Chapter 545: Yingshan Academy

Chapter 545 -464: Yingshan Academy

“Nngh.”

Startled by the voice, the old Confucian scholar nearly fell out of his reclining chair.

He hurriedly opened his eyes.

He was met with a face that was at once familiar, yet somewhat strange.

Images flickered through his mind of a stubborn young scholar.

The figure from his memory merged with the man standing before him.

“Shao’an?”

Strange, because he hadn’t seen the man before him in nearly a hundred years. Familiar, because the stubborn streak from his youth was unchanged.

“It is I, your student.”

Yan Shao’an smiled and bowed again.

He stepped forward and helped the old scholar to his feet.

The old scholar chuckled. “You rascal. You never once came back after leaving the mountain. Your reputation just kept growing and growing. I’ve heard so much about it my ears are about to fall off.”

The middle-aged scholar chimed in, “Of course! The Dean has already hung your name, Shao’an, at the very top of the list of outstanding students. I’m green with envy.”

The old scholar shot the middle-aged scholar a glare.

“You talk too much.”

Then, he gave a light cough or two.

It wasn’t that he was truly that fond of this student, but rather that whenever the wealthy patrons from outside the city mentioned Yan Shao’an, they were willing to part with a few more silver ingots.

And so, he had come up with a little scheme.

Every time wealthy patrons came to visit, they would be led there, and Yan Shao’an’s name would be pointed out without fail.

In the past, the old dean of Yingshan Academy would see how Bailu Academy next door had more silver than they knew what to do with, and he would turn green with envy, often saying:

“See, there’s a point to our scholars becoming high officials. Look, the academy next door produced a Senior First Grade official, and now their noses are so high in the air they could touch the sky.”

Not to mention the fame and the very real silver coins that high official brought to their academy.

Then, Yingshan Academy produced Yan Shao’an, and the situation was reversed. Their own coffers began to fill.

Yan Shao’an smiled as well.

He didn’t mind that Yingshan Academy used his name to acquire silver coins.

Too many people in the world did things in his name. It was better for the academy to have it than them.

The old scholar launched into another round of reminiscence.

Yan Shao’an simply listened quietly, making a sound of assent now and then as a response.

When one gets old, one tends to enjoy reminiscing about the past.

In truth, he too had reached that age, so he never tired of listening.

Time passed without them noticing.

The sun gave way to the moon.

It was only when the sky was completely dark that the old scholar realized he had been talking for too long again.

“Oh, Shao’an, look at me, getting senile. You’re a busy man. If you have business to attend to, you should go.”

“Yes.”

Yan Shao’an nodded.

Just as he was about to speak—

A clear, resonant voice rang out. “Shao’an, you should leave.”

He turned his head.

He saw a tall, thin, unsmiling old man approaching. Dressed in a long robe, he had an air of ineffable elegance.

“Mr. Wang.”

Yan Shao’an bowed to the approaching old man.

This Mr. Wang, like Dean Zhu, had once been an Instructor at the academy.

He was also the academy’s current True Divine Communication.

Yan Shao’an had not been a disciple of this Mr. Wang, but he had often been scolded by him.

He remembered it to this day.

This time, however, he did not intend to scurry away with his tail between his legs. “Mr. Wang, this student is troubled by a matter and hopes that you can provide some clarity.”

Vice Dean Wang said, “Oh?”

“Speak.”

The academy was a place to impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts. Although Yan Shao’an had already left the mountain, and his status was even higher than his own, in his eyes, he was still a student.

Since a student had a question, he had an obligation to answer.

“We are now in an age of great conflict. The Sealed Ones have emerged, sowing chaos among the people and causing them to live in misery. What should we scholars do?”

It was as if Vice Dean Wang had expected Yan Shao’an to ask this question.

“Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, the father a father, and the son a son. This is the Great Way. As long as the Imperial Court is stable, it will naturally be constrained by ritual and law.”

Yan Shao’an sighed inwardly.

‘Vice Dean Wang is as stubborn as ever.’

This was the fundamental reason why the academy had never intervened in the struggles for imperial power.

The scholars of the academy and the scholars of the Imperial Court were fundamentally different. The former only propagated the righteousness in their hearts; they would not meddle in worldly affairs, let alone matters concerning the foundation of the state.

To do so would be to overstep their bounds.

“We scholars strive for the peace and security of the common people. The affairs of the Imperial Court have their own course. The academy must do what an academy is meant to do in the world.”

He did not want to continue arguing with Vice Dean Wang about the matters of ruler and subject.

Because if he did…

He would surely lose.

As the Grand Protector of the dynasty, he knew better than anyone the importance of what Vice Dean Wang had just said.

Only through rules can anything last for generations.

Not even the emperor could break the rules.

To this end, the Confucian Family had spent ten thousand years weaving a great cage for the Royal Family and the entire world, trapping everyone inside.

And the scholars were the wardens of this cage. At the same time, they were also prisoners trapped within it.

Of course, Vice Dean Wang would never break the rules of the scholars.

Those of the mountain should stay on the mountain.

Vice Dean Wang said, “Shao’an, our positions are different. There is no need to say more.”

“Sir…”

Yan Shao’an sighed lightly.

In truth, he had been prepared for refusal even before coming to Yingshan.

He was a student of Yingshan.

How could he not understand the temperament of Yingshan Academy?

But just then, the old scholar, who had been on the verge of dozing off, chuckled. “Junior Brother Wang, Shao’an isn’t wrong, you know. It’s not about meddling in the Royal Family’s affairs. This old man just thinks those Sealed Ones are promising talents. Why not recruit them into our academy…”

A sharp glint flashed in Vice Dean Wang’s eyes.

“Senior Brother… what you say… is reasonable!”

He had dedicated his entire life to making Yingshan Academy bigger and stronger.

But the method for an academy to become stronger was actually very simple.

Either it produced more Saints like the old scholar, who wrote books and established new doctrines, or it produced more powerful officials who reached the highest echelons of power, like Yan Shao’an.