The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 593
Chapter 593: A Little Trickery
“Lord Li, Lord Li…”
“Could I trouble you for a favor?” Lu Chao Chao stood at the street corner, waving at Li Zi Xi, who had just left court.
Li Zi Xi had been conversing with a few colleagues but immediately walked toward her.
Ever since Chao Chao had gifted him a pendant, he had been granted entry into the Golden Luan Hall for court sessions. Now, even the officials were willing to exchange a few words with him.
“Your Highness…” Li Zi Xi greeted her formally.
“Lord Li, could I ask you for a favor? The scholars are stirring up trouble, proclaiming they would never teach at the Women’s Academy.”
“Chao Chao isn’t asking them to. I just hope Lord Li can have them leave their handprints. Those who refuse to teach should stamp their mark—it will serve as proof if they ever change their minds in the future.”
Li Zi Xi had thought she wanted him to mediate, but she was asking for signatures and handprints?
“Alright, I will see it done.”
“If Your Highness cannot find a teacher, I am willing to teach for free.” Li Zi Xi immediately pledged.
“Wonderful! Then I shall record Lord Li’s name. I have recruited three teachers so far.” Lu Chao Chao beamed with joy.
Her elder brother, third brother, and now Scholar Li.
Without hesitation, Li Zi Xi strode toward the crowd of scholars.
By the afternoon, stacks of handprinted agreements were delivered.
“Good, good! With this in hand… Hehe…” Lu Chao Chao grinned from ear to ear.
In the capital and its surrounding regions, there were already existing buildings that could be converted with minor renovations. Only the remote areas required new construction. Xu Shi Yun worked tirelessly, leaving at dawn and returning at dusk, seemingly unaffected by the scholars’ opposition.
Lu Chao Chao sat cross-legged inside her room.
She had stolen an incense burner from the ancestral hall, lighting three sticks of incense. She also snuck a scholar deity statue from the academy and placed it before her.
“Summoning Elder Zhi Xin of the Book Sect…”
“Summoning Elder Zhi Xin of the Book Sect…”
As soon as she spoke, Elder Zhi Xin’s spirit emerged from the curling smoke.
Scholars’ prayers before the Three Sages could indeed be heard. However, the deities usually chose to ignore them. But today, there was a trace of divine intent, prompting the scholar deity to appear.
The moment he materialized, he and Lu Chao Chao locked eyes.
“Young one, why is it you? Have you finally decided to become my disciple?” Elder Zhi Xin’s eyes flickered.
Ever since the great upheaval in the Celestial Realm, he had already suspected Lu Chao Chao’s true identity.
Now, the outside world was searching for her whereabouts.
The Book Sect had not shunned her.
Though scholars, they were also steadfast and unyielding.
“Why is Elder Zhi Xin so intent on taking me as a disciple?” Chao Chao tilted her head curiously.
“Guiding a stubborn stone—is that not an act of merit?” Elder Zhi Xin truly admired her talent.
“Guiding me is but a small merit. But what if there were an even greater merit in the world? Would Elder Zhi Xin be interested?”
Elder Zhi Xin was momentarily taken aback.
“Since the dawn of time, the world has been divided into yin and yang. Men embody yang, while women embody yin.”
“For millennia, men have studied, taken the imperial exams, and built their legacies. Women, on the other hand, have lived in their shadows, as mere vines clinging to great trees.”
“Now, there is an opportunity to enlighten women and grant them knowledge. Would the scholar deity dare take this challenge?”
Elder Zhi Xin furrowed his brows. “Enlighten… women?”
“Yes! The Women’s Academy that Chao Chao is establishing is the first of its kind in millennia. If the Book Sect joins in teaching, they will set an example for all scholars.”
“Is not the doctrine of the Book Sect about teaching all without discrimination?”
“Or is it that, in the minds of sages, even learning has ranks of nobility and baseness?”
She gazed up at Elder Zhi Xin with an innocent expression.
