Chapter 39: Chirp Chirp, Chirp Chirp Again
Chen Bai looked at the lively classroom. The students were enthusiastically introducing the teaching equipment to the new female students.
He thought this was not bad. It spared him the trouble of explaining everything one by one.
As soon as the girls entered the classroom, they had already been stunned by the refreshing breeze and cool air inside. Now, they were even more at a loss for how to react.
Chen Bai smiled. “Choose an empty seat. From now on, that will be your place in the classroom.”
These female students were currently wearing masks. Aside from knowing their names, and aside from knowing that the one called Lü Yuexi was the legitimate granddaughter of Lu Qingqi, one of the Three Dukes, Chen Bai did not know much else.
Young women from inner chambers rarely went out.
They had all paid the full tuition of ten taels of gold, so learning materials and everything else had to be distributed properly.
He had Qi Zheng give each of them a drawing board and a flowerpot.
When Qi Zheng handed the items to the female student who was clearly taller than the other girls, both of them could not help freezing for a moment.
After all, although these female students wore masks, they were not like Chen Bai, who knew how to disguise himself. When Chen Bai was Chen Zixiu, his hair was styled in an ancient man’s coiled hairstyle and fixed with a white silver hairpin. But when he was Mountain Lord, he simply let his hair loose.
As the saying went, clothes made the man, just as gold adorned the Buddha. That was absolutely true. Add in the deliberate change in voice and eyes, and he looked like a completely different person.
It was practically a living explanation of how important hairstyle was to a person.
But these female students could still be recognized by people familiar with them.
A flash of surprise crossed Qi Zheng’s face. Then the two nodded to each other, which counted as a greeting.
Chen Bai introduced him. “The one distributing materials to you is Prince Zheng. I believe you all know him. In the classroom, his identity is teaching assistant. If there is anything you do not understand or need help with, you may ask him.”
The group of girls: “…”
With Prince Zheng’s face cold enough to freeze people to death, if they had questions, they would rather ask their younger brothers.
Today, aside from completing the new female students’ equipment, Chen Bai also had to give all the students notebooks and pencils for taking notes.
Why?
Because in the past, these students had used writing brushes to take notes. Sometimes the ink would drip onto the tables. This was unavoidable. Although it was cleaned up immediately, it was truly troublesome.
Also, characters written with brushes were very large. Each student had stacks upon stacks of notes, but in truth, there was not much content inside.
Qi Zheng began distributing notebooks and pencils to the students.
Chen Bai said, “Today, we will first learn how to write with pencils. The round pencil sharpener will be placed in the lounge. If you need it, you may go there to use it.”
“Isn’t this the kind of pencil we use for drawing? It seems a little thinner.”
“This is for taking notes? It’s so pretty.”
The notebook was the very ordinary kind with two hard covers and thick A4 paper clipped inside.
However, these students found it extremely novel.
Because the hard covers of the notebooks were printed with cartoon pictures, so beautiful they seemed almost unbelievable. The paper inside had lines drawn across it, and there were simple pictures in the background too.
It was their first time seeing this kind of notebook.
“It looks like a book.”
“It’s even prettier than a book.”
Chen Bai found it amusing and continued teaching them how to use it.
“For this lesson, first learn to fill the first page using a pencil.”
Chen Bai’s classes were originally very casual. What he taught was entirely up to him.
Then he also taught them how to make specimens.
A processed leaf was clipped onto the first page of the notebook.
“Every specimen is a different memory. In the future, when you open your notebook and see these specimens, perhaps you will remember how you felt at the time. That is not bad either.”
It was somewhat sentimental, but they were students. There was nothing wrong with being a little sentimental.
The students all smiled happily. This was the first time they had experienced such a lesson. They properly clipped the leaves they had found onto the first page.
From now on, they would make one specimen every day. Right now, they still did not know what they would feel when they saw these specimens in the future, but at this moment, they were happy.
In the school courtyard, there were now five osmanthus trees covered in flowers. They waited beneath the trees for fallen leaves.
Chen Bai took the chance to teach the planting lesson too.
The daffodils they had previously planted in their flowerpots had already withered. The seeds could not be used again, so they had to plant something else.
Chen Bai took out the flower seeds he had prepared.
“I have some flower seeds here. Choose one kind for yourselves and plant it.”
“We have already had planting lessons for some time. I have written out the names and habits of each seed. Based on what you have learned, plant them freely. Whether you can plant them well will depend on how well you usually study.”
