Translator: TYZ Editor: Book_Hoarder
On the second floor of a restaurant near Beihong District, a group of young men and girls were seated around two tables. There were more than ten of them.
"Have you heard? Her Majesty wants to set up an educational institution," a tall and strong sixteen-year-old young man said while drinking some wine.
"It is led by that Ren Baqian!" another young man added.
"Humph!"
It was a young girl that snorted. She was roughly seventeen years old and looked pretty and elegant. Following which, she slammed her wine cup on the table.
The rest looked at her and sniggered openly.
This girl was called Liu Yueyao, also known as Yao Zi. She was the girl that got the worst of it during the Great Hunt. She was mocked by Ren Baqian and was eventually chided by everyone.
Subsequently, she received ten strikes of whips and was grounded for a month.
Initially, she wanted to find an opportunity to seek revenge. However, after staying at home for a few days, she heard a news that caused her to be dumbstruck. That glib gigolo was actually chosen by Her Majesty to become her husband.
She could not understand why Her Majesty would fall for that lad.
Not only was Her Majesty the empress of Dayao, she was also the seventh most powerful expert in the world. Moreover, her looks were so beautiful that she could bewitch countless men. Liu Yueyao couldn't believe such a great beauty would choose that kind of man as her husband.
This news almost made her break everything in her room.
As time passed, her hatred for Ren Baqian did not decrease the slightest bit. Instead, she hated him even more now.
Every time she heard news of Ren Baqian, she would be annoyed.
However, the rest did not really care about how she felt. In any case, they were already talking about the educational institution.
"What does one learn in an educational institution?" There were a lot of people that wanted to know the answer to this question. After all, this was the first educational institution in Dayao.
"It should be the same as Great Xia's. Literature, mathematics, art of war, law, etc.!" someone said with confidence.
"Maybe it even teaches Classics too," someone joked.
"That might be possible," someone added.
Classics was the generic term for several doctrines that were passed down from ancient times. These doctrines were mainly focused on teaching one ethics and virtues. They also contained teachings on the relationships between human beings, the society and the nature.
Classics were viewed with great importance in the Yun Nation, the Chen Nation, and Great Xia. However, the aboriginals had all along disliked this field of study, let alone these sons and daughters of court officials.
In Dayao, violence was the solution to everything.
Even though there were laws in place, most people still preferred to use violence.
Everyone dropped this topic after having a short discussion about it. These youngsters spent most of their time practicing their martial arts and playing with their friends. Occasionally, they would meet up to discuss things that happened in Lan City. They at most read only a few books at home.
Actually, none of them really cared about the educational institution. To them, this was just a casual discussion.
Furthermore, they knew they wouldn't be selected to enter the institution.
They understood that only those gifted and extraordinary individuals would be selected.
...
Ren Baqian was sitting in Yangxin Palace Hall, holding a list of names that the empress had just given him. It contained the names of students that were submitted by the court officials.
"Shi Gan... is he the grandson of Great Elder?" Ren Baqian casually asked when he saw the first name.
"It's his youngest son," the empress replied plainly.
"Pfff! Great Elder is really young at heart!" Ren Baqian gasped in surprise.
Great Elder is roughly seventy to eighty years old, right? This list states that Shi Gan is only twelve years old, which means Great Elder had him him when he was roughly sixty to seventy years old! Respect!
Ren Baqian continued to read the list. Then, he saw a familiar name.
Tong Lan, ten years old.
"Huh? That girl is not gifted?" Ren Baqian had a shocked look on his face. This ten-year-old girl made him realize why the flowers were so rosy, how was she not gifted then?
"Tong Lan is rather gifted, at least she is more than her grandfather," the empress said.
"Didn't I request for ungifted good-for-nothings?" Ren Baqian pointed at the name list with doubt.
"Tong Zhenye said that they are still young and they can use the two years inside the institution to find their playmates," the empress said as she threw a grape into her mouth.
Ren Baqian was speechless. Are you treating this place as a kindergarten?
