Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Since Liu Yunhe was willing to explain the situation, Old Master Gang and the others listened carefully.

After all, they weren't in a position to oppose him by force.

All they could do was hope that Liu Yunhe was at least a decent person.

As Gang Gye listened, he learned that Chen An had originally been one of Liu Yunhe's more promising students.

But Chen An was proud by nature and refused to bow his head to the spoiled rich young master at the academy.

At first, the conflicts between them had been minor enough for Liu Yunhe to handle.

What he hadn't expected was for that young master to actually break Chen An's hand.

It happened before Liu Yunhe had any chance to stop it.

Once the hand was ruined that badly, Chen An's path to the Imperial Examinations was basically over.

But what could Liu Yunhe possibly do afterward?

He said,

"That person was originally a young master from a marquis household in the capital."

"He caused some kind of trouble at home and was sent here as punishment."

"Even though his family had sent him away, he was still a member of that marquis household."

"Normally, there was very little I could do about him."

Even expelling him from the academy wasn't something Liu Yunhe could simply decide on his own.

And openly fighting the family wouldn't necessarily accomplish anything.

White Crane Academy's reputation had truly begun deteriorating three years ago, after that young master arrived.

Before then, White Crane Academy had been a good place.

There had certainly been disputes between students, but nothing serious enough to threaten someone's future or life.

"After that incident, I contacted one of my former students."

"He is now a censor in the capital."

"I had him impeach that marquis household."

"The marquis was punished for failing to discipline his family properly, so that young master should behave himself from now on."

"If Young Master Gang enters the academy now, I will personally make sure he is protected."

Gang Jo-hang looked at Liu Yunhe doubtfully.

It was difficult to believe.

If what Liu Yunhe said was true, then he had actually made an enemy of a marquis household for the sake of one student.

That was completely different from the Liu Yunhe they had heard about.

But Liu Yunhe really had done it.

Of course, his motives hadn't been completely pure.

Nor had he acted solely to avenge Chen An.

Though that desire certainly had been part of it.

Lu Chen'an had been the student Liu Yunhe had placed the greatest hopes on.

He had also formally accepted Lu Chen'an as a personal disciple.

Liu Yunhe genuinely treated him well.

Though, admittedly, some of that kindness had carried the feeling of an investment.

If Lu Chen'an someday became a high-ranking official, Liu Yunhe's own standing would rise with him.

That was why Liu Yunhe had been furious when Lu Chen'an's hand was broken.

In truth, he had already grown unable to tolerate that young master from the marquis household.

The incident simply destroyed the balance completely.

So Liu Yunhe deliberately contacted his old disciple, now serving as a censor in the capital, and had him impeach the marquis household.

Gang Jo-hang still couldn't fully believe Liu Yunhe's words.

But he set that aside for the moment and continued questioning him.

"Even aside from that young master, hasn't the atmosphere at White Crane Academy been poor for quite some time?"

Liu Yunhe gave a faint nod.

"That was something the students themselves chose."

"There are many children of officials at the academy, along with students related to official families through marriage."

"Entering the academy comes with both benefits and disadvantages."

"I make that clear from the beginning."

"If someone enters and later wants to leave, he may do so."

"He simply has to return all the scholarship money and other benefits he received from the academy."

Liu Yunhe wasn't running a charity.

Students entered, received food and lodging, studied under the best teachers in the area, and enjoyed various other benefits.

Then they wanted to walk away after pocketing the scholarship money?

How could that possibly be allowed?

The fact that he didn't charge them additional compensation when they left was already generous enough in his opinion.

Liu Yunhe smiled faintly.

"And sometimes, I am not even the one pressuring them."

"Quite often, it is their own greed."

"Or their families."

Listening from the side, Gang Gye gradually formed a picture of Liu Yunhe's personality.

Simply put, Liu Yunhe wasn't a purely kind man.

But he couldn't exactly be called an evil man either.

He was extremely goal-oriented.

And extremely self-interested.

His greatest ambition in life was to train many outstanding students and earn their respect.

From what Gang Gye understood about this era, the relationship between students and teachers at an academy was somewhat different from that of an ordinary private school.

If Gang Gye studied under Scholar Zhou, then he would have to respect Scholar Zhou almost like a father.

But an academy was different.

It could be considered somewhat freer.

In simple terms, unless Liu Yunhe personally accepted Gang Gye as his private disciple, anything that happened to Liu Yunhe in the future wouldn't automatically implicate Gang Gye.

The reason Liu Yunhe had been able to contact a censor in the capital and have the marquis household impeached was because that censor was one of his personal disciples from more than ten years ago.

Of course, if Gang Gye received an education at White Crane Academy, it would only be natural to repay the kindness Liu Yunhe showed him.

And if Liu Yunhe later asked for help for a legitimate reason, Gang Gye would be expected to help within his ability.

Perhaps that was also why Liu Yunhe maintained such a friendly manner toward students despite the academy's generous benefits.

Kindness created human bonds.

And ordinary people naturally felt gratitude.

The adults continued their conversation.

Liu Yunhe said,

"I won't speak about anything else."

