Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 85: The Small Matters Between the Master and the Students

"Gather the firewood together, and the fire will burn brightly. If it's scattered like this, will it take forever to burn? You say you're not good at studying or martial arts, and even burning firewood is done so carelessly. What hope is there for you in the future? Inheriting the family property? Besides your father being a magistrate, what else do you have? What are you worth?"

During break time, the West House belonged to the master's resting room, with a private small kitchen stove next to it, which could be considered a benefit provided by the academy for the master.

Xin Zhuo, who had been thinking about exchanging offerings for the spirits, immediately went to the kitchen and added a pot of Lunar Serenity Well water. There was ready firewood nearby, and the task of starting the fire naturally fell to the proud young master Su Zefeng.

Su Zefeng rolled up the wide sleeves of his scholar's robe and clumsily stuffed the firewood. It seemed that he had never done such rough work before. He was flustered and ended up with a face covered in ash. Upon hearing Xin Zhuo's words, he couldn't help but lower his voice and angrily say, "You think you can educate me? Just because you're the master now, I'm supposed to be afraid of you? This matter is not over!"

"Little Su, what are you saying?" Xin Zhuo took out a ruler and lightly tapped his palm.

Su Zefeng trembled and no longer retorted, but he snorted and stuffed the firewood in a disorderly manner, expressing his strong dissatisfaction.

Xin Zhuo asked again, "Who is more important, the master or your sister?"

Su Zefeng became angry again and said, "Is there even a need to ask? Of course, it's my sister."

"Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, and Teacher!" Xin Zhuo shook his head and lamented, "The teacher ranks fifth, and the master is below the sister. It's reasonable and fair. You don't even understand this basic principle. Your education has been in vain!"

"I sense a strong ambiguity in your words. You scoundrel..." Su Zefeng became furious.

At this moment, a white figure walked in from a distance.

Su Zefeng immediately straightened his back and forced a smile on his face. "Master, is it okay to stuff the firewood like this?"

"Master!"

Bai Xuanji glanced at Su Zefeng and performed the teacher-student ritual with Xin Zhuo. She handed over a package of mixed flower tea. "The tea you wanted has been brought."

"Mm."

Xin Zhuo took it and glanced at Bai Xuanji, seemingly waiting to see if she had any other instructions.

She had a tall figure and a hint of elegance. Her face had a bit of baby fat, and her features were beautiful. Even the smallest details were well taken care of, and she wore two delicate but unobtrusive earrings.

Graceful and charming, she made people unable to resist praising her.

Indeed, this kind of girl was likable, except for her cold expression, as if she didn't care about anything, to the point of being overly principled.

"Where are you from?" Xin Zhuo casually asked. As the homeroom teacher and class monitor, it was good to know each other well.

Bai Xuanji furrowed her brows slightly but still gave a flawless reply, "I am from the Baiya Prefecture."

"Who else is in your family?"

"...Grandparents, parents, two aunts, three brothers-in-law, four uncles, seven cousins, more than eighty maidservants and servants, fifty guards, and in addition, there are seventeen or eighteen concubines of my older brother and uncle."

Her answer was meticulous, without any concealment.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty!"

"Do you have a betrothed?"

"... " Bai Xuanji found it difficult to hide her annoyance and didn't know how to answer.

Xin Zhuo waved his hand casually. "Just asking out of curiosity. You don't have to answer."

Bai Xuanji replied coldly, "In response to the master's question, Xuanji has never been betrothed!"

"Alright! You may go!"

"Excuse me, Master!"

Almost as soon as Bai Xuanji walked out of the kitchen door, another female student brushed past her and walked up to Xin Zhuo, performing the teacher-student ritual. "Master!"

Xin Zhuo took a look at her and felt a sense of familiarity. He asked, "What's the matter?"

Song Qiqi looked at Xin Zhuo in surprise. "Master, do you really not recognize your student?"

Xin Zhuo pondered for a moment and shook his head, saying, "I don't remember!"

