Font Size:
Early in the morning, Zhang Yong summoned all the students of Wansong Academy to gather beside the Feng Monument. The Feng Monument was covered with a red cloth, concealing the characters engraved on it.
All the students looked puzzled. When did their academy get such a large stone monument?
In addition to Wansong Academy, the Bailu Academy and the Songshan Academy also experienced the same scene. The students of the three major academies had no idea what their headmasters were up to. It was almost spring break, and the headmasters were still busy with something?
When Zhang Yong, the headmaster, began to speak and told all the students of Wansong Academy that the golden words engraved on this large stone monument would become the motto of their Songshan Academy from today onwards.
The students looked curiously at the towering stone monument.
When Zhang Yong personally uncovered the red cloth covering the Feng Monument, revealing the full view of the large blue stone monument, four lines of calligraphy were engraved on it: “Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a life for the people, inherit the learning of the ancient sages, and open up peace for all generations.”
Boom!
All the students were speechless.
When they came to their senses, some seemed to be in a daze, as if their minds were being washed over by something.
Someone looked up to the sky and sighed, saying, “This is the destiny of us scholars!”
Finally, someone even laughed madly, saying, “These words are truly inspiring. We scholars should take the world as our own responsibility!”
Various expressions were shown.
As the saying goes, “To hear the Way in the morning is to die content in the evening.”
Overnight, Zhang Zai’s four lines of verse radiated outward from the three major academies, spreading until they were completely extolled.
In fact, these four lines of verse inspired not only scholars. At a time when there were external troubles and internal difficulties in Da Li, these words were incredibly motivating and touching to everyone. Including civil and military officials, as well as all those with aspirations, consciously took this as their aspiration and strove forward.
The reactions of these people were not exaggerated.
“Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a life for the people, inherit the learning of the ancient sages, and open up peace for all generations!” With Zhang Zai’s four lines of verse, who could compete?
Lu Songli still remembered the first time she read these four lines of verse. She was truly amazed and moved, her scalp tingling. Even someone like her, who had been tempered in the information age, was deeply touched when she first heard the four lines of verse, let alone the people of this era.
Later, the three monuments of Wansong Academy, Bailu Academy, and Songshan Academy, known for their excellence in writing, calligraphy, and engraving, were collectively known as the “Clear Engraved Zhang Zai’s Four Lines of Verse Monument,” also known as the Da Li Three Prodigies Monument.
Lu Desheng, Zhang Yong, Chen Dinghuai, Jiang Jiuzheng, and four others all benefited from the glory of the Three Prodigies Monument, becoming known to the world. It goes without saying that Emperor Kang Cheng, written in cursive script, was also involved.
When the news reached the Lu family, Lu Desheng had already recovered from his illness, and the family was discussing whether to go to the villa to soak in the hot springs.
The Lu family owned a hot spring villa, which was considered one of the valuable assets of the Lu family. The previous owner was weak, and it was said that soaking in hot springs in winter was good for the body, so the elderly couple had bought the hot spring villa years ago.
After buying the hot spring villa, the elderly couple would let the previous owner stay there for a while every winter to soak in the hot springs. This year, due to the divorce, the Lu family had not been able to find time to send her there.
Now that they remembered, they wanted to send her to soak in the hot springs.
Lu Songli had been preparing medicinal herbs these days, getting ready to make some health-preserving pills and other pills. Also, there was a war in the northern border, and the Crown Prince had already set off to assist the troops in the north. Some preparations had to be made, and she really couldn’t find the time to go soak in the hot springs.
However, the elderly couple could go to the hot spring villa for a couple of days to relax. So she suggested that.
“But your dowry hasn’t been prepared yet.” Madam Jiang hesitated. There were many things to handle at home.
“It won’t make a difference in these two days.”
Lu Desheng chuckled, “Listen to your daughter.” His wife had a bad back, and every year after soaking in the hot springs, it would get better.
“Then, you two old people go stay for two days? I’ll make the arrangements.” Anyway, her father couldn’t enter the palace to accompany the emperor during this period, afraid that he would pass on his illness to the emperor.
Lu Desheng hesitated for a moment and said, “Your mother can go, I won’t go.” For some reason, a voice deep down inside him kept urging him to stay in Chang’an City! He was a very intuitive person. He could soak in the hot springs anytime, so he wouldn’t go this year.
Madam Jiang immediately said, “If you two don’t go, I won’t go either.”
The two Lu brothers, who were sitting quietly beside them, looked at each other. What was going on? They hadn’t expressed their opinions yet, and the decision was already made?
“Mother—” Lu Zhiyuan called out weakly.
Madam Jiang immediately looked at her two sons. “Do you want to go?” Before they could answer, she waved her hand, “It’s not impossible for you to go, but you can go on your own.”
“No, we won’t go.”
They didn’t want to go, and they didn’t dare to go.
Father wouldn’t go, mother wouldn’t go, and their younger sister wouldn’t go either. What right did they have to go?
Great, finally everyone reached a consensus and decided not to go to the villa to soak in the hot springs this year.
Madam Jiang nodded in satisfaction at this outcome.
The news of the Four Lines of Verse came at this time. Hearing that he was actually related to such a world-shaking and soul-stirring inspiring saying, Lu Desheng was dumbfounded.
Was the Lu Desheng mentioned here the one who helped relay the message? He didn’t remember doing such a thing. Besides, he would never forget such a heart-wrenching and enlightening saying if he had ever seen it. Could it be that his illness hadn’t fully recovered, and he was delirious?
“Second Sister, what you asked me to give to Master Zhang, was it these Four Lines of Verse?!” Lu Mingzhi reacted quickly.
Lu Songli nodded slowly.
“What’s going on? Mingzhi, you tell me!” Lu Desheng felt that something was wrong here.
Lu Mingzhi quickly recounted what happened after the debate competition on the 28th.
After listening to this, Lu Desheng was stunned. His daughter was really trying her best to save him.
“Father, we don’t have to worry anymore, right?” Lu Songli asked with a smile.
Her father was too dangerous. He was either offending someone or on his way to offending someone. The path he was taking was like walking on a tightrope. If the emperor couldn’t protect him one day, he would be in danger. Even though he had a golden token of immunity, those with ill intentions could still cause trouble using refugees, rioters, and the like.
Lu Songli had wanted to use the stage set up by the Xie and Zhao families to give her father a protective charm, to create a golden body for him. However, her father was too powerful that day, single-handedly taking down all his opponents in the open, which made the trump card she had prepared useless at the time. So she saved it for later. The current effect was much better than letting her father take all the credit.
The current situation was like this: her father was charging ahead in the front lines, and she was in the back, patching him up.