Chapter 35 Where did all these reinforcements come from?
Lu Jinlan hurriedly said, "Dean, please don't worry about this for now. Something really serious has happened at the academy. Some faculty members have been found to have accepted bribes in violation of regulations."
Ling Zhixu glared at her. "I know. I'll have someone check it out later."
Yan Yu quickly added, "We have already verified it, and we have all the evidence. We are just waiting for you to uphold justice."
The classmates around him quickly chimed in, "Yes, Dean, you should take care of this. There's something wrong with the cafeteria. That owner deliberately had the food made to taste terrible. That vicious man is trying to kill us."
Ling Zhixu frowned as he listened to their illogical arguments, and said unhappily, "Why are you all so picky? Girls should be strong and independent, not as fragile and delicate as boys. You throw a tantrum if the food doesn't suit your taste, and you can't even endure a little hardship. What kind of talk is that? You're supposed to be people who rise to high positions, how can you be so petty?"
Lu Jinlan waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, being unable to endure hardship and forcing yourself to endure hardship are two different things. Dean, you've misunderstood. We can't explain it in just a few words. You'll understand everything when you get to the cafeteria."
Without waiting for a reply, Ling Zhixu angrily said, "It's my birthday today, I'm not going anywhere. You all get back to class, get out of here!"
She slammed the window shut, and everyone hunched over, looking at each other before turning to Lu Jinlan in unison: "What do we do?"
"Let me think." Lu Jinlan climbed the wall again. On one side of the wall was the dean's house, and on the other side was the academy. Standing on the wall, she didn't intend to leave empty-handed.
Looking back, she saw everyone following behind her, standing in a row on the wall, like a string of swallows perched precariously on an electric wire.
Yan Yu suddenly said, "I have a bold idea. If we all work together, could we force the dean to come over?"
Lu Jinlan sighed, "I thought so too, but after thinking about it carefully, just based on the power of the palm strike she delivered to Ling Zhaoren that night, none of us are a match for her."
Everyone nodded helplessly and fell into deep thought.
The steward inside the courtyard was instructing the servants, "The guests are arriving soon. I'll go to the gate to greet them. You go and ask the old lady to come out."
Lu Jinlan suddenly looked up and grabbed Yan Yu's hand. "I have an even bolder idea."
As Lu Jinlan spoke, she followed the butler until they reached a secluded spot. There, she leaped off the wall and delivered a swift chop to the back of his back, knocking the butler unconscious.
Lu Jinlan: "Let's go to the main gate to greet them. Tell all the guests that the birthday banquet has been moved to the college cafeteria."
Yan Yu quickly followed behind her, and said with concern, "The Dean was once the Imperial Tutor. Today is her sixtieth birthday. The guests who have come are all high-ranking officials and important figures."
Lu Jinlan gritted her teeth and said, "Things have come to this point, we can't worry about that now. Didn't you say you wanted to make a big scene? The bigger the crowd, the better, it would be best if the Emperor himself came."
As they were talking, a four-horse carriage drove up.
The Kingdom of Hua is strictly hierarchical. The emperor travels in a six-horse carriage, while the princes travel in a five-horse carriage. A four-horse carriage signifies the arrival of a high-ranking official who is above the Six Ministries and below the emperor, ranking among the Three Sovereigns.
Lu Jinlan stepped forward calmly, bowed, and said, "On behalf of the dean's family, I will be here to greet you. The birthday banquet has been moved to the academy's cafeteria. Please move there."
The voice inside the carriage was old, "Your dean is indeed ingenious. I want to see what she's up to. Lead the way."
Lu Jinlan smiled and replied, "Yes."
As she left, she gave the group a meaningful look, and the students understood immediately, heading towards the carriages behind her to lead all the guests to the dining hall.
*
An accident also occurred in the cafeteria.
Xiang Ruzhen brought her classmates over to meet Yan Wuxin. Yan Wuxin said, "The food is all ready. I just quietly asked Lin Cheng, and it's definitely as bad as usual."
