Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

The next morning.

Yesterday, Qing Shuang insisted on hearing the whole story of Journey to the West. Unlike the imperial heirs, she was not easily fooled. Chen Chang'an was kept up by her all night, but she still couldn't finish telling the story.

Qing Shuang didn't fall asleep until dawn.

Chen Chang'an, on the other hand, had to go to work at the Hanlin Academy again.

Fortunately, he is now a martial artist and has plenty of energy, so staying up all night won't have a significant impact on his condition.

After waiting in the duty room until 9:00 AM, Chen Chang'an arrived at the East Palace Academy on time.

The atmosphere inside the school building was even more lively today than yesterday.

The princes and princesses took their seats early, the books on the table were neatly arranged, and their eyes were full of anticipation as they looked at Chen Chang'an.

"Hello, sir!"

As Chen Chang'an entered the school, the imperial heirs immediately stood up and greeted him in unison.

Cui Shou watched this scene with mixed feelings. The way these imperial heirs treated Chen Chang'an was completely different from how they had treated him before.

Chen Chang'an walked onto the stage, first looked at Xiao Chengyu, and said, "Your Highness, Ninth Prince, please recite the first paragraph of the general outline of the 'Cheng Tian Yao Dian'."

Xiao Chengyu stood up confidently. He had put in a lot of hard work yesterday to memorize these things.

He cleared his throat and immediately said, "Of all things in heaven and earth, humanity is the most precious. Of all things in humanity, the heart is the foundation. Therefore, those who govern the world must first govern the heart, and those who govern the heart must first understand principles. When principles are understood, the heart is upright; when the heart is upright, actions are proper; and when actions are proper, the world will submit to them..."

Chen Chang'an nodded, gesturing for him to sit down, then looked at the Fourth Princess Xiao Muxue and asked, "Fourth Princess, what does 'a wise man keeps his talents hidden until the right time' mean?"

Xiao Muxue stood up and answered with equal confidence, "A wise man keeps his talents and abilities hidden and does not easily show them off. He waits for the right opportunity to use them. This tells people that they should accumulate knowledge and skills in ordinary times and keep a low profile. They should not be in a hurry to show off. Once the time is right, they should act decisively and make a difference."

Chen Chang'an nodded again and said, "Very good..."

He then called on the remaining imperial heirs in turn, and all of them could fluently recite what Chen Chang'an had taught them yesterday. Moreover, they were not just memorizing by rote, but could also accurately explain the meaning of those sentences.

Cui Shou stood at the entrance of the school building, his expression even more complicated.

They had tried many methods to motivate these imperial heirs to study, but all of them ended in failure.

Chen Chang'an accomplished something that none of the Grand Secretaries could do with just one story.

Today's homework check went well for all the princes, and Chen Chang'an naturally had to keep his promise. He smiled and said, "Your Highnesses all answered very well. Today we will continue the story of the monkey..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the imperial heirs lit up instantly, and they sat up even straighter, looking at the podium with anticipation.

Continuing from yesterday's story, Chen Chang'an continued: "One day, the monkey came to a cave. The cave entrance was tightly closed. On the hill opposite the entrance stood a stone tablet, about three zhang high and eight chi wide, with ten large characters written on it: 'Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, Xieyue Sanxing Cave'..."

Chen Chang'an knew that if he didn't tell a story first, these children would definitely have difficulty concentrating.

In what was supposed to be a one-hour class, Chen Chang'an spent half an hour telling the story of Sun Wukong's apprenticeship, his quest for treasure from the Dragon Palace, and his forced entry into the underworld...

The dramatic plot twists and boundless imagination captivated the hearts of all the imperial heirs.

Even Cui Shou leaned against the schoolhouse door, listening intently, his emotions rising and falling with the plot, completely forgetting his mission.

When Chen Chang'an finished telling the story of Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he abruptly stopped at the most exciting part, smiling and saying, "That concludes today's story. Everyone, take a fifteen-minute break, and then we'll begin class. We'll continue the story after checking your homework tomorrow..."

Although the imperial heirs were still not satisfied, they did not say anything.

The teacher has proven that as long as they listen attentively and complete their assignments, they will hear the rest of the story tomorrow.

On the contrary, Cui Shou was very interested in the later plot and forcibly suppressed the urge to ask Chen Chang'an questions.

