Achieving the Dao from the Hundred Schools of Thought

"You are all my personal guards. Do you still remember the sword dance I taught you?"

Lingyu was waiting for Fan Li outside the Grand Chancellor's residence. As soon as Zhuang Weiyang came out, she heard Lingyu lecturing the Yue woman.

Zhuang Weiyang subconsciously looked towards Lingyu, only to see two familiar faces.

"These women... are they the Yue women I met at Dazaifu before? Thank goodness I didn't choose them back then!"

Zhuang Weiyang didn't want to cause any more trouble; she just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Hey Zhuang, what are you looking at?!"

Lingyu's sudden words disrupted Zhuang Weiyang's plans.

Zhuang Weiyang is not the type of person who can be bullied at will.

"What are you looking at? Look at how you, General Ling, are teaching others to dance with a sword."

"I, Zhuang Weiyang, didn't get enough of the sword dance performed by Zuili before!"

Lingyu raised her eyebrows, looking like a beautiful woman in a huff, and pointed her finger at Zhuang Weiyang.

"you……"

"I'm leaving, I won't bother you any longer, General Ling."

Zhuang Weiyang knew that the greatest victory in an argument was to not give the other party a chance to retaliate.

After mocking Lingyu, Zhuang Weiyang left directly.

Lingyu stared intently at Zhuang Weiyang's departing figure, her anger turning into sorrow.

"When my Yue Kingdom was at its strongest, which Wu person dared to ridicule my Yue generals like this?!"

The Yue women around her, though wanting to offer comfort, could only stand there silently.

A few breaths later, Lingyu composed herself and looked at the Grand Tutor's Mansion, her gaze seemingly able to penetrate the stone walls.

"Dr. Fan, Dr. Fan, when two countries are at war, it's either you or me who dies!"

You, Zheng Xiu, may have humbled yourself and bribed the enemy's favorite minister to ensure the king's peaceful night's sleep, but my Yue Kingdom's soldiers are not spineless either!

……

Zhuang Weiyang finally rushed back to the courtyard.

"Things in Suzhou are such a hassle! I'm not going out this time, I'll just wait until tomorrow at court, after Fuchai has praised Prince Di, and then I'll rush back!"

Offering libations and sacrificial meat is not as simple as it seems.

The royal families were different from ordinary people. If a prince presented a gift, the king was required to respond.

It could be a few words of praise, or some treasures.

Zhuang Weiyang could only wait until she went to court again to receive feedback from Fuchai before rushing back to Zuili.

Zhuang Weiyang sighed, went to the well in the courtyard to wash her face, and was about to go inside to continue practicing her magic.

"Tap! Tap! Tap!"

The annoying knocking started again.

"Here it comes!"

Zhuang Weiyang sighed and stepped forward to open the door.

"Who are you……"

Zhuang Weiyang looked at the person outside the door. He looked familiar and she vaguely remembered that he was her classmate.

I wanted to say hello, but I couldn't remember the name.

The person outside squeezed into Zhuang Weiyang's courtyard, smiling warmly:

"What, Brother Zhuang, don't you recognize me? It's me! Bo Jiang, the gatekeeper of the Sage Palace!"

"You've forgotten, back in the academy, we often discussed classical texts!"

Zhuang Weiyang then remembered this person.

Bo Jiang is an extremely pragmatic person. After his breakthrough, he no longer associates with Zhuang Weiyang.

When Zhuang Weiyang also embarked on her own path, she wanted to rekindle their friendship from their school days.

Outside the Sage Palace, Bo Jiang still wanted to help him stop the Zhao family.

"Oh! Brother! Well, I've been traveling for days and my head is spinning. Please don't take offense!"

Bojiang joked and teased:

"Weiyang, I was afraid you wouldn't recognize me as your classmate! On that day outside the Sage Palace, I was truly powerless to help you."

Little did I know that the Zhao family's suppression was just the beginning of Zhuang Weiyang's rise to power!

I heard that in Zuili, you took Zhao Xiuwen...

Bojiang reached out and slit his own throat, making a decapitation gesture.

Zhuang Weiyang waved her hands repeatedly, avoiding the topic.

"This matter is governed by the law and has nothing to do with Wei Yang. May I ask what brings you here, brother?"

Bo Jiang didn't dwell on Zhao Xiuwen's matter, sighed, and said:

"Weiyang, tonight His Majesty will host a banquet to entertain the envoys from Qi."

