136 Those Days in the Study With Three Idiots (2/2)
”He could just take sick leave if he was ill. Why would he do that? What does it mean that there are changes in the Qi of Heaven and Earth? It changes at every moment. It's not like it just changed suddenly today.”
”Pft, this one is good. Does this mean we can use this excuse if we don't want to come for class in the future?”
Chu Youxian bumped shoulders with Ning Que and asked incredulously, ”Why did Old Cao go nuts today?”
”How would I know?” Ning Que could not comprehend this either. But not having class was good news for him. He'd have more time in the old library. He looked at the documents that he had laid on his desk and wondered why he had spent so much effort preparing for class last night. He shook his head, gathered his books and prepared to leave.
At this time, someone in front said, ”Did anyone notice the joy in Professor Cao's face? There is someone important visiting Chang'an today. The professor wanted to go welcome him. That's why he gave such a lame excuse.”
”Who could garner such excitement from Old Cao? Last winter the minister from the Ministry of Rites came to hand out consolation money. It was three hundred taels of silver! The Minister of Rites! And yet, Old Cao looked as if the Emperor of Yan Kingdom had died.”
”You're too mean. Those who come from defeated countries can't help but feel like that.” The student in front smiled and replied, ”As for whom the bigwig visiting today is, and why Old Cao would be so excited, it's because it has something to do with him. While he is an experienced instructor from the Academy he is first and foremost, a man from the Yan Kingdom.
”Why would you say that?”
”The person visiting today is Prince Long Qing from the Yan Kingdom. How could Professor Cao not be excited?”
”Who would believe that? One would understand if he missed his country and was excited because he could see a royalty from his country. But the crown prince of Yan had been living in Chang'an. I don't see Old Cao paying his respects to the prince every day.”
”You ignorant creature.”
Chu Youxian listened to the argument and muttered sarcastically to Ning Que, ”The Crown Prince of Yan is but a hostage. How could they compare him to Prince Long Qing? To the people of Yan, having been beaten by Tang for hundreds of years, Prince Long Qing is their last hope for Yan. How could Old Cao not be excited at his coming?”
”Prince Long Qing?” Ning Que asked curiously, ”The brother of the Yan Crown Prince?”
”His younger brother.”
Ning Que knitted his brows and said, ”Why would the people of Yan put their hopes of revitalizing their kingdom on Prince Long Qing? Even if the Emperor of Yan passes on, the next person to succeed the throne should be the Crown Prince.”
”That's where the issue is. From what I've heard, many in the internal affairs of the Yan Kingdom are not in favor of the Crown Prince succeeding the throne... Many believe that Prince Long Qing is a rare genius.”
Upon hearing the words ”rare genius”, Ning Que's knitted brows relaxed. He gathered his books and smiled, saying, ”This one's a genius, so is that one. I've only been in Chang'an for a year and I'm already tired of hearing the word genius. This genius musn't be so rare if there are so many of them popping up this year.”
”Whoa...” Chu Youxian replied jokingly, ”You seem really quiet usually, and I thought you didn't mind that incident from back then or cared about the attitudes towards you. I never thought you'd remember that. You look like you don't even care to give your attention to geniuses like Xie Chengyun and the likes. But take note, Prince Long Qing is not Xie Chengyun.”
Ning Que stopped what he was doing and looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.
”Prince Long Qing is a true genius.” Chu Youxian said seriously.
”You're speaking true nonsense.” Ning Que replied before he was shocked by the debate that floated towards them.
The name Prince Long Qing had evoked several shouts of surprise and exclamation in the study room. There was yet another round of debate. Some who had lived in the frontiers like Ning Que had never heard of this name, however, they were the minority. Some had developed questions similar to himself. What kind of person was this Prince Long Qing whom all the people of Yan were placing their hopes upon for the revitalization of their country? Who was this person who could make Professor Cao as excited as he was just now?”
”He might be the prince of Yan, but since his brother was sent to Chang'an as a hostage, the royals of Yan Kingdom sent him to several countries to study. He stayed for several months in the Yuelun Kingdom, the Great River Kingdom as well as Southern Jin. He even entered the Revelation Institute in the West-Hill Divine Kingdom and took first place just after a year in the institute.”
The Academy of South Chang'an was the oldest, most renowned and respected academy out there. However, there are also other famed academies in other countries as well. The Revelation Institute of the West-Hill Divine Kingdom had instructors hailing from the divine hall and was one of the best. Being able to place first in a place like this was not easy. However, while this did not answer any questions, it did mean something to the proud students of the Academy.
In his third year at the Revelation Institute, Prince Long Qing traveled to different places with his teacher to do missionary work. That autumn at the Lanke temple of Tile Mountains, his teacher entered a debate with a Buddhist monk that could not be resolved. Prince Long Qing smiled and went forward to debate with his seven disciples for three days and three nights and won seven rounds of debates. The first disciple even vomited blood. He only smiled and shut up when the elder of the Lanke temple came out of seclusion to speak. The elder praised him for being so knowledgeable and his debate skills were second to none. He said that the prince could enter sacred grounds after ten years of training if he could enter Buddhism.
