The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"Isn't that obvious?"

Li Zhen muttered, "Who wants to listen to all this classical Chinese nonsense?"

"Keep your voice down." Tang Heshang was startled and quickly nudged Li Zhen with his elbow.

If you upset your husband, even if you get beaten, your parents will say that your husband did the right thing.

"Do you really dislike these classical Chinese phrases?" Chen Huai'an asked with a smile, ignoring Li Zhen's words.

"I don't dislike it."

Li Zhen said weakly.

Chen Huai'an remained noncommittal: "Actually, you don't need to be afraid of me. After all, I'm not some kind of man-eating tiger. Besides, I don't like those classical Chinese phrases either."

The group looked at each other, unable to believe what they were hearing.

This young man in front of me... says he doesn't like the grand principles in books?

Li Zhen asked warily, "Sir, you're not trying to fool us, are you?"

"Trying to fool you?" Chen Huai'an glared at him as if he had been greatly insulted. "Look at me, look at my appearance! Do I look like someone who would try to fool people?"

"What do you little kids have that I could possibly fool?"

"Besides, if I were someone who liked to deceive, would His Highness the Crown Prince have let me teach at the Hongwen Academy?"

Li Zhen blinked and looked at Chen Huai'an, who was dressed in blue, had an exceptionally handsome face, and exuded a refined and easygoing temperament.

He certainly doesn't seem like a con artist.

And what they said makes sense; this is the Hongwen Hall.

If someone doesn't have real skills, how could His Highness the Crown Prince possibly let him teach?

He was still being taught by Li Chengqian.

But... what kind of teacher would say they don't like these grand principles? Shouldn't all teachers value these classical texts more than their own lives?

How can you say you don't like it?

Tang Heshang tentatively asked, "You really don't like these grand principles?"

"Of course," Chen Huai'an answered firmly. "No matter how many times you ask me, my answer will always be the same."

"dislike!"

Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask, "If you don't like it, why were you appointed as a teacher?"

"Being able to become a teacher must prove that you are very knowledgeable."

"Good question!" Chen Huai'an sat down and looked around at the group of top noble second-generation members of the Tang Dynasty. "I really don't like the classics very much because they are too boring. I always get sleepy when I read them."

"Is this how you are?"

Upon hearing this, a group of children nodded in agreement.

Correct!

Absolutely right!

That's it.

Every time I listened to the teacher's lectures, it was like listening to a lullaby, and reading those classic texts was like reading cryptic books.

Chen Huai'an smiled faintly: "Actually, it's not just you who are like this; everyone is like this. Why?"

"Because you can lie down, go out and have fun, and enjoy yourself, who would want to suffer? Right?"

"Yes!" the children exclaimed in unison.

Cheng Chumo immediately asked, "Then why does the gentleman want to read it?"

"Because I had no choice," Chen Huai'an said frankly. "Unlike you, I was born into a poor family. My parents were ordinary farmers who spent their whole lives toiling in the fields for a living."

"If I don't want to spend my whole life toiling in the fields, I have no choice but to study as hard as I can, because that's my only way out."

The classroom suddenly fell silent.

No one expected that this new young man would have such an experience.

He even said it in front of them.

With a smile, Chen Huai'an continued, "Is studying hard? It is very hard, because I don't have a prominent family background. My path to education is far more difficult than you can imagine."

"When I was a child, I couldn't afford tuition, so I shamelessly climbed up the school wall to eavesdrop. If I had a good teacher, they would turn a blind eye to me. If I had a difficult teacher, they would kick me out. If I had an unreasonable teacher, they would even beat me up."

"I couldn't afford books, so I became a dog for those rich kids, hoping they would even glance at those books they despised, even just once."

"Because I know very well that the more I look at something, the more I remember something, the greater my chance of changing my destiny."

"But sometimes..." Chen Huai'an said self-deprecatingly, "Even if I were to be someone's dog just to catch a glimpse of something they would disdain, they still wouldn't be willing."

"In their eyes, even if they didn't care about those books, they weren't something a piece of trash like me could touch."

"A peasant like me should live in the mud for all eternity, looking up at them with humble eyes for generations to come."

Chen Huai'an spoke with a smile on his face, but the people below were all indignant.

"Damn it! How could there be such despicable people!" Li Zhen clenched his fists, furious. "Since they disdain books, why don't they give the teacher a second glance? Instead, they insult the teacher like this."

"Exactly!" Cheng Chumo exclaimed indignantly. "Sir, tell me who that person is, and I'll have my dad deal with him!"

"That's outrageous!"

"Yes, people like that should be taught a lesson," the others chimed in.

"Sir..." Li Chengqian was also angry about Chen Huai'an's plight, but unlike the others, he didn't shout for revenge. Instead, he pressed on, "And then what happened?"

"Later..." Chen Huai'an paused for a moment, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, then he composed himself. "Later, my whole family did everything they could to support my education. They gave me all the good things, and I studied as hard as I could."

"My father went up the mountain to collect herbs for others in order to earn more money, and then he never came back. My mother wove cloth for others, earning a meager wage. Later, she went blind and, not wanting to be a burden on us, she hanged herself."

"I also have an older sister, who is only two years older than me. In order to raise money for my travel expenses to take the imperial examination, she sold herself to a local butcher as a concubine for five strings of cash. Later, she couldn't stand the beatings and abuse from her husband's family, so she ran away with her daughter. We haven't heard from her for so many years, and she's probably dead."

Li Chengqian was taken aback.

He had thought Chen Huai'an would suffer, but he hadn't imagined it would be this bad.

He was already eight years old and had a concept of many things, so he couldn't imagine why Chen Huai'an could be so calm and even smile as he talked about his experiences.

The other children in the school looked at each other, wanting to comfort Chen Huai'an, but not knowing how to begin.

Tang Heshang, being older, noticed the somewhat heavy atmosphere and quickly changed the subject: "Sir, was it because you passed the imperial examination that you changed your fate?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Li Zhen quickly echoed, "Sir must have passed the imperial examinations to become our teacher."

"Sir, you are truly remarkable. To have achieved so much at such a young age, your grandmasters would surely be very pleased if they knew this in the afterlife."

Chen Huai'an shook his head: "I did pass the exam, but then I failed."

"..."