"But I will never do anything that harms a student of my academy."

The real problems arose with students who spent scholarship money and then wanted to leave without repaying it.

Or with families who refused to let a student leave because they wanted him to keep receiving scholarship money.

Once a student entered White Crane Academy, there were almost no situations where he was forced to spend money.

For example, if someone wanted to learn the qin or flute, he could use instruments provided by the academy.

Teaching materials were also fully prepared.

But ordinary students often couldn't resist using scholarship money to help their families.

According to Liu Yunhe's rough estimate, if they didn't waste money, then over two or three years they might spend only a few taels.

Families capable of sending a child to study usually had at least some property.

But when an entire household pooled resources to support one student, conflicts inevitably appeared.

If they later wanted to pull the child out of the academy, they would have to replace the several taels already spent.

Anyone other than the child's own parents might resent that.

The academy's educational quality also gave families another reason to keep students there.

At least in this region, White Crane Academy's examination success rate was very high.

By contrast, some xiucai could teach for over ten years without producing a single new xiucai.

The private school opened by the juren had produced successful students, but its fees were high.

No matter how one calculated it, White Crane Academy remained extremely attractive.

Before that spoiled young master from the marquis household arrived three years ago and began causing trouble, the academy truly hadn't been a bad place to stay.

Liu Yunhe genuinely wanted to manage it well.

In the past, many people wanted to enter, while almost no one wanted to leave.

Gang Jo-hang sharply countered,

"So you're saying you've never forced people into the academy?"

Liu Yunhe smiled.

"Not in the past."

"There have only been a handful of students I personally went out of my way to invite."

"White Crane Academy had a strong reputation and excellent benefits, so every year many students wanted to join on their own."

"Of course, some students entered after being recommended by xiucai who ran private schools."

"Those private schools benefited from the arrangement as well."

"There are also plenty of ordinary students at the academy."

"Truly exceptional talent is actually rare."

"We value potential."

"Although the academy's reputation has worsened now, most students inside are still studying comfortably."

Liu Yunhe knew what people said about him.

He had simply never bothered to argue.

In fact, he found some of the rumors amusing.

He even enjoyed the impression that he was unpredictable.

The more people believed that, the more convenient certain things became for him.

The discussion eventually ended.

But the Gang family still didn't immediately decide whether to send Gang Gye to White Crane Academy.

After explaining every condition he could offer, Liu Yunhe left the Gang household without causing trouble.

Once he was gone, Gang Jo-hang decided to personally visit the homes of students currently attending White Crane Academy and ask about the situation in detail.

Even if Liu Yunhe truly didn't force anyone, Gang Jo-hang still worried that the man's close relationship with the county magistrate might eventually affect Gang Gye.

The matter weighed heavily on the entire Gang family.

Even by afternoon, Old Madam Gang didn't think to gather everyone and begin making spicy konjac.

Nor did she immediately divide the money they had earned that day.

Seeing everyone so worried because of him, Gang Gye felt troubled.

While the entire household remained lost in worry, an unexpectedly wonderful piece of news arrived.

Gang Gye stared at the medicinal plaster the system had rewarded him with.

He reread the description several times, hardly daring to believe it.

There really was a plaster inside his system that could help heal his father's leg!

Gang Gye became so excited that he jumped straight off the bed.

My father's leg can be treated!

"Little Six, what are you doing?"

Howa happened to open the door and saw Gang Gye bouncing around.

"Ah."

Gang Gye immediately stopped.

He tried his best to control his expression, but he still couldn't keep a huge smile from spreading across his face.

"It's nothing."

"I just thought of something happy."

Howa asked,

"What?"

Gang Gye made up an excuse and brushed him off.

Then he washed his feet again, climbed back under the quilt, and carefully read every single word of the plaster's description.

The plaster was meant to be applied after a broken bone had been reset.

It had extremely powerful restorative effects.

According to the description, as long as the bone hadn't been completely shattered into powder, it could still be used.

It also said that if combined with a medicinal bath, the effect would be especially good.

The problem was that the medicinal ingredients required were all rare and valuable.

Even if this couldn't immediately cure his father's leg completely, it was still a major step in the right direction.

Just knowing there was a possibility made Gang Gye indescribably happy.

Someday, he would definitely find a way to heal his father.

Gang Gye was so excited that it took him a long time to finally fall asleep.

The next morning, however, he opened his eyes in a daze with a splitting headache.

He heard Howa rushing outside and shouting for the adults.

"Grandmother! Uncle! Auntie! Something's wrong!"

"Little Six has a fever! His forehead is burning hot!"

Footsteps immediately rushed toward the room.

Gang Gye felt one person after another touching his forehead.

Then he heard his mother's gentle, worried voice.

"Little Six, are you all right?"

"Does it hurt badly?"

Gang Gye struggled to open his eyes.

It definitely hurt quite a lot.

Ever since arriving in this world, his family had repeatedly told him that his body was weak.

But nothing had happened over the past several days, so he hadn't really taken it seriously.

Only now did he finally understand.

A terrible headache really did hurt like hell.