MTLNOVEL Chapter 286: Is This What It Feels Like to Be a Protagonist?
Egret Academy.
The Chief Minister strolled by the lakeside with two great Confucian scholars from the academy. Zhang Haoran followed behind the Chief Minister, accompanied by two young disciples - one male and one female.
Initially, Zhang Haoran got along well with them, though he could sense their innate air of superiority.
"Young Master Zhang, I've heard of you," the young male disciple remarked.
"Merely an undeserved reputation," Zhang Haoran replied modestly.
The juniors continued chatting quietly behind them.
"Your Excellency's visit today surely isn't just for a casual stroll with us?" Scholar Su Jia spoke up suddenly.
The Chief Minister chuckled. "This old man wishes to recommend a student to your academy."
The moment these words left his mouth, the quiet conversation behind them ceased abruptly. The young academy disciples stared at Zhang Haoran, who looked equally perplexed.
Academy scholars had always looked down upon imperial servants, much like how they disdained the eunuchs wielding power in the palace. In their view, the emperor didn't rule the world alone - he governed alongside the scholars. Thus, academy graduates never saw the need for obsequious behavior toward the emperor, believing one need only fulfill their duties properly.
Recognizing the veiled sarcasm in Su Jia's words, the Chief Minister waved his hand dismissively. "Scholar Su misunderstands. Joining the Golden-armored Guard was truly a last resort for me. Otherwise, why would I have sent such promising talent there, nearly costing him his life?"
"If he's already a Golden-armored Guard, why seek entry to our academy now?" The other great scholar, Zhao Jianzhi, remarked half-jokingly. "Could it be that after damaging the Dragon Vein and being expelled from the imperial guards with no way back, he's turning to our academy?"
"Personally, I think the Golden-armored Guard offers better prospects than our academy," Zhao continued. "Graduating from here doesn't guarantee high office."
This wasn't untrue. Since the old emperor ascended the throne, he had been eliminating dissidents and promoting loyalists, with the academy becoming a primary target. After all, half the court officials had once been academy graduates. The emperor urgently needed to consolidate power.
"This young man possesses both virtue and talent - truly exceptional!" The Chief Minister praised Zhang Haoran like a merchant promoting his wares. Unfortunately, both scholars remained unmoved by flattery or pressure.
The Chief Minister had anticipated this. He knew mere words wouldn't secure Zhang Haoran's admission, so he had prepared leverage - though now wasn't the time to reveal it.
As they conversed, the group arrived at the academy's back mountain. This was Zhang Haoran's first visit here. Raising his head, he saw numerous stone tablets erected before him, each bearing lines of poetry that felt strangely familiar.
One tablet read: "To settle the emperor's worldly affairs, winning fame during life and after death."
Another was carved with: "Repaying the emperor's golden platform intentions, drawing jade dragon to die for the lord."
Yet another bore: "An iron-hearted life, forgetting family to serve the nation. Dying without remains, still shocking wolves and tigers..."
Zhang Haoran's gaze swept across more tablets coming into view:
"Shamed by namelessness in history's annals, a loyal heart repays the Son of Heaven."
"A crimson heart pledging to country repays the lord, illustrious name shining through history."
"Utmost loyalty facing trials repays imperial grace, heroic name eternally remembered."
Surprisingly, there were dozens of similar tablets. Zhang Haoran inhaled sharply. The old emperor... had memorized quite a few ancient poems! These were clearly all his handiwork.
Scholar Su Jia said solemnly, "Years ago, His Majesty personally visited our academy and ordered these seventy-six tablets erected. His purpose was to ensure academy students would always remember the emperor's boundless grace. Yet this act inadvertently suppressed the noble spirit our academy advocates."
"After all these years, these tablets still stand here. Our academy has painstakingly countered tablet with tablet, though only fifty-one remain now." Su Jia's fingers traced the cold stone surface as moonlight fragmented into silvery patterns on the carved characters.
"Shamed by namelessness in history's annals, a loyal heart repays the Son of Heaven!" Su Jia sighed softly.
The Chief Minister narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "This time, I shall obtain His Majesty's permission to remove half of these tablets."
Su Jia started, surprised the Chief Minister valued this young man so highly, then smiled wryly. "What difference would removing the tablets make? These ideas are already deeply engraved in every academy student's heart."
As he spoke, Zhang Haoran suddenly stepped forward. Su Jia assumed he wanted a closer look, but instead, Zhang Haoran walked straight toward the blank tablets prepared for students to inscribe rebuttals to the emperor's poetry. Over the years, only fifty-one of the original seventy-six remained.
Zhang Haoran picked up a brush nearby. The two scholars didn't stop him, though the female disciple frowned. "What are you doing?"
Without answering, Zhang Haoran began writing slowly:
"To establish moral principles for Heaven and Earth,
To secure life and fortune for the people,
To continue lost teachings for past sages,
To open eternal peace for all ages."
Zhang Haoran's calligraphy had been specially practiced by Li Xuanxiao. A person's handwriting is difficult to change, so Li Xuanxiao had trained Zhang Haoran and Jia Sidao in two distinct styles. Zhang Haoran's strokes brimmed with vitality and passion, revealing an upright character. Each line stood straight and unyielding, like his unwavering principles.
When the final character was completed, all fifty-one remaining tablets on the back mountain suddenly emitted deafening rumbles. The two scholars, the Chief Minister, and the young disciples all paled in shock.
"BOOM—!!"
The tremors spread throughout the entire academy. Cracks spiderwebbed across the tablets before they exploded into countless fragments that scattered like rain.
".........."
Meanwhile, at Silver Sword Peak on Mount Shushan...
Feng Liuli approached her senior brother's quarters carrying a book. "Senior brother, I..." She stopped at the window, astonished to see her senior brother wiping tears from his eyes.
┭┮﹏┭┮
Feng Liuli's mouth fell open. Her senior brother had always been impassive, never ruled by emotions. Yet now he wept openly from the depths of his heart.
Li Xuanxiao continued crying uncontrollably, constantly wiping his tears. This... this was how a transmigrator was supposed to live! What kind of miserable existence had he been enduring until now?
(꒦_꒦)
This was how transmigrators should be - fully embracing the art of "showing off," instead of constantly worrying about being schemed against or dealing with abstract romantic entanglements.
Li Xuanxiao sniffled pitifully. Recalling that sensation just now... was this what it felt like to be the protagonist of a wish-fulfillment novel? For once, he'd gotten to experience it too.