For the rest of the hour, Chen Chang'an attended class as usual. After class, he gave the imperial heirs a few more instructions before returning to the Hanlin Academy.

Inside the Hanlin Academy.

Dou Wenhuan sat upright at the desk in the duty room, listening to Cui Shou's report, his gloom deepening.

He had painstakingly dug a pit, waiting for Chen Chang'an to jump in, but unexpectedly, not only did Chen Chang'an not fall into the pit, he filled it in instead.

If he had actually completed the imperial children's studies, it would not have been a fault, but a merit, which was not what Dou Wenhuan wanted to see.

He thought for a moment and then instructed, "Issue my order to summon several tutors and lecturers to the front hall for a meeting. Also, have Tutor Sun come to me first..."

Before long, several of the most senior Grand Secretaries of the Hanlin Academy gathered in the council hall.

After everyone was seated, Dou Wenhuan looked at one of the people in the room and asked, "Grand Secretary Sun, you said you had something important to discuss. What is it?"

After what happened last time, Dou Wenhuan certainly wouldn't cause trouble for Chen Chang'an himself, lest he become the subject of gossip again.

Sun Yan was the Third Prince's man, and also his other mouthpiece in the Hanlin Academy.

He would delegate any task that he couldn't handle himself to Sun Yan.

An elderly man whose name he had called stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to the others, and said, "Gentlemen, the Eastern Palace Academy is a place for the imperial heir to study. It should be based on the classics of sages, the principles of governing the country, and the laws and norms of etiquette, in order to show its solemnity..."

He changed the subject and spoke again: "Lord Dou disregarded past grievances and entrusted such an important task to Compiler Chen. Compiler Chen should have taken this important task seriously, but he abandoned orthodox Confucian studies and the proper way to govern the country. Instead, he spent his days bewitching the imperial family's children with vulgar gossip, supernatural tales, and absurd stories..."

At this point, his tone became even more serious: "Vulgar and absurd language, lacking manners and propriety, is hardly fit for refined discourse, much less something that the imperial heirs should learn. If this continues, it will inevitably mislead the imperial heirs' minds, cause them to neglect their proper studies, and corrupt the academic atmosphere of the Crown Prince's palace. This is a dereliction of duty and a grave mistake that will harm the imperial family's offspring!"

After he finished speaking, the other two immediately echoed him.

"Lord Sun is absolutely right. The Royal Academy is a solemn and dignified place; how can it be used to discuss absurd myths?"

"Such behavior must be stopped immediately, this unhealthy trend must be eradicated, and the fundamental principles of scholarship at the Crown Prince's Palace must be upheld!"

Grand Secretary Zhou and Grand Secretary Lin exchanged a glance. Although they felt that Grand Secretary Sun was making a mountain out of a molehill, it was always a good thing that those unruly imperial heirs were willing to listen to the lectures.

But upon closer examination, what they said is not without merit.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Dou Wenhuan slowly raised his hand. After the crowd's voices subsided, he slowly spoke: "Chen Xiuzhuan is indeed wrong, but considering that this is his first time teaching and he lacks experience, we will not punish him this time. Let him correct his mistakes in the future..."

Upon hearing this, both Grand Secretary Zhou and Grand Secretary Lin looked at Dou Wenhuan in surprise.

Unexpectedly, the head of the academy would speak up for Chen Chang'an...

Could it be that he really doesn't hold a grudge against Chen Chang'an for what happened last time?

Dou Wenhuan had a peaceful expression on his face, putting on an air of magnanimity.

He knew very well that if he personally punished Chen Chang'an and forcibly prohibited him from teaching, he would be accused of being narrow-minded and deliberately suppressing his subordinates, and the censor would once again seize on this as a pretext.

By using Sun Yan and others to set the tone for Chen Chang'an's matter, and then stepping in to play the good cop, he could gain a good reputation, smoothly finalize the matter, and shut everyone up—a brilliant two-birds-with-one-stone strategy.

Knowing Dou Wenhuan's thoughts, Sun Yan and the others stood up, clasped their hands in greeting, and accompanied him to finish the play.

"We admire the Dean's magnanimity!"

"Chen Xiuzhuan is still young, let's give him a chance."

"Last time, when Chen Xiuzhuan treated the Dean so badly, the Dean still forgave him and showed leniency. He is truly a role model for us all!"