Lady, escort the emperor! 27
Chapter 27 Li Xuanying
Government offices in Da Xia closed early. The Chang’an County Magistrate’s office typically let out around four in the afternoon.
Li Nuo found this quite unusual.
In his previous life, he worked over twelve hours a day, with weekend overtime being the norm. He wouldn’t dare dream of a four o’clock quitting time.
After returning from the county office, he read some Legalist classics and helped Muru with her studies before it was time for dinner.
The Li family’s meals were always lavish—eight dishes and a soup, though only three people ate them: Li Nuo, Song Jia Ren, and Song Mu Er.
As for the head of the household, Li Nuo’s father in this world, Li Nuo hadn’t seen him in the few days he’d been here. He’d only heard from Steward Wu that his father was extremely busy with official duties, rarely returning home, often staying at the office, and even when he did come back, it was late at night and early in the morning.
His official duties must have been truly demanding. Li Nuo would be asleep when his father returned, and his father would already have left before Li Nuo woke up. They were practically strangers, father and son.
Dinner at the Li residence was even more extravagant than usual tonight, with spicy rabbit legs and braised chicken legs, both dishes specifically requested by Song Mu Er. The Li family chef’s skill was excellent, each dish a masterpiece of color, aroma, and taste, easily rivaling renowned chefs of later generations.
Li Nuo, having attended important banquets with his dean, believed that even the most celebrated chefs of his past life couldn’t match his family’s cook.
Song Mu Er couldn’t stop eating, her small mouth full as she said, “Brother Li Nuo, your family’s food is so delicious! Much better than ours…”
Li Nuo had overheard Steward Wu mention that their chef was a highly paid culinary expert. This “culinary expert” designation didn’t imply any special abilities, but their cooking was unparalleled. The head chefs of the imperial kitchens were all, without exception, culinary experts.
Just as Li Nuo picked up his chopsticks, he remembered something and looked at Song Mu Er, who was enjoying her meal, warning her, “Muru, when you go back, don’t mention how delicious the food here is, especially don’t tell Ning’er…”
Song Mu Er looked up, puzzled. “Why?”
If she didn’t tell Song Ning’er that she’d had a particularly delicious meal at Li Nuo’s brother’s house, wouldn’t it have been a wasted meal?
Li Nuo saw her eyes darting around and knew she was already planning to boast to Song Ning’er. Considering Song Ning’er’s personality, she’d likely come to the Li residence to make a fuss again, which gave Li Nuo a headache.
He quickly said, “Don’t ask why. Just don’t tell Ning’er, period.”
Under Li Nuo’s insistent request, Song Mu Er finally obediently, though regretfully, agreed to keep it a secret.
After dinner, Song Jia Ren took Song Mu Er home.
Li Nuo returned to his room to continue reading.
Being newly arrived, there was still much he needed to learn about this world.
The Legalist school was indeed difficult to enter, but once mastered, even if only at the first level, it would significantly enhance defensive and self-preservation abilities. It would enable one to use the art of confinement, unlike that time in front of the county office where if Li Nuo had possessed the strength of the first realm of the Legalist school, he wouldn’t have needed his wife to intervene; that arrow would have been no threat.
Among all schools of thought, including martial artists, only the Legalist school could achieve this at the initial stage.
Body-building realm martial artists, lacking True Qi protection, couldn’t achieve invulnerability to blades and arrows. Confucianists needed to reach the third realm before their righteous Qi provided sufficient defense. Other schools were more supportive in nature.
In terms of individual strength, at least in the early stages, the Legalist school was absolutely unique.
At higher levels, each school had its own strengths, possessing incredibly miraculous abilities; there was no absolute superiority or inferiority.
For example, the Agriculturalists could control the weather, the Militarists could significantly improve the morale and combat effectiveness of soldiers, the Medicalists were immune to disease and could even regrow limbs, and the Mohists could control thousands of mechanical puppets with a single person, conquering cities and territories with ease.
