CH 189

Everyone in the room held their breath simultaneously, looking at the Left Chancellor in fear. Even the Left Chancellor's eldest son, who was in his thirties, kept his mouth shut, not daring to chew. The few children didn't dare to move, almost scared to tears.

Madam Liu silently put down her chopsticks, her head lowered.

Only the Left Chancellor's daughter was secretly watching her father.

The Left Chancellor had a refined appearance, with few wrinkles on his face. The touch of silver at his temples did not make him look old, but rather more spirited.

His gaze was steady as he calmly picked up the second piece of beef with his right hand and placed it on his own plate. He slowly said, "I lost my composure. Today, I will write the 'Analects' fifteen times as punishment."

His two sons exchanged glances, immediately recalling a phrase from Confucius in the fifteenth chapter of the 'Analects': "If you are generous to yourself and critical of others, you will avoid resentment." It means to criticize oneself more and others less, so as not to be resented by others.

"Father's words and deeds are a lesson to us."

"Even our father reflects on himself, we should be more cautious in our words and deeds."

The Left Chancellor nodded.

After dinner, the Left Chancellor headed to his study. The old butler quickly followed, whispering, "How should we deal with that disrespectful servant?"

"Bury him, don't dirty the yard."

"Yes." The old butler, hearing the Left Chancellor's order to kill, showed no surprise and hurried away.

In the palace of Jing Kingdom.

"This Fang Yun... he's good, but he really gives me a headache. Let's reward him after the Holy Land."

In the residence of Jing Kingdom's Minister of Literature.

"With this son in Jing Kingdom, I can rest easy."

In the Demon Realm.

"Command the rebellious literati to kill Fang Yun, enter the Hanlin Academy's hit list, fourth!"

At the Fang family.

Barefoot, Big Bull Fang started shouting at the door, causing the sleeping little fox to let out a dissatisfied cry before continuing to sleep.

Fang Yun was just coming out of his bedroom. Seeing Big Bull Fang return, he nodded and then calmly went to eat.

When the Lazy Literature Sect came to collect the manuscript of the 'Three Character Classic', Fang Yun already knew about this. So he was not surprised at all.

Big Bull Fang quickly handed the 'Path of the Saints' to Fang Yun, saying, "That's the first edition of the 'Path of the Saints', aren't you excited?"

"I know." Fang Yun said.

Big Bull Fang felt a sincere admiration in his heart, saying, "Young Master, you are really amazing. Among those who have made it to the first edition of the 'Path of the Saints', apart from the Semi-Saints, you are the most calm. Anyone else would be grinning from ear to ear."

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Fang Yun asked, "What about the 'Literature Report'?"

Big Bull Fang slapped his forehead, laughing, "Look at me, I was so busy bringing you the good news that I forgot to buy the 'Literature Report'. I'll go buy it now."

"Put on your shoes." Fang Yun said, then walked towards the dining table.

Big Bull Fang looked down, chuckled, and walked towards his room. Yang Yuhuan placed a dish on the table and said to Big Bull Fang, "Put on your shoes and come here to get some money. You go and buy a hundred copies of the 'Path of the Saints'."

"Okay!" Big Bull Fang said.

Fang Yun looked at Yang Yuhuan. At this moment, she was wearing a white apron, with the purity of a young girl and the virtuousness of a housewife.

"Why buy so many?" Fang Yun asked.

Yang Yuhuan smiled slightly and said, "Buy them to give away. In the future, whoever didn't buy it, we'll give them one. That's the first edition of the 'Path of the Saints'. It's been many years since anyone in Jing Kingdom made it to the first edition. Even I, a woman, understand that an accomplished scholar making it to the first edition is more extraordinary than a double-A child scholar."

"Forget it, as long as you're happy. How's the zither practice going?"

The two of them chatted about the zither while eating.

Just after finishing his meal, Fang Yun noticed that the official seal had received a carrier pigeon message. So he went to check it, and it turned out to be a congratulatory message from Cai He.

