Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 183: Emperor Anguo
"Strong winds reveal strong grass, and turbulent times reveal loyal ministers. A brave man knows righteousness, and a wise man is always kind..."

Xiao Shan's eyes sparkled with a strange light, and he couldn't help but ask, "I don't know this poem yet. Who wrote it?"

Lu Zheng thought about it and answered truthfully: "An emperor in ancient times."

"Uh……"

Xiao Shan's expression froze, and he looked at the poem again. He felt that it really looked like a poem written by an emperor.

But isn't it a bit exaggerated to give him such a poem?

It’s not that Lu Zheng was presumptuous in writing poems and essays by ancient emperors. After all, they occasionally wrote the words of sages, which was not a taboo.

If you can turn the poems and essays of your predecessors into literary treasures or give them as gifts to others, that is also your ability.

But Xiaoshan felt that he was not worthy of what this poem said.

Seeing Xiao Shan's expression change, Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "But is there something wrong?"

Xiao Shan said quietly, "It's all good, but I feel ashamed that I didn't insist on being a loyal official in the past, but chose to resign..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "The dean is in his prime and can still do a lot for the people of the world and make a difference."

Xiao Shan smiled when he heard this, "Okay, okay, then I will shamelessly accept it!"

He looked at this treasure of poetry and thought that Lu Zheng was indeed extraordinary. He could even turn the poems of an emperor into a treasure of poetry.

"I still don't know which ancient emperor wrote this?" Xiao Shan was very curious.

"Li Shimin." Lu Zheng replied.

In this world, the history after the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is very different, and the history before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is also different.

Xiao Shan thought about it, but couldn't remember which emperor it was.

But this kind of thing doesn't seem to be an important matter.

He hurriedly and carefully picked up the treasure and felt it was a little heavy.

As expected... Xiao Shan thought, he could not do as the poem said, so he could not use this treasure easily.

Xiaoshan carefully put Wenbao into his own Wen Palace.

He turned to look at the Donghu pen in Lu Zheng's hand and asked, "This pen looks extraordinary, but what kind of spiritual pen is it?"

Xiao Shan originally wanted to give Lu Zheng a set of high-quality stationery, but after seeing the pen Lu Zheng used, it seemed unnecessary.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng handed the Donghu pen to Xiao Shan, "Dean, take a look. Can you figure out anything?"

Xiao Shan took the pen and held it in his hand easily, and exuded a hint of literary spirit. He wanted to use the Donghu pen, but was blocked.

An extremely powerful and righteous aura instantly blocked his thoughts.

Suddenly, Xiaoshan found that the pen in his hand was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Lu Zheng did not deliberately control Dong Hu Bi, allowing Xiao Shan to have the most real feeling.

"This……"

Xiao Shan's face changed slightly, as if he was facing a great sage.

He quickly put down his pen, and said in surprise, "This is a writing instrument! But which important person uses this?"

Xiaoshan had seen some cultural relics, but he had never seen one with such a majestic aura.

"This is Dong Hu's pen." Lu Zheng said.

The story of Qi Taishi and Zhao Donghu actually happened in this world.

Xiao Shan was shocked when he heard this, "But that Chunqiu?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Yes."

Xiao Shan took a breath of cold air. He didn't expect that Lu Zheng actually had such a treasure. This was a legendary literary weapon.

Xiao Shan's expression changed. "This item is too precious. I'm afraid those great scholars will be interested. Qingqing, don't tell anyone about what you saw today!"

Xiao Qingqing next to him was also quite shocked and quickly agreed.

Lu Zheng said disapprovingly, "There's no need for you two to be so nervous. This item is only for me to use, and no one else can take it."

Dong Hu's pen is a literary instrument condensed from the righteous energy in his literary palace. Outsiders can take it, but they cannot use it.

Xiao Shan felt envious when he heard this. The fact that Lu Zheng was qualified to use such a cultural relic showed his extraordinary talent.

"But you still can't tell anyone about it, lest it bring big trouble to you." Xiao Shan said solemnly.

That being said, if the news gets out, it’s inevitable that some people won’t believe it and might have bad intentions.

He couldn't help but look at the Dong Hu pen on the table, feeling deeply moved.

Xiao Shan suddenly remembered that when they joined forces to kill the dragon, Lu Zheng seemed to have used this Donghu pen, and at that time Lu Zheng was also holding a jade slip.

As for what kind of artifact the jade slip was, Xiao Shan didn't want to ask. Some things were better left unknown...

Xiao Shan pointed to the classics in the study and said with a smile, "I have quite a few books here, you can read as you please."

"Thank you, Dean."

Lu Zheng didn't hesitate and went straight to the bookshelf to look for books.

He also called Qingwan out and asked her to read more books and learn more.

There were a wide variety of books, but Lu Zheng did not choose them deliberately. Instead, he took out and looked through any classics he had not read before. If the content was valuable, he would read it carefully.

Xiao Shan took a look from the side and found that Lu Zheng had no interest in classics such as Confucian classics, but instead liked to read various other miscellaneous books.

