Eldest Princess Li Xiu was so astonished that she lost the grip over her teacup, dropping it.
Li Ziqi was the emperor’s most doted princess, having a lot of love showering on her. However, ever since she had been rejected by Secondary Saint Zhou, her situation had turned for the worse.
Although many people didn’t dare to treat her shabbily on the surface, they’d be secretly talking bad about her behind her back, saying that she was a useless princess.
After all, this was a secondary saint’s assessment. There was no way that it’d be wrong.
The maids and eunuchs secretly felt a sense of superiority.
(So what if you’re a princess? That’s only because you were born into a good family. If we were to change identities, we’d definitely be more outstanding than you.)
Li Ziqi could sense that the people who had treated her respectfully in the past were all looking at her with contempt behind her back.
This was also the reason why the little sunny egg had left the palace and gone to visit her relatives in Jinling.
She couldn’t stand staying at home anymore.
But now, in just two years, she had turned the tables around. She had even broken the records and become the youngest great teacher in the history of the great teachers world.
This… Wasn’t this too unbelievable?
No!
The one who was even more unbelievable was Sun Mo. To think that he could teach someone who was seen by a secondary saint as trash into a genius?
“How did Sun Mo do that?”
Qi Mu`en felt curious.
“I don’t know!”
Li Xiu shook her head.
Qi Mu`en couldn’t sit still and got up. “I’ll go and ask Prime Minister Zheng. I have to say that a senior who had been through three dynasties like him really has a good eye for people.”
“That’s right!”
Li Xiu sighed.
After Zheng Qingfang retired, his influence had gradually weakened. After he died, it’d be even worse. But now, he befriended Sun Mo, taking care and helping him as he’d a junior.
In the future, Sun Mo would definitely repay him.
If Sun Mo were to become a secondary saint, no one would dare to offend the Zheng Clan even if he didn’t say a single word.
This was the influence of a secondary saint.
“You better think of something to write in the letter to His Majesty. ”
Qi Mu`en reminded his wife.
Their original intention was to dissolve Sun Mo’s relationship with Li Ziqi if he failed the 3-stars examination. However, Sun Mo ended up getting another first place.
They were still worried about what they should do when Ziqi created this stir at the start of spring.
Two records under one group. Their reputation created a great stir in the great teacher world!
This meant that everyone knew about the teacher-student relationship between Sun Mo and Li Ziqi.
The royal family cared for their reputation too.
If they were to dissolve their teacher-student relationship now and look for another high star-level great teacher, how would other people see the royal family?
“Xiu`er, I’ll be saying something that you might not like to hear.”
Qi Mu`en said with a serious expression, “Getting three championships at the age of 22 is something unprecedented in the great teacher world. What level do you think Sun Mo will be able to reach in the future?”
Li Xiu’s expression turned solemn. This was what she was afraid of!
Given the royal family’s abilities, they’d naturally be able to forcibly dissolve the duo’s teacher-student relationship. But what if Sun Mo were to become a secondary saint in the future?
“Even if we were to take a step back, would another secondary saint be able to teach Ziqi well? After all, the fact that Secondary Saint Zhou rejected Ziqi showed that he was unable to teach her.”
Qi Mu`en sighed.
This was the most important thing.
The reason why everyone wanted to change Ziqi’s teacher was for her own good. But given Ziqi’s aptitude, Sun Mo might be the only one who could suit the teaching to her ability, bringing out her potential.
“Prepare a great gift and ask Prime Minister Zheng to tell Sun Mo about it after he’s back. We’ll be treating him to a feast to thank his contribution to Ziqi!”
Li Xiu got up and returned to the study to write a letter to the emperor.
…
When Li Xiu was writing a letter to the Great Tang’s Emperor, Li Yingqi, the latter had received a report that had even greater details.
His liking for Li Ziqi was heartfelt.
His daughter was beautiful and adorable, having a pure heart and spirit. She didn’t have any flaws at all until Secondary Saint Zhou rejected to be her personal teacher.
To speak the truth, when that happened, the emperor was hurt the most instead of Li Ziqi.
He was like any ordinary parent in the world, feeling that his child was the best. However, a teacher suddenly told him that his daughter was trash.
Which parent would be able to accept such a rating?
Of course, he couldn’t believe it.
However, Li Yingqi had no choice but to believe it because the one who had said this was a secondary saint with a noble and great prestige. He held great authority in the great teacher world.
To speak the truth, there was a period in which Li Yingqi felt a hint of contempt toward Li Ziqi. It was because he felt that his most perfect daughter was flawed.
In the past, after the daily court sessions ended, Li Yingqi would dine with Li Ziqi. He’d want to be with her, watching her smile and listening to her talk.
But after she was refused by Secondary Saint Zhou, Li Yingqi felt scared to see Li Ziqi.
This was also why Li Yingqi hadn’t said anything these two years.
Although he had said to the empress that it was a good thing for Ziqi to go out for a change of pace, he had actually developed a complicated and indescribable feeling toward this beloved daughter of his.
The amount of love he had for her turned into the same amount of contempt he felt toward her.
If Sun Mo were to know of Li Yingqi’s mentality, he’d definitely say that he had a perfectionist obsessive-compulsive disorder—someone who couldn’t stand seeing things that weren’t perfect.
“Haha! Haha!”
In the Zhengde Hall, Li Yingqi held onto a few pieces of paper and laughed out loud.
“I knew it. How could my Ziqi be trash?”
It wasn’t as if Li Yingqi hadn’t considered the possibility that Secondary Saint Zhou had made a wrong assessment. However, a secondary saint’s reputation was so great that he could only dismiss this thought.
After all, who’d dare to take in a student that even a secondary saint didn’t want?
This would let others think that the person was dissatisfied with Secondary Saint Zhou.