He arranged the seeds in a row. Behind each type of seed stood a sign, with a picture of the flower in bloom on it. Beneath the picture was a written introduction, including the flower’s name and habits.
The students needed to use this information, combined with what they had learned, to find a way to plant the flowers well. It required strong hands-on ability and could also test what they had learned. It could be considered a very practical lesson.
“These flowers are so beautiful.” The group of students gathered around, looking at the pictures displayed behind the seeds.
“Corn poppy, Gesang flower, Queen of Night, Black Boy… hehe, why do these flowers have such nice names?”
There were nearly thirty kinds of flower seeds, enough for them to choose from.
“They’re all pretty. I don’t even know which one to choose.”
“Older Sister, there is a lot of knowledge in growing flowers. You can’t plant randomly.”
“Right, right. You have to plant scientifically. Otherwise, they won’t sprout. Even if they sprout, they might easily die halfway. Even if they survive, they might not bloom. Like the daffodils we planted last time. The Shang brothers didn’t put enough care into planting theirs, so everyone else’s bloomed, but theirs didn’t.”
The group of girls: “…”
Wasn’t planting just burying the seeds in the dirt?
“Older Sister, follow me and plant yours. Do whatever I do.”
After finally choosing seeds, they began struggling again.
“My flower needs loose sandy soil. Where am I supposed to get that?”
Some students had already gone to soak their seeds in warm water.
The group of female students watched in a daze. There were actually so many details?
The female student named Lexun asked coldly, “Have you ever gone to see how Great Qian plants millet?”
Even Chen Bai could not help lifting his head to glance at her. This student had quite a high level of awareness. She had actually thought of this question immediately.
The student being asked scratched his head. “Why would we look at planting millet? It’s not like we need to plant it.”
Planting millet was so tiring. Growing flowers and plants was much more interesting.
Chen Bai smiled. This was a school. It was responsible for passing on knowledge, teaching skills, and resolving confusion. It did not need to guide students by the hand in everything. Some things needed to be discovered by the students themselves, such as how to apply what they had learned.
In truth, they still did not know how useful what they were learning already was to Great Qian, nor how different what they were learning was from the current system of knowledge.
Lexun lowered her brows. Even from these students’ few words, she could already sense something different. Her heart trembled. If the knowledge these students had just displayed were used to improve and raise Great Qian’s method of planting its staple crop, millet, what kind of scene would that create?
Looking at these students skillfully arranging planting plans for the seeds they had chosen, Lexun’s expression actually became somewhat helpless. Did they know what they were doing?
Chen Bai smiled when he saw this. A rather unusual student had come to the school.
He did not say anything. He was only responsible for teaching. How the students chose to use what they learned was their own business.
They filled flowerpots with soil and buried the seeds. Based on different lighting requirements, the students placed the pots in different parts of the school: beneath large trees, under the fence, and even beside the small stream, where the air was relatively moist and water splashing against the bank produced mist.
Looking at the rows of flowerpots in the school, when the flowers bloomed in the future, it would surely be a different kind of scenery.
Of course, this was not the end. In the future, these students would still have to take care of their own flowerpots.
As for Qi Zheng, he planted quite a lot. He took all the remaining seeds and planted several plots of land.
This lesson lasted rather long, because some students spent quite a bit of time running up the mountain to dig the soil they needed.
“Older Sister, our flowers need leaf mold soil, the kind formed from leaves rotting in the ground. Come on, let’s go up the mountain to dig some.”
“I know where there’s fertile soil. It’s all under the grapevines on the mountain.”
Chen Bai smiled. It seemed he did not need to go to any trouble arranging people to help these female students catch up.
A group of dirty students washed themselves by the stream before returning to the classroom.
It was now noon. A group of students gathered around a box.
“What is this now?”
“These are the eggs teacher is hatching. They’ll hatch before long. Isn’t it especially interesting?”
“…”
For the new students, who had only attended one class, they had never imagined that lessons could be like this.
It truly seemed very good. Even more interesting than they had imagined. Even now, they still had not quite reacted.
Chen Bai said, “As the old students in my class, remember to help the new students catch up on the previous lessons.”
Then it was free rest time at noon.
The classroom was filled with the students’ laughter.
“Older Sister, see the folder on the screen? Inside are all the lessons we had before. Each of us has watched them again and again many times. They’re very interesting.”
