Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 386 Recruiting talents
Anguo, Tai'an City.

In the study of the Princess's Mansion, a snow-white fox was lying beside the desk, pressing a book with one of its little paws, reading it intently.

The white fox's bright eyes moved as he read the book very seriously.

At first, Su Mei was not very interested in these books.

But when he learned that they were given to An Jing by Lu Zheng, An Jing always read these books and gave them high praise.

This made her very curious, so she secretly watched a lot of them.

"Do you like studying things, too?"

An Jing's voice suddenly rang out in the study.

Su Mei was startled when she heard this, her body trembling. She quickly pushed the book aside and ran to An Jing. She said softly, "Master, you are back?"

An Jing lowered his head slightly and looked at Su Mei and said, "Can you understand?"

"Ah, this..." Su Mei said hurriedly, "Master, please forgive me, I shouldn't have..."

An Jing interrupted, "Do you understand?"

Su Mei's pointed ears twitched, and she whispered, "I can understand a little bit."

An Jing said calmly, "I'm planning to set up a school. Do you want to enroll?"

Su Mei was stunned for a moment, then looked up in surprise and said, "Can I too?"

That's an academy, how can a fox demon like her go there?

An Jing said calmly, "I will recruit some talented people into the school. When the time comes, you can help me keep an eye on them while studying..."

Su Mei blinked her eyes and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I am willing! I will definitely do whatever the master asks me to do!"

An Jing said calmly, "Go find Qiuyue and get a Transformation Pill. You won't be able to enter the school like this."

Su Mei was overjoyed when she heard this. The transformation pill could not only allow her to transform, but also improve her cultivation to a certain extent.

After being beaten back to her original form, she has been practicing hard, but her recovery is too slow. She doesn't know when she can return to human form after practicing like this. Unexpectedly, An Jing gave her a transformation pill at this time.

"Thank you, Master!"

Su Mei quickly stood up straight, holding her paw and bowing repeatedly to express her gratitude.

An Jing said: "Go!"

Su Mei smiled happily and ran out of the study.

……

Tai'an City, Changlin Street.

Luxurious courtyards are lined up on both sides of the wide streets.

Those who can live in this street are either high-ranking officials in the court or royal relatives.

The residence of the Lu family, Minister Lu of the Ministry of Revenue, is located on this street.

A tall and burly man came to the outside of the Lu family mansion.

The man directly showed his name card and said to the doorman, "The guard of the Princess's residence is He Hu. Is the Third Master Lu, Lu Liang, in the residence?"

The doorman was stunned when he heard this, and then he was slightly shocked. He didn't know why the princess's men found this place.

"The Third Young Master is at home..." the doorman said, "What can I do for you, sir?"

He Hu said calmly: "Take me to see him."

The doorman did not dare to delay and quickly led He Hu in, then told other servants to go and notify everyone.

After a while, Minister Lu heard the news and hurried over.

When Minister Lu saw He Hu, he politely asked, "So it's Guard He. I wonder what you want from my son?"

Even as a minister, Lu did not dare to be negligent when facing the princess's guards.

You must know that Princess Anjing is now in the limelight in the court. She took advantage of the opportunity of the new policy reform to deal with many officials.

Although everyone knew that it was Emperor An's order to dismiss those officials, they would not be foolish enough to offend the eldest princess at this critical juncture.

He Hu said calmly, "I have something to discuss with Lu Liang under the order of His Highness."

Minister Lu was worried. His good-for-nothing third son seldom went out. Could it be that he had gone out and done something and was caught?
Minister Lu couldn't help but ask, "But how has my useless child ever offended His Highness?"

He Hu looked at Minister Lu, "Why do you say that, Minister?"

Minister Lu heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and said, "Since Guard He has something private to discuss with my son, the housekeeper..."

Minister Lu directly ordered the steward who came with him to take He Hu to see Lu Liang.

After all, he is a minister in the court, and he can't lead the way himself.

Minister Lu said, "I have prepared some tea in the living room. Please ask Guard He to come over and rest for a while."

"Let's talk about it later." He Hu replied indifferently.

Afterwards, He Hu strode towards the yard where Lu Liang was.

Lu Liang, the third son of the Lu family, is neither good at literature nor martial arts. He likes to fiddle with flowers and plants at home. To outsiders, he seems to be uneducated.

Fortunately, his two elder brothers were talented, one was talented and the other was good at martial arts, and they supported the Lu family.

In the past, Minister Lu was still trying to find a way to train his third son, but he was unable to do so and he couldn't even pass the examination to become a scholar.

Over time, Minister Lu gave up completely and kept Lu Liang at home. As long as he didn't go out and do bad things or learn to be like those playboys, it would be fine.

The housekeeper of the Lu Mansion took He Hu to a side courtyard.

Before entering the yard, He Hu could faintly smell the refreshing fragrance of various flowers.

At this time of year, many flowers have not yet bloomed, but there are already quite a few in the Lu Mansion. The housekeeper came to the front of the courtyard and knocked on the door, saying, "Third Young Master, Guard He from the Princess's Mansion wants to see you!"