However, after thinking about it, Ren Baqian felt that it was a great chance for him to seek revenge on Tong Lan. After all, he had suffered so much in her hands.
A gentleman would take revenge on anyone, of any age.
The notion of letting off a pretty lolita had never existed in Ren Baqian's mind before.
One isn't a gentleman if he refuses to seek revenge when it's necessary.
A great man has to be ruthless.
I have to keep in mind these words of wisdom.
"Hehe..." Ren Baqian grinned. The empress cast a glance at him and rolled her eyes. She most probably knew what Ren Baqian was thinking.
However, Tong Lan was very shrewd as well.
She might be one that tormented Ren Baqian in the end.
Ren Baqian looked through every name on the list. There was a total of thirty-one students, more or less within his expectations.
He was the only teacher, and he could only teach so many students.
After thinking about it, Ren Baqian started speaking again, "Can we get a few students from the commoners' families? They can become teachers of the institution in the future."
After all, the students they had now were sons and daughters of court officials. In the future, they most likely would become court officials as well.
He couldn't possibly be teaching them forever, right?
"That's a good plan!" the empress nodded her head. "But have you come up with a name for the educational institution?"
"Blue Sky Academy!" Ren Baqian had a serious look on his face.
When the empress began to raise her eyebrows, he quickly corrected himself, "I'm just joking, it's New Eastern Academy."
Upon seeing an aura of death exuding from the empress's eyes, Ren Baqian corrected himself once more, "Actually, I'm joking again, let's call it Black Bamboo Academy. I came up with name because I saw a few black bamboos in the bamboo forest just now."
Upon hearing this name, the empress looked slightly satisfied. She continued eating her grapes and ignored Ren Baqian.
"There's still a month to go before the new year, right? Are there any activities for the new year? We will start the enrolment for the educational institution after new year then," Ren Baqian asked. He still did not know how Dayao celebrated the new year.
"There is lantern grabbing!" The empress replied and explained, "In the past, it was a competition among the members of a stronghold or between two strongholds. It's opened to youngsters below 20 years old, and the victor of the event will be rewarded. Those who have performed well will be able to gain the favor of the girls in the strongholds as well. If you want to participate in it, I will grant you a special permission to do so. If you perform well, I might even give you a reward." A smile appeared upon the empress's face when she mentioned that she was going to give Ren Baqian a reward.
"What are the rules?" Ren Baqian bolted upright upon hearing the empress's words.
"A frame will be set up and a lantern will be hung on top of the frame. Each group will have ten members, and the members can be chosen at will. Whoever gets possession of the lantern first will win." The empress's eyes were smiling.
"Don't tell me the participants are allowed to attack each other?" Ren Baqian laughed dryly.
"Of course they are allowed to do so, this is a great opportunity for everyone to showcase their skills," the empress replied with certainty.
"Forget it then." Ren Baqian immediately turned down the idea of participating in the event. He couldn't even defeat a ten-year-old lolita. He would surely die if he participated in the event.
"Don't you want to hear my reward for you first?" The empress's tone contained a rarely seen tinge of playfulness, causing Ren Baqian's heart to throb.
However, his brain was like a rattle drum that stopped rattling immediately. "A true man will never go back on his words."
Since the empress had put it this way, he knew it was definitely something not good. Only a fool would jump into such a huge pit.
"I can give you a kiss!" The empress's voice suddenly became as soft as a mosquito's. However, Ren Baqian could still hear it loud and clear.
Hearing these words, Ren Baqian raised his head abruptly and looked at the empress. At this moment, her face was slightly blushing. The shy look on her face made Ren Baqian feel as though there was a piledriver in his heart.
Ren Baqian put on a stern look on his face. "I feel that, death befalls us all but some die for a good cause while some die for a bad cause. For Your Majesty, I will die with no regrets."
Following which, he changed his tone and put on a helpless look on his face. "It's not that I'm not willing to participate in this contest. Actually, I have acrophobia and I don't dare climb too high up above the ground. Even though deep down I'm suffering, I have no choice but to give up on participating in this event."
The empress flicked her wrist and flung a plate of fruits at his head.