“Look at this folder. This is the planting lesson we just had.”
“This is the sketching lesson. This one is the first-aid lesson…”
The group of new students: “…”
If they could still understand the planting lesson from earlier, then now…
“Older Sister, just tap this with your hand. Like this… The mouse is used like this…”
“Older Sister, I’ll play the planting lesson video for you. Remember to take notes on the important points. It’s fine if you don’t remember them. You can replay it.”
The group of new students: “…”
Today was destined to be the most unforgettable day of their lives.
Their previous tutors had never taught them any of this. They even began to wonder whether other schools were also like this.
Fortunately, they had walked out of their towers. Otherwise, they would never have encountered these wonderful things in their lives.
When Chen Bai came over, the “teaching” in the classroom was in full swing.
He had already arranged the afternoon lesson. “This afternoon, we will watch a new movie.”
It could be said that this lesson was specially arranged for the new students.
All the students let out cheers. “New movie! New movie!”
The new students looked puzzled. “What is that?”
“It’s a new movie. It’s… it’s a new divine wall painting.”
The new students: “…”
Chen Bai signaled for silence, then had the students put on their headphones and click open synchronized public playback.
The movie was titled Mulan.
That was why he said this movie lesson had been prepared for these new students.
The masks on their faces had to be removed by their own hands.
Compared with the square movie screening, the picture on the computer was much clearer, and the sound was also much clearer.
4K, Dolby sound.
Even the new students, who had already seen the “divine wall painting,” slowly changed from shock to immersion.
What did they see?
A woman. A beautiful woman. A story of a woman going to war.
Because her father was gravely ill, this woman named Hua Mulan actually disguised herself as a man and joined the army.
A woman entering the barracks—that was something people would call unlucky.
In order not to be discovered, a woman went through all kinds of tests and struggled to survive among a group of men. The thrill that she might be exposed at any moment, the situation where every moment could mean certain death, made people so nervous it felt as if their hearts were being clenched.
At the same time, the film showed Mulan’s unimaginable intelligence and courage. She was inferior to no man, and was even more outstanding.
A woman who might face death at any moment was actually able to reach such a point.
The feelings of home and country within it were even more infectious. Loving one’s country and one’s family—how could that be only a man’s matter?
The group of students, especially the female students, watched with clenched hands and hearts in their throats. When tense scenes appeared, they even had to cover their mouths with their hands to hold themselves back.
The most exciting parts of the entire movie were each time her identity was almost exposed, yet she cleverly found a way to avoid it, and the heroic figure of Hua Mulan holding twin swords, covered in blood as she killed enemies on the battlefield. Every scar and every wound on her face could be seen clearly.
She was so brave that people forgot her gender.
Who would dare look down on women?
At this moment, Hua Mulan represented a different image of women in this era.
And the most moving moment was none other than the end, when Hua Mulan’s identity was revealed, yet she won everyone’s respect.
When the movie ended, the group of female students’ hands were tightly clenched, and light shone in their eyes.
If Zhu Yingtai had been their motivation to step out of their towers, then Hua Mulan was the goal of their lives.
Chen Bai said, “How can anyone claim women are inferior to men? Every woman of Great Qian can be Hua Mulan.”
No amount of explanation could be more direct than letting these female students watch Mulan once.
Anything he said now would be unnecessary. A film that directly embodied the beauty and strength of women was already enough to make them… change the way they thought.
Chen Bai said, “That is all for today’s lesson. Class dismissed.”
Only after the group of female students got into their carriages did they recover from the scenes of the movie.
Zhu Yingtai’s experience had made them shed tears, sympathize, and feel regret.
Hua Mulan, however, made them feel admiration, made their blood boil, and gave birth to longing in their hearts.
One could say that the feminine beauty Hua Mulan represented was exactly what women of this era lacked, and that was why it moved them even more deeply.
Their minds were filled with the image of Hua Mulan riding a warhorse, twin swords on her back. That image would remain in their minds forever.
The girls had their carriages travel side by side, discussing passionately and excitedly.
Chen Bai and Qi Zheng sat in a carriage, following behind them back to Shangjing.
Even Qi Zheng could not help saying, “If it were not a coincidence, I would have thought the Hua Mulan in the movie was talking about Empress Dowager Zhaosheng.”
Empress Dowager Zhaosheng and Hua Mulan had far too many similarities.
