Miao Chu

Chapter 70 Listen to advice
Cai Xiuben said this as a joke, but as soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

A moment later, a cold laugh was heard: "What kind of cleverness is this? Playing such petty tricks, always scheming and groveling outside, not acting like a student at all, I can't stand it!"

Everyone hurriedly looked over and saw that the speaker was none other than Kong Fuyang, one of the four students of the Imperial Academy. They dared not say a word and could only pick up their pens and pretend to be diligently reviewing the papers.

While pretending not to notice what was happening around them, the students were actually straining to open their eyes as wide as possible, hoping to hear Kong Fuyang's next words more clearly.

Wow!
The second-ranked among the four scholars of the Imperial Academy is fighting with the first-ranked one!
Kong Fuyang is talking badly about Han Li behind his back!

It should be noted that Kong Fuyang went on a study tour for more than a year shortly after enrolling in the school, and had only returned a few months ago.

This person has a fiery temper, but his scholarship is undeniable; in every examination, he ranked second only to Han Li.

He stands up to point out flaws, which gives him more confidence than others.

Cai Xiu, who had brought up the topic first, quickly said to Kong Fuyang, "I was just joking. Why take it so seriously, Brother Kong? His writing is excellent, and it is widely known in the academy and the capital. He was temporarily transferred to the capital government this time, which allowed him to avoid being reviewed. I think it was partly a coincidence and partly a testament to his ability..."

But before he could finish speaking, Kong Fuyang sneered again, "Is Han Li the only one in this world who can write articles?"

Cai Xiu seemed to be taken aback by these words. She looked at the people in the room who were grading papers, and seeing that no one responded, she quickly smiled and said, "All of you here are outstanding in your writing to be able to enter the upper dormitory."

As he spoke, he first praised Kong Fuyang, saying, "Brother Kong's writing is vigorous and powerful, and ordinary people can hardly match it."

Kong Fuyang's face darkened, and he remained silent.

Seeing this, Cai Xiu looked at the person beside him and said, "A few days ago, the master praised Brother Meng, saying that your long poem is fresh and natural."

The person he mentioned, who had been looking down and holding a vermilion pen as if carefully reviewing papers, trembled upon hearing Cai Xiu's praise. He almost dropped the pen and hurriedly moved it away, shaking his head frantically, saying, "I only received encouragement from you all by chance. I am far inferior to you all. Cai, Kong, Han, and Dou are still the best at poetry and prose!"

He was very careful and even deliberately changed the order of the four sons' ranking.

Cai Xiu frowned slightly, then turned to her right and praised the person on her right for having a "magnificent writing style".

Kong Fuyang is not someone to be trifled with, and although Han Li wasn't present, he's someone who never suffers a loss. Who would want to get involved in this mess?

The one praised for his "magnificent writing style" quickly waved his hand, but he was not as clever as the previous one, who could also rearrange the order, and just said stupidly, "No, no, it's not as good as Han and Kong!"

Seeing that one or two of them were all pretending to be stupid, Kong Fuyang's temper, which was only three or four points, was suddenly ignited. He angrily said, "You are afraid to clash with him, but I am not. How can you do things like this!"

As he spoke, he threw down his pen, got up, and walked out.

Cai Xiu was startled and hurriedly exclaimed, "Brother, what are you doing? He's on a temporary assignment; what does it have to do with us!"

He added, “He has the transfer order from the Kyoto government, so the schoolmaster won’t say a word. Even if he goes to the teacher, my dear brother, you haven’t been back long and don’t know that Zhengyan is the only one in the teacher’s eyes. Everyone treats him differently. Why bother hitting a brick wall?”

Kong Fuyang turned around and sneered, "What teacher or schoolmaster are you looking for? I, Kong Fuyang, never do things behind people's backs. I'll go and ask Han Li right now how dare he stand out from the crowd like this! Isn't he a student at the Imperial Academy?! Does he think he can act recklessly just because he can write a few articles?!"

When Cai Xiu had only tried to stop Kong Fuyang from going to find the schoolmaster and teacher, she was genuinely startled to hear that he was actually going to find Han Li.

He hurriedly left his seat and went to chase after him. He accidentally bumped into the chair behind him, stumbled, and almost fell. He didn't care and rushed forward as if running to grab Kong Fuyang.

"Brother Kong! Brother Kong! Why are you paying attention to him for no reason! If you leave now, the teacher will come later and ask what will happen if he finds you missing?"

"Calm down, calm down. There are so many papers to grade, and I'm worried about how long it will take. Han Li has been on secondment to the capital's government office, and he's coming back later and later every day. He didn't come back all night last night, and I suppose he won't be back tonight either. Your trip back and forth will not only be a waste of time, but it will also delay things. Who knows when you'll finish grading them!"

