Chapter 59: Midnight Self-Inquiry!

Good heavens!

Lu Chuan could not help but curse silently in his heart.

He looked at Li Yanjun standing before him: "Did the master really not scold you?"

"Why would the master scold me?"

Li Yanjun asked with a somewhat bewildered expression: "The master even praised me!"

"Praised you?"

Lu Chuan curled his lips: "Are you kidding me? If I were your master, I would have had the urge to beat you to death. Such a wonderful opportunity to shine before others, and you simply gave it up?"

"Brother Chuan!"

"That was your poem!"

Li Yanjun looked at him with a solemn gaze: "My thoughts are the same as the master's. Since you possess such remarkable talent, you ought to enter official service and serve the country and the people."

"..."

Lu Chuan glanced at the package Li Yanjun was holding in his hand.

"What is this?"

"Apricot Blossom Brew!"

Li Yanjun replied: "The finest wine in all of Hongtu County, and the master told me to bring it to you. He also asked me to advise you that no matter what kind of hardships you have experienced in the past, you should never feel despair toward this world!"

Lu Chuan was dumbfounded for a moment!

I don't feel any despair toward this world at all, do I?

Why do these people insist that I want to live in seclusion here?

And why do they even think I am hiding from the mortal world?

"Come inside and talk..."

Lu Chuan shook his head speechlessly and looked at Li Yanjun.

Li Yanjun nodded and followed him inside.

As for Bai Siyu, Su Ruan, and Chen Miaomiao, they very sensibly took their leave.

Only Lu Chuan and Li Yanjun were left in the main hall.

"Why do you think a single poem can prove that I am a person of talent?"

"Poetry requires the deepest foundation. A person who has read extensively may not necessarily be able to write a good poem. However, someone who can write a wonderful poem has definitely read extensively."

"Only a person with brilliant and profound talent in his heart can write poems imbued with such spiritual essence!"

Li Yanjun stared intently at Lu Chuan with a firm gaze.

Lu Chuan was silent for a moment, then continued: "It seems that the conflict between you and your master has been resolved!"

"..."

At this mention, a trace of awkwardness appeared on Li Yanjun's face: "Actually, the two of us didn't really have any fundamental conflict. The master simply said I was foolish."

"Yet I have never believed that what I said or did was wrong!"

Hearing this!

Lu Chuan looked at the Li Yanjun before him with a rather strange expression.

"What words and deeds of yours made the master think you were foolish?"

"I believe that studying is to understand reason, understanding reason is to speak out, and speaking out is for the state! There is so much injustice in this world, and we scholars should naturally use the spirited passion of scholars to reshape the universe and turn the tides!"

Li Yanjun's gaze was solemn.

"Yet the master told me that I was hopelessly foolish and a piece of rotten wood that could not be carved!"

"I know the master is worried that my mortal body, my meager hot blood, and my hundred bones, coupled with my foolish aptitude, will be swallowed up by those people in this chaotic world until not even bones remain!"

"Therefore, the master has never been willing to recommend me or pave the way for my career!"

"He even secretly hindered me from taking the imperial examinations!"

At this point, Li Yanjun's eyes carried a hint of bitterness: "Yet, isn't this precisely what we scholars ought to do?"

Lu Chuan nodded slightly.

Seeing Lu Chuan nod, Li Yanjun's eyes instantly flashed with a bright light.

"You agree with me too?"

"No!"

Lu Chuan shook his head and said with a somewhat troubled expression: "I am merely sighing that you are truly your master's prized pupil, as every word and sentence of his was meant to protect you. Yet you want to push me out into the open to do such a dangerous thing!"

"Ah?"

Li Yanjun was stunned right there.

Lu Chuan looked at Li Yanjun before him.

Before the other could recover his wits, Lu Chuan said very seriously: "Your ideals are noble, but do you think you can achieve them?"

"Perhaps not!"

Li Yanjun gave a bitter smile: "However, someone has to do it after all!"

Lu Chuan cursed inwardly.

Damn it all, how could he have imagined that there would still be such an idealist hiding in this village?

How on earth should he talk to this guy?

Great Xia today, even if not terminally ill, is already on the verge of collapse. It is definitely not something that can be turned around by a single person and a single surge of strength.

Even if the current emperor were supremely wise, the emperor's actual power was already exceedingly weak.

Having been in this world for so long, Lu Chuan had also gained a certain understanding of the world's landscape.

Back then, the Founding Emperor of Great Xia swept across the universe.

He established peerless achievements and successfully performed the Fengchan sacrifices atop Mount Tai.

Ever since then, Great Xia became an indelible imprint upon this world.

However, the Founding Emperor enfeoffed eight vassal princes. In the beginning, this could be considered a very wise decision.

Yet, after several generations, the power of the eight princes gradually surpassed that of the central imperial court.

It was not as if Great Xia had never produced wise monarchs, but by now, the eight princes had already become a problem that Great Xia had to resolve.

If their power was not curtailed, then Great Xia would sooner or later exist in name only.

If their power was curtailed, it would be equivalent to forcing the eight princes into rebellion!

This was nearly an insoluble dead end.

Lu Chuan looked at Li Yanjun: "What if you cannot achieve it?"

"A gentleman strives without demanding reward, and would rather die than compromise!"

Li Yanjun said with a grave expression.

Lu Chuan took a deep breath.

Fine.

He was dealing with a stubborn mule, and a rather endearing stubborn mule at that.

Why hadn't he realized earlier that Li Yanjun was such a person? Perhaps it was because their past interactions were too limited. He only knew that Li Yanjun was a scholar who had attended a private school before being chased away by his master.

Now it seemed he was much more than just a man of talent.

"Then let me ask you another question!"

After pondering for a moment, Lu Chuan spoke once more.

"What is it that you wish to change, or rather, what is it that you wish to protect?"

Lu Chuan asked again.

"Great Xia!"

This time, Li Yanjun did not hesitate at all, spitting out those two words with absolute certainty.

Lu Chuan looked at Li Yanjun: "So, you serve the country, not the people?"

"Is there a difference?"

Li Yanjun was taken aback: "If Great Xia can restore its former glory, then the common people will naturally find a way to survive!"

"Before answering that question, let me ask you one final question!"

"Suppose there is a ship sailing on the boundless sea. Whenever a plank on the hull rots, it is removed and replaced with a new one."

"Until one day, every single plank on this ship has been completely replaced!"

"Then is this ship still the exact same ship that originally sailed across the sea?"

Lu Chuan looked at him with a smiling gaze.

Li Yanjun pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly: "Naturally not!"

"Then, at what point did it cease to be that ship?"

Lu Chuan asked once more.

Suddenly.

Li Yanjun was left speechless, as if struck by lightning, freezing in place instantly.

"But, this ship..."

"No..."

Confusion filled Li Yanjun's eyes: "You mean..."

"This ship represents Great Xia?"

"Then, at what point did Great Xia cease to be Great Xia?"

Li Yanjun murmured to himself.

His entire demeanor drifted into a state of trance.