Chapter 1940: Brilliant Genius
“Then what do we do about Sisi?” Zheng Dan asked worriedly. Even though Sisi wasn’t her own daughter, to the outside world, she was Sisi’s mother. She and Sang Qien didn’t have much experience and had always struggled to figure out how to take care of the child. Even though it was hard work, she had also gradually become fond of the cute little girl.
“We can only have Aunt Mu take care of her until we find some more nannies as well. I'll then come back to see her every day,” Sang Qien said with a frown. She also didn’t want to leave Sisi behind.
Zheng Dan held her hands, saying, “But that would be really hard on you…”
After all, which of those students of the Royal Academy weren’t the most brilliant of geniuses? Let alone those who were able to enter the rear mountain. It was a bit tiring for even those geniuses to keep up with the Royal Academy’s studies, let alone for Sang Qien to return every day to look after the child. Moreover, she would have much less time for cultivation than others.
“It’s fine; the hard work will be worth it,” Sang Qien said, a resolute look appearing in her eyes. She had to take the time to increase her cultivation.
“A wet nurse?” Zu An asked with a frown. “How can we do that? It’s still the mother’s milk that's more nutritious and healthy. It’s better for the child’s body.”
He naturally knew that the influential clans of this world rarely had the mothers personally feed their infants, and that such matters were almost always taken care of by wet nurses. However, as a transmigrator, he knew just how important a mother’s breastmilk was. It was rich with nutrition and various antibodies, and far from the milk a wet nurse who had already fed many babies could deliver.
“Then forget it; I’ll just stay at home and take care of Sisi,” Sang Qien said, her expression becoming a bit forlorn. She would just serve as a good wife for Zu An. To a certain extent, that kind of life was also a carefree one…
Zheng Dan looked at her worriedly. She looked at Zu An and started to say something, but then hesitated.
Zu An seemed to be thinking about something. Suddenly, he made up his mind and suggested, “How about this? Bring the child to the academy, and have Aunt Mu also head over there to care for the child. That way, you won’t need to run around all the time, and you can also focus on cultivation.”
“Is that okay?” Sang Qien asked, a brilliant radiance immediately returning to her eyes.
“Of course it’s okay! For better or for worse, I am the academy’s libationer. I have at least this amount of authority,” Zu An said, stroking her head with a smile.
Sang Qien’s face turned a bit red. Earlier, when she looked out the window, she had felt as if even the sunshine had become a bit dimmer. And yet now, she felt that the world was full of life.
Zheng Dan was truly happy for her, but she was still a bit worried, saying, “But that means that Little Qien and Sisi’s relationship might be exposed!”
“It’s fine," Zu An said nonchalantly. “They’ll live in the academy’s rear mountain. Very few people can visit that place; normally, only the teachers visit. They’re all obsessed with their own research and don’t care much about other things at all.”
“That’s perfect,” Zheng Dan said, sighing in relief. She suddenly thought back to how back in Brightmoon City, Zu An had been a teacher while she was a student. Back then, she had snuck over to his residence to set a honey trap and ruin him, but who would have thought that she would fail in the trap and throw herself in as collateral instead? When she recalled the events of the past, she couldn't help but smile sweetly.
Then, they told Sang Hong about their plans; Sang Hong naturally fully supported them. He even had Aunt Mu take two maids with her to help take care of everything.
…
Along the way, Zu An asked Sang Qien which teacher she planned to study under. After all, he had many things to take care of and didn’t have time to teach everything. Furthermore, someone like him who had only recently undergone a ‘career shift’ that he wasn’t really trained for likely wouldn't be as good as the specialized teachers in the rear mountain.
Sang Qien carefully inquired about the domains of the teachers’ research. After thinking about it, she said, “I want to follow Senior Shen Xuzi in studying alchemy and puppet arts.”
Zu An was shocked. At first, he had been planning to have her study under Jiang Luofu since they were all acquainted with each other. Furthermore, a resourceful person like Sang Qien was also familiar with the law, thus making her a good match. He had never expected her to choose Shen Xuzi!
