Huan Niang couldn’t understand—just moments ago she was a singing girl under her control, so why in the blink of an eye had she become an academy teacher? These two identities were one on the ground, one in the heavens. Could Swallow’s Arrival Tower really afford to offend an academy teacher? Her plump face filled with smiles as she moved closer, carefully apologizing to Hypatia, only hoping this foreign woman wouldn’t make things too difficult for her.
“You’re fundamentally still a kind woman. Although you weren’t good to us, when we were most hungry, you gave us food. So, I still thank you, Huan Niang.”
Hypatia held Huan Niang’s hand and softly consoled her. Only after Huan Niang confirmed she wasn’t speaking sarcastically did she release her hand. Yun Ye poured a cup of grape wine into a glass and handed it to Hypatia, saying, “From tomorrow onward, we’ll be working together. There are many elders in the academy who have all made great contributions in their own fields. I hope we can cooperate pleasantly.”
Hypatia took the wine cup and drained it in one gulp, saying to Yun Ye, “This is inevitable. I entered the academy precisely to learn while lecturing. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
Yun Ye pulled a package of gold from Li Huairen’s sleeve, placed it on the table, and said with a smile, “This is your settlement money. Tomorrow morning, an academy carriage will come here to pick you up. The academy will arrange lodging. Yushan is a very beautiful place—you’ll definitely like it.”
Bidding farewell to Hypatia, Yun Ye felt today had already been quite satisfying. He had inadvertently caught a great mermaid for the academy—”learning spanning East and West” was absolutely certain for this woman. In the future, for those precious books brought back from the West, there would finally be a reliable translator. The several books Xiao Cangsheng had translated nearly made Yun Ye’s nose crooked with anger—complete nonsense throughout.
Those four fellows had already vanished without a trace. Yun Ye whistled as he descended the stairs. Just reaching the first floor, he felt something was wrong. Duan Hong was looking at him with a beaming smile. Those four fellows sat there dejectedly without making a sound. Seeing Yun Ye come down, they pointed at Yun Ye in unison and said to the people in the hall, “It’s all him! He wanted to visit some scholar, which is why we came.”
Hearing this, Yun Ye nearly tumbled down the stairs. This was too damn lacking in responsibility! What was there to fear about Duan Hong? Even if I admit it, so what?
“Fine, fine, it’s all my fault. It’s not even a big deal.”
“Boy, you do have some backbone. Luring the Crown Prince into a pleasure house—although the Crown Prince is already an adult, this offense is still not small. Yun Ye, how do you plan to accept your punishment?”
This was Li Er’s voice. What was he doing in a pleasure house? Could it be he also came to patronize it? Taking two or three quick steps down the stairs, only then did he see that the hall inside was filled with renowned ministers and brave generals: Li Er, Li Jing, Li Ji, Li Xiaogong, Li Daozong, Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Jinda, Xue Wanche, Xue Wanren, the long-unseen Chai Shao, and Zhang Gongjin were also there. Outside the flower hall sat Zhangsun Wuji with a face full of fury, Fang Xuanling with an expression of not bearing to watch the scene, and Du Ruhui. Wei Zheng and Wang Gui wore expressions of schadenfreude. Such a lineup was sufficient for holding court—was it all just to catch people soliciting prostitutes?
“I report to Your Majesty: This subject brought the Crown Prince to the pleasure house actually to emulate the stories of ancient sage rulers. As the saying goes, Sun Shuao was raised from the sea, Baili Xi was raised from the marketplace, Jiao Ge was raised from amid rammed-earth construction. This humble subject bringing the Crown Prince to the pleasure house also emulates the ancient sages. What crime is there? Why should I accept punishment?”
The mouthful of wine Li Er had just drunk immediately sprayed out. Du Ruhui pointed at Yun Ye in shock and said, “You’re comparing ancient sages to prostitutes?” He was truly worried he had heard wrong.
Cheng Yaojin gave Yun Ye a thumbs up—regardless, having a reason to deflect showed ability. Zhangsun Wuji slapped Zhangsun Chong on the back of his head and angrily rebuked, “You beast! Quickly tell the truth!”
“Oh, Father! We really came to visit a sage! We were properly drinking fine wine in the Yushan forest when suddenly we discovered a white rainbow piercing the sun. We thought a sage had arrived, so we boarded the carriage and eventually arrived at Swallow’s Arrival Tower.”
Li Er’s laughter was like a night owl’s—grating and unpleasant. After laughing, he said, “Chengqian, you didn’t dream of a white bear?”
Li Chengqian was finished in front of Li Er, weak as a little lamb. If he spoke, he’d likely ruin everything. Yun Ye quickly interjected, “Your Majesty, you’ve always said our Great Tang will never let sages be lost in the wilderness. Today was fortuitous—why doesn’t Your Majesty meet this sage? I believe after you meet her, you won’t blame us.”
Going to a brothel as adults involved so much fuss, bringing the entire court to catch them—not even caring about losing face.
“Oh? Since you say so, let me meet this sage—lest when I punish you later, you say I punish without teaching first. Today I feasted with my ministers. Zhijie said the palace food couldn’t compare to the restaurant his family runs, so I moved the venue to a wine house. Never did I expect to see the Crown Prince’s carriage at a brothel. I was very curious to see why the Crown Prince wasn’t at Yushan but at a brothel. This is the first time I’ve discovered the Crown Prince deceiving me. Yun Ye, if this sage isn’t sage-like, all five of you—a thousand strokes of the rod, none can escape.”
