Chapter 510

Seeing Pei Ye finally got his wish and picked up his wine, took a copy of the Great Tang National Gazette, and with a full stomach, left the Xiuwen Academy once again with a rich harvest.

No matter what kind of thrilling events he had experienced before returning, the Imperial Academy always looked as if time hadn't flowed. The desolate weather and the vibrant students made him feel relaxed as soon as he walked through the door.

However, this time Seeing Pei Ye walked through half of the academy, and until he pushed open the door of the Four Gates Academy, Seeing Pei Ye faintly smelled a trace of tension.

The students were frowning and focusing on something, and the arguments that reached his ears seemed more frequent than usual. It seemed that some kind of storm that couldn't be ignored had blown into this academy, and even the high walls all around hadn't been able to stop it.

Seeing Pei Ye, who had been busy for days, naturally didn't know what major national event had happened again. He only saw that the classroom was still nearly full. He scanned it roughly and still didn't see Fang Jidao's figure, but in the front row, Changsun Jue was sitting at the desk with her waist straight, and a small booklet was placed on the seat next to her to occupy it.

When Seeing Pei Ye walked over, she was seriously reading a book, occasionally picking up a fine brush to mark it.

"Classmate Changsun, good afternoon."

Changsun Jue was startled and looked up, bowing her head politely: "Good afternoon, Classmate Pei—I thought you would come later."

Seeing Pei Ye laughed: "Unfortunately, I came in a hurry and didn't bring anything, and I don't know what's being taught today."

"It's Mr. Li Mingqiu's 'Book of Documents', it should be the 'Yi Ji' chapter," Changsun Jue said seriously, pointing to the small booklet on the desk, "Mr. Xu said you were coming, and I thought you might not have time to bring the book, so I helped you copy a copy of the original text and a copy of the annotations."

"Ah! Thank you, thank you!"

"It wasn't many words anyway," Changsun Jue smiled slightly. Seeing Pei Ye inexplicably felt that this elegant young girl was somewhat like Xu Chuo in some aspects, especially this kind of scholarly and gentle temperament.

He cupped his hands and thanked her again.

But Changsun Jue didn't withdraw her gaze. She still looked at him and hesitated for a moment before saying: "Classmate Pei, you didn't come to class the day before yesterday. Did you go out to uphold justice again?"

Her bright eyes were curious.

"What upholding justice," Seeing Pei Ye laughed, "It was just some aftermath of the Taiping Cao Gang, handled together with the government office."

"Hmm... can you tell me what happened?"

Seeing Pei Ye shook his head and laughed: "The Jingzhao Prefecture and the Immortal Platform both keep it confidential, and even the officials who participated don't know."

"Ah, there's also the Immortal Platform?"

"Yes."

"Then did you use force against anyone again?"

"I did."

The young girl seemed a bit nervous: "Then did you win?"

"... I won." Seeing Pei Ye rarely felt a bit embarrassed and touched his head. He still had quite a bit of respect for this girl who excelled in poetry and books, and he wasn't very used to being questioned with such concern. At this time, he interrupted: "Do you love watching people fight? There are many sword societies in Chang'an City, you can pay attention to them on weekdays."

"I only want to see Classmate Pei draw his sword."

"..."

Changsun Jue was slightly shy, but her eyes were still very clear and serious: "I was on the Maple Shadow Platform that day in West Pool. Classmate Pei is the most powerful swordsman I have ever seen. Although my knowledge is shallow, I don't think anyone else can use a sword as well as you."

Seeing Pei Ye hurriedly waved his hands: "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Yang Zhen, Bing Yan, Fei Qing, they are all much more powerful than me... There are also many famous sect disciples who have gone much further than me."

"You are still so humble."

"..."

"Classmate Pei," the young girl finally expressed her expectation, "If you have any fights next time—I mean if it's okay to watch—can you send me a message? Either the Taichang Minister's Mansion or the Imperial Academy is fine. I want to go and watch... I definitely won't disturb you."

"... Alright, of course it's alright," Seeing Pei Ye rubbed his hands, "What's there to disturb..."

Changsun Jue clapped her hands together. Her body was still in an elegant posture, but her expression was clearly excited: "Then it's settled!"

Seeing Pei Ye laughed twice.

This feeling was really different from being arrogant in front of a group of juniors in Fenghuai. The young man originally had thin skin when facing such sincere praise, not to mention that the girl in front of him came from a noble background and her attainments in classics were very respected by him.

At this moment, the young man felt for the first time the meaning of the two words "making a name for oneself" that Xu Chuo had mentioned in the small building that night. In a place like the Divine Capital, it was no longer just friends, but many people who were not very familiar, or even complete strangers, would place certain expectations on him.

