Meeting Luo Yiqiu and the others’ expectant gazes, the instructor finally sighed and said: “The Haiyou Education Inspector has sent a document stating that you few are unfriendly to fellow students, not diligent in studies, frivolous and ill-behaved, unfit to be selected as outstanding tribute scholars, and orders your rejection. You are also to be demoted for disciplinary action.”
Like a thunderbolt striking their heads, Luo Yiqiu and his companions stood stunned, while the other students all changed color.
The academy’s educational system had always been fair. Outstanding students were selected through major and minor examinations, their names submitted to the Education Inspector, then forwarded to the Imperial Academy. These excellent students chosen from local academy students became tribute scholars of the Imperial Academy, able to directly enter the Imperial Academy and receive immediate official appointments. Even if they failed the provincial examinations, their futures were still guaranteed.
But now, stripped of this status overnight, the Imperial Academy gates were closed to them. Having left a bad reputation with the provincial Education Inspector was unprecedented—how could they expect good results in the provincial examinations?
Tie Ci was somewhat surprised. When she had conflicts with these few on Ziyang’s main street, after her identity was revealed and the Haiyou Provincial Administration Commissioner came to pay his respects, among the several requests she made was the matter of stripping these people of their status.
It wasn’t because of their conflict that she wanted to ruin their futures, but because tribute scholars could receive direct official appointments. Students of such poor character entering the bureaucracy would likely become those who flatter superiors and oppress subordinates—how could Tie Ci allow that?
It was just that the orders she had given at the time needed time to execute. She had calculated it should be about right and had deliberately spoken that way earlier. But she hadn’t expected such coincidence—that the Education Inspector’s document would arrive just then.
It made her appear to have prophetic insight.
Now everyone looked at her with eyes clearly writing “this person is wicked.”
Luo Yiqiu and his group had already collapsed to the ground like mud, unable to be pulled up. While the crowd felt sympathy, they were also frightened, all walking around Tie Ci in a wide circle. Before leaving, they didn’t forget to bow to Wei Xuan in apology.
Wei Xuan, who usually apologized to them because of her brother and dealt with them cautiously, was receiving such treatment for the first time and appeared quite dazed.
Tie Ci handed Wei Xing over to her, but Wei Xing grabbed her clothing and wouldn’t let her go. Tie Ci crouched down, looked into his eyes, and said: “You can come find me to play every day from now on.”
Only then did Wei Xing let go. Tie Ci looked at Wei Xuan again and said: “I can see you’re not someone who readily accepts grievances, so don’t wrong yourself and your relatives anymore. Some people are very base—the more you accommodate them, the more they don’t know what’s good for them.”
Wei Xuan lowered her head and after a long moment said: “Yes. I was thinking wrongly.”
Tie Ci nodded and was eager to leave, but Wei Xuan said again: “Are you looking for your two maids? I saw them helping at the supervisor’s house these past two days.”
Tie Ci stood before the Banxian Study in the northwest corner of the academy.
This was the teachers’ collective dormitory. Through the main gate were small courtyards one after another. The academy supervisor and headmaster lived adjacent to each other, both residing in the innermost section.
The headmaster often traveled to give lectures, so the supervisor was the actual administrator of academy affairs. He often lived in the duty room in the front courtyard and rarely returned home.
His courtyard was the largest among the teachers’ residences. At this moment it was very busy in front of his gate—they were tearing down the surrounding wall to build a new kitchen. Many helpers had come to work in the courtyard. Tie Ci immediately spotted Chi Xue and Dan Shuang, one mixing mortar, the other building walls, both covered in dust and mud with muddy water all over them.
A maid stood clean and neat in the courtyard, shouting at everyone to work. After a while she said the dining hall was about to serve meals and they could rest for a quarter hour to eat, then return after eating. Groups of craftsmen and helpers went to eat.
Tie Ci was almost amused. Making people work without providing meals?
She waited for Dan Shuang and Chi Xue to come out so she could ask what was going on. However, those two didn’t come out, but sat shoulder to shoulder against the mountain wall, pulling out flatbreads and steamed buns from their bosoms to eat. After a few bites they continued working, appearing quite diligent.
The maid walked over and praised the two with a smile.
Tie Ci watched expressionlessly.
