Xie Yu’an watched Qiao Yin as she pushed through the crowd, passed by Lu Jinzhi, and ran straight toward him without a sideways glance. Her hair and skirt fluttered in the air, completely devoid of any ladylike decorum, yet she moved with a unique and lively grace.
Everyone was watching her, but she was running toward him without hesitation.
The distance wasn’t far, yet Xie Yu’an still took two steps forward to meet her—only two steps, because Qiao Yin had already rushed to him like a little bird.
“Xie Yu’an, I won.”
Qiao Yin joyfully made her way through the crowd, eager to share her happiness with Xie Yu’an first.
Xie Yu’an nodded, smiling as he looked at her. It was clear she was genuinely delighted, her eyes nearly disappearing into crescents of joy.
“You won beautifully,” he praised honestly.
Qiao Yin suddenly felt her cheeks flush. What was this? It was just the result of nine years of compulsory education, and she happened to have always been good at math.
“So, can I openly attend lectures at the academy from now on?”
“Impossible! How could she solve it so quickly? Did you collude? You cheated!”
As soon as Qiao Yin spoke, Xue Wanran challenged her. Looking at Xue Wanran’s furious and flustered expression, Qiao Yin couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Was she stupid? Did she not see who was standing before her? That was the Crown Prince and the highly respected scholar Mr. Meng. How dare she slander them?
Sure enough, as soon as the words were spoken, Jiang Huailu’s expression darkened. “Miss Xue, watch your words. Elder Meng is a man of great virtue and prestige. You cannot slander him so recklessly.”
Whether Xue Wanran had lost her mind or simply felt humiliated by losing to Qiao Yin, she stubbornly persisted. “If it wasn’t collusion, how could someone from the countryside who never even attended school solve such a difficult problem so quickly? Even my family’s arithmetic tutor would take a quarter of an hour to solve it. Look at her draft paper—does it look like someone who knows how to solve problems?”
Xue Wanran held up Qiao Yin’s draft paper for everyone to see. On it was written a polynomial equation, but to the crowd, it looked like nothing more than scribbles.
However, when Elder Meng glanced at it, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he snatched the paper away.
The more he looked, the more intrigued he became. He then beckoned to Qiao Yin.
“Little girl, come here quickly. What does this symbol mean?”
Qiao Yin was taken aback. What was going on? Could this old gentleman actually understand it?
While Qiao Yin was still in a daze, Xie Yu’an gently nudged her. “Elder Meng isn’t this amiable to just anyone.”
Snapping back to reality, Qiao Yin noticed that everyone around her was looking at her with envy.
Not daring to act presumptuously, Qiao Yin hurried forward and gave a simple explanation. “I never attended school, so I write slowly. These are numerical symbols I came up with myself, and this symbol here represents the unknown…”
Fearing she might reveal too much, Qiao Yin gave a vague explanation. Unexpectedly, Elder Meng grew even more interested as he listened.
“Little girl, come with me. I’ll treat you to something delicious.”
As Elder Meng spoke, he tried to pull Qiao Yin away. The crowd grew anxious and exclaimed, “Elder Meng, Mr. Meng, aren’t you going to give your lecture?”
“Hmph, as someone accused of favoritism and fraud, what right do I have to lecture? Find someone more talented.”
Elder Meng snorted coldly, then dragged Qiao Yin toward the carriage as if afraid she might fly away.Qiao Yin looked to Xie Yu’an for help, and Xie Yu’an said to her, “Go ahead. I’ll come pick you up later.”
And so, Qiao Yin was pulled into the carriage by Mr. Meng, and they sped away in a cloud of dust.
The highly anticipated lecture ended without a proper conclusion. While everyone envied Qiao Yin, they also cast reproachful glances at Xue Wanran.
“If she hadn’t spoken without thinking, Mr. Meng wouldn’t have gotten angry and left!”
“She doesn’t even show respect for Mr. Meng. Who would dare come to their academy to give lectures in the future? Utterly foolish!”
