Wei Dajia, whose surname is Wei, given name is Xian, courtesy name is Jingwen, is the headmaster of Yunjing Academy.

He himself was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), a learned scholar, and a well-known figure in Jizhou.

He Youyou turned and walked into the door, muttering to herself as she went, "Do you think that headmaster is very important? Would he just see us so easily?"

But the housekeeper remained calm: "Mistress, there's no need to worry. Leave it to me."

Then, Steward Qian went up and said a few words to the gatekeeper, who immediately sent someone in to inform him.

Soon the servant returned and respectfully invited He Youyou and her companion inside.

Headmaster Wei was an elderly man nearing sixty, and he was very polite to the two of them.

When they met, He Youyou didn't mention the adoption of the child at all.

She only took out the few pages of the article that Ah Li had entrusted to her and handed them to Wei Dajia for comment.

Wei Dajia took the article and read it carefully.

I watched it again.

I watched it again...

After a long while, she looked up from those pages, her voice tinged with surprise: "Madam Han, may I ask whose scholar this article is?"

“It was written by a nephew in the clan,” He Youyou replied vaguely, then asked, “What does Master Wei think of this article?”

Wei Dajia remained silent, perhaps feeling that what he said was too profound and that she might not understand.

After a moment's thought, he said, "If the person who wrote this essay were to participate in the next provincial examination, even if he couldn't win first place, he would still be in the top three."

Top three in the provincial examination?

This is a very high evaluation.

He Youyou was shocked. Could that Ahri have already reached the level of passing the imperial examination?

However, because of his poor background, he is not even a student yet.

He Youyou said with a smile, "I was asked to bring this article to ask for your advice. The child is eagerly waiting for Master Wei's esteemed critique. I would appreciate it if the dean could give me a few words of feedback so that I can live up to his expectations and give him an explanation."

Wei Dajia readily agreed.

He read the article over and over again, finding it fascinating.

He instructed his attendants to prepare paper and brushes, and to grind the ink.

Then, he calmly walked to the desk, but instead of making annotations on the article directly, he picked up a blank note and wrote a commentary.

He Youyou took the page of comments, then withdrew Ali's article and thanked Wei Dajia.

After a moment's thought, she said to the headmaster, "Headmaster Wei, my late husband admired scholars the most. I am willing to take two hundred taels from my dowry to donate to the academy on his behalf."

Donations, or donations from the public, were one of the sources of funding for the academy.

Government-run academies like Yunjing Academy received several hundred taels of silver in funding from the imperial court each year, and were also granted land as a stable source of income.

However, due to the great reputation and influence of Yunjing Academy, local gentry often donated money, houses, land, shops and other items to support the academy.

Headmaster Wei was used to these voluntary donations, so he thanked her and had someone take He Youyou to register for the donation.

Following behind He Youyou, Butler Qian sighed inwardly: "The mistress can really spout nonsense so easily."

What? Her deceased husband admired scholars the most during his lifetime...

Have you ever seen it?

Return the dowry money?

You entered the Han family empty-handed, where did your dowry come from?

Isn't that the money we just got from selling our land?

After completing the registration, He Youyou resigned from her position as the headmaster.

The two hurriedly left the academy.

On the way, she handed these pages to the housekeeper, Qian, and asked, "What do you think of this article?"

As he walked, Steward Qian looked through the text. After a short while, he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Wonderful! Wonderful! The writing is truly excellent!"