TBFCWTE - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The "scholarly" abilities He Shu displayed filled the village head with admiration, so he took what she said very seriously.

After the caravan left, he not only organized the villagers to discuss hiring a teacher for the school according to He Shu's suggestion, but also began planning to build roads for the village.

Cui Jinghuai genuinely admired He Shu's ability to quickly offer the most practical solution to any problem she encountered.

Two evenings later, Cui Jinghuai said, unable to hide his worry.

"Jinheng, barring any mishap, we should reach Qingshan Prefecture City tomorrow afternoon. Are you really going to study as a visiting student at Qingshan Academy?"

This was an itinerary He Shu had long since arranged for herself.

"Yes. Education is important. If I want to understand the true current state of education, I can only get a more accurate answer by becoming part of it."

"But Qingshan Academy has more than a thousand teachers and students, and their backgrounds are complicated and hard to distinguish. With only Feng Li and Qiu Yan accompanying you as visiting students as well, I'm afraid it will be difficult to guarantee your safety."

The rule requiring all academies to provide unified food and lodging for students and forbidding students to bring attendants was one He Shu had personally established.

By her own preference, He Shu did not want to be the first to break this rule. But her identity was truly of great importance, and there could be no mishap in her security. That left her no right to be wilful, so she had agreed to bring two people in with her.

"Our trip has been fairly discreet. There should be no reason for anyone in the academy to target me without cause. With the two of them there, we should be able to handle any accident."

Feng Li's martial skill was exceptional, Qiu Yan was also a woman disguised as a man and highly skilled in pharmacology, and He Shu's own martial ability was quite good as well. So He Shu was not worried about her safety on this trip.

Cui Jinghuai understood all these reasons, but now that they had left the palace, he had never dared let He Shu out of his sight.

"Should we not arrange a few more people?"

He Shu was somewhat speechless. "The more people we arrange, the more attention we attract. Uncle really does not need to act as if facing a great enemy. Just keep calm and think of me simply as a younger member of a decent family out on a study tour."

Hearing the insistence in He Shu's voice, Cui Jinghuai had no choice but to give up trying to persuade her further.

In his early years, Cui Jinghuai had once casually saved Instructor Wu of Qingshan Academy. Two years ago, when he was out with the caravan, the two had unexpectedly met again, and Instructor Wu was deeply grateful for the life-saving kindness Cui Jinghuai had shown him.

He knew that He Shu was traveling under the name of a study tour and intended to spend some time as a visiting student at an academy, to gain a deeper understanding of the educational environment in Great An and of how young students viewed the current social environment and policies in Great An.

Cui Jinghuai therefore took the initiative to mention his connection with Instructor Wu. After obtaining He Shu's consent, he wrote ahead to Instructor Wu and reserved several visiting student places at Qingshan Academy in advance.

Instructor Wu was one of the education officials of Qingshan Prefecture's prefectural school. He resided permanently at Qingshan Academy in the capacity of an academic supervisor and also taught the academy's students in his daily work.

Given his status and position, even the Academy Head of Qingshan Academy treated him with courtesy.

Although he had no authority to directly interfere in Qingshan Academy's affairs, arranging a few visiting students there was no problem for him, so Instructor Wu had already given a positive reply in his letter.

However worried Cui Jinghuai remained, the caravan successfully entered Qingshan Prefecture the next day and drew ever closer to Qingshan Prefecture City, where Qingshan Academy was located.

The official road the caravan took toward Qingshan Prefecture City was one that had been replanned and repaired in recent years.

Not only was the road surface fairly wide, with most sections able to accommodate three carriages side by side, but it had been made very smooth because a layer of cement had been laid over it.

Limited by current cement production, only a few major transportation arteries leading to the capital in Great An had been paved with cement along their entire length.

Cement produced by workshops under the Ministry of Works was currently mainly used for water conservancy and bridge projects under construction in various places.

As the road conditions improved and the sun grew hotter, He Shu finally stopped insisting on riding and agreed to sit inside the carriage.

With the carriage curtain and window curtains drawn back, the carriage became airy and well ventilated without blocking He Shu's view of the surroundings along the way.

"Uncle, that mule cart ahead seems to have had an accident. Let's send someone over to see what happened and ask whether they need help."

Cui Jinghuai, who had not wanted to invite trouble in order to avoid complications, heard this and could only sigh silently before nodding with a smile.

Not long after, Assistant Steward Liu came over in person to report.

"Reporting to the proprietor, it is a mule cart carrying two students from Sanhe County to Qingshan Academy. Something has gone wrong with the axle, and it needs replacement parts. We do not have any spare parts that would fit, so we cannot help them."

He Shu leaned out from the side window and cut in. "How can we not help? Steward Liu, we happen to be going to Qingshan Academy too, so we are headed the same way. Let the two students ride in our carriage and go on ahead. The mule cart will not need to carry them and can be repaired somewhere nearby."

Cui Jinghuai of course would not oppose her suggestion. "Yes, do as Jinheng says. Let them ride in the carriage behind, which is still mostly empty."

