Chapter 444 - 171: Prefectural School (2)
Chapter 444: Chapter 171: Prefectural School (2)
This time, upon arriving at the Prefecture, he had specially sent over a local specialty and a meticulously crafted piece of calligraphy. Sure enough, he received a sincere invitation from the Assistant Magistrate, allowing him to visit his residence for tea in his spare time.
This was all done through written correspondence, and his sister didn’t know about it.
’He didn’t want her to see him as too much of a schemer,’ so he had deliberately kept it from her.
He naturally kept the details to himself now as well, only reminding his sister again and again that if she ran into any trouble she couldn’t handle, she could go to the Assistant Magistrate’s residence for help.
Of course, she could also come directly to the academy to find him.
No matter what she encountered, he would have a solution.
In the end, Chen Wanqing saw Zhao Jing into the academy.
Chen Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief and turned to head home.
But before the ox-cart could even turn around, a lavishly decorated carriage slowly pulled to a stop a short distance away.
The old maidservant accompanying Chen Wanqing on this trip was the very one who made such delicious wontons.
The woman had a signature dish and also knew how to drive an ox-cart.
So, this time, she was the one who had driven them over.
The maidservant’s former masters were also from Xinghuai Prefecture.
The man of that house had been a minor official who, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, had somehow pulled the right strings and earned a promotion. The family then sold off all the maids and servants they weren’t taking with them.
When Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing had gone to the broker’s to look for help that day, many of the maids there had been from the same household as her. However, they were either too flirtatious or had grown disloyal, so the mistress of the house had used the occasion to get rid of all the troublesome ones in one fell swoop.
But that was a digression. The point was, this maidservant had worked in an official’s household and was somewhat knowledgeable.
The moment she saw the clan emblem on the carriage, she nervously whispered to Chen Wanqing, "Oh, heavens! That’s the Assistant Magistrate’s family carriage."
"The Assistant Magistrate?"
Zhao Jing had just been telling Chen Wanqing about Mr. Zhang, and now they had encountered a carriage from the Assistant Magistrate’s residence. It was too much of a coincidence.
If she didn’t know the maidservant had been too far away to possibly hear her conversation with Zhao Jing, Chen Wanqing might have suspected the woman was trying to trick her.
"It really is the Assistant Magistrate’s carriage. I recognize their clan emblem perfectly. You’re new to the Prefecture, Madam. After you’ve been here a while, you’ll learn. All the noble families in the Prefecture have their own emblems. They hang them on their carriages when they go out, and when we common folk see them, we know to steer clear."
While the maidservant was still prattling on about the Assistant Magistrate’s rank and responsibilities, Chen Wanqing saw the curtain on the lavish carriage lift. A girl of about fourteen or fifteen stepped out.
The girl’s eyes met Chen Wanqing’s, and she seemed surprised for a moment, as if wondering why another woman would be at the academy’s entrance at this hour.
But her curiosity lasted only a moment before she gave a polite nod, seemingly ignoring the fact that Chen Wanqing was in an ox-cart and therefore undoubtedly of a lower status.
"What a dignified young lady! Oh my, such manners... now *that’s* true nobility. Look at her bearing! She’s worlds better than the daughters of those suddenly rich commoners."
Chen Wanqing didn’t respond to the maidservant. She just watched the girl—dressed in a pink cloud brocade gown and a thin red cape—walk calmly to the academy entrance, where she was respectfully ushered inside by the gate attendant.
Her attire was secondary; what truly caught Chen Wanqing’s attention was the book box in the girl’s hands.
The book box appeared simple, but it was made of the finest mahogany and carved with a rose-and-cloud pattern. A single glance told you it was priceless.
The value of the box was secondary. It was the message it conveyed that made Chen Wanqing turn it over and over in her mind.
’Aren’t the academies exclusively for Scholars? Since when did they start admitting female students?’
De’an and Zhao Jing had the same question.
After entering the academy’s main gate, the two were led by an attendant to the professor’s office.
The academy’s professor was also its de facto head. His position was equivalent to the Chancellor of the Imperial College or the headmaster of a private academy.
Mr. Min’s full name was Min Zhengchun, and he was a true Champion Scholar. In Jinluan Hall, he had been appointed a Compiler in the Hanlin Academy. Three years later, after passing the academy’s internal retention exam, he was promoted to Expositor-in-Waiting.
After his tenure at the Hanlin Academy, he was transferred to the Ministry of Rites.
He rose through the ranks from a Director to Assistant Minister of Rites, but he incurred the Empress Dowager’s wrath when he sternly rebuked her in court for refusing to return political power to the emperor.
Three years ago, following a drunken blunder, Min Zhengchun was exiled to Xinghuai Prefecture.
Mr. Sheng, the Magistrate, valued his talent and installed him as the professor at the academy. Otherwise, he might still be stuck in some warehouse, auditing years of old accounts.