The autumn tiger raged across Guanzhong. How pleasant it was to sleep well in the gentle cool breeze. Waking up covered in foul sweat, he went down to the East Yang River for a refreshing bath. Putting on the change of clothes Huang Shu brought, he ordered a large bowl of fermented rice with ice added, drinking while going to the academy’s main gate to watch Hypatia’s performance.
Sweat stuck to her hair, covered head to toe in dirt—Hypatia sat at the main gate stuffing buns into her mouth. Her henna-painted nails were dull and gray, no trace of elegance remaining. She looked quite pitiful. Her little maidservant worked hard fanning her. Seeing Yun Ye coming from afar, she stuffed all the buns into her mouth and stubbornly walked into the main gate once again.
Huang Shu, following behind Yun Ye carrying a basin, asked, “My lord, has this barbarian woman gone mad? If just anyone could enter the academy’s main gate, it wouldn’t be ranked first among the academy’s three difficulties.”
“When did such a saying emerge? How come I don’t know? Tell me about it.”
“The academy’s gate, Master Yuanzhang’s essays, and the students’ stinking feet famous throughout the realm—just these three things. This humble one also heard it from other students at the shop. Actually, the main gate is fine—if you have nothing to do, don’t look for trouble for yourself. The main gate doesn’t bother anyone’s business.”
“Master Yuanzhang has recently been researching with Master Yan’s family using tortoise shells. They say they’ve already recognized two characters. Last time in the middle of the night, he insisted on calling this humble one up, saying he wanted to drink wine in celebration. Had my wife prepare several appetizing dishes. Master Yuanzhang was satisfied with the two characters ‘Rat Building,’ but Master Yan thought it had some meaning of ‘snakes and rats in the same nest’—an inauspicious name. Why would a great scholar like Master Yuanzhang get so happy recognizing two characters? This humble one doesn’t understand. Anyway, they drank wine all night.”
“You also know, nowadays the boys play ball endlessly. In the heat of summer, after playing ball, they don’t know to wash in the river. Too tired, they say, and go right back to the dormitory to sleep. Think about it—can that room still be fit for human habitation? This humble one is thinking about opening a bathing place? Get a few helpers to serve them. What do you say, my lord—is there money to be made?”
“As long as your bathhouse has no women. If you dare bring women in to serve, I’ll break your legs—I’m not scaring you. Remove that condition and your business can still operate. Eighty percent of the academy are children from wealthy families. If you have them buy monthly passes—the kind where they buy a whole month at once—business will definitely boom. After all, there are several thousand people.”
“Then sell annual passes. If possible, start selling from when they enter the academy—buy four years at once. Wouldn’t that be great? Collect payment once and be done. This humble one thinks they won’t mind.”
Looking at Huang Shu strangely, this bastard had also become shrewd now. Someone had done this back when he went to university in the later world—made quite a bit of money, especially with bathing and haircuts. When did Huang Shu also go to the later world?
Hypatia once again returned empty-handed, only the white paper in her hands had many more lines drawn on it. Her little maidservant supported her back under the awning. Seeing the fermented rice in Huang Shu’s basin, she had her maidservant take it. Too late to pour it into a bowl, she lifted the basin and drank. After finishing, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and said to Yun Ye, “I found the trick! Which bastard applied solid geometry here? Oblique angles made into planes, planes turned into oblique angles, then deliberately using the characteristic that human legs aren’t the same length to confuse people.” After speaking, she lifted her foot. Only then did Yun Ye notice Hypatia had tied a wooden piece to her left foot. No wonder he saw her limping when she walked earlier.
“Walking completely backwards, I finally reached a gate. Who put those numbers there? You don’t know how many permutation methods nine numbers have? Doing this is no longer testing scholarship but testing physical strength. I tried moving those numbers—it takes great effort to move them. The person who designed this thing is shameless.”
“Originally it was easy. Later a clever student thought those who came to challenge the maze were all fellows with nothing better to do, idle from excessive energy leading to meaningless behavior. So he removed the assistance system and deliberately connected the connecting rods to the water tank. Moving one number would pour exactly one bucket of water into the trough to water the flowers.”
“Right now I’m getting my attendants to come move these numbers. At most one night and I’ll find the pattern. Wait to ring the bell and have the entire academy come to the main gate to welcome me. Oh right, tonight I still want to eat buns—they taste very good. Give me more. My household has nearly twenty people. Immediately find someone to take me to Building Nineteen. I want to go back to bathe, eat, and rest!” Yun Ye waved his hand and Yun family servants ran over, following the lord’s instructions to take the bedraggled Hypatia to her residence to rest.
“My lord, this barbarian woman has considerable skill! She actually found the gate. Do you know her background?” Huang Shu stood behind Yun Ye watching the departing Hypatia reluctantly, seeming very interested in her voluptuous figure.