"Who?"

A man's voice came from inside.

The butler couldn't help but repeat it again.

I only heard footsteps coming from inside, and soon the gate opened.

A skinny young man showed his face.

Lu Liang looked at the housekeeper, then at He Hu, and asked politely, "What do you want from me?"

The steward retreated tactfully.

He Hu looked at Lu Liang for a few times and asked, "I heard that you are good at growing plants?"

Lu Liang's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he raised his head and said proudly, "Let's not talk about other places, but in Tai'an City, there is no one who grows flowers better than me. I'm not bragging, those gardeners in the palace are not as good as me!"

Lu Liang paused, then asked curiously, "But what kind of flowers does the princess need me to grow?"

He thought that the princess's people came to ask him to raise some exotic flowers and plants.

He Hu said calmly, "His Highness wants to open a school. Are you willing to enroll?"

Lu Liang was stunned when he heard this. He reached out and scratched his ear and asked, "What did you say?"

He Hu spoke clearly, emphasizing each word, and repeated, "Her Royal Highness the Princess is planning to build a new school in Tai'an City. Do you want to enroll?"

Lu Liang was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. He couldn't help but raise his finger and pointed at himself, saying with a puzzled look on his face: "Me? I can't even pass the exam to become a scholar. Why would His Highness want me to open a school? Can't I go somewhere to grow flowers? Did you find the wrong person, or did you hear some rumors?"

Lu Liang felt that this was a joke. With his level, he could still enter the academy? If he became a servant, he would probably not be as talented as those servants.

He Hu said, "We've learned a lot about your situation. Since you're good at growing plants, you understand agronomy and can grow other crops... Food is the most important thing for the people. You could actually do something for them, rather than just stay here and grow some flowers and plants."

"You don't have to pass exams or fight on the battlefield to be considered truly talented and leave your name in history. You can still make a difference with what you're good at. As long as you have the ability, the academy will support you unconditionally."

As a personal guard at the Princess's Mansion, He Hu is not only proficient in wielding swords and guns, but is also a good speaker.

After all, when working for His Highness, you will encounter all kinds of situations, and knowing only martial arts is not enough.

Lu Liang was surprised when he heard this and asked, "What kind of school is your highness going to open?"

He Hu said: "Academy that can do practical things, the talents they want are not those who only want to study and become officials, but those who have real talents and can benefit the country and the people."

"As long as you have a talent in a certain area, you can enroll! The school can help you discover your talents."

"Mr. Lu, I think you don't want to stay here forever and suffer the kind of stares from your family, right?"

"Once you go to academy, you can fully develop your talents there, and you'll meet people who are similar to you..."

Lu Liang felt his heart burn with anger when he heard this. He was not a fool and he could see how his family members viewed him.

Sometimes, even the servants in the mansion were not as respectful to him as they were to his two elder brothers.

But he really had no skills, so he could only hide in his own yard and keep company with flowers and plants.

He never expected that despite his situation, he would be noticed by the princess and chosen to enter the academy.

Suddenly, Lu Liang felt an urge to die for his friend.

He Hu saw Lu Liang's expression change and couldn't help asking, "Master Lu..."

"Oh my gosh!" Lu Liang said, "When can I start school?"

He Hu smiled slightly when he heard this and said, "Anytime, the sooner the better."

Lu Liang's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Shall we go now?"

He really didn't want to stay in this house for a moment.

In fact, he had wanted to move out and live on his own a long time ago, but his parents didn't allow it, and he didn't dare to disobey.

He Hu said, "Are you going to ignore these flowers and plants?"

He really hoped that Lu Liang could start school as soon as possible so that he could fulfill His Highness's order, but wasn't this a bit too fast?

Lu Liang couldn't help but turn his head and look at the plants in the yard, his eyes filled with reluctance. These flowers and plants were his treasures and it was really hard to part with them.

He made up his mind and said through gritted teeth, "Give me half a day. I'll put some flowers and plants in place. Can I take the rest to the academy?"

He wanted to keep all the flowers and plants, but he didn't feel comfortable doing so.

When I go to school, I will definitely learn knowledge, and I am afraid I will not have time to take care of so many flowers and plants.

"Okay." He Hu said.

Lu Liang was delighted and said, "Then could you tell my father? I'm afraid he wouldn't agree."

Lu Liang really wanted to go to the school newly established by the princess, but he was afraid that his parents would not agree.

"As long as you are willing." He Hu said calmly, "I will inform the Minister later."

Who is going to stop the princess from recruiting talents to run a school?

When Lu Liang saw He Hu's tone and expression, he felt as if he had taken a reassurance pill.

He Hu raised his hand and took out a piece of paper. "This is the application form for admission. Please fill it out and I will give it to your father to review and sign later."

"The Institute of Knowledge..."

Lu Liang looked at the contents on the paper and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who manages this school? The Imperial College?"

He Hu said: "The academy has its own dean, and has nothing to do with the Imperial College. You will know it later."

(End of this chapter)