Chapter 73: Gentle as Jade, Impeccable in Every Way

Sun Han was naturally pleased that someone had taken on this heavy burden. Though he was a scholar under the imperial patronage system, he inherited his grandfather’s straightforward personality and failed to spot any flaws in those people. Instead, he chatted cheerfully with Zhang Yue while rubbing his stiff arm, mentioning some old incidents from the Punishment Hall and giving him some advice.

“As the saying goes, it’s easier to deal with the King of Hell than those petty demons. There are six clerks in this Punishment Hall, and their skills are no worse than those of the court officials or the Imperial Guards. Usually, they hold the lowest status, but when it comes to executing punishments, if you don’t handle them properly, you’ll suffer greatly. Take today—for helping that guy back to the dormitory, you’ve undermined their dignity. If you’re someone without any backing, and something goes wrong and you end up in their hands, those five light blows will be nothing compared to what awaits you!”

Though these words were meant for Zhang Yue, the young man listened carefully. By the end, he couldn’t help but frown and suddenly interjected, “The state has its laws, and families have their rules. Does the Imperial Academy allow these clerks to act lawlessly?”

At that moment, Fangling’s face turned pale. Seeing that there were few people around and they were all scattered, too busy to pay attention to him, he quickly signaled to his two friends with urgent gestures. Unfortunately, Sun Han was facing away and didn’t notice his signals at all. Zhang Yue, though he saw them, only glanced briefly before turning away. In that instant, Fangling was drenched in cold sweat.

“It’s better to offend a gentleman than a petty person. How can reason apply when dealing with such people?”

Seeing Sun Han about to respond, Zhang Yue quickly spoke up first. As the two burly men carried the beaten scholar away, almost out of sight, he turned back and nodded at the young man with a smile.

“Still, although the Imperial Academy is a place for studying and learning, one must also learn how to conduct oneself properly. The scholar was unjustly punished today, but they can always claim they followed the rules—how can he be punished for that? Besides, isn’t this suffering a result of his arrogance and pride in his abilities? Today, he only offended the clerks, so he suffered a little. But if, in the future, he becomes an official and continues to look down on his colleagues and subordinates, acting selfishly, he might suffer even more. After all, arrogance requires real talent—not everyone can be as extraordinary as Li Bai.”

At first, the young man listened with a slight frown, but later he began nodding repeatedly. When Zhang Yue finished speaking, he couldn’t help but clap and praise, “Well said, well said! I hate those scholars who are arrogant because of their talent, unable to stand shoulder to shoulder with sages, yet speaking in a tone as if they could compare to the sages—as if showing disrespect to them meant showing disrespect to the sages themselves. They can’t tolerate anyone else and often speak ill of others’ shortcomings behind their backs! If this student can restrain himself in the future, then this beating really wasn’t in vain!”

Enthusiased, he stepped forward to Zhang Yue and examined him from head to toe for a while before saying with a smile, “From the tone of your companion, it seems you plan to enter the Imperial Academy. Are you also a descendant of a meritorious official?”

Zhang Yue had originally been indignant for the student who had been beaten, but suddenly he felt something and said something different—since arriving in this time and space, he had faced complex family situations and relationships he had never imagined before. His already few edges had been further smoothed, with only a hint of sharpness hidden deep inside—this principle had been taught to him by Du Zhen. His teacher, though stern, didn’t want him to become the same, so he often reminded him in his free time and even gave him a maxim:
“The way of being an official is to be gentle as jade; the way of being a person is to be impeccable.”

Now, seeing the young man’s curiosity, he didn’t want to hide anything and simply said directly, “It might make you laugh, my elder brother. If I were bold enough, I could claim to be a descendant of a meritorious official—after all, I am the cousin of the Duke of Ying. But if every meritorious official counted their relatives, there would surely be eight hundred or a thousand such descendants, which would be rather pointless. However, to say that one comes from such a family yet relies entirely on no family connections is just self-deception. Just now, Brother Sun said I wanted to enter the Imperial Academy. To be honest, I’d rather take the provincial exams in Henan next year; if I fail, then I’ll come to this academy.”

Upon hearing the words “Duke of Ying,” the young man showed a hint of surprise on his face. But after Zhang Yue explained, he laughed, feeling that he had met a straightforward person today—unlike some who were proud of their family background, nor like some who were overly secretive; unlike some who made grand promises, nor like some who hesitantly claimed they relied on no family influence.

He had seen many scholars like this throughout his life—some with profound knowledge but rigid in character, some witty and adaptable in speech, some arrogant and condescending, and some who pretended to be upright while scheming behind the scenes… Even his peers always wore masks that couldn’t hide their true nature from those sharp-witted, trying to show off their little cleverness in front of him.

So, unusually, he put away his usual faint smile and replaced it with a beaming one. “It must be fate that we meet today. Your surname is clearly Zhang. But what’s your given name?”

“I’m simply called Yue,” the young man replied, refusing to mention his full name. Zhang Yue was even more convinced of his guess. He then casually shrugged and said, “My teachers said ‘Yue’ implies abundance, but when water overflows, it’s not beautiful. So they gave me the courtesy name Yuanjie. You may just call me Yuanjie.”

“Yuanjie… Indeed, a nice name.”

If such words came from another young man, they might sound pretentious, but the young man spoke them with a natural expression. By then, even Sun Han, who had been confused at first, gradually sensed something was amiss. He finally noticed Fang Ling’s anxious gaze and began to ponder. Having seen much of the world, he quickly figured out something was off and showed a hint of solemnity and respect, also trying to signal Zhang Yue with glances.

Yet no matter what those two tried, they saw Zhang Yue continuing to chat cheerfully with the young man as if unaware of anything, as if they had been long overdue to meet.

When Sun Han heard Zhang Yue bring up even some amusing stories from Kaifeng City, showing no signs of restraint, he helplessly gave up on trying to signal him—by now, his eyes were sore from blinking so much, and the guards around him were giving him extremely hostile looks, their warning intent clear.

Looking at how smart Zhang Yue seemed, how could he be so oblivious!