They soon arrived at the dean's office. Two scholars, looking utterly dejected and unlucky, first came out to meet them.
"Excellent! Two just left and now three more arrive. Do you want to anger me to death? Academic performance can be poor, but how can your character also be rotten? In the future, when you leave the academy, don't say you are students of Hande Academy. I would be ashamed!"
Before even inquiring about the situation, the old dean began cursing angrily: "Tell me, what happened this time. Were you too eager to get a good grade to reassure your mothers at home, or would your fathers break your legs if you didn't get a decent score this time?"
Fang Yu secretly stifled a laugh. The excuses made by this batch of cheating students were quite creative. In later times, those caught cheating would just honestly admit it. He never expected such fabrications here.
The three knew these were the dean's angry words. No one dared to respond. Master Zhang then truthfully explained the situation, adding: "Originally, I didn't want to disturb the dean. But these two are Master Dai's students, and the other is my student. Neither Master Dai nor I can handle this appropriately. We must rely on the dean's judgment."
Upon hearing this, all three were somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected this layer of connection.
"Excellent! Every one of you!" The dean pointed a trembling finger at the three: "Not only cheating, but also trying to frame others!"
Master Zhang saw that the dean had taken charge of the matter. He glanced at Fang Yu and then left the dean's office.
Quite some time later, the dean finally regained his composure. He deliberately left the three standing there for a while, his eyes moving from one to the other, a look so sharp it felt like being pricked with needles.
After a long pause, he transformed from the strict teacher disappointed in his students' lack of effort back to that of a benevolent and caring mentor. "Zhao Luo, I recognize you. Your results in the last minor exam were good; your essay is still posted on the notice board. What, does good performance give you the confidence to start passing notes, so eager to 'help' your classmates now? Academic excellence is not meant to be used this way. Tell me truthfully now, who were you really passing the note to? I will trust your character one last time. If you spout nonsense and lies again, then your essay will be removed from the notice board."
Upon hearing these words, Zhao Luo, whose psychological defenses had already been breached by the dean's intense scrutiny, was now further pressured by this threat of punishment. His legs trembled, and he actually burst into tears. "Dean, it was Yuan Hongqiang! Yuan Hongqiang gave me one tael of silver yesterday to pass the note for him! I told him cheating was improper, but he threatened to have his friends corner me if I refused... Dean, I had no intention of framing Fang Yu. I was simply terrified of Yuan Hongqiang. I don't even know Fang Yu personally, I only saw him and learned his name at the Education Commissioner's literary gathering..."
Fang Yu truly experienced what it meant to be "people fear fame as pigs fear getting fat."
[人怕出名猪怕壮 (rén pà chū míng zhū pà zhuàng): lit. people fear fame as pigs fear getting fat; fig. fame brings trouble and danger]
He shook his head faintly. With such little courage, why did this Zhao Luo stubbornly persist in lying? If he had just spoken up earlier, it wouldn't have come to this, having to be brought before the dean.
"You!" Yuan Hongqiang, seeing Zhao Luo spill everything, clenched his fists in resentment.
"What? You dare to threaten a classmate right in front of me! What have we always taught you? Your minds are not on the imperial examinations, but focused on these crooked paths! The purpose of minor exams is not for you to practice cheating! It's to help you adapt to the imperial exams early!"
After this torrent of angry scolding, seeing Yuan Hongqiang's face turn ashen from the reprimand, the dean finally caught his breath. He turned to Fang Yu with a gentle smile. "Young friend Fang, this incident has wronged and aggrieved you, and also delayed much of your answer-writing time. But don't worry, you may finish writing your essay here in my office, no need to worry about the exam time limit."
Fang Yu respectfully bowed to the Dean. "It's quite alright, Dean. I have already finished writing the essay." He had no desire to linger here, he was in a hurry to leave after the exam.
"Oh? It's already finished?"
Fang Yu presented the essay he had brought with him. Zhao Luo, being timid, had confessed under questioning, so he originally thought the essay he brought would be unnecessary. Unexpectedly, it still came in handy.
The dean took it and read through it, stroking his beard, his brows and eyes gradually relaxing. "Not bad, not bad! Fang Yu... Ah, why don't I have an impression of you before? That doesn't make sense."
Fang Yu replied modestly, "I was originally unpromising. It is only thanks to Master Zhang's careful instruction that I have made some slight progress."
"Master Zhang teaches well indeed. You are a diligent and promising child."
After praising Fang Yu, the dean turned his gaze to the other two. He wasn't originally that angry, but now he was ignited. "Utterly shameless! Young friend Fang writes such an outstanding essay, and you have the audacity to falsely accuse him! Even I feel ashamed on your behalf! Hurry up and apologize to him!"
Zhao Luo, being timid, trembled as he apologized to Fang Yu first. As for Yuan Hongqiang, he stiffened his neck and refused to speak.
"Yuan Hongqiang, since you are unwilling to speak, then go back and invite your old father here. I would like to have a good chat with him. I imagine he would be much more talkative than you."
When Yuan Hongqiang heard this, he was stunned. It was embarrassing enough for young boys to have their parents summoned, but for a grown man like him to have his elderly father called in was unthinkable—he would be a laughingstock. Realizing this, he immediately adopted a pleading tone with the dean. "Dean, my father is elderly and has difficulty moving. How can we trouble him to come? I will apologize to Fang Yu right now."
"Fellow student Fang, it was my fault, entirely my fault. Please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart! I'll do anything for you, even be your ox or horse."
Fang Yu let out a scornful laugh. "Fellow student Yuan, that is entirely unnecessary."
Both parties had apologized. The subsequent handling was the dean's matter. Considering the dean was even willing to summon the parents of a student over thirty, Fang Yu thought the outcome wouldn't be biased.
No comments:
Post a Comment