Chapter 1134: Exposing My Identity (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Shen Tang didn't really know much about Xiahou Yu and the other person.

She didn't lie to Zhai Le; fate did indeed play a significant role in her motives for taking the two under her wing. If the two truly had fatal flaws, this connection wasn't necessarily essential. She asked quite naturally, "Quqing Academy? Is there a problem with the academy?"

The outgoing Shen Tang didn't stand on ceremony with Zhai Le at all.

Ask any questions you have, with an air of entitlement, as if the two of them had never been separated by thousands of miles, nor had they been apart for more than ten years, just like before. Zhai Le looked into Shen Tang's eyes, his expression momentarily dazed. The bald girl in front of him gradually matched the spirited and handsome young man in his memory... well, not at all. Zhai Le chuckled.

They were laughing for no apparent reason.

Shen Tang glared at him murderously: "What are you laughing at?"

Zhai Le raised his hand to cover the barely suppressed smile on his lips, trying to salvage his earlier rudeness: "Ahem, I suddenly remembered some good news, and I was thinking about what to name my son..."

Shen Youli has less hair on her head than her son has as much baby hair.

When her son was born, Zhai Le remarked that the boy had little hair, unlike Da Ya and Er Ya, whose baby hair was thick and black. The midwife carefully flattered her, saying it was a good omen of "exceptionally intelligent." Zhai Le, of course, didn't believe such nonsense. The heir to the Qu Kingdom would only be Er Ya. This son was rather mediocre; under his elder sister's protection, he could simply be a leisurely and wealthy member of the royal family.

Being "exceptionally intelligent" can actually be painful.

However, this word is quite fitting for Shen Youli.

Shen Tang knew immediately that he was just giving her a perfunctory answer, and didn't bother to offer any advice. Just as she was about to steer the conversation back on track, Zhai Xiaofang asked a very rude question: "Does Youli have any children?"

Shen Tang was even more annoyed: "What?"

“Of course, we should arrange a marriage. If you have a daughter, I will marry my son to her. This child is only a few days old, and he can be molded into the kind of child your daughter likes. It wouldn’t be a bad deal to take him back as a child groom. If you have a son, he is too far from being the eldest daughter, but the second daughter is just right. The woman in the red robe you saw on the mountain the other day is her. This child has inherited the best features of both her mother and me. She is exceptionally talented and will definitely not let your son suffer.”

Shen Tang: "Oh, you've thought of everything quite thoroughly."

Zhai Le's eyes lit up: "Sure?"

Shen Tang said, "It's possible, but before that, I'll need you to find a group of outstanding talents within the territory of Qu Kingdom and send them to me. The more the better, the more excellent the better. I won't accept any mediocre ones. Good seeds are needed to grow good seedlings, right?"

Zhai Le: "..."

For a moment, he didn't know whether to say that Shen Youli was shameless enough to ask him for talent, or to be surprised that his friend was still single at such an advanced age. This wasn't just a lack of offspring, but a complete lack of a son; how could the court officials of Kang Kingdom still sit idly by?

He feigned regret: "Alas, what a pity."

Although Zhai Le's suggestion was made on a whim, if Shen Tang really had a daughter, he would definitely do his best to make it happen—sending his son to Kangguo for a marriage alliance would not only legally deprive the child of her inheritance rights and extinguish potential internal strife, but also form an alliance with Kangguo.

Befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones; it's both worry-free and convenient.

"...Let's talk about Quqing Academy." Wasn't Zhai Le quite a believer in free love back then? How come after more than ten years, he's so eager to arrange a marriage for his child after becoming a father, so heartless that he doesn't even care that his son was only a few days old? This kid has learned to shift the blame, huh? He even wants to raise his son himself. He's having quite a beautiful daydream.

Zhai Le wasn't in a hurry at all.

He reached out to Chen Tang: "Is there any wine left? After all these years, I still think the wine made from young pears tastes the best!"

It had been on his mind for many years.

Shen Tang was speechless: "A king who wants to drink can't?"

The liquor business was Shen Tang's key to paying off Xun Zhen's debts. Not only were the liquors sold within Kang Kingdom, but merchants would also buy them up at high prices and resell them to other countries. As far as Shen Tang knew, there was no worry about finding a market for these liquors. She refused to believe that no merchants would sell them to Qu Kingdom.

Zhai Ledao said, "It's been diluted with water."

Saying it's diluted with water is being polite; the truth is, it's water mixed with wine. The more times it changes hands, the higher the water content and the lower the wine content. The purer the flavor, the higher the price. Even if Zhai Le is the ruler, he can't ignore the people's livelihood and indulge in extravagance, can he? Shen Tang shrugged: "There are no wine containers here."

Zhai Ledao said, "That's simple."

The weapons that were just used in battle were used to chop rocks.

In no time, two rough shapes of stone bowls were created.

Perfect, one for each of us.

