Chapter 153 The Liu Family of Jingzhou

Amidst Ge Laosan's laughter and curses, Liu Si'er and the others did not argue with him about sending Chen Yi to Guiyun Academy.

Chen Yi naturally wouldn't specify who should be his coachman, leaving it to Ge Laosan to prepare at the stables.

While waiting, Chen Yi chatted with Liu Si'er and the others for a few minutes.

"Oh? The tense atmosphere in the manor a few days ago was because that member of the Liu family from Jingzhou died in Shuzhou?"

"It was the Wan family who killed them, how could this be?"

“Young master, you may not be familiar with the situation in Shu Prefecture. The Wan family is a prominent family in Shu Prefecture and has always been in the business of pharmacies.”

"Before, because our mansion opened a pharmacy, the master of the Wan family even made a special trip to see the Marquis. That should have been the beginning of the trouble."

Hearing Liu Si'er's explanation, Chen Yi asked with a smile, "Are you saying that the Wan family deliberately killed someone to sow discord between the Xiao and Liu families?"

"It's hard to say, but the prefectural government and the judicial commissioner have already convicted the murderer. Once the Liu family arrives, they will execute him. They probably don't want any further complications."

Hearing the conversation between the two, the armored soldier standing nearby couldn't help but say, "In my opinion, it was the Wan family who instigated it, but their plan was exposed."

"I think so."

"If the Wan family really succeeds in their scheme, although it won't necessarily lead to a complete break with the Liu family of Jingzhou, it will still be a potential threat."

"I heard that the Provincial Governor initially thought it was the work of our prefecture."

"Yes, thankfully the misunderstanding has been cleared up."

Listening to their conversation, Chen Yi got a general idea of ​​the progress of the government's investigation, and couldn't help but feel a little strange.

Although he didn't know the "murderer's" situation or what arrangements the old man had made, the whole thing was caused by him.

It's still a human life.

And it also dragged the Wan family into it.

Thinking about all this, Chen Yi sighed inwardly, realizing he might need to do something.

The Liu family, the Liu family, the Liu family.

Just as he was pondering, Ge Laosan led the carriage over and said, "Young master, get in the carriage."

"This rain isn't going to let up anytime soon, so let's get there as soon as possible to avoid any accidents along the way."

Chen Yi snapped out of his daze, nodded to the guards around him, and then got into the carriage and drove out of the Marquis's residence.

He looked out the window at the road, where, under the onslaught of the torrential rain, most of the pedestrians hurried past.

Occasionally, a few scholars and ladies who like rainy days would stroll there, and most of them regarded it as an elegant event.

After watching for a moment, Chen Yi asked, "Third brother, I heard from fourth brother and the others that the murderer who killed Liu Jing will be executed soon?"

Upon hearing this, Ge Laosan, who was carefully holding the reins and controlling the carriage's speed, turned his head and smiled:

“Young master, it’s already a mercy from the prefect that such a vicious man wasn’t torn apart by five horses.”

"If it weren't for him this time, the Liu family would definitely have clashed with us. The grain tax in the three towns was just one of them, and it was just a small trick by the Shu Prefecture Governor."

"If the Liu family of Jingzhou persists in their accusations, the consequences will be dire."

Chen Yi responded with an "Oh," and said, "So the Liu family of Jingzhou has quite a bit of influence."

"Absolutely."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that no one from the eldest branch of the Liu family holds an official position; the second and third branches, as well as the collateral branches, all have capable individuals."

"For example, Liu Hong, the head of the third branch, is the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shuzhou, in charge of the state's finances and civil administration. In fact, Prefect Liu Si is also related to the Liu family of Jingzhou."

"Take Liu Zhen from the second branch of the family, for example. He is the pacification commissioner of the Jingzhou Judicial Commissioner. He is a notorious killer. I heard that he confiscated the property of several powerful families in Jingzhou."

"There is another person, namely Consort Yi, Liu Xiangning, who is currently favored by the Emperor. She is also a powerful figure in the Liu family of Jingzhou..."

After listening to Ge Laosan recount the story in such detail, Chen Yi gained a clear understanding of the Liu family of Jingzhou.

Although its power may not be stronger than that of the Xiao family, it has a wide network of connections and many people involved behind the scenes.

If a real conflict were to break out with the Xiao family, it's hard to say whether both sides would suffer heavy losses, but it would definitely alarm the Emperor.

Given the current state of the Xiao family, the Emperor will likely be unable to treat them all equally.

No wonder the Xiao family was so nervous after Liu Jing's death.

Thinking about all this, Chen Yi smiled and said, "Third brother, you seem to know a lot about these things. How do you know so much about them?"

Ge Laosan chuckled, "It was rumored in the manor a few days ago, I know a little about it."

"Really? I thought you were just married and only thinking about enjoying your new relationship."