Fang Yun wrote a brief reply, and just after he finished replying, one carrier pigeon message after another flew in.

Fang Yun didn't expect to encounter the scene of a hundred pigeons coming together. Some of these carrier pigeon messages were sent by friends, but most of them were sent by people from all over Jing Kingdom through the Holy Temple, and some were from abroad.

Shi Jun, Li Fanming, and Yan Yukong also sent congratulations.

Reading hundreds of carrier pigeon messages, Fang Yun finally deeply understood the significance of the first edition of the 'Path of the Saints', because all the prominent families in the capital and all the Semi-Saint families in Jing Kingdom sent congratulations.

Among the five Semi-Saint families in Jing Kingdom, apart from the Chen Saint family, which was purely congratulatory, four Semi-Saint families invited Fang Yun to participate in their literary meetings. The head of the Zhang Heng family even asked if Fang Yun was married and said that a few young people from the Zhang family would come to Yuhai City in a few days and would accompany Fang Yun to the Mid-Autumn Literary Meeting.

After reading these letters, Fang Yun suddenly remembered what Li Fanming had said when he saw him, that a great trend was about to form.

Fang Yun did not discriminate, whether the congratulations were from the All Saints families or from ordinary classmates in the past, he replied to each one. Among them, a letter came from Fang Li, the father of Fang Zhongyong. Fang Li shamelessly called Fang Yun his virtuous nephew, and said that when Fang Yun returned to Dayuan Prefecture, he would definitely bring Fang Zhongyong to visit.

When replying to the Zhang Heng family, Fang Yun thought for a long time.

There are three Zhang families among the Semi-Saint families. Apart from the family established by the Medical Saint Zhang Zhongjing, which can be called the Zhang Saint family, the other two cannot be called that, because Zhang Zhongjing was the first person to be canonized in the medical field, and his contributions to the Holy Origin Mainland were immense. When the 'Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases' was completed, the God of Literature moved, establishing the position of the medical field.

Although Zhang Heng's status was not as high as Zhang Zhongjing's, he was also above ordinary Semi-Saints. He was not only proficient in the techniques of the Mo and Gongshu families, creating the seismograph, armillary sphere, south-pointing chariot, and single-wood flying eagle, but he was also one of the four great masters of Han prose, alongside Ban Gu, Sima Xiangru, and Yang Xiong. He achieved success in astronomy, geography, mathematics, and painting, and can be called a polymath.

After Zhang Heng was canonized, even the people of the Mo and Gongshu families went to ask for advice, and declared that the ingenuity of the gears made by Zhang Heng was no less than that of Mozi and Luban.

The people of the Zhang Heng family inherited Zhang Heng's temperament, not seeking fame or profit, focusing on studying astronomy, geography, and mechanisms, with the aim of fulfilling Zhang Heng's last wish.

What Fang Yun cared most about was the seismograph and armillary sphere of the Zhang Heng family, both of which were Semi-Saint Treasures of Literature. The seismograph was in the Zhang family, while the armillary sphere was placed in the Holy Academy.

Legend has it that the armillary sphere is still as long as it doesn't move, but once it moves, it will cause a shocking scene, comparable to the first killing zither 'Hao Zhong'. However, more people suspect that apart from Zhang Heng himself, no one else can use the armillary sphere, not even other Semi-Saints.Fang Yun sent back a polite letter, expressing his gratitude for the Zhang family's kindness, but stating that he would marry no one but Yang Yuhuan. He also mentioned his interest in astronomy and geography, and his eagerness to discuss these topics with the Zhang family members and accompany them to The Holy Land.

After responding to all the letters delivered by carrier pigeons, Fang Yun suddenly felt his mind was exceptionally agile, his heart extraordinarily clear, and the world before his eyes was incredibly vivid. It was as if something that had always been blocking his view had disappeared.

"Those letters are the recognition from the prominent families and Semi-Saint families of Jing Kingdom, and they represent a great trend. So what if I don't have a foundation? So what if I don't have a Semi-Saint as a teacher? A single piece of writing can get me into the Hall of All the Saints and establish a foundation!"

