14: Ten years old, six grades! Socially anxious Lin Wan'er!

Chapter 14: Ten Years Old, Sixth-Rank! Socially Anxious Lin Wan'er!

Five years later, Imperial Study.

Emperor Qing held a small notebook and meticulously recited the poems written within it.

Chen Pingping and Eunuch Hou wore bitter expressions, unable to avoid listening.

"The scent of flowers assails Xiren, signaling sudden warmth; the magpie's song pierces the trees, rejoicing in the new clear weather."

"Stillness like a flower reflected in water, movements like a willow swayed by the wind."

"Eyes half-curved conceal amber, a cherry-like vermilion lip."

"The person by the counter is like the moon, her fair wrist congealed frost and snow."

"A graceful young girl's shyness, years free from sorrow."

...There were only a dozen lines in total, all single verses, each more alluring than the last.

Emperor Qing recited these suggestive poems to two non-men, enjoying it immensely!

"Heh! This kid, why does he only write about beautiful women!"

"And not a single one is complete!"

Emperor Qing finally finished reciting, and Chen Pingping's mood greatly improved.

"Your Majesty, these fragmented verses have already become famous throughout the land!"

"The virtuous courtesan in the Brothel are most fond of Uncle Prince Yong's poetry!"

"Zhuang Mo Han of Northern Qi specially sought out over a dozen great poets to complete Your Highness's verses."

Emperor Qing smiled shrewdly.

This was exactly the outcome he desired!

His third brother was too agile and intelligent, and Emperor Qing had to be wary.

As an emperor, imperial power must remain within his own lineage.

Therefore, he used charming women to corrupt Li Chang'an.

Li Chang'an's poems all described beautiful women or expressed melancholic sentiments about spring and autumn, showing no concern for state affairs.

Emperor Qing was very happy and relieved!

These melancholic poems could still hold a place in the literary world!

Imperial power was not threatened, and the literary world could also flourish!

A win-win!

"I found the best literary scholars of Great Qing to teach my third brother rhetoric and prosody."

"My third brother learned quickly and applied it very well."

"However, why are all these poems melancholic and decadent!"

Chen Pingping said, "Who cares what kind of sound it is, as long as it can establish itself in the literary world."

"Now, Uncle Prince Yong and his Twelve Golden Hairpins are very famous!"

Speaking of the Twelve Golden Hairpins, Emperor Qing suddenly turned to Eunuch Hou.

"Eunuch Hou, are the eunuchs and palace maids in my third brother's courtyard still being rotated out every three months?"

Eunuch Hou replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, it is still so!"

"Your Highness is skilled in poetry and prose, and intensely dislikes those who are crude or foolish in speech and action."

"Even eight of his Twelve Golden Hairpins have been replaced several times."

Emperor Qing said with a smile, "Replace them! Let him replace them!"

"They are just some eunuchs and palace maids!"

"By no means should my third brother's poetic inspiration be disturbed!"

Over the past three years, Li Chang'an had discovered several highly talented individuals in the palace.

Each time he dismissed one-third of the eunuchs and palace maids, he would bring in a new batch.

Among this new batch, there would be the people he wanted.

Zhao Gao and little Hong Zhu moved around, always managing to insert the desired individuals.

Regularly clearing out eunuchs and palace maids also helped to get rid of various messy undercover agents and informants.

Inside the Academy of Literature.

Today was a major class at the Academy of Literature; not only imperial relatives, but also children of important ministers came to attend.

The lecturer was Hu Xuzhi, a Grand Academician of the Cabinet in the Central Secretariat.

The Qing Yu Nian World has Confucian classics, but the content of these classics is not entirely the same as in ancient times.

A portion of it should have been passed down by the Celestial Vein Holders of the Divine Temple.

The other part evolved freely.

Classic collections and poetry are different; classic collections determine the direction of society.

Without these circulated classics, it would have been absolutely impossible for this world to form a stable imperial society.

Li Chang'an had absolutely no interest in these things.