“If I had not watched this movie, I would not have known that Empress Dowager Zhaosheng had to face so many difficulties back then in order to reach where she is today.”
Chen Bai froze. When he chose to show Mulan, he had not thought of Empress Dowager Zhaosheng. Now that he thought about it, they really were too similar.
Chen Bai could not help sighing inwardly. The old lady’s situation back then must have been even more difficult. After all, because of the movie’s length, many things had not been explained in detail. On top of that, certain parts had been beautified, making it even more idealized.
That old lady truly had not had it easy.
They chatted on and off. When they were almost at the city gate, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Chen Bai froze, lifted the curtain, and looked ahead. The road in front was blocked.
“I heard a group of women entered a school to study. So it was you.”
The person speaking mockingly was a commander guarding the city gate. Someone able to guard Shangjing’s city gate definitely did not have a simple status.
A burst of laughter followed.
“Do you think you have become men now?”
“Women should stay in their towers and wait to marry. Showing your faces in public like this—what does it look like?”
Everyone said Great Qian’s customs were fierce and bold. When these people spoke, their words were indeed crude.
Laughter sounded all around.
Chen Bai frowned. “Who is this person? How dare he cause trouble at the city gate?”
Qi Zheng answered expressionlessly, “Wei Donglai, son of General Wei. Because his father has made many military achievements and is valued by the king, he was arranged into the important post of city-gate commander.”
Chen Bai thought, so that was it. The son of a great general. Military power was completely in the king’s hands, meaning he was part of the king’s direct line.
No wonder he dared speak rudely to the young ladies of various residences.
Wei Donglai’s voice indeed carried some ridicule. “Since when has there been a principle of women entering schools? Born as women, you really do know how to make trouble. Today, I must properly lecture you. If all women become like you, then who will stay at home to manage the household and raise children? Bearing sons and daughters is your proper duty…”
Chen Bai’s hand had already lifted the curtain, and he was just about to speak, but he stopped.
Because a sword was already pointed at Wei Donglai’s face.
“Have you said enough?”
Even Chen Bai froze. It was his new student, the cold-voiced Lexun.
“If you had earned merit on the battlefield and then become this city-gate commander, I could still respect you somewhat. But you are nothing more than a pretty boy relying on your family’s blessings. In my eyes, you are not even comparable to a low-ranking soldier who faithfully guards his post. And you dare come here and point fingers?”
P-pretty boy?
Wei Donglai’s expression turned ugly, especially since a woman was pointing a sword at his nose.
Added to the strange expressions of the people around him, anger rose in his heart. He reached out to seize the sword. After all, he was the son of a great general, and he did have some skill.
But with a sharp slap, the hand he stretched out was nearly beaten into a braised pig trotter.
Wei Donglai narrowed his eyes. “Military sword technique? Little woman, who are you?”
If one were to say who in Great Qian resembled Empress Dowager Zhaosheng the most, it would absolutely be Princess Lexun. Whether in personality or sword technique, it was so, because Princess Lexun’s swordsmanship had originally been taught by Empress Dowager Zhaosheng herself.
No sooner had Wei Donglai’s voice emerged than the sword in front of him put him to the ground in just a few moves.
“If you speak rudely again, be careful that I cut off your head.”
Being knocked to the ground by a woman in public—he was from the great general’s residence. His face was now utterly lost.
His face filled with anger, and just as he was about to speak, the cold sword was already resting against his neck.
“You don’t believe me?”
Something flowed from the sword. It was blood. The blade had already cut through his skin.
This madwoman really dared kill him!
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Heh. If you had resisted, at least that would count as having some backbone. So the people of General Wei’s residence amount to no more than this. Relying on you to garrison the borders and protect Great Qian would be worse than relying on the women you speak of.”
After saying this, she withdrew her sword and leapt onto a horse nearby. There was a sword hanging on that horse. Lexun took the sword from the horse and placed it together with the sword in her hand, carrying both on her back. Just like that, she rode into the city, twin swords on her back.
Chen Bai: “…”
Why did this image look a little familiar?
Then he looked at Qi Zheng, because that horse was Qi Zheng’s, and the sword was also Qi Zheng’s.
In the end, Qi Zheng said nothing.
Instead, one of Lexun’s servants ran over and respectfully said a few words to Qi Zheng.
Qi Zheng directly replied, “It is nothing. There is no need to return them. The horse and sword are given to her.”
Chen Bai was somewhat surprised and was just about to ask Qi Zheng who this Lexun was.