Fang Yun's gaze was more determined than ever.

After finishing his chores, Fang Yun continued to practice the zither and study military tactics, feeling as if he could see everything more clearly and further than before.

Throughout the day, the Fang family members were whispering among themselves.

"Have you noticed? The young master seems different today."

"Yes, he's not arrogant or overbearing, and he's still so polite to us. But I'm a bit afraid of him, he reminds me of an emperor in a play."

"Right! Even the lady of the house keeps sneaking glances at the young master, but not out of worry, more like she's smitten."

"Pfft, be careful or the lady will tear your mouth apart."

"The only one in the house who hasn't noticed the young master's change is that little fox, it's still the same as before."

"All it knows is to eat, sleep, and play, what would it know?"

"Ying Ying!" A snow-white little fox strutted past them, giving them a look of arrogance and disdain as it passed.

"Isn't it infuriating?"

"Forget it, why bother getting angry with a fox."

That night, Fang Yun carried his zither to the lakeside. The autumn wind rose, the autumn leaves fell, and the autumn chill set in.

The cicadas seemed to be resisting the autumn cold with all their might, their calls growing deeper.

Along the way, the Presented Scholar Pang looked at Fang Yun in surprise.

"Fang Yun is different today. Before, he seemed like someone who passively perceived the essence of autumn, but today, he seems to be standing firm against the autumn wind. If he goes one step further, he will be like a king controlling the autumn wind. Incredible, truly incredible! No wonder his writing made the front page of 'The Path of the Saints'."

Before long, Fang Yun arrived at his usual pavilion. With the dragon horn zither mat, the stone table was not damaged at all. As usual, Fang Yun played the "Autumn Wind Tune".

After listening for a while, Presented Scholar Pang felt strange, wondering why he couldn't feel the essence of autumn in the music at all. It was completely emotionless playing. He played it three times, and not a single cicada fell.

Fang Yun continued to play, and Presented Scholar Pang became more and more surprised. Although Fang Yun's "Autumn Wind Tune" had greatly improved in terms of technique, it had regressed in the more important aspect of emotion. It was not just a step back, but completely devoid of emotion, as if a mechanical man made by the Mohist school was playing the zither, completely heartless.

"There must be something I'm not seeing."

Presented Scholar Pang stood in the woods by the pavilion, leaning against a tree as thick as a man's waist, staring intently at Fang Yun, hoping to discern something.

Soon, Presented Scholar Pang noticed something strange. Fang Yun's hair was constantly fluttering, and the cicada closest to Fang Yun had stopped chirping, as if frightened by an invisible force.

Presented Scholar Pang widened his eyes, looking even more closely.

Fang Yun finished a piece, his hands stopped on the strings, the strings stopped vibrating, and the cicadas stopped chirping.

After a moment, Fang Yun lifted his hands and began to play again.

As soon as the music started, the fallen leaves around Fang Yun suddenly flew in all directions, and it seemed as if there was wind hidden in Fang Yun's robe, puffing it up.

Fang Yun played the "Autumn Wind Tune" at a speed three times faster than normal. The music was urgent, filled with sorrow, and a deep autumn chill sprayed out in all directions.

Presented Scholar Pang instinctively shrank his neck and hugged his arms, but then realized that this was just the essence of autumn contained in the music, and the actual weather was not that cold.

Presented Scholar Pang gave a self-deprecating smile, thinking that he, a distinguished scholar, was being so deeply affected by a simple piece of music. But then, his self-deprecating smile froze on his face.

Because, the area around the lake was incredibly quiet.

"Where are the cicadas?" Just as this thought popped into Presented Scholar Pang's mind, he felt something fall on his head. He reached up and touched it, it was a cicada.

Suddenly, a dense sound rang out nearby. Presented Scholar Pang immediately realized that it was the sound of cicadas falling to the ground after dying. He had spent these days listening to this sound, but never had the sound been as dense as it was today. (To be continued.)