Chapter 47 Poaching Talent

"Please, have some tea."

Shen Xuan led the three of them into a private parlor, personally poured a pot of tea, filled cups for An Changming and his companion, and spoke with polite hospitality.

"Good! Thank you for the trouble, young friend."

The two men smiled. Without putting on any airs of seniority, they spoke in an easygoing tone.

"Grandfather, this is yours."

Shen Xuan nodded, poured another cup, and handed it personally to Elder Qin.

"Hahaha, as expected of my dear grandson! Unlike certain people who are this old and don't even have children. When the time comes that he can no longer walk on his own, I wonder what he'll do!"

Elder Qin chuckled as he accepted the tea from Shen Xuan, and then cast a playful glance at Lu Wenyong, speaking in a teasing tone.

Lu Wenyong's face darkened. He had only two regrets in his entire life: the first was that he had yet to nurture a saint capable of bringing peace to the world, and the second was that he had no biological offspring.

His wife had passed away young without leaving him any children. Heartbroken at the time, Lu Wenyong had poured all his energy into teaching and educating others, which led to him never remarrying.

By the time he felt lonely, he had already reached his current advanced age, and wanting a child now was no longer realistic.

Although his students were scattered across the world and countless numbers of them were willing to provide for his old age, they were not his flesh and blood after all, and the emotional bond was different.

Seeing Lu Wenyong's expression grow increasingly unsightly, looking ready to erupt at any moment, Shen Xuan felt a headache coming on and quickly interjected.

"May I ask why Elder Lu has come to see me?"

"Hmph!"

Hearing the inquiry, Lu Wenyong let out a cold snort toward Elder Qin before finally turning his head. He drew the piece of rice paper from his robe and said in a flat tone.

"Did you write this?"

Shen Xuan took the paper, looked at the familiar couplet, nodded in understanding, and replied directly without hiding anything.

"I did indeed write this a few days ago. I wonder how Elder Lu came to know of it."

Elder Qin was in the middle of sipping his tea when, upon hearing Shen Xuan's confirmation, he nearly choked. With an expression of sheer disbelief, he blurted out.

"No way, my dear grandson? You actually wrote this?!"

"Yes, Grandfather. Is there a problem?"

Seeing Elder Qin's intense reaction, Shen Xuan scratched his head and asked in utter bewilderment.

"Is there a problem? The problem is huge! Have you, boy, ever read even two books in your entire life? And you claim you wrote this?!"

As he spoke, Elder Qin glanced at the two men sitting across from them, leaned in close to Shen Xuan, and lowered his voice.

"Tell Grandpa honestly, whose work did you copy this from? Don't worry, Grandpa won't betray you."

Shen Xuan's mouth twitched. Looking at Elder Qin's expression—which clearly said, "Stop pretending, Grandpa has seen right through you"—he smiled bitterly and said.

"Grandfather, this couplet really was written by me. Besides, even if I wanted to copy it, where on earth would I copy it from?"

"What you say makes sense, but why on earth can't this old man bring himself to believe it?"

Elder Qin nodded in agreement, yet profound doubts still lingered in his mind until he witnessed it with his own eyes.

"What are you two grandpas and grandsons whispering about over there?"

Just as Shen Xuan was wondering how to explain himself, Lu Wenyong frowned and spoke in a displeased tone.

"What my grandson and I are discussing—what business is it of yours?!"

Elder Qin glanced at Lu Wenyong with a stern, unyielding expression.

"I have serious matters to attend to, and I have no interest in bickering with you."

Having said that, Lu Wenyong ignored Elder Qin entirely, turned his head toward Shen Xuan, and said.

"Young man Shen, since you wrote this couplet, then this old man has not sought the wrong person. Here, I solemnly invite you to join our Taiping Academy! What do you say?"

"Taiping Academy?"

Shen Xuan's expression froze. He was well aware of Taiping Academy; its core mission was to nurture students capable of bringing peace to the realm, and its admission standards were notoriously stringent.

It was said that even Qin Shaotian had not been accepted—though, given the Prime Minister's estate's influence, entering Taiping Academy would have been simple enough.

Yet, perhaps out of pride or unwillingness to lose face, Qin Shaotian had never joined Taiping Academy.

Though Shen Xuan deeply admired the philosophy of Taiping Academy, at this moment, his only desire was to focus entirely on making money; he had zero interest in joining any academy!

"Xuan'er, why are you daydreaming? Countless people wouldn't even dare to dream of entering Taiping Academy so easily."

"Although Grandfather has a good relationship with this old fellow, even I cannot easily bend the rules for you right in front of him."

Seeing Shen Xuan sitting there in silence, Elder Qin urged him anxiously.

"But Grandfather..."

Shen Xuan turned his head, just about to say something, when the old man raised a hand to cut him off.

"No buts. Listen to Grandpa. Even if you want to leave the capital in the future, studying in seclusion at Taiping Academy for a while will do you good."

Elder Qin naturally knew what Shen Xuan was thinking, but since such a rare and legitimate reason had presented itself to keep the boy by his side, how could the old man let slip such a wonderful opportunity?

"Sigh! Very well, then!"

Shen Xuan figured that what Elder Qin said did make some sense.

Moreover, the tavern was already running smoothly and no longer required his daily supervision. After pondering for a moment, he agreed.

Turning his head just as he was about to give his final consent, An Changming—who had remained silent the entire time—interjected with an annoyed tone.

"Wait a moment! Brother Wenyong, isn't it a bit impolite of you to come and poach a student right under my nose?"

"What does Brother Changming mean by that? How is this old man poaching your student?"

Lu Wenyong asked with a strange expression and a face full of puzzlement.

"I extended an invitation to this young friend Shen several days ago. He is scheduled to take the Imperial Medical Academy's examination shortly. Wouldn't you call this poaching a student?"

An Changming said unhurriedly.

"Oh! Is there such a thing?"

Lu Wenyong turned his head to ask, but his gaze was directed not at Shen Xuan, but at Elder Qin.

"Uh! Indeed there is."

Elder Qin smiled sheepishly. At the time, he had simply wanted to secure a backup path for his grandson.

Who could have foreseen that the boy was not only exceptionally skilled in medicine, but also possessed profound literary talent?

"Hmph! I'll settle accounts with you, old ghost, another day."

Lu Wenyong rolled his eyes and retorted irritably.

This time, Elder Qin did not talk back, for he had indeed forgotten about that previous arrangement.

"Brother Changming, you can take a look at this couplet. With Young Man Shen's talent, it would truly be a tragedy if he didn't come to our Taiping Academy."

Lu Wenyong handed the piece of rice paper to An Changming and spoke with a solemn tone.

"It is indeed brilliant writing!"

An Changming took it and read it over. He had to admit that Shen Xuan's work was magnificent, yet he still shook his head and said with an unyielding tone.

"Nevertheless, I still cannot let him go."

"And why is that?!"

Lu Wenyong's previously confident expression collapsed, his face sinking as a trace of anger colored his voice.

"Simply because his talent in pharmacology is the greatest I have ever witnessed in my entire life. Such a monstrous talent belongs in our Imperial Medical Academy; how could he possibly waste his time in some academy?"

An Changming refused to budge an inch, delivering his words with resounding finality.