The female teacher's mouth had tightened into a straight line. Looking at the students who dared not make another sound, she spoke after a long pause, "Since you all want to contend, the academy will let you contend to your heart's content this time. Tomorrow, the academy will not hold lectures but will organize a 'Contention Competition'."
"Contention Competition?"
"Are we supposed to debate?"
The female teacher's words caused a commotion below again.
The teacher paused for a moment, and after the crowd below quieted down completely, she continued, "You may form two factions yourselves. Tomorrow, I will look forward to your performance."
Although it was stated that they could form any two factions, and the teacher did not explicitly say, this undoubtedly referred to the Noble Faction and the Humble Faction.
...
The next day.
The contention competition was originally planned to be held in the open space outside the academy. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative. A drizzling rain had started to fall as soon as dawn broke.
Nian Jiaojiao, draped in a dark green cloak, walked along the winding corridors of the academy with a group of female students. They were all heading to the Hall of Revered Saints.
Because of the crowd on the path, the bluestone pavement had been soaked to a dark blue-green. Walking on it felt slippery and damp, which did not improve Nian Jiaojiao's mood.
She hated rainy days!
Upon arriving at the Hall of Revered Saints, the vice-dean announced the rules for the contention competition to everyone.
Today's competition was divided into three groups.
The first group: Tong Sheng (students with the preliminary degree).
The second group: Xiu Cai (students with the county degree).
The third group: Ju Ren (students with the provincial degree).
Each group was divided into two opposing sides, with each side sending three representatives.
Undoubtedly, the Noble Faction and the Humble Faction would naturally send female students from the Heavenly Class to compete.
At this moment, the noble faction members of the third Heavenly Class were gathered together.
The first candidate was quickly decided, with everyone unanimously nominating Li Jing as their representative.
Despite Li Jing's apparent delight in visiting brothels, she was the head of the Tong Sheng students and possessed genuine talent.
Especially as a central figure of the Noble Faction, her eloquence was also essential.
The second candidate was a female student from the third Heavenly Class who had performed commendably in class.
However, with the selection of the last representative, Li Jing encountered a dilemma.
If one were to say that everyone's standard was vastly different, that was not the case. They were all Tong Sheng students who had passed examinations from various towns and prefectures.
Furthermore, the contention competition tested debating skills, fluency, and logical reasoning abilities, which were the most important.
Just as everyone was hesitating, a female student among them suddenly spoke, "Why don't we let Tong Sheng Nian participate?"
This suggestion caused Li Jing to frown.
It wasn't that she looked down on Nian Jiaojiao.
It was just that Nian Jiaojiao had only been enrolled for a short time, and everyone was not very clear about her abilities in various aspects.
Li Jing did not veto the suggestion and inquired, "Hong Mei, why do you say that?"
Tong Sheng Hong smiled faintly and said as a matter of course, "Since Tong Sheng Nian is favored by that exceptionally handsome man, she must have some strengths..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a burst of laughter erupted from those around her.
"Go, go, go, where are you all thinking? Such licentious women," the Tong Sheng surnamed Hong quickly said.
However, after this interruption, the somewhat tense and solemn atmosphere dissipated considerably, and Li Jing's tone also became lighter.
Since everyone's abilities were not significantly different, and someone had proposed it, Li Jing decided to let Nian Jiaojiao participate.
Nian Jiaojiao: ...
Strictly speaking, she belonged to the poorer side.
However, the teacher's attitude earlier had led the Humble Faction to misunderstand, and they had already excluded her.
Moreover, Li Jing and the others had treated her quite well over time.
Thinking of this, Nian Jiaojiao sighed inwardly and nodded in agreement.
Compared to the somewhat chaotic situation among the Tong Sheng students, the Xiu Cai and Jin Shi groups were much more composed.
Perhaps they had received advance notice. After the vice-dean announced the rules, the nominated individuals from each group directly stepped forward.
A quarter of an hour later.
Dong—
The sharp sound of a gong exploded in everyone's ears, and the scene immediately fell silent.
At this moment, the female teachers from the first, second, and third Heavenly Classes stood at the front of the platform.
They were the judges for this contention competition.
The six people from both sides took their seats.
Duang—
Another gong sound.
A female student holding a gong in one hand and a hammer in the other shouted, "The competition officially begins!"
...
The Nian Residence.
A continuous drizzle fell outside, and there was food at home. The family had decided not to go out to buy groceries today.
Tong Fu's shop had been renovated, and books such as "Dictionary" and "History of Great Yue" had been stocked and placed on the shelves.
Nian Jiaojiao's "Butterfly Lovers" series and the first volume of "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" were being meticulously copied. Over a hundred books had already been produced.
Therefore, as soon as the weather cleared and a propitious day was chosen, the bookstore would officially open.
The constant busyness of the past few days had left Tong Fu so tired that she was still lying in bed and had not left her room.
Tong Ziyao and Nian Jiaojiao's four husbands were already very familiar with each other. During the day, in addition to repeatedly flipping through the book "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: The Marvellous Gentleman," they would chat with Yu Chuan and others outside.
"Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock..."
At this moment, the men were discussing the plot of the book in the front hall. Since the front hall was close to the main entrance, the knocking sound was clearly audible to everyone.
Yu Chuan and Tong Ziyao exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion.
They rarely had visitors in Qingzhou. Nian Jiaojiao was currently studying at the academy and could not have suddenly returned. Moreover, if she were returning home, why would she only knock and not call out?
Xing Yun stood up, intending to open the door to investigate, but was stopped by Nan Qing.
At this moment, Xuan Yi said, "Could it be Madam Lei who received the letter and has arrived?"
This statement made everyone's hearts stir.
Yes, they had forgotten about Madam Lei.
Upon hearing this, Xing Yun quickly grabbed an umbrella and ran to open the door.
Nan Qing frowned, but ultimately did not continue to stop him.
Indeed, if Madam Lei had received the letter, it would be normal for her to arrive at this time.
However...
Was it really Madam Lei?
They still had an enemy lurking in the shadows who had not yet appeared, and they feared...
As if confirming Nan Qing's thoughts, Xing Yun opened the door to find a man in black gauze.
"Who are you?" Xing Yun asked, puzzled.
The man in black gauze, not having an umbrella, was completely soaked. Raindrops trickled down his dark hair, across his face, and onto the ground.
Jun Ye, with a pale face and trembling all over, said, "I didn't expect to encounter rain on the journey, and I didn't bring an umbrella. Could the young gentleman be so kind as to allow me to enter to shelter from the rain? Oh, I will leave immediately when the rain stops, and I will not cause any further disturbance."
Although Xing Yun was naive, he felt that it was inappropriate to casually let a stranger into the house.
However, being inherently kind, he said, "My wife is not at home, so I cannot make this decision. However, I can lend you my umbrella."
As he spoke, he was about to hand over the umbrella he was holding.
At the same time, he continued, "Oh, right, I have a handkerchief here. You can wipe yourself dry first."
Jun Ye took the umbrella and squinted his eyes.
After his observations over the past period, he believed this man with slightly impaired mobility would be the easiest to talk to.
He had not expected to be shut out by him.