The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 426 - 354, the mind is the principle, to achieve good knowledge, unity of knowledge and action

Mr. Song, being one of those implicated, was also called by Sun Xiaozhun for questioning several times. Although he returned each time intact, Mr. Song had personally witnessed several families with deeper roots than the Song family being thrown into the jail and having their assets confiscated by the Magistrate.

This greatly shocked Mr. Song, who had lived a stable life for most of his years.

Afterward, it was his mentor Mr. Zhengyang who passed through Taicang, and he went to escort him.

Entering the city in a bewildered state, he also learned of the deaths of Gao Lian and Wang Chusheng.

"All is well, that is good," Zhao Douan nodded, adopting an attitude of casually conversing with an old friend, before suddenly, turning the conversation, he said,

"I heard you followed Mr. Zhengyang to the Capital. Have you just returned from the Imperial College?"

Mr. Song shrank a little, steeling himself as he nodded,

"As a student, it is my duty to tend to my mentor's needs…"

He was very anxious!

Although he was protected by the identity of being from the Zhengyang School, he knew all too well how easily Zhao Douan, having witnessed his methods before, could snuff out his life.

"Hehe, no need to be nervous," Zhao Douan broke through his thoughts, saying,

"Though Mr. Zhengyang has issued a challenge to the court, despite my being a martial artist, I have always held respect for the learned scholars, and the great name of Mr. Zhengyang is also like thunder piercing the ear. I had intended to pay him a personal visit, but after all, it was not fitting. Heh, having coincidentally seen you here, Mr. Song, it's perfect timing. I have some doubts concerning my readings; may I ask you, the candidate scholar, to dispel them for me?"

He shook the representative work of Mr. Zhengyang he held in his hand, "Six Books Chapter and Verse Collection."

Mr. Song paused, King Yan waylaid him just to ask for scholarly advice?

"With my scant knowledge, I'm not sure what doubts Mr. Zhao has?"

Zhao Douan asked with a smile,

"What is orthodox teaching? As scholars, what should be regarded as the correct path to learning and humanity?"

Is that all? Mr. Song was surprised; this question was precisely the topic of the upcoming scholarly debate in four days, something he knew inside out. He replied,

"The Saint has said that 'to fully understand things and reach ultimate knowledge, one must be sincere and rectify one's heart,'...these pertain to moral conduct. To understand things fully, one must explore the principles of things, bringing knowledge and understanding to their utmost…"

As a disciple of Mr. Zhengyang, this set of theories was a typical view of the Zhengyang School, and also a more orthodox theory in the Great Yu Dynasty's realm of Confucianism.

The so-called "rectification of orthodox teachings" was not about creating something new but was inherently about tracing back to the origin and revisiting this set of theories.

Zhao Douan showed an enlightened expression, but soon after, his brows furrowed in distress,

"I see that the book says the same thing. But some days ago, I heard a different argument that contradicted this book, hence my confusion."

Mr. Song asked curiously, "May I ask what argument Mr. Zhao heard?"

Zhao Douan blandly responded,

"Oh, it was generally things like 'the mind is principle', 'apprehension of good conscience', 'unity of knowledge and action', and the like."

Seeing that Zhao Douan had no intention of killing him and that the conversation had entered his most familiar territory, Mr. Song relaxed considerably, and chuckled upon hearing this,

"Such claims are indeed…novel."

He deliberately used the neutral term "novel," though in his mind, he was disdainful.

Too many scholars in the world strive for novelty, enjoying the creation of new terms and phrases that sound profound at first glance, all for the sake of showcasing themselves and seeking fame.

Mr. Song had witnessed such practices over his decades of studying and instinctively looked down on them, considering them to be the strange gabble of some insensate youths vying for attention.

But given Zhao Douan's status, he refrained from disparaging them openly.

"Mr. Zhao, Old Sir, I can only say, from my many years of studying, I have never heard the Saint say anything similar," he replied diplomatically.

"I see," Zhao Douan seemed somewhat disappointed and said with a smile,

"I understand now, haha. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave."

"Eh...I dare not delay Mr. Zhao's time." Mr. Song bowed and watched the carriage roll away into the distance.

...

Once he confirmed that the carriage had left, he stood there bewildered, frowning heavily, feeling very strange indeed.

Was he overthinking it?

Could it be that he just happened to meet Zhao Douan, and they had a few words of casual conversation?

Yes, he thought, what would he, a mere local examination candidate, matter, to be targeted specifically by the empress's favored minister?

Thinking this way, his brows smoothed, and he felt more at ease, stepping back on his way home. Yet after a few dozen steps, he furrowed his brows once again:

"The mind is principle, apprehension of good conscience, unity of knowledge and action..."

"This phrase...seems..."

Initially, he considered it to be sheer nonsense, but as he pondered, it was like a ten-year-old tea, slowly exuding its full flavor.

Mr. Song, musing on these words, walked back to the inn where he was staying without realizing it.

With over a hundred disciples of the Zhengyang School entering the city, it was impossible for a single inn to accommodate them all, so they were scattered across several inns.

Mr. Song did not get to stay with his mentor, but chose to stay in the same one as several of his brothers in study.

As he climbed the stairs in a daze, suddenly a room door opened, and he collided with it inadvertently.

"Ah, Junior Brother Song, did you bump into it? Are you hurt?"

The person who emerged from the room was a middle-aged man with an extraordinary bearing, around thirty to forty years old, yet calling Mr. Song, the older man, a junior brother.

