Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 554 - 497 Atmosphere
"Hello, Senior."
"Hello, Senior Brother."
Li Ang strolled along the tree-lined path of the Academic Palace. The students approaching him greeted him with respectful restraint, and he nodded in response to each one.
He didn’t know if it was because he hadn’t returned to the Academic Palace in a long time, but Li Ang always felt something was not right. Turning his head, he asked Yang Yu, who was next to him, "Why do I feel like everyone is looking at me a bit strangely?"
"Uh..."
Yang Yu hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering as he pointed to the large stack of test papers hovering behind Li Ang’s head. "Could it be these assignments you’re carrying?
Or maybe..."
He then pointed to the Patrol Jade Pendant worn at Li Ang’s waist.
Li Ang raised an eyebrow. "Is it because of my role as a member of the Academic Palace Patrol?"
"Yeah."
Yang Yu nodded. "After all, the Academic Palace Patrol is usually made up of senior students who are about to leave or have already left the Academic Palace. It’s very rare for someone in their fourth year like you to take on this role. Plus, you were in Taiyuan Prefecture..."
Yang Yu hesitated, clearly concerned about the impact of his next words.
Li Ang smiled and finished the sentence for Yang Yu, "And killed a lot of people?"
"People from the Wang Family."
Yang Yu nodded. "You know, many Doctors and students in the Academic Palace hail from noble families—if not the Five Families and Seven Hopes, then certainly prominent local clans. If you go back three generations, most of them have some connection to the Wang Family. Now that the Taiyuan Wang Family is gone, ultimately... some are still afraid of you."
"Oh."
Li Ang replied indifferently, his face still expressionless.
Seeing this, Yang Yu hesitated for a long while before saying softly, "It also... includes Dr. Wang Wenlun. Recently, his relatives—children and nephews—dressed in mourning clothes, knelt before the Sacrificial Officer’s door, pleading with the Academic Palace to be lenient with the Taiyuan Wang Family. Ultimately, they were still escorted away by Cui Siye and his men."
Wang Wenlun...
Li Ang narrowed his eyes, recalling the old professor, who, despite his strict exterior, had been benevolent and tirelessly instructive over the years. He sighed slightly. "So, they’re all grieving out of a sense of shared vulnerability?"
"Yes."
Yang Yu slowly nodded. "I’ve also heard some rumors behind your back, saying you’re naturally cold-hearted..."
Li Ang said with a half-smile, "Rumors?"
Yang Yu was his friend, and also a social butterfly, someone who could strike up a conversation with anyone and had a far wider network than Li Ang. For him to say he’d heard rumors meant similar talk was likely already quite common within the Academic Palace.
Yang Yu pursed his lips. "Yes. But I’m not sure who started them. If you want to know..."
"No need. They’re just rumors, after all; no need to make things difficult for you."
Li Ang waved his hand. Noticing Yang Yu visibly relax, he then said jokingly, "What, afraid that I, the Observer of Hedong Road, accustomed to wielding sole authority, might start treating you like a subordinate?"
"Haven’t you already relinquished your authority as Observer of Hedong Road to His Majesty?"
Yang Yu, relieved he didn’t have to be the bearer of bad news, reverted to his usual nonchalant demeanor, arms crossed behind his head, rolling his eyes. "And here you didn’t even try to get your buddy a government post. If not an Observation Deputy Envoy or a Marching Army Commander, then at least a Judge or an Assistant."
Li Ang laughed. "Hey, Judges and Assistants are supposed to aid the Observer in managing administrative affairs. May I ask, how are your grades in national history, Mathematics, and Natural Science? Do you have any recommendations? Do you have over twenty years of work experience?"
Yang Yu glared. "I’m not even eighteen! Where would I get twenty years of work experience?"
"Then I’m sorry," Li Ang chuckled. "Our department doesn’t need rookies who don’t know anything."
Yang Yu retorted indignantly, "That’s age discrimination!"
"Not just age; there could also be gender, health, and regional discrimination."
Li Ang stated calmly, "To maintain aesthetics, we don’t hire men. To protect my personal reputation, we don’t hire women. To support the disabled, we don’t want the healthy. For work efficiency, we don’t want the disabled. For personnel stability, we don’t want applicants from the State Mansions. To ensure common ground in communication, we don’t want applicants from rural areas."
Li Ang listed a bunch of contradictory hiring requirements, giving Yang Yu a headache. He unconsciously asked, "So what kind of person do you want to recruit in the end?"
"Probably a Light Attribute, Eight-star Blue-Eyed White Dragon with an attack power of three thousand and a defense power of two thousand five hundred."
Li Ang spouted this nonsense, chatting idly with his friend as they walked into the academic building.
Truthfully, he didn’t covet power. When he took on the role of Observer for Hedong Road, he hadn’t deliberately cultivated a so-called ’core team’; it was simply a matter of who could get the job done. Being unfamiliar with the subordinate officials, he had delegated the responsibility of personnel appointments to Li Hui. As for whether others might try to get close to him due to their acquaintance with young master Li, that was outside Li Ang’s concerns.
As the two entered the classroom, the students, who had been chatting loudly, instinctively fell silent. Some of them returned stiffly to their seats.
Do I exude some kind of ’homeroom teacher field’ around me?
Li Ang felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. Shaking his head, he walked to his seat and sat down.
This class was on national history. The new, young Doctor tried his best to liven up the class, but the atmosphere remained heavy and awkward.
Li Ang paid it no mind. He devoted a part of his Heart Thought to listening attentively to the lecture, while the rest of his Mind was occupied with sketching and writing beneath his desk, either practicing drawing talismans with an ordinary brush or honing his Telekinesis with a fine needle and thread.
When the class ended, the Doctor, looking disheartened, sighed, hastily assigned homework, and then rushed off.
Li Ang also stood up and casually asked Yang Yu, "What’s the next class?"
"Natural Science, taught by Dr. Su Feng."
Yang Yu glanced at the timetable, tidied up the textbooks on his desk, and then suddenly paused.
At the classroom entrance, Pei Jing and others, who were scheduled for national history next, walked in.
Their eyes met. Dou Chi and the others behind Pei Jing pressed their lips together tightly, while Pei Jing himself, expressionless, found an empty seat and sat down.
His mother is a legitimate daughter of the Taiyuan Wang Family. Back in Taiyuan Prefecture, I suppose I killed several of his maternal relatives—granduncles, uncles, or cousins, right? Even if they weren’t killed on the spot, they’ve all been imprisoned, unlikely to be released for years, perhaps even decades.
Li Ang mused to himself but had no intention of trying to ease or salvage the relationship between them. He simply walked out of the classroom with Yang Yu.
"Risheng,"
Yang Yu jogged to catch up. "About Pei Jing... should I go and ask...?"
"A gentleman’s friendship is as insipid as water. He has his kin, and I have my convictions. There’s no need to ask."
Li Ang shook his head. Since he had made the decision to lead the night raid on the Wang Family’s manor to seek justice for the common people of Taiyuan Prefecture, he wasn’t about to concern himself with the subsequent scrutiny from within the Academic Palace or the fear and suspicion from the court ministers.
He glanced at the Patrol Jade Pendant swinging at his waist.
This simple piece of jade—unremarkable in material and ordinary in craftsmanship—nevertheless allowed him to navigate the officialdom of the Yu Country unhindered, ignoring any unwritten rules or social niceties.
This was the power of the Academic Palace.
