Chapter 7: Do you want to study?

Wenxin Study

Gu Jin Nian headed inside according to his memory.

At the same time, he was also thinking about the situation just now.

"The black energy entered the ancient tree, like nutrients."

"What is this black energy?"

"Is it anger?"

"No, it shouldn't be anger."

"Or is it resentment?"

As he walked, Gu Jin Nian kept guessing what the black energy just now was.

Based on the current situation, the black energy just now should be nutrients; after entering the ancient tree, it forms a small fruit.

As for what kind of fruit it is, Gu Jin Nian doesn't know; he estimates he'll find out only after it matures.

And for now, everything is just his speculation.

As for whether it is, he still needs to test it.

Just as Gu Jin Nian was pondering, several familiar voices suddenly sounded.

"Jin Nian."

"Brother Jin Nian."

Accompanied by the voices, Gu Jin Nian turned his gaze over.

Not far away, inside the study hall, more than thirty desks were arranged, with one person seated in front of each desk.

About seventy percent were male and thirty percent female; everyone's age was roughly fourteen to sixteen, in the prime of youth.

From this one can see how prosperous the Confucian Dao is.

Ancient rules were many; theoretically, women were not allowed to study, but in this era of flourishing Confucian Dao, everyone considered studying an honor, even women; even though they were not allowed to take the civil examinations, officials and nobles would send their daughters to study at academies.

Later, they would also have status in their natal families.

As for those who called out, they were basically sitting in the last row.

The seating arrangement, whether ancient or modern, has its own subtle similarities.

Those with talent sit in front; those without sit in the back, enjoying leisure and entertainment.

Wenxin Study has a powerful background; anyone who can come here is not an ordinary person.

If there truly were an ordinary person, that would be even more remarkable—no background, no connections, yet able to enter Wenxin Study, which would mean they are very intelligent, a true scholar.

In the future, they might even place among the top three in the civil examinations.

Wenxin Study indeed has such a person, except that this person studies under the academy head, doesn't need to attend early classes, and has a dedicated teacher.

Accompanied by the shouts of this group, the study hall instantly erupted.

Everyone turned their gazes toward Gu Jin Nian.

The incident that happened half a month ago is still fresh in their memory; although they didn't witness it firsthand, the whole capital has been abuzz with rumors.

Who would have thought Gu Jin Nian would return?

Earlier, they speculated that Gu Jin Nian would be expelled from Wenxin Study, or that he himself was too ashamed to attend school; now it turns out both were false.

For a moment, the gazes of everyone in the study hall seemed strange.

Some were surprised, some seemed odd, some showed fear, and others showed coldness.

Of course, the youths sitting in the last row appeared especially enthusiastic and excited.

These people are all descendants of military commanders—either the son of that marquis, the grandson of that duke, or the offspring of that general.

In short, they are all a group of descendants of military commanders.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Military commanders and civil officials are sworn enemies, and their descendants are basically the same.

The descendants of civil officials and Confucian scholars gather together to play.

The descendants of the military commander group also gather together to play.

The two who shouted first were both very heroic; standing up, they were a full six feet tall, and their age was no more than sixteen.

Fortunately, Gu Jin Nian's height is also about the same, so he doesn't look short.

These two: one is the son of the Marquis of Sheyang, Wu An; nowadays the Marquis of Sheyang is pacifying bandits and turmoil in the Huaiyang region, having earned much merit.

The other is the son of the Commander of the Southern Gate of the Capital, Li Ping.

Wu An is the eldest; he is considered quite old among the capital's third-generation circle, nearly seventeen, six and a half feet tall, and with his physical cultivation perfected, he is very fierce.

Usually, when fights break out in the capital, he's always involved; his relationship with the original self is quite good.

The Marquis of Sheyang used to be a capable subordinate of Grandfather Gu; in other words, the Marquis of Sheyang was Grandfather Gu's troops, and their relationship was excellent.

As for Li Ping, he's also not bad; his father is the Grand Commander of the Southern Gate of the Capital, a significant post, commanding three thousand elite troops guarding the capital's southern gate, and the security of the entire southern capital region is also under his father's control.

However, compared to the Marquis of Sheyang, he falls short, let alone compared to the Manor of the State-Protecting Duke.

But Li Ping is a man who values righteousness; when trouble arises, he's basically willing to take the blame and has helped many people.

Therefore, within this third-generation circle, he holds some standing and is also one of the original self's close friends.

"It's been many days since we last met; I really miss you."

At that moment, Gu Jin Nian walked over and gave the two a bear hug, showing their relationship while not wanting to reveal any flaws.

"Jin Nian, you've survived a great calamity this time; you'll surely have blessings to come. After class ends, I'll take you to a fun place."

After the bear hug, Wu An's heroic face showed a heartfelt smile.

"Brother Jin Nian, are your injuries completely healed? I went to see you a few days ago, but your steward stopped me."

"It should be fine, right?"

Li Ping also spoke up, looking at Gu Jin Nian with some concern.

There's nothing serious anymore.

Just rest well for a few days.

Gu Jin Nian smiled, gave a casual reply, but soon his gaze fell upon the school.

Among the thirty-plus people, Gu Jin Nian instantly locked onto two figures.

In the front row, on the left and right sides.

One was a woman in a light pink long dress, the other a man in a blue-brown scholar's robe.

The woman was extremely beautiful, her skin delicate as snow, ice-skinned and jade-boned, with flowing cloud-like hair, adorned with a green jade hairpin, making her look even younger; paired with a standard oval face, bright eyes, and a gentle, youthful demeanor, she was utterly a beauty in the making.

