"Bring out that shameless bastard Zheng Dan!"
Zhou Bin stood at the front. He was a carpenter from a family of carpenters.
The gates of Yingtian Academy opened, and a group of people carrying torches walked out in an orderly fashion.
These people were all dressed in long gowns, with refined and polite demeanor, but they all revealed undisguised arrogance in their bones.
The young man at the front stood on the steps, looking down.
"Who dares to make such a racket here!"
It was snowing. Zhou Bin said angrily, "Hand over Zheng Dan!"
"Who are you? Do you know where this place is?"
He asked the question knowingly, since Zhou Bin and the others were all wearing uniforms from Yingtian University, making it easy to tell that they were students of Yingtian University.
"I am Zhou Bin from Yingtian University. That bastard Zheng Dan bullied my sister and forced her to jump into the river to commit suicide. I demand that he come out and give me an explanation!"
The people behind him also joined Zhou Bin in shouting, "Get Zheng Dan out here and give us an explanation!"
The young man at the very front was the most renowned student of Yingtian Academy. His name was Wang Rui, Zheng Hongyi's last disciple, and he was recognized as a genius who would one day become a high-ranking official in the imperial court.
He often took Fan Zhongyan, who had studied here with him, as his role model.
"This is the Imperial Academy, how dare you trespass here!" Wang Rui's voice was not loud, but his tone was very arrogant. Standing on top, he looked down at everyone below, clearly not taking them seriously at all.
The so-called Yingtian University was nothing more than a bunch of ordinary people gathered together.
Even if they went to Yingtian University, they were still uneducated commoners.
"Does the Imperial Academy give them the right to bully people?!" Zhou Bin said. "We are also students of Yingtian University, students recognized by the Imperial Academy, including my sister, yet we were insulted by Zheng Dan. Today I'm here to demand an explanation!"
Wang Rui said, "There's no explanation. Those who know what's good for them should leave immediately!"
"We won't leave until you hand over the person!"
"Yes! We're not leaving!"
"I'm not leaving!"
Wang Rui said coldly, "This is the Imperial Academy of the Imperial Court. We are well-versed in the classics and wish to rule the world with the emperor. How dare you commoners act so presumptuously here!"
"So what if the Imperial College is so great? Does that mean we can protect people from the Imperial College if they break the law?!"
"Sorry, the Imperial Academy is indeed amazing! It's not a place you can criticize recklessly, get out!" Wang Rui said angrily.
He has recently come to hate Yingtian University. In his mind, Yingtian University should not exist at all; its existence is an insult to the sage.
Therefore, Wang Rui, who was usually calm and collected, suddenly became somewhat impatient.
"Hand over Zheng Dan!"
"You're not leaving, are you?"
"Hand over Zheng Dan, or we're not leaving!"
At this moment, a young man came out. He was about eighteen years old and had a handsome appearance.
"I'm here, what can you do to me?"
Zhou Bin said, "You're Zheng Dan! You beast, why did you treat my sister like that!"
Upon seeing Zheng Dan, Zhou Bin was clearly provoked and tried to rush up and tackle him, but was captured by the guards of Yingtian Academy.
The students from Yingtian University below shouted, "Release them immediately! You are breaking the law!"
Zheng Dan sneered, "Breaking the law? What kind of place is the Imperial Academy? It's the highest institution of learning in the Song Dynasty. How dare you cause trouble here? You're disrespecting the Emperor! You know that's punishable by death!"
"Zheng Dan, you have violated the laws of the Song Dynasty by humiliating my sister. Aren't you afraid of being punished by the authorities?!"
"Hmph! What evidence do you have that I violated your sister!"
"My sister is still alive, and she says it's you!"
Who can vouch for what she said?
"You beast! If you've got the guts, come with us to the prefectural government office!"
"Who do you think you are, to presume to associate with me?" Zheng Dan said coldly. "I'm going to sue you for slandering me, ruining my reputation, and even disrupting the Imperial Academy. Are you all waiting to go to jail?"
When Zheng Dan said that, the students from Yingtian University below were all taken aback.
They were all from humble backgrounds and had little formal education. Their social status was already low, and they had never seen much of the world. What they feared most were people like Zheng Dan who had government connections.
But Zhou Bin was different. His sister almost lost her life because of this, and he was determined to seek justice.
"Zheng Dan, you'll die a horrible death, you beast!"
"How dare you insult students of the Imperial Academy! Guards, beat them! Beat them to death!"
The guards immediately began punching and kicking Zhou Bin, leaving him with a bloody head wound.
People from Yingtian University wanted to come up and help, but the guards were armed with knives. They were paid by the imperial court and were specifically tasked with protecting Yingtian Academy and ensuring the safety of its students.
Seeing Zhou Bin beaten until his head was bleeding, someone below begged for mercy: "Please stop hitting him! We won't press charges! Please let Zhou Bin go! He's just angry because his sister was humiliated. Zhou Bin, apologize to them! Let's go home!"
"Zheng Dan, if you have the guts, go ahead and kill me! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
"You lowly wretch, do you think you're worthy of my killing you? You offended the Imperial Academy, which is a serious crime. We are only acting in self-defense now. We will send you to the yamen later and let the laws of the Song Dynasty punish you!"
...
"Stop!"
At that moment, a majestic voice rang out.
Students from Yingtian University made way for them.
Xie Kejia came over with his men.
The people from Yingtian Academy all bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Xie."
Xie Kejia frowned and said angrily, "Who hit him! How dare you!"
Wang Rui said, "Thank you, sir. Someone was trying to disrupt the Imperial Academy, so we had no choice but to do it."
The Confucian scholars behind him echoed his sentiments. These scholars deeply resented the students of Yingtian University and wished the court would immediately eliminate them.
Although Xie Kejia was furious, as the prefect, he had to uphold the law impartially. He looked at the students of Yingtian University and asked, "Have you offended the Imperial Academy?"
"Shangguan, Zhou Bin's sister was violated, we are just here to seek justice."
"I ask you, did you offend the Imperial Academy?"
"No...no, no...how could we dare to offend the Imperial Academy?" someone said timidly.
They longed to leave. Their lives had been simple before; some farmed, some made furniture, and some did handicrafts. They had never seen anything like this before and did not want to stay in such a place any longer.
They just want to do what they want to do, without causing trouble or conflict with the powerful and wealthy.
"Thank you, Shangguan. We all saw it!" Zheng Dan said.
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