Although Lord Zhang was displeased, he could not do anything about it because the prefect was still there. He could only glare at Madam Jiang occasionally.
After reprimanding Lord Zhang, the prefect's gaze fell on Magistrate Duan. He looked at Magistrate Duan and said, "I was going to your office today to discuss some matters with you, but I found no one there. I asked around and learned that you took several students from Ningfu Academy away early this morning and asked them to come to Lujia Village. What happened here?"
The prefect's words made Zhao Tianqi, who was standing to the side, feel a pang of unease.
He had heard a little about his son bullying students at Ningfu Academy, but he didn't think much of it, since his son hadn't done anything seriously wrong.
Moreover, since he was the county magistrate and no one dared to oppose him, he turned a blind eye to the matter and let it pass by in a muddled manner.
But who would have thought that Duan Kang'an, that scoundrel, would help the younger brother of a country woman to arrest his son? Upon hearing this, he rushed from the government office to Lujia Village, intending to take his son away quietly. But as fate would have it, the prefect also came to Lujia Village today.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, it concerns the Ningfu Academy. Lord Zhang's son led several children from the academy to bully other students..."
"You're talking nonsense! It wasn't me who started it! It was Wang Tianen who started it..."
"Zhao Qianyu, don't go too far! This was clearly your plan. You said you couldn't win over Jiang Zhishan, so you tried to expel him from the academy. Now that the matter has been exposed, you're quick to throw mud at him!" Wang Tianen, the son of a salt merchant, immediately retorted when he heard Zhao Qianyu turn the tables on him.
In fact, anyone with eyes could tell that Magistrate Duan's words were very tactful. Magistrate Duan originally did not want to make a big deal out of this matter, but who would have thought that Zhao Qianyu and Wang Tianen would fight like dogs in front of the Prefect.
If it weren't for the presence of the prefect, Lord Zhao would most likely have given his son a severe scolding after hearing his son's words.
Seeing the prefect's face grow increasingly dark, Lord Zhao could only secretly pray for good fortune.
"Enough! Reading and writing are meant to make you more cultured and refined, not to encourage you to form cliques and bully other students!" the prefect rebuked coldly.
Seeing the prefect's angry expression, everyone knelt down in a scattered manner. Jiang Ling was speechless. She had to kneel for rewards, she had to kneel for punishments, and now she had to kneel for these officials.
I don't even know how many times I've knelt down. My knees are starting to hurt. I guess I'll have to get some knee braces someday.
"Get up, all of you. This has nothing to do with you!" the prefect said coldly.
"Sister-in-law Jiang, is Brother Zhishan home? Why hasn't he gone to school yet?" A voice suddenly came from outside Jiang Ling's house, and then a village woman pushed the door open and entered.
When the village woman saw a group of people standing in Jiang Ling's yard, she was immediately startled. She was especially frightened when she saw that there were several people in official robes among them. She immediately knelt down and kowtowed to pay her respects.
The prefect quickly helped the village woman up, and looked at her with interest, saying, "You just mentioned a school? What school?"
This village woman had worked the land her whole life and had never seen anything like it. Her face turned pale, her forehead was covered in sweat, and she kept swallowing, her lips trembling as she said, "Ah...learn...learn...learn."
"Reporting to Your Excellency, it's not a school at all. It's just my younger brother, Jiang Zhishan, teaching some children to read and write!" The village woman was so frightened that she couldn't say anything. Jiang Ling quickly went to the village woman's side and said to the prefect.
"Oh? Jiang Zhishan? Hmm... that name seems familiar!" The prefect stroked his beard and pondered.
After a few seconds, the prefect's gaze fell on Jiang Zhishan and he casually asked, "Are you from Ningfu Academy?"
Jiang Zhishan bowed and said, "Yes, sir."
“That makes sense. I once heard a teacher from Ningfu Academy mention you, saying that you have a very high chance of passing the imperial examination. But shouldn’t you be studying at the academy right now? Why are you teaching children to read and write in Lujia Village?” The prefect seemed to have thought of something and asked with a frown.
“My lord, this is what I wanted to tell you. The son of Lord Zhao and the son of the salt merchant, along with a group of students, framed Jiang Zhishan. Jiang Zhishan was unable to defend himself and was eventually expelled by his teacher. I have come here today to clear his name!” Magistrate Duan said as he approached the prefect.
The prefect glanced at Zhao Tianqi, who was sweating profusely beside him. He had been in officialdom for many years and had seen all kinds of storms. He was naturally aware of this matter. Although he was angry, Zhao Tianqi was, after all, his prized student.
With so many people present, he could only hold back and not lash out.
He stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Well, now that the matter is resolved, take me to see your academy!"
“My lord, this place is dilapidated and ruined. If you go there, it may tarnish your noble feet. I hope you will think twice!” Zhao Tianqi said from the side.
"Hmph!" The prefect snorted coldly, looking at Zhao Tianqi and scolding, "What? Does studying have a hierarchy? Zhao Tianqi, have all your studies gone to waste? Of all professions, only studying is noble! What did I tell you back then! Men! Lead the way!"
"My lord, may I say something?" Jiang Ling asked.
"Oh? What do you want to say?" The prefect squinted at Jiang Ling with a strange look.
“Your Excellency, you are an official, and we are commoners. To us villagers, you are like a cloud in the sky, something we can never touch in our lives. If you rush over here, the children will surely be terrified, and your teaching may also be affected. It is not easy for the children to learn to read and write. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and the children will also have to participate in the harvest. Their studies are squeezed out of time!”
The prefect nodded repeatedly upon hearing Jiang Ling's words. He said to Jiang Ling, "You're right. Now that the matter is resolved, Kang An, come back with me. There are some things I still need to discuss with you!"
Magistrate Duan nodded and followed behind the Prefect. After taking a few steps, the Prefect suddenly stopped, turned to look at Zhao Tianqi, whose face was pale, and then said, "Tianqi, your son is unruly and lacks discipline. Let him stay with Madam Jiang for a month. Madam Jiang must have something special to raise such an excellent son!"
Jiang Ling felt her brain go blank after hearing this. She never dreamed that the prefect would say such a thing. Her four children were already a headache enough, and now she had to deal with this little rascal.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling quickly stepped forward and bowed to the prefect, saying, "Prefect, please forgive my rudeness, but I cannot agree to your request. I already have four children to raise and am busy with other things every day. If something happens to Young Master Zhao while he is in my house, I could not afford to pay for it even if I had ten thousand lives!"
"It's alright. Since you're in charge of disciplining him, you can do it the way you usually do. If anything goes wrong, Magistrate Zhao will bear the responsibility personally!" The prefect glanced at Zhao Tianqi and added, "Tianqi, what do you think?"
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