In the early Tang Dynasty, social hierarchy was strict. Of course, it wasn't just the early Tang Dynasty; any feudal dynasty had a strictly hierarchical society. Under this social system, the identities of teachers and students were not fixed, and there was no rule that students must pay homage to their teachers!

  If the student's social status is high, being the son of a king or noble, then unless the teacher has an equivalent status, the student does not need to show respect to the teacher. Even if they do show respect, it would only be on the day they pay respects to their master, and afterwards, during holidays and festivals, they would only politely ask after the teacher's well-being. Meanwhile, the teacher must greet the students before each class, and if the students are somewhat polite, they can exchange greetings!

  In modern times, before class, students will first ask the teacher "hello", and the teacher will respond with "hello" to the students. However, in the early Tang Dynasty, when a teacher encountered a student from a prominent family, they would first go over and ask the student "hello", while the student would respond with "hello" to the teacher! The order is different, representing vastly different levels of courtesy!

  This old gentleman was naturally surprised to see the young master's retinue. Other students, no matter how rich they were, would at most bring a book boy, but never brought maidservants to attend classes, let alone two maidservants dressed so luxuriously. Moreover, although this old gentleman was a lecturer, he was not an "honorable teacher". In other words, all the students in the Xiangtong Academy had only one honorable teacher, that is Qiu Wenpu. As a result, even the procedure of "mutual greetings" was omitted, and this old gentleman had to take the initiative to go over and pay his respects to the young master!

  The old man straightened his clothes, walked quickly to the young master's table, clasped his hands together and raised them high above his head, making a deep bow to the young master, saying: "I am Cheng Zhoutong, at your service, young master. I wish you peace!"

  The students of Manshutang exclaimed in unison, thinking to themselves: "Indeed a big shot! It seems that this little guy is really from Chang'an and has come to our academy to borrow books. Of course it's like that! Since Xuzhou doesn't have a National Academy or a Four Gate Institute, he wouldn't come to our Xiangtong Academy to borrow books. No other academy would be qualified for that!"

  At the thought of being able to become classmates with a big shot, all the students present couldn't help but shine in their eyes and secretly think about how to get close to this young master after class.

  The young master suddenly let out a "hmm" and raised his hand to press his forehead, a look of confusion and perplexity appearing on his face, as if he couldn't understand something major. He first turned his head to glance at the students around him, seeing that each and every one of them had a flattering expression on their faces, which only made the confused look on his face even more pronounced. In the end, he could only turn his head again to look at the maid standing behind him!

  This young master is none other than Wang Ping'an. Yesterday, Yang's mother was busy at home for almost a whole day, finding clothes for him and taking out all kinds of luxurious items, fearing that the country boy would be looked down upon when he came to the city to study. Although Wang Ping'an felt it was unnecessary, his mother insisted on doing so, and he certainly wouldn't object!

  Unexpectedly, today I just entered the academy and hadn't even started class yet. The teacher came into the classroom and first came over to give him a bow! Could it be that this is the rule at Xiangtong Academy? The students don't have to flatter the teachers, but instead the teachers have to flatter the students? This rule is really strange!

  Wang Pingan was momentarily stunned, how could he know that Cheng Zhou took him as the son of a noble family, his father was just a rural landlord! Ke Lianwu saw him not speaking and hurriedly said: "My young master also asks Master Wang to be well!"

  Cheng Zhou stood up straight and smiled: "Thank you, young master. May I ask how to address you?"

  Wang Ping'an stood up and returned the courtesy to Cheng Zhou, saying: "I... student Wang Ping'an, live in Wulicun Village, plan to take the imperial examination next year, but because I have been self-studying at home all along, there are many rules of the exam that I don't understand. Mr. Qiu Shan took pity on me and allowed me to enter the academy to audit classes, so in the future, students will still need to trouble Mr. Cheng to take care of us!"

  Cheng Zhou nodded in agreement, thinking to himself: "Indeed, he's the son of a wealthy family, with an elegant demeanor and refined manners. His estate is actually called Wulicun, could it be that they've enclosed an entire village as their residence? Ah, it's unbelievable! However... however, it seems like there's also a Wulicun outside the city, a small rural place, yet it shares the same name as this wealthy family's estate... Hmm, something doesn't seem quite right about this!"

  Cheng Zhou asked: "May I ask, young master Wang, will you be staying in the academy or commuting daily? Should I arrange a room for you?"

  Wang Pingan said: "The students are not staying in the academy, their homes are not far away, and they can reach the city five miles away!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the room was filled with sighs of disappointment, among which Mr. Cheng's sigh was the loudest! Five miles out of town is just Wulicun Village!

  The students returned in disappointment, but they didn't go to flatter Wang Ping'an because it wasn't time yet. But Cheng Zhou was different, he came up and gave a salute, flattering and asking for peace, his face lost so much!

  After messing around for half a day, it turned out to be the son of a rural local tyrant, wearing new clothes for the New Year, bringing two unknown hairpins, and running into the city to show off! He even deceived me... No, I was momentarily negligent, so he succeeded in his cunning plan!

