Women attending an academy was already a huge joke to begin with. Master Li Gang, Master Yuanzhang, including Xu Jingzong, all clearly understood these noble ladies’ intentions. Whether they actually learned anything was unimportant; as long as their daughters made a round through the academy and returned home, they could tell their in-laws that their daughters were truly well-educated and well-mannered young ladies who had received the same upbringing as the princesses.
As for who the teachers were? Master Li Gang! A truly virtuous and respected great Confucian scholar, plus Yun Ye and Hypatia—such unparalleled talents personally instructing their daughters face-to-face. Coming from such a distinguished background, they would be considered accomplished young ladies of noble families even if they weren’t already. As for what they actually learned, who would bother worrying about that?
Yun Ye didn’t care. Once they entered the academy, he would sever their families’ influence over them. As for whether these young women would become wild and untamable in the future, what did that have to do with him? Educated people were all proud—this had been true since ancient times. Since you’ve sent your daughters here, don’t expect the academy to produce worthless individuals. When the school was first established, Niu Jinda had said that once they came to the academy, even a lump of mud would be hammered and tempered into iron.
Master Li Gang and Master Yuanzhang, in order to spare themselves aggravation, fully delegated this matter to Yun Ye. They busied themselves with the academy’s main business—over seven hundred children were taking exams. Who would have time to manage such trivial matters? Besides, being old, they couldn’t handle the stress. Cultivating a calm and clear mind was the way of the king. Going to the examination hall to watch those well-behaved children take their tests was better than watching those delicate young ladies make a fuss. Since women wanted to enter the academy, the tuition couldn’t be small. Xu Jingzong opened his mouth like a lion demanding five hundred silver coins—and this was the opinion reached after consulting Master Li Gang.
According to Master Li Gang’s view, the academy’s reputation was most precious. Since they wanted to borrow this prestige to bring honor to their families, they shouldn’t blame the academy for being greedy. The academy wasn’t even happy to collect five hundred silver coins; if they could drive all these young ladies away, that would be best. The academy was a place for studying. In the future, having a group of young ladies staying here would affect other students’ progress.
Li Er watched through a gap in the curtain as those young girls entered that blue-brick, green-tiled three-courtyard compound one by one. He turned to Empress Zhangsun and said, “Just watch—these children’s good days are over. Having entered the academy, it’s impossible for them to come out having accomplished nothing. Li Gang, Yuanzhang, Yushan, Lishi, Yun Ye, plus Xu Jingzong—not one of these people can tolerate students who merely muddle through. I dare bet, Empress, that Gao Yang, and Lan Ling will definitely be trained into figures no less formidable than their aunt Princess Pingyang. I’m waiting to see what these girls will be like when they emerge after three years.”
“Just now you were saying that Yun Ye was just planning to mix up some money and muddle through. How did it suddenly become like this?”
“If he had just allowed these children to move their luggage inside, I would definitely have stuck to my original opinion. But now, look—except for personal undergarments, they’re not allowed to bring anything else. I can’t help but recall when Qing Que and the others first entered school—it was exactly like this. It seems Yun Ye doesn’t plan to let these daughters have an easy time. Empress, three years from now, just wait and see the marvels.”
Having finished speaking, without waiting for Zhangsun to say anything else, he ordered the carriage to return to Chang’an City. Having entrusted his daughter to the academy, there was nothing to worry about. Regret was an emotion Li Er never experienced.
Those matrons watched as their own daughters walked through the great gate. The vermilion door studded with copper nails was slowly closed by two robust matrons. Some couldn’t help but shed tears, wondering if their daughters would live comfortably inside.
After watching the gate close, Yun Ye also clasped his hands behind his back and returned to the front, preparing to see how those students were doing on their exams and whether they had improved compared to the previous year. What made Yun Ye feel most gratified was that the mathematics questions were becoming harder year by year, but these examinees seemed to have grown accustomed to it and could always keep pace with the academy.
Gao Yang held her younger sister’s hand and walked along the corridor. When they reached the second gate, they saw a ghostly woman wearing a mask made of tree bark, with only a pair of bright eyes showing through.
Judging whether a woman was beautiful or not was an imperial skill that both men and women knew. Gao Yang only had to look at this woman’s round and lustrous figure, then at her seemingly transparent ears, to know this was an absolutely beautiful woman—moreover, a fully ripened beauty. Gao Yang unconsciously shrank her just-developing chest, feeling somewhat discouraged.
“From now on, I will manage your domestic affairs. You may call me Demon Concubine. Now, what each of you needs to do is remove all the hair ornaments from your heads and place them in the bamboo baskets before you. The academy will keep them for you. You may apply to wear them on rest days, though I think that’s unnecessary—you won’t have the time.”
Gao Yang nearly fainted. An impossibly handsome man with a warm smile placed bamboo baskets before them one by one, his movements elegant and rhythmic. Every gesture and movement seemed like a poem that required Yun Ye’s skills to recite. Listening to his magnetic, soft voice, when Gao Yang came to her senses, she discovered she had already handed over all her jewelry, including the jade pendant her mother had left her.
