Chapter 8: New Developments at the National Academy
(Three years is indeed a very long time, long enough to forget many things... Well, mainly because this past year has felt so long for me, and I forgot many things. Last night, I was in a hurry to pick up a leader whose flight had been delayed for an entire day, and I wasn't thinking clearly when I wrote. In yesterday's chapter, there was an obvious mistake—back then, Chen Changsheng had indeed taken Xu Yourong on a tour of the National Academy, and they had even run into Tang Thirty-Six. Although that tour wasn't very thorough, and Chen Changsheng knew she had been to the National Academy the previous night, he shouldn't have been puzzled about how she knew the location of the bamboo dragonfly. I apologize to everyone. I'll be more careful when writing in the future. But after thinking it over, I decided not to change it. First, I'm truly lazy and tired. Second, I really like this scene. I particularly enjoy the image of someone returning to a familiar place after years have passed, and I like them strolling and chatting like this. If life could always be like the first meeting—she was originally a girl of first encounters—then let's just forcibly treat every meeting as a first encounter. Also, I'd like to recommend a book to everyone: *The Hilarious Corpse Bride is Super Cute* /bk/xhyq/. It's written by Hunter_wu's young girlfriend. Everyone is welcome to check it out.)
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That young man, hearing the sounds coming from outside the grove, showed a terrified expression on his face. He turned to leave, but it was already too late.
Accompanied by a flurry of footsteps, over a dozen young people ran into the grove and surrounded the young man in the middle.
Seeing the bruises and swelling on the young man's face, his disheveled and dusty appearance, some of the young people wore contemptuous looks and sneered, while more of them had eyes that began to gleam, clearly becoming somewhat excited, as if they were ready to bully this young man even more harshly.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were also in the grove, but they were hidden by several clumps of winter plum blossoms, unnoticed by these people.
Seeing the pitiful state of that young man, Chen Changsheng's expression darkened.
Upon hearing the young man's name and seeing the academy uniforms worn by those young people, his expression turned even uglier.
The young man wiped the tear stains from his face with his sleeve and said in a trembling voice, "If you keep this up, I'm going to report you to the instructors."
"Haven't you already reported it last month? Didn't you just go again just now?"
A young student sneered at him, saying, "Which instructor would bother with your affairs?"
The young man mustered his courage and said, "His Holiness the Pope has returned! He's coming to the National Academy!"
Hearing this, those young students' expressions shifted slightly, unease flickering in their eyes, but that unease quickly turned into ruthlessness.
That young student barked harshly, "Do you think that just because His Holiness the Pope is back in the capital, you have a backer? What kind of great figure is His Holiness the Pope? How could he bother with such trivial matters? Besides, you're the son of a disgraced official—you have no right to be studying here at all!"
A pained expression appeared on the young man's face, but he forced himself to say, "My mother said it was His Holiness the Pope who allowed me to study here!"
"Can you really believe the ravings of that mother of yours? You staying here only causes trouble for the National Academy. We're trying to drive you out for the sake of the academy. No one can fault us for that. Don't blame us for being harsh—blame your foolish mother if you must."
Those young students pressed in on the young man, cursing nonstop.
Xu Yourong glanced at Chen Changsheng and said, "I'll go take a casual look around."
With that, she left.
She knew that Chen Changsheng didn't want to witness these things, nor did he want others to see them, even if that person was her.
This was a matter for the National Academy.
The National Academy belonged to him, to Luoluo, to Xuan Yuan Po, to Tang Thirty-Six, to Su Moyu.
One of the young students kicked at the young man.
With a sharp crack, a pebble shot through the air and struck that student's knee with perfect accuracy.
The student cried out in pain, collapsing directly to his knees, clutching his leg and rolling around, wailing.
The other students were startled and quickly helped him up, looking around the grove and demanding, "Who's there?"
The plum thicket rustled slightly as a faintly cold wind swept through.
Chen Changsheng stepped into the clearing, looked at the young man named Xue Baoqin, and asked, "Are you General Xue's son?"
Hearing the title "General Xue," the young man was momentarily stunned before nodding in realization.
The young students were astonished.
On the night of the Mausoleum of Books incident, Xue Xingchuan had been poisoned to death by Zhou Tong.
As the most powerful military figure of the Tianhai dynasty, even after his death, he had found no peace, his corpse left exposed outside the city for over ten days.
Three years had passed, and when people mentioned Xue Xingchuan, no one called him General Xue anymore, not even Lord Xue.
The generals he had personally promoted and his battle-hardened old subordinates naturally faced hardship in the new dynasty, struggling to survive in Cong Province.
