Li Er ate steadily and calmly, completely unconcerned about the silver needle turning black. He picked up a golden-brown chive pocket and continued his assault. Poor Wu She was sweating profusely, leaning against the balcony railing, limp and powerless. Just now he seemed to have taken a trip through hell.

Looking worriedly at Li Er chomping away, Wu She took a long time to straighten up. He had the intention to strangle Yun Ye alive.

“Let me teach you something, Wu She. Silver needles can detect very few poisons—only arsenic, or rather all sulfur-containing poisons. You don’t need to know what sulfur is. You only need to know that the arsenic manufactured by the academy cannot be detected by silver needles. Go find some poisonous mushrooms to test and you’ll know how laughable it is to check for poison with silver needles. His Majesty bears the nation’s fate, yet you protect His Majesty with such simple, ineffective methods? You should also find some eggs yourself and see whether all egg yolks can make silver needles turn black. If…”

“If he’s wrong, should he come to the academy to be an instructor? Learn how to test for poison with Sun Simiao on one hand, while conveniently teaching your blockhead students to become martial arts masters?” Li Er picked his teeth, looking at Yun Ye with contempt, exposing his sordid thoughts in one breath.

Yun Ye stood with his mouth open, unable to speak. He had schemed against Wu She for several days, and just when it was about to bear fruit, Li Er called it out. All his painstaking efforts went down the drain—how could he not be dejected?

“You little rascal, when you see good things, you can’t help but want to get your hands on them. Tang Jian’s Bright Moon Jade is in your hands, right? I heard the Cheng family’s white jade exquisite pendant also reached your hands, right? You’re not someone who loves wealth like life itself—you just have the bad habit of gathering treasures and hiding them away.”

“It’s the same with talent. I don’t know what methods you used on the Gongshu family, but anyway, the court’s sixth-rank official position was cast aside by him like worn-out shoes. Xu Jingzong is also talented. If not for moral reasons, would I have allowed you to take him to the grasslands to suffer endless torment? After returning, his temperament changed drastically, handling matters almost watertight. Even that tomb robber—you could squeeze his talents completely dry. Boy, I must say, good skills! Now you’ve extended your claws toward Wu She. These past days I’ve observed coldly, just wanting to see what medicine you’re selling in your gourd. Today your fox tail has finally been exposed.”

Having finished this long speech, he clutched his belly laughing. As long as Yun Ye suffered losses, he delighted in seeing it.

Wu She also laughed heartily, the overlapping wrinkles on his face seemingly all smoothing out, like a blooming chrysanthemum. After laughing, he bowed on the spot, speaking with utmost sincerity: “This old slave was castrated and entered the palace at age eight, serving three emperors of the Former Sui. If not for Your Majesty selecting this old slave from obscurity, my incomplete body would have been trampled like mud, even though I possess martial arts. So this old slave vowed to serve Your Majesty loyally for life, without regret even unto nine deaths.”

“These past days, seeing Marquis Yun didn’t regard this old slave well, I thought all learned people in this world wouldn’t look favorably upon my incomplete body. Now that Your Majesty has seen through Marquis Yun’s intentions, don’t be embarrassed, Marquis Yun. Do you know how proud this old slave feels inside? I, a mere eunuch, can make one of the world’s rare clever people scheme to recruit me—this is my great glory. Not to mention being an instructor at the best academy, which would bring glory even to my ancestors buried in the earth. Marquis Yun, when one day this old slave’s strength fails and I’m no longer useful, I will petition His Majesty to retire. At that time, will Yushan Academy still have a place for this old slave?”

Yun Ye stepped forward, grasped Wu She’s bowing hands, and said to him: “As long as His Majesty permits and you’re willing to come, I’ll reserve an office for you. The academy’s doors will forever be open to you.”

“Hmph, forcing my hand. This trip to the academy is such a loss. A perfectly useful servant, and his heart has flown away like this. So be it. Wu She, remain by my side for three more years. At that time, I will permit you to leave the palace, go teach at the academy, and fulfill your wish to bring glory to your ancestors.”