When she saw his curious expression, Sang Qien was a bit bashful. She said, “Ever since I was small, I was always really interested in mechanisms and calculations, but it was always just self-study, and I can't possibly compare to Senior Shen Xuzi’s great reputation. I really yearn to understand machinery and puppets, and hope that I can control countless puppets and mechanisms like him one day. I wonder if he would be willing to take me on as his disciple…”
She knew that no matter how she cultivated, she likely wouldn't be able to catch up to big brother Zu. In that case, she could just try to help him in another field. Since Zheng Dan was learning formations, she would just learn puppetry skills. She just happened to be really interested in those things too, after all. However, as she talked, she became a bit worried. After all, Shen Xuzi was too famous. Who knew how many people had tried to become his disciple, but were ruthlessly refused over the years?
Zu An chuckled and replied, “Aren’t you looking down on your big brother Zu a bit too much? With our friendship, even if I told him to take in an ordinary person, he would still accept them as a disciple, let alone such a talented and smart girl like you!”
“I’m not as great as big brother Zu says…” Sang Qien said, feeling a bit embarrassed when she heard his praise, but she still felt a sweet sensation inside.
…
Soon after, the group arrived at Mount Yuquan’s rear. First, Zu An found a secluded residence for Sang Qien and Zheng Dan to live in midway up the mountain. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to put them close to the peak, but rather because the late libationer’s status was too venerable and revered, so no one had chosen to build anything near the mountaintop.
After getting Sisi, Aunt Mu, and the others settled in, Zu An brought the two young women to Shen Xuzi’s place first.
There was a puppet at the entrance that welcomed them and led them in. Along the way, they could see all kinds of animals and other things made of complex mechanisms, even including birds that flew through the air.
When she saw that, Sang Qien was excited, but also worried.
Shen Xuzi is so formidable! He is definitely a stunning genius in this field. And I hear the capital always describing him as arrogant and eccentric, so he might not accept me as a disciple… Big brother Zu might be troubled then…
Even so, the sound of rolling wheels followed, and a voice said with a happy laugh, “What wind had brought the libationer here today? I have some insights regarding the trains we talked about last time, but the difficulty lies in the laying down of tracks. The expenditure to carry that out might be astronomical …”
Zu An chuckled and said, “Railroad tracks are indeed a bit troublesome. Not only does cutting into a mountain and fixing up roads come at a huge expense, specialized outposts have to be installed along the way for maintenance and repair, and also to prevent other people or beasts from destroying them. There's no need to do it across the entire country at first, though; we can just carry out some pilot tests on a road near the capital…”
Sang Qien and Zheng Dan looked at each other in dismay as they listened to the two talk.
What are they talking about? We can’t understand it at all, but it sounds really amazing.
After they spoke for a while, Shen Xuzi couldn't help but say with admiration, “The libationer is so young, but you have such incredible ideas and imagination, and all of it seems plausible too! Sometimes, I even wonder if you are truly someone from this world.”
Zu An was alarmed. His identity as a transmigrator was his greatest secret.
Zheng Dan remarked with a chuckle, “If he isn’t from this world, which world could he have come from?”
“Maybe he is an exiled immortal from the heavens,” Shen Xuzi said, roaring with laughter. He clearly didn’t really suspect Zu An’s origins. When he looked at Zheng Dan and Sang Qien, his eyes couldn't help but light up.
As expected of the libationer being a man in the prime of youth, even the women he has around him are different. All of them are devastatingly beautiful.
“May I ask who these two are?” he asked.
“This is Zheng Dan; she previously took Master Yan as her master. This is Sang Qien, the daughter of Minister of Finance Sang Hong,” Zu An said.
“Ah, I remember!” Shen Xuzi said with a bit of a strange expression as he looked at Zheng Dan. “The others who study under senior brother are scared of even missing a single day, and yet you’ve never attended a single lesson all this time.”
Zheng Dan was a bit embarrassed, but she was also quite worried. If even Shen Xuzi felt this way, would Master Yan also be unhappy?
“There were some family matters to take care of before…” Sang Qien quickly tried to explain. She felt a bit apologetic, because Dandan had done that to help her.