Song Qiqi fell silent for a while, then suddenly did a handstand and blinked her eyes, saying, "How about this? Xihu Lake!"

"Ah, I didn't recognize you with clothes on, my apologies!"

After Xin Zhuo finished speaking, he looked at Su Zefeng's shocked expression and quickly changed his words, saying, "Um...what's the matter?"

Song Qiqi took a deep breath and stuttered, "I...I want to sue three students from our school, Feng Sanbao, Ma Sulili, and Zhang Weisan. On that day, they were shameless and peeped at me, a student..."

"Understood!" Xin Zhuo thought to himself that he was also involved in this matter, so it would be awkward to blame them. "What do you want?"

Song Qiqi bowed and said, "Please, Master, seek justice for me!"

"No problem!" Xin Zhuo looked at Su Zefeng, who was pretending to be serious, and listened attentively to his conversation with Eight Trigrams. "Xiao Su, go ahead, one person can handle ten strokes with the ruler!"

Su Zefeng turned around abruptly and said, "Why should it be me? Shouldn't the Abbot handle this?"

These three people were all third-year students, his senior brothers whom he had flattered in the past. How could they...

Xin Zhuo's face turned stern and he said, "Why do you need so many reasons? I am cultivating you, have some confidence."

Su Zefeng lowered his head and thought for a moment. After some internal struggle, his eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement. He stood up and rubbed his hands together, snatching the ruler and saying, "Watch me!"

The two of them left together. Meanwhile, the water in the pot had already boiled, but it still emitted a faint smell of old well water. Bai Xuanji threw in the tea leaves she had found, which somewhat neutralized the smell.

When Su Zefeng walked into the classroom carrying a bucket full of Lunar Serenity Well water, he had just finished beating the third person with the ruler. His face was flushed, and he couldn't be happier.

The three beaten students, Feng Sanbao and the others, were extremely frustrated and gritted their teeth, saying, "You brat, just wait and see how we'll deal with you!"

"What's it to me?" Su Zefeng, still excited, replied, "It was Xin Zhuo...Master Xin who asked me to do it!"

The surrounding students burst into low laughter.

Seeing Xin Zhuo enter, the room instantly quieted down. Everyone sat up straight, chest out, looking like obedient children.

After everything settled down, Xin Zhuo's heart beat faster, but he spoke with the tone of an elder, instructing, "Are you all thirsty? Bai Xuanji, He Liansheng, Li Xiyue, the three of you distribute the tea water to the students."

The three of them didn't refuse and immediately started distributing the tea.

Watching the students drink without hesitation, Xin Zhuo's heart beat even faster. He immediately summoned the Lunar Serenity Well and replaced Mu Ronglei and the other eight people with Bai Xuanji, He Liansheng, Li Xiyue, and the other eight third-year students who had the strongest Blood Qi.

Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but frown.

Bai Xuanji, loyal: 0, apologetic: 0, debt: 3.

He Liansheng, loyal: 0, apologetic: 0, debt: 2.

Li Xiyue, loyal: 0, apologetic: 0, debt: 2.

The loyalty and apologetic values of the other students were all 0, and the debts varied, with the worst being 0.

Loyalty, apologetic, and debt were the three principles of sharing Spirit Power in the Lunar Serenity Well. It was indeed difficult for the students to achieve the first two, but the debts...

Did teaching them scriptures accumulate debt?

Did passing on knowledge and understanding create debt?

Teaching half of them, when would it end?

Indeed, this kind of cheat-like thing was not as simple and easy to operate as it seemed, and he still needed the amount of ten people in the same realm!

Looking up at the curious eyes of the students in the classroom, Xin Zhuo immediately calmed down, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's talk about the eighth chapter of the Tao Te Ching. As usual, let's start with the scripture and then discuss its meaning...

The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contention. It flows in places that people dislike, therefore it is close to the Way. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, be deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle in speech. In governing, be just in action. In business, be competent. In action, be timely. Because it does not contend, it is without fault."

(End of this chapter)