Chapter 124: Xi Sheng’s Lesson Leaves Yun Qin and Song Sheng Stunned

Yun Qin and Song Sheng felt a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

When the three arrived, Wei Shi'an was in the middle of telling Xi Sheng how talented Li Su was in the study of natural philosophy. Xi Sheng felt secretly pleased, yet his expression remained indifferent. "He is my disciple," he said.

Wei Shi'an let out a cold snort. "He is my son."

"Adopted son," Xi Sheng corrected.

"An adopted son is still a son."

Xi Sheng felt a pang of possessiveness, as if he had brought his own disciple here only to have him poached; to say he didn't care at all would be a lie.

Li Su, still outside the courtyard gate, called out, "Master, Godfather, we have arrived."

Xi Sheng and Wei Shi'an both turned their heads away, refusing to look at each other.

After the three stepped inside, Yun Qin stared fixedly at Xi Sheng. It really was Grand Councilor Xi! His eyes lit up. Song Sheng, meanwhile, was completely stunned. Could he be seeing correctly? Was this truly Grand Councilor Xi? Brother Li’s master was the Grand Councilor? If so, everything made sense now!

Xi Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected the friends that "young Su" had mentioned to be the young master of the Yun family and the eldest son of the Song family. Xi Sheng truly felt that his disciple possessed a certain destiny—he was indeed a man of great fortune.

Li Su introduced them to Xi Sheng. "Master, these are my two good friends, Yun Qin and Song Sheng. You should know them."

Yun Qin bowed. "Grand Councilor Xi."

Xi Sheng nodded at him. "I am just a common man of the countryside now; I am no longer a Grand Councilor."

"Xi... Xi... Elder Xi, it is good to see you," Song Sheng said, wisely refraining from using the title.

Yun Qin and Song Sheng quickly presented the gifts they had prepared. Xi Sheng offered them a few words of praise, and the two could not help but feel smug. Having earned the praise of Elder Xi, their late-night wall-climbing escapade to head down the mountain and purchase the gifts had been worth it.

Li Su thought to himself, *If Master knew how these gifts were obtained, he probably wouldn't be praising them.* In Li Su's view, his master followed a path of strict self-discipline and propriety; climbing over walls in the middle of the night would be considered highly unseemly.

Knowing that Xi Sheng lived with Wei Shi'an, Yun Qin and Song Sheng had also prepared gifts for him. Madame Wei walked out with a warm smile, carrying pastries and fruits. "Young Li, Student Yun, Student Song, please have some refreshments."

"Godmother, thank you for your trouble," Li Su said quickly, and Yun Qin and Song Sheng followed suit with their own thanks.

Madame Wei sighed inwardly; ever since Li Su arrived, the courtyard had gradually become more lively. Her and Wei Shi'an’s two sons were training in the military camp, and their only daughter was in the capital, far from their side.

Wei Shi'an looked at his wife. "My dear, come and sit."

Madame Wei shook her head gently. "You all talk; I won't disturb you."

"Disturb us?" Wei Shi'an swept his gaze over the three young men, his intent clear.

The three quickly shook their heads. "No disturbance at all, no disturbance."

Wei Shi'an nodded with satisfaction. He was, after all, quite proficient in martial arts.

Madame Wei smiled tenderly. "Very well, I truly do have some things to attend to."

Only after she had left did Wei Shi'an look away. Li Su couldn't help but sigh; his godfather had a bit of a "doting husband" streak in him. Wei Shi'an turned his sharp gaze to Li Su. "What strange things are you thinking about again?"

"I am wronged, Godfather!"

"Enough of your antics, let’s get to work," Xi Sheng prompted.

Li Su immediately straightened up. "Yes, sir."

Yun Qin and Song Sheng experienced a session of Xi Sheng’s teaching. Whenever Xi Sheng frowned, the two felt their hearts skip a beat. Li Su, however, was accustomed to it; if he was scolded, he was scolded—it wasn't as if he would lose a piece of himself. Yun Qin and Song Sheng watched in awe as Li Su remained unfazed even after being soundly berated by Xi Sheng. They realized that being a disciple of Elder Xi was not a task for everyone.

Yun Qin swallowed hard. He felt that Li Su had answered perfectly, yet Xi Sheng always found an angle to point out some deficiency. Song Sheng was inwardly amazed at Li Su’s reflexes and ability to answer on the spot, but even then, Xi Sheng was still unsatisfied.

It wasn't that Xi Sheng was truly unhappy; it was that his standards for Li Su were constantly rising. Even if Li Su’s knowledge were to surpass his own one day, he would still believe Li Su could achieve more. For Li Su, he was happy to have such a master—someone who could precisely pinpoint his shortcomings, even the most minor imperfections. He had never lacked praise. In his previous life, he was always surrounded by applause, flowers, and compliments. What he lacked was constructive criticism; having a master like this was a stroke of good fortune.

Of course, when his master did occasionally praise him, he still felt very happy.

Xi Sheng would also occasionally address Yun Qin and Song Sheng, pointing out their issues with equal precision, and they both gained a great deal. Xi Sheng didn't scold them, but as observant young men, they could tell from his expression that their performance was... less than ideal.

Wei Shi'an watched from the sidelines, seeing Xi Sheng berate Li Su mercilessly while the boy acted like a fool, taking the scolding and nodding along! Wei Shi'an’s mouth twitched. *Since when did Xi Sheng’s standards for his disciple become so high? I recall it wasn't like this before.* Wei Shi'an looked at Li Su with sympathy, then thought that if he were constantly scolded by Xi Sheng, then once he entered officialdom, the verbal attacks of other officials would likely cause him no harm at all. In that case, he should raise his own standards as well!

Li Su felt a chill down his back. Who was plotting against him again?

After their first session with Xi Sheng, Yun Qin and Song Sheng looked a bit pale. Yun Qin thought to himself that he finally understood why Xi Sheng hadn't accepted him—he was worried he wouldn't be able to handle it. Song Sheng felt that if Elder Xi had scolded him the way he scolded Li Su, he would have been left completely bewildered.

As the session concluded, the group moved to another area. Wei Shi'an grumbled to Xi Sheng, "You were so hard on young Li; aren't you afraid of crushing his spirits?"

"Crush his spirits? He’s long since used to it. To him, this is part of daily life. Don't meddle in how I teach my disciple."

"But you don't have to scold him all the time!"

"I praise him occasionally." It was a matter of using both the stick and the carrot.

"You scold him so much, yet he still refuses to acknowledge me as his master." By comparison, he considered himself quite gentle with Li Su.

Once they were out, Yun Qin remarked, "I always thought Dean Wei had a fiery temper and Elder Xi was strict but calm, but I never expected..."

"I never expected that Brother Li wouldn't be scolded by Dean Wei, but by Elder Xi instead," Song Sheng added.

"You think Old Wei is any better? My master uses his words, but my godfather uses his fists," Li Su said with a wry smile.

Yun Qin and Song Sheng were speechless. Was this what they called "bitterness before sweetness"?

"Brother Li, you’ve worked hard."

"It’s not the work that’s hard, it’s my fate."

Yun Qin and Song Sheng burst into laughter.

Time passed in this manner, and Li Su soon faced the first comprehensive examination for all four tiers of the academy.