At this moment, Wei Donglai’s humiliated and furious voice sounded. “Which residence are you from? If you have ability, take off the mask on your face. Women entering a school is already something shameful. Otherwise, why would you hide yourself like this? Am I wrong?”
Before he could finish, the woman on horseback turned around. Seemingly without the slightest hesitation, she removed her mask. “Remember this face. If you want revenge, go to the battlefield and earn some merit first. Otherwise, without any merit to protect you, you will lose your life for nothing.”
It was the face of a cold and aloof unmarried woman.
The surroundings fell completely silent. She had actually… truly taken it off.
But who was this woman?
Chen Bai did not recognize her either. When Lexun had suffered her incident and shut herself away in her palace, Chen Zixiu had not been very old. Although there was such a person as Princess Lexun in his mind, he could not immediately connect the name to her.
There was even less need to mention the other students. At the time, they were probably still wearing open-crotch pants.
Before the surrounding people could react, a group of women cried out, “Hua Mulan!”
Lexun’s current cold face, riding a tall horse with twin swords on her back, for some unknown reason, completely overlapped with the Hua Mulan in their minds.
The group of girls excitedly got out of their carriages and ran before Lexun. “Let’s enter the city together.”
After saying this, they hesitated for a moment, then removed the masks from their faces one after another. “We wear masks because we like them. Where does this ‘shameful’ talk come from?”
Dead silence.
These women were so fierce!
Even Lexun froze for a moment. Her face finally moved slightly. “Why go this far?”
She had experienced too many things. Let others say whatever they wanted. Could anything be uglier than the words about her four husbands dying in foreign lands? Her reputation could not become any worse. Reputation was useless to her.
Besides, she was the eldest princess. Anyone who truly dared discuss her openly was tired of living.
But these women were different. They were unmarried young ladies. If people saw their faces and gossiped, it would still affect them in the end.
At this moment, Chen Bai’s carriage passed before them. He lifted the window curtain and said, “What you need to do now is make yourselves even more outstanding. Make yourselves become people others cannot reach. That is all.”
The girls who had taken off their masks had all felt somewhat uneasy, but now, hearing Chen Bai say this, their hearts trembled.
“If you are going to be women, then be like Hua Mulan. Reach the day when you yourselves command respect. What do idle rumors count for?”
Then they laughed and surrounded the woman on horseback as they entered the city.
Wei Donglai’s expression was ugly to the extreme. “Who is Hua Mulan? Is that woman on the horse called Hua Mulan?”
But among Shangjing’s noble families, there was no one surnamed Hua.
The deputy commander beside him answered, “I do not recognize the woman on the horse, but the women who removed their masks just now are all young ladies from the families of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. About this matter…”
Wei Donglai sneered. “I cannot touch the young ladies from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers’ families, but can I not touch that woman on the horse?”
After saying this, he added, “Why did none of you make a move just now? Under the city gate, she dared treat me like this. Did you all act as if you saw nothing?”
The deputy commander thought: At the time, all your attention was on that woman, so you did not see us trying to go forward. We were stopped by Prince Zheng. Could we cross Prince Zheng to help you?
Before Wei Donglai could carry out his revenge, that very same day, his demotion edict arrived. He was forcibly demoted by one rank. The reason… there was no reason.
As the son of a great general, how could he be so easily demoted? Yet he had been demoted just like that, for no apparent reason.
Of course, that was a matter for later.
Right now, the group of female students were chatting happily.
“Sister Lexun, how about we go shopping together tomorrow?”
“I heard Huifang Cosmetics has released quite a few new rouge products. Let’s go look tomorrow.”
Lexun froze. For so many years, she had lived alone, shut away in her palace. This truly was the first time in many years that someone had invited her out.
And these women’s eyes were full of stars.
For some reason, she actually answered subconsciously, “All right.”
Only after answering did she realize what she had said. She sighed inwardly. Just this once.
Then, the next day, on Shangjing’s streets, there appeared a spirited young woman riding a tall horse, carrying twin swords on her back, with her hair tied high in a ponytail. The whole street was stunned.
Pointing and whispering continued without end.
When Chen Bai returned home, he picked up his phone and sent Qi Zheng a voice message. “Who is Lexun? Your horse wasn’t cheap, and the sword was a good sword too. You actually gave them away without hesitation.”
After receiving Qi Zheng’s reply, Chen Bai froze for a long time.
