong did not find Mr. Fang in the Sixth Hall of Taixue, so he guessed that he was probably playing chess in Ximo Pavilion again.
In his memory, he only loved three things in his life: fishing, Go, and books from sages.
At this time, Zhao Rong smiled knowingly when he saw that Mr. Fang was indeed playing chess with others in Ximo Pavilion.
Mr. Fang has several chess friends who often play chess, and this old man in Huafu is one of them. However, Zhao Rong has never spoken to him, and even with Mr. Fang, he rarely speaks.
Zhao Rong leaned his umbrella against the beam and stepped into the pavilion.
Someone came next to them, but the two people in the pavilion did not turn around to pay attention, and continued to play chess.
Zhao Rong didn't take it seriously, he was obviously used to it.
He stood behind Mr. Fang and glanced at the chessboard.
Mr. Fang makes moves very quickly, but the old man in rich clothes has to ponder for a while before making a move every time.
He soon lost interest and turned his head to admire the view of the lake outside the pavilion.
He is not interested in Go, he only knows a little bit about it, and he is a bad chess player.
In his memory, Mr. Fang wanted to teach himself Go, but his former self was just like him and had no interest in this game, so he only learned a little bit about it.
When he was bored, Zhao Rong tried to call home a few times in his heart.
It hasn't spoken to him since he made it angry last time.
After chanting silently for a few times, Zhao Rong had no choice but to give up when he saw that it didn't respond.
I don't know if he is sleeping or ignoring him.
Why are you acting like a child? Zhao Rong complained.
Not long after, Mr. Fang dropped the final piece on the chessboard in the pavilion, and the outcome was decided.
The old man in rich clothes threw the white pieces in his hand back into the chess pot, his expression as usual.
"Brother Gongming, I accept the concession."
Mr. Fang smiled. After speaking, he turned to look at Zhao Rong beside him and looked at it carefully.
"Yes, I have indeed matured a lot after getting married." Mr. Fang chuckled.
"Sir, you are joking." Zhao Rong replied hurriedly, trying his best to play the role of the student in his memory.
"Tzuyu, you came just in time today, my teacher has something good to tell you."
As he spoke, he took out a letter from his pocket.
"A few days ago, the Imperial Master asked Jijiu to help him send a letter to his senior brother at Linlu Academy. I knew that you had always admired the Seventy-Two Academy, so I asked Jijiu for this job."
"Linlu Academy?"
When he heard the word Lin Lu, Zhao Rong's eyes lit up.
He knew that there were two Confucian academies in Wangquezhou, Linlu and Siqi, which were famous in the continent and were the dream places for scholars in the mountains, but he didn't know where they were.
However, he remembered the purpose of his visit today and asked, "Where is the academy?"
"Linlu Academy is in the Dali Dynasty." Mr. Fang paused and added: "Dali is the northernmost in the continent."
Zhao Rong looked disappointed and cupped his hands.
"I'm afraid students won't be able to go."
"Why is this?"
"Because the students come here to say goodbye to their husband."
"Where are you going?"
"The students are planning to go south in a few days and return to their hometown to visit relatives. They won't be able to come back in a short time."
Mr. Fang pondered for a while and put away the letter.
The old man in rich clothes, who had been sitting aside and reviewing the chess game with his head lowered, raised his head and glanced at Zhao Rong, then withdrew his gaze and continued to focus on the chess game.
"Are you the only one?"
"It's just a student."
"when are we leaving?"
"Just for the next few days, I'll finish some chores."
"What about your wife?"
"...She has her place to go, and students don't need to worry about it."
Mr. Fang nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
He stood up, took out a jade seal that he had prepared for a long time and handed it to Zhao Rong.
"This is the private seal I carved. I originally wanted to give it to you after you get the crown, but now it seems that I may not be able to wait until then."
Zhao Rong took the seal. The jade seal was well made, rigorous in composition, and graceful in writing. At first glance, the strokes were square and upright, but not rigid at all. The seal surface was engraved with the character "Yu" in seal script.
Zhao Rong accepted it solemnly and bowed deeply.
During these years in the Imperial College, although Yuan Shen liked Confucianism, he lacked talent and was slow in thinking. Although his studies were solid, he did not stand out among others. But Mr. Fang, perhaps because he watched him grow up, always regarded him as
Treated as the closest disciple.
He was very strict with Zhao Rong academically, but in private he was extremely kind, and the two had a close relationship.
The teacher smiled and patted the student on the shoulder, and said as a gift: "Spring will come next year, so don't wait until you return home."
Zhao Rong nodded, said goodbye and left.
After he walked far away, he suddenly turned back.
I saw that my husband was still standing there watching the students.
"You asked me to write a letter just to help your student... chase women?"
Mr. Fang smiled, sat down again, and did not answer the question of the Great Chu State Master next to him.
He started to tidy up the chessboard.
"Seventeen years have passed. What are you waiting for, sir?" the old man in rich clothes asked again.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar threw the last black stone on the chessboard into the chess pot and said slowly.
"Waiting for an 'old friend'."
…
Zhao Rong left the Imperial College and was about to go back home, but thinking that it was still early, he started walking around the Confucius Temple.
The Confucius Temple was first built around the Imperial College and became very lively. In addition to food, the most popular items sold were naturally paper, ink, pens, inkstones, calligraphy, and books.
Zhao Rong saw a large bookstore in front of him and the business was good, so he walked over there.
He wanted to buy some copybooks and go back to practice.
"Do you really want to leave?"
Suddenly, Gui's voice sounded in my mind
"Hey, the mute finally spoke?"
"roll!"
Zhao Rong smiled, dispelling some of the melancholy he felt when he said goodbye to his teacher just now.
I don't know why, but he feels very relaxed every time he chats with Gui.
Maybe it’s because it shares weal and woe and I can speak freely in front of it, right?
"Gui, do you know the Four Houses of Taiqing? Is this Xian family very powerful?"
He wanted to ask this question yesterday.
"The four palaces of Taiqing are not immortal sects."
Gui sneered and said slowly.
"The Four Palaces of Taiqing are the highest cultivation schools in the Xuanhuang Realm, and were written into the "Xuandi Law", the supreme code of the human race, by Jiang Taiqing."
"They are available in all continents, and only recruit the geniuses with the best cultivation qualifications in their respective continents. The Fuyao realm is perfect at the age of sixteen, which is one of the lowest standards. Not to mention the standard for graduating from it. There are almost one person in each class.
A large number of government students cannot successfully graduate and can only become 'abandoned students'."
"You can understand it as an institution established by gathering human resources from all continents. It does not belong to a certain group or force."
"It only belongs to the entire Xuanhuang human race!"