Of course, the Legalist school was not weak either. At the Fourth Realm, one could control the power of imprisonment, confining a person to death in place; at the Fifth Realm, they could command the power of forced movement, making it impossible for same-level martial artists to approach; and at the Sixth Realm, a single word “death” could instantly kill someone…
Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.
Even if he didn’t cultivate any of these schools, he needed to understand them to avoid being caught unaware.
He slept a little later than usual, only turning off the lights and going to bed when drowsiness overtook him.
A quarter of an hour later, a carriage slowly rolled through the streets of Chang’an.
It was past curfew, but no patrol officers dared to stop this carriage. When it passed, they would respectfully stand by the roadside and watch it go.
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of the Li residence, and a figure stepped out. Steward Wu greeted him with a smile, saying, “Master has returned.”
His expression was somewhat regretful. “Young Master just fell asleep. If Master had returned a quarter of an hour earlier…”
The refined and handsome middle-aged man entered the Li residence and went to his study, where he wrote for a while. Steward Wu looked at the two poems on the paper and smiled. “Master also knows about what happened at the Song residence last night…”
This morning, he had learned from a servant at the Song residence about what happened at last night’s birthday banquet. The gift prepared by the young mistress for Old Madam Song had been secretly replaced with stones. At a critical moment, the Young Master had composed two poems in succession, not only resolving the crisis but also pleasing Old Madam Song, earning widespread praise.
He asked happily, “Master, were the Young Master’s poems very good?”
The middle-aged man nodded. “Not exceptionally good, but they held some meaning.”
Steward Wu said with relief, “Heaven is kind! I knew the Master’s son couldn’t be a fool. When Young Master was young, he often played alone in Master’s study. Perhaps that’s where he learned this…”
The middle-aged man looked at the two birthday poems on the paper. After a moment, he asked, “Tell me again in detail about the Young Master’s assassination attempt that night…”
Steward Wu replied, “That night, I was already asleep. When I heard the Young Master’s cry, I immediately rushed to his room and saw the maid holding a dagger, about to murder the Young Master. Fortunately, I arrived in time. The Young Master only suffered minor injuries. Afterward, the Young Master’s actions seemed rather unusual. He first hit his head against a pillar and then jumped from the roof the next day. He also had no memory of what happened before. Since he woke up, he’s become incredibly intelligent, able to do mathematics, judge cases, and write poems; it’s like he’s a completely different person. If I hadn’t secretly checked the mole on the Young Master’s bottom, I would have thought he’d been switched…”
He had raised the Young Master since childhood and was familiar with every inch of his body. After a thorough, secret examination, he was completely certain that the Young Master was indeed the real Young Master.
The middle-aged man fell silent, saying nothing more.
Then, Steward Wu recalled something, his face showing difficulty. “By the way, Master, the Young Master seems to want to cultivate the Legalist school. These past few days, he’s been judging cases at the Chang’an County Magistrate’s office and even studying the *Da Xia Law*…”
The middle-aged man was slightly surprised. “Why would he suddenly want to cultivate the Legalist school?”
Steward Wu explained helplessly, “It’s a misunderstanding. That day, the young mistress mistook the Young Master for having improper intentions towards the female assassin and beat him. The Young Master seemed resentful and kept asking me about ways to become stronger. He didn’t have a Martial Arts foundation, so I told him about the Hundred Schools of Thought, and he chose the Legalist school himself.”
The middle-aged man nodded slightly. “Among the Hundred Schools, the Legalist school is indeed the fastest to improve, and its strength is among the best.”
Steward Wu asked, “Master, what should we do? Should we stop the Young Master? Cultivating the Legalist school is incredibly dangerous…”
The middle-aged man waved his hand. “Let him be. If he likes it, let him do it.”
Hearing this, Steward Wu said no more.
While cultivating the Legalist school was dangerous, with the Master there, he could protect the Young Master.
But what would happen when the Young Master learned the truth?
He couldn’t help but worry about both Master and Young Master.
The middle-aged man stood up, walked slowly to the window, looked at the courtyard, which was already dark, and let out a meaningful smile, softly saying, “The Legalist school…”
(End of Chapter)
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