It was actually her, a woman whose reputation was even fouler than his, a woman persecuted by this era’s man-eating ideas.
He sighed. Since she had become his student, he hoped she could successfully walk out of the shadows of the past.
For a person to live while constantly facing strange gazes from others was truly too difficult.
Only, Chen Bai did not know that while he was sighing over others, someone else had dug a pit for him.
Crown Prince Sudan of Zhao and the Zhao envoys had come to Shangjing this time to exchange a beautiful jade for a border city, obtaining a water source to support several of their nearby cities.
Now that the matter could not be accomplished, they had been in Shangjing for some time. It was time to return to Zhao.
Chen Bai saw him off in his identity as Chen Zixiu. He had gotten along quite well with this little puppy.
In the end, it was this little puppy who dug a pit for him.
When Zhao’s crown prince left, Great Qian’s court would naturally see him off.
Those seeing him off were led by Crown Prince Jiao, Gan Xun, and Shang Wangshu. Grand Scholar Zhaoxue was just there to join the bustle.
He sighed a little. This monster talent was finally leaving Shangjing.
Sudan suddenly said, “Grand Scholar Zhaoxue, I heard your master’s school accepted quite a few female students.”
Chen Bai froze. This news had spread quickly, but there was nothing that could not be said about it, so he nodded.
Sudan smiled. “Grand scholars of every country must travel through the various states and broaden their knowledge before becoming grand scholars. Grand Scholar Zhaoxue does not seem to have had such an experience.”
What Sudan said was not wrong. A grand scholar was someone with the highest learning in each country. In order to increase their knowledge, before becoming a grand scholar, they indeed had to travel through different states. At worst, they had to at least visit neighboring countries.
It was probably to broaden their horizons and avoid developing the mental limitation of believing the world was only what was around them. So one must never underestimate anyone who held the title of grand scholar. Becoming a grand scholar was not easy.
However, Chen Bai had become a grand scholar in a somewhat different way, so he had not yet gone out to travel. But according to the rules, he had to make it up.
Sudan added, “The next topic for the contest between Grand Scholar Zhaoxue’s teacher and the retainers of the crown prince’s residence has not yet been set, right?”
“How about this? Before I leave, let me set a topic for you.”
Chen Bai frowned slightly. What did Sudan want to do?
As the crown prince of Zhao, since he had opened his mouth, it was truly hard to refuse him setting a question.
Sudan spoke. “How about this for the topic? Let the wager be whether Grand Scholar Zhaoxue dares take those female students of your teacher’s school out to travel and study. If you dare, then you win. If you do not dare, then Crown Prince Jiao wins.”
After saying this, he even asked Crown Prince Jiao, “What does Crown Prince Jiao think?”
Crown Prince Jiao’s voice was somewhat eager. “Since it is a topic set by Crown Prince Zhao, we shall accept it.”
Chen Bai looked at the smiling little puppy and wanted to curse. “Give the dog back.”
Sudan hugged his Samoyed and ran. “Who told your teacher to beat me? I have never lost before. Grand Scholar Zhaoxue, when you go traveling, remember to come to Zhao. Sudan will surely sweep the mats clean to welcome you.”
Chen Bai’s face darkened. This fellow had harmed him badly.
Great Qian already had an Empress Dowager Zhaosheng as precedent, yet even allowing women to study formally had been so difficult. Let alone taking them out to travel and study.
Sudan ran a distance, then turned back. “Remember, you must come.”
Chen Bai opened his mouth. “…”
The emotion of parting eventually diluted the bitterness of being tricked. He said, “Wait for me.”
He was somewhat reluctant to part. In Chen Bai’s eyes, Sudan was a very good friend. Whether in personality or interests, he was very comfortable to get along with.
Sudan waved again at Chen Xiaobu and the other children behind Chen Bai. “Thank you for the jerky and cloth balls you gave me…”
Even the Samoyed kept looking back every few steps, as if wondering whether it would ever have the chance to see the few “friends” it had played with again.
The saddest thing in this world was parting.
Only after the group had gone far away did Chen Bai sigh. He still had to attend court today.
Then his forehead began to ache. How was he supposed to take female students out traveling?
Those female students’ families would not agree either. This point alone was already extremely difficult.
“That damned Sudan. He clearly looks so sweet, yet he actually tricks people.”