Shen Tang: "..."

Watching Zhai Le gulp down his drink, Shen Tang was even more speechless: "Did your subjects mistreat you? Why are you acting like you haven't had a drink in eight hundred years?"

Zhai Le said with a wry smile, "The king's preferences cannot be too obvious. Once the ruler sets an example, the merchants in the country will use precious grain to brew wine, which will harm the people's livelihood. No matter how much he likes it, he can only restrain himself."

Shen Youli's drinks are free, and they're the purest quality.

Wouldn't it be a shame not to seize the opportunity to drink to your heart's content?

Shen Tang muttered as she filled the stone bowl for him.

"That sounds so pitiful..." As she spoke, Shen Tang thought of herself and realized that she was just as bad as the pot calling the kettle black, and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "It's really not easy to be a poor person."

Their only savings came from a gift from another king.

Would anyone believe that if I told them that?

The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and Shen Tang downed her drink in one gulp.

Zhai Le was startled by her bold actions. Seeing that Shen Tang was not drunk and crazy like she used to be, and her expression was as clear as ever, he suddenly sighed, "...Time is really merciless. Even you can drink now."

Shen Tang: "..."

After many years apart, the two sat on a small hill outside the city, drinking bowl after bowl of wine. Shen Tang was still thinking about the "Quqing Academy" incident and thought that Zhai Le was just making jokes to change the subject and didn't want to talk about it with her, but Zhai Le took the initiative to talk about it.

"...Xiahou Zikuan and Gu Yourong themselves are fine, and Quqing Academy behind them seems fine at first glance, hehehe, but do you know? When the Southeast countries jointly open the Mountain and Sea Holy Land, the number of places varies each time. In good years, there can be nearly five hundred places, and in bad years, there are only four hundred or so. However, Quqing Academy alone occupies fifty of them."

"Fifty?"

As the ruler of the nation, Shen Tang certainly knew how much national fortune was required for each spot. In this world filled with hunger and war, national fortune was extremely precious. Moreover, with the private desires and profit-driven transactions of the royal family, even more national fortune was secretly embezzled. The national fortune of the hundred nations on the continent was in deficit every year. Every time the national fortune of the Mountain and Sea Holy Land was activated, it was saved up bit by bit through frugality.

Quqing Academy, occupying fifty percent of the land?

Zhai Le nodded and said, "Yes, fifty."

In an instant, many things came to mind: "Which country's royal family controls Quqing Academy? A powerful nation in the southeast?"

If a country is powerful and has abundant resources, it's logical for them to allocate quotas to the highest-ranking government-affiliated schools within its borders to incentivize, attract, and recruit talent from the private sector. It's essentially buying people's hearts and minds with these quotas, even if it carries many risks, because it's quick and effective.

Zhai Le shook his head: "None of that. Its founder, Qu Qing Jushi, wasn't even from a wealthy or powerful family. He came from a humble background, but a trip to the sacred land of mountains and seas propelled him into the ranks of top scholars, perfecting his path as a scholar. He chose a mountain peak to establish Qu Qing Academy, dedicating his literary heart to the Way of Heaven, and devoted his life to practicing 'education for all.' He made his entire collection of treasures public for people to read, attracting countless students from humble backgrounds. Not only that, he also persuaded many aristocratic families to lend them their rare books..."

Shen Tang said, "He is admirable."

"Indeed admirable, but unfortunately, he misjudged human nature. Quqing Academy has been established for over a hundred years, and many of its graduates have secured high-ranking positions in various countries. The Southeast Continent is dotted with small countries that can form alliances, thanks in large part to these graduates, and Quqing Academy's tireless efforts in facilitating these connections, resulting in greater stability for the Southeast than other regions. Quqing Academy rose to fame overnight, enjoying immense prestige among the common people, and scholars considered it an honor to enter Quqing. Later, an unwritten rule emerged: anyone unrelated to the academy who wanted to climb to a high position had to put in several times, even ten times, more effort than ordinary people, and they couldn't afford to have any mortal enmity with them..."

Initially, the rulers of various countries also hoped that their successors would gather more talented people, so they sent their successors here to study and make friends with heroes.

With so many members of the royal family, the royal families and court officials of various countries also began to have their own selfish motives, wanting to bring their underhanded dealings into the open—I don't know which clever person first suggested it, but they actually thought that Quqing Academy had made great contributions, and that all the students in the academy were outstanding individuals. If these students returned to their respective countries to participate in the examinations, they would be able to excel and obtain a place in the Mountain and Sea Holy Land with ease...

Since that's the case, let's just skip the exam.

Previously, they had granted the academy a few special places, but that was to win over the students. Now, this is a shady operation to reserve places for their own people. They claim that the students earned their places through their own merit, securing them in the highly competitive Quqing Academy, making the placements fair and aboveboard, while also giving their own people a boost in prestige.

This approach yielded remarkable results.

