The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 281

Xu Tian nodded, and soon after, he saw the woman, Yuan Shu, walk in carrying a plate of pastries and say, "Grand Tutor, no! I should call you Prince Rui. These are pastries that I made myself."

Xu Tian was taken aback. So this was what the Yuan family was planning. He said speechlessly, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Then I ate a piece of pastry.

Was this pastry made with salt? I almost spat it out.

Yuan Shu asked, "How is Master Xu?"

Xu Tian simply nodded, then ate it like a cow chewing on a peony.

"I'll eat slowly, I'll eat slowly." Yuan Shu was immediately happy. It seemed that Master Xu had some goodwill towards her. She then took her pastries to see his second brother, Yuan Lishu.

He was pretending to be sick in his dormitory when he saw his second sister and immediately asked, "Second Sister, how is the teacher treating you?"

Yuan Shu immediately nodded and said, "Master Xu is not as cold-hearted as Yu Suihan Sanyou said. I made him some pastries, and he ate them."

Yuan Lishu was immediately delighted.

"It's true, he ate the pastries you made?"

Yuan Lishu nodded and then said, "Your sister also prepared some for you. We've had a good relationship since we were little in the clan."

Yuan Lishu didn't think his cousin was particularly pretty, but Yuan Shu had loved making pastries since she was a child. For some reason, the other members of the clan didn't like to eat her pastries, but his second brother loved them very much.

The siblings seemed to have found a way to please each other. Seeing her brother enjoying his meal, Yuan Lishu was very happy and patted his head.

"Cuiwei booked an inn outside Hongwen Academy, and I'm going to stay there."

Jidilou

Dongfang Tingyun said, "Today is the day of the monthly exam again. I have already prepared the test papers. This time, the test will be on poetry and prose."

Following the instructions of the female disciples in the academy, Dongfang Tingyun prepared for this exam. However, she saw a woman standing outside the door. This woman was extremely beautiful and stunning, so much so that even she, as a woman, could not take her eyes off her.

"Why don't you come in and answer some questions, young lady? Poetry and prose are very popular among female students in our academy."

The woman, Yuan Lishu, immediately nodded and then composed a poem.

Dongfang Tingyun: "Today's round will be scored by Master Xu himself."

Upon hearing this, the female disciples cheered with excitement. Later, they learned that the poetry collection they had heard earlier was not written by Master Su, but by Master Xu. They were understandably excited to hear that Master Xu would grade their work.

Yuan Shu then said, "Cuiwei, the disciples are studying hard in class. I'm taking an exam here. Go to the inn and deliver the pastries I made to the female disciples."

One of the officials from the Six Ministries, a student from the Ministry of Rites, said, "Sister, there are rules in this academy that we cannot eat food from strangers."

And another student stood up as well?

“That’s right. When we came to Hongwen Academy to study, my parents told us that we should not eat anything given to us by others except for things from the academy, in order to prevent others from poisoning us.”

“That’s right. My brother also said that Hongwen Academy and Moxuan Academy are now rivals. What if they send someone to poison us?”

Yuan Shu was somewhat helpless, then said, "Alright, I'll do as you say."

It just so happens that she doesn't make many different kinds of pastries, so she'll leave them all for Master Xu.

Sure enough, not long after, Xu Tian arrived at Class A and saw these female students.

"Today, I came across a poem with perfect parallelism, the words reflecting the poet's personality, and the emotions expressed in the poem were very sincere."

Before Xu Tian could finish speaking, a young student below immediately exclaimed, "It must have been written by Sister Yuan!"

"Yes, it must be Sister Yuan."

At this moment, Yuan Shu stood up, which startled Xu Tian. He hadn't expected that there would be an adult in Class A.