Name: Li Chang'an

World: Joy of Life

Age: 10 years old

Realm: Sixth-Rank Lower

Cultivation Technique: Bei Ming True Energy (Proficient), Six Meridian Divine Sword (Beginner), Lingbo Microstep (Minor Achievement)

Innate Wisdom: Clairvoyant Eyes, Photographic Memory

Abilities: Medical Skills (Seventh-Rank), Poison Skills (Seventh-Rank), Palace Intrigue (Eighth-Rank), Social Skills (Seventh-Rank), Painting (Eighth-Rank), Calligraphy (Seventh-Rank), Schemes (Sixth-Rank), Management (Third-Rank), Espionage (Fifth-Rank), Tracking (Fifth-Rank), Disguise (Fifth-Rank)... Mortal World: 1000 points (Accumulated 20,000 points)

Rankings: Power 202, Wealth 4500, Martial Prowess 10,000+, Romantic 10,000+, Artistic 62

Five years had passed, and Li Chang'an had done nothing earth-shattering.

Cultivating martial arts, discovering talents, and diligently practicing his abilities, he lived a very fulfilling life.

The abilities he currently possessed were several times those of children in the same stage.

While he himself had high talent and was willing to work hard, Zhao Gao's unreserved teaching was also very important.

This Net controller had diligently served as a teacher for five years.

The good seedlings Li Chang'an discovered were all taught commendably.

The cultivation process for all martial arts is divided into Beginner, Proficient, Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, and Perfection.

Bei Ming True Energy had only recently reached Minor Achievement, and could not yet absorb others' True Qi without side effects.

Six Meridian Divine Sword required extremely high True Qi, and Li Chang'an had only just reached Beginner.

His light footwork, however, had already reached Minor Achievement; at least a Seventh-Rank master could not catch him.

In five years, Li Chang'an's rankings in power and wealth had seen a slight increase, while his artistic ranking improved by over a dozen places.

This was mainly due to the scarcity of poetry and prose in this world; a dozen single verses made Li Chang'an famous.

Currently, Li Chang'an was staring intently at the little beauty in the yellow dress before him.

Name: Lin Wan'er

Age: 7 years old

Realm: None

Talent: God of Gamblers (Ninth-Rank), Poetry and Literature (Sixth-Rank)

Abilities: Socializing (Negative Second-Rank), Poetry and Literature (Fifth-Rank)

Affection: 80

Lin Wan'er's God of Gamblers talent was as high as Ninth-Rank; with proper cultivation, she would win every gamble!

Lin Wan'er's illness was not yet severe, so she could still attend school.

The tuberculosis bacilli that caused Lin Wan'er's phthisis, after being irradiated with nuclear rays, were no longer infectious.

Otherwise, Fan Xian and Ye Ling'er would have contracted tuberculosis long ago.

Lin Wan'er was like a porcelain doll, with rosy cheeks and white teeth, very well-behaved.

Because her health was not very good, and she was an illegitimate daughter, her personality was quite introverted.

The Eldest Princess Li Yunrui gave birth to her but didn't really care for her, simply leaving her in the imperial palace.

This led to Lin Wan'er being even more afraid to communicate with people, and her social skills had fallen below normal.

Therefore, her socializing ability was negative.

In short, she had social anxiety!

Initially, it was Negative Fifth-Rank!

With Li Chang'an's teasing and help, it had finally reached Negative Second-Rank.

Just like now, Lin Wan'er's neck and cheeks were flushed red.

She knew Li Chang'an was looking at her, so she didn't even dare to lift her head.

She whispered, "Uncle Prince Yong..."

"Don't look at me anymore, Grand Academician Hu will punish you again."

Li Chang'an whispered, "Wan'er, me looking at you is for your own good!"

Li Chang'an did this to toughen Lin Wan'er's skin.

The thicker her skin, the stronger her socializing ability, and gradually she wouldn't be socially anxious anymore.

Therefore, Li Chang'an truly had good intentions.

Flirting with little girls could not boost his romantic ranking.

Li Chang'an had been teasing the stunningly beautiful Xiren and Qingwen for several years, but his romantic ranking had never moved.

Lin Wan'er cautiously glanced at the lecturing Hu Xuzhi, then slowly turned her head away.

"You promised, if you look at me for a quarter of an hour... you'll tell me a story about Pleasant Goat."

Just then, Li Chengze, sitting in the front row, furtively turned his head.

Name: Li Chengze

Age: 11 years old

Realm: None

Talent: Gourmet (Ninth-Rank), Poetry and Literature (Eighth-Rank), Schemes (Third-Rank)

Abilities: Gourmet (Fifth-Rank), Poetry and Literature (Sixth-Rank)

Affection: 80

The Second Prince Li Chengze was a loyal fan of Li Chang'an.

His adoration for Li Chang'an was simply unconcealable.

He tossed his hair, his tone filled with flattery.

"Uncle Prince Yong... what happened to my favorite, Lazy Goat?"