The classroom gradually quieted down, and soon the sixty-year-old man with graying temples and a clear, upright face appeared at the door with a book. The class was as serious and full of etiquette as ever. With Changsun Jue's explanation, Seeing Pei Ye also roughly understood the content.

"Yi Ji" was a quite long chapter in the "Book of Documents", recording a question-and-answer session between Shun and Yu, containing the merits of water control, the way of being a ruler and a minister, and the harmonious scene of rulers and ministers encouraging each other. Confucianism remotely respects the ancient sages, so every chapter of the "Book of Documents" is extremely important, and Li Mingqiu lectured very meticulously.

It was just that Seeing Pei Ye heard some familiar things in it again. At the beginning, Yu said, "Waiting for the will to clearly receive the Emperor, Heaven will repeat its command to use goodness," and at the end, Shun said, "Command the mandate of Heaven, only this and only that." Li Mingqiu cited these non-substantial remarks on the mandate of Heaven particularly meticulously. And in the last class, they clearly also discussed the "Way of Heaven."

Seeing Pei Ye suddenly realized something from his ignorant reading and interpretation of the characters—the Principle Academy that Fang Jidao wanted to enter, the articles with huge space in the National Gazette, the debates that the students always had that he couldn't understand—this vast world he was unfamiliar with clearly always had things it solemnly cared about, besides governing the country, there were also more mysterious and profound pursuits.

One could tell just by looking at the serious expression of Changsun Jue beside him.

He had less disturbance and silently chewed on these words himself until the end of the class. The young girl beside him was still frowning and dazed. After a while, when the classroom became noisy, she came back to her senses, tilted her head, and smiled apologetically: "Sorry, I was still thinking about the teacher's last question."

"It's okay, I didn't understand it at all," Seeing Pei Ye packed his things.

Changsun Jue smiled: "Actually, it's the article 'On Virtue' that the teacher published in the National Gazette. It's been nearly twenty days and it's still being argued about in the academy. Today the teacher said some of his own thoughts again."

Seeing Pei Ye was curious: "Can I understand it?"

"Of course you can!" Changsun Jue smiled again, "Simply put, it's two sentences, the 'Book of Songs' says 'The mandate of Heaven is not constant, only virtue is assisted,' and the 'Analects' says 'Heaven produced virtue in me, what can Huan Tui do to me?'"

"... How strange."

"Right, you think so too," Changsun Jue also lowered her head to pack her things, "I was also startled when I read it. It's like a donkey's lips on a horse's mouth, picking and choosing sentences. But after thinking about it, I understood—the point of view on the 'mandate of Heaven' in the 'Book of Documents' is actually 'The mandate of Heaven is not constant, only virtue is assisted'... Do you understand the meaning of these two sentences?"

"The 'Book of Documents' says 'The mandate of Heaven is not constant, only granted to those with virtue,' and Confucius says 'Heaven granted me benevolence and virtue, what can Huan Tui do to me?'"

"Not bad! Classmate Pei has improved a lot." The two packed their things and walked out of the classroom. Changsun Jue laughed and continued, "But think about it, since the mandate of Heaven only helps those with 'virtue,' and 'virtue' is granted by Heaven, then where does 'the mandate of Heaven is not constant' come from?"

Seeing Pei Ye was stunned for a moment.

"Yeah... why?" Seeing Pei Ye looked at the young girl, trying to get an answer.

"This is what everyone is arguing about," Changsun Jue said, "The answer given by the teacher is that then 'virtue' is not granted by Heaven. The superior man cultivates virtue, the inferior man stays away from virtue, and the mandate of Heaven changes because of this."

"... Isn't this saying it very correctly?"

"Hey, then you're saying the Sage Confucius is wrong?"

"..." Seeing Pei Ye was speechless, but in his heart he thought, to hell with the Sage Confucius, so what if he's wrong? Unless there's some kind of Sword Sage.

The two left the classroom. Changsun Jue smiled: "Actually, it's not that what the Sage Confucius said is beyond question, it's just that he studied the 'Book of Documents' and read the 'Book of Songs,' and lived in the Zhou Dynasty himself, so his understanding must be much deeper than ours. How can we arbitrarily think that what he said and recorded is wrong?"

Seeing Pei Ye was a bit confused: "Then how to interpret it?"

Changsun Jue stretched out a finger: "Actually, it's not difficult. I think the article that will be published in the November National Gazette will be like this: 'Virtue' must be born of Heaven, but it will change because of the human heart. Those who indulge human desires and stay away from the Way of Heaven will deviate from virtue; those who respect the Way of Heaven and follow the will of Heaven can preserve virtue. 'Fearing Heaven and knowing the mandate,' that's all."

"..."

Changsun Jue smiled: "Classmate Pei must be bored listening to this."

"No." Seeing Pei Ye was actually quite interested and asked in a daze, "Then what is the significance of this argument?"