"He still dares to stay out all night?!" Kong Fuyang's eyes were practically spitting fire. "Is the headmaster really going to ignore this?!"

Cai Xiu was genuinely terrified and sweating profusely.

With his silver tongue and great effort, he finally managed to persuade Kong Fuyang to come back.

Seeing that the other person was forcibly dragged back to his seat, still looking angry with his eyes wide open and nose twitching, Cai Xiu said, "Brother Kong, if you're really unhappy, there will be a day when this temporary assignment ends. When that day comes, I'll go with you to talk to Han Li!"

Kong Fuyang frowned and said, "It's me who can't stand people and can't stand his behavior. Don't interfere, lest you get caught in the crossfire!"

"Brother Kong, please don't say that. You speak out against injustice when you see it; that's just your nature. How could you be someone who can't tolerate others!"

After Cai Xiu and Kong Fuyang finished speaking, they turned back to the people in the room and said, "Please give me some face and pretend that I didn't see anything today. Don't spread this around, please don't spread this around!"

The other students dared not say a word. They agreed, but exchanged glances with each other, only refraining from whispering because the person in question was present.

Originally, when everyone was grading papers, they would often chat and complain. But since this incident, even the coughs have become rare, with only muffled coughs remaining. The atmosphere in the room is indescribable.

The papers were graded until late at night.

It was almost 11 PM when the teacher finally arrived with his men. He first checked everyone's corrections and then asked them if they had gained anything.

The people in the room were mostly silent, with only a couple of people offering a few perfunctory replies.

Only Cai Xiu stepped forward with a smile, said a lot of things, thanked the teacher for giving her the opportunity to review the papers, and then listed several benefits.

First, I'll talk about how I should write on the exam paper in the future. I can't just focus on making the characters look nice; I also need to consider writing them larger so that the examiner doesn't have to strain their eyes when reading them.

It is also said that when studying, one should not focus on what one thinks is important, because often what one does not pay much attention to will be on the exam.

He also said that through this grading process, he learned that he should be selective in answering questions, and not to dwell on questions whose meaning he couldn't recall, so as not to waste time later, etc.

The teacher was very satisfied with what he heard and said, "People can't teach you everything, but they can teach you everything. When you're grading papers, don't just change the answers. If you put your heart into grading like Cai Xiu, you'll naturally gain something. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time!" He then urged them to go back and rest and even set a time for them to come back the next day.

In front of the teacher, everyone readily agreed and dispersed, but afterwards they couldn't help but gossip among themselves.

Cai Xiuxian helped the teacher organize the papers and saw him to the door. After returning, she waited for Kong Fuyang and accompanied him back to his dormitory. On the way, she naturally gave him some advice, urging him not to overthink things.

In front of Cai Xiu, Kong Fuyang didn't say much. After he finished washing up, it was already midnight. He didn't go to bed, but changed into his outdoor clothes and said to his roommate, "I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later. Don't lock the door."

Although his roommates were grading papers in the next room today, students don't keep secrets, so they naturally heard the whole story. Seeing this, they quickly asked, "Where are you going? You're not going to see Han Li, are you?"

When he found out that they were roommates, the person advised him, "Why do you have to take the lead? Han Li is good at both scholarship and writing, and he has always been unique. He's not the only one; there are often other people who are unconventional and don't return to school after receiving transfer orders."

He added, “That Cai Xiu is using you as a pawn. He’s no good at all. Just look at what he said to the teacher today. Everyone else is annoyed, saying that everything he said was something they had discussed privately during the day. He didn’t just listen to it, but took it and recited it to the teacher, as if he had figured it all out himself, and even got the teacher’s praise because of it…”

“I’m not stupid, of course I can see that Cai Xiu has ill intentions,” Kong Fuyang said. “But I’m going to find Han Li myself, it has nothing to do with Cai Xiu—I don’t care about others, but that Han guy can’t be allowed to run rampant!”

At this point, Kong Fuyang gritted his teeth.

"I have been studying abroad for more than a year and have received many articles copied from the capital. Judging from their writings, I thought Han Li was a man with great ambitions and aspirations. Who knew that after returning, he would be so presumptuous and reckless? I cannot tolerate such behavior! I must ask him face to face to find out the truth before I can truly understand him!"

As he spoke, he promptly turned and left, closing the door behind him.

The roommate lay on the bed, bewildered. He felt that he could understand Kong Fuyang's mentality to some extent, but he also couldn't quite understand it. He didn't even know how to persuade him, so he could only sigh and watch the other person close the door and leave.

