Chapter 124 Standoff
Song Yushu knew that he wouldn't admit it so quickly. Now that Prefect Liu was still around, he wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible, otherwise this Dean Su might protect that Hu guy.
“We do have a Master Hu in our academy, but he is always gentle and courteous. How could he let his students do manual labor? This lady must be mistaken. He is currently teaching his students and probably can’t come over so soon,” Dean Su said, his eyelids twitching slightly at the mention of Master Hu, but he remained composed and tried to smooth things over.
"Call the man over for a confrontation first. If that Mr. Hu is truly innocent, he can explain himself clearly in person," Prefect Liu directly told him to go and call the man over.
"Alright, then I'll have someone bring him over right away," Dean Su said, and then tried to call over the attendant beside him.
“Dean Su, there’s no need to trouble yourself. I’m free right now, so I’ll go find someone,” Shen Xiuyuan said, glancing at Prefect Liu. Seeing Prefect Liu nod, he went to find someone directly.
"Is the injury to your hand serious? If it's broken, it might affect your writing. Go and get this official invitation to invite Doctor Wu over," Prefect Liu said, seeing that the old scholar Hu wouldn't be able to come anytime soon. He immediately ordered his attendant to fetch a doctor.
Seeing how much Prefect Liu cared for the mother and son, Dean Su, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but feel uneasy and wondered about the relationship between them.
"Why did the dean call me here?" Although Master Hu noticed Prefect Liu standing to the side, he had never seen him before and assumed he was just an ordinary wealthy man, so he didn't pay him any special attention.
"Is this your student?" Seeing that Prefect Liu didn't want to explain his identity to Teacher Hu, Dean Su didn't want to remind Teacher Hu, so he could only bite the bullet and ask.
"Zhou Chengyu? Didn't you take sick leave? You've taken quite a few days off this month. Why didn't you attend class at the academy today?" Master Hu wasn't worried that Zhou Chengyu would report what he had done to Dean Su. Instead, he looked at their disappointed expressions and saw himself as a strict teacher.
Even Shen Xiuyuan, who had previously suspected him, now felt that he had overthought things.
"You must be the Hu teacher who often calls my son out to do chores, right? I sent him here so he could study properly, not to be a slave at the academy. I even helped him get leave. If I hadn't, I'm afraid he would have to be carried back next time he comes."
Song Yushu was most annoyed by his sanctimonious appearance, but in private he was a petty person.
"What are you saying? As his teacher, it is only natural that I have to teach him strictly. It's just a little hardship. If he can't even endure this kind of training, how will he pass the imperial examination?"
Master Hu was surprised that Song Yushu had so bluntly revealed everything he had done, but he was not worried, since he believed that no one in the academy could shake his position.
"You scoundrel! There's a limit to how you can discipline your students! You've injured them so badly without knowing the severity of their injuries, no wonder people are misunderstanding you! Apologize to the student right now!"
Upon hearing his words, Dean Su quickly realized what he meant and misinterpreted his actions of tormenting Zhou Chengyu as a form of training for him.
"Training? Then why is my son the only one in the entire academy who needs to be trained? And why is he only being trained after he refused to let my Chengzhu become your son's concubine?" Song Yushu was not going to let these two fool her. Even if her son was expelled, she had to get justice.
"What's going on? Is what she said true?" Upon hearing this, Prefect Liu couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with this Mr. Hu.
"That's not true! I was just chatting with him that day. He insisted that he had a younger sister who was about the same age as my son and wanted to get involved with me so that his sister could become my son's concubine! I originally appreciated his talent, which is why I took good care of him. I didn't expect him to be so wicked and only thinking about taking shortcuts. In order to make him realize his mistake, I arranged for him to do manual labor to temper his mind."
"If I had known he would do this, I shouldn't have gone to all this trouble!" Master Hu looked heartbroken. If Song Yushu and Zhou Chengyu hadn't been victims, they probably would have been fooled by him long ago.
"Is this true? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Now that you've been smeared, it's because you weren't careful enough that people found fault with you. Go back tomorrow and reflect on your actions for a month. Do you accept this punishment?" Seeing that the situation had turned around, Dean Su finally felt that this son-in-law still had some past ties, so he came out and settled the matter directly.
"Wait! It's too hasty to judge my son as such a wicked person based solely on his words. Why not call his son Hu Xuan and the other students in the academy for questioning? Prefect Liu happens to be here today, and I beg Prefect Liu to clear my son's name!"
Seeing that they were spouting nonsense and trying to pin the blame on Zhou Chengyu, Song Yushu thought they were easy to bully. Since she couldn't stay at the academy anyway, she decided to make a scene. According to what Zhou Chengyu had said earlier, Hu Xuan's character had already caused many students in the academy to complain. Moreover, she didn't believe that no one in the academy was dissatisfied with this Teacher Hu. As long as they were willing to stand up and speak out, Teacher Hu's lies would be exposed.
“This academy is not a place for you to fool around. The students of the academy are busy with their studies, how can they accompany you to fool around! Prefect Liu, this is just a small matter, in my opinion there is no need to make a big deal out of it,” Dean Su naturally did not want to agree with what Song Yushu said, and hurriedly came out to object.
"This matter should not be blown out of proportion. How about this, summon Hu Xuan, his friends, and several students who know the truth. I rarely have time, so I will thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure that no innocent person is wronged."
Prefect Liu's words made Dean Su's heart skip a beat. He realized that this matter could not be fooled. He could only curse his stupid son-in-law in his heart and did not refute him.
Prefect Liu immediately ordered Shen Xiuyuan to bring the witness over. Naturally, Shen Xiuyuan wouldn't miss the opportunity to make a name for himself and immediately took his men to carry out the task.
"Doctor Wu has arrived as well. Let's take this opportunity to examine Zhou Chengyu," Prefect Liu said, noticing the somewhat silent atmosphere. He didn't take it to heart and simply had Doctor Wu brought in.
"Reporting to you, sir, if it is this young master, then there is no need to examine him again. I just examined him a couple of days ago. The injury to the young master's hand is not serious, but he should still avoid doing heavy work to avoid overexertion and damaging his spleen. In addition, he should rest for a few days to recover from the strain on his body. If he finishes the medicine I prescribed before, I can prescribe two more doses to help him recover."
"Thank you very much, Doctor Wu. I will definitely come to your door to express my gratitude another day!" Song Yushu replied.
"It's good that you're alright. This injury was caused by the improper teaching of the academy's teachers, so the academy will cover the medical expenses," Dean Su said tactfully.
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