Even a minor official like myself was invited, which is unprecedented.

I came here hoping to find a few classmates to stick together and keep each other company, so I won't embarrass myself later.

Bo Jiang hesitated.

"It has been more than a year since I broke through to the Great King's throne, and this is the first time I have attended such a banquet! If there is anything I have done wrong that would damage the prestige of the Wu Kingdom, how could the Great King forgive me?"

I came from a poor family, and only through the help of many people and the depletion of my family fortune did I obtain my current official position. If I were to lose this position, how could I face my ancestors in the afterlife?

Bo Jiang kept complaining, which gave Zhuang Weiyang a headache.

If he keeps talking, his elderly mother might have to move out of the house.

What's there to be afraid of when a wooden statue is eating?

"Alright, alright, I know why you've come, brother. Let's go together then!"

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Bo Jiang held the warm jade in his hand and bowed.

"Thank you, Brother Zhuang! This is a gift. I've heard that in the Central Plains, scholars and officials often present a jade pendant when visiting friends."

This item cost me half a month's salary! Please don't find it offensive, Wei Yang.

Bojiang really hasn't changed at all.

Don't release the hawk until you see the rabbit.

Zhuang Weiyang casually took the warm jade and stuffed it into her bosom.

"Alright, brother, you're being too distant! Who else did you invite to the banquet tonight?"

Seeing Zhuang Weiyang accept the gift with a look of surprise in her eyes, Bo Jiang quickly replied:

"There is also a horse groom who takes care of the king's horses!"

This official position is quite good. The king travels by dragon, and the horses he raises are so fat that they're like balls, yet no one criticizes them.

However... he hasn't been doing well lately either.

Bojiang spoke fluently, revealing all the information about the horse herder.

"He hasn't been doing well lately either. The king has imprisoned Goujian in the horse stable, which is where he is."

This is no good job! Ever since Goujian arrived, he has been coming to me every few days to drink and complain.

What did he say...? Today, Prime Minister Wu sent someone to order him to be stricter and to humiliate Goujian like a horse.

Tomorrow, the Grand Tutor will send someone to find him and order him to treat him with some courtesy, for Goujian is, after all, the ruler of a state.

Zhuang Weiyang nodded slightly; this was indeed a difficult situation to handle.

When Bo Pi and Wu Zixu were locked in a power struggle, the stable boy was wrong no matter which one he listened to.

"Alright, I understand. I'll come find you later, and we'll go to the palace together."

"No! Weiyang, let's go find the horse herder right now."

Zhuang Weiyang couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to follow Bojiang out the door.

Along the way, Bojiang kept telling stories about Suzhou.

Lord Bo Pi has taken several more concubines, and Prime Minister Wu has angered King Fuchai again.

Zhuang Weiyang ignored it all, and while walking, she would take the time to play with the jade.

Before long, the two arrived at the stable located in the east of the city.

Before even entering, she heard a woman's voice, which Zhuang Weiyang recognized very well.

A spirit jade?!

"Your Majesty, why do you look so haggard?!"

"Lingyu! What are you doing here? Get out of here! Get out of here—!"

Zhuang Weiyang saw the scene inside through the prison-style wooden stables.

Goujian was carrying two wooden buckets, heading off to work. Lingyu, standing to the side, looked sorrowful, a glimmer of light shining in her eyes.

"Your Majesty, I'll help you!"

Lingyu stepped forward and fought with Goujian for the wooden bucket, but Goujian just pushed her away, telling her to leave quickly.

"Weiyang! Bojiang! Why are you here so early?"

A burly man walked over from the side.

The burly man was dressed in shorts, his chest exposed, revealing a few tufts of chest hair.

The newcomer was none other than Ma Gu, a stable boy and classmate of Zhuang Weiyang and Bo Jiang!

Zhuang Weiyang saw the familiar chest hair and remembered this person.

Ma Gu came from a family of horse breeders in Suzhou, who had raised horses for the King of Wu for generations.

When he was in the academy, Ma Gu disliked studying and often gathered a few people to drink heavily. When drunk, he would go to the streets to harass women.

It wasn't until the academy's teacher intervened and reprimanded these individuals that peace was restored to the academy.

Ma Gu, however, was unconvinced and said privately:

"Whether I study or not, I'll still be raising horses for the king in the future!"

A year ago, when Ma Gu broke through to the Mingxin realm, Zhuang Weiyang secretly lamented that God was blind!