Inside the Hanlin Academy.
The students were all dressed in crane-feather robes made of plain white silk from the academy, giving them an ethereal and fairy-like appearance. They lined up in perfect order, from shortest to tallest.
At first glance, they all appeared to be extraordinary individuals.
Those who could enter the academy were either outstanding talents from the city of books, or wealthy young men from merchant families or scholarly clans. Only they had the qualifications to enter such an academy.
In the very center of a small group of people who were opposing the students, not far away.
Kong Chan was adorned with fine silk and jewels, with a sword on his left and a cloak of rouge on his right, looking as radiant as a god.
Chen Zhang and Chen Dexing were also extraordinary in appearance.
These people were all great scholars from the Hanlin Academy, and they were always extremely calm and composed. They never showed the slightest emotion in front of their students.
Now, however, it was an exception. Kong Chan, Chen Zhang, and Chen Dexing all had expressions of displeasure on their faces, and their brows were furrowed.
"Well done, Ye Tian!" Chen Zhang stopped calling him Fellow Daoist Ye and said without any politeness.
Kong Chan added disdainfully, "This Ye Tian is truly outrageous! We spent so much money to invite him to demonstrate the divine skills of Taoism for our academy. And what did he show us? Breaking a boulder on his chest! Teasing a pet? Jumping through a ring of fire! Street stunts!"
"What are we supposed to do? Every year during the Spring Festival, we have to let the people rate the lanterns and present them to the Feng Dynasty court! This time, it looks like we're going to make a complete mess of it."
"Alas, what a sin! It seems that bringing him into the academy was a foolish decision! I am willing to bear the punishment for this. I will lead Ye Tian and his unbearable poems away." Chen Zhang covered his chest with his hand and sighed with great regret.
Upon hearing this, Kong Chan sneered and said, "Academician Chen should think twice before he acts."
Although it wasn't appropriate to angrily berate Chen Zhang, that old scoundrel with wild ideas, in front of the students, Kong Chan, being the dean, still spoke to Chen Zhang in a seemingly gentle yet menacing tone.
Chen Zhang naturally understood Kong Chan's meaning, and after a series of changes in his expression, he finally regained his normal look and smiled with relief, "That's true, we still need to give young people more opportunities. Ye Tian certainly made mistakes, but it doesn't warrant this."
Chen Dexing no longer argued. Watching them bicker in secret, he appeared calm and composed, the most composed of all. He looked at the students and smiled, "Alright. First, submit the statistics of the people's scores for this academy. After we've reviewed them, we'll settle accounts with Ye Tian."
After speaking.
Chen Dexing also looked into the crowd. Among the rows of students, someone stepped forward. This person possessed extraordinary bearing; even facing numerous renowned scholars from the academy, he remained utterly calm and composed. His face was like jade, and his expression was utterly serene. His eyes were focused on his nose, and his nose on his heart.
Dressed in a simple scholar's robe and crane-feather cloak, he held in both hands a book copied in small regular script, a record of the people's satisfaction or dissatisfaction, to be submitted to the Feng Dynasty.
This person was Zhuge Yanyu, and also the one in the academy who could best represent all the students. Apart from him, no one else had such qualifications, much less such abilities.
Zhuge Yanyu questioned Ye Tian last time because he was the kind of person who spoke his mind directly. Ye Tian was initially arrogant, so naturally he dared to question him. Even with the two great Confucian scholars, Chen Zhang and Chen Dexing, by his side, he remained the same.
Even the beautiful poem Ye Tian composed later at the Ten-Mile Pavilion, related to autumn, couldn't impress Zhuge Yanyu. It wasn't until she saw Ye Tian's grand vow at the Confucian Haoran Pagoda that Zhuge Yanyu truly admired him.
How could someone who can make such a grand ambition be anything less than excellent?
Zhuge Yanyu never glanced at the book he held, because he didn't care. He was merely a student at the academy, fulfilling his teacher's task: to hand the book to Kong Chan and prevent anything from happening to it.
The book passed through Chen Dexing's hands first, but he didn't open it. Instead, he handed it to Kong Chan. This was the privilege of the academy's headmaster; only he could view it. For the book city, what reflected the will of the people was the most important.
The people come first, the state second, and the ruler least.
This was the academy's guiding principle. Kong Chan's expression immediately turned serious as he meticulously examined the book in his hands, opening it to reveal his astonishment upon seeing the first page. The more he turned the pages, the more astonished he became, until finally, he closed the book and sighed heavily, saying, "For many years, the academy has failed to understand the people's will. Only Fellow Daoist Ye is a true genius."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Chen Zhang frowned and said with a serious expression, "Is it really so? Fellow Daoist Ye is indeed a rare genius."
Chen Zhang, a renowned scholar of the Hanlin Academy, had naturally already suspected something. Seeing the astonished expression on the academy's dean Kong Chan's face, and confirming the suspicions, he understood, though he couldn't help but sigh. He hadn't expected Ye Tian to not only possess the ability to compose poetry and prose, but also to be able to discern the nature of people. Such talent at such a young age truly made these old men feel somewhat ashamed.
Clearly, it wasn't just Chen Zhang who was surprised; Chen Dexing's expression also shifted several times before he finally sighed deeply, "The most vulgar is the most elegant. So this is what the people truly enjoy; it's us who have fallen short."
Chen Dexing smiled wryly and sighed deeply. This resonated with Kong Chan, who couldn't help but grin as well.
"Old man, what are you muttering about? Hurry up and come save me!" A man who had barely managed to fly to the academy from a short distance away, with both shoulders pierced and blood flowing all over his body, shouted these words with a pale face before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