  Cheng Zhou almost fainted from anger, wanting to scold Wang Ping'an a few times, but couldn't find anything to scold him for. From start to finish, he hadn't done anything wrong, and there was no fault to be found. It was all just his own wild imagination!

  With a flick of his sleeve, the old gentleman stormed over to his own desk, sat down with a thud, and slammed his hand on the table. "You're not studying hard," he scolded, "but instead daydreaming about romantic nonsense! How can you expect to pass the imperial exams?!" He pointed at Ding Danruo and Ke Lianwu: "This is a place for scholars to study, what are women doing here? Get out, get out!"

  Two little girls felt deeply wronged in their hearts, looked at each other, and thought: "This old man, we didn't provoke him, he came over to pay respects to the young master on his own, we didn't force him, now he's taking it out on us!" Seeing Wang Ping'an glare angrily at them through the window, they could only leave the school gate, no longer willing to suffer here!

  Cheng Zhou's anger grew as he thought about it, and he said: "Among the Nine Classics, the 'Book of Rites' comes first. You all quickly recite the 'Book of Rites' from memory, and after a while I will ask questions. If you can't answer, you'll be punished with the ruler!"

  The students quickly turned the pages, all lowering their heads and sticking out their tongues to make funny faces. Zhao Bi and Lu Xiu couldn't help but secretly give Wang Ping'an a thumbs up, "Brother, you're really something! On the first day of school, without doing anything, you managed to infuriate the teacher to death! Since the establishment of this academy, you are indeed the first person!"

  Those rascals studying, always have some naughty troublemakers teasing the teacher, no matter how hard they try to think of a way, none of them can make any teacher lose face like this. Wang Ping'an didn't do anything, just sat at the back of the desk, and Cheng Zhou, this old pedant, voluntarily lost all his dignity, it really became a big joke!

  Wang Ping sighed in his heart, "You came to pay your respects to me yourself, and I returned the courtesy. Even if you want to blame someone, you can only blame yourself for being self-serving and judging people by their clothes. No matter what, it's not my fault!"

  The former young master Wang left him a bellyful of books, and it might not be possible to exchange them for other books, but the "Book of Rites" was familiar to the point of being unforgettable. He didn't fear reciting this book at all! In his heart, he silently recited, feeling that there were no particularly difficult parts. Just as the tea had been poured, he picked up the teacup and took a sip, finding it not bad, so he began drinking the tea.

  Cheng Zhou and Wang Ping'an looked at each other, both feeling extremely annoyed. It seemed that this book was not going to stump him after all! Humph, just look at his rustic appearance and shifty eyes, he can't shake off the smell of being a country bumpkin. I must make things difficult for him!

  Just now he thought Wang Ping'an was a noble son, and he praised his elegant attitude and dignified behavior. But when he found out that Wang Ping'an was a country bumpkin, he suddenly became a toady with a fawning expression and vulgar behavior!

  Coughing, Cheng Zhou said, "Wang Sheng, I have something to ask you, lift up your head!"

  Wang Ping An thought to himself: "I knew you were going to ask me. Fortunately, you called me Wang Sheng and not Wang Lang, if you had said Wang Lang, I would have gotten goosebumps all over!" He put down his teacup and said: "The student is listening to Master Cheng's instructions!"

  Cheng Zhou thought to himself: "I only said I'd test you on the 'Book of Rites', and didn't say you had to recite a whole passage. This is a school for jinshi candidates, not a school for mingjing candidates; testing your ability to recite books would be looking down on you!"

  He said: "Those who should be officials, are those who want to be ministers, assist the wise king, and govern the country and pacify the world! In ancient times, there were countless great men of virtue in the Spring and Autumn period, famous prime ministers emerged one after another, all of whom are models for us! Wang Sheng, I will ask you a six-word question, Qi Jun, Yan Zi, and beasts. If you can explain the allusion, your fellow students will applaud for you, if not, I will use my ruler to congratulate you!"

  The students heard this and thought, "This topic is too simple! It's just the story of Yanzi making Chu, one of Yanzi's famous deeds that everyone knows!"

  The students who truly read books well couldn't help but glance at Wang Ping'an, thinking to themselves: "This pit is not shallow at all!"

  Cheng Zhou sneered coldly in his heart: "If you say it's Yanzi who sent the messenger to Chu, then you'll have a belly full of this stick. I'm talking about the King of Qi, not the King of Chu!"

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  Attachment: Thank you book friends I am Xiao Xiao Snake, for the continuous and enthusiastic rewards all along, Ping An is very grateful, thank you very much!

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  Juglans Sesamum Folium Mori Pill

  Prescription: walnut kernel 60g, sesame 60g, mulberry leaf 60g.

  Method of preparation: The above three flavors are mixed and ground into a mud-like consistency, made into pills, each pill weighing 5 grams.

  Function: Tonifying liver and kidney.

  Dosage: Twice daily, 1 tablet each time, for 5 consecutive days.