They had been busy for half a day, and although the night was already deep, not one of the students in the academy had left. They were all chatting in groups of three to five. These students didn't come here just because Qiu Xiang asked about Wu De's cold, but also for that list of successful candidates in the imperial examination.

  Qiu Wenpu was a renowned scholar, with talented students all over the world. However, nothing is absolute, and not every one of his disciples could become officials. Just like the golden pyramid, only a few successful disciples were at the top, while the majority were still unable to achieve success in the imperial examination.

  A person's value lies in their self-awareness. Many wealthy and noble young men come to Xiangtang Academy to study, not necessarily to pass the imperial examination, nor is it just for the prestige of attending Xiangtang Academy. Does studying at a famous academy make one superior? Not necessarily. If one studies at such a renowned academy but still fails in the imperial examination, it would be even more humiliating when word gets out!

  Many students are sent here by their families, for the sake of connections, for the sake of those who study with them. In modern terms, it means becoming a member of the network!

  The disciples in the Xiangtong Academy, either wealthy or noble, studied together and could help each other out later on. Those who passed the imperial examination and entered officialdom could also form cliques, becoming a small circle of their own kind, protecting and supporting each other. Those who had passed the exam and those who hadn't could also engage in large-scale collusion between officials and merchants, with money helping power and power generating influence, forming a massive force that made everything convenient!

  Qiu Wenpu was an old and astute man, so he naturally understood this principle. Therefore, when recruiting disciples, his conditions were very strict. First, he had to examine their qualifications, which was a guarantee for passing the imperial examination. If they were qualified, he would even offer them money to join him as a disciple and support their studies. Secondly, he had to look at their background. If they came from a wealthy family, even if their qualifications were slightly inferior, they would still be accepted into the academy.

  Although this approach is pragmatic, it's hard for people to live in the world without being tainted by the mud. If you want to learn from Tao Yuanming and be detached, it's even harder. At least for Qiu Lao Shan Zhu, doing so is very difficult, and he didn't plan on doing that anyway!

  As a result, the students in the academy naturally divided into two cliques. One consisted of those who studied well and had hopes of passing the imperial examination, which would enable them to become officials later on. These people were very close to each other. The other clique was made up of those who had no hope of passing the examination but came from wealthy families. Most of these individuals were spoiled sons of rich families.

  Wang Ping'an and Cheng Jishi entered the academy through the back door, seeing over a hundred people standing in the backyard under the moonlight. The front hall was also packed with people, seemingly all the disciples of the entire academy had arrived tonight.

  The two of them didn't know about the list of mourners. Wang Pingan said, "It seems that Old Master Qiu's ability to raise people is indeed superb. He fell ill and so many people came to visit him. It's so late now and they're still waiting here. Should we go over and tell them that Old Master Qiu's illness isn't serious?"

  Cheng Ji smiled and shook his head, saying: "It's completely unnecessary. If you go over there and mention it to them, they'll definitely pester you with questions nonstop. Who knows, they might even ask you to act as their messenger so that they can meet the teacher themselves. This kind of flattering tactic is something I've seen plenty of times in Chang'an!"

  Two people strolled slowly along the edge of the pond, with Ding Danruo and Ke Lianwu following behind them.

  Wang Ping'an smiled and said: "Speaking of Chang'an, that place is full of high-ranking officials. Is it not true that sometimes when a high-ranking official falls ill, his house would also be crowded with this many people?"

  Cheng Ji Sheng shouted, "You call this many people? When I was in Chang'an, there was a time when the great-grandson of the emperor, Wu Zetian's nephew, fell ill. Although you live in the countryside, you should have heard of his name?"

  Wang Ping'an nodded and said, "Like thunder in the ears!" Others didn't know, but Changsun Wuji knew that he was the one who couldn't be known any better. He was the number one person on the Lingyan Pavilion, a powerful figure in the Tang Dynasty court. Not only did people of this era know him, but even later generations would remember the name Changsun Wuji.