When Li Mingqiu wrote this article, he must have known about the rebuttals and answers that others would throw at him. In other words, is it really that important whether the "Book of Documents" is right or wrong, or what Confucius thought back then?

To put it bluntly, it's just that people should "cultivate virtue."

Changsun Jue was rarely silent at this time.

The two walked quietly on the small path, and the figures of those leaving class gradually became sparse.

After a long time, the young girl sighed lightly: "Of course, Classmate Pei, this argument is not only of great significance... and it's also stained with blood."

"..."

Changsun Jue tilted her head and looked at him: "If Classmate Pei sees more, you will understand: look at a great scholar's article, and you see his high mountains and bright wind; look at a hundred articles by a great scholar, and you know his background, status, and what he likes and dislikes."

"You mean, they are all standing in their own positions to snatch weapons?"

Changsun Jue nodded and said softly and seriously: "Classmate Pei doesn't enter the scholar circles or the imperial court, so it's hard not to be slow to react to these stormy waves. This is just a corner of the recent turmoil... I'm afraid it will soon break out in the entire Divine Capital."

"... What do you mean?"

"If everyone is striving to determine right and wrong for an ancient event, it is naturally because its right and wrong must also indicate the right and wrong of the present," Changsun Jue said softly, "I heard that practicing swordsmanship is also divided into sword principles and sword moves. I think if you want to change the sword moves, you must first change the sword principles... A country is the same."

"..."

Changsun Jue finally smiled again: "Classmate Pei actually doesn't need to think so much. Hasn't Mr. Xu been personally handling this matter for so long? The things she wants to do, she will definitely tell you."

"... She didn't tell me at all."

"Then it must not be the time yet, and you didn't go to ask," the young girl unexpectedly defended the woman.

Seeing Pei Ye couldn't refute this.

He laughed: "Thank you, Classmate Changsun. In the past, I just read and recognized characters and didn't think about so many things... You really have profound insights."

"Actually, I have no qualifications to judge the teachers," Changsun Jue smiled first, then sighed lightly, "I come from a noble background, I don't govern the country, I don't engage in production, I only know how to do things in books. In the past, my ambition was to interpret the Five Classics in this life and seek the only truth in the world. Later, I realized that the interpretation of classics can never be separated from the present, separated from my own influence, and while it is important what the truth is, it is even more important which side the truth stands on."

"..."

"I want to seek the truth, but I don't have the insights and courage of Classmate Fang," Changsun Jue smiled at him, "You say I have profound insights, but actually I am self-deluded by reading, far from being as firm and clear as you."

Seeing Pei Ye didn't know what Fang Jidao was doing. At this moment, he came back to his senses and just laughed: "I came out of a small mountain village and it was the same. I think that if you have more insights, you will inevitably be confused. After you are confused, you will naturally be firm. It must be that you haven't reached the time yet."

This was the words defending Xu Chuo above, so Changsun Jue had to smile helplessly.

At this time, the sky was at dusk, and the two arrived at the quiet small garden behind the academy. A figure in a light purple dress was already standing here.

This was a very beautiful and noble young girl. Although Changsun Jue standing beside her didn't become a "small family jasper," she also appeared peaceful and approachable. Especially since this young girl looked very lazy and cold, with the corners of her eyes slightly drooping, she was almost like a peacock looking down on everything.

Seeing Pei Ye thought this was probably the guide Xu Chuo had arranged for him, but she didn't say her identity. He was hesitating about how to speak when Changsun Jue beside him already laughed: "Classmate Pei, this is my good friend. She also loves your swordsmanship, so she asked me to invite you to meet."

Seeing Pei Ye was startled: "Oh... thank you, I have Mr. Xu's short note..."

Changsun Jue laughed: "It's the same person. Her name is Cui Zhaoye, have you heard of her?"

The beautiful young girl nodded slightly. Seeing Pei Ye was surprised and hurriedly cupped his hands to salute: "So you are Miss Cui, I have long admired you."

The young girl opposite returned an elegant salute, walked over, and the two sat down at the stone table.

"... I read the October National Gazette when I was in Shaolong," Seeing Pei Ye saw that she was a bit cold and took the initiative to talk, "At that time, everyone said that Miss Cui has a pair of divine eyes, and no swordsmanship in the world can escape your eyes."

But he saw this peacock-like young girl resting her chin on both hands, looking at him without moving.

"Young Hero Pei, I found that we two have such a fate," she finally spoke, her eyes narrowed, and she actually revealed an extremely sweet smile.

"... Ah?" Seeing Pei Ye was rarely stunned in front of polite greetings.

"The last character of our two names is actually the 'Ye' sound."

"..."

This young girl's lazy and cold temperament was so inviolable that for a moment it actually seemed somewhat believable.