Chapter 130 He's not even going to pretend anymore.
Upon learning that Li Huaigu was also going to visit Mr. Yue Ming, Chen Yi put away his oil-paper umbrella, boarded the carriage, and went to Guiyun Academy together.
Li Huaigu sized him up and asked with a smile, "Brother Qingzhou, has this decision already been made?"
Chen Yi nodded, feigning helplessness: "It's not good to wait for the teacher to write a letter and lecture us before we go."
He still remembered that Mr. Yueming wrote a letter asking Mr. Juyi, who was far away in Jinling, to persuade him to go to Guiyun Academy.
It's perfect to use this as a shield now.
"Of course, there was also Brother Fang Gui's advice yesterday, which made me feel ashamed."
Seeing his teasing tone, Li Huaigu couldn't help but shake his head: "Brother Qingzhou's thoughts are indeed different from others."
In his view, no Confucian scholar would refuse an invitation from his teacher.
They're more likely to agree on the spot.
In contrast, Chen Yi not only refused the invitation but also declined it repeatedly, showing that his thoughts and ideas were completely different from those of ordinary people.
He couldn't figure it out and could only guess that it was "due to his personality".
Chen Yi glanced at him, then changed the subject and asked:
"Brother Fang Gui, what made you decide to visit Mr. Yue Ming? Did you mention yesterday that the Provincial Administration Commission was very busy with official business?"
Upon hearing this, Li Huaigu gave a wry smile, "Something has happened at the company..."
Then, as if he had just thought of something, he asked, "Brother Qingzhou, have you heard any rumors lately?"
This matter will surely reach the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence today, and even if he tries to cover it up, it will be of no use. He might as well ask Chen Yi for his opinion.
Chen Yi was somewhat surprised. "What do you mean?"
Li Huaigu did not answer immediately, but instead lifted the curtain to look around before leaning closer and whispering:
"It's about the Liu family from Jingzhou sending people."
Chen Yi immediately guessed that the changes in the Provincial Administration Commission that he had just mentioned were likely related to the Liu family.
As his thoughts raced, he spoke frankly: "I've heard some things; that young master Liu unfortunately passed away the night before last."
After saying that, Chen Yi pointed to the back of the carriage—in the direction of the yamen (government office), "Brother Fang Gui asked about this, is there any arrangement made by the Provincial Administration Commission?"
Li Huaigu nodded: "Yesterday, after returning to the yamen from Brother Yunfan's residence, Lord Yang specifically asked me to come over."
"I have one month to travel to the three towns of Iron Wall, Azure Wolf, and Black Armor to collect this year's summer harvest tax grain, and moreover..."
He paused, then said in a deep voice, "And it's two-tenths of the tax."
Chen Yi frowned inwardly, but his face remained calm. "Was it an order from Left Envoy Liu?"
Li Huaigu gave a soft "hmm," then sighed and said, "That's why I was thinking of asking my teacher for his advice."
The Liu family has made their move.
The thought popped into Chen Yi's mind subconsciously.
However, he immediately rejected the idea.
It's not the Liu family of Jingzhou, but the Liu family of Shuzhou.
Or it could be attributed to Liu Hong, the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shu Prefecture.
It's obvious.
The incident happened the night before last, but Liu Jing's death wasn't discovered until early yesterday morning.
Liu Hong learned of this matter no earlier than around 5 AM yesterday.
Less than three hours had passed between Li Huaigu receiving the mission to collect grain taxes in the three towns.
In such a short time, even if they were to travel by fast horse or carrier pigeon, the Liu family in Jingzhou would not be able to receive the news.
It is not difficult to deduce from this that sending Li Huaigu to the three towns was Liu Hong's own decision.
Thinking of this, Chen Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
If it weren't for the Liu family of Jingzhou making the move, there would still be room for maneuver.
Given Liu Hong's arrangement, and the fact that he only gave Li Huaigu one month, it's clear he was right.
