Having not listened to the teacher's lectures for almost a month, Chu Yuning was worried that he would fall behind in his studies. Before the Zhao family's 47th day memorial service was over, he rushed back to Ziyun Academy.
Having not seen his classmates from the academy for a long time, Chu Yuning was eager to greet them, but the classmates who used to fawn over him suddenly became unusually cold and looked at him with strange eyes.
"What happened?" Chu Yuning couldn't help but ask.
"What else could it be but your doing! Brother Chu, don't you know you're a celebrity in the city now? Your deeds are being told by word of mouth. Everyone in our academy knows how famous you are! Congratulations, Brother Chu!"
The young master in the academy who usually disliked Chu Yuning chimed in sarcastically.
Chu Yuning knew this wasn't a good thing, and he was even more eager to know what had happened. Just then, a classmate ran towards him: "Brother Chu, you're finally back! The dean wants you to go see him."
"Okay, I'll go right away!"
Chu Yuning put down the book box on his shoulder and followed his classmate to the pen and ink pavilion where the dean was located.
The headmaster of Ziyun Academy was over fifty years old and surnamed Sun. He had served as the third-rank official of the Court of State Ceremonies. After retiring from officialdom, he founded Ziyun Academy in Jian'an City. He rallied many teachers to run the school together, and in just ten years, he made Ziyun Academy an excellent institution, ranking it among the most outstanding academies in the hearts of students in the south of the Great Yan Kingdom.
Upon seeing Chu Yuning, Dean Sun put away his calligraphy brush. "You're back!"
"As expected of the academy's dean, Mr. Sun's calligraphy is powerful and flowing, showing increasing skill! I wonder if I, a junior, would have the honor of collecting this piece of calligraphy?"
Chu Yuning glanced at Dean Sun's calligraphy on the table and offered a compliment.
Dean Sun did not respond.
Chu Yuning's heart skipped a beat. He used to be the most outstanding student in Ziyun Academy, with all the teachers placing high hopes on him. Even Dean Sun praised him highly, saying that he was the most likely among all the students to achieve the highest honors in the imperial examinations.
Dean Sun liked him very much and was usually kind and friendly to him, but today he ignored him for half a day and didn't even respond to what he said.
Did he try to flatter the dean but ended up upsetting him?
Thinking of this, Chu Yuning quickly bowed and said, "I have finished dealing with my family matters and am now back at the academy. I will catch up with my studies as soon as possible and not hold my classmates back."
"Don't rush to catch up on your studies," Dean Sun said calmly. "Go home and take care of your own affairs first."
Chu Yuning was stunned: "Dean, my mother has been laid to rest, and my younger sister has also found a place to live. There is nothing for me to handle, and I can concentrate on my studies!"
"I'm asking you, how did your mother die?"
"Naturally, unwilling to suffer humiliation, he hanged himself."
"Is that so?" Dean Sun coldly sized up Chu Yuning and questioned, "But I heard that you drove your mother to her death? You drove your own mother to her death and abandoned your own sister. We can't accept such a heartless student as you. Go back!"
"Dean Sun, what do you mean by that?"
Chu Yuning's face drained of color. He had studied at Ziyun Academy for three years and was always among the top students, favored by the teachers. He never imagined that one day he would be expelled from the academy.
how so?
Who exactly is spreading rumors about him?
Even after leaving the Pen and Ink Pavilion, Chu Yuning was still somewhat dazed and unable to accept what Dean Sun had said at the end.
"For a scholar, talent is more important than character. If you can prove that you have been slandered, then you can still study at our academy. But if this is true, our academy does not accept students of poor character, so you should find another place to study!"
How is he morally corrupt?
Wasn't he forced his own mother to commit suicide because she had done something shameful, forcing him to uphold justice even at the cost of his own family? Besides, his mother wasn't burned to death by him; she hanged herself. How did this news reach Jian'an City?
Who exactly is spreading rumors?
Chu Yuning emerged from the Pen and Ink Pavilion with a gloomy expression. His book box had already been placed at the entrance of the academy by the dean's instructions. He went to pick up his book box, but was blocked by the students of Ziyun Academy.
"Brother Chu, you just leave like that, not even paying back the money you owe us. Are you trying to renege on your debt? Your little cousin was right, you're just a piece of trash who won't pay back what you owe!"
"That's right! No wonder the dean expelled you! Trash like you doesn't deserve to be our classmate! You'd better pay back the money you owe us and then get as far away from us as possible!"
Surrounded and hurled at by the students, Chu Yuning's eyes gradually turned incredibly sinister. He laughed angrily, "It's just ten taels of silver, I'll give it back to you!"
Chu Yuning took the money pouch out of her arms and threw it on the ground.
"But I, Chu, will never forget the humiliation I have suffered today. When I have achieved some success in my studies, I will certainly not forget what you all said today!"
Many of these students knew Chu Yuning's true abilities and were worried that he would become a high-ranking official and wealthy after passing the imperial examination next year. So they dared not say anything more, for fear of incurring Chu Yuning's jealousy.
Seeing that those who had just mocked him were now silent, Chu Yuning scoffed disdainfully, "Also, I'm only temporarily suspending my studies. It won't be long before someone personally welcomes me back! Just wait and see!"
After saying that, Chu Yuning picked up her book box, turned around, and walked out of Ziyun Academy.
He strode forward without looking back; his back view was firm and upright, displaying the integrity of a scholar!
However, this integrity only lasted until he was completely out of the students' sight. Once he had completely left Ziyun Academy, Chu Yuning's shoulders slumped instantly.
The book box on his shoulder fell to the ground, and the books fell out of it.
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