Chapter 77
Lin Yi already had a rough idea of what the school would entail. Since they were unwilling to simply study and learn to read, feeling that starting from scratch was a waste of time, it would be better to get them started quickly and apply what they learned. He would first teach them basic literacy and arithmetic, and then introduce them to medicine, beginning with identifying various herbs. Fortunately, the Xinglin Medical Clinic had a large supply of medicinal materials. Once they mastered the basics, they could intern at the clinic, and he would pay them wages on a daily basis.
With wages in hand, students become more motivated to learn. Recruiting a group of students first serves as a demonstration for others, showing them the joy and usefulness of learning, which will encourage more people to join.
When a school is first established, there will not be many students; only one or two ordinary teachers will be needed.
There were many scholars in Mingzhou who had failed the imperial examinations, and among them were quite a few with genuine knowledge. After failing, they were unwilling to leave, so they would choose to find a not-too-busy job in the city to make a living, maintain their basic needs for food, clothing and lodging, and wait to take the exam again the following year.
The scientific expeditions have just ended, and the inns should be full of students by now. She could try her luck there. More than high salaries, they needed a place to stay in Mingzhou City. Lin Yi thought that she could attract talent by providing food and lodging, thus achieving her goal of 'cost-cutting'.
That wasn't enough. To minimize expenses, the school had to be located in the suburbs where land was cheaper. Lin Yi already had a general idea in mind. Xiangui Lane was located in the suburbs of Mingzhou City. There were several vacant houses there with low rents, and they weren't far from the poor villages and bustling city streets. She would go there to discuss renting them in the next few days.
...
Lin Yi filled the pages with tiny characters under "running schools" and "cost-cutting," but he hesitated to start writing about "opening up revenue."
This was precisely what troubled her most: where could she find someone who was both wealthy and willing to help her establish the academy?
If one can gain the approval of a powerful and influential person, preferably someone with an outstanding reputation who can command respect from all walks of life and inspire widespread support, then simply having them in charge or granting them a nominal position will make the establishment of the school much smoother.
Lin Yi thought of someone—the rich but foolish young master of the Feng family.
Since the case of Madam Liu San was resolved, Lin Yi has been busy dealing with the plot, and the two families have had less contact. But Feng Zhengxian, on the other hand, doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word "estrangement."
In his own words, he should treat his brother's wife with the same intimacy as he would his own wife. He was only able to get away with it because Xie Chengnan couldn't hear him, otherwise he would have gotten a good beating.
Lin Yi was initially hesitant. Xie Chengnan hadn't been home for a long time, perhaps because he didn't want to see her, so she decided to stay at Feng Zhengxian's place for the next few days. Her first reason for going to the Feng family was also to see if Xie Chengnan was there.
Unexpectedly, Feng Zhengxian's residence was even more deserted than her Yong'an Marquis's mansion.
Apart from Mingzhu and a few servants who maintained the basic living conditions of the mansion, there was no one else. This was quite different from Feng Zhengxian's extravagant and luxurious style.
Ever since Feng Zhengxian was accidentally injured by Xie Chengnan while pretending to be a ghost in the funeral parlor in Mingdu Prefecture, Yue Mingzhang has ordered him to give up his rented luxury mansion and move into his own residence to live with him.
Perhaps it was because Lord Yue was of an honest and frugal nature that his household was so small, comparable to the Xie family.
“My brother said it’s not good to be too conspicuous in the capital.” Lin Yi’s doubts were written all over her face. This was the first time in Feng Zhengxian’s life that he had been associated with ‘low profile’, and he scratched his hair somewhat uncomfortably. “I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince has recently recovered from his illness, and His Majesty’s favor remains. He has been giving him power, and recently he has been carrying out a major overhaul of the Mingzhou forces, especially punishing those who are arrogant, extravagant, corrupt, and lawless.” Feng Zhengxian whispered mysteriously in her ear.
Lin Yi initially thought he was just being mysterious, but he didn't expect to hear such important news from him.
The fact that Gu Shuan regained power so quickly can only mean one thing—Emperor Zhaowen's health was failing.
His health was already poor. Lin Yi remembered that in the original book, the emperor died in the late autumn of the 24th year of Showa, which was the following year. By then, the crown prince had already gained the support of half of the court, and there was no doubt that his name would be written on the imperial edict of succession. However, before Gu Shu'an ascended the throne, a minor but significant incident still occurred.
The war between Anguo and Xili began at the end of 1944 and lasted for six months. Gu Shuan was appointed as a general and went to the western border with the heroine Zhan Xian to fight the enemy.
Emperor Zhaowen was worried every day in the court. Besides reading the important memorials every day, he was waiting for military reports from the front.
Upon hearing of the final victory, the tension in his heart eased. His spirits lifted, and he succumbed to his illness; before Gu Shuan could return to court, Emperor Zhaowen passed away.
Gu Shu'an had narrowly won the Battle of Xili, but he still had to consider resettling prisoners of war, subjugating city-states, and pacifying the people on the border affected by the war, so he could not return to the capital immediately.
When the emperor dies and the crown prince is far away on the frontier, unable to exert his influence, those who originally had no chance begin to stir with ambition.
By then, the Qiu family had fallen, and the power of Consort Shu and the Seventh Prince had also greatly diminished. Although they had no chance to seize the throne this time due to the setback caused by the Qiu family, the chaotic situation allowed them to take advantage of the opportunity to gain more benefits.