Besides demonstrating his stance as a member of the Liu family, this also sets a final deadline for the rivalry between the Xiao and Liu families.
Otherwise, he could have simply sent a notice to the three towns, thoroughly enraging the Xiao family.
At this moment.
Seeing that he remained silent, Li Huaigu couldn't help but ask, "If Brother Qingzhou were in my position, what would you do?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi snapped out of his daze and said, "Brother Fang Gui, I wouldn't dare to speak recklessly."
It seems this matter is causing Li Huaigu a lot of distress.
But thinking about it, it makes sense.
Li Huaigu was assigned directly to the Shu Prefecture Administration Commission without any prior training at the Hanlin Academy, and had to figure things out on his own in many ways.
Given that the matter involves both the Xiao and Liu families, it's understandable that he couldn't see the direction clearly.
Li Huaigu smiled wryly and cupped his hands in greeting: "I barely slept a wink last night."
Even with Yang Ye backing him up, he still dared not be careless, always worried about getting caught up in some kind of trouble.
Seeing his serious expression, Chen Yi also pondered for a moment and said seriously:
"Brother Fang Gui is blinded by his own involvement."
Li Huaigu looked puzzled. "I would be grateful if Brother Qingzhou would be so kind as to enlighten me."
"I dare not presume to offer my guidance."
"Actually, this matter has nothing to do with Brother Fang Gui. You can simply go to the three towns as arranged by the department."
"But I..."
Before Li Huaigu could speak, Chen Yi raised his hand to interrupt, saying, "The three towns are thousands of miles apart, and the journey is long. A month may not be enough."
Li Huaigu was taken aback, lowered his head and thought for a moment, then sincerely admired him and said, "Thank you very much, Brother Qingzhou."
He understood that Chen Yi was telling him not to rush and to observe the situation.
As for whether he can collect grain taxes from the Dingyuan Army... the key lies not with him at all.
Ultimately, the decision was made by the Xiao and Liu families.
"No wonder Liu Zuoshi set a time limit and collected the maximum amount of grain tax. I guess he didn't think I could complete the task."
Chen Yi nodded. "That's certainly the case at the moment."
Li Huaigu paused for a moment and asked, "What if the department sends a letter midway through..."
"You can continue."
"Brother Qingzhou, aren't you worried about the Xiao family?"
Chen Yi replied casually, "What's there to worry about for a son-in-law like me?"
"If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."
Li Huaigu glanced at him, and couldn't help but feel a little skeptical.
Originally, he was only grateful to Chen Yi because of Yunxiang and Chen Yunfan's matter.
But after the conversation, he realized that Chen Yi was not as simple as he seemed.
Whether it was their first meeting at Fengchunlou, where they discussed the upcoming imperial examination, or the poems, calligraphy, and other related matters that followed.
Everything demonstrates this point.
Thinking about it, Li Huaigu said with a slight sigh, "Brother Qingzhou marrying into the Xiao family is truly... a bit of a waste of his talents."
Chen Yi pulled back one of the curtains and looked at the rain and pedestrians outside.
"I think my life is pretty good right now, and I'm very satisfied."
Li Huaigu chuckled, but didn't say anything about it.
He finally had a plan in mind, and his mood improved considerably.
"I will repay Brother Qingzhou for what he just said in the future."
Chen Yi looked away from him, smiled, and asked, "Can it be converted into silver?"
"People say, 'A clean prefect can earn 100,000 taels of silver in three years.' I don't ask for much; 10,000 taels will do."
"...Brother Qingzhou is joking."
Li Huaigu naturally couldn't take his words seriously.
But the admiration and emotion I felt just now vanished with that joke.
The friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water; I suppose that's what Brother Qingzhou thinks.
Not long after.
The two arrived at Guiyun Academy.
With Li Huaigu leading the way, things were much easier, and the journey was relatively smooth.
Upon entering the academy, Chen Yi saw a garden-like landscape.
