Chapter 23: Closing down the academy

 The people below were caught red-handed. It was useless for them to complain. After pressing their fingerprints, the adults in the hall read out the results:

"Mr. Su secretly colluded with the corrupt official Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who was imprisoned three years ago, and secretly hid 100,000 taels of dirty silver. Now he was arrested by the Supreme Court Minister himself.

According to the law, all members of Mr. Su's family who are over 13 years old will be exiled to the southern wilderness, and their property will be confiscated."

Hearing this, Song Yanjin secretly thought that it was not good, the family was gone!

Without waiting for the master to read out the Su family's property, Song Yanjin urged Bai Zhu to go back and pack her luggage just in case. If the house where they lived was on the list of confiscated property, at least they could escape before the soldiers.

After reading the two pages of the book, which did not mention Xishi, Song Yanjin could not help but put his hands together and thank the gods in heaven for their blessings!

At the corner of the street, Ye Shian on horseback smiled and said, "Master Song, you should thank your elder brother Ye."

During the night trial of the Su family, he crossed out Xishi from the confiscated property, and regarded it as an extra reward for Master Song's meritorious service in the arrest last night.

Everyone in the hall was taken away, and Song Yanjin happily returned to the West Market. Pick up a pie in the sky!

Bai Zhu didn't know why, and waited anxiously at home. When she heard the knock on the door, she rushed out impatiently. When she opened the door and saw the young lady smiling happily, she immediately put her heart at ease. She didn't have to run away now.

After tinkering with the vegetable garden in the backyard for several days, Xiao Ruan brought good news today.

Song Yanjin treated him to delicious food and drinks, and followed him to visit the school in the afternoon.

After walking around several streets, Song Yanjin and Bai Zhu's feet were sore from walking, and they could vaguely see a bright red wall in front of them.

Song Yanjin stepped forward quickly, "Xiao Ruan, isn't that the imperial palace ahead?"

"Yes, there is an academy opposite the Imperial College that couldn't continue to operate and went bankrupt, and they are planning to sell it." Xiao Ruan raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He had worn out two pairs of shoes looking for school shoes, and he had traveled all over the capital.

Song Yanjin: "."

Why do you think the academy opposite the Imperial College went bankrupt?

Can I rent this academy? Can I buy it?

Song Yanjin was speechless for a while, he raised his hand and fanned himself to calm down!

Xu looked at Xiao Ruan and felt that the child was still too young to analyze the reasons. He was sincere in wanting to find a school for her.

Being stared at made Xiao Ruan lick her lips dryly, "Sister Song, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

As he said this, he wiped his face.

Song Yanjin backed off, "Xiao Ruan, I don't want to buy that academy."

When Xiao Ruan heard this, her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground. "Why is this? Sister, you don't know that the academy is now selling for the lowest price of two thousand taels. Don't miss this opportunity, sister."

"I'll analyze for you why the academy closed down. It's located opposite the Imperial College, right? The Imperial College was founded by the royal family. It has no fewer than two students a year. It's the academy that all students in the Xia Dynasty dream of and try their best to study in. With such a strong rival, how could the academy across the street not close down?"

Song Yanjin patiently explained to him.

Xiao Ruan suddenly realized that the academy they found for her sister was indeed not good. She lowered her head in shame, and when she saw her toes sticking out of the tip of her shoe, her face turned red and she pouted shyly.

Bai Zhu, who was counting the ants on the ground, discovered it and pursed his lips to hold back his laughter.

"But sister, I have searched all over the capital for schools to rent and sell, and this is the only one that meets your requirements." Is it still necessary to go and see it? Xiao Ruan swallowed the question back into her stomach. Sister will definitely not go to see it again.

Song Yanjin sighed, "I've been walking for quite some time, my feet are sore, now that I'm here I might as well take a look."

The three of them came to the gate of the Imperial College, and the imposing stone pillar gate stood in front of them. On the plaque, the three characters "Imperial College" were written in a sonorous and powerful manner. Song Yanjin thought to himself that it must have been nominated and granted by the emperor of the past dynasties.

On the other side, the third-rate academy that pretended to be fat had a fifty-meter-long staircase. This should be the so-called superiority!

The gate was equally magnificent. Song Yanjin didn't recognize any characters on the plaque written in traditional Chinese characters, and he was too lazy to let the system recognize them.

There were no students coming and going in the empty square inside, and it was indeed a bankrupt academy.

The headmaster who was walking around in the school glanced at the few people standing outside, and his eyes lit up. He thought, could they be here to buy the academy?

He ran out with a smile on his face, crossed the square to the door to greet them, and tilted his body comically, "How many of you are here to buy the academy?"

What if Song Yanjin wants to run away!

Xiao Ruan nodded, "Yes, Master."

The headmaster politely invited them in and personally took them around the academy, not minding that they were children.

"The attic in front is the school. The first floor is for students, the second floor is for scholars, and the third floor is the most impressive. It is for the Gongshi, who will take part in the imperial examination next year and pass the exam. They will be the future pillars of the court."

Listening to the dean's bragging, Song Yanjin was completely speechless.

After the visit, Song Yanjin found that the layout of the academy was much better than that of Mount Li Academy, but why such a good academy was only sold for two thousand taels of silver? He looked at the dean and asked.

Dean Feng was evasive, still saying that the academy was not doing well and couldn't compete with the Imperial College across the street.

Song Yanjin did not make clear his determination to buy it, and only said vaguely that he would think about it.

It was already dark when they returned to Xishi, and as there was curfew, they did not keep Xiao Ruan for dinner and politely asked him to come over at noon the next day.

With something on his mind, Song Yanjin took Baizhu to make some noodles.

After returning to the house, Song Yanjin decided to write a letter to the Dali Temple. His only connection was Brother Ye, so he could find out if there was any problem with the academy by checking.

The next morning, after breakfast, he asked Bai Zhu to take the letter to the Dali Temple.

Song Yanjin counted the silver in his hand and found that he was still one hundred taels short of two thousand taels. He had spent a lot of money recently. If he really bought the academy, he would be back to the time before liberation.

Turning to the vegetable garden in the backyard, Song Yanjin was holding a wooden basin and watering the planted vegetable seeds. It was a strange day as it had not rained for more than a month after Qingming Festival.

With a clang

, the wooden basin in Song Yanjin's hand fell to the ground. It hadn't rained for almost two months. He couldn't help but think of something and ran to the well. He put his head into the well. The deep well was covered with moss, and it was obvious to the naked eye that the water only submerged half of the well wall.

Oh my God, there's going to be a severe drought!

How can people live without water?

Xiaoyou: [Host, don't worry. There is mineral water in the mall. A drought for several years is not a problem. The host currently has 15,000 points, which is enough! ]

Song Yanjin almost rolled her eyes. It was not easy for her to get some points with great difficulty. Those more than 10,000 points were collected at the Princess's Mansion. She would not touch them unless it was a critical moment.

Knock knock knock.

The door of the outer courtyard rang, and Song Yanjin got up and went to the front yard to open the door.

Xiao Ruan was standing behind Bai Zhu, so she knew that someone who was here to eat for free had come.

After letting the two people in, Song Yanjin went to the backyard kitchen to busy himself.

"Sister Song, are you still going to buy the academy?" After hearing what Sister Song said, Xiao Ruan really felt that this deal was not worth it.

Song Yanjin, who was immersed in thinking about what to stockpile before the drought came, stopped the wooden shovel in his hand and said, "Xiao Ruan, when we get home, let your family stock up on food."

(End of this chapter)