Qingluan led a dozen armored guards from the Prince’s Mansion, flanking them front and back.
On the way, she bought a few steamed buns before delivering Bai Shuangshuang and Zhao Qingyue to the Jingnan National Academy on the east side of the Royal City.
It was clearly not Zhao Qingyue’s first time here.
She must have been sent here every time she got too wild.
When the old gatekeeper saw her, his expression looked like he’d just run into a debtor.
He was genuinely respectful, yes, but also genuinely pained.
“Commandery Princess, you are well—”
“Mm. What are we studying today?”
“To answer the Princess, today’s lesson is a policy debate class.”
Zhao Qingyue’s steps faltered.
A look of regret spread across her face—the kind that said, ‘I wish I hadn’t asked.’
Bai Shuangshuang watched from the side, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.
If Zhao Qingyue was unhappy, then she was happy.
The Jingnan National Academy accepted both offspring of Great Clans and talented commoners alike.
Over a hundred students sat in the hall, dressed in a mix of fine and plain clothes, with varying auras.
The moment Zhao Qingyue walked in, the entire atmosphere of the class shifted.
The few playboys who had been loudly debating just moments before instantly fell silent.
They stared at their noses, noses at their hearts, as if they’d turned into different people.
Well, it made sense.
No matter how high an official your father was in the Three Southern Prefectures, could he be higher than the Prince?
No matter how much of a young master or miss you were, you wouldn’t dare act up in front of this number-one troublemaker.
Zhao Qingyue found a seat near the front and sat down, patting the stool beside her.
“Sit here~”
Bai Shuangshuang sat down expressionlessly and muttered quietly.
“I’m a maid. I should stand in the back.”
“I said sit, so sit.”
“Oh—”
This exchange wasn’t loud, but a few sharp-eared students in the front row caught every word.
They exchanged a furtive glance.
Wasn’t this maid tired of living? Daring to haggle with the Princess?
What shocked them even more came next.
Zhao Qingyue said something to Bai Shuangshuang, and Bai Shuangshuang directly rolled her eyes.
“Can’t be bothered with you. Handle it yourself…”
Not only did Zhao Qingyue not get angry, she smiled and leaned in, lowering her voice to coax her.
Her tone and expression were exactly like someone soothing a spitting mad cat.
A few of the Great Clan scions were so stunned their jaws nearly dropped.
The Princess was smiling appeasingly at a maid?
Just who in the world was this maid?
The master was an old scholar with graying hair and a beard.
He walked up to the podium holding a roll of bamboo slips, swept his gaze across the hall, paused for a moment on Zhao Qingyue, and broke out in a cold sweat on the spot.
In his decades of teaching, he’d seen all kinds of troublemakers, but this Princess was the only one he couldn’t handle.
He steeled himself and spoke.
“Today’s policy debate: choose one of two topics. The first is ‘Immortals and Mortals,’ the second is ‘Great Clans.’ Which student would like to go first?”
As soon as he finished, a richly dressed youth stood up from the back row.
A jade pendant hung at his waist, his fingers were pale and clean—clearly from a Great Clan.
He adjusted his robes and declared in a clear voice.
“In this student’s opinion, the Great Clans are the foundation of the Imperial Court. Without their full support, government orders would be hard to implement and popular sentiment would be difficult to unite. The Imperial Court should grant the Great Clans respect and leave them some leeway, not act rashly against them.”
He sat down, glancing sidelong at Zhao Qingyue to see if the Commandery Princess had nodded.
Needless to say, the Princess was both lovely and of high status.
Which of these young men present wouldn’t want to catch her attention?
Zhao Qingyue’s face was expressionless.
Another student stood up.
He was thin, with a pale face, and a faint spiritual light flickered at his fingertips—clearly someone who had dabbled in small techniques of cultivation.
His tone was confident.
“Immortals and mortals walk different paths; the Heavenly Dao separates them. Mortals should revere and fear the immortals, keeping to their proper place. Matters of the immortals are not for common mortals to discuss recklessly.”
Bai Shuangshuang listened, her brow gradually furrowing.
She muttered under her breath.
“Guys like this are the worst at pretending to be immortals…”
A few more stood up, going on and on with the same old clichés: “the immortals cannot be controlled,” “the Great Clans cannot be touched”—nothing but correct but meaningless drivel.
Bai Shuangshuang rolled her eyes straight up.
These fools had ever cultivated? They had zero vision.
Zhao Qingyue yawned and nudged Bai Shuangshuang with her elbow.
“I’m bored.”
“You’ve only listened for two sentences and you’re already bored?”
“Listening or not, it’s all the same. These people just repeat the same few lines. I could recite them in my sleep.”
The master must have noticed the commotion.
He looked up, his gaze landing on Zhao Qingyue.
After a moment of hesitation, he called on her anyway.
“Commandery Princess, would you care to respond?”
Zhao Qingyue blinked.
