In the early morning of the next day, Gu Yunji and Cheng Yan changed into college uniforms and came to the square in front of the academy early in the morning, waiting for the entrance ceremony to begin. There were already twenty or thirty people standing here, teenagers, all in blue uniforms, standing together in twos and threes talking and laughing with each other, full of youthful vitality.

"What's going on with this entrance ceremony? Are there any special ritual traditions? ”

"That's not true, I heard a senior brother say, it's just that the mountain chief came to give us a lecture, and he just encouraged him as usual, nothing special."

After a while, a tall middle-aged man in a blue-gray shirt walked over in the distance.

Xu Chengyu walked to the stage and stood still, looked around at the students in the audience with blazing eyes, stroked his beard without saying a word, and only observed them silently.

Gu Yunji had heard that Xu Chengyu had stepped down from the position of the first assistant to the cabinet, thinking that he must be an old man with white hair, but he didn't expect that he not only looked less than fifty years old, but also had a tall and straight body that did not look like a literati.

Feeling his gaze, the crowd gradually quieted down, seeing this, Xu Chengyu cleared his throat and said: "Most of the gentlemen are children of wealthy families, and there are also talented scholars from poor families, whether in terms of origin or their own strength, they are all outstanding. Now that I have stepped into the mountain gate of my Luxi Academy, the future is limitless. ”

"Then I ask you, why do you study?"

The students thought that he would say some words of encouragement that were not very nutritious, but they didn't think about it and threw out such a question, and everyone was caught off guard for a while.

In the middle of the night, a student boldly said: "The sage said, learning and excelling are naturally for the sake of being an official!" ”

Xu Chengyu bowed his head and smiled slightly: "Well, it makes sense, is there anything else?" ”

"Everything is inferior, only reading is high, I study for the sake of being promising, for the glory of the ancestors!"

"For the sake of reason! Today's books are full of valuable experiences and lessons left by the sages. Reading books can know how to behave in the world, and travel with the sages and Confucians in the book. ”

"The ancient text contains: Meat eaters despise. Students disagreed. Although the students have been clothed and fed since childhood, they also know that the world is difficult and the people's livelihood is suffering. Students study in order to be a good official, a clean official, and to be the master of the people! ”

Looking at everyone's gossip, Gu Yunji tried hard to suppress the impulse to "study for the rise of China" blurted out in his heart, looked at Cheng Yan beside him, and asked, "What are you studying?" Is it also for being an official? ”

Cheng Yan stared at somewhere, his gaze was far-reaching, and he didn't know what he was thinking. After a while, he slowly spoke, and the ink in his eyes was surging: "For, I am not despised by others." Whoever deceives me, he will make him respectful; Whoever insults me will be humbled; Whoever despises me will repent of it. In order to trample on the people who once looked down on me. ”

His tone was casual, but his words were sharp. Gu Yunji has always seen Cheng Yan is elegant and modest, and it is the first time to face his ambition so directly, and he was suddenly stunned. Suddenly, he was a little glad that he had not had a bad relationship with Cheng Yan.

Cheng Yan seemed to know that he was out of shape, his eyes flashed, and he instantly returned to his gentle appearance just now, and asked with a smile: "What about you, why are you studying?" ”

What do you read for? Gu Yunji really hadn't thought about this problem properly. For the pursuit of wealth? In pursuit of power? To get rid of the fate of the concubine, or to protect the family? He was a little unsure for a moment.

He knew that he was going to take the imperial examination and become an official, so that he could have greater ability. But why read? Gu Yunji, who has lived two lives, has been instilled with the concept of learning since he was a child, and later he himself took reading for granted, but he never thought about the motivation and reason behind it.

He hesitated and spoke: "Perhaps, it's also for the sake of being an official." But I didn't think it through, and I'm not very sure. ”

Cheng Yan said: "That's also very good, you can think slowly in the future." ”

As soon as the students said a word, the square suddenly became noisy. Xu Chengyu made a gesture to silence everyone, and then said: "When the old man was young, my teacher said to me that reading is to establish a heart for heaven and earth, a life for the people, a continuation of learning for the saints, and peace for all generations. I've remembered this for the rest of my life. ”

"Just now I heard someone say that for the glory of the ancestors, for the reasonable, for the people to make the decision, the old man thinks it is very good, even if you don't think about why you are studying for a while, it doesn't matter. But what you must remember is that you must not go against your heart. Whether you are an official or a person, you must be worthy of your own conscience. ”

After speaking, the crowd fell silent, and the square was silent.