The life of Lady Xue and her son, who remained in the capital, was naturally extremely difficult. If not for the occasional visits from the Li Palace, Mo Yu's two special visits after returning to the capital on imperial orders, and Prince Chenliu's covert assistance, they would likely have been expelled from the Way of Peace long ago.
But it was clear that this young Master Xue was also having a hard time at the National Academy.
Those young students asked uneasily, "Who are you?"
Chen Changsheng ignored them and said to Xue Baoqin, "You should report this kind of thing to the instructors."
Xue Baoqin felt terribly wronged, his eyes reddening as he said in a trembling voice, "I did, but the instructors didn't do anything. Then they beat me even harder."
Chen Changsheng recalled the conversation he had overheard and thought, so that's how it is... but how could this be?
"If the instructors won't handle it, then you should go to someone who can discipline them, like your Vice Dean Su."
Over the past few years, with him, Luoluo, Tang Thirty-Six, and Zhexiu all away from the capital, the National Academy had been managed entirely by Su Moyu alone.
Su Moyu was now the Vice Dean of the National Academy.
Hearing this, Xue Baoqin felt even more aggrieved, thinking to himself, I'm just an ordinary student—how could I easily get an audience with a great figure like Dean Su?
Chen Changsheng said, "Tell your mother about these things. She'll naturally find a way to see him."
Xue Baoqin replied, "How can a son let his mother worry?"
Chen Changsheng liked his response and said with a smile, "Then come with me. I'll take you to see him."
With that, he led Xue Baoqin out of the grove.
The dozen or so young students wanted to stop him, but found they couldn't move their feet, let alone dare to chase after him.
In their eyes, this person seemed about the same age as them, yet he possessed a kind of serene nobility that made them hesitate to act rashly.
The National Academy wasn't a place where just anyone could come and go freely. They were certain they had never seen this fellow student before, nor did any young instructor look like this.
Who was he?
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to them.
The student whose knee had been struck by the stone was supported by his companions, barely standing on one leg, when suddenly his leg gave way and he collapsed to the ground.
The faces of the other young students instantly turned deathly pale, whiter than the snow outside the grove.
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In the deepest part of a building on the western side of the National Academy.
Su Moyu looked at the instructor before him, a mix of disgust and anger in his eyes, but he ultimately suppressed it. Turning toward the window, he said, "A faculty meeting will be held shortly, and a reprimand will be issued. Those students will be punished according to the academy's rules."
The instructor kept his head down, wiping sweat continuously, occasionally unable to resist glancing up at the window.
By the window stood a young man.
So His Holiness the Pope really was this young. So His Holiness the Pope truly had ties with the Xue family.
Back then, when Chen Changsheng had handled Xue Xingchuan's funeral arrangements, everyone in the capital knew about it, but many thought it was just a momentary impulse of his.
The instructor felt deep regret.
Chen Changsheng turned to face Su Moyu, his expression unchanged, but his mood was slightly different.
Su Moyu's handling was a bit lenient, but still acceptable. He hadn't considered that by stepping in personally, this instructor and those young students would face greater consequences. But he didn't understand how someone as steady, upright, serious, and meticulous as Su Moyu could let something like this happen at the National Academy.
Su Moyu should have been well aware that Xue Xingchuan's son being allowed to study at the National Academy was his arrangement.
Moreover, in handling this matter, Su Moyu seemed to be facing some difficulty.
This was the National Academy. What difficulty could there be in dealing with one instructor and a dozen or so students?
Chen Changsheng looked at the instructor and suddenly felt he looked familiar.
Then, a memory from the past came back to him.
Three years ago, when the National Academy was surrounded by the Black Armored Heavy Cavalry, the disciples of the Southern Creek Sect and Su Moyu had guarded the academy gate, locked in a standoff with the situation extremely tense.
Just before that old Eunuch Lin was about to forcefully break into the academy, over a dozen students and several instructors had left the National Academy through the back door.
Su Moyu had recorded the names of those students and instructors at the time, and Chen Changsheng had later seen the list.
If his memory served him right, the instructor before him now was one of those people.
This man had returned to the National Academy?
Did that mean those instructors and students had also returned to the National Academy?
What had happened at the National Academy?
Chen Changsheng looked at Su Moyu and asked, "Who allowed him to return?"
Su Moyu knew he had recognized the man. He sighed, ready to explain the matter.
"National Academy Instructor Mei Chuan pays respects to His Holiness the Pope."
A voice sounded from outside the room.
Chen Changsheng looked at Su Moyu.
Su Moyu nodded, a complex expression on his face. (To be continued.)