Chapter 1105

This was the second time the Emperor had sent Zhu Jianji to Pan Yun for study.

The first time, Zhu Jianji was still a child, just learning to speak, a baby in swaddling clothes;

Now, he had been under instruction for three years, a schoolboy with self-awareness.

Pan Yun disliked caring for children, but did not object to taking on students.

Especially since Zhu Jianji appeared well-behaved—he did whatever she told him to do, and listened attentively to her words.

Even Master Xuanmiao, who had come to lie on the wooden bed, said: "I would be willing to teach a student like him."

After speaking, she glanced at Pan Yun and added: "I hope all students in this world were like him."

Pan Yun nearly jumped up: "What are you implying about me? I was a model student!"

Master Xuanmiao: "It is precious to have self-awareness."

Tao Ji, fearing they would argue, hurried between them to interrupt: "Little sister, though we are overseas, we've heard you've increasingly meddled in court affairs—the Emperor listens to you in every matter; they now call you the Demon State Tutor."

"Nonsense! They clearly call me the Holy State Tutor; both at home and abroad, they say I am a celestial immortal descended to save the people."

Master Xuanmiao said: "You're good at slapping gold leaf onto your own face. Do I still have to teach you the principle of remaining vigilant in times of peace?"

Tao Ji quickly added: "Little sister, don't be fooled by the public praise—many behind your back speak ill of you, and they're all influential scholars."

"Where there is gain for some, there is loss for others," Pan Yun said. "Those who lose may accept it calmly, but some naturally resent me. As long as those who benefit vastly outnumber those who lose, I have no guilt. Countless people in the world hate and curse me—how could I possibly care for each one?"

Pan Yun waved her hand with ease, showing no sorrow or anger at the criticism: "When one day, you two walk down the road and hear two or three people praising me while others curse me, then tell me—I'll know it's time to vanish from the world."

Master Xuanmiao: "You said the majority prevails—why two or three, not five or six?"

Pan Yun grinned: "We must allow silence to exist. If two or three tenths of the populace openly oppose me, then those who oppose me in silence must be far more numerous."

This world was not the internet age of the 21st century; in Great Ming, where face met face, anyone who dared to denounce the State Tutor—no matter their motive—possessed courage.

Self-reflection could reveal flaws, but had its limits; Pan Yun was not afraid of outside criticism or gossip.

Master Xuanmiao's eyes unconsciously showed approval.

Tao Ji was about to speak again, but one glare from Master Xuanmiao silenced him; he muttered to himself: "Fine, you two enjoy yourselves…"

Yet inwardly, he could not help but worry.

Once that point came, how could one vanish from the world?

The court was not the martial world.

In the martial world, if abandoned by all, one could simply vanish into a remote mountain forest—so long as no one found you.

With Pan Yun's cultivation, few in this world could find her.

But the court…

He had never heard of a powerful eunuch who retired unscathed.

If she cultivated any other technique, she could simply shed her title as State Tutor and vanish into the woods.

But she cultivated merit and virtue—if she gave the people no accounting, thunder would strike her dead.

Even if she escaped heavenly thunder, could she escape the Dao of Heaven?

Thinking of Mount Sanqing's unchanging misfortune, Tao Ji's eyes filled with dread.

Pan Yun's gaze shifted, meeting Master Xuanmiao's; both understood what needed doing, but some things could be done, never spoken aloud.

Pan Yun had always believed that a sovereign need not be the strongest in martial or literary arts, but must know how to use people wisely and possess the capacity to tolerate others—that was the talent of a sovereign;

The second was the sovereign's virtue: Mencius had made this perfectly clear—if a ruler treats his ministers as hands and feet, the ministers treat him as heart and liver; if a ruler treats his ministers as dogs or horses, the ministers treat him as a stranger; if a ruler treats his ministers as dirt or weeds, the ministers treat him as an enemy.