”How could the West-Hill Divine Palace bear to have their prized disciple stolen away? When Prince Long Qing entered his fourth year at the Revelation Institute, the head teacher accepted him as his core disciple and even allowed him to start learning how to handle affairs of the judicial department in the Divine hall... I heard that Prince Long Qing is but one step away from the Knowing Destiny State. He's very favored by the Haotian Taoism and is the second most important person in the judicial department. He specializes in guarding against devils and holds a key position in that too.”
”The second most important person in the judicial department of Divine hall?” A student said without care, ”This sort of bigwig doesn't even amount to much in the Great Tang. If he was in the Southern Jin or the Great River Kingdom, he would have been someone even the emperor wouldn't dare touch. Why would he come to Tang, to Chang'an?”
”Because Prince Long Qing... will enter the Academy for further studies.”
”Enter the Academy? Is this bigwig about to become one of our peers?”
”Dream on, He has already been studying in the Revelation Institute for years and is already an important figure in the West-Hill Divine Palace. How could he be our peer? He came to the Academy for the Second floor.”
”Other than cultivating in on the second floor, he had also come to Chang'an for another reason. He is here to take over his brother as the hostage. The Emperor of Yan is old and dying. No one knows how much longer he can live. Our emperor places much importance on filial piety and has agreed to the crown prince's return, but asked for a royal with enough power to take his place. After much consideration, who else but Prince Long Qing has sufficient power to do so?”
”The West-Hill Divine Palace has cultivated the prince for many years and has proven that this talent is indeed one to watch out for. The people of Yan places think well of his talents and think even better of his relationship with the West-Hill Divine Palace. They think of him as the hope for Yan Kingdom's revitalization. In their eyes, this prince is much more important than the crown prince who had been a hostage for years. What I don't understand is why they suddenly agreed to the Tang's request.”
The discussion between these students from reputable families had painted a clear picture of the situation in the minds of the others. The young prince who was about to enter the Knowing Destiny State carried the burden and hopes of the people of Yan. The West-Hill Divine Palace would also like to cultivate this young talent whom people are depending upon to revitalize the kingdom. If he wasn't a genius, who was?”
There were many complicated and conflicting emotions within the young prideful students within the study room as they thought about the prince's accomplishments. Some were jealous and in awe while others were disbelieving. However, this disbelief was totally unjustified in the face of all the accomplishments of the prince.
The study room was abnormally silent. Chu Youxian looked at his classmates and smiled. He said, ”You've forgotten to mention the thing he's most famous for... The prince is extremely handsome. Some people say that he is the most beautiful thing on earth. He is well cultivated and elegant. When he entered the Yuelun Kingdom in his youth, he attracted many looks from young women on the streets. I heard that many pairs of shoes were torn, many vocal chords were screamed hoarse and a lot of girls cried that day.”
This was an extremely curious incident that many students in the study room would not know about. The boys who were talking confidently about the prince would not mention this fact. The moment the girls in the room thought about this piece of gossip, their faces brightened. Even Miss Gao who had been unhappy lately widened her eyes and had a curve on her lips.
”Ladies, it's a little too late for you to moon over him.”
One of the things that Chu Youxian was best at doing was to deliver blows after delivering bad news. He smiled at the girls cheekily and said, ”Prince Long Qing is already betrothed to the Princess Lu Chenjia of Yuelun Kingdom. She had the biggest crush on the prince. They fell in love when the prince studied Buddhism in the Yuelun Kingdom. The princess studied at the Revelation Institute just to be with him every day. What chance have you got? Everyone knows that Lu Chenjia is the greatest love-sick fool in the world. You are no match for her.”
The expressions on every girl in the class stilled upon hearing that, but no one could say anything to refute Chu Youxian's claims. They lowered their heads. Situ Yilan looked at the expressions on the girls' faces and changed the subject, washing away the love-sick expressions they had.
Lu Chenjia, the greatest love-sick fool in the world was also a renowned beauty. There were also two other girls who were often brought up when Lu Chenjia was mentioned. One was the disciple of the Master calligrapher Wang of the Great River Kingdom. She was quiet and vivacious and enjoyed calligraphy and was known as a calligraphy addict. The other was a disciple from the Revelation Institute whose identity was a secret. It was said that she was gentle and lovely but was only interested in Taoism. She was interested in cultivation and nothing else, which was why she was known as the Tao Addict.
”Everyone knows about the Flower Addict and the Calligraphy Addict. The other beauty has always been secretive. Everyone knows there's a beauty in the West-Hill Divine Kingdom, but no one knows her name or where she is.”
Situ Yilan listened to the conversation and hesitated before speaking up. ”It is true that nobody knows what the Tao Addict's name is. But I heard that she is the most important person in the judicial department of the Divine Hall.”