As soon as Chu Yuning finished speaking, the gauze curtain outside the pavilion was suddenly lifted from the inside. The old woman who had been sitting behind Shen Yuan had somehow walked up to Shen Yuan. She lifted the gauze curtain and stood outside the pavilion with her hands on her hips.
“I am just an old woman from the countryside, and I shouldn’t have come to this place. I’ll go with this girl!”
"You village women are so rude and unreasonable. You shouldn't have come here in the first place. Go, go, go where you belong!"
Chu Yuning stood in front of Old Master Murong, separated from the pavilion where Shen Yuan was by a stream, so he couldn't see who the old woman next to Shen Yuan was. He thought it was Granny Liu and dismissively chased her away.
The old woman beside Shen Yuan was already angered by the term "country bumpkin," and when she heard Chu Yuning actually tell her to leave, she angrily grabbed Shen Yuan's hand and said, "Let's go, let's go!"
Shen Yuan had not yet fully achieved her goal for the day, and she did not want to leave, but the old woman dragged her out of the pavilion.
Worried about hurting the other party, Shen Yuan didn't dare to push her away and could only lower her voice and say, "Grandma, I have a few more words to say and can't leave yet."
"Don't worry about staying with Grandma. Even if you leave, they'll have to invite you back." The old woman winked at Chen Yuan, her smile enigmatic.
Shen Yuan was puzzled when a voice sounded from behind her.
"Madam, please wait!"
The old woman ignored her and pulled Shen Yuan to continue walking outside.
Old Master Murong could no longer sit still and hurriedly got up to chase after her: "Madam, wait! Wait a minute!"
When they saw Mr. Murong lift his leg to chase after the old woman who was pulling Shen Yuan, everyone was in an uproar. This simply dressed and unassuming old woman was actually Mr. Murong's wife, Doctor Jiang!
Doctor Jiang's reputation is even greater than that of Elder Murong!
Why is she here today?
He sat so discreetly inside the pavilion.
Standing by the stream, Chu Yuning was struck dumb at the sight. The crazy woman leading Shen Yuan was actually the wife of Old Master Murong.
He actually insulted the wife of the old master Murong!
Chu Yuning wished she could plunge into the nearby stream and drown herself.
"I had no idea that this banquet for learning the Dao was hosted by you! You think you can just kick out whoever you want? You don't even respect the distinguished guests I invited!" Prefect Jiang stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Chu Yuning with an imposing air.
Chu Yuning was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground with a thud, "This humble subject dares not! This humble subject dares not!"
If he had known earlier that the old woman was Prefect Jiang's teacher's wife, Old Master Murong's first wife, and Doctor Jiang himself, he wouldn't have dared to drive her away even if he had ten more lives!
Unfortunately, there's no going back.
Old Master Murong was panting heavily when he finally managed to stop Doctor Jiang. "Madam, if you're going to leave, you have to take me with you!"
Doctor Jiang looked disgusted. "Why would I take you with me? Wherever you go, you're surrounded by crowds. I'm not going to travel with you."
After saying that, Doctor Jiang looked at Shen Yuan, "I've been with this girl all the way. Girl, do you want to leave, or do you want to stay here and play a little longer?"
Shen Yuan bowed slightly to Doctor Jiang and Elder Murong.
"I have a few words to say, and I will leave after I finish speaking."
“Alright, let’s go over there and talk.” Doctor Jiang, arm in arm with Shen Yuan, acted as if Shen Yuan were one of his own, and sat down casually in the seat of Old Master Murong.
Old Master Murong had no choice but to stand behind the two of them.
Shen Yuan sat in the highest position at the banquet without feeling uncomfortable. On the contrary, she liked the feeling of looking down on those below her. At this moment, Liu Shi Chu Yuning was standing below her.
Shen Yuan cleared her throat and said, "You say you didn't borrow money and not repay it, but that's just me making baseless accusations. There are many students from Ziyun Academy here, so I'd like your classmates to stand up and say, have you borrowed money and not repaid it?"
As soon as Shen Yuan finished speaking, people rushed to stand up.
"Chu Yuning did indeed borrow money and not pay it back in the past. He used this young lady's money for several years. When she came to our academy to collect the debt, many of us saw it!"
"Yes! He even borrowed money from us to pay off his debts. He borrowed ten taels of silver from us and tried to renege on the agreement. If we hadn't been there and stopped him, he wouldn't have paid us back!"
“But I paid it all back in the end, didn’t I?” Chu Yuning interrupted them. “I paid it back in the end, isn’t that enough? What else is there to say?”
"If a debtor defaults on a debt for several years and finally pays it back, does that prove they weren't a debtor before?"
"you……"
Chu Yuning's face flushed red, and she wished she could rush forward and tear the other person's mouth apart.
Shen Yuan continued, "You tied your own mother up in the ancestral hall and set her on fire. Everyone in Chu Family Village is a witness. You say I'm lying? Do you dare to come with me to Chu Family Village to confront me?"
"You read the classics, yet you burn blood for your own mother. You spout about womanly virtues, precepts, and etiquette, emphasizing filial piety above all else, but your actions contradict your words. You are ungrateful, refusing to repay debts, and while you wear the robes of a scholar, you know nothing of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Do you even deserve to be called a scholar?"
Shen Yuan's tone was calm and unhurried, yet it left Chu Yuning speechless.
"The Spring and Autumn Annals says, 'Those who are neither benevolent nor wise but have talent and ability will use their talent and ability to aid their wicked and crazy hearts and to praise their perverse and deviant behavior, which will only make their faults greater and their evil more severe.'"
After speaking, Mr. Murong looked at Chu Yuning with disappointment in his eyes.
He shook his head. So what if Chu Yuning was talented?
In his youth, he dared to default on debts and break his promises; later, as an official, he would dare to embezzle public funds and engage in favoritism and corruption. He would even sell information if offered a small benefit by an enemy country.
Because such a person has no moral compass. In other words, he has no bottom line, and you can never predict how far he will go for his own benefit.
He would never accept someone like that as his student!
"What Elder Murong said is very true. We, Ziyun Academy, would never dare to accept such an unrighteous and immoral person. Since he said that we did not issue a notice, I will go back today to write a notice and post it on the gate to tell the people of the city that this person has been expelled from Ziyun Academy and will never be employed again!"
Dean Sun, who had remained silent until now, also stood up.
He had originally come to the banquet today with his students from his academy. During the banquet, he had already learned the whole story. Originally, he still had some reservations about Chu Yuning and left room for maneuver for him.
However, now that Chu Yuning has been deemed unkind and unwise by Elder Murong, no one in this circle will dare to teach such a student anymore. Therefore, Ziyun Academy must promptly sever ties with Chu Yuning.
So as not to tarnish the reputation of the academy!
"Dean, no! Dean, I have realized my mistake, I know I was wrong!" When Chu Yuning saw that Dean Sun was about to formally expel him from the academy, it was like a blow to the head, almost making him faint.
He offended Master Murong's first wife, so Master Murong will definitely not accept him as a disciple again!
He can no longer go back to Ziyun Academy!
cannot!
Chu Yuning roared inwardly. He grabbed Dean Sun's sleeve, begging him not to give up on him and to give him another chance.
He used to admire him and think highly of him, so how could he just kick him out of the academy like that?
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