CH 63

The students wanted to continue discussing, but the presented scholar raised his voice and said, "After Fang Yun passed the Holy Selection, the Left Chancellor suddenly appeared and asked Fang Yun how to deal with the Prefecture Academy Lord. When the Prefecture Academy Lord refused to confess, Fang Yun determined that he should be executed, so the Left Chancellor used his War of Words to kill him!"

"The Prefecture Academy Lord is dead?"

No one dared to speak in the cafeteria anymore. The Prefecture Academy Lord was an Imperial Scholar and as long as he did not betray the human race, even the Jing Kingdom's ruler could not kill him. But the Left Chancellor said he could be killed, which was the benefit of having power in the Holy Academy.

These people did not see the scene at the time, so they did not know what to say. The presented scholar continued, "Everyone cheered after the Prefecture Academy Lord died. Fang Yun was right. He was harmed again during the Holy Selection. If he is not killed, the Jing Kingdom will be in chaos and the human race will not be just!"

Many people imagined the scene and most of them nodded slightly. It was no different from killing someone to harm them during the Holy Selection.

Zhuang Wei's face turned pale.

Li Yuncong next to Fang Yun put down his chopsticks and said, "Forgive me for being blunt. The Prefecture Academy Lord was a disciple of the Left Chancellor and a lapdog of the Liu family. Liu Zicheng was also present. It is hard not to suspect him. However, Liu Zicheng finally admitted to wanting to harm Fang Yun, and that is an indisputable fact."

Fang Yun did not expect Li Yuncong, who was usually quiet, to be so sharp. He said "harm" instead of "damage to reputation." Those who knew what happened understood, but those who did not might think that Liu Zicheng had really admitted to wanting to kill Fang Yun.

Zhuang Wei said in a much smaller voice, "Fang Yun, no matter what, you and your Child Bride are safe. Since you said you have forgiven him, why don't you shake hands with him formally for my sake? We can hold a poetry gathering and invite famous people from the Great Source Prefecture. What do you think?"

Fang Yun smiled faintly and said, "Brother Zhuang, you are mistaken. I have already forgiven him in the Prefecture Academy, so there is no need for a formal reconciliation. As for the poetry gathering, I really don't have time to attend. The invitations and cards from my family can be used to start a fire and cook."

Zhuang Wei immediately frowned and said, "I don't know about the Holy Selection. If I have offended you, I apologize. I really want you two to reconcile. Don't you even give me face to attend the literary gathering?"

"Brother Zhuang, you misunderstand. I am preparing for the Prefecture Exam in June and cannot attend. I am studying for it and cannot do anything else. I hope you understand," Fang Yun said.

Zhuang Wei became very angry, but he immediately suppressed his anger and said, "I thought you were a gentleman. I personally invited you in front of everyone, but I didn't expect you to be so dismissive of me! Prefecture Exam? You just passed the Child Scholar Exam and don't even know the classics. Do you also want to take the Talented Scholar Exam with your peers? Why don't you just say you want to take the Imperial Scholar Exam with them too!"

Fang Yun smiled and said, "Brother Zhuang has good eyesight. I do want to take the Imperial Scholar Exam with my peers! If I pass the exam this year, I might even try for the Jinshi Exam. Maybe we can go to the capital together.""You... "Zhuang Wei knew that as a Presented Scholar, he couldn't be too entangled with a Child Scholar in front of the sage. Regardless of the outcome, it would be a huge loss of face. He left with a flick of his sleeve.

As Zhuang Wei and his group walked out of the cafeteria, someone beside them said, "Brother Zhuang, although Fang Yun is talented, he is too arrogant. You are a Presented Scholar, even if he declines, he should find another excuse. Why not compete with other Talented Scholars of the same year? It's laughable."

"He has great talent but lacks manners. He will suffer in the future! Brother Zhuang's kind intentions have all gone to waste."

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Zhuang Wei's expression softened, "I didn't want to argue with him, but he doesn't know how to respect others! Can you help me keep an eye on him? If he has any new poems or works, notify me immediately. If he can produce a national-level poem, I won't say a word. But if he produces anything below the prefecture level, I will make sure he knows what a Presented Scholar's criticism is!"

The other Presented Scholars smiled knowingly. One of them said, "He is just a Child Scholar after all. He hasn't experienced as many literary battles as we have. While he may be better at writing poetry, when it comes to criticism, he won't be able to match us."

As they were walking, they saw a middle-aged man in a red thick robe approaching them with a smile.

Zhuang Wei recognized him as a Child Scholar from the Academy, who didn't even have a rank and had no status in the state academy. At the moment, the man was very happy and held a scroll in his hand.

One of the Presented Scholars asked with a smile, "What good news do you have today?"

The Child Scholar replied happily, "Of course, there is good news. Fang Yun passed the impossible Please Choose Exam and won face for the Jing Kingdom. The Left Chancellor personally requested a reward for Fang Yun. The Empress Dowager appointed Fang Yun as a prince's attendant and granted him access to the palace. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel will issue official documents, and the rewards from the palace will arrive in a few days."

"Oh, then you can go."

The group of Presented Scholars looked surprised.

"This is not right. It's fine to have access to the palace, but being appointed as a prince's attendant is the same rank as the six Book of Documents officials. The king is only three years old. What is this appointment? Although the position of prince's attendant has no rank, it is generally held by officials of the sixth rank or nobles, and they must have a clean reputation. It's not something that anyone can do."

