This son-in-law is wicked in a good way!

Academy.

It was a sacred place for scholars in the Great Wu Dynasty and a cradle for cultivating officials.

However, ever since it lost to the Imperial Academy in a literary contest sixty years ago, the status of the academy has been completely replaced by the Imperial Academy.

In addition, the Imperial Academy deliberately marginalized students, making it difficult for them to achieve great success in their official careers.

This has led to the gradual decline of academies that had enjoyed centuries of glory.

Beside the ancient road, inside the pavilion.

Three elderly men, all over fifty years old and dressed in long gowns, sat facing each other, their faces showing a hint of melancholy.

These are the three most renowned Confucian scholars of the academy.

Wearing a long black robe and with a thin face, Yang Tai raised his wine glass.

"Brother Fang, the academy is now being suppressed by the Imperial Academy. However, His Majesty has shown no favor and is willing to make an exception and appoint you as the Provincial Governor of Liangzhou."

"Although far from the central government, I can still govern a region, fully utilize my knowledge, and live up to my life's expectations."

"Congratulations!"

Zhang Xiaoru, dressed in a white long gown, sighed, "Yang Tai is right. In any case, you have now entered officialdom. We two don't know when we will be able to share your burdens."

Fang Jixian, dressed in a dark blue long robe, had a serious expression and a furrowed brow.

"His Majesty, mindful of our teacher-student relationship, withstood the pressure from the court officials and granted me the position of Provincial Governor of this Frontier."

"If we cannot change the current situation, I'm afraid things will only get harder and harder for my academy."

After saying this, the three of them sighed again.

Yang Tai, the most open-minded of them all, laughed loudly: "What's there to be afraid of! At worst, I'll just quit being an official."

"Today is the day your students see you off, so let's not talk about these unhappy things."

Zhang Xiaoru smiled and said, "The students know that you love poetry the most, so they specially wrote some farewell poems to see if they can meet the eyes of a great poet like you."

He waved to the young students who had been waiting in the distance: "Come on over!"

More than twenty students from the academy, dressed in white long gowns, walked over in an orderly fashion and began to recite poems.

Yang and Tai took turns reciting it.

Fang Jixian squinted, holding a wine glass in one hand, and listened quietly.

"At dusk outside the long pavilion, the autumn river is shrouded in mist..."

"How about this one?"

Each time a poem is recited, the two people will ask a question.

Fang Jixian shook his head slightly.

Fang Jixian didn't nod once until the reading was finished.

Yang Tai was getting angry. He slammed his hand on the stone table: "Hmph, you surnamed Fang, that's enough. You're a master of poetry, do you expect all your students to reach your level?"

"Would it kill you to nod and offer some encouragement to these students?"

Fang Jixian frowned and glanced at him, pointing at the dejected young students.

"Yang Tai, you're a scholar of military strategy. Can you really let them pass by going against your conscience when it comes to military strategy?"

Yang Tai blushed slightly: "Of course not!"

"A single mistake could mean the sacrifice of tens of thousands of soldiers; how can we be so careless?"

Fang Jixian smiled: "The same applies to poetry."

"If I agree, it will only harm them."

"Alright, I should go!" Fang Jixian stood up.

At this moment, a student rushed over, bowed, and said, "Gentlemen, His Majesty has arrived!"

"Hurry and greet them!" The three hurriedly stepped out of the pavilion.

Wearing a white dress, with a slender figure and a cool and noble temperament, Empress Chu Lingyu, like a fairy descended from the heavens, strode towards the pavilion with Mo Yu and a dozen guards.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Everyone bowed.

The Empress gently raised her hand and parted her cherry-red lips slightly: "No need for formalities!"

"I have come today to bid farewell to my teacher!"

Fang Jixian bowed: "Your Majesty, I am terrified!"

The Empress stepped forward and helped Fang Jixian up: "I have benefited greatly from Master Fang's teachings since childhood. Now that my master is about to embark on a long journey, it is only right and proper for me to come and see him off."

