Chapter 195 Dean Yue: That's a lot of money!
"Brother, don't talk big. You say you're the dean, so you're the dean? How can you prove it?"
Jiang Nuanzhi looked at him with a skeptical expression.
"I am the dean of Pan Shi Academy. What else do I need to prove?" The man was taken aback. "Just trust me with him. I will teach him well and let that Xue fellow have a good look at him."
"Alright, alright, Ping'er, let's go." Nuan said, pulling Ping'er as if to leave.
"Hey! You're not allowed to leave, stop right there!" The man was anxious and dragged the lame man to run up and stop the group: "If you don't believe me, then let's go to Rock Academy together, and someone will be there to verify my identity."
After saying that, he looked Ping'er up and down with a look of disdain, and frowned and said, "This child really needs to practice more. He's become too thin and weak from being taught by that Xue fellow. He's like a little chicken. I hope he doesn't faint in the exam hall! Let him practice with me in the academy for a while. I guarantee he'll get stronger."
Jiang Nuanzhi shook her head: "No, no, how do I know if you're a good person or not? You can't just take my son away like this."
Dean Yue was so anxious that sweat was pouring down his forehead: "Why can't I reason with you? If you won't let me take the child away, how am I supposed to prove it to you?"
Jiang Nuanzhi chuckled inwardly, but feigned reluctance: "How about this, you stay at my house for three days. If you can teach Ping'er well during these three days, I will naturally trust you and apologize for my rash words today. If you can't teach her well, then I will absolutely not let Ping'er become your apprentice."
Upon hearing this, the man frowned deeply: "Three days? I'm very busy!"
"Fortunately, you still have injuries to heal, and medical treatment must cost a lot of money, right? A regular doctor can't make a house call without charging at least one or two taels of silver. Since I've asked you to teach Ping'er, I certainly won't let you work for nothing. For the next three days, I can treat you for free and provide you with food and drink. I can also give you one hundred coins as a reward for your trouble. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the man's brows furrowed tightly. He was tall and imposing, and his thoughtful expression made Jiang Nuan's heart pound.
Has this person finally come to their senses?
Or perhaps I offered too good a deal, making him realize my intentions?
Just as Jiang Nuanzhi was secretly annoyed, the next second, she saw the dean suddenly lean over and look at her very seriously, saying, "Two hundred coins? Is that alright?"
Jiang Nuanzhi's lips twitched.
Okay, I overestimated him.
"make a deal."
Two hundred coins it is. Hiring a dean to give Ping'er a lecture is such a good deal.
"However, I have one request," Dean Yue said very seriously. "I need to send a letter back home, and you must deliver it to Jin Wushuang. I have a heavy responsibility, and if I don't return in three days, I don't know how worried the people in the academy will be."
He paused, then looked at Jiang Nuanzhi and cleared his throat again: "Madam, could you please give me the two hundred coins first? Don't worry, once I receive the money, I will stay in your home for the next three days to teach your child."
He had already made a decision in his heart: even if the child was mentally challenged, he would still teach him.
Jiang Nuanzhi was taken aback for a moment, but didn't think he would cheat her out of the two hundred coins. She simply took it out of her pocket and gave it to him. She then asked Ping'er to get him paper and pen, and pointed to Lü Shizhu beside her with a smile, saying, "Later, when my younger brother goes back to the county town, I'll have him take this letter to you."
"Good, good, good!" With that, Dean Yue enthusiastically picked up paper and pen to write a letter.
Jiang Nuanzhi decided to leave Ping'er and Dean Yue with her, while she took Lü Shizhu to the river to catch fish.
Before the two had gone far, they heard Dean Yue's slightly smug voice behind them: "If Jin Wushuang knew that I, the dean, earned two hundred coins just by going out for a stroll, he would be absolutely astonished, hahaha! When it really matters, it's still me, the dean!"
After these words were spoken, an eerie silence fell over the surroundings.
Ping'er looked at Jiang Nuanzhi with suspicion. Could it be that Nuanzhi really wants to let such a person teach her?
Jiang Nuanzhi's lips twitched again, and she couldn't say a word for a long time.
Lu Shizhu was drinking water when he suddenly spat it out a long way.
Dean Yue seemed oblivious to the strange atmosphere around him, and finished writing the letter under everyone's watchful eyes.
Then, he frowned and looked at Ping'er with disdain: "Little radish head, come and tell me, how far have you gotten in your studies? What has that Xue fellow been teaching you?"
Seeing the two talking, Jiang Nuanzhi and Lu Shizhu went to the riverbank. Only after they started fishing did Lu Shizhu quietly say to Jiang Nuanzhi beside him, "Nuanzhi, what do you think his expression will be if he finds out that we went to his academy with five taels of silver and a bunch of gifts?"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "Mainly, that Mr. Jin wanted another hundred taels of silver from us. That's what scared us away."
Lu Shizhu touched his chin and suddenly frowned: "Wait a minute, what if he really is an imposter? How can we be sure he's the dean? What if he's just trying to fool us?"
"Don't worry, it shouldn't be wrong." Jiang Nuanzhi stared intently at the river and slowly explained, "Did you see that? The fabric he's wearing is the same as the fabric we saw Master Jin wearing before. And the rough stitching, it's not hard to tell that it was made by the same person."
As she spoke, with a swift movement of her fork, she deftly tossed a fish into the basket.
He then continued to explain, "Furthermore, not many people know about the Rock Academy. When he fell into the pit, he subconsciously mentioned this name. How could it have been just something he said offhand?"
Moreover, he clearly stated Master Wushuang's full name.
Jiang Nuanzhi and the others never mentioned Master Wushuang's name. Yet he kept talking about Jin Wushuang.
Where can you find such a coincidence?
Another reason is that Yue Qingfeng in the original work is indeed portrayed as a rough and uncouth person.
The original author described this person as seemingly rough but actually shrewd, with a mind that was difficult to fathom. Yue Qingfeng was a great help to Xie Liangchen. He eventually rose to the rank of high-ranking official. He was a rare all-rounder. Naturally, he was also Ping'er's rival, and Ping'er had suffered losses at his hands.
However, Jiang Nuanzhi never expected that his life would be so miserable now.
"Now that you mention it, it's true! I secretly saw him before, and thinking about it, he does look more and more familiar. It's definitely him!"
But if he really is the headmaster of Panshi Academy, wouldn't it be a huge bargain for us to invite him to our home for just two hundred coins?
Jiang Nuanzhi: "This is indeed something I didn't expect."
Jiang Nuanzhi thought that even if the dean hadn't taught diligently, it wouldn't matter. As long as Ping'er could seek help from someone when she had questions, that would be fine too.
Even if things don't go well, given the few days of mentor-disciple relationship, it's hard to say whose side Yue Qingfeng will side with if he really becomes an enemy of Xie Liangchen in the future.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