At this time, a black figure suddenly rushed in outside the mountain gate, the man was on tiptoe, bent on his waist, trying to shrink his body behind the crowd, trying to sneak past while people were not paying attention.

Xu Chengyu had a keen eye and shouted: "Stop! I saw that the figure was stunned, and turned around and waved at him, "Su Qi, why are you here now?" ”

Su Qi looked dead-faced, walked over and looked at Xu Chengyu above with a flattering look, and said with a hippie smile: "Mountain chief, what, the road is slippery, and the carriage is broken down halfway, so it's delayed." ”

Xu Chengyu snorted and said, "What excuse are you looking for, isn't it just that you don't want to come?" I heard that Grandpa Guo broke several sticks, but you didn't accept it, why are you willing now? ”

Su Qi leaned his head over, and said mysteriously: "Mountain Chief, I heard that Luxi Academy is located in Hangzhou Mansion, which is an outstanding person, and there are many rare and exotic beasts in the mountains. Even the crickets in the academy are big and fat, and they are very good at fighting, is it true? ”

Xu Chengyu raised his eyebrows, raised his voice and said, "You came to the academy just to catch crickets?" ”

"Of course, otherwise I won't come to this place, wouldn't it be good to stay in the capital to eat, drink and have fun?"

As soon as these words came out, the jaws of the surrounding students were about to drop, they had heard that this Su Qi did not learn and did not know how to do it, but they never thought that he was so bold and reckless in front of the mountain chief, now he was miserable, just waiting to be dropped by the mountain chief.

Who knew that Xu Chengyu didn't have any anger on his face, and his words were amazing: "Yes, you kid is knowledgeable, and the crickets in the academy are indeed the strongest I have ever seen." The scream is loud, the teeth are good, and the crickets in other places can't fight at all. ”

Su Qi's eyes lit up: "Really! It seems that the mountain chief has studied this way quite a lot, and it is really hidden! ”

Xu Chengyu stroked his beard, and his tone was quite proud: "What is this, when the old man was young, he played more tricks than you, and he also carried a firearm to the mountains to hunt." If you are like you, you know how to walk birds and fight crickets. ”

Su Qi was so impressed that he threw himself to the ground: "The mountain chief is really a god!" Although I often fight crickets, I am not very picky, can you teach me? ”

Xu Chengyu glanced at him, and his tone was light: "Teach you?" Why? The old man played well and read better, whether it was playing or reading, if others could get two words of guidance from me, they would benefit a lot. In addition to playing, you read a mess, and you want me to teach you? ”

Su Qi was anxious, scratched his ears and cheeks, and said, "Then what should I do before you are willing to teach me?" ”

"In this way, the academy has a monthly exam, and if you can take the second-to-last exam, I will teach you. In the future, every time you improve, I will teach you the art of fighting crickets. ”

When it came to the exam, Su Qi suddenly had a sad face, and now when he heard that he only needed to take the penultimate exam, he became excited again: "A word is a certainty!" I can't study, but I'm so smart, it's not easy to get the penultimate exam! ”

Xu Chengyu nodded: "Well, you just arrived, let's go to the dormitory and settle down first." Then, he turned to the others as usual, "This is the end of the entrance ceremony, and you can disperse on your own." "Anyway, I don't care about the others, I go first.

Everyone was shocked by the conversation between the two of them, and they were stunned in place at this time, unable to react for a long time.

Gu Yunji shook his head, smiled helplessly, and said to Cheng Yan: "Although what the mountain chief said just now was unexpected, what people didn't expect was that he actually used this way to govern Su Qi, the demon king of the mixed world, well. I only now understand what Senior Brother Gao said yesterday, Xu Shanchang is really not an ordinary person. ”

Cheng Yan was also eye-opening, and echoed him with emotion and said no more.