The Second Academician in Attendance

It's not uncommon for someone like Zhang Xuezhou, who's practically on his deathbed, to become a bachelor.

Many high-ranking officials in the imperial court were old and half-dead; some even held office until their very last breath.

As long as Zhang Xuezhou is still barely clinging to life, his position as a scholar-official at the Golden Horse Gate will remain secure.

As a member of the imperial court system, unless you do something that would anger both heaven and man, your official rank will not be demoted; on the contrary, it will gradually rise over the years.

The position of Academician-in-Waiting at the Golden Horse Gate is quite interesting; it was an official post, but not a real one.

This position was a reserve official position in the imperial court, and given Zhang Xuezhou's physical condition, Zhang Xuezhou felt that his waiting time would be extremely long.

He could only take it one step at a time. Zhang Xuezhou had already successfully resolved the issue of being unable to perform his duties normally, so he couldn't demand more of himself.

After visiting Chunyu Tiying and Zheng Wukong to check on their conditions, Zhang Xuezhou stayed home for another night.

He didn't wander to Jinma Gate until dawn.

"Serve the food! A large portion of meat, please!"

Jinma Gate was the waiting room for scholars. Waiting for a summons simply meant waiting, and while waiting, one would get hungry, and if one got hungry, someone would provide food.

It would be a waste not to use the benefits provided by the imperial court, so he was making good use of them, even coming to Jinma Gate for breakfast.

Zhang Xuezhou thought this kind of thing would take a long time, but to his surprise, a servant rushed over with a tray after only a short while.

There was half a chicken on the tray, steaming hot, along with a large bowl of millet porridge. Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but marvel, thinking that the chef at Jinmamen was truly skilled.

There weren't many tables and chairs to see at Jinma Gate, so Zhang Xuezhou just wandered around aimlessly in his spare time, asking for food if it was available.

He felt that, given his pattern of only waking up every twelve days, once a month would be sufficient.

He made this trip today, and for the next ten days he'll be busy with his own things.

"What about my breakfast, Scholar?"

Zhang Xuezhou was halfway through his meal when he saw a tall, handsome young man stride into the inner hall of the Golden Horse Gate.

Holding the token of a scholar awaiting imperial orders at the Golden Horse Gate, the young man found a place to sit down and began to drink.

"I ordered half a chicken and millet porridge yesterday in advance. You should have prepared earlier," the young man complained. "You should know that any delay is a waste of time, and waste is a very shameful thing!"

"We just started... wait, what?"

The servant came running again, only to discover that there were two scholars at the Golden Horse Gate.

You cannot enter the Golden Horse Gate without a scholar's token; both scholars are genuine.

But all the servant knew was that a new scholar at Jinma Gate would have two meals a day, breakfast and lunch; he knew nothing else.

He glanced at Zhang Xuezhou, then at the young man.

"Sir, please wait a moment, we'll have the cook prepare it right now!"

The servant glanced at the young man and quickly replied, prompting the young man to point at the servant.

"You mean you haven't made my breakfast yet?" the young man said, slightly annoyed. "This is outrageous! I clearly told you yesterday!"

"Sir, we've done it," the servant said, "But we didn't know two scholars were coming today."

"Gentlemen... it seems that gentleman ate my breakfast," the young man said, frowning.

"He arrived early," the servant said rustlingly. "We'll make it for you now!"

"If you only plan to make one serving, you certainly don't have enough ingredients. It takes half an hour to get the ingredients and back, another half hour to cook, and then it will take even longer to bring them here. I'd rather not eat this breakfast!"

The young man was angry, but he was very well-mannered; after his anger subsided, he decided not to eat.

This sudden outburst of anger left Zhang Xuezhou somewhat bewildered and amused.

"Brother Kong, come, come, I have half a portion left, let's share," Zhang Xuezhou said, gesturing for them.

"When eating together... do not eat until you are full; do not pick at your food with your hands; do not grab at the food; do not throw the food away; do not sing; do not slurp your food; do not gnaw on bones; do not eat fish or meat; do not throw bones to dogs; do not hold onto what you have; do not scatter food; do not use chopsticks to eat millet; do not grab the soup; do not prick your teeth."

The young man pondered for two seconds, then read it aloud, wiped his clean hands on his sleeves, and then quickly sat down next to Zhang Xuezhou's table.

"Brother, you are truly a gentleman to be willing to share this meal!"

