Chapter 239 Crisis?
"Liu Qiongshuang's grades were all below average. Based on these grades, she probably didn't receive her graduation certificate."
Mi Ling glanced at the report card.
“Her father is a high-ranking official; she shouldn’t have this kind of personality.” Yuan Hongqu carefully read all the teachers’ evaluations of Liu Qiongshuang and found it very strange.
Most of them are stubborn and unsociable...
With a personality like that, it's quite normal for her to be rejected in an interview.
"I knew she couldn't graduate! Mi Ling finally found the graduation documents."
"She was the only one in her class who didn't receive a graduation certificate."
She handed a graduation list to Yuan Hongqu.
Yuan Hongqu took the document, glanced at it, and put it down.
"Alright, time to go home. Today is considered a holiday and I'll give everyone triple overtime pay and double the benefits. Come find me after your holiday to collect your bonuses."
"Hongqu, isn't this too hasty? What if someone from the palace comes to ask about this tomorrow...?"
"I said you're too nervous. Our academy hasn't even given her a graduation certificate, which means that even if she studied at the academy, she didn't meet the academy's normal graduation standards. Let them ask the Empress; she's a legitimate graduate of our academy. I just saw the two of them in the same year. And all those noble ladies and female officials in the palace, those we legitimately recommended to enter the palace, which one of them doesn't have a graduation certificate?"
Yuan Hongqu was initially a little nervous, thinking it was a public relations crisis.
However, after learning the crime that led to Liu Qiongshuang's father's imprisonment, Yuan Hongqu felt that the matter was no longer so important.
Once Yuan Hongqu received Liu Qiongshuang's information, she was completely relieved.
“Hongqu, she has a stubborn personality…” Mi Ling was still worried.
"How did you pass the interview? Who recruited you?" Yuan Hongqu interrupted Mi Ling and scanned the teachers present.
"It's me." Mi Ling lowered her head, feeling extremely guilty.
"I'll deduct one month's bonus from your paycheck."
"It's not because you recruited Liu Qiongshuang into the academy that you were able to prepare for the exams and interviews in advance; it's normal that she was fooled. Your bonus was deducted because you're a veteran of the academy. Do you think even you don't know how strong the academy is now?" Yuan Hongqu explained, seeing Mi Ling's dejected expression.
"The academy is not like it was in Yangzhou back then, where everyone wanted to take a bite out of it when the powerful backer fell. Now, even without a powerful backer, the girls' academy is not easily taken advantage of by others based on its own abilities. Mi Ling, what are you afraid of?"
“That’s right. Besides, our dean is now a third-rank official. If Liu Qiongshuang makes baseless accusations against the academy, it’s tantamount to slandering a court official. We can go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to sue her, and we’ll win every time!” Ye Mengnan, who specializes in teaching law at the academy, may look petite, but her grasp of the court’s laws and regulations is so thorough that even many officials in the Ministry of Justice might not be able to match her.
“Mr. Ye is right. If she makes baseless accusations and speaks ill of the academy, we will sue her. Even if the Dowager Empress protects her, she cannot overstep the law!” a teacher chimed in.
Ye Mengnan looked at Yuan Hongqu and said,
“I remember the dean once mentioned a self-proof trap. If our academy has to explain and prove itself today because of Liu Qiongshuang’s accusations, then the academy will have fallen into her trap. Liu Qiongshuang’s father has already been judged. He was exiled because of corruption and bribery, and he was not wronged at all.”
Yuan Hongqu nodded. "So we won't open this door. If we do, will the academy have to step in whenever any student who has studied at our academy gets into trouble?"
"His Majesty is not incompetent. Liu Qiongshuang stopped the imperial carriage in the palace to complain. Logically speaking, for the crime of offending His Majesty, she should have lost at least half her life. The Empress saved her life, which also fulfilled her feelings as a former student of the Women's Academy."
Mi Ling regretted that she had made a mountain out of a molehill.
She planned to retire at the academy, where the wages were high and the benefits were good, and she liked the environment.
But because of the previous crisis at Yangzhou Women's Academy, which was initially just a trivial matter.
Therefore, she was terrified when she heard the news tonight.
Back in Yangzhou, during the crisis at the academy, Yuan Hongqu stood in front, shielding everyone from the storm. Almost none of the teachers at the academy knew about it.
However, Mi Ling was one of the people in the know.
That incident also prompted the academy to move from Yangzhou to the capital.
So when she heard the news, her first thought was to find the dean. The heavy rain outside did not stop her. She went to the Lin family first. The Lin family said that Mr. Yuan had gone to Rongguo Mansion today and that he might not be able to come back in such heavy rain. So she went to Rongguo Mansion instead.
She forgot that their academy now has an official background, and the dean is even certified by the imperial court, which is incomparable to what it was like in Yangzhou.
Mi Ling let out a soft sigh of relief.
Yuan Hongqu felt sorry for Mi Ling. She had rushed over and her clothes were all wet. She didn't change until she got to the academy, and her hair was still wet.
“Mi Ling, I know you are wholeheartedly devoted to the academy, but you don’t need to worry about this matter. Take advantage of the holiday and get some rest.”
“Hongqu, you want to influence other people’s judgment and confuse the public through the academy? Liu Qiongshuang doesn’t have that kind of ability.” Mi Ling relaxed, then suddenly remembered a piece of information she had forgotten earlier.
"This is none of our business, you don't need to worry about it. It's late, everyone should leave now." Yuan Hongqu said, then got up and left.
The clock inside the room showed that it was already 10 p.m. Mi Ling paused for a moment, then followed Yuan Hongqu.
“Hongqu, now that you mention it, I suspect that someone in the palace might be trying to harm the Empress, so they secretly instigated Liu Qiongshuang. Given her personality, she probably thinks that if she hadn’t failed in the selection process, she could have protected her family today. Perhaps she’s using the pretext of attacking the academy to frame the Empress.”
As Mi Ling walked, she said, "We can leave Liu Qiongshuang and the others alone, but the Empress is the Dean's personal disciple. Can Yuan Hongqu really ignore her?"
“You’re overthinking it. The academy teaches and nurtures people. As for their future lives, what they do, whether they are successful or down on their luck, we can’t teach them for a lifetime. If Liu Qiongshuang is a kind-hearted person worthy of help, even if she ends up destitute, the academy can still take her in. But she has cut off her own path.” Yuan Hongqu summed up the matter in one sentence.
“Mi Ling, it’s highly suspicious who told you these things. Think about whether you’ve been used by someone.”
Yuan Hongqu's voice was calm, but Mi Ling felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave upon hearing it.
"I'll say it one last time, this matter won't shake the academy in the slightest. Go back and get some rest." Yuan Hongqu comforted Mi Ling, "With you here at the academy, I feel so relaxed. You'll be promoted to vice dean at the end of this year."
Before Mi Ling could react, Yuan Hongqu left a message and hurriedly boarded the car.
“I told Daiyu that I would have morning tea with her tomorrow morning. Time is running out, and I can’t afford to be late.”
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