Chapter 494: Merit and Moral Cultivation—How Did You Hear This!

Lady Zhuge and Zhuge Jian did not rush, waiting calmly outside the door.

The moon slowly rose.

When the candlelight inside the room flickered, Xie Yuan finally set down the scroll he had been reading; the moon had climbed higher.

Zhuge Jian slowly raised his hand and gently tapped on the carved wooden door.

Inside, Xie Yuan's voice carried a hint of impatience.

"I've said before—reading requires enduring hardship. Don't trouble the kitchen to brew soup for me at night."

A voice came from outside.

"Yuan'er, it's Mother!"

Xie Yuan immediately rose and opened the door, his face lighting up with delight.

"Uncle! Didn't you say you'd return today?"

Seeing this, Lady Zhuge smiled gently.

"Look, now that you have your uncle, you've forgotten your mother."

Hearing this, Xie Yuan quickly reached out and took his mother's arm.

"Uncle only comes once in a while—how can you joke like this?"

Lady Zhuge's expression turned stern.

"I had the kitchen brew you soup every day with herbs to nourish your eyes—you told me yourself you drank every last drop!"

"So you've been deceiving me all along."

Xie Yuan looked embarrassed and quickly turned to Zhuge Jian for help.

Zhuge Jian chuckled: "Yuan'er, you're probably so absorbed in your studies you forgot."

Lady Zhuge said: "Don't do this again next time."

Xie Yuan could only nod, muttering:

"Guan-di never drinks it…"

Lady Zhuge sighed—her son loved studying like Xie Guan.

Seek to emulate the virtuous!

But there was no need for all this—could the Xie family not afford a simple bowl of soup?

Zhuge Jian had slowly walked to the desk ahead, his gaze falling on the book Xie Yuan had just been reading: The Doctrine of the Mean.

【If others achieve something with one effort, I will exert a hundred; if they achieve it with ten, I will exert a thousand. If one truly follows this path, even the foolish will become wise, even the weak will become strong.】

"Yuan'er, what does this mean?"

Xie Yuan looked up, realizing this was his uncle's test; he spoke slowly:

"It means: if others put in one unit of effort, I must put in a hundred; if they put in ten, I must put in a thousand. If one persists in this way, even the dull-witted will become wise, even the frail will grow strong."

Zhuge Jian smiled wider and asked: "Then, Yuan'er, which kind of person do you think you are?"

Xie Yuan paused, then self-deprecatingly said: "I thought I was the kind who only needed to do something ten times—but now I see I'm probably the clumsy bird who needs to do it a hundred times."

In his heart, he compared himself to Xie Guan—in reading, in work, in chess—he always seemed slightly inferior.

Zhuge Jian teased: "I never thought our Yuan'er could be so humble—how rare."

At the same time, his curiosity about Xie Guan, the Xie family's illegitimate son, grew stronger.

After all, Xie Yuan was the personally selected closing disciple of that venerable senior, the future seed of scholarship.

Xie Yuan remembered his uncle's mention that morning of the demonic troubles in Jiannan.

"Uncle, how do you think the Great Qi court should respond to the demonic plague in Jiannan?"

After sitting down, Zhuge Jian smiled:

"Now you're testing your uncle?"

Xie Yuan's thoughts shifted instantly; he hurriedly said:

"Uncle, how about we make a bet? If I guess right, you'll ask Mother to cancel my meeting with the sixth Miss Li."

Lady Zhuge, listening nearby, gently scolded: "Yuan'er, don't joke with your uncle. This is no trivial matter to be treated as a game."

Zhuge Jian waved his hand and laughed:

"Fine, let's make the bet."

"If you lose, you'll obediently meet the sixth Miss Li."

Xie Yuan chuckled: "A gentleman's word is binding—four horses couldn't catch it back."

He figured he couldn't lose—he'd simply reveal Xie Guan's guess outright. If wrong, Xie Guan would take his place.

If he won, with his uncle's plea, he'd be off the hook.

A win-win situation.

Lady Zhuge shook her head: "You child—the sixth Miss Li is beautiful, well-educated, and from a fine family—why won't you accept her?"

This exchange between Zhuge Jian and his nephew was merely idle chatter after tea and meals; the final decision still rested with Minister Su in the court.

Su Jing currently holds the position of Chancellor of Great Qi, serving as Grand Secretary and Vice Director of the Censorate; his Su family leads the Nine Great Clans.

The Zhuge family and the Su family are allies in court; the current Empress Dowager is of the Zhuge clan, and the Empress herself hails from the Zhuge line.

From court to inner palace, their power is overwhelming—the Emperor has become a mere figurehead.

Back then, Zhuge Jian had resolutely chosen to study under the Third Master, despite elders in his clan urging him: "Why not take the Fourth Master, Su Jing, as your teacher?"

Zhuge Jian refused.

In his youth, Su Jing had presented the Master with the "Thirteen Strategies for Peace," his philosophy for governing the state.

But several of his proposals were too radical and were ultimately rejected by the Master.

Su Jing advocated "pragmatic scholarship"—discard anything useless.

To him, all people, things, and affairs in the world could be used for his purposes.

He sought only results, not processes.

Even arriving at the correct answer through wrong means was acceptable.

