After being bought by seven rough men and taken to the deep mountains, I was pampered.

The excitement of the Winter Solstice performance hadn't even died down when another thunderclap exploded on the snowy ground of Langya Village.

"They're here! They're here!" The fourth brother, Qin Yue, rushed into the academy, brandishing his repaired folding fan (which he'd broken last night and replaced with a more expensive one overnight): "Second brother! Sister-in-law! Stop lounging around inside! People from the capital have arrived!"

The capital? Su Wan, who was grinding ink for Qin Mo, paused, and a little ink splattered onto her sleeve.

"What's the panic?" Qin Mo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, remaining as steady as a mountain.

He slowly put down his pen, gently wiped the ink stains from Su Wan's hand with a handkerchief, and said in a calm tone, "Judging by the days, the teacher's letter should have arrived by now."

……

At the entrance of the academy.

A group of royal couriers, dressed in flying fish robes and with embroidered spring knives at their waists, stood solemnly in the snow.

The leader was holding a bright yellow scroll and a huge, long object wrapped in red cloth.

The surrounding villagers had never seen anything like it. They were all so frightened they didn't dare breathe. Even the county magistrate, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, stood trembling to one side, his forehead covered in cold sweat: "This...this is the personal guards of the Grand Tutor's mansion! The Qin family...just who is the Qin family?!"

Qin Mo, holding Su Wan's hand, stepped forward with neither arrogance nor servility. Today, he wore a bamboo-green long robe with a white fox fur coat over it, making him appear even more refined and noble in the wind and snow.

"Student Qin Mo respectfully welcomes your teachings, teacher." He bowed slightly, performing a standard disciple's salute.

The head courier immediately stepped aside and respectfully handed over the letter and the large object: "Young Master Qin, you flatter me. His Majesty the Grand Tutor has ordered that this letter is a family matter and no great ceremony is necessary. As for this plaque…"

The leader paused, then raised his voice slightly, making it resound throughout the hall: "This is a personal inscription from the Grand Tutor, congratulating the completion of Wanxiang Academy!"

Boom! The entire hall erupted in uproar! The Grand Tutor! That was the Imperial Tutor of the current dynasty! The spiritual leader of all scholars in the land!

He actually personally inscribed a plaque for a small academy in the northwest frontier?! This isn't just sending a plaque; it's practically giving them a get-out-of-jail-free card!

The auspicious time has arrived, let's unveil the plaque!

The red cloth was torn down. A heavy plaque made of golden nanmu wood was revealed. It bore only four large, vigorous characters, written in a powerful, flowing style, exuding an air of domineering arrogance.

Everything is renewed.

"Beautiful calligraphy!" "Everything is renewed... This means our academy is full of new vitality!" Everyone exclaimed in admiration.

Only Qin Mo, looking at those four words, had a hint of a smile flash in his eyes behind his glasses.

Everything is renewed.

The teacher was telling him: if you want to change your way of life, then make a hole in the sky and change it too. That suited him perfectly.

"Hang up the plaque!" The third brother, Qin Meng, brought over a specially made long ladder and placed it on the magnificent gate tower of the academy.

Logically, hanging plaques is a rough job that should be done by craftsmen. But Qin Mo took off his fox fur coat, handed it to the fourth brother beside him, and rolled up his sleeves: "I'll do it." "This is the teacher's intention, and also the face of the academy. I'll hang it myself."

He carried the plaque, which weighed a full hundred pounds, with one hand (his image as a frail scholar crumbled for a second), and gracefully climbed the ladder.

"Second Brother, be careful!" Su Wan stood at the bottom of the ladder, looking up with a nervous expression. She stretched out her hands and held tightly to both sides of the ladder, afraid that the ladder would sway and make Qin Mo fall.

Qin Mo climbed to the top and hung the plaque on the hook. He didn't rush down. Instead, he lowered his head.

Looking from this angle... the scenery is exceptionally beautiful.