However, the woman's eyes flickered slightly, and she harbored a hint of disgust.

This is the granddaughter of the Minister of Rites, Yang Hanrou. As for the other man, he has fine brows and handsome features, outstanding in appearance, dressed in a blue-brown scholar's robe that fully displays the scholar's aura, warm and smooth like jade; just his looks give the impression that he must be a good student.

This person is none other than the son of the Great Scholar Zhang Xuan, Zhang Yun.

In Gu Jin Nian's words, this Zhang Yun is a sycophant of Yang Hanrou.

Zhang Yun's father had an excellent relationship with the Minister of Rites; the two could be considered childhood friends.

On that day, when an argument broke out, Zhang Yun was present on the side, and indeed everything was caused by him.

The whole matter wasn't complicated; it was simply that the original self had someone else write his assignments, which Zhang Yun reported to the teacher, resulting in a scolding.

After the scolding, the original self didn't say anything; though he was unhappy, he wasn't stupid either—he knew that continuing to cause trouble for Zhang Yun would invite bigger problems, so he just felt a bit uneasy inside.

But unexpectedly, fate brought them together again after school.

Zhang Yun's mouth was vicious again; after he sneered a few remarks, the original self finally retorted, roughly saying, 'No matter how I am, I won't sink to your level.'

He accused him of being young and not studying, only thinking about sexual matters, and in passing also cursed Yang Hanrou.

Then they argued back and forth, you saying a line, me saying a line, and in the end Yang Hanrou pushed the original self into the lake.

Actually, all of this was just a children's quarrel.

Both sides were at fault.

What truly disgusted Gu Jin Nian was that, although it was his own fault, he shifted the blame onto others.

Moreover, he ruined the other's reputation.

If this matter isn't handled well, not only would his whole life be ruined, at least half of his future would be destroyed.

How could one not feel sick? Yang Hanrou's gaze carried a hint of disgust, while Zhang Yun's eyes were full of coldness.

Feeling Gu Jin Nian's gaze upon them.

The two of them, more or less, still shrank back a bit, after all they knew the whole affair better than anyone.

"Gu Jin Nian, you've just recovered from a serious illness; you need to rest well."

"Leave other matters to me; the school term will end soon, and then we'll repay grievances and avenge grudges."

Wu An's voice rang out; he mistakenly thought Gu Jin Nian wanted to cause trouble for those two, so he deliberately stood up and said, essentially telling Gu Jin Nian not to look for trouble now.

We'll talk about it after the term ends.

Upon hearing Wu An's words, both of their faces changed; Zhang Yun gave a cold snort, but dared not say anything.

There's nothing else; they simply couldn't beat Wu An.

Just then, the teacher's figure appeared.

He was an old man holding a treatise on policy, entering the school.

As soon as the teacher arrived, everyone instantly became honest, and the school fell silent at once.

Even these military officers afterward dared not show disrespect to the teacher.

Honoring teachers and valuing the Way is no joke; whether in the Da Xia Dynasty or other dynasties, respecting teachers comes first.

Heaven, earth, ruler, parents, teacher.

The teacher is akin to half a father; to defy the teacher is a great disrespect.

But before the teacher could say anything,

Gu Jin Nian's voice then sounded.

"Teacher, I want to change seats."

As Gu Jin Nian's voice sounded, everyone in the school momentarily became curious.

No one knew what medicine Gu Jin Nian was selling from his gourd.

At the head seat.

The teacher, already sixty, frowned slightly; if it were any other student, he would have already scolded them, but Gu Jin Nian, after all, is the grandson of a duke and the sole male heir of his family.

Still, some face had to be given.

"Where do you want to move to?"

The teacher opened his mouth, looking at Gu Jin Nian and asked.

"Replying to Teacher, I want to move to sit beside Yang Hanrou."

Gu Jin Nian spoke up.

As soon as he said that, everyone's expressions changed.

Who doesn't know what happened a few days ago? Now Gu Jin Nian has just returned and wants to change seats? To say there's no personal grudge involved—who would believe that? Not only the students, even the teacher knows Gu Jin Nian doesn't have good intentions.

Therefore, the teacher shook his head and said.

"Not allowed."

The teacher spoke, refusing calmly.

But Gu Jin Nian didn't care about anything; looking at the teacher, he said.

"Teacher, my father said that this time I'm coming back to study hard; my talent is not high, so I need someone to assist me."

"It just so happens Yang Hanrou is pretty good; although she's a bit lacking, she can be considered tall among short people."

Gu Jin Nian spoke up.

Just that sentence instantly silenced everyone in the school.

"What the heck, what does 'picking the tall one among short people' mean? If someone else said that, they'd accept it."

When Gu Jin Nian said that, they really didn't accept it.

"Who doesn't know Gu Jin Nian has the worst grades? How dare he say such a thing? Indeed, as soon as he said that, even the teacher frowned a little."

You really are shameless.

In an instant, strands of black energy seeped out from everyone's bodies, much less than Zhou Ning's earlier, but when gathered together it was about the same.

Especially Yang Hanrou and Zhang Yun, they provided the most black energy.

This black energy entered the bodies and turned into nutrients for the ancient tree.

"As expected."

"My guess wasn't wrong at all."

"It's resentment energy."

In an instant, Gu Jin Nian felt great delight; his reason for suddenly making that request was purely to disgust Yang Hanrou and Zhang Yun, and incidentally test his guess.

He hadn't expected to actually guess correctly.

Now many things become much easier.

Thanks to the two alliance leaders of Black 21 for the reward~ Thanks~~ (End of chapter)