Xue Wanran was still reeling from the shock of “losing to the uneducated Qiao Yin,” completely unaware of the mess she had caused—until her father stood before her, trembling with rage, a ruler in hand.
“Look at what you’ve done today! Do you even know who you’ve offended? The Crown Prince didn’t punish you for your insolence out of his benevolence. By offending Mr. Meng, you’ve undoubtedly angered all the scholars in the capital. Have you lost your mind?!”
Xue Wanran was struck by the ruler, the pain searing through her body, but it also jolted her awake. Regret and fear began to set in.
She regretted her impulsiveness. She had only acted out of jealousy after seeing Qiao Yin win and Lu Jinzhi staring intently at her, wanting to overturn the result in the heat of the moment.
“Father, I was wrong, I was wrong. I’ll go apologize to Mr. Meng and beg him to come back,” Xue Wanran said in panic.
“Mr. Meng keeps his whereabouts hidden. No one knows where he lives. The academy could only invite him to lecture through the Xie Family. Now you think of apologizing? It’s too late.”
Xue Fu was furious, feeling as though this fool was going to be the death of him.
Her thoughtless words had offended three people.
Mr. Meng was the least of their worries. The Crown Prince and the Xie Family—especially the Xie Family—were the truly terrifying ones.
All she ever does is stare at that Lu Jinzhi, completely blind to what’s important. If she had any sense at all, she would have noticed who was standing beside Qiao Yin today.
It was Xie Yu’an, the young master of the Xie Family!
There are three great academies in the world: first, Crane Lake Academy; second, Yingtian Academy; and third, Egret Academy.
Yingtian Academy’s second-place ranking is entirely due to the support of Crane Lake Academy.
And what is Crane Lake Academy? It’s the Xie Family’s clan school, a place that gathers the most talented scholars from across the land.
Although the Xie Family’s clan school has limited spots, they cannot bear to see scholars’ pursuit of knowledge hindered. Every year, they send their academy’s teachers to Yingtian to lecture and teach.
If they offend the Xie Family, this academy might as well shut down for good.
“Father, don’t just be angry. Think of a solution. Your daughter truly knows she was wrong. I’m willing to kneel and apologize to Mr. Meng,” Xue Wanran pleaded, growing more fearful as she saw her father’s face turn ashen, veins bulging on his forehead.
“You should indeed kneel and apologize, but not to Mr. Meng—to Qiao Yin,” Xue Fu commanded. “I’ll have a carriage prepared right now. You must go and offer a sincere apology. Apologize properly, including all the times you deliberately caused trouble for her out of jealousy over Lu Jinzhi. Do you understand?”
“If you don’t make Qiao Yin happy, don’t bother coming back to this house!”
…
With the lecture canceled, the crowd at the academy entrance quickly dispersed.
“Treasure Pavilion just received a new batch of calligraphy and paintings. Jinzhi, would you like to go…”
Chu Wenjing wanted to invite Lu Jinzhi to browse, but when he turned and saw Lu Jinzhi’s pale, tense expression, he was taken aback.”Jinzhi, what’s wrong with you? I know you admire Mr. Meng, and it’s truly a pity you couldn’t attend his lecture this time.”
“Qiao Yin didn’t look at me.”
“Huh?”
Lu Jinzhi suddenly blurted out, and Chu Wenjing, after a moment of realization, could only awkwardly reply, “Is that so?”
Just now, he had been too focused on Qiao Yin to notice anything else. He dared say that today Qiao Yin was truly outstanding—so outstanding that she even overshadowed both Lu Jinzhi and Xie Yu’an. Who would have noticed whether she looked at anyone else?
Lu Jinzhi really didn’t need to fuss over such a trivial matter.
Chu Wenjing glanced at Lu Jinzhi again and, for some reason, caught a hint of desolation on his face.
He exclaimed in surprise, “Why do you suddenly care so much about Qiao Yin? Could it be that you’ve fallen for her?”