Su Wan was wearing a light pink jacket and skirt, tilting her head back to reveal her long, fair neck.

Nervous, she bit her lower lip slightly, her small face glistening in the snowy light. Most shockingly, from his elevated position, he could see a breathtaking glimpse of white skin rising and falling along her slightly open neckline, trembling gently with her breath.

"Gulp." Qin Mo's Adam's apple bobbed. The wind and snow were heavy, but he felt a little hot.

"Second Brother? Is it hung up?" Su Wan couldn't help but call out when she saw that he wasn't moving.

Qin Mo's eyes darkened. He suddenly flicked his wrist. "Clang!" The plaque, which had been hanging upright, suddenly tilted to the left!

"Oh no! It's tilted! It's tilted!" Su Wan was startled and quickly hugged the ladder tightly, stamping her feet anxiously: "Second Brother, don't let your hands shake! The left side is too high! Move it a little to the right!"

Qin Mo pushed up his glasses, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

Instead of straightening it, he made the ladder wobble slightly.

"Ouch!" Su Wan exclaimed in fright, pressing herself against the ladder, her face tilted back, her large, watery eyes filled with terror: "Qin Mo! What are you doing! You scared me to death!"

"My hand slipped." Qin Mo said this nonsense with a straight face.

He lay on the top of the ladder, leaning forward, like an eagle in the clouds, looking down at the little white rabbit on the ground.

"Sister-in-law." His voice was carried by the wind and snow, and only Su Wan could hear it: "This plaque... is too upright, it's not good."

"Being too upright can attract attention and make people jealous."

"But...but it can't be crooked! It looks awful!" Su Wan said anxiously.

Qin Mo chuckled softly. His gaze lingered brazenly on her neckline, his voice low and husky: "A little off... good."

"If I lean even a little, my sister-in-law will worry that I'll fall."

And so...she'll keep holding onto my ladder so tightly.

He paused, his eyes becoming even more blatant: "Doesn't your sister-in-law know?"

"The way you held the ladder from below... the way you looked up at me..."

"It makes me want to... jump down and pin you down in the snow."

Boom! Su Wan's face instantly turned bright red! What was this person saying?! This was in broad daylight! Thousands of people were watching! He was harassing an innocent woman on a ladder?!

"You...you hurry up and finish! I'm not supporting you anymore!" Su Wan said, feeling ashamed and indignant, and tried to let go.

"Don't move." Qin Mo's voice suddenly turned deep, carrying an undeniable authority: "If you let go, I'll panic, and if this plaque falls... it'll damage all the flowers and plants."

This is a blatant threat!

Su Wan was so angry she wanted to bite him, but she didn't dare to really let go. She could only glare at him, looking like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Qin Mo felt incredibly satisfied seeing her angry but unable to speak out. He finally slowly reached out and moved the plaque an inch to the right.

"Is it correct?" he asked.

"It's straight! It's straight! Get down quickly!" Su Wan shouted.

Qin Mo then patted the dust off his hands with satisfaction and, like an elegant crane, slid down the ladder.

As soon as he landed, he naturally tucked Su Wan's icy hand into his bosom.

"Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law." He leaned close to her ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "The view up there... was... very nice. I really liked it."

Su Wan: "..." Rogue! A beast in human clothing! A scumbag of refinement!

……

"Excellent! Well done!" "Everything is renewed! Qin Family Academy is poised for great success!"

The unsuspecting onlookers erupted in thunderous applause. All they saw was Master Qin meticulously adjusting the plaque repeatedly in the wind and snow, striving for perfection—how rigorous! How dedicated!

Only the county magistrate, gazing at the gleaming gold plaque, wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said to his clerk behind him, "See that? That's true depth!"

"From now on, in Langya County, the Qin family's affairs are my affairs! Anyone who dares to cause trouble for the Qin family is going against the Grand Tutor! They are going against me!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The clerk nodded repeatedly, jotting down in his notebook: [The Qin family is not to be trifled with. Especially Second Master Qin, he is unfathomable.]