8mi Chapter 514 : Then What Use Are These Sage Teachings?
Chapter 514 : Then What Use Are These Sage Teachings?
This royal scion of Wei never would have imagined it.He came to study at White Deer Academy to polish his credentials—only to get beaten up by a scholar from the academy!
And it wasn't even in secret. It was out in the open—right at the entrance of the lecture hall, in front of so many people.
What made it worse was that while beating him, the guy kept yelling—
"I'm Xiao Mochi! You remember that! I'm your father!"
Even more excessive—after the beating, he actually spat on him!
The Wei royal youth was furious and demanded a fight to the death, but he was no match for Xiao Mochi at all, so he got beaten brutally two more times.
Afterward, the Wei royal youth reported the whole matter to the Hall of Rules.
He simply refused to believe that a Confucian holy land like White Deer Academy couldn't deal with a mere scholar.
When one of the Hall of Rules stewards heard the complaint, he froze for a moment. At White Deer Academy, fights were indeed rare—but they weren't unheard of.
However, something like this—beating someone in public, announcing your name while doing it, and even spitting afterward—this kind of hooligan-style fighting was truly a first.
Publicly assaulting someone was certainly a serious offense, but the other party was a direct disciple of a Jijiu (Chief Instructor), and they didn't have the authority to punish him directly.
Not to mention, the reason this royal youth got beaten in the first place… was because he had been spreading nasty rumors about Xiao Mochi's close friend.
So the Hall of Rules brought the matter to Xiao Mochi's teacher.
Who was right and who was wrong, and how to punish the two of them—would be handled personally by that Jijiu.
"Explain it. What exactly happened with the two of you?"
Jia Junjie held a ruler and lightly tapped it against his palm as he stared at them both, his face filled with anger.
For someone like Jia Junjie, a highly respected Confucian Jijiu, this was also the first time he'd encountered something like this.
When had his disciples ever gone around fighting at the slightest provocation?
A gentleman uses words, not fists.
That was common sense among scholars.
So when the Hall of Rules reported the incident to him, Jia Junjie even suspected he'd heard wrong.
A disciple I personally accepted… beat up a prince of Wei?
And not just beat him, but brutally beat him in public, and then spat on him in front of everyone?
It was utterly outrageous.
Likewise, Lu Xiaoliu hadn't fully processed it either.
When the other party mocked him with that smug, sarcastic attitude, Lu Xiaoliu had been annoyed, but he hadn't taken it too seriously.
He never expected that Mochi—standing right beside him—would suddenly charge forward and kick the guy without hesitation!
"Sir, this entire matter is my fault. It has nothing to do with Mochi."
Lu Xiaoliu spoke to Jijiu Jia Junjie, trying to take all the blame onto himself.
"Oh? You mean you ordered Mochi to beat him?" Jia Junjie laughed in anger.
"Yes, I ordered—"
"Sir," Xiao Mochi cut him off mid-sentence, "it was because I couldn't stand what that man did. I couldn't hold back, so I acted."
"Fine, fine, fine—the two of you, huh? Three days of confinement for self-reflection! Copy the Analects ten times for me! Not a single wrong character! No spiritual power allowed!"
Jia Junjie raised the ruler and struck their palms several times with force.
Xiao Mochi and Lu Xiaoliu didn't dare say anything, and could only answer, "Yes."
After they left, Jia Junjie stroked his beard and couldn't help but sigh.
Xiao Mochi and Lu Xiaoliu were the two youths he valued most.
But their personalities…
Back in their courtyard, the two shut themselves in, reflecting on their mistakes, and copied the classics together as punishment.
In truth, being confined alone while copying scripture—that kind of dull life would count as punishment.
But with two people, it was different. They could talk, drink tea together, and it barely felt like punishment at all.
"Mochi, you really were too impulsive earlier," Lu Xiaoliu said.
"Impulsive? It wasn't that bad." Xiao Mochi smiled. "A friend was insulted, and if I just stood by—what's the point of all these sage teachings I've studied?"
Lu Xiaoliu smiled even more. "So the sage teachings you learned… are meant for fighting?"
Xiao Mochi looked up at him, then smiled. "And the sage teachings you learned… are meant for swallowing your anger?"
Hearing that, Lu Xiaoliu froze, then lowered his head.
After a long silence, Lu Xiaoliu finally spoke softly:
"Actually… what they said is true. My mother really is a woman from a brothel."
"Mm."
Xiao Mochi nodded, saying nothing more.
In fact, Xiao Mochi had already guessed it.
The rumor about Lu Xiaoliu's mother being from a brothel had been spreading for several days. If it were false, Lu Xiaoliu would've confronted them long ago.
But because it was true, Lu Xiaoliu had no way to refute it.
And if Lu Xiaoliu made a bigger scene of it, something that was originally just rumor would turn into something people dug into—something more people would verify.
And then his mother's reputation would suffer even more.
Besides, those people only dared to spread that much, and didn't dare go too far—mainly because Lu Xiaoliu was a direct disciple of Teacher Jia, and they were wary of that status.
Lu Xiaoliu continued, hiding nothing from his close friend:
"My mother used to be in the Wei capital, at the Fengxue Pavilion. Then she fell in love with a poor scholar.
She used the money she earned from entertaining clients to support that scholar's studies. That scholar once said that once he achieved success, he would come and redeem her.
In the end, he really did succeed. He placed as the third-ranked scholar—Tanhua—but he married the daughter of the Grand Chancellor instead. As for my mother… he never mentioned her at all.
He abandoned her.
But at the time, my mother was already pregnant.
She didn't cry. She didn't make trouble. She only burned all the letters they had exchanged… and gave birth to me.
The madam of the pavilion was a decent person. She let my mother redeem herself for half the usual price, and my mother could also return periodically to play the qin and dance, to earn enough to live.
As I grew up, I also gained some learning.
But in Wei, children of lowly origin are not allowed to take the imperial examinations.
My mother's plan was to take me to a smaller country—some of them don't have such restrictions.
But my mother never expected… that I would pass the entrance exam for White Deer Academy."
Lu Xiaoliu stopped there.
After a long while, Xiao Mochi finally said quietly:
"Your mother… is truly remarkable."