Chapter 49 – Unfortunate news


Fang Jingtang snorted coldly and said, “You’ve seen what happened to Lu Yingnian. Don’t stick your hands where they don’t belong!”

One teacher complained, “Don’t take us for fools. Maybe what he taught is already on Sword Eyebrow Lord’s desk. With Lu Yingnian and Second Madam’s fate, who dares to do anything? To be honest, we don’t have time to flatter Fang Yun.”

“If we steal his masterpiece and he reports us to the Holy Court in anger, it will be a great crime that will result in the deprivation of our clan’s status for at least three generations. Lu Yingnian had Second Madam to support him, but all the high officials in the city went to Fang Yun’s house yesterday. Who dares to steal from him now?”

“Yeah, the old master even praised the Lady for helping Fang Yun. He said that she should manage all the affairs of the house from now on, and Second Master has completely lost his power.”

“Is it any of your business to discuss the affairs of the master’s house behind his back?” Fang Jingtang said in a deep voice.

He Yunong asked, “Dean, should we promote Fox Rhyme immediately in the clan school?”

“Fox Rhyme is very complicated, more so than Three Character Classic. It may take a long time to formalize it. Let’s wait a bit. We’ll let Fang Yun teach it after he finishes teaching Three Character Classic,” Fang Jingtang said.

A child scholar teacher suddenly sighed, “I wish I were born twenty years later.”

Everyone was stunned, and sighs followed.

“I’m sure that in less than ten years, most of the students in this class will become accomplished scholars or imperial scholars. Even if someone passes the imperial examination, I won’t be surprised.”

“This Fang Yun is extraordinary. Perhaps he will become a semi-saint like the Hundred Schools of Thought.”

“Perhaps he can go even further.”

Everyone fell silent, and there was an even greater possibility, but no one dared to say it.

Fang Jingtang smiled and said, “My Fang clan’s school will become a college in the future. Twenty students in the top class are too few. We need at least forty students to make it look like a college.”

“Are you suggesting that we transfer students from other classes to the top class? That’s not a good idea,” He Yunong said.

“Who said it’s from other classes? It’s from other clan schools, other colleges, or private schools! Of the new twenty places, ten are free places, and the other ten are fee-paying places. Our clan school can’t always lose money. Other classes can also expand their enrollment.”

The teachers finally understood. One of them laughed and said, “You’re still as cunning as ever, using Fang Yun’s name to promote the clan school. Only you could think of that.”

“But will Fang Yun be unhappy? After all, he still has to take the imperial examination.”

“Of course, we have to ask him first before making any plans. Teaching is also an important means of spreading culture. Once he becomes a famous teacher, the children and parents of Jiangzhou will definitely respect him more. If the clan school really becomes a college in the future, it can be called ‘Fang Yun College’ or named after him, and he can be the dean. After that, all the students who graduate from our college will be his students, and forming a society is just a matter of time.”

“Fang Society? Great!” All the teachers finally understood Fang Jingtang’s intentions. The college was just the beginning. The goal was to strengthen Fang Yun and the Fang family, and their minds became more active.

Fang Jingtang smiled even more happily.After finishing a class, Fang Yun walked out and beckoned to Nu Nu. She climbed onto his shoulder like a little squirrel and lightly waved her big tail.

Fang Jingtang walked over and said, “Let’s go to the study room. We want to discuss something with you.”

“Okay,” Fang Yun said.

Back in the study room, Fang Jingtang got straight to the point. “Fang Yun, I want to increase the number of students in Class A to forty. Do you accept?”

“Forty or twenty doesn’t make much difference to me. I have no objection, but the teachers responsible for grading homework and exams will have a heavier workload.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Fang Jingtang said with a smile. “The clan school is constantly expanding, and once it meets the standards of the academy, we will apply to the literary academy. I want you to name the academy and write the plaque.”

“Naming the academy is too important. Let Uncle or you decide.”

“No, no, no. It was impossible for the Fang clan school to be upgraded to an academy, but now that we have you, it’s possible. The importance you place on the clan school far exceeds that of me and Shouye. So, the name needs to be decided by you. Once the academy is established, you will be the permanent dean, and all the students of this academy will be your disciples.” Fang Jingtang said with a smile.

Fang Yun immediately understood Fang Jingtang’s intention. He was helping him cultivate his future team, and this Fang Jingtang valued him more than Shouye’s son.

“Okay, I’ll think about it and come up with a name before we apply to the academy.”

Fang Jingtang added, “Your ‘Fox Rhyme’ is excellent. In my opinion, it far surpasses the ‘Three Character Classic.’ So, during this time, you should carefully revise and edit ‘Fox Rhyme.’ Also, we must apply to the literary academy together.”

“‘Fox Rhyme’? Not bad. Let’s name it that.” Fang Yun turned his head and looked at Nu Nu on his shoulder.

Nu Nu was excited and kept making cooing noises. Her furry tail kept swaying back and forth as she walked around on Fang Yun’s shoulder. Finally, she seemed to summon up the courage and shyly kissed Fang Yun’s face. Then she covered her face with her paws and her head with her tail and lay still on Fang Yun’s shoulder.

“Haha,” Fang Yun laughed and picked up the little fox, holding her gently in his arms and stroking her back.

Nu Nu whimpered softly, as if saying she was embarrassed.

