Li Wanming had always forgotten.
Pei Yanqi was different from them. He was a court official.
Even though his official position was not high for now, he was a top scholar, a Hanlin academician, and a student personally recognized by the emperor.
He had the right to report matters based on rumors and submit memorials to the emperor about the things around him.
The conflict between Lü Songyuan and Fang Zhi had now become a matter that could be either trivial or serious, a rather delicate situation.
On the one hand, it could be seen as just a little quarrel among young ladies in the boudoir, a bit of bickering, which was nothing serious.
But on the other hand, it could be regarded as a sign of improper etiquette, unseemly behavior, and poor family upbringing in the families of the Grand Tutor and the Chief Secretary, which had produced these two arrogant and domineering young ladies who caused trouble everywhere!
"Pei Yanqi also said that since he was their teacher and they were his students, if they dared to talk back to him and refused to accept punishment, it would be a sign of disrespect for their teacher and an act of disobedience!"
"He would definitely report it to the emperor, the empress dowager, and the Lady of the Duke of Qingguo, asking them to judge fairly for him!"
Disobedience...
Was he really that ruthless?
It was really hard to imagine that Pei Yanqi, who had haggled with Liu Yiyi over two taels of silver, could suddenly turn into such a tough guy when dealing with Lü and Fang.
She vaguely remembered that Xiao Jingnan seemed to have told her that with Pei Yanqi around, there was no need to be afraid of Lü Songyuan and Fang Zhi causing trouble.
It was a pity that at that time, her mind had been focused on the opening of the academy, and she hadn't fully understood this sentence.
Now it seemed that everything was clear!
Lü Songyuan and Fang Zhi were not afraid of her or Xiao Yingchu, but they had to consider the official reputations of their fathers and the impact on the court.
Their private bickering, quarreling, and hair-pulling were all minor matters. They could even pull each other's hair out bald, but if it was reported in a memorial during the grand court meeting, it would be a great disgrace to the Lü and Fang families for generations!
Lü Songyuan and Fang Zhi had been at odds with each other for many years, and most of the powerful and noble people in the capital knew about it. On the one hand, they just regarded it as the playfulness of young girls and didn't take it seriously. On the other hand, they were afraid of the power and influence of the Lü and Fang families and didn't dare to really interfere.
But Pei Yanqi was different.
He was a scholar who had just arrived in the capital last year and was personally selected by the emperor. He had no mentor and didn't belong to any power group. At the same time, he had a strong backbone. He would rather give up a bright future and be left in a cold and unimportant position than marry into the Guo family.
For such a person, his threats were very effective.
Lü Songyuan weighed the situation in her mind and knew that it was not worth it to confront Pei Yanqi head-on at this time, so she obediently went to copy books.
Fang Zhi also felt a sense of instinctive danger.
When this man spoke, his eyes were firm and his face was calm. There was no trace of the flattery and caution that she was used to seeing since childhood.
That meant... he would really submit a memorial.
So, Fang Zhi also obediently went to copy books.
...
"I was worried at that time. Since you weren't there, I was afraid that if the two young ladies got into a fight, I wouldn't be able to control the situation. But unexpectedly, it was solved so easily."
"I forgot to tell you later since there was no fight."
Liu Yiyi clapped her hands, looking quite pleased.
"I didn't expect that stingy Pei Yanqi could be so useful. Do you think the reason why Miss Lü and Miss Fang didn't want to come to the academy later has something to do with him?"
Li Wanming looked at Liu Yiyi's calm face and suddenly understood why she never seemed very afraid when Li Wanming talked to her about Lü and Fang.
She also suddenly understood the real meaning of Liu Yiyi's words this morning: "It's a good thing Pei Yanqi is here today. Let's see if we can get him to find a way to lure the two young ladies to our shop."
One thing constrained another.
If Lü and Fang were like unruly monkeys, Pei Yanqi was like a divine beast guarding the house.
If Pei Yanqi was the divine beast, then Liu Yiyi was like the Nine-Heavenly Goddess holding the reins of the beast.
They were all remarkable people!
Li Wanming felt relieved, and her steps became lighter.
When she reached the second floor, sure enough, the atmosphere was peaceful and serene.
All the noble officials, civil and military officers, and young ladies were... reading books under the leadership of Pei Yanqi.
Outside on the street, there was the sound of drums and music, and the excitement was about to turn the world upside down.
... They were reading books here.
Li Wanming saw Lü Songyuan, Pei Yanqi, Feng Xiao, Liang Xiong, and even her own parents... sitting upright with their chests out, holding a book and studying it seriously.
Feng Xiao saw them enter the door first. He grinned and was about to wave and complain, but was hit on the table by Pei Yanqi's ruler. He was so frightened that he quickly sat up straight and hugged his book to read seriously.
Li Rusong also saw her. He quietly buried his head behind the book and made a pained face, mouthing four words to her: Daughter, save me...
Liu Yiyi found it amusing when she saw this. She strode in: "Pei Yanqi, what are you doing?"
Pei Yanqi turned around and saw her. The solemn and elegant appearance of a teacher just now disappeared in an instant.
"You're finally here!"
He grabbed her arm and led her to the row of elegant seats by the window. With a proud look on his face, he said, "You asked me to reserve the seats by the window for you. Look, I've reserved them all. Now you can pay me, right?"
Liu Yiyi raised her eyebrows: "You led everyone to read books just to reserve the seats for me?"
"Read books?"
"Read what books?"
Pei Yanqi widened his eyes.
Seeing Liu Yiyi looking around in confusion, he suddenly realized and picked up a book on the table.
"You mean this?"
He laughed and showed it to her: "This isn't a book at all. It's a promotional brochure that Brother Xiao asked me to make!"
When he opened the pages, sure enough, there were a series of exquisite and detailed pictures, all explaining the three shops.
There were not only detailed maps of the addresses but also explanations of the business scope and special services.
However, they were described in the form of pictures and text, which was easy to understand and vivid.
"Brother Xiao said that many common people in the capital are illiterate, so leaflets with only text are useless. That's why he asked me to make a brochure, which is both interesting and convenient to distribute."
Saying this, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He straightened his face and shouted at Liu Yiyi.
"Brother Xiao is much more generous than you. For making these brochures, he gave me..."
Xiao Jingnan quickly stepped forward, covered his mouth with his hand, and dragged him back by the neck.
He looked at Li Wanming and silently mouthed the words "within thirty thousand taels, within thirty thousand taels" while scolding Pei Yanqi: "I asked you to promote the brochure. Who told you to gather everyone here to read it!"
Pei Yanqi pulled his hand away and said proudly: "What's wrong with reading?"
"Thousands of years from now, this book of mine will also be a masterpiece passed down through the ages, comparable to the works of Confucius and Mencius!"
...
An hour ago, when Pei Yanqi first came up, he saw Lü Songyuan and Fang Zhi arguing with each other, hurling sarcastic remarks at each other, as they were vying for a window seat in the middle.
Qinglan was trying hard to persuade them on one side, sweating profusely:
"Two young ladies, these two seats are both in the middle. It's just that one of them faces the signboard of the opposite attic directly, so it looks more centered..."
Fang Zhi's face was covered with a layer of frost: "I don't care. I just want this seat. Either you give this seat to me, or you ask the opposite side to take down the signboard and rebuild it!"