A winding stone path, with lush flowers, grass and trees on both sides, can be described as a secluded and winding path.
Between the green tiles and white walls, there are archways that connect the buildings, revealing glimpses of several wooden buildings with upturned eaves.
It was just past dawn, and there were many Confucian scholars dressed in the attire of Guiyun Academy coming and going.
When they see the two of them, they stop and bow.
Li Huaigu returned the greetings one by one, and Chen Yi naturally followed suit.
During breaks, Li Huaigu would introduce:
“Guiyun Academy was built at the beginning of the Wei Dynasty, when the barbarians had just been driven away and everything was in need of rebuilding.”
"At the time, the Provincial Governor of Shu Prefecture, Lord Gao Li, established schools here and specially invited Mr. Hong Hai of Qinghe Academy to serve as the dean..."
As Chen Yi listened to his story, he arrived at a courtyard deep inside the village and saw Mr. Yue Ming already waiting outside the door.
"This student greets you, sir."
Mr. Yue Ming smiled and nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then led them to his study.
"Qingzhou, if you hadn't sent a visiting card yesterday, I would have gone to the Xiao residence to look for you today."
As he spoke, he handed over a letter, “A reply from your teacher.”
Chen Yi secretly grinned, never expecting his words to come true.
Mr. Yue Ming actually wrote a letter to Mr. Ju Yi.
Thinking it over, he stepped forward, took the letter, glanced at it, and knew that Mr. Juyi agreed to let him teach at Guiyun Academy.
Furthermore, the text praised him, saying he was quite knowledgeable.
After reading it, Chen Yi looked helpless and said, "Since the teacher has given his approval, the student will obey."
Mr. Yue Ming laughed heartily and said, "It should have been done long ago."
Seeing this, Li Huaigu, who was standing to the side, expressed his joy to Chen Yi.
Afterwards, Mr. Yue Ming told Chen Yi about the situation of Guiyun Academy and the subsequent arrangements.
Older people tend to say a few more words.
Chen Yi didn't pay attention to anything else, but he remembered one sentence: "There are only four days of intensive teaching per month, and the students practice on their own the rest of the time."
In addition to teaching, he also needs to spend one or two days correcting and annotating the calligraphy books his students practice.
It took less than a week in total, so it was relatively quiet.
Seeing that he only cared about this, Mr. Yue Ming couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You really are lazy."
"Students are only taught calligraphy; too many courses would be detrimental."
"You're right..."
The three then chatted for a while.
Remembering his purpose, Li Huaigu mentioned the arrangements made by the Provincial Administration Commission and asked for Mr. Yue Ming's opinion.
Mr. Yue Ming pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "Liu Hong made this arrangement partly to put pressure on the Xiao family."
"On the other hand, it also served to show the attitude of the Liu family in Jingzhou."
"Neither way is it aimed at you."
"However, this matter is far-reaching, Fang Gui, you must remember not to act rashly. Perhaps things will take a turn for the better in a few days."
When Li Huaigu heard him say the same thing, his eyes widened slightly as he was about to speak.
Seeing this, Chen Yi quietly stepped on his foot, signaling him to speak carefully.
Li Huaigu understood, and his smile faltered. "I will remember your instructions, teacher. I will go back and pack my bags now."
As he spoke, he looked at Chen Yi and asked, "Brother Qingzhou, would you like to come along?"
Chen Yi shook his head. "You go back first. I plan to stay at Guiyun Academy today."
Since he returned to the Xiao residence at this time, it would be difficult for him to find a suitable reason to leave, so he simply stayed at the academy.
Mr. Yue Ming was naturally delighted that Chen Yineng would stay, and immediately pulled him to the study next door:
"Come, come, on this joyous occasion, Qingzhou, why don't you leave a piece of your calligraphy?"
Chen Yi: "..."
He's not even going to pretend anymore.
The contract for hiring the instructors hasn't even been signed yet.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
