“Who would have thought it would turn out right by accident?” Qin Xiaoran smiled leisurely. That smile was of peerless elegance, enough to shame all the women beneath the heavens.
He had originally thought Xiao Qianyin would leave Lushan Academy. It had not been easy for such an interesting person to appear—how could she just leave? It was truly a pity. Yet in the end, after all the twists and turns, she still had to remain here.
Ji Ce glanced at him, then looked at Xiao Qianyin. This fellow was famous for appearing gentle and courteous on the outside while being distant and cold within. What he showed everyone was nothing more than a facade. But at this moment, Ji Ce could tell that his expression was no longer false; there was a trace of sincerity in it.
Did she really have such great charm?
“Let’s go. We’ve seen enough of the show. Bei Wuxuan can be considered unlucky this time.”
Qin Xiaoran stood up and lightly brushed the dirt from his clothes. It was clearly an ordinary action, yet when he did it, it carried an elegant grace that no one else could imitate.
Fake immortal! Ji Ce cursed inwardly, then also stood and left with him.
“My disciple, do you like this courtyard? Master carefully picked it out for you. If anything is missing, I’ll have it supplied at once.”
The Mohist Juzi wore an expression as though presenting a treasure, winking and making faces at the freshly accepted little disciple standing beside him.
Xiao Qianyin sized up the courtyard. It was simple yet grand. In the past, she had lived in the quarters reserved for noble students, but even so, several people still shared one courtyard. As for commoner students, there was no need to mention them—several people sharing one room was perfectly ordinary.
So her treatment had shot upward like a rocket. Most likely, only the academy’s teachers were qualified to have an entire courtyard to themselves, right?
“Master, do you also teach students at the academy?” she turned her head and asked.
“No. My junior brother is the academy’s headmaster. Master is merely borrowing his convenience to cultivate swordsmanship here and has no contact with the students. I usually spend my time in seclusion.”
He was very pleased. It just so happened that he had emerged from seclusion today, and it just so happened that he had accidentally heard this girl’s words, and she just so happened to suit his tastes. Thus, taking her as his disciple was only natural—ordained by heaven!
“I don’t need to attend classes?” The Mohist Juzi could not decide everything, and she suspected the words from earlier had merely been meant to trick her into agreeing to become his disciple.
“Of course not. Who is your master? A gentleman’s word is as good as a whipping of the swiftest horse! My word carries the weight of nine tripods.”
“Master, you are the Mohist Juzi. Is the Mohist School skilled in mechanism arts and does it advocate universal love and non-aggression?”
She had nearly forgotten that this era was not the one she knew. After the Qin Dynasty did not come the Western and Eastern Han, then Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. Instead, the Qin Dynasty had existed for several hundred years before splitting apart. The Burning of Books and Burying of Scholars had occurred, but afterward, when Fusu ascended the throne, he advocated the contention of a hundred schools of thought, and the various schools of the philosophers rose once again.
“Little girl, you know the Mohists’ specialties and principles as well?”
“Yes. The Confucians esteem ‘rites and music’ and ‘benevolence and righteousness,’ advocating the ways of ‘loyalty and forgiveness’ and the ‘Doctrine of the Mean.’ They support ‘rule by virtue’ and ‘benevolent governance’ and place importance on ethical relationships. Later, Mencius also proposed that the people are more important than the ruler. As for the Legalists, that was the method adopted after the First Emperor unified the six states, beneficial to the centralized system of the Qin Dynasty.”
“Little girl, if you were a man, you would surely become an extraordinary politician. It’s a pity you are a woman. Some words are best said only before Master; it would be better not to say them outside.”
This girl could actually say “centralized system,” a term no one throughout history had ever mentioned. For her to point this out was indeed impressive.
“Yes, your disciple understands.” Today, she had dealt with Bei Wuxuan and had also been accepted as the Mohist Juzi’s disciple. She was already a tall tree catching the wind. If she were to voice these theories as well, even more people would regard her as a thorn in their eye and wish to get rid of her as quickly as possible.
“Haha, do you like mechanism arts? Master will teach you!”
“Master, aside from the Mohists, I remember there is also a Gongshu family skilled in mechanism arts. It is said they are Lu Ban’s descendants?”
“You’re talking about Gongshu Ban. The Gongshu family still exists to this day. Back then, they pledged allegiance to Qin Shi Huang and rose to prominence from then on. Now they are already renowned masters of mechanism arts and calculations in their own right.”
When the Mohist Juzi spoke of the Gongshu family, he did not show much anger. His expression was indifferent, and he quickly returned to the original topic. “Are you willing to learn mechanism arts from me?”
“Of course I am. I think mechanism arts are vast and profound.”
She had read related books before. Ancient technology might even surpass that of the modern era; otherwise, how could Zhuge Liang’s wooden ox and flowing horse have appeared later? The wisdom of the ancients could not be underestimated.
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Hehe, Xiao Qi is shamelessly asking for red packets and gifts! If there can be one hundred and fifty more bookmarks tomorrow, Xiao Qi will definitely update twice and won’t disappoint you dears!