Chapter 96: Chapter 91: Shelter and Joy for the World’s Humble Scholars

Chen Ke spoke slowly, “Besides the Confucian classics, I have also read the works of the ancient sages from the Hundred Schools of Thought. For instance, the Yin Yang Family’s dao of offense and defense, the Legalist Family’s Path of Governance, the Military Family’s dao of strategy, and the techniques of the Heterodox, Novelist, and Farmer Families—all have their merits. However, I’ve found that many of these doctrines contain numerous contradictions and conflicts. The more I read, the more confused I become.”

“This situation also frequently occurs within the Confucian Family. For example, two Saints have argued for a thousand years over the topic of whether human nature is inherently good or evil. There are many similar issues… The recently emerged Li Xue also raises many questions. ’The investigation of things and the extension of knowledge’ is simple to say, but I sat quietly in a bamboo forest for a day, thinking, and came up with no insights at all.”

“Additionally, I’ve also taken the time to read through the tens of thousands of years of the Human Race’s history and the biographies of the various Dynasties. There is no shortage of absurdities within them. The historians who wrote them strutted about, cherishing their ink as if it were gold. They wrote only of Princes, Generals and Ministers, and the scions of Noble Families, and nothing else. No one chronicled the lives of the common people, so the histories are inevitably monotonous.”

Lu Mingyuan questioned, “But familiarity is not the same as true understanding. You aren’t reading all this for your own sake, to become an official or pass the imperial examinations. So why are you doing it?”

“Why… To be honest, I am also very lost.”

Chen Ke looked a bit lost and shook his head.

“Since my mother passed away, I’ve had nothing tying me down. You may laugh, Your Highness, but my initial motivation for studying to get ahead was simply to have enough to eat at every meal. It wasn’t until I earned the rank of Scholar and could receive a government stipend that my basic needs were met. Only then did I begin to read day and night.”

“After the official corruption case, my desire for fame and fortune faded.”

“If it weren’t for you, Your Highness, I’m afraid I would still be in a thatched hut back home, cooking porridge and teaching.”

Lu Mingyuan listened patiently to his words. In his heart, he couldn’t help but think of someone.

He closed his eyes tightly, pondering for a long time.

The image of a poet surfaced in his mind.

Impoverished for half his life, he died in desolation.

Even in his most destitute moments, he never stopped writing, chronicling his tumultuous days.

Even when his official career was fraught with hardship, and he was slandered by petty and sycophantic officials, he always worried for the nation and its people, his original intentions never wavering.

Every word he wrote was steeped in the loneliness and cynicism of the mortal world.

All the poems he wrote in his life could not fully encompass his indomitable will and his longing for the nation.

Lu Mingyuan slowly opened his eyes and said, “In that case, I would like to give you a line of poetry.”

“What is it?”

Seeing the Sixth Prince extend his hand, Chen Ke tactfully handed over the paper and brush he had been using for notes.

The speed at which Lu Mingyuan wrote astonished him. It seemed to be a line of poetry, and seeing how fast the other man was, he couldn’t help but read the final words aloud in a low voice:

“Could I get a mansion of a million rooms, to shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them joyful…”

As the brush left the paper, Lu Mingyuan recited in a clear voice:

“Could I get a mansion of a million rooms, to shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them joyful!”

’Du Fu may have had the compassionate heart of a Saint, but he lacked the means of Thunder.’

’That is why he lived a life of poverty and displacement, manipulated by others.’

’I’m writing this poem to evoke the will of the Sage of Poetry, to inspire Chen Ke. Even if one tastes all the bitterness in the world, one must remain optimistic and open-minded, never forgetting one’s original intentions.’

“Keep this safe. Don’t show it to anyone else. Just take it out from time to time to inspire yourself. As for this person’s story, just treat it as some chicken soup for the soul.”

Chen Ke was still immersed in the magnanimity of the phrase. Though he didn’t know what “chicken soup for the soul” meant, he nodded solemnly and savored the words again and again.

…

「Later that evening.」

Chen Ke read scroll after scroll. His bed was covered from head to foot with notes and key points excerpted from books.