Others thought the same way, and the leaderless Anguo court descended into chaos.
Princess Changning stepped forward at this time. However, for some reason, she did not recommend her own younger brother to ascend the throne, nor did she firmly support the Crown Prince like the key figures in the court; she seemed to be observing.
The news of Emperor Zhaowen's death took a long time to reach the Crown Prince. Upon learning of his father's passing, Gu Shuan rushed to Mingzhou day and night.
Before even reaching Mingzhou, he received an imperial edict ordering him to relinquish military power and return to the capital for the funeral. Gu Shu'an was well aware of the danger and hidden dangers involved, so he feigned receiving the edict while secretly deploying his private army to meet him outside Mingzhou, while he himself rode at full speed. Ultimately, Gu Shu'an's army reached Mingzhou, and he successfully ascended the throne.
Lin Yi was so engrossed in the emotional tug-of-war between the male and female protagonists that she skimmed through the book, finding the court intrigue and power struggles utterly uninteresting and illogical. She only remembered that it wasn't a prince who stepped forward to claim the throne; the one who forged the emperor's edict was actually the eunuch in charge of the imperial seal.
Lin Yi suspected that Princess Changning herself wanted to become empress, but hesitated due to gender-based etiquette. She was observing the political climate at court and assessing whether Gu Shu'an had the confidence to take such a desperate gamble. Seeing that Gu Shu'an wasn't fooled, or perhaps because many in court supported the crown prince, she abandoned the idea. Throughout, Changning remained hidden behind the scenes, finding a eunuch to be the scapegoat when things were exposed.
After Gu Shu'an ascended the throne, perhaps out of consideration for his fraternal bond, even though he knew that the chaos in Mingzhou was not something a eunuch could stir up, he did not delve into the forged imperial edict. He simply cut off the henchmen of his brothers and sisters, exiling them to their respective fiefdoms, forbidding them from entering Mingzhou without summons.
This is the ending for all the princes and princesses in "The Mountains and Rivers with You".
It wasn't until the cool autumn breeze made people shiver that Feng Zhengxian slapped his forehead and remembered that there was no reason to wait for people at the front door.
“Sister-in-law, why don’t we go inside and talk? Cheng Nan—I haven’t seen him in a long time. I was thinking about how he’s such a womanizer, neglecting his friends; he’s forgotten about me now that he has a wife…”
Feng Zhengxian was indeed a good person to win over. He was rich and had plenty of free time. More importantly, as soon as he heard that Lin Yi wanted to start a school, he thought it was a great thing for the people and immediately offered his full support. However, he didn't know exactly how to support him.
"Sister-in-law, I'm fine with paying for things, but as for other things... I don't know anything about them. How about this, you just tell me how much money you need, and I'll pay for it all. You can manage everything, and if we make any money, we'll split it 40/60, I'll get 40% and you get 60%, how about that?"
Looking at the "See how loyal I am?" written all over the young master of the Feng family's face, Lin Yi felt a little reluctant to shatter his dream of making money.
However, if you're dragging someone down with you, you can't just leave things unsaid.
“Running a school is not like running a business; it is very likely that you will only lose money and not make a profit.”
Feng Zhengxian blinked. "Only losing money and not making any profit?" Clearly, this was not within the scope of his long-standing business education.
"In the short term, that's the case."
"What about in the long run?"
"In the long run, we should be able to lose less," Lin Yi said guiltily.
After a long silence, Feng Zhengxian spoke slowly, "Sister-in-law, does Xie Chengnan know that you did this?"
"I haven't had a chance to tell him yet."
Feng Zhengxian covered his face: "Why don't you two discuss this before you do it? I'm afraid he'll hit you."
“He won’t hit me,” Lin Yi said confidently.
"Okay, I'm afraid he'll beat me to death."
This time it was Lin Yi's turn to be puzzled, "Why would he kill you?"
"Of course it's because..." Because no one but her own husband would be willing to do something so thankless and purely costly! Xie Chengnan looks respectable, but he's actually a jealous person. Knowing that I've helped you so much, he'll definitely suspect that I have ulterior motives! But this matter is too complicated to explain. It seems that this sister-in-law hasn't realized Xie Chengnan's true nature yet. It's better to avoid trouble. "Never mind, it's hard to explain in a short time."
"How can I understand if you don't tell me?" Lin Yi said.
Feng Zhengxian looked at her with an extremely serious gaze, "Have you thought this through? Do you really want to do this?"
"We'll do it," Lin Yi said firmly.
"What good would it do?" His usually unserious mind was surprisingly serious for once.
Lin Yi said seriously, "The biggest benefit is that education is accessible to all, providing women with equal educational opportunities. They are no longer forced to stay at home to be wives and mothers, and can choose their own lives. Educated women have more say at home and can also stand on their own in the outside world. On a small scale, this leads to family harmony, and on a larger scale, it promotes social harmony."
Feng Zhengxian didn't quite understand, but he felt it was impressive despite his confusion.
Lin Yi pressed on, "And you are the first person in Mingzhou, no, Anguo, to establish a girls' school. With this title, you will be able to gain both fame and fortune in whatever business you do in the future."
Feng Zhengxian's eyes lit up with starlight, making Lin Yi feel that it would be a real shame if he didn't go on to preach.
Because Lin Yitai was good at "persuading", Feng Zhengxian immediately made a decision: This can be done! However, how to do it still needs guidance and advice from professionals.
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