Chapter 469
Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Extra Chapter 10 (2)
Qiao Huan certainly didn’t think Cao Ang was a fool, but since she and Sun Luban had already reached a temporary truce in front of Cao Ang, what more was there to say?
Moreover, if one had to point fingers, Sun Luban’s issues were slightly bigger.
After all, if she hadn’t insisted on picking a fight with Qiao Huan, the two wouldn’t have ended up in a scuffle… right?
However, truce aside, some necessary education was still in order. Otherwise, if they kept this up daily, the academy’s gossip mill would never run dry.
Sun Luban was taken away by Madam Wu, while Qiao Huan, whose identity was known, was brought before Cai Qiong by her.
Perhaps because Cai Qiong bore a resemblance to Cai Zhaoji, Qiao Huan found her familiar and, unlike her earlier rambling in front of Cao Ang, now sat properly, which was quite amusing.
Cai Qiong softened her expression and asked, “Why did you have to resort to fighting? When His Majesty sent you here, it wasn’t so you could make a name for yourself this way, was it?”
Qiao Huan looked innocent: “I’m young, I haven’t learned enough characters, and I don’t have enough people under me. I can’t match Empress Dowager’s skill in writing denunciations against Dong Zhuo, nor do I have Mi Heng’s ability to make people vomit blood with his scolding. Recently, my submission to the Leping Monthly Report was rejected, so I can’t even publish a denunciation there. I had no choice but to use my hands.”
Xin Xianying, who was organizing documents for Cai Qiong nearby, nearly burst out laughing while leaning on the bookshelf.
When Xin Pi surrendered to Qiao Yan, Xin Xianying was only six but already had the composure to persuade her family not to act rashly.
She was subsequently sent to study at Leping Academy.
Qiao Yan had thought that with her sharp judgment of situations, Xin Xianying would develop into a politician. However, in the academy’s assessments, she turned out to be a prodigy in the sciences and transferred to the Academy of Sciences after graduation.
Simultaneously, as the top student during her time at the academy, she also assisted Madam Cai in managing the academy’s affairs.
Being only nineteen, she was much more aware of the academy’s happenings than Cai Qiong, who was responsible for compiling educational materials, such as the details of Qiao Huan’s rejected submission.
The child’s attempt to “clear her name” at this moment was quite amusing.
According to Qiao Huan’s logic, when one isn’t capable of “convincing with reason,” one must resort to “convincing with force,” which seemed perfectly reasonable.
One wonders if Her Majesty was the same back in the day.
What Cai Qiong saw now was Qiao Huan, after hearing her words, nodding her head, “You’re quite good at making excuses for yourself now, aren’t you? Don’t bully your classmates like this again.”
Qiao Huan whispered, “Will this be reported to Her Majesty?”
Meeting her expectant gaze, Cai Qiong asked, “What if it is reported, and what if it isn’t?”
Qiao Huan replied, “I just sent my… no, the masterpiece I co-authored with Deng Shizai to Luoyang. If Her Majesty finds out I’ve been misbehaving at the academy, she’ll surely focus on the educational issue rather than appreciating the work first.”
“Moreover—”
“I was law-abiding in Luoyang, but here I am fighting. Her Majesty will definitely think Jiang Boyue and Deng Shizai have corrupted me. If such talents leave a bad impression on Her Majesty first, it wouldn’t be good, right?”
Cai Qiong: “…”
That actually made some sense.
Jiang Wei, Deng Ai, and Cao Jie, who was responsible for looking after Jiang Wei and Qiao Huan, were all talents specially noted by Qiao Yan. If they were to be blamed because of Qiao Huan’s behavior, it would indeed be unfair.
However, after Qiao Huan left, Xin Xianying asked, “Do you really think the young princess was as law-abiding in Luoyang as she claims?”
Probably not.
Qiao Huan’s eloquence didn’t seem like it was developed only after coming to the academy.
In Xin Xianying’s view, Her Majesty must be fully aware of her daughter’s true nature.
And with Her Majesty’s wise judgment, would she really hold a grudge against Jiang Wei and the others?
When Lu Lingju and others were studying at Leping Academy, they also had their share of conflicts, but none of them were ever looked down upon by Her Majesty.
The earliest batch of students from the academy had already become important officials in various regions or key figures in the court. Her Majesty would be delighted by the vitality of the new students at the academy, so why would she reprimand them?
Cai Qiong shook her head and smiled, “Forget it, she’s already said her piece, and I’ve let her go. Calling her back now would be pointless. When it comes to eloquence, Huaixu is truly a chip off the old block.”
It’s a good thing Qiao Huan didn’t hear this, or her tail would be wagging up to the sky.
Of course, now she showed no signs of being intimidated after being questioned by her teacher. Instead, when she met Sun Luban again, she wore the expression of a victor.
Sun Luban: “…”
She had been warned by Madam Wu, and since she hadn’t fully grasped “Mu Huan’s” background, her “next time to settle the score” couldn’t be now. She had to suppress her temper, only letting out a disgruntled snort.
In Qiao Huan’s eyes, Sun Luban was clearly heading towards the library.
Qiao Huan rubbed her chin, “Is this girl really switching from martial to literary combat?”
This girl has potential, understanding the art of enduring humiliation.
Although the Sun family of Wu had lost Sun Bofu over a decade ago, her mother took over Yang Province, appointing Zhang Zhao as the governor, and later Sima Lang after Zhang Zhao’s retirement. The treatment of their clan members remained favorable, which explains Sun Dah
This is the method of the Son of Heaven to rule.