Wu She immediately prostrated on the ground, kowtowing endlessly, choking up and unable to speak. Meanwhile, Yun Ye, bathed in Li Er’s hateful gaze, shivered. That feeling of about to be beaten grew increasingly intense.

Accompanying Li Er boating on the Dongyang River was not a good idea. He liked taking initiative, so he planned to operate the boat himself. After spinning seven or eight circles in the river water, he set his sights on someone’s bamboo raft, saying what rubbish arrangement was this from Yun Ye—in the entire river, only they sat in a boat while everyone else poled bamboo rafts. Sitting in a disobedient broken boat himself greatly spoiled the scenery.

Li Ke poled a raft carrying his mother and younger brother, playing happily. Yin Fei also poled a bamboo raft together with Li You. Mother and son poled the bamboo raft extremely fast. Li You even shouted about competing with Li Ke, no longer showing a trace of profligate attitude.

The laziest was Li Tai. Holding up an oiled paper umbrella, he curled up in a reclining chair holding a book scroll—knowing he wasn’t reading but putting on a show before his father. He slept until drool flowed down, completely disregarding Huang Shu’s hard work standing behind the raft.

For some reason, Li Tai most enjoyed bossing Huang Shu around. Yun Ye called Huang Shu over, preparing to switch rafts. Wu She leaped from the boat onto the bamboo raft in one bound and said only one word to Huang Shu: “Scram!” Obedient Huang Shu immediately jumped into the water and drifted away with the current.

Yun Ye lifted the dazed and drowsy Li Tai from the reclining chair, very obsequiously invited Li Er to lie down properly, very consciously divided the bamboo pole with Li Tai—one for each—and according to Li Er’s instructions, poled upstream to chase Li Ke and Li You who had already run far.

Poling the raft until his hands and feet ached, he finally caught up with them. But Li Er changed his mind—he didn’t want to frolic with his wives and children. He prepared to have a chat with Li Gang and the others drinking tea under the locust tree.

Each old man held a teapot in his hands, slurping away happily. As soon as Li Er reached out his hand, Wu She pulled a teapot from the brocade box on his back and handed it to Li Er. Li Gang and the others rose from afar, making deep bows to respectfully welcome Li Er’s grand arrival.

“Master Li, not seeing you for many days, seeing you hale and hearty as ever makes me joyful.” Li Er spoke platitudes with laughter.

“Your Majesty rarely steals a moment of leisure to tour Yushan—this is the blessing of us subjects and the academy’s thousand students. Failing to let Your Majesty tour to your heart’s content is this subject’s fault.”

Zhao Yanling emerged from who knows where, placed a bamboo woven reclining chair in the shade, and invited Li Er to sit. Then he pulled out his beloved tea-brewing utensils from a small wooden box. Using thoroughly dried pine cones, he lit a small stove, preparing to invite His Majesty the Emperor to taste his specialty tea-brewing skills. This was now his only hobby—his heart for being an official had long since faded. He just remained resentful that his tea art had been neglected.

The academy currently had a popular trend of brewing clear tea—adding nothing, just watching the tea leaves float up and down in the white porcelain bowl was a pleasure. Busybodies most enjoyed personally stir-frying new tea from fresh tea leaves they bought themselves. Although their hands were scalded like pig’s feet, they still refused to repent.

Now that His Majesty the Emperor had come, how could Zhao Yanling let the opportunity pass? Last time the Empress had greatly enjoyed it. Husband and wife were one body—there was no reason the Emperor wouldn’t like it. Moreover, he had already improved his tea-drinking method—true elegance revealing heaven and earth’s supreme principles.