Xiang Ruzhen nodded, glanced at the time, and asked anxiously, "Why haven't the supervisor and the dean arrived yet?"
Yan Wuxin: "Perhaps something unexpected has happened. Let's wait a moment."
As they were talking, Jin Yihuai, Han Li, and others arrived at the cafeteria with the second-year students.
Jin Yihuai: "How are things? Do you need any help?"
They were talking together when the sharp-eyed boss noticed something amiss.
Why are all the students here today, staring at his food instead of getting their meals?
Feeling guilty, he gritted his teeth and ordered the cooks, "Throw away the food!"
"What?" The cooks were taken aback.
Feng Xian shouted anxiously, "I told you to throw away the food right now!"
Lin Cheng knew that Lu Jinlan and the others had made some moves today. If he really threw away the food, what would happen if the boss's husband denied it to the death?
The cooks were still stunned when Feng Xian prepared to start cooking himself. Lin Cheng shoved him aside, blocking the food and shouting outside, "Someone come quick!"
Sun Lewen and his men were outside the kitchen when they heard the commotion. They kicked the door open and immediately pinned the boss's husband to the ground. Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin rushed in with their men and restrained them. "Don't move! What do you want?"
Lin Cheng hurriedly said, "Boss, you should throw away the food."
Yan Wuxin gritted his teeth and said, "You old codger, you're pretty smart. You knew we came for you today, and now you're feeling guilty, aren't you? Too late!"
Xiang Ruzhen said, "First, gag him and tie him up."
The crowd immediately pitched in, quickly tying the boss's husband up like a dumpling, stuffing a tattered rag into his mouth, and then covering him with a burlap sack and potatoes.
Xiang Ruzhen's gaze swept coldly over the remaining cooks and kitchen staff. "Tie up the cooks too."
Jin Yihuai walked in and reminded them, "Some of the kitchen staff seem to know some fighting skills, should we tie them up too?"
She subtly pointed at Lin Cheng, but Xiang Ruzhen shook her head. Yan Wuxin smiled at Lin Cheng, pulled Jin Yihuai aside, and whispered, "He's on our side. He was the one who called for help earlier. Don't you know? He's Jinlan's..."
Lin Cheng stood there helplessly, feeling countless eyes staring at him, and his ears inexplicably turned red.
Just as the students took over the kitchen, Ling Zhaoren and Chu Yishu finally arrived, carrying the unconscious supervisor.
Ling Zhaoren: "She refused to come, so we had to knock her unconscious."
Before he could finish speaking, Yan Yu rushed in, panting, to report, "Get ready quickly! We've invited over twenty high-ranking officials from the imperial court."
"What?!" Everyone was shocked. Yan Wuxin sighed, "You guys are really capable. Where did you get so many reinforcements from?"
"I tricked her out of the dean's birthday banquet. Don't ask, she's here now. Jinlan asked you and Senior Jin to receive her first, and she'll invite the dean over right away."
As they were talking, the guests had already entered the cafeteria.
Jin Yihuai was initially puzzled: Why did they specifically ask me to help with the reception? Upon closer inspection, the person walking at the front was none other than her mother, Jin Yunning, one of the three esteemed officials and the Imperial Censor.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she thought to herself: My dear mother! You really shouldn't have come today. But since you're here, please try some of the food I usually eat.
Jin Yihuai, Yan Wuxin, and others led the lords to their seats and immediately ordered the cooks to serve them food, so that the lords could try the specialties of the Royal Academy.
Lu Jinlan returned to the dean's house. Ling Zhixu was standing in the front hall, about to send someone to check where the guests were, when he suddenly saw Lu Jinlan standing at the door shouting, "Dean, the guests are all in the academy cafeteria! You must come and take charge!"
After Lu Jinlan finished speaking, she turned and ran away. Ling Zhixu's vision went black, and he chased after her while cursing.
When the two arrived at the canteen one after the other, the adults were vomiting one after another, some gagging and others retching.
Jin Yihuai's mother, who was almost seventy years old, coughed until her face was red and angrily shouted, "What kind of food is this that you're feeding us?"
