The 15th day of the first month, the Shang Yuan Festival, is a special festival. But on this festival, which should be celebrated by all, the Mountain River Academy is immersed in an eerie silence.
In the Wu Ya Residence, where the head of the academy resides.
Ouyang Yan dragged his weary body to meet with the dean, Zhuge Longxu. Although the people of the Great Qian had left, the aftermath of this literary battle for the throne was still fresh, or at least, the return of the Heavenly Son’s martial arts, and the death of a large number of participants, as well as the three culprits who had struck out to cause the death of Lin Shenfeng and another scholar.
“Teacher.” Ouyang Yan bowed to Zhuge Longxu who was kneeling with his eyes closed.
“You’ve come ——” Zhuge Long Su opened his eyes and gazed at the distraught face of his disciple in front of him, “These days, I’ve been in seclusion to solidify my realm, it’s been hard on you!”
“It’s only right to work for the academy, it’s just that teacher ——” Ouyang Yan wanted to say something but stopped.
But Zhuge Long Su still saw what he was thinking, “Are you asking why I didn’t personally step in to stabilize the people?”
Ouyang Yan said, “If the teacher personally stepped in, the students might be able to understand the teacher’s hardships. If there had been a battle that day, it would have been a blessing if only two out of ten students from the academy had survived. The consequences of this matter should not be borne by the teacher.”
Letting the Daqian crowd come to open, said that it was Meng Shanhe’s order, but Meng Shanhe did not come out after all, even the order was also relayed by Zhuge Longsu. Moreover, as the purple and gold beam of the academy and the pillar of the Northern Zhou, the scholars would not and did not dare to blame Meng Shanhe.
The only remaining target, then, was Zhuge Long Su, whose reputation had been ruined over the years anyway, and it was normal to make him the target of discontent.
“Bitterness or not, what is wrong is wrong,” Zhuge Long Su waved his hand to deny Ouyang Yan’s claim, “The people of the Great Qian have used all sorts of dirty tricks this time, of the twenty-five people, twenty-two were fake students of science, and they also made the traitor Lu Qing Zhu attack me, isolating the small secret realm from the outside world.
How could I not feel the pain and anger of the many conspiracies that led to the deaths and injuries of the students of the Academy? But after all, we are at a disadvantage and are not in a position to fight the Great Qian. If it were not for our teacher, the Great Qian would not even need to fight for the position in the literary arena, but would simply take it by force.
It was lucky to keep the Heavenly Son martial arts school. Making the Great Qian retreat is already a victory for the academy, and a little personal fame is not worth weighing in on.”
“Teacher, as the dean of the academy, is our representative, how can your reputation be said to be jinxed.” Hearing this, Ouyang Yan hurriedly retorted.
“Zhuge Long Su, hasn’t it always been like this? Competing for a position in the literary world with the Science Pact, being the dean himself opening the back door, and now adding this to the mix, what can that be?” Zhuge Longjue laughed.
“Now that the competition for the position in the literary arena has been cancelled by what I have done through the Great Qian, this is the last time, and the matter will not have too far-reaching an impact. Then all that remains is the matter of allowing the sons of officials and eunuchs who are not talented enough to enter the school and stir up the hearts of the scholars to learn.”
“Teacher you are going to ——” Hearing this, Ouyang Yan was appalled.
He was not a stupid person, and it was impossible for a stupid person to help Zhuge Long Su to manage the affairs of the academy from the usual time. This is Zhuge Long Su’s way of eliminating the many criticism-inducing instructions he once made and leaving his position as dean.
He continued, ignoring Ouyang Yan’s shock, “Removing the exemptions given to the court officials will certainly cause their discontent. At that time, I can also pa*s on the position of dean and give the next dean a complete Shanhe Academy. One that was handed to me by my teacher back then, the Mountain River Academy.”
“Teacher ——,” Ouyang Yan did not try to dissuade him again; having been teacher and disciple for many years, he knew that this was his teacher’s determination and no one could shake his will.
“Don’t make such an attitude,” Zhuge Long Su laughed, “this is an eventful time, I won’t step down as dean, you, the next generation, are not yet qualified to be on your own.”
“It is the student who has lost his temper.” Ouyang Yan bowed his head and quietly wiped away some water stains from the corners of his eyes.
“Chen Yan and the other three, have you asked why they did that treacherous act?”
“They are all supporters of Qiu Wu, and want to hand over the martial arts of the Son of Heaven to Qiu Wu, who will then present it to His Majesty the Emperor and become the Crown Prince in the process. They firmly believe that Qiu Wu will be a wise ruler and change the weak situation of the Northern Zhou today.”
Unlike others who were still reveling in the old glory of the 300-year old Great Zhou, Ouyang Yan, who was a lecturer at the Shanhe Academy, was sober enough to know that the Great Zhou was an old story and that the Northern Zhou, which now occupied only two states, could not claim the name of “Great Zhou”. Of course, on public occasions, it was necessary to comply with everyone and call them “Great Zhou”, but not in private.
“I have asked Qiuwu about this matter, and he should not know anything about it. I guess that the Emperor may have deceived the three students in his name.” Ouyang Yan went on to say.
“Yes or no, it all has something to do with Qiuwu. Over the years, Qiuwu has been treated so favourably that there are always some people who have thoughts that they should not have. I understand the emperor’s eagerness to obtain the Son of Heaven’s martial arts school to increase his strength, but now the Northern Zhou cannot afford to be tossed around like this. If he were to obtain the Son of Heaven’s martial arts school, the Great Qian would not sit back and watch him grow, and that would be the downfall of the Northern Zhou.
In this incident, Feng Jiu has done well, handing over things to the academy and maintaining the original state instead. In the future, treat him more kindly, it is also a kind of knock on the mountain to shake the tiger, to shake those who have bad intentions. It can also give Qiuwu a wake-up call, lest even he fall into the same situation as Chen Yan and the others in the future.” Zhuge Longxu said.
“Then what should be done with the three Chen Yan?” Ouyang Yan asked.
“Reasons or hardships are no excuse for their wrongdoing. They were responsible for the deaths of a number of students, and afterwards they were even more heartless, causing the death of two people, Lin Shenfeng. Abolish martial arts and meridians and expel them from the walls of the school.”
With the abolition of their martial arts and meridians, Chen Yan and the three of them were no better than unarmed scholars in the future. Moreover, after being expelled from the clan, the three of them would be known to the world, and they would not be able to live in peace unless they changed their names. This punishment could be considered extremely heavy, but if one were to sympathise with the three, there were few who would do so.
“By the way, Ouyang, there was another student who was seriously injured during the fight with Chen Yan, and his hearing was damaged, how is he now?” Zhuge Long Su suddenly remembered something and asked Ouyang Yan.
“That student named Meng De, after treatment, his life is fine, but his hearing, I’m afraid ——“