She wasn’t really that bad at speaking, to the point of having to fight Sun Dahu.
She just wanted to see in advance whether this second-generation Sun, who was bound to step into the limelight, had the potential to serve her.
Having temporarily reached a conclusion, little Qiao Huaixu fully utilized her age advantage, rushed into the school clinic, and got some care from the school nurse for her “overly forceful fists possibly causing injury,” before leisurely returning to her afternoon classes.
Guo Yi, who had witnessed the whole scene nearby, was amazed.
“Dian Wei fighting a tiger… pfft. It seems that after the story of General Menya, General Dian will have another amusing tale.”
His companion replied, “I think whether it’s amusing or not isn’t important. What’s interesting is the identity of this Mu Huaixu.”
The young man standing next to Guo Yi had a much more striking and robust physique than the average person, at first glance resembling a military general. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that he was just chubby.
Being a bit chubby wasn’t all bad; at least the young man looked honest and straightforward, completely unlike someone who had been known as a child prodigy.
And this person was none other than Zhuge Liang’s nephew, Zhuge Jin’s eldest son, Zhuge Ke.
Guo Yi closed his folding fan and smiled, “Yuansun is right. To gain General Lü’s favor, to recruit Deng Shizai in such a manner, and to walk away unscathed after hitting Sun Luban, this person is no ordinary individual.”
Unfortunately, the surname Mu had no relation to any of the high-ranking officials in the court, making Guo Yi wonder if the surname was simply derived from the character “Huan.” In any case, it was impossible to guess their background for the time being.
But since the current situation had nothing to do with them, it was fine to just watch the show.
Everyone was in Leping Academy, and it didn’t seem like they were planning to keep a low profile. What was the point of worrying about her current purpose of hiding her identity?
They would find out eventually.
Moreover, in the course selection half a year after the new students enrolled, they could always get a glimpse of her intentions.
When Leping Academy was first established, due to the small number of students, most courses were uniformly set.
It wasn’t until Zheng Xuan, Lu Zhi, Xun Shuang, and others arrived one after another, along with the elite training within the academy, that a variety of courses emerged.
This way, those who were biased in their studies could graduate from the academy without much trouble, as long as they chose their strong suit early on.
Given Qiao Huan’s high-profile actions in the few months since entering Leping Academy, and her already established status among the new students, rivaling Sun Luban, she didn’t seem like someone without ambition.
The most suitable choice would have been the course offered by Pang Tong, the current Governor of Bingzhou, within Leping Academy.
Given her young age, it was still a bit early for her to attend this course, so she should have chosen one of the eight prerequisite courses.
But surprisingly, she chose to major in Cai Yong’s literary appreciation.
How to put it? Cai Yong, now nearly eighty years old, had taught Cao Pi to “graduate” and, due to his advancing age, his energy was not what it used to be. This course was something he set up to pass the time, feeling that he couldn’t just sit idle.
He rarely inquired about the students participating in this course and occasionally missed the roll call.
After class, due to Qiao Yan strictly limiting Cai Yong’s working hours, it often happened that students couldn’t find their teacher.
So the nature of this course was quite obvious.
It was undeniable that for someone like Cai Yong, his literary prowess had not declined with age but had instead become even more outstanding. However, for most students, this relatively relaxed atmosphere was clearly more suitable as a minor for slacking off, or even as a course to broaden their horizons.
Why would Qiao Huan choose this as her major?
“You’re not really planning to continue your career in writing stories, are you?” Jiang Wei had a black line on his forehead.
“You can think of it that way,” Qiao Huan replied frankly.
But the truth was probably only known to Qiao Huan herself.
Although she chose literary appreciation as her major, she didn’t miss out on other courses in the academy, such as the most interesting visit to the Bingzhou factory for new students, the foundational mathematics and science knowledge required for subsequent specialization, and the close combat self-defense course that was a must for both civil and military paths.
Envious of her mother and subordinates’ chess games, which exuded the demeanor of top strategists, Qiao Huan also signed up for the Go course to start early and surprise her mother when she returned to Luoyang.
In this Go course, Qiao Huan found a long-term Go partner named Zhang Xuan, courtesy name Changpu, who was from a local official family in Bingzhou. What made Qiao Huan most proud was that this girl admired her because of her fight with Sun Luban.
What good taste!
In high spirits, Qiao Huan entered the classroom for her major course, scanned the room, and walked towards an empty seat. After confirming that no one was sitting next to it, she sat down.
However, while she found her academy life quite enjoyable, and even this literary appreciation course interesting, the person sitting next to her felt a bit uneasy.
He had heard of Qiao Huan’s reputation in the academy.
After all, the probability of a new student’s fight alarming the dean was extremely low.
He couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, but he felt that the glance she gave him before sitting down was particularly meaningful, not like she had chosen the seat randomly.
This gave him a rather ominous premonition.
Sure enough, just as Cai Yong was having someone bring over the teaching materials, he suddenly heard his desk mate ask, “Speaking of which, Cai Bojie is quite interesting. Although he himself isn’t suited for the officialdom, he managed to teach Cai Zhaoji, who became a Huangmen Shilang, and Cao Zihuan, who inherited the position of Governor of Xizhou. It seems he has some hidden talents.”
“Did you also choose this course for that reason?”
Suddenly being thrown this question, Sima Zhao: “…?”
Author’s note:
Qiao Huaixu: Persecuting everyone indiscriminately.
Sima Zhao: Don’t come near me, I don’t want to stand out right now!
(Adjusted the birth times of the Sima family members to have them attend classes with little Huaixu. The time changes aren’t significant.)
See you at 9 PM.
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