Without another word, she grabbed Bai Shuangshuang and yanked her to her feet.
Caught off guard, Bai Shuangshuang stumbled forward, barely catching herself with her elbows on the desk to avoid making a scene.
She steadied herself, a steamed bun in each hand and one still in her mouth, looking utterly bewildered.
“What…”
“Answer for me~”
Zhao Qingyue smiled, all innocence.
“You’re my study companion. If you answer, it counts as me answering.”
“You—”
“Go on, go on. Everyone’s waiting~”
Bai Shuangshuang gritted her teeth, cursing the little brat eight hundred times in her heart before reluctantly turning around to face the master.
The entire hall’s attention focused on her.
More than a few people were already ready for a good show.
What could a maid possibly say? If she couldn’t answer, it would be the Commandery Princess’s face that got slapped.
Some of the more mischievous ones even started sneaking glances at Zhao Qingyue’s expression, waiting to see when she’d lose her temper.
Bai Shuangshuang thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and began.
“People all say immortals and mortals are separate. I say immortals and mortals share the same origin. Superiority and inferiority are not the Heavenly Dao—checks and balances are man-made.”
The hall fell dead silent.
Someone even dropped their brush without realizing it.
In her past life, Bai Shuangshuang had been the Senior Brother of the Qingyun Sword Sect.
She had stood at the summit and watched countless dynasties rise and fall, and she had crushed far too many so-called “prodigies of the immortal sects.”
She could even offer some insight into court politics.
Those so-called “majesty of the immortals” meant little in her eyes.
She knew too well that immortals were also humans who cultivated.
That was why she dared to say “superiority and inferiority are not the Heavenly Dao.”
In her view, the hierarchy between mortals and immortals wasn’t born—it was won through battle.
Even those legendary immortals who ascended to the Heavenly Realm—she didn’t see any insurmountable gap between them and herself.
The master leaned forward slightly.
“Continue.”
Bai Shuangshuang didn’t back down.
She went on.
“Take the Jingnan Kingdom as an example. In dealing with the immortals, the proper approach should not be merely avoidance and offerings, but rather building alliances. Use spirit fields and spirit mines as compensation, use shared interests as a bond—let the immortals serve the Prince’s Mansion, rather than revering them from afar and letting them do as they please.”
She paused, sweeping her gaze over the Great Clan scions from earlier.
“As for the Great Clans: do not indulge them, do not compromise. Instead of wasting effort on the Great Clans, replace them with a direct administrative system. The Prince’s Mansion can dismantle the Great Clans directly, send officials down to the counties and prefectures, bypassing the Great Clans as middlemen. Only then can government orders flow smoothly.”
“Still taking the Jingnan Prince Manor as an example: set up a government office called ‘Flying Immortal Platform.’ Use the output of spirit fields and spirit mines as compensation to attract immortal sects into the Prince’s Mansion’s service. Use immortal power to suppress the Great Clans, and use the Great Clans’ surplus wealth to support the immortals. Then both problems solve themselves.”
When her voice fell, the hall remained silent for a full several breaths.
Then whispers spread like ripples across water.
The Great Clan scions exchanged looks, their faces cycling through shades of pale and red.
A maid was plotting to replace the families they took pride in?
The student who had cultivated minor techniques looked even more incredulous.
This girl’s attitude toward immortals was way too casual, wasn’t it?
What did she mean by “building alliances”?
“Use shared interests as a bond”?
Did she think immortals were merchants doing business?
What shocked them even more came next.
After she finished, Bai Shuangshuang turned back and glared at Zhao Qingyue, muttering in complaint.
“Next time, answer yourself. Don’t drag me into it.”
Far from getting angry, Zhao Qingyue’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
She reached out and tugged at Bai Shuangshuang’s sleeve.
“Alright, alright. Next time I’ll do it myself. Don’t be mad, okay~”
Her tone, her expression—it was like she was coaxing a beloved.
A wave of gasps swept through the hall.
This maid not only dared to snub the Commandery Princess, but the Princess also had to appease her?
The master was stunned for a long moment before pulling himself together.
He didn’t ask any further questions.
Instead, he raised his hand and summoned the scribe standing at the side of the hall.
“Record this exchange and send it to the Prince’s Mansion.”
That was the rule of the Jingnan National Academy.
The students here were all talented youths.
Whenever a brilliant answer came up in policy class, the scribe would note it down and deliver it to the Prince’s Mansion.
If the Prince took a liking to it, he might even summon the student personally.
Zhao Qingyue tilted her head and looked at Bai Shuangshuang, her eyes sparkling as if she’d discovered a treasure.
“Not bad, you. You had this trick hidden away. Quite the silver tongue, aren’t you? So why can’t you squeeze out a single word when you argue with me?”
Bai Shuangshuang sat down expressionlessly, her lips barely moving to utter a word only the two of them could hear.
“Shut up.”
Zhao Qingyue’s smile grew even brighter.
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