  Cheng Jisheng said, "Once, the eldest grandson was ill. I and my colleagues from the Imperial Medical Office went to visit him. Guess what? The people who came to visit him lined up from the street head to the end, saying there were one or two thousand people, which is an understatement. Eldest Grandson didn't like this kind of flattery, so he sent his servants to drive those people away. You guess again, those visitors actually knelt on the ground and wailed loudly, refusing to leave, shouting that if they weren't allowed to go in and pay their respects, they would kneel to death at the gate!"

  Wang Ping'an laughed and said: "A few thousand people kneeling dead at the gate, what a magnificent scene!"

  "Who says it's not?" As he spoke of past events, Cheng Jisheng suddenly turned pale and fell silent for a moment. "Ping'an, you're going to enter the capital to become an official in the future. Although you plan to take the medical examination, it's not necessarily set that you'll enter the Imperial Medical Office. I think you're very good at handling relationships, so why don't you pull some strings and get into a different government office?"

  Wang Ping calmly replied, "What's going on?"

  Two men walked under a willow tree, Cheng Jisheng broke off a willow branch and played with it in his hand, seemingly considering something. Wang Pingan didn't ask, he just stood quietly beside him.

  Cheng Ji let out a sigh, threw away the willow branch and said: "Although being an imperial physician is glorious, the risks are also too great. Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. If you never make mistakes, everything is easy to say. With the emperor's trust, it's not difficult to rise through the ranks. If you show some special talents in other areas, you may even enter the central government in the future. But if you make a mistake, that would be disastrous!"

  Wang Ping nodded silently, he understood this truth. Seeing Cheng Ji suddenly become sentimental, it was possible that he had thought of past events, he must have lost his hand!

  It turned out that Cheng Ji said, "I thought back then, I was full of energy and ambition, thinking that with my medical skills, I could become the imperial physician. However, unexpectedly, one time when I entered the palace to treat a concubine's illness, after prescribing medicine that cured her disease, she started losing hair. That concubine feared losing favor and tearfully told the eunuch in charge of the palace about this matter... In the end, the matter was traced back to me." He spread his hands and said, "I had no choice but to resign from office and return to Xuzhou in disarray!"

  Wang Ping'an blinked his eyes and suddenly said: "Is that talented person surnamed Wu?" He thought of Wu Zetian, didn't she start out as a talented person too!

  "Not surname Wu, surname Qin." Cheng Ji was puzzled by this question and continued: "So, if you want to be safe in the future, unless you enter the Imperial Medical Office, you must study obstetrics and pediatrics thoroughly. As long as you master these two subjects, people in the palace will definitely like you. You can't help but become prosperous, for the hardest wind in this world is the pillow wind!"

  Wang Ping'an sighed and said, "In that case, it's not necessary. What if the Emperor is blown away by the wind and thinks I often enter the palace, wouldn't that be a disaster!"

  Cheng Ji was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. Ding Danruo and Ke Lianwu, who were listening on the side, couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh too.

  At this time, the old servant Qiu ran over and said: "My master had a slight diarrhea just now, young master asked me to come and ask if it was due to taking medicine?"

  "It's nothing, it's normal, just wait another two minutes and you'll have to go again!"

  Cheng Ji Sheng said: "I'll go take a look. Ping An, take this opportunity to chat with those students, it will be very helpful for your future prospects!"

  Having said that, she quickly returned to the small courtyard.

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  Peaceful: Thank you to book friends Awen 2006 for their generous reward, thank you to book friend I am a small snake for their continuous enthusiastic reward, thank you to book friends 100409230545010, mcube, flyflz, Bing Feng Yuan Xue, Qin Feng Han Hun, and Ya Juan 〃★ for their enthusiastic rewards. Peaceful is extremely grateful here, thank you very much!

  Dioscorea oppositifolia boiled eggs

  Prescription: 15 grams of Rhizoma Picrorhizae, 1 egg.

  Method: Add 400ml of water to Astragalus membranaceus and egg, boil over low heat for 15 minutes, then strain.

  Efficacy: Clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing jaundice.

  Usage: Drink soup and eat eggs, 1 dose per day, 10 days as a course of treatment.