The teachers also found it interesting, but not surprising, as there were many spiritual animals and demons in the Holy Origin Mainland, and they were sold in the marketplace.

At this moment, there was suddenly a commotion outside the clan school gate. Everyone frowned and looked outside, but they couldn’t hear anything. However, Nu Nu suddenly raised her head and pointed outside, shouting loudly, “Ah! Ah ah…” in anger.

He Yunong said, “Is it related to Fang Yun? Don’t go out, I’ll go and see first.” He then left the study room.

Fang Yun knew that whatever made Nu Nu angry was not a small matter, so he gently stroked her and waited for He Yunong’s message.

Not long after, He Yunong ran back panting and said, “It’s Yan Yue’s clan members causing trouble! More than ten of them came, wearing mourning clothes and crying and shouting outside.””What? Yan Yue is dead?” Fang Yun asked.

“He’s not dead. But those people deliberately wore mourning clothes to curse you, saying that Yan Yue’s Wengong Palace is now shattered and there is not much difference from death. They say you are ruthless.” He Yunong said with concern.

Fang Jingtang was so angry that his beard stood up and he angrily said, “This is outrageous! It was clearly Yan Yue’s own fault. What does it have to do with Fang Yun? Does he blame all the saints if he goes to the Holy Temple to curse the Sage and the Wengong Palace is destroyed? Qingfeng doesn’t know how to read, but The Courage to Write has its own spirit. If he didn’t have a hidden agenda against Fang Yun, how could The Courage to Write target him? Why did only Yan Yue and Guan Yaoyuan have trouble when there were dozens of Talented Scholars present that day?”

“This is too despicable! It’s a disgrace to scholars!” A teacher scolded.

“The gambling house knows that you should be willing to lose when you gamble. How can you tarnish someone’s reputation and not want to be punished? There is no such reason in the world!”

“Fang Yun, don’t go out. If you go out, they will definitely splash dirty water on you. I’ll go deal with it.” Fang Jingtang walked out angrily, his movements more agile than those of young people despite being over sixty years old.

He Yunong bluntly said, “Yan Yue’s family are not fools. Yesterday, even Grand Academician Li supported you. If they didn’t have a backing, they wouldn’t come to trouble you. It’s highly likely that it’s Liu Zicheng’s doing. These mourners can’t harm you, but as long as they stay for a day, your reputation will be damaged. He’s deliberately disgusting you.”

Nunu nodded vigorously, very angry, and even gnashed her teeth outside, wanting to bite the bad guys.

Fang Yun didn’t speak. Talking now was useless. He had to solve this problem. This kind of thing was more disgusting than someone smearing his reputation at the Poetry Society. If it continued for a long time, it would be very detrimental to him. After all, people sympathize with the weaker side and may not care about right or wrong.

“The bigger the tree, the more wind it attracts.” Fang Yun thought.

After a quarter of an hour, Dean Fang Jingtang walked back, panting with anger, and said, “Fang Yun, they did come to splash dirty water on you. No matter how I persuade them, it’s useless. I have sent someone to find the officials. We can’t let them continue like this.”

Fang Yun said, “Since they dared to come, they are not afraid of the officials. After all, the Yan family is a prominent family. The yamen can’t do anything to them. However, the righteous will always prevail. If I’m innocent, I’m not afraid of being accused. It won’t take long for them to leave voluntarily.”

He Yunong hurriedly said, “You must not be careless. This kind of thing seems easy to solve, but it’s actually very tricky.”

Fang Yun smiled and said, “Since they came to make trouble for me, I hope the Dean will allow me to take a leave of absence. I’ll come back when the Yan family stops causing trouble. By the way, please announce two things for me. First, after teaching the Three Character Classic, I will teach Fox Rhymes and teach children to write poetry. Second, when I pass the Talented Scholar exam, I will not only continue to teach the Mongolian children, but also start teaching Child Scholars.”

Everyone looked at Fang Yun in shock.

“No wonder he was a Child Scholar before becoming a Sage. This borrowing… cough, borrowing the pen to write technique is too clever.”

“Awesome! Awesome! I’ll help you spread the word. Make sure all the parents of the first class, all the prominent families, and the official families get this news!”The tense atmosphere disappeared and everyone’s faces regained their smiles.

He Yunong said, “Let’s act well and see how long Yan’s family can hold on! Although the Left Chancellor is powerful, he is far away in the capital city. Jiangzhou is not owned by the Liu family or the Yan family! Some of the children in Class A are favored by the old master, and some of the parents have relatives in the military. Now, it’s up to us. Fang Yun, you go out from the back door of the academy and don’t come to the clan school for now. I will inform the students in Class A of this sad news!”

“I will also tell the students in other classes. They and their parents have been looking forward to entering Class A to learn poetry and gain some talent. Now that you have been forced to leave by Yan’s family, they will never give up easily.”

Everyone dispersed with a wicked smile and did their own things.

After sending Fang Yun away, He Yunong rubbed his face and made a sad expression in front of the bronze mirror. He went to Class A and asked the teacher who was giving a lecture to stop.

He Yunong walked to the podium and looked at the students seriously and sadly, “I have to tell you unfortunate news, the teacher Fang may not be able to teach you anymore.”

The children were stunned. The older ones were okay, but some of the seven or eight-year-old children had tears in their eyes and could cry at any moment.


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