Whenever he came to East Brilliance Pavilion before, Li Zhengshu had been there several times.
Back then, when Jiang Wang recited the Jing Strategies here and spoke of "the Crown Prince shooting the Dragon Fox," it was always Li Zhengshu beside him, answering his questions and clearing away his doubts.
But today, Li Zhengshu was at City-Crushing Marquis Mansion, presiding over the funeral of his own nephew, Li Longchuan.
To remain a commoner yet regularly accompany His Majesty in study at East Brilliance Pavilion—and even earn the elegant title of "East Brilliance Scholar"—Li Zhengshu was undoubtedly one of the people closest to the Emperor.
But Li Zhengshu would never come to East Brilliance Pavilion again.
The Emperor sat high above, never allowing anyone to read his joy, anger, sorrow, or delight. "Do you know? Jade Gentleman has always been a very sensible person."
"Mr. Li is greatly learned," Jiang Wang said.
"You know which kind of sensible I mean," the Emperor said.
Jiang Wang fell silent.
"Li Zhengyan is my Wind Chaser Commander. In every respect, he is among the very best—especially in his ever-changing command of armies, so free and effortless, like writing splendid prose. But I must say, judged solely by cultivation talent, Li Zhengshu surpasses him by far. His literary brilliance need not be mentioned; to distinguish himself at Green Cliff Academy, he had to be capable of writing essays for All Under Heaven. As for military strategy..."
The Emperor glanced at Jiang Wang. "Jade Gentleman also calls himself 'one who knows nothing of war.' He has never discussed military matters or read military texts. Yet when we sometimes compare historical cases, in my view, his strategic insight is no inferior to Li Zhengyan's."
Jiang Wang found that word "also" utterly baffling. If he wanted to speak