Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 463 Preparations Before the Literary Gathering

Chapter 463 Preparations Before the Literary Meeting

Completely baffled, Ye Ru stopped thinking about it and closed his eyes to rest.

After a good night's sleep, Ye Ru felt much better. He opened the door, and as sunlight streamed in, he saw several people dressed in green robes outside his room.

Although these people were dressed in coarse cloth and short clothes, the aura emanating from them told him that they were not nobodys.

When those people saw Ye Ru come out, they immediately clasped their hands in a fist salute to him and said:

"Good morning, Envoy Ye. We are officials of the imperial court, here to protect your safety. Our mission will be accomplished once you return to the Yanhuang Kingdom."

“I know. Then you will stay by my side. After the scholar’s ​​essay contest ends, you will go back to report.”

Ye Ru nodded, ate breakfast, and then returned to his room to continue reading.

The literary gathering is very important. If we can turn the tide here, it would be quite good.

Upon seeing Ye Ru return to his room, one of the guards in the green robe seemed hesitant to speak.

"Brother Chen, why won't you let me go and exchange ideas with him? You know, I also signed up for the Scholars' Literature Gathering!"

"You? He's someone even better than Master Kong. With your meager talent, what can you possibly do? You should save your breath."

The leader, a man in a green robe, shrugged and retorted mercilessly.

When Ye Ru was studying, the Shi family was still shrouded in a repressive atmosphere.

"Have you found the killer?"

Shi Tianze gripped the chair, his face grim. He hadn't smiled since Shi Yu died, and three or four days had passed, yet the murderer still hadn't been found.

"Master, we haven't found the murderer who killed Young Master Shi Yu. For some reason, it's as if the person vanished into thin air. There's only a few pieces of clothing left, but we've searched the entire capital and haven't found anything similar. However, I suspect someone."

Below, a scholar from a family renowned for its historical figures knelt down and respectfully spoke.

"Who?"

Shi Tianze suddenly stood up, his body emanating an extremely oppressive aura that made everyone around him jump.

“Master, please calm down and let this person speak.”

"Not long ago, didn't an envoy from the Yanhuang Kingdom come? And during the Dragon Ceremony, he even had a dispute with Young Master Shi Yu."

The scholar from the family of historians pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"It's that person."

Shi Tianze also had a good impression of Ye Ru. He won the first prize among the various holy families with more than a dozen holy pages and got his hands on the "Dao Jing". After getting it, he donated it to the National Holy Academy without any hesitation.

"Yes, it's that person who's connected to the Qian family. Why don't we go to the Qian family and sound them out?"

The scholar felt the murderous aura and shuddered. He spoke again.

"Alright, send someone to the Qian family and get me this man's information. If he really killed my child, I will make him pay with his blood!"

"I want them to know that anyone who dares to bully my Shi Sheng family will have to pay a price they cannot afford!"

The words echoed throughout the land, sending a chill down the spines of everyone present.

……

Ye Ru continued reading in his room. In the blink of an eye, several days had passed, and the number of people in the capital was increasing. Moreover, their robes were all different, as if all the literati of the ten kingdoms had gathered together.

Most of these scholars were at the Xiucai level, clearly aiming for the Xiucai essay competition.

"I didn't expect so many people to participate in this year's literary gathering. I just don't know what the rules of this gathering are."

Ye Ru could see this scene clearly through the window. Although he was talented, there were bound to be some powerful people among the ten kingdoms, so he still had to be careful.

"Ye Ru, it seems there are a lot of people attending this year's scholar gathering."

Zhang Dong walked in, put down a cup of tea, and said slowly.

"Yes, but we don't understand the rules yet. Writing poems and essays is fine, but we're afraid that the State of Jin might resort to underhanded tactics to prevent foreigners from winning the championship."

Ye Ru nodded solemnly.

"Yes, you displayed such great talent before, so the Jin government should have made some preparations. After all, if the top honor of Jin is given to a foreigner, their reputation will not be good. However, as far as I know, such a conference would never be leaked. Even the King of Jin does not have the right to do so."

"Because they are only there to supply talent to the Holy Academy of the Dynasty, and are not qualified to have these talents serve the court."

"It can also be said that although the imperial court is the power institution, the National Sacred Academy is above the imperial court."

Zhang Dong said seriously.

As someone in the imperial court, he naturally knew more than Ye Ru, who was far removed from the world, because the talented people in the court were all people who could not let go of worldly affairs and could not concentrate on reading the classics of the sages.

"I see, thank you, Mr. Zhang."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ru suddenly realized what was going on and then said.

"Alright, tomorrow is the Scholars' Gathering, right? I've already found out the main location for you. It's on the outskirts of the capital of Jin, where there's a platform for scholars that can hold tens of thousands of people. It's safe to say that every year's grand gathering takes place there. After the scholars' competition ends, the Path of the Sages will open. This Path of the Sages is jointly opened by the Academy of Sages. Generally speaking, every scholar who enters this place will receive a great opportunity. You must make the most of it."

Seeing that Ye Ru understood, Zhang Dong took a sip of tea and said again:

"It is said that among the ten kingdoms this time, there are many talented scholars who are the pride of heaven. They will be a great obstacle for you. Moreover, there will be many people going on the Path of the Saints. You must be wary of this, because the Jin Kingdom will not allow a scholar with the power to destroy a country to return to the Yanhuang Kingdom."

“I know that I am now a threat to the State of Jin.”

Ye Ru took a deep breath, a solemn look flashing in his eyes. He knew that the people of Jin would never let him go. He was now in grave danger because he had not only killed members of the Shi Sheng family, but also annihilated 30,000 troops of Jin. If these two found even a small clue, they could very well lead him there with their intelligence.

At that time, they will likely face annihilation.

Ye Ru's eyes flickered slightly, and a cold look flashed across his face. If it really came to that, the other party would have to consider whether they were prepared to suffer a major loss if they wanted to kill him!