In the end, before he had walked far back, a Zhao envoy ran over. “His Highness asked me to bring Grand Scholar Zhaoxue a message. Only if you come to Zhao to travel and study, with His Highness’s protection, will no one gossip about you. He hopes Grand Scholar Zhaoxue will consider it seriously.”
The corner of Chen Bai’s mouth twitched. “Go back and tell your Highness that the evil he does will have to be repaid sooner or later.”
The Zhao envoy: “…”
Their Highness and Grand Scholar Zhaoxue’s relationship was truly strange.
As for Sudan, he was currently petting his dog. “I refuse to believe you, Chen Zixiu, won’t come to Zhao. Tsk, tsk. I’m even a little reluctant to leave Great Qian.”
…
A few days later, the new lesson began.
Chen Bai looked at the female students arriving on horseback. “…”
The other students’ jaws almost fell to the ground.
That high ponytail hairstyle, that tall horse, those twin swords on her back—wasn’t she practically Hua Mulan?
Was she going to a battlefield or coming to class?
The corner of Chen Bai’s mouth twitched too. This was… a little too immersed in the role. They had even started cosplaying.
He was not one of these girls himself, so he could not fully know just how deeply Mulan had affected them.
During class, in the free question period, Princess Lexun unexpectedly asked a question. “In Mulan, I saw a kind of weaving machine called a loom. What is it? It looked much more convenient than Great Qian’s current method of weaving.”
Even Chen Bai froze. This Princess Lexun had very strong observational skills, and she could grasp the key point very well.
“Chirp chirp, chirp chirp again; Mulan weaves facing the door. No sound of loom and shuttle is heard, only the girl’s sighs.”
Chen Bai had also memorized the Ballad of Mulan back then, so he had some impression of looms.
Chen Bai used the console computer to look up some information and said, “Today, we will learn how to make a loom.”
This decision was not without purpose.
Weaving with a loom was far more convenient than Great Qian’s current weaving craft. This was the perfect chance to let these female students introduce the loom.
If he wanted these female students to be accepted by others, the method was simple: let them produce results that the people of Shangjing could not refuse. Just like Empress Dowager Zhaosheng—why did no one dare say there had been anything wrong with Empress Dowager Zhaosheng going to war back then? Wasn’t it because Empress Dowager Zhaosheng had achieved something Great Qian could not reject?
Chen Bai first had the students review their lessons, then began copying down the information he had found.
It was all in simplified Chinese, so he had to convert it himself. Otherwise, no one would understand it.
Then he added pictures and made it into a PowerPoint on how to build a loom, including the principles of how the loom operated.
Chen Bai began explaining.
This entire day would be spent learning how to make and use a loom.
Chen Bai said, “Today’s homework after class is to go back and find a way to make a loom.”
Although they had the construction diagrams, for people who had never made one before, the difficulty was not small.
The students smiled as they looked at the things they had written in their notebooks. “What’s so hard about this?”
They had even drawn diagrams. They just had to follow the steps one by one.
Chen Bai did not say anything. When the time came, they would understand the difference in hands-on ability.
Princess Lexun was somewhat surprised. She had only asked casually, but she had not expected that such a thing truly existed.
If it could really be made, wouldn’t that raise Great Qian’s weaving to a higher level?
What an astonishing achievement this was, and yet their teacher… had taught them how to make it without even blinking.
And the steps were so clear. Making it was only a matter of time.
After school, Lexun was walking at the back because she was thinking. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Prince Ning sweeping the fallen leaves and petals under the tree. She could not help freezing. A dignified prince was doing this too? She could not help walking over.
“It’s my turn to sweep today. Before, the other students took turns sweeping.”
“In the school, we are all students equally. If others can sweep, why can’t I? Gan Xin and Chen Xiaobu have swept before too. If I were not allowed to sweep, I would feel a little embarrassed.”
Prince Ning did not think there was anything strange about it, but Lexun understood where the difference lay.
She could not help smiling. It truly was treating everyone equally—not only men and women, but status as well.
This school was indeed somewhat different.
Just like today, when she sat in the lounge drinking water, a group of students had actually gathered around, laughing as they drank with her.
That warm feeling—how many years had it been since she last felt it? How long had it been since she walked out of that cold palace?
When someone had been cold for too long, even a tiny bit of warmth could feel as bright as sunlight.
As for Chen Bai, he had already begun planning a loom launch event in Shangjing for these girls.
This was the first time he would push his female students into everyone’s sight in this way.
