"What we will teach today..."
Wang Su picked up the book, only to find that Cao Mao no longer showed his usual enthusiasm. He had even moved farther away and was secretly sizing him up.
When he noticed Wang Su looking at him, he hastily lowered his head again.
Although Wang Su ordinarily loathed this brat more than anyone,
and wished he would stay as far away as possible, he still could not help feeling suspicious.
Wang Su knew very well how capable this brat was of stirring up trouble. Though suspicious, he had no interest in asking.
He began earnestly explaining the contents of the book in his hands.
Luoyang had been far from peaceful lately.
The ministers had submitted memorials demanding rewards.
Zhuge Dan's residence had been forcibly entered. Zhong Yu, the Commandant of Justice, never took action against scholars, while his subordinate Pei Xiu played the fool and likewise refused to make arrests.
And a poem, "Sparrows in an Empty City," had caused an even greater uproar.
That "Sparrows in an Empty City" seemed to refer to the emperor, yet also seemed to refer to the scholars of the current age. Ever since Ruan Ji had taken it out of the palace, it had spread like wildfire throughout Luoyang.
Scholars sang it one after another, covertly mocking those in power.
Although Du Yu had advised Sima Zhao that he could resolve the matter by ignoring it, Sima Zhao, beset by countless affairs and seething with anger, still ordered the poem banned. No one was permitted to sing or circulate it, on pain of imprisonment.
Sima Zhao's ban made the poem even more popular. Simply put, it broke out of its original circle, spreading from Luoyang to every corner of the land.
Those who had initially taken little