“Stop daydreaming. That woman isn’t someone your few coins can buy. She’s about to become an academy teacher, specifically teaching mathematics and mechanisms, and perhaps their native language. She’s a ceremony guest invited by His Majesty. Put away your lustful heart. You’ve only just got some money and you’re already thinking about other women? Aren’t you afraid your wife will castrate you in the middle of the night?”
“Where is my lord going with this? I just looked because this barbarian woman is pretty—looked a couple more times is all. You’re saying we need to learn their native language? Is that necessary? No one at the academy would be willing to learn it.”
“Even if unwilling, they must learn. If no one learns, how will we go there in the future to swindle money? Our household’s goods are becoming more and more numerous—we always need to find a place to sell them, right? A few years ago, glass had such good prices. Now even your household uses it to hold wine—sold cheap as chaff. My lord here feels heartbroken just watching.”
Huang Shu nodded thoughtfully, feeling his lord spoke very reasonably. The era when one wine cup could be exchanged for four or five fine horses was indeed gone. Heard that Goryeo Kingdom had beheaded many powerful nobles over this matter. Continuing like this really wasn’t a solution. Learn the native language, then go swindle distant barbarians—who knows, maybe their household’s wine cups would become valuable again.
Returning to the academy, seeing several old men drinking tea, Yun Ye’s first words were that tomorrow there would be a Western scholar who broke through the maze by her own intelligence, requiring everyone to go welcome her together.
“Oh? Our academy will have another good teacher. Being able to break through the maze, it appears she’s an expert with some understanding of mathematics and civil engineering mechanisms. This indeed requires a grand welcome.”
Li Gang always held a welcoming attitude toward new teachers joining the academy, provided this teacher couldn’t mislead students. Otherwise he wouldn’t have a good expression. The old master was aged now, only occasionally lecturing in one or two classes. The remaining majority of his time was spent being pushed around the academy by servants in idle wandering. Having wandered so long, the old master never showed half a bit of weariness.
Seeing students working hard made him happy. Seeing students being mischievous also made him happy. Seeing punished students made his heart ache. Many times he pleaded with Hong Cheng, telling him not to put too much pressure on those children—they were all rare good children. Educate them a couple more times and they’d reform. No need to always have them piling rockeries in the academy. Last time seeing the irritable Hong Cheng kick a student, the enraged old master had servants push his wheelchair chasing Hong Cheng in circles, pursuing him until Hong Cheng received a head full of lumps from being beaten with his cane before it subsided.
The result of this was that even the most stubborn students showed absolute respect before Li Gang. At the academy, one could often see Li Gang surrounded by a group of students around the old man’s wheelchair, listening to him explain principles. Or a large group of half-grown boys lifting the wheelchair, laughing and chattering while taking the old master to watch ball games. A white-haired elder mixed among the youngsters without half a sense of incongruity.
“But the new teacher is a young woman.” Yun Ye detonated this bombshell among the old men, wanting to see their surprised expressions—perhaps a few would curse loudly.
“Are you certain this woman independently broke the academy’s maze?” Master Yuanzhang only asked this one question. The others’ expressions remained normal. Only then did Yun Ye remember that these few before him were more enlightened than high monks. To them, scholarship was foremost. As for the scholarship’s carrier—whether skeleton or beauty—these were minor details, not worth much thought.
Thinking of this, Yun Ye recounted Hypatia’s tragedy to the old masters. After hearing the story, several old masters all sighed together. Li Gang slapped his knee saying, “Scholarship has never been transmitted smoothly. With scholarship comes doubt, with doubt comes dispute. Everyone’s cognition of the world is different, their views on things also not entirely the same. This creates the world’s numerous schools of thought. Even Confucius had his time executing Shao Zhengmao, let alone others. This child entering the academy—you all take care of her more. Poor child has suffered endlessly. Since the West cannot contain her, let her pursue scholarship well at the academy. See if she can develop a school of thought belonging to her at the academy. Western scholarship taking root and sprouting in our Great Tang—this old man is happy to see it come to pass.”
The academy was tolerant. Precisely because there were elders like Li Gang with hearts as broad as the sea and virtue like mountains at the helm, the academy didn’t veer onto the wrong path. These years of rapid development left no aftereffects.
Master Yuanzhang, as Li Gang’s successor, naturally wouldn’t be petty. He specially arranged for the academy’s servants to hang lanterns throughout the maze, even leaving several soldiers to guard them. The academy dining hall specifically sent someone over to ask whether to reserve meals.
Xu Jingzong never missed opportunities to care for newcomers. He specifically ran over to exchange pleasantries. Although Hypatia’s beauty caused him a moment’s distraction, Old Xu still displayed his demeanor very well, chatting amiably with Hypatia for a few sentences before saying he wouldn’t disturb Scholar Hypatia’s research. Turning around, he vanished into the darkness. Though standing behind a tree secretly watching Hypatia’s buttocks while drooling was somewhat disgraceful, walking from behind the tree back into the light, he resumed his amiable appearance. Returning to the academy with several students watching the excitement, amid jovial conversation he secretly pondered—should he go to Chang’an market to buy a barbarian concubine to bring back?