☆, Chapter 163 Choosing to Stay
The name Canglan Academy is grand, the place is large enough, the scenery is nice, and it is quiet enough, but the number of people is surprisingly small. Including Ning Xian and the three teachers, there are only about twenty students.
That's true. Canglan Academy has never produced a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). Rather than calling it an academy, it's more like a sanctuary for impoverished students. Apart from Ning Xian, the other teachers are all unknown and irresponsible. Anyone who sees these teachers feels uneasy.
After ten years of hard study, having finally reached this final stage, one naturally wants to receive guidance from a renowned teacher.
When Zhao Yunjing and the others visited the academy, the twenty students put down their books and enthusiastically acted as tour guides, introducing the origin and function of each place.
The school has a large lecture hall, a small lecture hall, a canteen, a practice area, a study room, and finally, dormitories. It has everything you could need. It's not luxurious, but it's very practical. There's also a large open space with two nets on each side, like a gate.
"This is the Cuju field. Every five days, we set aside two hours for a Cuju match. It's good for our health and also helps us strengthen the bonds between classmates. There's also a small open space over there where we hold bonfire parties during festivals, grilling meat and drinking liquor..."
Finally, we arrived at the dormitory.
It's a single room for one person. The dormitory isn't big, but it's small yet complete. It has a bed, a table, and a cabinet. Once the door is closed, it's your own little world. Even if there's a football match being held in front, with a lot of noise, you can only hear the faint sounds. In the summer, a gentle breeze blows, and even if there are cicadas chirping or birds singing, you can still get a good night's sleep.
After the tour, everyone returned to the main lecture hall. Ning Xian was nervously wringing his hands: "What did you gentlemen think? Have you made a decision?"
"I've got it."
Now not only Ning Xian, but also the three teachers and the original students were nervous, all staring at them expectantly.
Zhao Yunjing cupped his hands in greeting: "Master Ning, we have made up our minds. We will not go anywhere else and will stay at Canglan Academy."
The twenty students bowed in unison: "We greet our teacher!"
They stayed? They all stayed?
Ning Xian harbored hope, but he was also prepared to be abandoned, since Canglan Academy had nothing to offer except for its grand name.
But now, the top candidate who had a very good chance of becoming the first person in the history of the Great Liang Dynasty to achieve the highest score in six imperial examinations has chosen to stay, and so have all his outstanding classmates!
Ning Xian raised his hand and pinched Gan Fuzi's waist with almost all his strength: "Does it hurt? Old Gan, does it hurt? Am I dreaming?"
Master Gan really wanted to smash that old man to death with that brick.
I don't know if he's dreaming or not, but he wouldn't pinch himself, what's the point of pinching him?!
Master Gan almost cried, managing to squeeze out a single word: "Pain!"
Ning Xian let out a howl and turned to run away.
Zhao Yunjing asked in confusion, "May I ask, Master Gan, what is Headmaster Ning doing here...?"
While rubbing his waist, which was almost broken from being pinched, Master Gan said, "The old man got too excited and ran off to the side crying. Don't worry about him."
The teachers, though seemingly carefree, were actually quite reliable. One quickly led Zhao Yunjing and the others to their dormitories, another went to instruct the canteen to add rice and vegetables and prepare a welcome banquet for the evening, and the third took several students down the mountain to buy them new daily necessities.
Canglan Academy hasn't recruited any new students in a long time. The last time new students came was last year. Master Gan thought that Canglan Academy would become an academy with zero students after this imperial examination. Unexpectedly, the heavens took pity on them and sent twenty new students to the academy in one go!
If these twenty new students all pass the imperial examinations, Canglan Academy will surely become famous. At that time, a large number of students will flock to the academy. Canglan Academy will soon be able to defeat that worthless Imperial Academy and become the most powerful and number one academy in the world among the seven kingdoms!
Thinking of this, Master Gan rubbed his hands excitedly: "Dear new students, it's a bit cold today. How about we do something to warm ourselves up?"
Zhao Yunjing pointed towards the Cuju field and said, "Then let's have a Cuju match!"
To avoid an unfriendly atmosphere of conflict between new and old students, Gan Fuzi made sure each team consisted of half new students and half old students.
Cuju is a sport that requires teamwork. Young boys sweat it out on the field. After a game, they not only achieve the purpose of exercise, but also bring the originally unfamiliar teammates closer together.
After the match, regardless of whether they were new or old players, they all put their arms around each other and chatted like old friends.
In winter, darkness falls quickly. After a hearty dinner, the students finish a class in the lecture hall, and a bonfire is lit in the open space next to the football field. The aroma of meat is irresistible and makes one's mouth water.
Beside the campfire, Ning Xian's old face was flushed. When he saw the students in the distance, he waved excitedly: "Yun Jing! Over here!"
The students came from all over the country, and their customs and habits varied greatly. After a couple of drinks, some of them started dancing around the campfire: "Come on! Brother Zhao, Brother Chen, dance with me!"
The huge bonfire illuminated the simple and sincere faces of the people. Zhao Yunjing didn't stand on ceremony. He stood up abruptly, learned a few basic moves from the student, and then jumped up.
Hu Peiran and the others were already eager to try because of the atmosphere, and now that Zhao Yunjing took the lead, they no longer held back and stood up as well.
Young Master Chen chuckled, downed his drink in one gulp, and got up to join in. He casually pulled Ning Xian up as well, and the large group of people held hands and danced in front of the fire. When they got tired, they sat back down to continue eating meat and drinking, creating a lively atmosphere.
While the students at Canglan Academy were enjoying themselves with their teachers, Young Master Yu and Dr. Su at the Imperial Academy were not in such a leisurely mood, as they were being reprimanded.
Dr. Su was certain that Zhao Yunjing would choose reality over pride and would come back up the mountain in a huff after leaving. Dr. Su would then teach him manners slowly. However, Zhao Yunjing not only did not turn back, but also went to that trashy academy next door!
Zhao Yunjing was a student personally selected by the Grand Master of Ceremonies. It was also said that it was the Emperor's will to let Zhao Yunjing study at the Imperial Academy. Now that he has gone to Canglan Academy, perhaps they were not here to take the exam during the day, but to inspect the academy!
Qin Jijiu unleashed every swear word he knew, until he ran out of insults and his mouth was parched. He downed three cups of tea in one go before letting out a heavy snort: "Dr. Su, what else do you have to say?!"
Since entering the Imperial Academy, Dr. Su has been in cahoots with Qin Jijiu. He knows Qin Jijiu extremely well. It is no exaggeration to say that he can tell whether Qin Jijiu is going to defecate or urinate just by the way he raises his buttocks.
"My lord, I am truly innocent in this matter. In my opinion, this young man surnamed Zhao has probably already made contact with Ning Xian. His performance in front of the mountain gate during the day was just to deliberately cause trouble for us."
Upon hearing Dr. Su's words, Chief Instructor Qin slammed down his teacup: "Trying to annoy me? Ning Xian doesn't even deserve it! He's truly overestimating himself!"
"That's overestimating ourselves. It's just that Ning Xian is really despicable, always popping up to annoy us. Besides, that Zhao guy is someone the Emperor specifically wanted to take in; we need to get him back sooner rather than later," Dr. Su said. "Sir, I'll go next door to ask Ning Xian for the guy first thing tomorrow morning!"
Qin Jijiu naturally nodded. Even if he didn't want the person he had his eye on in the end, he couldn't let Ning Xian benefit from it.
"If Ning Xian doesn't agree, then you—"
"I will raze that mountain to the ground and break his other leg too!"
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