Chapter 90 [VIP]
Upon arriving at the academy, Chen Qingyan and Chen Qingsong were once again shocked.
Because the Laizhou Prefectural School was larger than the Jizhou Prefectural School.
Upon entering, you'll see a huge stone screen carved with images of Confucius and Mencius. Next to it is an inscription by the first dean: "Even withered trees can sprout again in spring, but a person can only be young once more." The calligraphy is vigorous and powerful, leaving you feeling a jolt after reading it.
Beyond the stone screen lies a wide stone-paved path, lined with neatly trimmed ornamental trees. In summer, the lush trees provide ample shade.
It wasn't time for class yet, and occasionally you could see students sitting together in twos and threes discussing knowledge, creating a very strong learning atmosphere.
Having given prior notice, the carriage drove directly into the academy and arrived at the place where the dean was, seemingly without any trouble.
The academy's dean, Fang Yunxiao, was a man in his early forties. He was not tall and was slightly overweight. He wore a dark blue long robe, a scholar's hat, and had a short beard, making him look kind and approachable.
Upon seeing Liang Boqing arrive, he warmly greeted him, saying, "It's a great pleasure for Elder Liang to make this trip in person."
Liang Boqing rarely smiled, and patted his arm. "I stopped by to see you. It's been so many years. How have you been?"
"As before, these three must be the beloved disciples you mentioned."
The three bowed and greeted the Dean, saying, "Greetings, Dean."
"No need for formalities, please come in and sit down so we can chat."
Tea had been prepared in advance inside the room, and a young student was serving them, pouring tea and water for them.
Chen Qingyan and the other two stood respectfully behind Liang Boqing, listening to their conversation.
"It's been three years since we last parted. I was a little worried when I heard from Master that you were going to Lord Chen's hometown. Now I see that you've taken on two more good disciples."
Liang Boqing waved his hand, "They're just three elm stumps; they still need to be properly pruned before they can be used as timber."
Dean Fang and Chen Jing were old acquaintances, so he naturally recognized Chen Qinghuai. After looking him over carefully for a moment, he said, "Qinghuai, you've grown so much. The last time I saw you, you were still a child. Now you've grown into a handsome young man. How is your father doing after being transferred to Shanzhou?"
"My father is doing well."
"That's good. He's been too busy with official duties to write a letter to bother me. We're so far apart, I don't know when we'll have time to meet again."
Fang Yunxiao then looked at Chen Qingyan and Chen Qingsong beside him, "These two are also members of the Chen family, right? I can recognize them just by their appearance."
Liang Boqing stroked his beard and said, "Yes, the older one is called Chen Qingyan and the younger one is called Chen Qingsong. They are both Chen Jing's nephews."
"If you three brothers work together and study hard, you'll have someone to look after you when you become officials in the court."
The three men bowed their heads in agreement.
"Jingqi, take them to the dormitories first. Let them study with the students in Class C for a few days to get used to it. After the monthly exam, they will be divided into classes according to their scores."
"good."
After the children had all left, Liang Boqing finally spoke, "Yesterday, I went to see Lord Cai, and he... he didn't recognize me at all..."
Fang Yunxiao sighed deeply when this was mentioned, "Not only does he not recognize you, he doesn't even recognize me or Cai Yun."
"How could it get so serious? I remember it wasn't like this when I left. Have you seen a doctor?"
"We've seen many doctors, but none of them are effective, so this is the only way we can take care of them."
The disease that Cai Lao contracted is Alzheimer's disease, which is incurable even in the 21st century, let alone in ancient times.
"In previous years, I was just forgetful but could still recognize people. Since the beginning of this year, I don't recognize anyone. My temperament is becoming more and more like a child. I dare not leave my side, for fear that I will get lost if I am not careful."
Liang Boqing wiped his eyes. "He got this disease out of nowhere, and Cai Yun is suffering because of it. I saw that half of his hair has turned white."
Cai Lao had four sons. Cai Yun was the eldest, and he was the only one who could take care of him. His other three younger brothers were all serving as officials in other places and could not easily come back.
It was almost noon, and Fang Yunxiao wanted to invite Old Liang out for lunch.
"I won't eat. I've taken up most of your time. Go on with your work. We've been in Laizhou for over two months. Let's get together again when we have some free time."
Fang Yunxiao helped him onto the carriage, saying, "Please visit my master whenever you have time... perhaps it will remind him of some old memories."
“I will definitely go. I entrust those three children to you.”
"Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of you."
After watching Elder Liang leave, he returned to his room to continue dealing with matters concerning the prefectural school.
On the other side, Cai Jingqi led the three of them toward the dormitories at the back.
He is Cai Lao's grandson. He is sixteen years old this year and has already passed the imperial examination. He is also preparing to take the provincial examination next year.
Because Liang Boqing was a close friend of his grandfather, Chen Qinghuai often visited his home with his teacher when he was young, and the two were old acquaintances.
He was outgoing and talkative, and took the initiative to strike up a conversation. "Qinghuai, do you remember me? Once, your master brought you to my house to play, and we even had a fight over a gourd."
Chen Qinghuai couldn't help but chuckle, "How could I not remember?"
At that time, the two were only eight or nine years old, a mischievous age. Liang Boqing took Qinghuai to visit the Cai family, and they saw many gourds growing on the shed in the yard. They insisted on picking one to play with.
Old Master Cai asked his servants to pick gourds, but coincidentally Cai Jingqi also came over and stopped the servants from picking them. The two children started arguing back and forth, and in the end they both burst into tears.