After Yun Ye tasted it last time, he evaluated it as dishwater. Such a vulgar person—how could he appreciate the divine charm of Shu? Water vapor ethereal like Wushan clouds, fish-eye bubbles rolling to make clear energy rise, water flowers churning like the Yangtze beating the shore—imposing momentum, elegant bearing and lofty spirit. Even more rare, he himself roasted tea cakes over slow fire. When they turned red amidst green, he ground them with a pestle—shaped like pine flowers, layer upon layer. Then applying masterful blending, foam even without heaviness or layering, resembling the Taiji symbol in the blue-green tea cup—just lacking two fish eyes. He racked his brains and finally used lard as substitute, sprinkling on fine salt. Scallions and ginger all discarded—all vulgar flavors. The charm of Shu had only red mandarins. Finely ground mandarin peel sprinkled on top was like rosy clouds. The Empress praised it endlessly—she was a kindred spirit. Yun Ye, that scoundrel, first of Chang’an’s three menaces—what qualification did he have to critique whether my tea was good or bad?

Zhao Yanling’s three strands of long beard floated before his chest, his bearing dignified, his method strict. A pot of tea was performed by him with exquisite perfection. After Wu She stuck out his tongue testing for poison, the first cup was respectfully presented to His Majesty the Emperor, then distributed to everyone. Even Li Tai got a cup—only skipping over Yun Ye. This kind of crude person wasn’t worth the slightest attention.

Wu She felt sorrow for his master. Li Tai grimaced, wanting to give the tea to Yun Ye. Li Gang loudly judged it good tea but didn’t bring it to his lips. Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and drank it in one gulp, extending his thumb. Master Yushan truly liked it—sniffing the tea fragrance, he sipped a mouthful, all smiles. After Lishi finished drinking, he said nothing, but his slight rumination state betrayed his not-so-peaceful stomach.

Li Er drank a mouthful, praised it highly with clicking sounds, and actually asked if Zhao Yanling could make another pot—he hadn’t enjoyed it to his heart’s content yet. His father’s performance made Li Tai extremely regret his earlier scoundrel behavior of pouring the tea into his sleeve.

Looking sideways at Li Er’s expectant expression, Yun Ye thought about Zhangsun’s joyful expression after drinking tea and had some understanding. When he was in the later world and visited herder families as a guest, butter tea was a good thing for entertaining guests—but they were ethnic minorities!

Recalling again the Li family’s peculiar ancestry and Zhangsun’s surname, he suddenly understood. Those races that ate beef and mutton all liked tea with oily flavor. For Li Er and Zhangsun, this might just be heredity brought by bodily genes.

Zhao Yanling passed before Yun Ye with pride, even emitting slight humming sounds. This was the expression he only showed after extremely despising Yun Ye…

Li Er had poured a bellyful of lard and felt comfortable in body and spirit. With Master Yuanzhang’s ancient zither accompanying, it was truly beautiful to the extreme. Li Gang chanted “Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo River” in ancient tones. Lishi wielded his brush to create “Portrait of Worthies Under the Locust Tree.” Li Er rose to dance. Yun Ye fled in panic.

Without yet drinking wine, all were drunk, hazily supporting each other as they returned. Li Er boarded the boat, still with zither music seeing him off, one stretch, then another…

The boat’s shadow turned around the mountain foot. Li Gang vomited greatly. Yuanzhang was greatly enraged. Yushan grabbed Yun Ye’s ear and roared like thunder. Lishi’s palm kept changing shapes. Only Zhao Yanling still immersed himself in infinite reverie, unconcerned with worldly affairs.

“Boy, you actually had us old men do such disgusting things as flattering horses. Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning? Just now this old man forcibly endured playing the zither. Until now my heart still suffers unbearably. Where is this old man’s integrity?”

“The Emperor wants to be director. We can’t approach this solely from the angle of benefits. We also need to work from the emotional angle, letting him develop feelings for the academy. This is the principle of the academy’s eternal existence. Human emotions are very strange. With this thing, right and wrong are secondary. For the academy’s great benefit, what’s wrong with the honored instructors acting like petty people for a bit?”