“I got it, I got it, she was giving birth, right?” Shen Xuzi replied as he looked at her; he then looked back and forth between her and Zu An, asking, “Is the libationer planning to have me look after her?”
Zu An couldn't help but chuckle, saying, “As expected, nothing gets past you.”
Sang Qien also respectfully said in greeting, “I humbly ask for teacher to take me on as your disciple!”
“Don’t call me your teacher yet.” Shen Xuzi harrumphed. With a wave of his hand, a dog puppet ran over with a scroll in its mouth. He said, “Complete this enrollment test first so I can see how good your talent is. I’ll decide whether I’ll take you in or not after you complete it.”
Are you kidding me? Do I, the glorious Shen Xuzi, not want any face? Who knows how many influential clans have wanted their disciples to study under me, and yet, all of them were chased away by this enrollment exam.
However, if it’s someone the libationer personally brought in, I have to show him some favor. Even if she does a bit poorly, I still have to take her in. I’ll tell the world that she passed the test and no one can say a thing. That way, this old one’s dignity and pride will also be protected. What an excellent plan, if I do say so myself!
Hmph, but I hate these kinds of favors, so I’ll just teach her a bit later. Either way, if it’s too hard, she won’t even understand anyway.
Sang Qien gave Zu An a worried look. Zu An chuckled and said, “Don’t worry and just try it out.” At the same time, he secretly told her that it was most likely just a formality, and that they had to leave Shen Xuzi with at least a bit of face.
Sang Qien didn’t think so, but since she was going to take him as her master, of course she had to receive this master’s approval. If he only agreed because big brother Zu pressured him to, he probably wouldn’t be able to hold himself back from criticizing Sir Zu. Furthermore, he likely wouldn't really teach her his real knowledge.
She took a deep breath, then picked up the scroll to start working on it. At first, she was full of confidence, but eventually, her expression grew paler and paler. Fine sweat even appeared on her forehead.
When Zheng Dan saw that, she got on her tiptoes to sneak a look. She felt as if she were reading some imperial edict, finding it completely incomprehensible. Even though she recognized the individual characters, why didn’t she understand a thing when all of it was combined together? There were all kinds of diagrams too, and just looking at it gave her a huge headache. Comparatively, Master Yan’s formations still seemed more reasonable.
“Alright, time’s up. Did you finish?” Shen Xuzi asked with a grin.
Hmph, I’m not someone who you can take advantage of just because of connections.
“I… I only finished half,” Sang Qien said; she was almost about to cry. She had wanted to leave Shen Xuzi with a good impression and also save big brother Zu some face. How could she have known that she wouldn’t even be able to complete half of the enrollment test? She really had ended up embarrassing herself this time…
Even though big brother Zu wouldn’t say anything, he must be disappointed in me, right?
Sang Qien, Sang Qien… You normally act all proud of being full of stratagems, but you really overestimated yourself…
“Finishing half is already pretty good. You should know that most people can’t even finish one…” Shen Xuzi trailed off, and his eyes widened midway through his sentence. He exclaimed, “How many did you say you finished?!”
“Ha… half,” Sang Qien said guiltily. This wasn’t even a passing grade…
Forget it, forget it all. I’ll try and see if I can study somewhere else.
Shen Xuzi picked up her scroll and quickly read through the answers she provided. His face lit up, and eventually, he began to roar with laughter.
“So? How are the results?” Zu An helped Sang Qien ask the question when he saw how nervous she was.
Shen Xuzi grabbed his hands, saying, “Libationer, oh libationer, why didn’t you send me such a brilliant genius earlier? My legacy now has an inheritor!”
“A brilliant genius?”
The group looked at each other in surprise. Even finishing half was enough to be considered a genius?
When he saw their confused expressions, Shen Xuzi explained, “This scroll is actually something I made to chase away the capital’s influential clans. Otherwise, there would be people trying to send their disciples my way day after day when most of them couldn't even complete a single question. Previously, even the best only finished three, and for that person, I even wrote a personal recommendation for him to pursue his studies in the academy.
“But this lady could actually complete half! What else could she be but a brilliant genius?”
Shen Xuzi looked at Sang Qien excitedly and asked, “Little Qien, have you ever been married?”
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