Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

The entire East Palace Academy was quiet, without a trace of its usual noise.

All the princes and princesses focused their attention on Chen Chang'an's face as he told the story of the magical monkey.

Even Cui Shou, who was ordered to supervise and wait for Chen Chang'an to make a mistake, was so engrossed in the story that he quietly took half a step forward, completely absorbed in the captivating tale and forgetting his own mission.

Chen Chang'an took in the whole scene and continued his story.

"The Monkey King decided to travel to the ends of the earth to find the immortals and learn the secret to immortality. The next day, the monkeys made him a raft and prepared some wild fruits. So the Monkey King bid farewell to his troop and, alone, poled the raft towards the vast ocean..."

The story of the Monkey King unfolded layer by layer, becoming increasingly captivating. The princes and princesses listened with rapt attention, completely engrossed, as if they had forgotten the passage of time…

All sorts of questions began to pop into their minds.

Are there really four continents in the celestial realm? Is there truly a way to achieve immortality in this world? Are the immortal arts you spoke of real...?

Just as they were listening with rapt attention, eagerly anticipating the exciting part about the Monkey King learning his skills, Chen Chang'an's voice abruptly stopped.

He picked up his textbook from the table again, his expression returning to seriousness, and said calmly, "Let's leave the story here for now and continue the lesson."

The princes and princesses immediately became anxious, looking up with eager expressions and unsatisfied looks in their eyes.

Even Cui Shou's face showed a hint of displeasure.

This Chen Xiuzhuan, why is he like those storytellers, stopping at the most exciting part, leaving me feeling like a mouse is scratching at my heart...

That monkey thinks it can cross the sea with just a raft? Won't it fall into the sea and drown?

He wanted to urge Chen Chang'an to tell him the rest of the plot, but he didn't dare.

If even Cui Shou was like this, then one can only imagine what would happen to these imperial heirs.

Chen Chang'an abruptly stopped writing at a crucial moment, and they panicked instantly.

"Sir, what happened next? What happened next?"

Did the Monkey King successfully cross the sea?

"Yes, sir, please continue!"

……

Several of the imperial heirs spoke up, urging the story to continue, their eyes filled with eager anticipation for what would happen next.

Chen Chang'an glanced at the assembled imperial heirs and said with a smile, "No rush, let's continue the lesson. As long as you all listen attentively to today's lecture, I will check your understanding one by one tomorrow. If everyone can recite today's content completely and explain its profound meaning fluently, I will continue with the exciting story of the monkey learning from a master and causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace. If anyone can't recite it, we'll wait until everyone has recited it before we start the next lesson..."

Upon hearing this, the princes, who had been restless and only wanted to listen to stories rather than lectures, immediately straightened up, their eyes focused, and they no longer showed any signs of being distracted or careless.

For the sake of the monkey they longed for, and for the exciting story to come, they were willing for the first time to calm down and learn this dry and boring knowledge.

Cui Shou, who was standing nearby, witnessed this scene and was completely stunned.

Despite the efforts of numerous scholars in the Hanlin Academy, none of them could get these imperial heirs to study seriously. Unexpectedly, Chen Chang'an easily won over these mischievous imperial children with just one story.

At that moment, he had a vague premonition.

The Grand Secretary's attempt to make things difficult for this newly appointed top scholar is unlikely to succeed.

With the story of the monkey as something to look forward to, the princes, who had previously had no interest in their studies, completely abandoned their carefree attitude.

In the following classes, they changed their usual listless attitude.

The imperial heirs all sat upright, their eyes focused, not daring to lose focus for even a moment. They listened patiently to the content that they had previously found tedious and obscure.

When they encountered words or phrases they didn't understand, several of them would raise their hands to ask questions. This stark contrast left Cui Shou, who was standing to the side, dumbfounded.

This was the first time he had ever seen these imperial heirs listen to a lecture so attentively.

Another half hour passed, and Chen Chang'an's first class came to a smooth end.

He closed the book in his hand and said, "Today's lesson ends here. Tomorrow, I will have all the princes memorize and explain the texts. I hope you will all study diligently."

"Take care, sir!"

The imperial heirs all rose and bowed, as they had rehearsed beforehand.

Previously, they were intimidated by the Third Princess's authority, but now they are truly sincere.

This is the first gentleman who would tell them such a wonderful story.

Chang'an nodded, and without lingering, turned and left the East Palace Academy, heading towards the Hanlin Academy.

Once Chen Chang'an's figure had completely disappeared into the distance, the obedient and docile atmosphere from before quietly dissipated. Ninth Prince Xiao Chengyu immediately abandoned his obedient demeanor, looked at the others with a stern face, and spoke in an extremely serious tone.

"Let me make this clear: everyone needs to memorize the text properly today. Anyone who dares to slack off and can't recite it tomorrow, thus delaying our enjoyment of the monkey's story, will be severely punished!"

The eleventh prince, Xiao Cheng'an, quickly nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes, you must memorize it well. I'm still waiting to hear the story of the Monkey King causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace!"

The other princes and princesses also had serious expressions on their faces.

Not long after, at the Hanlin Academy.

After leaving the Eastern Palace Academy, Cui Shou did not dare to delay and returned to the Hanlin Academy immediately, heading straight to the head of the academy to report back.

Inside the yamen, Dou Wenhuan sat upright at his desk, holding a classic book in his hands, but his mind was elsewhere.

As he anticipated, those imperial heirs would remain as unruly and averse to studying as ever, leaving Chen Chang'an helpless and in a sorry state.

When the time comes, if anything goes wrong during the lecture, he will have a legitimate reason to record Chen Chang'an's dereliction of duty and severely deduct his performance score.

Upon seeing Cui Shou return, he immediately asked, "How did things go?"

Cui Shou's expression was somewhat complicated as he said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, things have taken us somewhat unexpectedly..."

Afterwards, he recounted the knowledge he learned in class that day in detail.

From the princes' unusually attentive listening throughout the lecture, to Chen Chang'an using stories to guide the lessons and encourage everyone to study diligently, and finally, at the end of the lecture, Chen Chang'an made a pact with them, completely putting these unruly princes under his control...

After listening to Cui Shou's report, Dou Wenhan's face gradually darkened.

Originally, it was an order he used to make things difficult for Chen Chang'an, but who would have thought that those imperial heirs would actually change their ways?

Chen Chang'an not only avoided making any mistakes, but also made the unruly imperial heirs take their studies seriously...

Is this Chen Chang'an really that capable, that nothing can stump him?

Inside Chen Chang'an's duty room.

Upon seeing Chen Chang'an return, Zhang Huaiyu immediately stood up and asked with concern, "Brother Chang'an, how was it? Did you cause any trouble on your first day of class?"

"No."

Chen Chang'an looked at him and shook his head, saying, "Brother Huaiyu, where did you hear those rumors? These imperial heirs are clearly very well-behaved and obedient. Who is spreading these rumors that they are unruly and incompetent?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Huaiyu froze on the spot.

It was a consensus in the court that these young imperial heirs were unruly and difficult to discipline, and many officials in the Hanlin Academy had suffered at their hands.

Why did they change their tune when it came to Chen Chang'an?

Compared to the other scholars in the Hanlin Academy, he was merely a bit more handsome...

Does being a gentleman also depend on looks?