"Young master, please spare me. Please don't let these words reach the ears of the gentlemen and ladies."

"Haha, of course not..."

After a few casual words, Ge Laosan steered the conversation to Chen Yi, praising him:

"The son-in-law is quite famous now."

"I heard a while ago that you went to the academy to teach. I thought you went there to relax. I never expected that you would teach a student who has achieved success in calligraphy in just one class."

"You have no idea how much of a commotion has been going on in the city lately. It is said that most of the prominent families in Shuzhou already know about it."

Chen Yi asked noncommittally, "Who are they?"

Ge Laosan's words confirmed his guess; he really thought that Ge Laosan wanted to use Guiyun Academy to make a name for himself.

"There are many. I've heard of at least ten recently, and some of them are even well-established calligraphers who are coming to Shuzhou..."

As Ge Laosan recounted the story, Chen Yi realized that he had underestimated the influence of Ma Guan's calligraphy achievements.

After a few days of fermentation, not only in the prefectural city, but probably all the scholars in Shuzhou knew about this matter.

Even neighboring Jingzhou and Youzhou were likely spread about by those with ulterior motives.

The direct impact was that, in addition to the powerful families who had been visiting the Marquis's residence for days, Guiyun Academy was also approached by these people.

Mr. Yue Ming and others have probably talked themselves hoarse these days.

As for famous calligraphers, most of them are more famous than they are accomplished in calligraphy.

Just like Mr. Yue Ming, he is a true master calligrapher.

However, his calligraphy skills were not even at a basic level.

It is foreseeable that for a long time to come, even more people will come to visit.

Not long after, the carriage stopped outside the gate of Guiyun Academy.

Chen Yi told Ge Laosan to head straight home, and then went to the academy alone with an umbrella.

As soon as he approached, he saw the guards at the gate bowing to him from a distance.

"This student has met Mr. Qingzhou."

"morning."

Chen Yi casually said "Good morning," nodded as a greeting, and walked straight into the academy.

This behavior, which was neither in accordance with etiquette nor typical of scholars, naturally surprised the students.

In the past, he would probably have been labeled as "disrespectful of etiquette".

But what are those students saying now?

"Mr. Qingzhou truly deserves to be called a teacher who can produce students who have achieved success in calligraphy. He is so unconcerned with trivial matters."

"That's right. You can get a glimpse of it from Mr. Qingzhou's handwriting. It's elegant and serene, and there's a transcendent feeling between the lines."

"I suppose this is what Mr. Qingzhou meant by the saying in calligraphy: 'The book and the person become one'?"

Hearing the murmurs behind him, Chen Yi ignored them and walked straight toward the study.

Just then, Ma Guan came running towards them.

"This student greets you, sir."

Chen Yi hummed in agreement and walked forward on his own.

But before he could take two steps, Ma Guan jogged up and blocked his way.

"What? You've achieved some success in calligraphy and now you're starting to disregard me?"

To his surprise, Ma Guan was so frightened by this joke that sweat poured down his forehead, and he immediately bowed deeply in a deep salute.

"Please forgive me, sir. I would never dare to do such a thing."

Chen Yi paused, remembering his upright nature, and realized that the joke had gone too far.

"Come on, let's talk. I was just joking. Look how scared you are."

Upon hearing this, Ma Guan glanced up at his face and, seeing no anger, breathed a sigh of relief.

"The student thanks you, sir."

"Speak, what is it?"

"I wanted to tell you, sir, that today's class has been moved to a different location, and the dean has instructed me to lead you there."

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow, "Where should we go?"

Ma Guan wiped the sweat from his forehead and stammered, "You should go and see for yourself. I dare not say anything more."

Seeing this, Chen Yi knew that something had happened at the academy, and he guessed it wasn't anything good.

Chen Yi thought for a moment, then shook his head to himself, "Let's go."

Not long after.

The two passed through a pavilion and arrived at a study not far from Mr. Yue Ming's residence.

Chen Yi was slightly taken aback, looking at the largest study room in Guiyun Academy in front of him, "This place?"

Ma Guan nodded with a wry smile: "Sir, this is the place."

Once Chen Yi made up his mind, he stopped walking.

After listening intently for a moment, he gritted his teeth and couldn't help but curse:

"Did the dean accept bribes?"

"Why has the number of people increased so much?"

Inside the study, there were exactly one hundred faint breaths, no more, no less.

Ma Guan shrank back, not daring to speak, not daring to utter a single word.

I reckon that besides Chen Yi, there aren't many people in the academy who would dare to curse Mr. Yue Ming like that.

Regardless of what he thought, Chen Yi turned around and walked out of the academy.

"Heming, could you go and tell the dean I'm taking a leave of absence? Just say I suddenly remembered I haven't put away the laundry at home yet."

"It's cloudy and rainy today, we can't let ourselves get soaked."

"Why?"

(End of this chapter)