Chapter 473: A Farce?
From Hundred Flowers Lane to the main street, there was first a moment of silence, then an uproar!
The crowd buzzed with heated discussion. The managers and important figures from the four markets in the awning-covered area shook their heads in speechless dismay, while the experts who had come to challenge the National Teaching Academy frowned in displeasure. At a time like this, the National Teaching Academy suddenly started recruiting new students? What exactly were they trying to do? The academy didn’t even have a single proper instructor or teacher right now—what kind of students were they trying to recruit? Besides, spring had long passed; any students with even a shred of potential had already taken the exams and entered the other five Ivy Academies. Even if they wanted to recruit, what decent students could they possibly find?
Regardless of what anyone thought, Preacher Xin’s words had already been spoken, and the academy’s recruitment notice had already been posted.
When the National Teaching Cavalry removed the two cordons in front of the academy, the crowd surged forward like a tide, gathering before the gate to read the recruitment notice.
“A three-year term, with a final assessment as the standard. If you pass, you’re recognized as a student of the National Teaching Academy. If you fail, get lost?”
“Who wrote this notice? It’s such a mess!”
“Hey, look at this line! Students of the National Teaching Academy don’t pay tuition, and they even get a stipend and food subsidies?”
The recruitment notice was written on red paper with black ink.
Red paper, black characters—strikingly conspicuous, clear in everyone’s eyes.
Those simple yet profoundly unconventional terms, those rules so straightforward they bordered on crude, left the onlookers utterly dumbfounded, completely at a loss for how to react.
The managers from the four markets had copies of the recruitment notice’s provisions made, so the people under the awnings and the experts preparing to challenge the academy also learned the specific details of the recruitment.
After reading the notice, the managers were even more speechless. They saw clearly that this didn’t align with Chen Changsheng’s temperament—it had to be the work of that young master from the Tang family. So, the managers from the three markets walked over to the position of Heavenly Fragrance Market and asked its manager, “What exactly is your young master trying to do? Buying time with this? Setting aside everything else, we cooperated pretty well yesterday—why not let Dean Chen try the five swords?”
Even after reading the notice, the crowd didn’t disperse. Instead, they gathered in front of the National Teaching Academy, buzzing with discussion. Up to this point, no one understood why the academy had chosen to start recruiting in the middle of summer, outside the traditional recruitment period, but that didn’t stop people from forming their own judgments.
The National Teaching Academy… probably wouldn’t recruit any students.
Never mind that the Ivy Academies had already held their spring recruitment; just considering the academy’s current situation, it was destined that few would dare to apply.
The National Teaching Academy was no longer the taboo, forgotten graveyard it had been before last year—it showed signs of rebirth. But unfortunately, this year’s situation in the capital was tense, especially with the academy caught at the forefront of the confrontation between two major forces. At a time like this, enrolling in the academy wouldn’t just mean learning nothing; it would likely invite endless trouble.
Just then, the academy’s gate opened again. Chen Changsheng and the others carried out several tables, along with brushes, ink, and registration books.
The crowd surged forward with a roar. The citizens of the capital, fearless by nature, started firing questions directly.
Fortunately, the palace priests and National Teaching Cavalry arrived quickly, cordoning off an area before Chen Changsheng and the others could be overwhelmed by the clamor.
Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six, and Xuanyuan Po sat behind three tables. Paper was laid out on the tables, ink was ground in the inkstones, and brushes rested on their stands. Only on Chen Changsheng’s table was there an additional item: the academy’s roster and the dean’s seal.
Everything was ready—all that was needed was for someone to sign up.
By now, the morning light was strong. It was eight or nine o’clock, and the fresh sun had already risen.
…
…
Time passed slowly. In front of the National Teaching Academy, there were still three tables and three people.
The crowd that had gathered around the notice had dispersed, but still, no one came to sign up.
Xuanyuan Po looked at the delicate brush on the stand, then at his own rough hands, thinking that uprooting a tree was easy, but writing was too hard… Fortunately, it seemed like no one might come today.