Zhuang Wei laughed, "The Left Chancellor is so cunning! Fang Yun passed the Please Choose Exam, which is a rare event in hundreds of years. If he is not rewarded, it would be too unfair. If he is rewarded, Fang Yun is so arrogant, how can he be allowed to benefit? So, he was given a useless but good-sounding position. It seems that the Left Chancellor really doesn't like Fang Yun."

"What if this is the Left Chancellor's way of showing goodwill?"

Zhuang Wei sneered, "Fang Yun, from a humble background, may not have anything else, but he has a backbone. Since he wrote 'End of the Year,' he has cut off the Left Chancellor's path. I won't attack him like Liu Zicheng did, but I'll make him suffer a bit. This is the State Academy, not a small county!"

The others knew that he was unhappy about being humiliated by Fang Yun and agreed with him.

Fang Yun was eating in the cafeteria when someone shouted at the door, "Is Fang Yun from Ji County here?"

Fang Yun felt helpless and thought, "Can't people even eat in peace?"Many people in the cafeteria looked at the clerk and then at Fang Yun with a helpless smile, sharing the same thoughts as Fang Yun.

Fang Yun stood up and said, "I am Fang Yun from Ji County. May I ask what important matter brings you here?"

The clerk walked over with a smile and said, "Congratulations, Lord Fang. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites have just sent a message via carrier pigeon, saying that you have been appointed as the prince's attendant reader and allowed to walk in the palace. This is a great honor!"

Many presented scholars showed envy. Being a prince's attendant reader was not a big deal, but being allowed to walk in the palace was not ordinary. Without this title, even a third-rank official could not enter the palace at will. This title not only showed status but also highlighted the relationship with the royal family.

However, some presented scholars thought deeply and realized that this appointment was not as important as a noble title.

Fang Yun took out a piece of silver and handed it to the clerk.

"You can't do that, you can't," the clerk pretended to refuse.

"I just want to share some joy with you. You can't find it too little," Fang Yun said, now understanding some of the rules here.

"Thank you, Lord Fang!" The clerk smiled and took the silver.

Fang Yun opened the document and saw that it said that the Left Chancellor had recommended him to the Empress Dowager.

Lu Yu leaned over and looked at the document. Fang Yun smiled and pushed the document over.

Lu Yu said unhappily, "Asking the Holy to select someone is a rare event in the Ten Nations. How can a low-ranking official like you be appointed?"

"Fang Yun is still young, no need to rush," someone said.

Li Yuncong asked, "Fang Yun, since the Left Chancellor recommended you to be the prince's attendant reader, you should write a thank-you letter."

Fang Yun smiled and said, "I naturally want to thank the Left Chancellor, but I don't need to write a letter. As a child scholar, I should spend my time studying instead of making friends with high officials. Moreover, this title of walking in the palace cannot be obtained by the Left Chancellor alone. It must be the Empress Dowager's reward. I cannot send a letter to the Empress Dowager."

The table burst into laughter, and Li Yuncong nodded.

Ning Zhiyuan said, "Fang Yun, I suggest you find a way to get a noble title and borrow two private soldiers from Jian Mei Gong or someone. You are already famous, and those rebellious literary scholars may have set their sights on you."

Fang Yun was unfamiliar with the term "rebellious literary scholars" because it was rarely mentioned. Rebellious literary scholars were humans who believed that demon barbarians were the noblest creatures or who had committed serious crimes and betrayed humanity, becoming the henchmen of demon barbarians and helping them slaughter humans. Almost all major demon barbarian clans had rebellious literary scholars working for them.

"It's not that serious, is it?" Fang Yun said.

"Maybe not. I heard that a small Tao Yuanming from Mishou was assassinated when he was a presented scholar. Although you are not even an accomplished scholar, your reputation is not worse than his, and you are easier to kill," Ning Zhiyuan said.

Fang Yun said, "Rebellious literary scholars' literary palaces will be discovered within the range of the Holy Temple's power. Local officials with official seals can easily crush their literary palaces. They won't risk their lives to kill me near the city. After all, there aren't many rebellious literary scholars."

"So you can't go too far away from Dayuan Prefecture in the future.""They won't always wait for me, right? Even if I go a little farther away from Dayuan Prefecture City, it shouldn't matter." Fang Yun said.

Lu Yu's expression became serious: "Rebellious literati are not to be feared, but what is truly terrifying is when they buy off others to be their informants. Ordinary informants don't matter much, but those scholar informants are terrifying. Especially those Child Scholars and Accomplished Scholars who have no hope of advancing their ranks. They don't need to gather the Courage to Write, as long as they are not completely rebellious, the power of the Holy Temple can't detect them."

"Thank you for the reminder, I will be careful in the future. However, I heard that some people with high-ranking positions will also trade with them?"

"Some of the miscellaneous and military strategists might. The miscellaneous ones value profit, while the military strategists use tactics, both have ways not to go against the Courage to Write. Of course, they are in the minority, or rather, they are part of the small path. Those upright miscellaneous ones are either the masters behind the ministers of One Kingdom or the Great Shang merchants, while those accomplished military strategists prefer to take from the straight and not seek from the crooked. Jianmei Gong is an example, he studied Sun Tzu's Art of War as a supplementary subject, which is why his 'Stormy Sword Poem' is so sharp."

Fang Yun curiously asked, "Those high-ranking people lack nothing, so why would they work for rebellious literati?"

"I don't know either." Lu Yu said.

Li Yuncong whispered, "Eat quickly, we can talk more when we return to the classroom."