He could be seen using a faint Literary Qi to envelop one book after another, extracting the text to review in his mind. This way, he didn’t have to hold the books.

If Lu Mingyuan saw this, he would have to call it quantum reading.

In fact, that wasn’t quite it. Scholars in this world were all fast readers.

After reaching the Third Realm of Mingxin in the Confucian Dao, most could do this: extract the contents of a book and commit them to memory.

Chen Ke’s speed came from the fact that he didn’t just commit things to memory; he could simultaneously review multiple books, reading and familiarizing himself with them at a glance. That was his true skill.

It was a reading speed he had trained himself to achieve.

After reading for a while, he grew a little tired.

He took out the line the Sixth Prince had written for him during the day.

The more he looked at it, the more he felt there was something profound about the line, that it was rich with spiritual charm.

It wasn’t that the line itself was so powerful, but that through it, he saw a person.

An old man with graying temples, drifting about as his nation lay shattered.

It was as if his body’s Literary Qi allowed him to pass through the words and touch a barrier.

Chen Ke couldn’t help but murmur, “Does such a person really exist in this world? Someone who has tasted all of life’s hardships, yet is still filled with concern for the weak and lonely.”

He couldn’t help but think of himself.

He had lost his father and mother at a young age, with no father’s care, no mother’s love. His ancestors had at least been distinguished, but by his generation, this was his reality.

Since childhood, he had envied the sons of wealthy families who could study in private schools. Meanwhile, he couldn’t find a single teacher to instruct him. He could only write letters for others and mount paintings and calligraphy to earn money to buy books and learn. He had wanted to change his surname back to Qi and return to the Qi Family, but he was called a bastard and told he was unworthy to enter the Qi Mansion.

He put his all into passing the examination to become a Scholar, only to be caught up in a freak case that nearly ended his examination career.

He was already over twenty. Most of his fellow students had already made a name for themselves or received positions through nepotism, securing good futures. If not for the Sixth Prince, he would still have accomplished nothing.

At this thought, Chen Ke, who had not shed a single tear since his mother’s death when he was eight, felt his eyes moisten.

The person the Prince spoke of had a background quite similar to his own—just as miserable, just as lowly and insignificant.

As His Highness had said, this senior had experienced a lifetime of suffering, yet could still utter words like, “Could I get a mansion of a million rooms, to shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them joyful!”

’Why can’t I do the same?’

“Could I get a mansion of a million rooms, to shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them joyful… I, Chen Ke, can do that too.”

Chen Ke spoke these words subconsciously.

He had clearly taken this line as his own ambition.

He closed his eyes. Those words transformed into a brilliant golden light and imprinted themselves upon the walls of his heart.

In that instant, he tilted his head to the sky and shouted.

“Your Highness, I’ve had an epiphany!”

As soon as he uttered this line.

The next moment.

BOOM!

A clap of thunder split the silent sky.

Inside Wenyuan Pavilion, the rice paper on which the poem was written erupted with a majestic current of air that quickly swept through the entire hall.

Every single character emanated a golden light.

In an instant, a dazzling light filled the air, so brilliant that it woke the hundred or so officials who were already resting in Wenyuan Pavilion.

Then, the rice paper shone like a sun, pouring out a golden light that submerged its surroundings like a flood.

It was almost instantaneous.

The Scholars and the Chief of the Imperial Library present, who had gotten to their feet, all had their expressions change drastically.

They stared blankly at the scene.

Disbelief filled their eyes.

“Heaven and Earth Literary Qi.”

“It’s Confucian Taoist Literary Energy.”

“What kind of great Dao does this poem contain, for the Confucian Taoist Literary Energy to actually condense into a phenomenon?”

The golden light intensified, surging a hundred feet into the air and forming a pillar of light.

Waves of qi blasted outwards, causing disturbances in every direction!

It made all the scholars in the Imperial Capital City look up at the sky, staring blankly at the scene.

The voice of the Celestial Dao appeared in their minds.

“Could I get a mansion of a million rooms, to shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them joyful!”

Hearing this voice, everyone was stunned, as if they had realized something.

“Someone has comprehended the Dao and established their destiny!”

“What kind of great Dao is it, to actually receive the recognition of heaven and earth!”

…

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