In the end, Old Liang had no choice but to take Chen Qinghuai out to buy two gourds.
When they talked about their childhood, they couldn't help but laugh, and their relationship quickly grew closer.
Cai Jingqi led the three of them to their lodgings. "These are your rooms. Your uncle arranged for the tutor to put you in the same room so you can look after each other if anything happens."
Thank you.
"You're welcome. Please settle your luggage, and I'll take you to see other places."
The room wasn't spacious, with four wooden plank beds. Besides the three brothers, there was one empty spot, so no one was living there.
Opposite the bed is a row of wooden cabinets where you can store your personal belongings and books. By the window is a table and a few chairs where you can read and write.
Cai Jingqi handed the dormitory key to the three of them, saying, "Remember to lock the door when you leave. There are many people and things going on in the academy. If you have any valuables, be sure to keep them safe so that they don't get rummaged through."
Chen Qingyan took the keys and nodded in agreement.
"Come with me later to get your school uniform, the one I'm wearing right now. You have to wear it to class every day, and anyone who isn't properly dressed will be punished."
Chen Qingsong asked somewhat nervously, "What kind of punishment is it?"
"It's nothing more than fetching water, sweeping the yard, and cleaning the outhouse."
Hearing that the punishment wasn't so severe, the three of them felt a little relieved.
After settling their luggage and locking their dormitory doors, the three of them followed Cai Jingqi to the bathing pool, the outhouse, and the classroom, taking a tour in turn.
He patiently explained to the three of them all the rules and regulations of the academy, helping them quickly integrate into the academy environment.
It was almost noon when the four of them went to the cafeteria for lunch.
Similar to the canteen of Jizhou Prefectural School, the large room had tables and chairs, and students lined up with their bowls and chopsticks to get their meals.
However, the dishes served in the canteens in the two places are different. Because Laizhou is located by the sea and has a developed fishing industry, fish is cheaper than pork, so fish is served almost every meal.
At first, Chen Qingyan and Chen Qingsong were quite happy, until after they ate steamed fish, boiled fish, stewed fish, and fried fish for a month, they almost turned pale at the sight of fish.
During the meal, Cai Jingqi met some nice friends and invited them over to get to know each other.
“This is Sun Yan, this is Pang Heming, and Zhao Lan are all my classmates and friends.” Turning to introduce his friends, he continued, “The three of them are students who traveled from Jizhou to study. They are all disciples of Master Liang: Chen Qingyan, Chen Qinghuai, and Chen Qingsong.”
Upon hearing the name of Elder Liang, the three men's eyes lit up instantly. Liang Boqing's reputation in Laizhou was far more renowned than in Jizhou, and countless students had previously sought to become his disciples.
Unfortunately, no matter how talented or brilliant someone was, or how meticulously they planned to wait at the door, or how they begged and pleaded to be accepted into the master's school, the old man refused to accept them.
Everyone only knew that he had a closed-door disciple who was the son of the governor, but now he has two more disciples.
Pang Heming whispered, "Is Elder Liang starting to take on disciples?"
Cai Jingqi shook his head, "I don't know, you should ask them."
Chen Qinghuai took the initiative to speak, saying, "Master is getting old and has said he will no longer accept disciples."
The group was quite disappointed to hear this, but they became even more curious about the Chen brothers. They sat around a table, eating and chatting.
Of the three, Zhao Lan was the oldest, twenty-one years old, married with two children. Chen Qingyan was about the same age as him, so they had more to talk about.
The others were all sixteen or seventeen years old and not yet married, except for Qingsong, who was the youngest. Although he couldn't get a word in edgewise, he found it quite interesting to listen to them talk.
The four of them were classmates. The academy was divided into five classes: A, B, C, D, and E.
The class assignments are not fixed, but are based on monthly rankings. Class A has only forty fixed spots, and a bottom-ranking elimination system is used, with a small test every month.
If a student in Class B performs better than one in Class A, they will be promoted to Class A. Similarly, if a student in Class A does not perform well, they will be demoted to Class B.
Both Class A and Class B receive incentive subsidies, making it almost like paying to attend school. Competition among students is fierce, and the pressure is immense.
Classes C and D were less competitive. There was no limit to the number of students in these two classes. Anyone who was a scholar could come in and pay money to study. Of course, if their grades were too poor, they would be asked to leave.
As for Class E, they were mostly descendants of military generals. They focused on horseback riding and archery, with academic studies as a secondary pursuit, and were not related to the students in the first four classes.
After lunch, Cai Jingqi took the three of them to visit Class C.
Class C had nearly sixty students, most of whom were scholars from various counties in Laizhou. Their ages varied, with the youngest being thirteen or fourteen and the oldest being thirty or forty.
"Every day at 3:45 AM, students should come to the classroom for morning reading. If they are late, they will be punished. Our teacher is quite strict. Those who are late can only stand outside the door to listen to the lesson. I don't know what kind of temper the teacher of Class C has."
"By the way, in addition to the regular courses, there are also six arts courses every ten days, namely rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. You must choose two to study. You should choose in advance, otherwise the teacher will just randomly assign you. Last time, a student was assigned charioteering by the teacher, and he accidentally fell off the carriage and broke his leg."
The three men were all startled upon hearing this. "Thank you for informing me, Brother Qi!"
"Just call me Jing Qi. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."
"Thank you for your help."
"It's okay. We'll be classmates from now on. If you don't understand anything, just come to Class A to find me."
After seeing the person off, the three brothers quickly returned to their dormitory to rest and prepare for their first day of classes the next day.
A note from the author:
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