“Princess, this should be your personal pendant, bestowed by your elder relatives. It’s inappropriate to be separated from it. You should keep it with you,” Chengxin said softly, holding the basket before Gao Yang.
Gao Yang felt all the blood in her body rush to her head. Her face flushed bright red. As if in a dream, she retrieved the jade pendant from the basket and wore it in front of Chengxin without any resistance.
The young girl bewitched by the handsome man wasn’t just Gao Yang! His beauty tinged with a hint of feminine grace perfectly matched these young girls’ aesthetic tastes. The lover of their dreams instantly became very concrete the moment they saw Chengxin.
What they originally thought would require considerable persuasion proceeded very smoothly. Of course, there were those who didn’t care. For instance, Xiao Ya said carelessly to Chengxin, “Go select a good bed for me right now. I want the bottom one. The mattress must be laid thick, and then take my quilt out to air every day. You know I most detest damp quilts.”
Xiao Ya’s words drew countless vicious glares from the young girls. Gao Yang almost wanted to pounce on Xiao Ya and fight with her. Using such a beautiful man as a servant—what a waste of heaven’s gifts!
Xiao Wu looked up at the sky, casually pulled out a small hairpin from her head and tossed it in the basket. As for hair clips and similar items, she had no intention of removing them. Just as Chengxin was about to say the others needed to be removed too, he heard Xiao Wu snort lightly through her nose. He quickly lowered his head and hurriedly left Xiao Wu’s side. He had suffered at Xiao Wu’s hands more than once or twice.
Lai Ying trembled all over with fear, her legs already so weak she could barely stand. As an adult, even she felt somewhat distracted the moment she saw Chengxin. How could these inexperienced young ladies withstand such temptation? Why had the academy placed such a person in the women’s branch? It seemed he would be staying here long-term.
If any scandal got out, she wouldn’t need to live anymore. No matter which one had an incident, she would definitely be the one to die. Just as she was about to speak, Chengxin had already come to her side. Holding her hand, he whispered in her ear, “This was specially arranged by the marquis. Don’t ruin the marquis’s arrangement. Rest assured, I am a castrated person. There will be no harm to these young ladies’ reputations.”
Even now, clearly knowing Chengxin was a eunuch, Lai Ying was still dizzy from the warm breath in her ear, almost unable to stand steadily. Even after Chengxin carried the basket to the side to label the jewelry, she remained absent-minded. Coming to her senses, she couldn’t help but stomp her feet twice. Hadn’t she seen enough handsome eunuchs in the palace? Why was she so useless today?
The young ladies curiously entered the rooms and discovered that each room had two stacked beds, one high and one low. Xiao Wu and Xiao Ya very skillfully lay down on the lower bunk near the window and said to the other young ladies, “These two beds are taken. Those who want the lower bunk should go to other rooms. Those who like the upper bunk can stay.”
“Wu Mei, Yun Ya, I’m a princess. Naturally, we should live in this room. You go to another room. There’s a pomegranate tree in front of the window—I really like it.” Gao Yang was someone who never knew how to be reasonable.
Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at Gao Yang and said, “Li Ling, do you know what kind of place this is? This is the academy. Outside, you are Princess Gao Yang, and I naturally understand the principle of hierarchy. But at the academy, a princess’s title doesn’t work. Not to mention princesses—even princes trim flower gardens outside. Didn’t your brother tell you these rules?”
“Forget it, Gao Yang. You can’t beat Xiao Wu. She learned many techniques from Sister Bozhe. Ordinary men can’t even beat her. You’d better go find another room, or you won’t even get the last lower bunk.”
Seeing Gao Yang clench her fists as if wanting to use force, Xiao Ya quickly tried to persuade her. Lan Ling also helped push her sister out of the room, preparing to find another one.
Finally settled in, Gao Yang discovered that each bed had a sky-blue robe on it. Picking it up to look, that’s right—this was the academy robe. Those matrons had looked at each person’s figure earlier and specially brought these for them. Wearing such men’s clothing once in a while was fine, but having to wear it all the time made Gao Yang very reluctant.
While she was muttering, she saw Xiao Wu, dressed in a blue robe, holding a rice bowl and humming a little tune quietly, preparing to eat with Xiao Ya. The two were giggling and laughing. Only then did she remember that she had been excited all day and hadn’t eaten yet.
Without palace attendants to serve her, she had actually forgotten to eat. Looking at her three younger sisters, she estimated they were hungry too. Just as she was about to go out, she saw that handsome man carrying a large food box and walking in.
He gave Gao Yang a big smile. Without saying anything, he took out the dishes one by one from the food box and arranged them on the table. Making a gesture of invitation, he closed the door and turned to leave.
“Sister, this man is truly beautiful—just like a handsome man from a painting,” said Chengyang, the youngest, sitting down at the table and glancing at the blushing Gao Yang before speaking softly.