Her guards

Chapter 40 Wei Jiao's Reading

The area outside the academy gates became lively again.

The elders in the family who had left were counting down the days to come and greet them at the door.

Mo Zheng leaned against the carriage, chewing on dry grass. She saw a girl run out first, covering her face and crying. Then she slapped the maid who was late in greeting her hard, and then got into the carriage, crying loudly. The carriage hurriedly headed towards the capital.

Seeing this, the servants of other households became even more alert, and the elders in the families also became tense.

"You lost the election, didn't you?"

"That's the daughter of the Duke of Ding'an."

"The daughter of the Duke of Ding'an wasn't selected?"

"That Miss Yang is mediocre in talent and arrogant in nature, so it's not surprising that she wasn't selected."

“Ah, you don’t understand, the Duke of Ding’an’s family has a different status…”

"How is it different? He's already an adopted nobleman."

"Sigh, stop talking. My child is out. Sigh, although he didn't cry, you can tell from his face that he was rejected."

As more and more women emerged, some looked unwell, some had blank expressions, and some were all smiling. Amidst the noise, they got into their respective cars and left.

Fewer carriages and horses remained in front of the academy, but the faces of those waiting showed joy, indicating that they had been selected.

As another woman appeared, everyone present couldn't help but lean forward, wanting to see who it was.

Mo Zheng spat out the dry grass from her mouth, flicked the whip, and the horse chewed on the fodder and trotted forward.

"Make way, make way, my young lady is coming out."

People and vehicles around them made way as the carriage, which had no nameplate and was rented from a carriage company, drove past.

The young woman who came out also quickened her pace.

"Ah Sheng!"

Yang Luo practically jumped in front of Mo Zheng, beaming with joy.

Before she could speak again, Mo Zheng bowed and said, "Congratulations on passing the imperial examination, Miss."

This was indeed the first time she had been listed and seen by people in both her past and present lives, even though she was using someone else's name. At least she had finally come into the public eye.

Yang Luo laughed.

Countless eyes turned to them from all directions, and some even came forward to ask, "May I ask your honorable name, Miss?"

Yang Luo politely returned the greeting to the visitor, who said "a person from Fuzhou," and got into the car without saying much.

At the same time, the other women also came out from behind. The ten of them walked together and their expressions were somewhat complicated when they saw Yang Luo getting into the car.

"Miss Liu, why are you running so fast?" a young woman said.

The selected ladies had just stayed behind to listen to the instructors explain some important points about attending school. Afterwards, as classmates, they should get to know each other better. But as soon as they turned around, Miss Liu ran away.

Jiang Rui said calmly, "Miss Liu may not want to associate with us."

The other young ladies watched thoughtfully as the unassuming carriage, driven slowly away by a young servant, drove off.

……

....
After the contestants and the princess's carriage left, the guards followed, and the area outside the academy returned to quiet.

But the silence didn't last long, as another group of men in black rushed in.

Some people dismounted and knelt down first, and Wei Jiao stepped on them and jumped down, walking towards the door. The embroidered men stood in formation in front of the academy, as if the night had been drawn back early.

The instructor on duty had already seen this scene and frowned slightly, but as Wei Jiao approached, he didn't say anything and turned his gaze away.

At this moment, the students in the academy had all finished their studies and were either practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard or gathering together to talk about poetry and philosophy. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful, but when Wei Jiao walked over, they froze instantly.

All eyes were on Wei Jiao.

When the National Academy was established, the Embroidered Robe had already been established, and Wei Jiao's rampant cruelty became known to the world in less than half a year.

They originally thought they wouldn't have anything to do with such people, but unexpectedly, Wei Jiao also appeared casually during a large lecture, accompanied by a group of embroidered men. The whole room was in an uproar, thinking that the embroidered men were going to raid the National Academy.

Unexpectedly, Wei Jiao smiled and said that he came to study.

The students were even more shocked, but the chief priest did not drive them away; he only asked him to disperse the embroidered-clothes attendants.

"I just wanted to show you, teacher, how powerful I am now."

Wei Jiao smiled at the Grand Master of Ceremonies and said, "Do as instructed, have the embroidered maids withdraw from the Imperial Academy."

The students present were shocked once again by the word "teacher".

Wei Jiao was actually a disciple of the Imperial Academy Chief?

Then more news spread that when His Majesty first summoned the great Confucian scholars to the capital to debate the classics, Wei Jiao also came, intending to become Wang Zaitian's disciple, and Wang Zaitian did indeed accept Wei Jiao as his student.

