Chapter 156: Chapter 148: Accomplishment Through Thought, Ruin Through Whim (Part 2)

"Alas, what are we to do now..."

Several quick-witted people exchanged a glance. They immediately turned, pushed their way out of the crowd, and ran from the academy.

Missing the first registration didn’t matter. At worst, they would just have to spend a little extra to take the place of another student in the study hall.

Or they could find a way to use their connections to get to Mr. Yue Ming and try to become Chen Yi’s student.

For students from prominent families, this was not a difficult task.

Even if Mr. Yue Ming disagreed, they could find a way to petition the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion.

They absolutely could not miss this opportunity.

One must understand that proficiency in Calligraphy also brought certain advantages in the imperial examinations.

Although no past imperial examination had ever explicitly tested Calligraphy, observant people had noticed that students accomplished in Calligraphy would receive some preferential treatment, even if their essays were slightly lacking.

They might be favored by the chief examiner or praised by certain great scholars. In any case, there were always some benefits.

But aside from the students inside and outside the study hall, the busiest person right now was Ma Guan himself.

Ordered by Mr. Yue Ming and the others, he continued to write, character by character, on the sand tray.

Streaks of radiance manifested, only to vanish as the sand tray was smoothed over.

By the end, Ma Guan’s face, which had originally held some color, was now pale and drenched in sweat.

Seeing this, Chen Yi had to interrupt. "Characters written at the level of Minor Success in the Calligraphy Dao are extremely mentally taxing. Let’s stop here for today."

Mr. Yue Ming and the others, though not yet fully satisfied, finally nodded. "Heming should indeed get some rest."

Hearing this, Ma Guan let out a long breath, weakly got up, and bowed. "I will continue to work hard in the future and strive to achieve Great Success in the Calligraphy Dao as soon as possible."

Chen Yi shook his head. "Just do your best. Don’t try to run before you’ve learned to walk."

Ma Guan was slightly taken aback, then bowed solemnly again. "This student will remember your teachings, teacher."

Just as Chen Yi was about to announce that class was over for the day, Mr. Yue Ming came to his side and said in a low voice:

"Qingzhou, this is your first class, after all. It wouldn’t be right to only write three characters."

Chen Yi glanced at him. How could he not understand his intentions?

He asked with a half-smile, "What instructions does the Headmaster have for me?"

"How about you write a piece of calligraphy to hang in the study hall, to encourage the students of our Guiyun Academy?"

"No."

"Ahem... On behalf of the students, I thank..."

Seeing Mr. Yue Ming about to give another deep bow, Chen Yi quickly took a step to the side. "Stop."

Mr. Yue Ming immediately stopped, looking at him with a pained expression on his old face.

Seeing this, Chen Yi shook his head helplessly. "Headmaster, I’m only letting this slide because you’re my elder."

"If there’s a next time, don’t blame me for switching the Yunsong Paper back to the sand tray."

"I guarantee it won’t happen again."

Beside them, Mr. Zhuo Ying and the others silently chuckled and cursed the shameless old man, but they didn’t speak up to ruin Mr. Yue Ming’s good fortune.

After all, their scheme of using Yunsong Paper to trick Chen Yi into creating a calligraphy piece couldn’t be exposed.

Otherwise, if Chen Yi got angry, none of them would benefit.

Fortunately, Chen Yi didn’t know about this.

After agreeing to Mr. Yue Ming’s request, he picked up his brush and spread the ink, writing a line of characters on a wide sheet of Yunsong Paper:

"Excellence is born of diligence and destroyed by frivolity; success is born of contemplation and ruined by caprice."

Although this sentence couldn’t compare to the Four Sentences of Hengqu, it was a reflection of the "gentlemanly conduct" Chen Yi saw in Ma Guan.

At the same time, it served as his message to the students.

Whether in practicing writing, studying, or conducting oneself, only with both diligence and virtue could one become accomplished.

When Mr. Yue Ming and the others saw the content on the paper, along with the free and easy spirit between the lines, their earlier thoughts of scheming against Chen Yi inevitably made them feel a little ashamed.

"On behalf of..."

Before they could finish, Chen Yi dropped the Wolf Hair Brush and turned to walk out of the study hall.

’Again?’

’Do they really think my lifespan is endless?’

Mr. Yue Ming and the others exchanged a glance, smiles appearing on their faces.

"Headmaster, you are truly a disgrace to the scholarly arts."

"Heh heh."

"The scum of the literati!"

"Heh heh."

Seeing this, Mr. Zhuo Ying and the others knew that Mr. Yue Ming had thrown all face to the wind, so they immediately chased after Chen Yi.