The Third Master promoted moral cultivation, seeking to enlighten all beings through Confucian rites and ethics.

Zhuge Jian agreed with the Third Master's ideals, so he became his disciple.

The dispute between Su Jing and the Third Master was originally a debate of philosophical lineage.

But after the Master went to the Eastern Sea to seek immortals,

the arguments within the academy grew fiercer; disciples of both sides clashed endlessly, deepening the rift between the Third and Fourth Masters.

The Second Master and the First Master were drawn in, until the First Master, enraged, left for Great Qi.

The Second Master fell gravely ill.

The Third Master grew disheartened.

Su Jing took his disciples into court; the Third Master remained at the academy.

As a disciple of the Third Master, Zhuge Jian should have stayed away from court. Now that he entered officialdom, many of his former classmates criticized him, accusing him of abandoning his philosophical lineage.

This was called "betraying the master's door"—not shameful to others, but wouldn't it break the Master's heart?

Many disciples in the academy secretly sided with this uncle, but none had ever done so as openly as Zhuge Jian.

Su Jing took this very seriously, treating Zhuge Jian with great honor, as if buying a horse's bone for a thousand gold—he appointed him Grand Secretary of the Military Council and granted him authority to advise on military affairs.

Zhuge Jian's actions had deep reasons.

He still upheld the ideal of moral cultivation, but saw the Third Master disheartened and the academy's spirit scattered.

Moved by the Master's kindness, he was willing to bear the slander and do something for the Third Master—using the court as a breakthrough to find a way out.

There was no longer the "Quiet Moon Master" who sowed beans beneath the southern hills of "Quiet Moon Lake"—only "Grand Secretary Zhuge."

Zhuge Jian sighed inwardly and returned to the present.

Recently, the court's Cabinet had begun heated debates over the demonic disturbances in Jiannan; though no decision had been reached, a direction had emerged, awaiting only Minister Su's final judgment.

Xie Yuan spoke slowly: "This is a proxy war—the Dragon Palace's demons treat the region as a minor state, while the great powers uphold their alliances, letting the minor state wage war on their behalf…"

At first, Zhuge Jian paid little heed, thinking it the nephew's childish babble—but when he heard the words "proxy state," his eyes sharpened.

Especially as Xie Yuan explained it clearly and logically.

The more Zhuge Jian listened, the more astonished he became; he looked up, frowning deeply, his tone turning grave.

"Where did you hear this?"

This was the Cabinet's official conclusion on the matter—signaling that Great Qi would not intervene.

Such insight could not come from a mere young master of the Xie household.

Had court secrets leaked to the common people?

Or had Great Sui already learned of it?

Seeing the unprecedented seriousness in his uncle's eyes, Xie Yuan froze, his words cutting off abruptly.

Xie Yuan knew these were Xie Guan's words; his face showed hesitation.

Lady Zhuge, puzzled by her usually gentle brother's unusual reaction, said to Xie Yuan:

"Yuan'er, your uncle is asking you—answer honestly."

Zhuge Jian, seeing this, said firmly: "Yuan'er, I won't punish you, but this matter is grave—you must tell me everything, without hiding anything."

Zhuge Jian added softly: "This place is sealed against outside observation—no ears behind the walls."

With that—

a white barrier slowly rose, enveloping the entire courtyard, spreading like a "rule," its clear radiance rippling outward.

Zhuge Jian's face paled slightly.

At the same time, a jade tablet inscribed with "Nourish the Mighty Qi" glowed brightly, suppressing the surroundings.

This was the "Word-Spitting Method," usable only by Spirit Soul cultivators who had reached an extremely high realm.

Madam Zhuge, seeing her younger brother deploy a magic treasure, realized this matter was no trivial affair.

After careful thought, and having come to understand his uncle's temperament and character, Xie Yuan clenched his teeth and decided to reveal everything.

After a while.

Zhuge Jian exhaled slowly, his expression complex.

He had never expected such analysis to come from the mouth of a Xie family bastard son.

"Launch troops to Zhuya County?" Zhuge Jian murmured to himself, then added, "Longyou Road..."

Xie Yuan cautiously stole a glance at his uncle and asked tentatively:

"Will this matter implicate Brother Guan?"

At that very moment!

A tiny silver-white flying sword pierced through the air like a silver ray cleaving the nine heavens.

The silver-white flying sword seemed sentient, gliding through the air like a living fish, spinning several times before landing steadily on Zhuge Jian's outstretched palm. A white spiritual light then shone upon his third eye, as if transmitting some message.

Xie Yuan stared curiously at the flying sword in his uncle's hand—this was the unique communication method among Da Qi cultivators, capable of exchanging messages across hundreds of li.

Zhuge Jian's face showed shock.

This was indeed an internal cabinet transmission sword; Su Xiang had already made his decision and conveyed it via the transmission sword to the Grand Secretary.

And the message it carried matched exactly what Xie Yuan had just said.

"Launch troops to Zhuya County!"

Zhuge Jian snapped out of his astonishment, lowered his head, thought for a moment, then said:

"Yuan-ge, tell me more about this Xie Guan—describe every detail."

Today's update is a bit late—I got held up, my lords, my apologies!

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(End of Chapter)