Uh~

In order to show Physician Zhao Rui his unrestrained eating habits, Zhang Xuezhou ate a bit too much yesterday.

He was already full after eating more than half of what he had eaten, so it didn't matter whether he ate more or not.

After giving away the remaining food, Zhang Xuezhou didn't expect to earn a reputation as a gentleman.

To be honest, Zhang Xuezhou felt that his character was still quite far from that of a gentleman.

Master Dong once said that a gentleman should possess benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Zhang Xuezhou said, "Only those who possess these virtues can be considered gentlemen; those who merely eat public food are not worthy of being called gentlemen."

"Sage Kong said that benevolence, righteousness, and propriety are the qualities of a gentleman, while Sage Meng called them benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom." The young man asked curiously, "And what is this letter?"

"Faith and knowledge are opposites. Those who know what is appropriate act accordingly, while those who do not know what is appropriate blindly follow the words of others, and thus uphold propriety to approach benevolence," Zhang Xuezhou recalled. "This is faith!"

"Master Dong, could you perhaps be referring to the Dong Zhongshu scholar Dong Zhongshu?"

"Right!"

"Master Dong is truly a man of many talents!"

The young people praised it repeatedly.

He covered his mouth with his sleeve, and while he was talking, he was eating very quickly, but it was impossible to tell that he was eating.

This amazed Zhang Xuezhou.

Compared to these uncouth country folk, the young people are undoubtedly very particular about etiquette, which must stem from their long-standing Lineage.

He pondered the young man's self-designation and the resemblance between his speech and that of Dong Zhongshu, and felt he had roughly guessed the man's background.

"Do you know Kong Zhong?" Zhang Xuezhou asked with a smile.

"Is the Kong Zhong you're talking about the Confucian School Kong Zhong?" the young man asked doubtfully.

"Right!"

"That is my father!"

The young man opened his mouth.

There are many people with the surname Kong, and the name Kong Zhong is also quite common, but only one Kong Zhong is listed among the great Confucian School scholars.

The young man never expected to run into an acquaintance of his father while sharing a table for a meal.

Given the extent to which the other party was familiar with Dong Zhongshu, they most likely knew Kong Zhong as well.

This prompted the young man to quickly stand up and bow.

"This humble one is Anguo. May I ask your esteemed name?" the young man inquired.

"Kong Anguo, your name sounds like 'governing the country and bringing peace,' it seems you will display your talents in the future," Zhang Xuezhou praised before smiling. "My name is Dongfang Shuo!"

"Scholar Dongfang, you recognize my father, but do you know where he is?" Kong Anguo asked.

"What's wrong? Didn't you find your dad?"

This was the first time Zhang Xuezhou had ever seen his son seek help from a stranger through his father.

However, judging from Kong Anguo's appearance, it seems that he really hasn't reunited with Kong Zhong.

"I received a message from my father saying that he had secured me a position as a scholar at the Golden Horse Gate in the imperial court, and that I should come to Chang'an City immediately," Kong Anguo said. "But I haven't seen my father since I arrived in Chang'an City, so I have been searching for him everywhere!"

"Kong Zhong, Du Wencai, and others returned to Chang'an City. Weren't they in the places where your Confucian School gather?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"I didn't see Uncle Du," Kong Anguo said. "I didn't see Uncle Ye, Uncle Zhu, or Uncle Li either!"

"You haven't found any of the five?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise. "You don't need to worry about them. They're so good at digging tunnels, they might be hiding in one of them doing something!"

"That's the Earth Escape Technique and the Earth Movement Technique," Kong Anguo corrected and added, "My father's technique is naturally excellent, but these are troubled times. I heard that the imperial court has recently been strictly investigating official corruption and other issues. Lords Zhao Wan and Wang Zang have both been investigated for this, and I am worried that they will also encounter big trouble!"

"Zhao Wan and Wang Zang are imprisoned?"

Having learned the latest news from the imperial court from Kong Anguo, Zhang Xuezhou's expression couldn't help but become somewhat strange.

Zhao Wan was one of the Three Dukes, and Zhang Xuezhou never expected that even such a high-ranking official would be dragged down.

If I'm not mistaken, Kong Zhong and others likely played a significant role in Zhao Wan's imprisonment.

At this moment, Kong Zhong and the others were indeed impossible to find. These people were likely involved in the interrogation of the three officials, or even existed as witnesses.

This kind of incident involves a very high degree of secrecy, so it's quite normal that Kong Anguo couldn't find his father.