But He Shu spoke again. "No need to put them in the carriage behind. This carriage only has me and Qiu Yan, so there is plenty of room. Let them come over. It will be a good chance to get to know some fellow students in advance."

Liu Sheng knew that since the young master in the carriage had spoken, his immediate superior would not object. He promptly complied, and went to handle it personally with great seriousness.

It was instead the people who needed help who now hesitated in the face of Liu Sheng's goodwill.

When the mule cart's driver heard Steward Liu's words, he not only felt worried and hesitant, but also full of self-reproach.

"This old man was entrusted by these two young gentlemen's elders to deliver them safely to the academy and the martial academy with my own hands. I never expected to run into such an accident. Ai!"

After politely and courteously thanking Steward Liu, Shen Zhuo gently comforted the driver.

"Uncle Lin, do not worry. My grandfather and I have both heard of the fame of Huaian Trading House. It is our honor as cousins to meet them and receive their help. You can go repair the cart with peace of mind. Once we reach the prefectural city, my cousin and I will write home at the first opportunity to explain the situation and make clear that this accident was no fault of yours and no failure of duty."

Hearing these words from the young boy, Steward Liu raised an eyebrow without showing it and thought to himself: were geniuses nowadays all appearing in clusters?

They clearly all looked like boys of only twelve or thirteen, yet when they spoke and acted, each had more guile than the last, with courage, resourcefulness, and especially strong opinions of their own.

But Steward Liu only muttered this to himself inwardly. Years of life as a Shadow Guard had long since made cautious speech and careful action into habits.

Even if to outsiders he seemed an absolutely talkative, ever-smiling, shrewd and smooth qualified merchant when dealing with people.

When Shen Zhuo and Liu Ping followed Steward Liu to the side of the carriage, He Shu happened to be leaning her head out of the carriage window, looking in the direction they were coming from.

Seeing two boys about her own age coming over with their luggage on their backs, He Shu instinctively showed a kind smile.

She did not realize that this smile, rather like one used to coax a child, looked somewhat incongruous on her tender face, which still had its baby fat.

"Hello. My name is Shang Jinheng, and this is Qiu Yan. Our family lives in the capital. We have come out with our elders on a study tour this time and will be visiting students at Qingshan Academy for a while. Are both of you students of Qingshan Academy?"

Looking at the two boys as they sat down in the carriage, He Shu's eyes were full of curiosity, and her words showed a friendliness toward people her own age, fitting perfectly with the persona of a naive, enthusiastic young master from a wealthy family.

Compared with Liu Ping, who could not hide his restraint, Shen Zhuo appeared very steady and poised. He cupped his hands and said sincerely.

"This younger brother is Shen Zhuo. I greet you both, worthy elder brothers. This is my younger cousin Liu Ping. Our home is in Sanhe County. I am a student of Qingshan Academy and am returning to school after the busy farming holiday. My cousin is going to the prefectural city to enter Qingshan Martial Academy."

Seeing that Shen Zhuo was about the same age as herself yet able to take his younger cousin to the prefectural city to study, He Shu quite admired such independence and courage.

Although He Shu also knew perfectly well that unless there were certain family reasons, ordinary families would certainly not be so carefree about it, she did not ask further.

"I hear life in the Martial Academy is very hard. This younger brother Liu is truly courageous and admirable."

Hearing He Shu's words, Qiu Yan, who was pouring tea for the two who had just boarded, could not help but pause.

Having personally witnessed the birth of the Martial Academy and knowing that all its strict rules and regulations had been personally established by the person before her, she truly could not understand how this person could say such a thing to someone without changing expression.

Having received this affirmation, Liu Ping immediately lost his restraint around strangers. He instinctively sat up straight and said firmly.

"My mother says that only by enduring the bitterest hardships can one rise above others. I am not afraid of hardship."

He Shu handed the tea Qiu Yan had poured to the two of them and nodded with a smile.

"Younger brother Liu has ambition. I hope you can face difficulties head-on in the Martial Academy and remain true to your original aspirations. I hear that any martial student who can persevere until formal graduation from the Martial Academy can have a promising future."

This was absolutely not empty talk on He Shu's part. The Martial Academy was something she had carefully designed by drawing on the military academy system of her previous life and adapting it to the actual conditions in Great An.

All students who could persevere to graduation from the Martial Academy would not only possess considerable martial skill but also a certain level of military accomplishment.

Whether graduates chose to enter local government offices as constables or join the military camps, they would receive priority promotion and important appointments.

In an era when most key military positions were controlled by the noble and powerful clans, He Shu had never intended to directly pry away the interests of the relevant factions.

So what she established was only a martial academy, not a military academy, and she would not directly interfere in the graduates' choice of employment.

Even if Martial Academy graduates chose to enter the military camps, they would still have to start from the bottom.

The greatest preferential treatment for such graduates was that, in addition to having all tuition and living expenses during their time at the academy refunded or waived by the Eastern Palace's industries, they would also receive a settlement allowance.

But this did not stop He Shu from gripping her eager little hoe and keeping her eye on the corner she intended to dig up in the future. It was only that they were still in the layout stage, and it truly would not do to be too impatient.

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