Mr. Yue Ming, of course, paid them no mind, a smile on his face as he carefully put away the two sheets of Yunsong Paper.

As he turned his head, he saw the students inside and outside the study hall. His old face couldn’t help but flush, and he feigned a cough before saying:

"I will go mount this calligraphy piece first, to prevent it from getting damaged..."

「...」

While Chen Yi was being led away by the teachers of Guiyun Academy, laughing and talking, the Qingjing Residence within the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion was not so quiet.

The Prefect of Shu State, Liu Si, had arrived with three people from the Imprisonment Department.

At first, the atmosphere was relatively relaxed.

But when Hundred Households Fang Hongxiu of the Imprisonment Department mentioned the discovery in the West Market from the night before last, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

"The Xiao Family?"

"Hundred Households Fang, are you implying that the person who murdered Liu Jing was one of the Xiao family?"

The Elder Master was calm, but a trace of anger had already appeared on Xiao Wang’s face beside him.

Fang Hongxiu paused, then rose and bowed. "My apologies, Second Master Xiao. I was merely stating the facts of the matter. I am not certain that the ’Xiao Family’ Sun Erhu mentioned is the Marquis’s Mansion."

Xiao Wang stared at her and snorted coldly. "Coming to the Xiao Family to mention this matter doesn’t seem as simple as you claim."

Just as Fang Hongxiu was about to explain further, she saw Liu Si beside her wave his hand.

"Hundred Households Fang, what the Second Master says is not without reason."

"Since the Imprisonment Department is uncertain of the killer’s identity, it was inappropriate for you to mention the ’Xiao Family’ in front of the Marquis."

Fang Hongxiu pressed her lips together slightly, bowed, and retreated to her seat.

But the middle-aged man beside her was not about to give up. He stood up, bowed, and said:

"Reporting to the Marquis, although the Imprisonment Department is not certain if the killer is from the Xiao family,"

"all the clues we currently have do indeed point to the Xiao Family."

He was about forty years old, with a gaunt figure, prominent cheekbones, and unremarkable features.

As he spoke these solemn words, his long, narrow face looked somewhat sharp-featured and cunning.

At his words, the great hall fell silent.

Liu Si frowned slightly and said no more, only looking at Old Marquis Xiao.

Fang Hongxiu was slightly surprised.

But Xiao Wang was already furious. He slammed his hand on the table. "Huang Zhuo, do you know what you are saying?!"

Just then, Elder Master Xiao raised his hand slightly, his tone calm as he interrupted, "Second Son, let Thousand Households Huang finish."

Xiao Wang glanced at his father, then shot a fierce glare at the middle-aged man.

Huang Zhuo, however, did not look at him, keeping his gaze fixed on Elder Master Xiao as he said respectfully:

"Marquis, I am merely discussing the facts of the case. I hope you will forgive me."

The Elder Master was noncommittal, saying faintly, "Thousand Households Huang, why don’t you elaborate on what clues point to my Xiao Family."

Huang Zhuo nodded, then took a booklet from his robes and began to read:

"There are three clues."

"First, Liu Jing, the sixth son of the Jing State Liu Family, came to Shu State this time to establish Linglan Pavilion. His purpose was connected to the Xiao Family Medicine Hall..."

Before he could continue reading, Elder Master Xiao spoke up. "Are you saying that the Jing State Liu Family is deliberately targeting my Xiao Family?"

Huang Zhuo faltered, a difficult expression on his face. "That is not what I meant. I was just, just..."

"Just what?"

Huang Zhuo quickly changed his tune. "My apologies, Marquis. I must have misread. Please wait a moment."

Although the Liu Family’s purpose in coming to Shu State was indeed to deal with the Xiao Family Medicine Hall, saying so openly was tantamount to slapping the Xiao Family in the face.

Furthermore, if word of this got back to the Jing State Liu Family, he, a mere Thousand Households of the Imprisonment Department, would likely be implicated.

As he spoke, Huang Zhuo turned his head to glare at Fang Hongxiu before continuing to read.

Only now he no longer dared to read verbatim from his script. Instead, he glossed over the more serious points, mentioning only the minor clues that were unfavorable to the Xiao Family.

After listening, the Elder Master looked at him. "Is that all?"

By now, beads of sweat had formed on Huang Zhuo’s forehead. "My apologies, Marquis. This is all the Imprisonment Department has found so far."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on the Elder Master’s face. "With just these ambiguous clues, you dare to come to my Xiao Family and press charges..."

"Who gave you the nerve?!"