Although the old nun was also a formidable cultivator, facing this Nepenthe Realm cultivator in front of her, she had no strength to resist at all. After a moment, she lost all hope, and her expression became lifeless, unable to give rise to any thought of resistance.
The blue-robed man glanced at the old nun, and the killing intent in his eyes seemed to turn corporeal, as if it would overflow from his eyes in the next moment and take away her life.
"I only want an answer. If you really don't want to give it to me, then I'll really send you to your death."
The blue-robed man said incredibly seriously. When he looked at the old nun, he appeared incomparably serious.
The old nun was silent for a long time, unwilling to speak.
The blue-robed man said, "I really can't think of any reason for you to refuse me. Your elder sister didn't treat you as a sister, and your brother-in-law even prevented you from seeing your sister for the last time. If I were you, I'd definitely make them pay a great price!"
The old nun still remained silent, but a struggling look already appeared between her brows.
The blue-robed man said indifferently, "Do you know how history will record you?"
The old nun said coolly, "I'm just a woman, why should I care what history says about me?"
The blue-robed man looked at her and said, "Then, will your name be in her volume in the history books?"
Originally, the old nun's heart had gradually become firm. When she heard this, her expression suddenly became ugly. She looked up at the man in the blue robe, her eyes flashing with various emotions, ultimately turning into confusion.
In the Great General's manor back then, she and the queen, who was still a teenager, were very close sisters. The deep bond between them was beyond imagination for outsiders. If not for this, how could she have chosen to work tirelessly for her in the Divine Capital when the current Great Liang Emperor rose in rebellion?
In fact, it could be said that the old nun's willingness to do so much back then was never for high rank, wealth, or prosperity. It was solely because of her relationship with the Empress.
Later, the two fell out for many reasons. But in reality, the old nun still believed that she should be the Empress' closest and only sister!
"It was she who wronged me first..."
The old nun murmured, and tears flowed down from the corners of her eyes.
……
……
A scholar stood by the South Lake for a long time, then quietly left the academy and walked slowly towards a certain place in the capital. He passed through several long streets and a narrow alley covered with snow. Although the accumulated snow was not shallow, there was still a group of children playing in the alley. Maybe because it was already late in the year, so all these children were wearing new clothes. The clothes might not be made of exquisite materials, but they were colorful and brand new.
In the alley, the children lowered their heads, scooping up the accumulated snow with their little hands that had turned red from the cold. They pressed the snow into snowballs one by one, holding them in their palms. After exchanging glances and nodding at each other, they silently chanted 'begin' in their hearts, throwing snowballs at each other. A cheerful snowball fight began. However, when the scholar walked through, a slightly younger child happened to throw a snowball, hitting the scholar's chest. Although the child's strength was not great, the scholar was wearing a thick cotton robe, so the small snowball neither hurt or itched. Nevertheless, seeing that they hit an adult, the children immediately dropped their snowballs and scattered in all directions. The narrow alley soon only showed the backs of these children.
Only the child who had thrown out the snowball earlier was left. He stood on the spot rather helplessly.
He glanced at his friends who were far away and was actually also thinking about whether to run away or not. But in the end, he failed to take a single step. After sneaking a glance at that scholar, he noticed that the scholar was not angry, which relieved him.
The scholar stood in place, brushing off the snow from his chest without saying a word.
The child mustered up his courage, and took a few steps, arriving in front of the scholar. He sincerely apologized, "Sir, I'm sorry."
The scholar looked at him, wearing a smile, and asked, "Why address me as 'sir'?"[1]
The child, who was initially nervous, felt completely at ease seeing the scholar's demeanor. Scratching his head, he said with some embarrassment, "I don't know, sir. You look just like the teachers in the private school."
The scholar glanced at the child and reached out to brush off the snowflakes on his head before continuing, "I saw you were about to run away earlier. Why did you change your mind?"
After a moment's hesitation, the child said, "I was scared at first, but then I thought if I ran away, it wouldn't live up to the principles my teacher taught in the private school. I didn't want to disappoint my teacher."
The scholar nodded and said in agreement, "Being afraid to disappoint your teacher is a reasonable concern."
As the child listened to the scholar speak and observed his expression, inexplicably feeling a sense of warmth. He asked with some anticipation, "Is the sir also a teacher in a private school?"