Yun Ye turned around and saw Hypatia standing at the stairway entrance, curiously watching him. Plump Huan Niang was already so frightened she could barely stand—her skirt was already wet in a large patch.
Walking upstairs, he quietly said to Hypatia, “Our brothers’ lives depend on you. Downstairs is His Imperial Majesty. One of those earlier was the Crown Prince. His Majesty is very angry about the Crown Prince visiting a pleasure house. We said we came to seek out an expert. Remember, you are that expert.”
Hypatia looked innocent and said, “You originally came to solicit prostitutes and happened to discover me—why should I help you? However, helping you isn’t impossible. My compensation must increase by thirty percent, and I need a separate large house. Otherwise, no deal.”
“I’ve discovered people who study mathematics, including myself, aren’t good people—too calculating, raising prices on the spot so skillfully. Fine, I agree to everything. Salary increased by thirty percent, independent small building—no problem. Oh right, you’re not afraid to face the emperor, are you?”
“I’ve met several emperors—old, stupid, and lustful. Your emperor isn’t like that too, is he?”
“Take the most formidable emperor you’ve met and multiply by ten—that’s the one you’re about to meet. Under him, I’m like a monkey with no tricks.” Having said this, he dragged Hypatia down the stairs.
Indeed worthy of being a scholar who’d seen the world. With a bare face, she descended downstairs and quickly found Li Er in his blue robe. Gracefully bowing, she said, “Eighth-generation scholar of the Egyptian Hypatian school, Hypatia, pays respects to His Imperial Majesty.”
Li Er didn’t respond, pointing at Hypatia and asking Yun Ye, “This is the sage you spoke of?”
Yun Ye nodded and said, “That’s right, Your Majesty. This scholar in a nation with five thousand years of history holds a position equivalent to a saint in Islam—holy and learned. It’s not this subject boasting—if this subject doesn’t participate, among those present, no one surpasses her in mathematics.”
Li Huairen quickly said, “Your Majesty, look—she’s still a virgin! This proves we didn’t come to solicit prostitutes.” Hearing this, Yun Ye wished he could sew this bastard’s mouth shut with a needle. Li Xiaogong, red-faced, stomped on his son’s foot. Li Huairen didn’t dare cry out loud and could only endure silently.
Seeing he had been punished, the furious Hypatia finally calmed down and said to Li Er again, “Respected Majesty, why do you look down on me because I am a woman? I traveled ten thousand li precisely to study the learning of nations worldwide, to experience local customs everywhere, then compile them into books to pass down to posterity, preventing our collectively created civilization from being lost. This is the work I do. I beseech the great, merciful, wise, and glorious Majesty to allow this young woman to peacefully research Great Tang culture under your protection, while teaching Egyptian civilization to Great Tang students.”
Yun Ye was utterly satisfied with Hypatia beyond words. After just brief contact, she had seen through Li Er’s characteristics of loving grand achievements and enjoying flattery—truly remarkable.
Li Er’s tightly tensed expression relaxed. From these few sentences, he could already see Hypatia was absolutely no singing girl. With his poisonous eye for observing women, he had long ago seen through the fact that this foreign woman was a virgin—too rare among foreigners, especially one so beautiful, with a body like a willow. Yun Ye said this woman was a great mathematician, so she couldn’t be too far off. Thinking that even Li An and Li You couldn’t solve the mathematics problems he posed, he decided to ask about his specialty—politics, military affairs, and society. Li Jing also occasionally interjected a sentence or two, asking about Western military composition. Fang Xuanling also joined the fun, gaining systematic understanding of Western legal systems.
Hypatia refused nothing. Only now did Yun Ye discover this woman truly deserved to be called erudite—not only understanding mathematics but having clear cognition of Egypt’s humanities, geography, military affairs, law, religion, and royal authority.
The magnificence of the pyramids made everyone marvel. The fertility of the Nile made everyone yearn. The application of the Macedonian phalanx made generals like Li Jing and Li Ji bow their heads in thought about how to fight such enemies. The “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” legal principle of the Code of Hammurabi made Fang Xuanling and others shake their heads repeatedly. When Hypatia spoke of the first generation Hypatia’s fate, Li Er even regretfully slapped the table. Such a nationally beautiful woman of rare wisdom and beauty suffering the world’s most terrible punishment, dying without a burial place—he angrily denounced this as ignorance defeating civilization.
Li Chengqian worriedly approached Yun Ye and quietly asked, “We can get through this, right? This woman truly isn’t simple.”
Yun Ye grabbed a grape, stuffed it in his mouth, and said unhurriedly, “You four bastards threw me into a pit! Fortunately, I was prepared—otherwise, a beating would be inescapable. Only now do I discover brothers are meant to be sold out.”
“You’re the smartest among us brothers. If we had confessed, the consequences would have been much more severe than if you had. You came up with a solution, didn’t you? Do you know when we four just came downstairs and saw Father Emperor sitting there with so many important ministers, we were scared we nearly pissed ourselves? You just happened to be absent, so we could only push it onto you.”