Chi Xue and Dan Shuang were her head palace maids, ranked officials in the palace. Although she had no real power, she was still the dynasty’s only heir, incomparably noble. Her head palace maids were such that even ordinary third-rank officials would bow to each other when meeting them.
These common people and servants didn’t even qualify to touch the hems of their skirts.
Tie Ci didn’t want to constantly flaunt class consciousness, but she couldn’t watch her people be trampled upon either.
Over there, Chi Xue was modestly laughing, saying she wanted to pay respects to the madam.
But the maid deflected, saying the madam was busy.
Chi Xue then said that if her young master came, she hoped the madam wouldn’t refuse to see him.
The maid nodded graciously and said: “Rest assured, since you’re so well-behaved, the madam will naturally look after your young master. Speaking of which, your young master is quite fortunate to have servants who think of him this way.”
“I am indeed fortunate, but your madam may soon find her fortune turning bad.”
The maid was startled by the sudden voice. Looking back, she saw a handsome youth walking in. Under the morning sun his features were brilliant as if gilded with gold. She suddenly blushed, forgetting what he had just said.
But Chi Xue and Dan Shuang climbed down from the wall in some panic.
Tie Ci looked them up and down and asked: “How long have you been working here?”
Chi Xue smoothed her hair and calmly dusted off her clothes before saying: “Young Master, it’s almost time for class…”
“Where did you go last night?”
Chi Xue looked at the maid in amazement: “Last night we asked this elder sister to pass along a message. Didn’t elder sister go tell them?”
The maid unnaturally averted her gaze.
Tie Ci immediately understood. So yesterday Dan Shuang and Chi Xue had been kept here to help. They had asked this maid to pass along a message with some excuse, but the maid simply hadn’t gone to tell anyone.
So they had no idea she had gone missing last night!
These two girls, knowing she needed to maintain good relations with the supervisor’s wife to inquire about the truth of Lady He Zi’s death years ago, had hidden this from her to work like oxen and horses for such people!
Did she appear so incompetent that they needed to handle things for her this way?
Tie Ci was so angry her head hurt.
But Chi Xue had already realized: “Last night you didn’t receive the message, yet you didn’t look for us either… What happened to you last night!” She sniffed the faint bloody smell that hadn’t dissipated from Tie Ci and immediately changed color. Dan Shuang had already stepped forward to examine her, but Tie Ci sidestepped to avoid her, saying flatly: “Your ideas are quite grand, so you needn’t concern yourselves with my affairs anymore.”
She spoke plainly, but Dan Shuang and Chi Xue felt as if burned, instinctively about to kneel but stopped by Tie Ci’s gaze.
The door curtain lifted and a woman emerged, asking leisurely: “What’s all the noise outside? Is all the work finished?”
The maid bowed: “Madam!”
Tie Ci looked at the woman. Unlike the sour and bitter appearance she had imagined, the woman had a fairly kind face, only her eyes were long and narrow with upturned corners that looked too intense when examining people, as if always trying to pick out some advantage, making others uncomfortable.
Tie Ci took the mud brick still in Dan Shuang’s hand, set it on the half-built wall, dusted off the dirt, and with her long legs stepped over the half-wall into the courtyard, saying: “Finished!”
The maid said: “Hey, how can you, an outside man, enter the inner courtyard without greeting!”
Tie Ci turned back with an amiable smile: “Aren’t all those helping to build walls and stoves in this courtyard outside men from the academy? What’s this—they can enter but I can’t?”
The supervisor’s wife’s expression changed. She glanced at the chaotic crowd in the courtyard, then at the colleagues’ family members peering from neighboring courtyards. She knew in her heart that having academy workers build her house wasn’t entirely proper. If bad rumors spread, it would damage her reputation. So she said: “This young gentleman is a student at the academy, I presume? Then you could be considered my student. In that case, let’s talk under the corridor eaves.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Tie Ci took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, saying leisurely: “I studied under a Hanlin Academy scholar in my youth, currently study at Yueli Academy, have respected relatives like He Zi, and am close to great scholars throughout the land. I wouldn’t dare presumptuously claim madam as my teacher.”
The supervisor’s wife’s face immediately turned purple. After a long while, she said with a cold expression and forced politeness: “I misspoke. Since young master is so noble, you shouldn’t speak much with an ignorant woman like me. Please take your maids and return!”