Chen Changsheng felt a bit embarrassed and kept his head down, but since things had come to this, he didn’t want to blame Tang Thirty-Six. He just thought helplessly, was no one really going to sign up?
Tang Thirty-Six’s table was the liveliest. From time to time, shy young women would step forward, leave a sachet, and then run off like startled deer. Bolder girls asked him to write on their fans. Of course, these girls were just using this rare opportunity to get close to him—not a single one actually signed up. Preacher Xin, responsible for maintaining order, looked increasingly grim, but Tang Thirty-Six didn’t seem bothered. Yes, he didn’t feel embarrassed at all—at least, he didn’t show it. He smiled warmly, spoke softly to the girls, tucked the gifts like sachets into his table, and earnestly promised he would use them well.
At one point, taking advantage of a brief lull at his table, Chen Changsheng leaned over and asked quietly, “Which one is Bie Tianxin?”
Tang Thirty-Six replied, “Someone like that wouldn’t just show up casually. I’ve checked—he’s not here.”
Chen Changsheng felt a bit relieved and then said, “Your table is almost full.”
Tang Thirty-Six raised an eyebrow slightly, exuding an indescribable air of smugness, and said, “Jealous of me, bro?”
Chen Changsheng lowered his head and said, “But there’s not a single registration form in your table.”
Tang Thirty-Six coughed lightly and said, “No need to rush.”
Chen Changsheng said, “I can see you’re really enjoying being surrounded by girls—you’re definitely not in a hurry.”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “What do you know? I’m building my good image. For the academy’s recruitment, I’m the living advertisement. Of course, I have to be patient and friendly.”
…
…
The news of the National Teaching Academy’s recruitment spread throughout the capital in no time. Many people, including important figures, couldn’t contain their curiosity. Some came in person, others sent capable subordinates, all wanting to know what those young men in the academy were really up to.
Two important figures had been frequenting that tea house on Hundred Flowers Lane these past few days, and of course, they didn’t miss today.
They were Priest Siyuan, who had proposed the new rules for the academies’ martial exhibition, and Mao Qiuyu, the Archbishop of the Hall of Glory, who represented the Pope’s will in overseeing matters.
Priest Siyuan looked at the desolate scene in front of the National Teaching Academy, at the three tables and three youths, and shook his head, saying, “What a farce.”
Mao Qiuyu sat across the table, watching Tang Thirty-Six wave and smile at the girls in the crowd, and said with a smile, “What a character.”
Before becoming the Archbishop of the Hall of Glory, he had been the dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Before Tang Thirty-Six entered the National Teaching Academy, he had been his student.
Priest Siyuan frowned and said, “Such a farce brings shame to the palace.”
“A farce? I don’t see it that way. Maybe they won’t recruit a single new student today, but…”
Mao Qiuyu’s smile faded, and he said calmly, “The entire continent will know that the National Teaching Academy… after nearly twenty years, has finally started recruiting again.”
…
…
The National Teaching Academy had restarted its recruitment. By “recruitment,” they meant large-scale, formal enrollment, not the situation like when Chen Changsheng had stumbled into the academy back then.
To many old-school National Teaching adherents and citizens who remembered the academy’s former glory, this was a highly symbolic event.
But at that moment, from dawn to noon, it really did look like a farce.
In front of the National Teaching Academy, there were still three tables and three youths, so desolate that even the onlookers felt awkward, let alone the participants themselves.
At some point, Tang Thirty-Six had Xuanyuan Po fetch a large umbrella from the academy’s storeroom, setting it up over the three tables to block the sun and pass the boring time.
“Is this okay?” Chen Changsheng asked, head down.
By now, the girls who had been delivering flowers couldn’t bear the scorching heat and reluctantly went home. The people still lingering in the streets and alleys watched them and gossiped, their expressions clearly mocking—though not necessarily with malice.
But at this moment in the capital, countless people were mocking them, and with deep malice.