"He was only instructed in his studies; he was not taken on as a disciple."

Those in the know have repeatedly explained.

The news brought the students a slight sense of relief, but they still felt uneasy, especially since they would see Wei Jiao at the Chinese Academy every now and then.

"Education should be provided to all without discrimination." That's all the people can say.

Wei Jiao seemed used to the students' stares, not even glancing at them, and walked through the courtyard, into the covered corridor, heading straight for the library. "Wei Jiao."

A sound came from in front of the library.

Wei Jiao looked up and saw Ling Yu standing above the steps.

Ling Yu frowned and said, "This month is almost over, and you've only come once."

Wei Jiao took a few steps up the steps to the front of the library.

“Scholar, reading non-stop is reading, but does reading once a month not count as reading?” he said with a sneer. “As long as you have a thirst for knowledge, even if you don’t read a book for a day, it’s still reading.”

“Your heart isn’t in the books,” Lingyu said. “Reading more doesn’t make it reading.”

Wei Jiao suddenly moved closer to him. Although they were about the same age, he was taller and looked down at Ling Yu with his eyes: "Scholar, do you think a person can still read if they lose their eyes?"

This was undoubtedly a threat, and Ling Yu's expression changed slightly.

"Alright, stop arguing."

An aged voice came from above the library. The chief priest, Wang Zaitian, leaned out from the third floor, clutching a scroll in his hand.

"Are you trying to stop people from studying?"

Ling Yu kept a straight face and didn't say anything, while Wei Jiao smiled at Wang Zaitian, his eyebrows and eyes sparkling.

"Teacher, I'm here to study."

Wang Zaitian said calmly, "Still the west pavilion on the second floor." He then shrank back, afraid of delaying his reading.

Wei Jiao bumped Ling Yu aside and went inside.

.......
.......
As night fell, a small room on the second floor of the library was brightly lit.

There was a bookshelf against the wall, but it was half empty at the moment, and the books were placed on the table.

Wei Jiao leaned back, one elbow resting on the book, the other hand turning the pages, his gaze sweeping across it.

"That's utter nonsense."

He said that he gripped the page in his hand, and with a tearing sound, the page was ripped off and fell to the ground with a flick of his wrist.

Dozens of pages were scattered on the ground.

"Propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame? Where is there any such thing? It's all a lie."

With a tearing sound, another page was ripped from the book and fluttered to the ground.

As the night deepened, fewer and fewer books remained on the table, while the scattered pages on the floor grew thicker and thicker.

Wei Jiao held the last page of the book in her hand, sat up straight, stretched out her arms, and the pages in her hand were torn into strips as she stretched.

"Sanctimonious."

"The heart of a beast with a human face."

"Deceiving yourself."

"Pretending to be something they're not."

"hypocrisy."

As the paper slips fluttered in the air, Wei Jiao lay down, stretched amidst the scattered pages of books, and closed his eyes.

"They're all beasts."

……

.......
As dawn broke, Ling Yu pushed open the door to the west pavilion on the second floor. Wei Jiao had already left, leaving only scattered pages of books on the floor.

"He's inhuman!" Ling Yu cursed through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with heartache. She then shouted upstairs, "Teacher!"

Wang Zaitian peeked out from the stairs.

"Is this what reading is?" Ling Yu said angrily. "Why have we let him do this for so many years? Why can't we just stop him from reading?"

"What is the purpose of reading? To cultivate oneself, gain wisdom, and find joy in life," Wang Zaitian said, looking at Ling Yu. "You find joy through loving books, that is reading. He finds peace through hating books. Since both have gained something, how can it not be considered reading?"

Ling Yu remained silent for a moment, then bowed to Wang Zaitian and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir."

Wang Zaitian smiled and said, "Go on, go on, go study." Then, as if remembering something, he instructed, "Have the students copy more books and add them here."

Ling Yu sighed and glanced again at the messy West Pavilion.

“Teacher, you have it tough too. You have to keep the students the emperor sent you,” he said, looking up at Wang Zaitian above him and suddenly smiling. “What’s even more pitiful is that the students you want to take as your disciples don’t want to study with you.”

Wang Zaitian raised his hand and slammed a scroll down.

"Get out of here."

Ling Yu caught the book that was thrown at her perfectly and walked out with a smile.

Wang Zaitian stood on the stairs, watching his disciple's retreating figure, and gently shook his head.

"For some people, reading is a luxury."

(End of this chapter)