Tie Ci faced her, smiled, and opened his palm.
The supervisor’s wife: “?”
“Working for pay is natural justice. This pair of my maids are in their beautiful youth. Usually when they handle needlework for me I feel sorry for them, yet they’ve done hard manual labor at your place for a day and night—isn’t there even wages?”
“You…”
“What, madam had no such intention? Then you plan to freely command students’ servants, taking and using and ordering them about for nothing?”
“I… this was their choice! I never invited them!”
“Oh?” Tie Ci turned to Chi Xue: “You volunteered? Did you state you didn’t want wages?”
Chi Xue immediately smiled: “What kind of talk is that? Yesterday we were walking along the road minding our own business when this elder sister called us over. She said the supervisor’s wife needed people to help with some small tasks. She also said if we helped, the supervisor would remember our kindness. She didn’t mention money and we didn’t ask, since at the time she said it was small tasks. Later we thought, since it’s not small tasks, madam would naturally arrange for it.”
The wives and ladies from neighboring courtyards gradually gathered around. Meaningful glances enveloped the supervisor’s wife. Only the headmaster’s house next door remained quiet—Tie Ci heard them even close the window facing this courtyard wall.
The supervisor’s wife’s color changed slightly.
“It seems madam forgot to arrange it, or perhaps doesn’t have silver at hand.” Tie Ci smiled: “No matter. You two, come with me. We’ll go find the supervisor to ask for it.”
Chi Xue immediately tore a piece from her clothing hem and took out a tube of rouge: “Then let’s write up this demand for payment. It’s just that this servant’s writing isn’t good, so I’ll need young master to help polish it.”
Tie Ci said: “I most hate writing essays. Go ahead—the academy surely has people good at writing. Just ask for advice along the way.”
Chi Xue then extended her hands, whitened and cracked from soaking in muddy water, held the cloth over her head, and prepared to parade through the streets.
There were whispers from the surrounding ladies. Tie Ci heard someone say quietly: “Where did this young man come from? Both master and servants are so formidable.”
“I heard it’s that Ye Shiba—wicked!”
“Indeed, even his servants are so ruthless.”
“Serves her right! That old shrew digs at your wall foundation today, steals from her vegetable garden tomorrow. The boundaries of these courtyard walls were properly established, but by digging she’s occupying others’ land! Old Ge is never home, letting her become increasingly outrageous. Finally someone’s dealing with her!”
Click-clack-click—footsteps sounded as the supervisor’s wife, who had been sitting still like a Buddha, rushed down and reached out to grab Chi Xue. If she really went asking around in this state, the supervisor’s reputation would be trampled underfoot—he’d have to divorce her when he returned!
Tie Ci extended her hand to block. That arm was like cast iron. The wife leaned backward, thinking whether to take a hard fall, but Tie Ci had already staggered backward dramatically, shouting: “Madam, are you refusing to pay and trying to beat people too!”
The supervisor’s wife’s vision darkened from this porcelain-bumping tactic.
Seeing Chi Xue about to turn and leave, she hurriedly grabbed Tie Ci’s sleeve and said in a low voice: “I’ll pay, I never said I wouldn’t pay. Just don’t make trouble!”
“Good, that’ll be ten taels of silver.”
“Ten taels… what! Market price for mason workers is at most three hundred coins per day. You… this is extortion!”
“So madam knows market prices for mason work!” Tie Ci smiled faintly. “But how can mason wages compare to my two maids? Never mind their original hundred-tael value, just consider their skills—they’re capable of everything from poetry, books, music, chess, embroidery, to household management and accounting. Literarily they can compose poetry, martially they can mount horses for hunting. If such people went to perform, how much could they earn per day? Now they’ve come to work for you—shouldn’t you compensate for the loss? At the very least, walls built by our young maidens are exceptionally beautiful and neat. When madam has guests in future, you can bring them before this wall to boast, making it a scenic feature of your home. The intangible benefits this brings you cannot be measured in silver!”
“…”
The supervisor’s wife had been miserly all her life, priding herself on good management. She was typically the type to “slice fine meat from a heron’s leg, extract fat from a mosquito’s belly”—an extremely shrewd and calculating person. But today she was introduced to a new world, finally learning that the two characters for “extortion” could be written in eighteen different ways.