Xiao Shan still had to go to the academy to teach students, so he asked Xiao Qingqing to stay and entertain Lu Zheng and Qing Wan, and he left the study first.

……

Tai'an City, Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.

A dignified middle-aged man in azure attire was reviewing memorials. He was none other than the current Emperor of Anguo, An Taixuan. Outside the palace, a gentle sound of footsteps could be heard.

Without a pause, the footsteps went straight into the imperial study.

There are not many people who can enter the imperial study without being stopped.

When An Taixuan heard the voice, he knew who the person was, so he slowly put down his pen and raised his head slightly.

An Jing came closer, his face full of joy, and bowed gracefully, "Father!"

"It's An Jing!"

An Taixuan said with a smile, "Looking at you like this, did something happy happen to you?"

An Jing replied, "It's Lu Zheng's business."

"Lu Zheng..." An Taixuan thought for a moment, "Lu Zheng, what's going on? I've never seen you so concerned about any young man before."

An Jing said: "He is the most talented person my daughter has ever met..."

An Taixuan smiled and waved his hands, saying, "I know, I know. You've said it so many times. What's the matter this time?"

An Jing quickly said, "My daughter sent a gift, and he wrote back. He accepted the imperial censor's token, but he didn't seem to care. He said he would return it to me personally when he sees me in the future."

"Tsk..."

An Taixuan tapped the table with a finger and said, "You don't even look down on the status of a walking censor. Young people are arrogant. How do you plan to win him over?"

He was the one who specially approved Lu Zheng's identity as the Imperial Censor, but he didn't expect Lu Zheng to care much about it.

An Jing thought for a moment and said, "Actually, sincerity is all that matters... My daughter doesn't think he'll really want that status, she's just giving him some security."

An Taixuan said with a smile: "You came here to find sincerity? I am very busy and can't spare the time for him."

An Jing hurriedly said, "Lu Zheng sent some things over for your inspection! Your Majesty, please take a look at these first..."

An Jing took out some papers and handed them to An Taixuan.

An Taixuan became curious and took a look at it, and found that it was some poems, most of which were poems that would be passed down through the ages.

"Hmm? I've never heard of these writers before, yet they were able to write such poems that have been passed down through the ages. I've never seen these poems before, so where did they get them from?"

An Jing shook his head and said, "My daughter doesn't know either. I think it was written by some unsung scholar."

She was also very curious about where Lu Zheng knew so many ancient poems.

She didn't know any of these writers, and even if she could find anyone with the same name and surname, she had never heard of any of them writing such poems.

An Taixuan had been reviewing memorials for such a long time that seeing these poems made him feel pleased and in a good mood.

"Somebody come!"

An Taixuan spoke loudly.

An eunuch hurried into the imperial study, bowed and said, "Your Majesty."

An Taixuan took out a few sheets of paper and said, "Take the poems on it and copy a few copies. Send them to the sages in the Temple of Literature. Send one copy to the Empress and several ministers as well. Remember to bring the original copies back to me! Also, have someone check who these scholars are. If any of them are still alive, let me know immediately!"

"As ordered!"

The eunuch carefully took the paper and then walked out of the imperial study with brisk steps.

An Jing looked at the remaining poems in An Taixuan's hand and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't these good?"

"better!"

An Taixuan smiled and said, "These poems that can be used for war should not be spread out casually for the time being."

An Taixuan looked at these poems and liked them more and more.

He suddenly said, "By the way, what else did he send?"

An Jing took out another booklet. "It's about mathematics. My daughter read some of it, but she couldn't understand most of the content..."

An Taixuan also learned about the literary gathering in Changchuan County and had long been curious about how good Lu Zheng's mathematics was.

He took the booklet and looked at it. Before he flipped through it, he thought he was quite proficient in mathematics.

As I read on, I came across some patterns and symbols, but I had no idea what they meant.

"Is this a heavenly book?"

An Taixuan muttered to himself, his mind in a mess, unable to understand.

After all, he was the emperor and had received instruction from many mathematical masters since childhood.

As a result, the contents of the booklet made him doubt himself.

Before he finished reading, An Taixuan closed the book with a slightly stiff expression.

He returned the booklet to An Jing and said, "Make a few copies and send them to the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Revenue. Let them take a look."

It turns out that my father also doesn’t understand... An Jing suddenly felt a lot more relieved.

An Taixuan couldn't help but say, "This Lu Zheng, I... I like him very much. What do you think I should reward him with?"

Generally, An Taixuan would call himself "I" to people he was close to and liked.

Hearing this, An Jing smiled and said, "Given Lu Zheng's personality, he wouldn't accept anything even if the emperor gave him a reward."

"Oh? I'm not a stingy person, how can I not give you anything?" An Taixuan said.

An Jing said, "Lu Zheng sent these because he knew the tokens were given by our father, and this is a return gift. If he gave him anything else, it would be inappropriate."

From what An Jing learned from Zhu Sha, it seemed that Lu Zheng had not originally intended to write to her, and only wrote the letter and these things later.

If I send Lu Zheng another big gift, it will seem like I am repaying the favor.

"Interesting..." An Taixuan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's write it down and talk about it later."

(End of this chapter)