The man thought to himself: No wonder my writing is not as good as his; it all starts with my brain, which is just not as strange as his!
***
Then Kong Fuyang picked up a small candle and went straight to Han Li's bedroom.

It was already lights out, so the dormitory was naturally pitch black.

He knocked on the door and called out "Han Li" a few times. After a while, the door opened from the inside, but it was someone else who answered.

When the man saw Kong Fuyang, he was taken aback and said, "So it's Brother Kong. Zhengyan has been very busy since he received the transfer order from the capital prefecture. He hasn't been back much these past few days. If you have something to ask him, you might as well tell me and I'll pass on the message."

Kong Fuyang did not have the other party relay the message, but simply asked, "Has Han Li not come home to sleep these past few nights?"

Only after receiving a positive answer did he thank them, suppress his anger, and take his leave.

However, by sheer coincidence, just as Kong Fuyang stepped out of the row of dormitories, he saw someone walking towards him.

The man strode forward, carrying a lantern in his hand, which illuminated his face somewhat in the darkness.

—It was none other than Han Li!
His anger finally met its match, like a pillow for someone who's been dozing off. Kong Fuyang immediately went to greet him, calling out, "Han Zhengyan!"

Han Li raised the lantern, looked at the face of the person in question, and said in surprise, "So it's Brother Kong. What brings you here in the middle of the night?"

"You still know it's the middle of the night? You're asking me? I should be asking you!"

Kong Fuyang's temper flared up immediately, and he questioned, "It's well past the lights-out time. According to the rules of the Imperial Academy, students are not allowed to return to school late. Did you follow the rules and ask the instructor and teacher for leave?"

"Of course I'll invite you," Han Li said.

These words were like stirring up a hornet's nest, and Kong Fuyang became even angrier.

"What did you write in your previous articles? When you criticized others, you accused them of abusing their power for personal gain and disregarding rules. So what are you doing today? Everyone is gathered to grade papers, but you are the only one standing outside. Aren't you different from everyone else?!"

"If you were really going to some important places, that would be fine, but what can a student like you do in the Kyoto government office? Apart from organizing files and cleaning up archives, you'll have plenty of opportunities to do those things in the future. You're completely putting the cart before the horse!"

After he finished speaking, he went on to make several more accusations.

Han Li frowned upon hearing this and said, "I am busy right now and cannot be long-winded. I only have three things to say."

"Firstly, I had already reported the transfer order from the Kyoto Prefectural Government to the school director and teacher and received their consent. It was not that I was disobeying the rules."

As he spoke, the slip of paper happened to be in his pocket, and he took it out with one hand.

Kong Fuyang reached out and took the lantern. He looked at it closely and found that all the procedures were in place, and even the dormitory students had signed their names on it. Suddenly, the raging fire above his head felt like it had been doused by a small spring.

"Secondly, grading exam papers is not a student's responsibility. It's just that the people at the Imperial Academy respect their teachers and are willing to help. If you have something to do, you don't have to go. The others can also choose not to go. If I, Han, act differently from everyone else, then what about Brother Kong who has been traveling and studying for a year?"

Kong Fuyang was still holding the slip of paper in his hand. When he heard the second point, the other half of the fire was also doused with a ladle of water, leaving only a small flame. Even if it tried to burn, it looked pitiful.

He hurriedly defended himself, saying, "I also went through the approval process layer by layer before I left!"

Han Li ignored him and continued, "Thirdly, Brother Kong has been traveling and studying for the past year, so he should know best that I should testify based on facts. The affairs of the prefectural government in the capital are numerous, and it is the perfect place to do things..."

When it came to this third point, Kong Fuyang suddenly became enthusiastic and said, "It is precisely because I have been studying abroad that I know that staying in the government office for only one or two months is just being bossed around and you can't really learn anything. Once you get an official position, you will naturally have plenty of opportunities to learn. Why waste your time here?"

At this point, his anger subsided, and his tone became somewhat candid. He said, "Han Zhengyan, I'm not afraid to speak frankly to you. I've been reading your articles for over a year and have long admired you. It's truly a pity to see you not focusing on your studies but wasting time on trivial matters. Please listen to my advice..."

He was about to persuade him further when Han Li suddenly said, "I have a case on my hands, time is tight, there's a lot to do, and we're desperately short-handed right now. I need someone to do the hard work and help organize the files—would you be willing to come?"

Kong Fuyang frowned and said, "Why won't you listen to advice?"

“The case now involves hundreds of perpetrators and over a hundred victims. I cannot disclose the specific details of the case. If you are interested in getting involved, go back immediately to pack a change of clothes and meet me here in 15 minutes. We must leave immediately without delay.”

(End of this chapter)