“I do not look down on women,” he replied solemnly. “It is simply that the Book Sect has long secluded itself, focusing solely on cultivation, and does not interact with mortals. This cannot be done…”
“Then you are mistaken, Elder.”
“One cannot cultivate by simply avoiding the world. Look at the Monarch Emperor—he holds the highest office and still cultivates within the mortal realm.”
“The mortal world is full of trials. Why should engaging with it not count as cultivation?”
“Even the Buddha’s Child descends to the world to enlighten the masses. How could the disciples of the Book Sect do any less?”
Elder Zhi Xin was momentarily dazed. Could it be that the Buddha’s Child was also here to enlighten the world?
Lu Chao Chao smirked knowingly. She would never tell him that she had, in fact, abducted the Buddha’s Child herself.
“Young one… your words… are not without merit.” Having led the Book Sect in seclusion for years, Elder Zhi Xin had never considered that worldly engagement could itself be a form of cultivation.
“Enlightening thousands of women may yield greater merit than seclusion.”
Seeing his hesitation, Lu Chao Chao coughed lightly and said in a melodious tone, “If the Book Sect agrees to emerge and teach women, I shall offer you a copy of the Cloudy Firmament Heavenly Book.”
Elder Zhi Xin’s eyes snapped to her.
“The Cloudy Firmament Heavenly Book?!”
“The very treasure of our Book Sect!” His eyes burned with emotion.
“How do you possess it? It was lost in the great calamity thousands of years ago! My sect has searched for it for a millennium without a single clue!” His hands trembled.
The Cloudy Firmament Heavenly Book was the sacred tome that had once enlightened the Sage of Books!
During the sect’s great calamity, a disciple had been deceived, leading to its disappearance.
Lu Chao Chao’s gaze wavered. How had she acquired it?
She had swindled it in the chaos, of course.
Using countless disguises, she had plundered the Three Realms during times of turmoil. Otherwise, how could she possess so many treasures unfit for daylight?
“To show my sincerity, I paid a great price to acquire it. If Elder Zhi Xin agrees… I will return the tome to the Book Sect.”
Elder Zhi Xin pressed his lips together, his expression solemn and conflicted. After a long pause, he asked, “How long must we teach?”
Lu Chao Chao stifled her excitement. “Not long at all—five years will suffice.”
“To a cultivator, five years pass in the blink of an eye, as fleeting as a nap.”
“How many people will be needed?” he asked again.
“There will be twenty-one academies initially. We only need twenty-one disciples to serve as deans, each teaching at least one class daily.” Since they were doing this as a favor, she couldn’t disrupt their cultivation too much.
Then she hesitated, feigning shyness, and looked at Elder Zhi Xin pitifully.
“Chao Chao is young and may not be able to manage the grand scholars…”
“If Elder Zhi Xin could personally oversee it, that would be ideal.”
Elder Zhi Xin rubbed his forehead helplessly. “You… planned this all along, didn’t you?”
“Fine, fine. I shall agree.”
“Five years is nothing. I am curious to see how far these young girls will go!”
“When will the academy be ready?”
Lu Chao Chao had already asked her mother. The capital’s academy buildings were nearly renovated, and classes could begin in three days.
“Three days from now.”
Elder Zhi Xin considered for a moment before nodding. “In three days, I will arrive in Northern Zhao with my disciples.” With that, his summoned spirit dispersed.
Lu Chao Chao grinned.
That evening at dinner—
“Today, we still failed to recruit even a single teacher.”
“The first Women’s Academy in the capital opens in three days. If there are no teachers, what will we do?” Deng Zhi was so anxious that blisters had formed at the corners of her mouth.
“If the academy fails, the princess will be disgraced.”
“No need to worry, Sister Deng Zhi. Chao Chao has already recruited the dean. He will arrive in three days.” Lu Chao Chao smirked mischievously.
With a dean in place, would teachers still be a problem?
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation