Gathering in Their Own Groups

"Yan, you have a talent for learning scripts. Why don't you spend some time learning Xiong State's script?"

In the great hall of the imperial palace, the new emperor made a suggestion to his study companion.

Ordinary people had classmates when they studied, while emperors found study companions to keep them company.

Whatever the emperor studied, these companions studied as well, and this arrangement continued until the emperor was around eighteen.

Han Yan had studied alongside the new emperor for several years. He had more than a handsome face; he possessed genuine talents that set him apart.

For instance, Han Yan had a considerable gift for learning scripts. If the new emperor had studied a foreign language, Han Yan would have learned it long ago.

"Your Majesty, don't you have to study it before I can follow along?" Han Yan asked quietly.

"We certainly can't learn it in the palace. To learn that script, you'll have to go to the Court of State Ceremonial and find Yan Fu and the others," the new emperor replied in a low voice. "You're gifted at learning scripts. After you finish studying with me each day, go learn from Yan Fu for an hour."

"As you command!"

Han Yan agreed.

His face was slightly red.

Partly, he was excited that the new emperor had given him a task. He was also very interested in the dozen or so bamboo scrolls and wanted badly to finish reading what happened to Zixu next.

The new emperor didn't even need to urge him to study. Even without that urging, as long as the bamboo scrolls fell into his hands, he would have tried to make sense of their contents.

"This man called Dongfang Shuo is quite interesting. He actually waited until the last scroll to make his