The outside world was actually fooled by the false glory, thinking that the heir was some kind of unparalleled genius who had secured the pre-selected spot and was reaping all the benefits.

Others followed suit, and it became the norm.

The academy's second dean readily agreed and fully cooperated! However, a fake is still a fake; after this tactic was used several times, anyone with eyes could see through it. No one expected that the seemingly puppet dean would seize the opportunity to take the initiative, allowing Quqing Academy to gain the upper hand.

He has too many things he can't let show in the light of day.

Furthermore, with the academy's expanding network of connections, these royal courts, even if they wanted to turn against the academy, had to consider the interests of their own subjects. The consequence of this hesitation was that the allocation of places shifted from being predetermined by each country to being determined by the academy. Quqing Academy had no intention of breaking ties with the various countries; both sides maintained a balance where cooperation was mutually beneficial and division was mutually destructive. Externally, they maintained a harmonious facade, but internally, there was endless infighting.

Zhai Le exhaled a breath of turbid air: "In the past, prestigious families that served as officials for generations could be called aristocratic clans. Quqing Academy, which wins people's hearts with its knowledge, excludes others with the camaraderie of its students, and joins forces to suppress scholars who are not affiliated with Quqing Academy, or even the state... isn't it another kind of aristocratic clan? Or academic clan?"

Shen Tang frowned deeply upon hearing this.

"This situation is difficult to handle..." Offending a family is not a big deal. How big can a family be, and how many talents can it produce? But an academy that has been operating for over a hundred years is different. How can a family compare to the students associated with this academy?

While the latter's connections aren't as close as the former's, their network is still immeasurable. Just hearing about it is overwhelming.

She then changed the subject: "But it's not like it can't be handled."

Zhai Le took a sip of wine: "Want to hear it?"

Shen Tang said, "Private academies can do whatever they want, and even the king cannot interfere. But it's different if this academy belongs to the royal court. Even the issue of quotas for the Mountain and Sea Holy Land can be resolved under a different name to avoid any trouble."

Zhai Le's smile widened: "We're on the same wavelength."

That was his plan at the time.

When he was planning the attack on the country where Quqing Academy was located, he had already made up his mind: "...Unfortunately, some people don't listen to reason and end up drinking the penalty cup! I had a talk with the current headmaster of the academy, and that old scoundrel said all the right things to my face, but as soon as he turned around, he set a huge fire, and Quqing Academy perished in the flames..."

Shen Tang: "...You must have something else you haven't said."

Zhai Le said awkwardly, "Ahem, it was just a couple of threats."

He hadn't said anything excessive; he had simply tried to reason with the dean, bringing the issues of Quqing Academy to the forefront. If the dean refused to allow the academy to completely return to the state of Qu, then Quqing Academy would have to become history and disband on the spot! If the dean still refused and insisted on resisting to the end, Zhai Le wouldn't hold back.

No matter how powerful Quqing Academy is, so what?

The academy has no army, and the Qu Kingdom doesn't rely on its academy's officials. Moreover, the Qu Kingdom has annexed several countries in recent years, giving it the strength to form alliances with other nations. If it really came down to it, Zhai Le wouldn't hesitate to slaughter all the students of Qu Qing Academy, even under pressure. Zhai Le awkwardly explained, "...But these were just words spoken in anger, meant to scare him."

Quqing Academy was also where my elder brother studied.

There's no need for me to kill them all.

"...Doing this also benefits Quqing Academy; it's their only way out." Zhai Le paused. "If the alliance of Southeastern countries hadn't deliberately delayed, Qu Kingdom's war back then wouldn't have gone so smoothly. The fifty spots occupied by Quqing Academy are something the other countries can't tolerate anymore, but no one dares to take the lead..."

The destruction of Xiahou Yu and his companion's homeland was merely the result of a power struggle between the allied forces and the Qu Kingdom. Unable to tolerate the appetite of Qu Qing Academy, they sacrificed that small kingdom, giving Zhai Le an opportunity.

Shen Tang turned her head and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Xiahou Yu and Gu De appeared unnoticed, and it was unclear how much they had overheard. Zhai Le, with an air of smug satisfaction, looked at them calmly: "Out of respect for Lady Shen, I can let you go. But let me give you a heads-up: once you leave the territory of Qu State, never reveal your identities as students of Quqing Academy. What awaits you may not be kindness, but rather your deaths. If you wish to rebuild Quqing Academy, you should think twice..."

As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Shen Tang.

Both of them looked extremely pale, much like the dean's reaction when Zhai Le exposed their embarrassment. Zhai Le's mood improved considerably: "You Li, are you really going to take them in?"

Did they really believe that Quqing Academy was a paradise?

Perhaps it was true at the beginning, but what about now?

Zhai Lechong smiled at Shen Tang with a smile no different from that of a young man.

"Yuri, be careful not to repeat the same mistake..."

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