Yu Shu trotted to the tree. Under the gaze of a dozen pairs of eyes, she bowed to the old man under the tree. As soon as she lowered her head, she heard the old man say angrily,
"I was playing the guqin just now. Why were you sneaking on the bridge?"
Yu Shu was speechless. Since when was she sneaking around?
"Academician Fang, you misunderstood me. I am a freshman this year. Today, I came to see you. I happened to hear you playing the guqin. I was afraid to disturb you, so I waited on the bridge."
After listening to Yu Shu's explanation, Fang Zijing looked much better. He put his hands behind his back and looked at her. Then he narrowed his slender eyes and said,
"Are you Hidewon on this year's list of strange arts?"
Yu Shu raised her head in surprise and looked at the old man with a slightly hunched back, gray hair, and a goatee. He looked ordinary. She had never seen him before. How did he recognize her?
"Yes, I am Yu Shu."
Yu Shu thought that Academician Fang was said to be against Han Wenguang. The "good thing" she did at the end of last month in Wangji Building had probably spread in Taishi Library. This old man should have a good impression of her.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she admitted it, Fang Zijing pulled a long face and shouted in a deep voice, "So you are the arrogant female fortune-teller who has no respect for her elders!"
As soon as Fang Zijing lost his temper, the students who were originally sitting around got up one after another. One by one, they lowered their heads and stood aside in silence.
Fang Zijing, who was over 60 years old, was the old master of the Fang family, one of the 12 aristocratic families in Anling. Thirty years ago, he was a famous Great Yi Master in the top three lists in the capital. In terms of background, only two of the 18 academicians in the entire Taishi Library could compare with him.
Being pointed at and scolded for no reason, Yu Shu frowned. Seeing Fang Zijing's fierce eyes and angry face, she felt confused and stared at him for a few times. Then she took a step back and raised her hand,
"Yu Shu is not talented. I don't deserve your praise of 'arrogant and disrespectful'."
"What? Did I accuse you wrongly?" Fang Zijing said coldly, "Didn't you compete with Academician Han Wenguang's disciples a while ago? Forcefully snatching someone else's imperial seal and even asking them to acknowledge you as their teacher? Where do you put their teacher, Academician Han? If this isn't disrespect for your elders and arrogance, then what is? Since you are so arrogant, why do you need to come to the Taishi Library to study? A student like you. Who dares to teach you? I'm afraid that in the future, you will be like a farmer with a snake. Who knows, one day, you will bite back. You should go. This old man can't teach you. "
After listening to the scolding, Yu Shu and Fang Zijing looked at each other for a moment. Their faces were calm and they did not leave in a huff. Instead, he sneered and said calmly,
"Academician Fang, please calm down and listen to me. It's not too late to kick me out. Old Diviner Han is indeed a senior of virtue and prestige, and I have absolutely no disrespect towards him in the slightest. However, it was his disciples who came to provoke me, and they seized the opportunity of my joyous banquet to propose to have a competition with me. It was obvious that they had malicious intentions, and if I lost, then my reputation would be swept to the ground. How could I not be angry at such sinister intentions? "
At this point, she paused for a moment. She glanced at the dozen of new and old students standing around who were listening attentively. Her face showed helplessness,
"Therefore, I was angry and took their imperial seals after winning as a punishment. As for who I wanted to accept as a disciple, this was nonsense. It was just a joke. How could you believe other people's nonsense? In your eyes, putting aside those rumors, just look at me and see if I'm the kind of person who disrespects my elders and is arrogant. "
After saying that, she looked at Fang Zijing innocently. Her quiet and delicate face did not look like an arrogant person from any angle.
Fang Zijing looked at her carefully from head to toe. His complexion gradually improved. After a moment, he nodded and raised his hand to stroke his goatee. He said seriously,
"Sure enough, you can't believe all the rumors. From your face, you don't look like the kind of scoundrel who forgets righteousness at the sight of profit. You're just a little stubborn. It's not a bad thing."
Just now, he criticized Yu Shu to be useless, but now he was pleasing to the eye. Everyone present only thought that Academician Fang had an eccentric temper.
Yu Shu smiled obediently. She stepped forward and held the small gift. She lowered her head and said, "I have many shortcomings. I hope Academician Fang will teach me in the future."
Fang Zijing looked at Yu Shu's head, and a trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes. He reached out to accept her gift of greeting a teacher. His voice was still a little stiff, "I have always been a strict person. You must remember not to violate the rules of this study garden. Otherwise, I will be the first to kick you out."
"I'll remember it."
In this way, on the seventh day of Yu Shu's admission, she encountered a lot of obstacles. Finally, she paid her respects to an academician and officially entered the school.
However, she missed today's class.
"That's all for this morning's class. When you go back, find a musician to play a piece and see if it's what I said. You can leave now." Fang Zijing motioned the students who came to listen to the morning class to leave, but he stopped someone.
"Qinglan, come here."
Yu Shu turned her head and saw a young woman in a light yellow dress with her hair in a bun coming from the scattered crowd. Seeing Yu Shu looking at her, she smiled at her with kindness.
"Grandpa."
Hearing the address, Yu Shu knew the relationship between this woman and Fang Zijing. She secretly thought that everyone in Taishi Library really had a background.
Fang Zijing pointed to Yu Shu and said to his granddaughter, "Give her a copy of the book list and explain it to her."
"Okay, I got it."
After Fang Zijing finished, he looked at Yu Shu again and bent down to pick up the zither on the mat. He hummed an unknown tune and walked toward the garden step by step with his back hunched.
