Only after that Grand Academician finished speaking did some people nod lightly in agreement.
Many were puzzled and discussed it in low voices. Before long, some finally discerned what lay beneath the surface.
"So that's it! A thousand measures of grain means land, a golden house means wealth, a beauty fair as jade means a wife, and carriages and horses mean official rank. Apart from sovereigns and emperors, apart from Void Sages, who could disregard such things? And apart from sovereigns and emperors, who else excels at using these things to encourage scholars?"
"This poem seems to be saying, 'Study, and you may obtain fertile fields, grand mansions, wives, and power from me, your emperor.' The more I think about it, the stronger that impression becomes."
"The spirit of the kingly way. Truly worthy of the Ji King, truly worthy of a Void Sage."
"Indeed, reading a poem from a different perspective reveals a different meaning. Void Sage Fang rightly belongs aboard the Dragon Boat."
"Lei Longkuo is a Hanlin Academician, yet he couldn't even recognize the imperial spirit within it and actually mocked it. A frog at the bottom of a well."
Li Fanming rolled his eyes helplessly and said, "I meant to defend him, but I never expected this poem to require understanding from a higher perspective. I fell just a little short. Yan Yukong, did you see the spirit of the kingly way in it earlier?"
"A little," Yan Yukong said.
Li Fanming shot Yan Yukong a look and said, "You must have met that fellow recently. 'A little' is his catchphrase."
As everyone spoke, waves rose on the Sea of Learning. Every vessel began to tremble gently, and then the primordial energy of heaven and earth in the sky suddenly grew exceptionally dense.
Every vessel seemed