“Shi’an, you seem quite surprised to see your uncle?”

He Xu crouched down in front of Xie Shi’an.

Xie Shi’an quickly looked toward the crowd at the palace gate. More and more classmates were arriving to attend the Imperial Academy, all curiously looking this way.

In about another quarter hour, the court officials would be dismissed, and there would only be more and more people.

His eyes flickered as he rapidly considered what excuse to use to take He Xu elsewhere.

“Young Master Xie, is this your uncle?”

The Pingjin heir moved closer.

“Eh, isn’t this Lord Yun? When did you gain such an uncle?”

Xie Shi’an’s expression remained unchanged: “He is not my uncle. The young lord heard incorrectly.”

“What, Shi’an, are you ashamed that this uncle brings you disgrace?” He Xu laughed. “That’s right—you’ve already planned to have people kill me, so how could you publicly acknowledge me as your maternal uncle?”

A smile of interest appeared on the Pingjin heir’s face. Excellent, there was excitement to watch, and it concerned Xie Shi’an too—he’d be a fool not to watch.

He quickly said: “Young Master Xie’s mother is the legitimate daughter of the Yun family. His uncle is Lord Yun. What relatives are you, a crude commoner, trying to claim here!”

“Ha! Don’t gild his face with gold!” He Xu looked at the people around who had stopped in their tracks. “He only calls the Xie family’s main wife ‘mother.’ That doesn’t mean he has any connection to the Yun family. He was conceived before marriage between Xie Jingyu and my own sister. Calling him a concubine-born son would be elevating his status!”

Xie Shi’an suddenly grabbed He Xu’s wrist: “Stop spouting nonsense here. Come with me. Let’s find another place to talk!”

“What, trying to trick me into leaving so you can kill me?” He Xu shook him off forcefully and said loudly: “Does everyone know why Xie Shi’an wants to kill me? Because I know his greatest secret! For his own selfish interests, he personally drove his own birth mother to her death!!”

As these words fell, the entire place erupted in uproar.

“Heavens, Xie Shi’an killed his own mother?”

“A woman carried him for ten months and gave birth to him, gave him flesh and life, and he cruelly murdered her?”

“He’s so brilliant at studying, the teachers like him so much—I thought he was an upright gentleman, but he turns out to be worse than pigs and dogs!”

“Can such a person who has lost all conscience still study at the Imperial Academy? He should be torn apart by five horses as a sacrifice to heaven!”

“…”

Since ancient times, scholars looked down on each other. Many Imperial Academy students already couldn’t stand how much the teachers favored Xie Shi’an, and one by one they spoke cutting remarks.

Xie Shi’an took a deep breath, still maintaining a composed appearance: “Fellow students, I don’t know this person, nor do I know who sent him. Perhaps I accidentally offended someone in daily life, so they’re deliberately trying to throw mud on me. All of you study under the great scholars of the Imperial Academy—I believe you all have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. The pure will prove themselves pure. I won’t say more.”

“Ha ha ha, Young Master Xie really thinks highly of himself!” The Pingjin heir mocked. “If you had offended me, I would deal with you directly to your face. Why would I go to such lengths to find someone to frame you! I think this strong fellow’s account has rich detail—I’m afraid such vile events truly occurred. Why not report it to the authorities and have them investigate thoroughly!”

He Xu continued speaking: “Do you all know why Xie Shi’an drove his own mother to death?”

Xie Shi’an’s complexion finally changed.

Only now did he truly realize that He Xu wasn’t just here to cause trouble—he intended to completely destroy him.

He grabbed He Xu’s hand once again and said in a low voice: “Your surname is He. Do you know what you’re destroying by doing this? Not just my future, but also the He family’s hope for future vindication. Think clearly before you speak!”

“The only remaining heir of the He family nearly died at the hands of you, my good nephew. What hope for vindication do I need?” He Xu looked at the crowd. “Let me tell you all why Xie Shi’an would be so heartless as to kill his own birth mother. Because my sister and I are surnamed He—we are the direct descendants of Minister He of the Ministry of Revenue from over twenty years ago. To cover up the fact that he is a criminal minister’s descendant, he cruelly murdered his own mother!!”

Everyone present were Imperial Academy students, naturally all from prominent families. Although they weren’t completely clear on court matters, they had heard a bit about such major national events. Upon hearing He Xu mention the He family, those present immediately exploded into chaos.

“Minister He of the Ministry of Revenue from twenty years ago—isn’t that the old thief who embezzled funds? He nearly emptied the national treasury.”

“Back then, all male members of the He family above seven years old were beheaded. The young sons and women were all sent back to their ancestral home. This must be one of the He family’s young masters from that time.”

“I wouldn’t know about that. I wasn’t even born yet then. How would I have seen anyone from the He family?”

“If Xie Shi’an really was born to a legitimate daughter of the He family, then he has He family blood in him. He’s a criminal minister’s descendant, yet he entered the Imperial Academy?”

“Good heavens, what did he infiltrate the Imperial Academy to do? Bear humiliation and hardship to restore the He family? Even storybooks wouldn’t dare write it like this!”

“He has contact with so many princes every day at the Imperial Academy. If he harbors evil intentions, the consequences would be unthinkable!”

“The Imperial Academy isn’t far from the Imperial Study either. If he wanted to assassinate His Majesty, it’s not impossible…”

“Why didn’t the Education Ministry thoroughly investigate his background…”

All kinds of voices boiled in his ears.

Xie Shi’an’s head spun, and he nearly collapsed.

He Xu was extremely pleased with himself.

Although he was a criminal minister’s descendant, he had long been pardoned. Even if everyone knew his surname was He, it wouldn’t affect anything.

But Xie Shi’an—this cold-blooded nephew wanted so badly to climb upward, had finally climbed to the Imperial Academy with great difficulty. His identity as a criminal minister’s descendant would make all this nephew’s years of effort come to nothing!

“If you hadn’t tried to kill me, I wouldn’t have done things so ruthlessly!”

He Xu stared at Xie Shi’an, speaking word by word, with satisfaction.

He wanted to reveal more to the onlookers.

He remembered how when he was young, he was often surrounded by many people like this. Whatever he said, those people would praise his cleverness.

At this moment, everyone’s eyes were on him, making him feel as if he had returned to his childhood…

But just as he opened his mouth, someone beside him grabbed him. He turned around and saw it was Chen Bo.

Chen Defu pulled him out of the crowd: “Although His Majesty hasn’t explicitly forbidden He family descendants from entering the capital, your rash appearance at the Imperial City might result in your arrest. Let me take you somewhere to lie low first.”

He Xu was full of gratitude: “Uncle Chen, you care for me the most…”

Chen Defu pulled him onto the carriage and hurriedly left the palace gate.

The morning court session ended, and officials were dismissed. More and more people gathered at the palace gate.

Countless voices exploded in his mind.

Xie Shi’an didn’t know how he left the palace gate, nor how he walked back to the Xie family home. The moment he stepped through the Xie family’s entrance, he stumbled and fell.