While helping her catch her breath, Jin Yihuai muttered, "I told you long ago that the food at the academy isn't fit for human consumption, but you insisted I was being fussy. Now do you believe me?"
Upon seeing this scene, Ling Zhixu didn't even have time to get angry. He stepped forward apologetically and said, "Lord Jin, you've suffered. Gentlemen, I am extremely sorry. The students' disturbance has caused you all distress. I will definitely punish them severely afterward. Please come with me to my home for a banquet."
Upon hearing this, the students immediately blocked their escape route. Lu Jinlan said loudly, "What happened today is not because we are being unreasonable. We had no other choice but to do this. Please, Dean and other officials, listen to our account of the situation. The truth will be judged by yourselves."
The crowd clasped their hands in unison and said, "Please, Dean and esteemed officials, listen to our account of the events."
At this moment, the senior students were also tricked into coming over. As soon as they entered, they saw the students bowing, and everyone followed suit, bowing and clasping their hands in confusion.
More than 300 people petitioned in unison, while Ling Zhixu stood there hesitantly, his expression unreadable.
Imperial Censor Jin Yunning coughed lightly, "Since we're all here, there's no harm in hearing the inside story."
Ling Zhixu nodded, waved his sleeve, and sat down next to Jin Yun Ning. He said to the students, "In that case, you may speak."
Xiang Ruzhen quickly took out the prepared document and concisely and clearly revealed the truth behind the cafeteria.
Ling Zhixu listened silently to Xiang Ruzhen finish speaking before saying, "According to you, since Feng Xian took over the cafeteria, for the past three years, he has been making the food so unpalatable in order to make a profit."
“That’s right.” Xiang Ruzhen took the meal that Lu Jinlan had just served and placed it in front of the dean. “To prevent you from finding out, he also prepared the meals for teachers and students separately. You and the chefs are eating the carefully prepared meal. Of course, we are also eating the ‘carefully prepared’ meal.”
Ling Zhixu picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, but the fishy smell was so unpleasant that he couldn't swallow it.
"Pah!" Ling Zhixu spat out, his brows furrowing. "Where are Feng Xian and Supervisor Miao?"
The students emptied Feng Xian out of the sack, and Supervisor Miao was also woken up by a splash of cold water. The two of them, looking disheveled, were brought before the dean. Just as Supervisor Miao was about to speak, Ling Zhixu waved his hand: "No need to say more. The officials and I are all clear-headed and will not wrong anyone."
Miao Xuejian swallowed the words he was about to say and nervously glanced at Feng Xian.
Feng Xian immediately cried out his innocence: "Injustice! I went to great lengths to enrich the students' palates, often having people cook local delicacies. They didn't like the food, so they're accusing me like this!"
Lu Jinlan sneered, "You did go to great lengths, but all you did was make it taste terrible."
Feng Xian retorted, "To say that I deliberately made the chef cook bad food is utter nonsense. Who can prove it?"
"I can." Lin Cheng walked out of the kitchen and bowed, saying, "Dean, esteemed lords, I, Lin Cheng, am a cook in the kitchen, and I can vouch for it. Take the braised fish that the Dean just ate as an example. Every time the chef makes fish, he instructs the kitchen staff not to clean it thoroughly. The internal organs are not removed, the blood is not washed away, and the scales are scraped off in half, leaving half."
"If the fish scales are scraped off and poured into the soup pot, the broth will have a fishy smell, and the students won't drink it because they can't stand it. So, a small pot is enough. The same goes for other dishes. Vegetables are often cooked with the soil still on them, which the students can't eat, so they are left out."
Feng Xian never expected anyone to accuse him, and angrily said, "This is a frame-up! I know, this man, relying on his good looks, flirted with the students. I reprimanded him several times, and he held a grudge and retaliated maliciously. You gentlemen must not believe the words of such a shameless man!"
Lu Jinlan could no longer tolerate it. "Shut up! Whether it's the truth or a frame-up, you know it yourself. But no matter how you try to deny it, there is one witness you cannot refute."
Feng Xian hurriedly asked, "Who?"
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