Yu Shu turned around and saw the woman in front of her, who was two years older than her, bowing to her,
"Situ Qinglan, a seventh-class Great Yi Master, greets the fortune-teller."
Yu Shu had been in Taishi Library for a few days. Most of the people of her age were eighth or ninth class Great Yi Masters. This was the first seventh-class Great Yi Master who was so young. Not only that, judging from her clothes, she should be a student who entered Taishi Library three years ago.
"I'm new here and don't know much. Thank you, Miss Situ. My surname is Yu. You can call me directly."
"Miss Yu is too polite." Situ Qinglan readily led her to an empty mat and sat down. While rolling up her sleeves to grind the ink, she turned her head to talk to Yu Shu,
"Miss Yu, please don't take Grandfather's angry words to heart. In fact, he has long heard of you. There is no champion on this year's list of magical arts. As a Hidewon, you are actually first. Grandfather has taught magical arts in Taishi Library for more than ten years. Every time after the Dayan Examination, he is very protective of the students who come in from the magical arts course. He is afraid that someone will go astray. Miss Yu, please don't mind me talking too much. Do you know that Grandfather reprimanded you just now? Is it because of the rumors about you in the library these days? "
Yu Shu shook her head. She didn't know, but she could guess some things.
Situ Qinglan sighed softly and said sincerely,
"I'm quite well-informed in the inner courtyard. I heard that you went to see a few academicians a few days ago and they all refused to see you. There are a total of eighteen academicians in Taishi Library, and half of them are on good terms with Academician Han. If you offend him, half of them won't accept you even if he doesn't say anything. However, the other half of them will listen to bad rumors about you. Even if they are willing to accept you, they may not teach you wholeheartedly. Grandfather knows this. So today, I deliberately made things difficult for you in front of everyone. It's obviously a rebuke, but it's actually for you. It's for the other half of the academicians to see. Does Miss Yu understand that Grandfather cherishes talent? "
She looked up at Yu Shu and saw that Yu Shu had a peaceful smile on her face. She was stunned for a moment and seemed to realize something. In the next moment, she blushed and said,
"It seems that I made an unnecessary move. Miss Yu is very perceptive."
"Haha, no matter what, thank you for telling me the truth. It's my good fortune to meet Academician Fang today. "Yu Shu understood, but she still thanked Situ Qinglan solemnly.
However, only she knew how grateful she was in her heart.
***
After getting Fang Zijing's book list and confirming the time of his lecture, Yu Shu said goodbye to Situ Qinglan. She went to the Philosopher's Building and flipped through the ancient records for an hour. When she noticed that the sky outside was dark and cloudy, she remembered that it would rain today. She didn't bring an umbrella with her. If she didn't hurry back to the women's dormitory, she would be trapped here when the rain came.
So, Yu Shu quickly put the book in her hand back on the bookshelf, patted the dust on her hands, and walked out quickly. When she walked to the door, she saw an old man with gray hair and plain clothes. He looked like a servant. He was holding a thick stack of books, which almost covered half of his face. He walked in unsteadily and looked like he was about to fall in the next moment.
Yu Shu hesitated and went forward. She stretched out her hand and said, "Old man, I'll help you get some."
Unexpectedly, the old man didn't appreciate it and turned around to avoid her. The stack of books was shaking and the umbrella under his arm almost hit Yu Shu's fingers.
"Ahem, there's no need."
The old man's voice was hoarse and unpleasant as if there was phlegm in his throat. Yu Shu didn't want to talk to him, so she turned around and left. After walking for a distance, she vaguely remembered that she seemed to have seen the old man holding the books in the Tower of Tao before. It was the time when she sneaked in with Feng Zhaomiao.
A rumbling thunder interrupted Yu Shu's thoughts. She quickened her pace and ran towards the girls' dormitory, but she was still a little late. Halfway there, it began to rain. This heavy downpour was like a torrential downpour. Yu Shu's face was drenched and she didn't dare to rush forward. She looked left and right and saw that there were walls on both sides of the corridor. Only the Drooping Flower Gate in front of her could shelter her from the rain, so she quickly ran over.
Standing under the eaves, Yu Shu wiped the water off her face and shook her sleeves. She covered her mouth and sneezed, wetting her head and shoulders. Her hair curled and fell on her cheeks. It was sticky and she looked a little embarrassed.
She crossed her arms and looked up at the falling raindrops. Just as she was lost in thought, two figures appeared in her line of sight. They were holding umbrellas and walking side by side in the heavy rain. One was in white and the other in yellow.
She gradually narrowed her eyes and watched the two people walk to the door, go up the steps, and open the umbrellas. Their eyes met without warning.
The surprise in Jing Chen's eyes only stopped for a moment. His eyes quickly swept over Yu Shu's body. His eyes moved, and the next moment, he turned to the person next to him. He handed over the umbrella in his hand and said in a clear voice,
"Your umbrella, thank you."
Ji Xingxuan looked at Yu Shu and reached out to take the umbrella handle. The corner of her mouth under the veil slightly raised: "Academician Jing is too polite."
Yu Shu leaned against the doorpost with her arms crossed. She watched Jing Chen, who turned a blind eye to her, walk into the rain. He flashed a few times and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Is Suanzi going back to the women's dormitory? Why don't you go with me so that you don't get wet?" Ji Xingxuan shook the water on the umbrella. It was rare to see Yu Shu take the initiative to talk these days.
Yu Shu put down her arms and walked to her in two steps. Her eyes were cold. She raised an index finger and poked at Ji Xingxuan's heart.
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