The Empress glanced at Mo Yu, and Mo Yu immediately handed the paper in her hand to the Empress with both hands.

"Knowing that Master Fang is fond of poetry, I specially requested a fine piece of his work to present to him."

Fang Jixian did not take it, but frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, you should know that I have very strict standards for judging poetry, and I fear I may offend Your Majesty!"

The implication is: Your Majesty, I don't think much of your abilities. I don't want to go against my conscience and flatter you, so please don't embarrass yourself by showing off.

Judging from Fang Jixian's personality, it is not difficult to see that the decline of the academy was inevitable.

Moreover, if all teachers have this kind of temper, how good can the students they produce be?

It was fortunate that the Empress was magnanimous; had a more petty emperor been more forgiving, Fang Jixian would have lost the emperor's favor based on just that one sentence.

The Empress clearly understood her teacher's temperament, and instead of being angry, she smiled expectantly and said, "Teacher Fang, let's observe first!"

"Your subject obeys the imperial decree!" Fang Jixian replied in a very official manner, indicating that he was acting on the emperor's orders and that he shouldn't blame him for his later sharp retort.

Yang Tai and Zhang Xiaoru, who were standing to the side, felt a sudden jolt in their hearts and secretly cried out in alarm!

Given Fang Jixian's temperament, he would probably criticize His Majesty's poem as worthless.

The academy finally produced a third-rank provincial governor, is it about to disappear?

Ugh……

The two of them couldn't help but feel dejected.

Fang Jixian opened the paper, glanced at it, and his previously calm expression suddenly tightened!

Then, his eyes lit up and his face changed drastically!

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent poem!"

"Hahaha... To receive this poem from Your Majesty, even if I were to die ten thousand times, I could never repay Your Majesty's great kindness!"

Fang Jixian immediately prostrated himself before the Empress and kowtowed.

Looking at this renowned Confucian scholar, known throughout the capital for his strictness and erudition, kneeling before her with a face full of excitement and gratitude, the Empress felt a surge of emotion.

This feeling... is actually quite enjoyable.

The Empress suppressed a laugh and slowly said, "Master Fang, please get up!"

"This poem was not written by me! I bought it from Wenxinlou."

Fang Jixian suddenly realized, "No wonder! I never imagined that Your Majesty, with your poetic talent, could create such a masterpiece!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Yu and the other students from the academy suppressed their laughter.

The Empress barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes... Couldn't you speak more tactfully? Don't I have any dignity?

Immediately, as if suddenly remembering something, Fang Jixian stood up abruptly, enraged.

"What! His Majesty actually bought this poem!"

"Fortunately, this poem fell into His Majesty's hands; if someone else had gotten hold of it..."

The thought that he had written the poem for someone else made Fang Jixian's eyes red and filled him with lingering fear.

"That damned bastard! He actually sold this kind of poem! He's utterly inhuman!"

Scholars crave fame, especially those from academies who have no hope of officialdom; they desire to be remembered in history even more than others.

This poem, no matter who it is given to, is enough to make that person famous throughout the world.

Yang Tai and Zhang Xiaoru, standing nearby, were greatly pleased.

Yang Tai said, "I never expected that even before entering officialdom, Old Fang, who is usually so straightforward, would become so tactful."

"Yes, it must have been tough on Lao Fang. But when it comes to flattering His Majesty, Lao Fang is quite convincing."

However, Yang Tai immediately looked disdainful: "Hmph, I am ashamed to associate with such sycophants!"

"Me too!"

The two men suddenly felt as if they had trampled their arrogant old friend underfoot.

Fang Jixian calmed himself down and said with a look of relief, "Fortunately, His Majesty is blessed with great fortune, and you happened to come across this poem."

"I really want to see for myself which great scholar was capable of composing this poem?"

A great Confucian scholar?

The Empress smiled slightly and said nothing.

Fang Jixian turned around and smiled slightly at his two old friends: "Yang Tai, Zhang Xiaoru, you two should also feast your eyes!"