This man was named Lu Cheng, one of Mr. Zhengyang's favorite disciples and the "Brother" to all the other disciples, as well as the true inheritor of the Zhengyang School teachings.

As the saying goes, "In learning, there are no firsts or lasts; the accomplished one becomes the teacher", hence this appellation of "Junior Brother" was not at all abrupt.

"Brother Lu, I'm fine, just pondering over some matters," Sun Xiaozhun gathered his thoughts and waved his hand to show he was alright.

Lu Cheng smiled and said, "Oh, did you come back alone?"

"Yes," Sun Xiaozhun briefly explained the incident of his group being expelled from the Imperial College.

Then, almost as if possessed, he said:

"Brother, there is something I don't understand. On my way back, I met an... ahem, acquaintance, and conversed with him. When we touched upon orthodox studies, he raised a point of view that confuses me."

Lu Cheng smiled gently and said, "Oh? Let's hear it."

"The mind is the principle, to strive for innate goodness, to unify knowledge and action."

"...This is... interesting, give me a moment to think about this."

"Alright, I will return to my room for now and come back later to seek your advice."

Sun Xiaozhun took his leave, knowing that understanding such scholarly matters required careful contemplation.

...

Lu Cheng returned to his room, shut the door, and mulled over these words.

At first, he didn't give it much thought, but gradually his brows began to furrow deeply.

He sat for a while, feeling his mouth dry and his tongue parched, and stood up to pour himself a drink of water. It was during the act of pouring that a bolt of lightning suddenly struck his mind.

Like a thunderbolt from the blue!

The mind is the principle...

To strive for innate goodness...

To unify knowledge and action?

Lu Cheng felt as if struck by lightning, his mind completely overwhelmed, entering into a state of deep thought; his eyes looked empty, yet his mind was teeming with countless rising and sinking thoughts.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

The tea overflowed from the cup, but he was oblivious, letting the entire pot spill onto the desk, and then, the water streamed down, splashing onto the floor.

He was completely unaware!

"No... this can't be right... Such heretical nonsense, how can it be!?"

"But... if indeed it is so, how shall 'pursuing knowledge through the investigations of things' be reconciled? Could my teacher's annotations all be wrong? Could our entire direction have been mistaken from the start? How is that possible?"

"Yet, if one thinks about it this way, isn't it..."

One thought after another leaped like fish in the sea of his heart, only to fall back and ripple outward, brewing into a storm.

Time passed unknowingly.

"Brother, I've come back to ask about that question..."

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, Sun Xiaozhun returned.

He began to speak but froze the next second, staring blankly at the room, the indiscriminately flowing tea, the dampened books, the teapot carelessly thrown on the table, almost rolling off the edge.

And there was Brother Lu, as if possessed, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to himself.

"Brother, what is this..." Sun Xiaozhun was stunned.

But there stood Brother Lu, usually of impeccable conduct and gentlemanly demeanor, now with a somewhat contorted expression, clearly in a wrong state.

Hearing the noise, Lu Cheng turned his head, revealing somewhat reddened eyes.

"Ah..." Sun Xiaozhun jumped in fright, "Brother, what's happened to you?"

Lu Cheng took a deep breath, with the confusion and madness fading from his eyes to regain lucidity; he smiled apologetically and rubbed his face, saying:

"Some thoughts occurred to me; I was somewhat discomposed."

After pondering for a moment, Lu Cheng considered how to respond to the still bewildered Sun Xiaozhun:

"I'm also somewhat perplexed by your question; how about this, I'll step out and consult our Master."

Sun Xiaozhun was surprised; while his own knowledge was not yet solid, he only felt these words to hold some mystery, but had not yet fully grasped their profound meanings.

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To see that even his Brother, whose scholarship ranked just below their Master's, could not answer, left him somewhat shocked.

"But it's already dark outside..." he stammered, "at this hour..."

Lu Cheng, however, didn't listen at all and had already strode out, the sound of his footsteps descending the stairs echoing:

"It's early yet, there's time."

"Brother Lu? Where are you going?"

At that moment, by the inn's entrance, the returning disciples of the Zhengyang School just happened to come back and couldn't help but ask.

Lu Cheng merely waved his hand without explaining in detail and dashed out of the inn, leaving a group of people looking at each other in confusion.

...

Dusk had descended, and the Capital was shrouded in night.

Lu Cheng hurried nonstop and when he arrived at an even more imposing inn, he found the guests outside slowly dispersing; they were there to visit Mr. Zhengyang.

But to avoid disturbing the Master, almost all the guests were barred from entering by the disciples at the door.

"Brother Lu? You've come?" A disciple exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Cheng nodded and said, "I have something to ask the Master."

"The Master is in his room in the inn."

"Alright."

Being one of their own, there was no reason to stop him.

Lu Cheng passed through the crowd and reached the backyard of the inn, to the room specially allocated for Mr. Zhengyang's stay.

By this time, the lights in the room were already on.

After knocking, Lu Cheng entered the room and saw a middle-aged man in a Confucian robe, wearing a square hat and with a beautiful beard under his chin, sitting behind a desk, perusing classic texts, preparing for a debate to occur in a few days.

"Ah, Lu Cheng," Mr. Zhengyang lifted his head and smiled, "Why come at this hour?"

Lu Cheng bowed respectfully, offering the salute of a disciple, then said:

"Master, I am perplexed about a scholarly matter and have come to seek your guidance."