However, as soon as the child said this, he felt a bit uneasy. Perhaps it was because the scholar in front of him looked young, seemingly not much older, referring to him as "sir/teacher" might not be fitting.
Sure enough, the scholar soon shook his head and softly said, "I'm not considered a teacher. I haven't taken on students yet, I'm still studying under a teacher."
The child was stunned and asked in surprise, "Sir is still studying?"
The scholar made a sound of agreement and said softly, "Been studying for many years, don't know how many more years to go."
The child could not grasp the deeper meaning of this statement and simply echoed, "That's right. The teacher in the private school also says that studying, even when one is grown up, even after achieving success or fame, should never stop. It can continue all the way until death. Studying for success or for wealth is not advisable."
"Then that teacher of yours must be a brilliant scholar."
For some reason, the scholar who had initially been in a hurry to leave the alley and head towards a certain place, stopped being in a hurry after talking to this child. Instead, he became patient and engaged in a longer conversation with the child.
"The teacher is indeed good, but it would be even better if there were fewer beatings and more reasoning with words."
The child thought of the teacher's ruler in the private school and could ot help but feel a headache. He had endured quite a few beatings, usually for forgetting the homework given by the teacher because he was playing around too much. When he went back the next day, he was sure to face a beating.
Most children who were disciplined in this way would likely feel that they were not at fault and only consider the teacher too harsh. However, this child, after each punishment, understood that he had made a mistake. Due to his playful nature, he couldn't resist indulging in mischief, so each time he admitted his mistake sincerely, only to repeat it again next time.
The scholar smiled and said, "I was never beaten when I was young."
The child was astonished, "Then, sir must be an excellent scholar."
In his understanding, all teachers in the world were supposed to use the ruler. If one had not been beaten when young, it meant that this sir had an excellent temperament. At the very least, he must have studied very diligently when he was young.
The scholar thought for a moment, recalling his own experiences during childhood. Born into the Wei Family as a direct lineage heir, his fate had been predetermined from birth. Before he could go to the academy, he studied at the Wei Family's home school. The teachers were naturally incredibly strict. He also understood the expectations placed on him. Therefore, he studied diligently and his parents never needed to worry much about his studies. However, like the child in front of him, all children had a playful nature. In his early years, he longed for a life beyond the Wei Family, but as a member of a prominent family, the view was obstructed, and he could not look outside.
As for later on, after entering the academy, that teacher whom all scholars in the world revered like a deity, was quite different from the strictness of the Wei Family's home school. Whether was it studying or doing anything else, that scholar pretty much did whatever he wanted. He was not serious when teaching his students, which made Wei Xu find it very difficult to adapt to it initially.
He could not understand how such a casual and leisurely scholar could gain the favor of the academy's previous dean, allowing him to become the dean of the academy, becoming the leader of all scholars in the world.
As time went on and he spent more time with his teacher, Wei Xu gradually understood the underlying principles. It turned out that scholars did not necessarily have to be rigid and formal, nor did they need to speak in pedantic terms every day.
Someone who was not like that, would still be a pretty good scholar.
Wei Xu lifted his head, his scattered thoughts gathering again. The child in front of him had waited for him for quite some time. Wei Xu smiled apologetically and said softly, "Can't say excellent, just a passable scholar. But I wonder if my teacher is satisfied, or if my parents are satisfied."
The child responded with an "Oh" but did not speak immediately, lost in thought.
After some time, the child suddenly seemed a bit embarrassed and said, "Actually, sir, when I said that I was afraid of disappointing my teacher earlier, I had another thought."
Wei Xu inexplicably felt that the child was about to say something profound and replied seriously, "Please go on."
"Actually, when we study, whether your teacher is disappointed or not, and whether parents are satisfied or not, it's not that important. The most important thing is that we should understand what kind of person we ought to become when we study, and what kind of person we want to be. It's like what Teacher said, 'Reading a book a hundred times reveals its meaning.'"
The child nervously gripped the corner of his clothes, not daring to look up at the scholar in front of him.
Wei Xu looked at him with a complex expression.
Before Wei Xu could say anything, the child suddenly remembered something, and his expression suddenly became somewhat panicked. He hastily bowed to Wei Xu and said, "Sir, there's something at home, I need to leave first..."
After bowing, without waiting for Wei Xu's response, the child ran off in the distance, leaving only his back view.
Watching the child's departing figure, Wei Xu murmured, "Can be my teacher."
......
