Chapter 442 - 170: Prefectural School (2)
Chapter 442: Chapter 170: Prefectural School (2)
But in her heart, she wasn’t optimistic about the situation.
After all, the mother dog had wolf’s blood in her; she was afraid its wild nature would be difficult to tame.
She worried it was cunning and would wait for them to lower their guard before striking a vicious blow—a consequence they couldn’t possibly bear.
Zhao Jing understood her concerns. "Let’s just keep our distance for now," he said. "We’ll go to the backyard less often and try to keep the dog from coming to the front. We’ll give it some time and see what happens."
But deep down, Zhao Jing was optimistic about keeping the mother and her pup.
Dogs are the type of animal that knows gratitude.
They hadn’t done the mother dog any great favors; they hadn’t even given her medicine. But they had taken her scrawny little pup and raised it until it was as chubby as a piglet. The mother dog wasn’t blind. She could see that...
Setting aside the mother and her pup, the matter of Zhao Jing and De’an entering the Prefecture school to study was finally settled.
They were to enroll the next day. Enrollment meant boarding at the school, and boarding at the school meant they could only return home on days off...
De’an was used to living in school dormitories.
Back when he was studying at the private school in Qingshui County, the Chen family hadn’t yet bought a house in town. Traveling between the county seat and the Zhao Village was very time-consuming, so De’an had simply boarded at the school.
He was accustomed to being away from home and parting with his family, but Zhao Jing was not.
He found it all completely unbearable, to the point that he even considered withdrawing from the school.
De’an saw his homesickness—or more accurately, his attachment to his wife—and thought he was being overly sentimental. So, he decided to provoke him.
"Meng Jintang is already a scholar, and you’re still just a Scholar. Jing, you’re a step below him. You have to show some ambition!"
For his insolence, De’an got a sound beating.
The remark, however, strengthened Zhao Jing’s resolve to enroll. For the next two nights, he was more inseparable from Chen Wanqing than ever, as if trying to make up for all the days they would soon miss.
The crescent moon shone brightly in the tranquil world. Over and over, Zhao Jing whispered how he couldn’t bear to leave, until Chen Wanqing, utterly spent, fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, everyone in the Zhao Family was up at the crack of dawn.
Zhao Jing kowtowed before Mrs. Zhao and instructed Xiang’er to take good care of his mother. Then, he took Chen Wanqing’s hand and headed for the door with De’an.
An ox-cart was already waiting outside, loaded with their luggage. As soon as they were aboard, it began CREAKING its way over the bluestone slabs and out the west city gate.
They had been to the Prefecture school once before, but at that time they had only lingered outside the gates for a moment before leaving.
This time, they knew the way, and it wasn’t long before they arrived at the school’s entrance.
The Prefecture school was built in the suburbs, about three li from the west gate of Xinghuai Prefecture.
There was an interesting story about this particular place.
Legend has it that an enlightened monk once passed through and saw that the location was backed by mountains and faced the water—a sign of excellent feng shui. He casually remarked, "This place will produce an endless stream of successful scholars, and generation after generation of high officials."
When word of this got out, it caused an uproar. All the noble families in the Prefecture were stirred into action.
Who wouldn’t want their descendants to be successful, to become high-ranking officials and bring glory to their family name?
Everyone scrambled and fought, desperate to get their hands on that piece of land.
People were nearly killed over it.
In the end, the Magistrate at the time found the situation unseemly and put a stop to it, decreeing that the land would be used for the Prefecture school.
The school was said to have been quite small at first, only twenty or thirty mu. It was only after Magistrate Sheng took office and began to champion culture and education that the school was expanded to its current impressive scale.
They had heard that upon entering the main gate, one would see the Central Pavilions to the east and west. One pavilion was square and the other round, symbolizing the proverb: "Nothing can be accomplished without rules and standards."
North of the pavilions was a half-moon-shaped pond, the famous Xuepan Pond.
The Xuepan Pond originated from the ancient hierarchical system where schools for feudal lords were built with a semicircular pond, distinguishing them from the fully circular ones of the emperor. Thus, it was the core symbol of a local, government-run academy.
Spanning it was the Pan Bridge, commonly known as the Zhuangyuan Bridge. All new students had to cross it upon enrollment. Below the bridge, fresh water gurgled, and schools of koi swam in the pond, symbolizing the legend of a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.
The entire architectural complex of the Prefecture school was vast and self-contained.
According to what Wang Jun had told them, the Prefecture school was divided into eastern and western sections.
The western section was the Confucius Temple. Its main building was Dacheng Hall, used for the worship and veneration of Confucius. Behind the hall were the Chongsheng Temple and the Village Hero Temple, as well as a Book Collection Building and a Sacrificial Tool Warehouse. At the very back were the living quarters for the professors, instructors, and tutors.
The eastern half was the main body of the school, where the students spent most of their time.
"Whether that’s really how it is, I’ve never had the chance to see for myself. Jing, if you have the time, you could draw a map for me when you come home on your days off. Then I’ll know where you live and eat, where you practice your zither and play chess, and where you practice riding and archery..."