Only the impetuous Sun Mo would do something like this.
Moreover, he had also proven that Secondary Saint Zhou was right.
“Sun Mo?”
Li Yingqi let out a few tsks. “I didn’t expect that a young man like him would turn out to be so amazing.”
“Great Teacher Sun might be amazing, but I feel that Her Highness is even more amazing. If she didn’t have any aptitude, Great Teacher Sun wouldn’t be able to produce any results in teaching her no matter how capable he is.”
The Chief Eunuch, Hou Chun, said respectfully.
“En!”
Li Yingqi agreed with his words. He looked at the words ‘Sun Mo’ and couldn’t contain his laughter. “Sun Mo? His name is really fitting. This black doggy has probably given the secondary saint a very strong bite!”
“That’s for sure. The more famous Her Highness becomes, then the greater Secondary Saint Zhou’s status will drop.”
Hou Chun knew that Li Ziqi was like a knot in His Majesty’s heart. Therefore, he took the opportunity to say a lot of nice-sounding things while thinking that Sun Mo was going to achieve great success.
“Prepare an imperial decree. Bestow Anping County to Ziqi, together with 1,000 slave households.”
Li Yingqi was going to continue bestowing fiefs to Li Ziqi.
The 1,000 households were referring to 1,000 families. All of them would become slaves in Li Ziqi’s bestowed land. Any production they made, including lives—extending out to their descendants—would all belong to the little sunny egg.
“Prepare a second imperial decree that Sun Mo has done a good job in his teachings, living up to his great teacher title. He’ll be rewarded with 10,000 gold, 10,000 silver, a piece of land, 1,000 rolls of silk and satin, 100 handsome steeds, 10 treasured swords and famous blades, 800 slaves, Shunze County… ”
Li Yingqi walked to and fro, thinking of what he should reward Sun Mo with.
When Hou Chun heard of the mention of Shunze County, he instantly panicked.
“Your Majesty, please think through it carefully!”
Ever since the founding of the Great Tang, there had been very few instances in which fiefs were bestowed. It was because a fief was like a small country where everything inside would be decided by the owner.
Sun Mo might have achieved great merits, but it couldn’t compare with expanding the empire’s lands!
“It’s just a county!”
Li Yingqi waved his hand, indicating that he didn’t care for it.
If Sun Mo saw the emperor like this, he’d understand that it was just a compensation mentality. He felt that he had done Li Ziqi wrong to have despised her in the past. Therefore, he wanted to make up for things through Sun Mo.
It was considered a performance in which his love for Li Ziqi extended out to the people around her.
Of course, Sun Mo was outstanding enough to be worthy of Li Yingqi trying to draw Sun Mo to his side.
“Do you think I should bestow him with a grand tutor title?”
Li Yingqi asked.
“I’m just a eunuch and don’t know about these things.”
Hou Chun thought to himself. (Do I dare speak up?)
A eunuch would be courting trouble to be intervening in political matters. Moreover, a grand tutor was in charge of teaching the Crown Prince. After the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, the grand tutor would naturally become an imperial preceptor.
Who was the current Crown Prince’s grand tutor?
Han Cangshui!
He wasn’t a person with a good temper.
He was an 8-stars. Wouldn’t getting a Sun Mo the same official position be equivalent to giving him a slap in his face?
Hou Chun knew that these great teachers might not care for money, but they’d definitely care for their prestige.
The previous few grand tutors seemed as if they had committed mistakes, but they were in fact taken care of by Han Cangshui.
“Great Teacher Han will probably mind this. Forget it, let’s make Sun Mo an assistant tutor!”
Li Yingqi made the decision.
This was also an honorable title. It was the grand tutor’s deputy.
However, with this official position, one could enter and exit the imperial harem freely.
Usually, other than eunuchs, only the princes and princesses’ teachers had the opportunity to do this.
“Do you think that Ziqi will be able to take part in next year’s Five Empires War Discussion?”
Li Yingqi was a little agitated.
The reason he was so good to Li Ziqi was partly because of the Five Empires War Discussion. It was because he had anticipation to see her crushing the others, winning honor and glory for the Great Tang.
In the Nine Provinces, due to the Darkness Continent’s existence, various countries could put in their military prowess and explore it more. This would avoid war from erupting due to resources competition and other problems.
However, even though there was no war, there were a lot of small frictions. After all, humans were unable to get along amicably, let alone countries.
Due to the Saint Gate’s powerful influence, everyone kept trying to do their best to avert warfare. Therefore, they came up with the proposal for the Five Empires War Discussion.
If these two countries weren’t convinced, then had a competition!
Who were the participants?
They were mainly the royal family, but it could also include a small number of juniors from the royal family’s extended families and important officials’ families.
This idea was really a hit with the emperors. Who wouldn’t want their descendants to crush the other emperors?
Since there wasn’t a chance to kill enemies and capture the king on the battlefield, then they’d do it during the competition, clinching victory.
As time passed, the Great Tang and the other four countries formed a custom of having a War Discussion once every four years. This was also known as the Five Empires War Discussion.
Till now, there was already a history of several hundred years. Moreover, it was no longer just the competition between the royal families but had become a competition in which all the citizens were involved.
The commoners were also very concerned about the Five Empires War Discussion. It was because they could cast bets and could see from a close distance how outstanding their emperor was.
Once they won, it’d bring their emperor a great reputation.
“That’s for sure!”
How could Hou Chun possibly dampen the emperor’s spirits? “She might even be able to clinch the champion title for Your Majesty!”
“Let Ziqi and Sun Mo come to the capital as soon as possible! I want to meet them!”
Li Yingqi couldn’t wait.
Just as the imperial commissioner was riding on a fast horse with the imperial edicts, Sun Mo and his disciples had also returned to the Central Province Academy.
