Meng Ruyi looked at the people around her curiously. Whispers reached her ears. "Hey? Whose kids are these two? How come they can have Mr. Lin Fu show them around?"
"None of the noble families in the capital have other direct descendants, right? Could they be from the south of the Yangtze River? But they don't look like it."
"Why not? They all have one nose and two eyes just like everyone else."
The man gave his companion a sidelong glance and curled his lips.
"They don't look like it. Those from the south of the Yangtze River seem gentle, but in fact, they're so arrogant that they look down on everyone. It's as if we're begging them to come here."
"You're right." The other man patted his companion on the shoulder in agreement. "These two seem quite nice. Judging from their words and deeds, they must come from good families. And with Mr. Lin Fu leading them around, tsk tsk tsk, this academy is going to get lively again."
It seemed that this academy was quite interesting.
Listening to the two men's conversation, Meng Ruyi knew that they must come from high - ranking families. They were all wearing the unique blue gowns of the academy. Their conversations carried an air of nobility. Although their tones were haughty, they were somehow not annoying, more like noble sons with an especially strong sense of curiosity.
Moreover, judging from their accents, they were from the capital, but they seemed to look down on those from the south of the Yangtze River.
It seemed that there were different factions in this academy.
Thinking like this, the two of them soon followed Lin Fu to a small courtyard. Lin Fu knocked on the door, then pushed it open and said to them, "Go in, you two. The master has been waiting for you for a long time."
"Thank you, Mr. Lin Fu."
Meng Ruyi said, and Song Huaizhi nodded slightly to him. Then the two of them walked in side by side.
The small courtyard was not big, but it was extremely delicate. There was also a rockery beside the yard.
As soon as Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi entered, they saw a door being pushed open. Mr. Lin was standing there. The moment he saw them, his usually solemn face was instantly filled with smiles, and he strode forward.
Before Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi could bow to pay their respects, he waved his hand and said with a smile, "Don't be so polite, don't be so polite."
"You've both grown up." Mr. Lin said with emotion. He looked at Meng Ruyi and then at Song Huaizhi. "Come on, come in quickly. Have a cup of tea and cool off."
"You've lost weight after the long journey."
Meng Ruyi nodded, feeling warm inside.
[Hahaha, there's a kind of weight loss called Mr. Lin thinks you've lost weight. Yu Yu and Xiao Song have grown up, and their baby fat is gone.]
[Wuwuwu, Mr. Lin is so warm. As soon as he sees them, he asks them to go in and rest.]
[Looking forward to the new plot! I'm so excited!]
After entering the room and sitting down, Mr. Lin quickly poured them a cup of cold tea. Only after watching them drink it did he say reassuringly, "You've had a hard journey."
"It wasn't hard." Meng Ruyi said with a smile. "I haven't seen you for a long time, sir. Of course, I was eager to come."
"Alas!" Mr. Lin sighed. "I left in a hurry back then. I'm sorry for leaving you two alone for several years. It's all my fault. Now that you're here, I can finally fulfill my duty as a master."
"It was an urgent situation back then. It wasn't your fault." Song Huaizhi said with a slight smile in his voice.
The three of them looked at each other, and Mr. Lin couldn't help laughing out loud. "It's good that you're here! It's really good that you're here!"
"We don't need to be so formal as master and disciples." Mr. Lin said seriously, looking at the two of them. "Huaizhi, you can go to the men's academy first. Ruyi, you don't need to be in a hurry. You can try the women's academy first. If you want to go to Huaizhi's academy later, I'll arrange it for you."
"Thank you, sir."
Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi said.
"By the way." Meng Ruyi remembered Tang Xiyi and then said to Mr. Lin, "Sir, is the Tang family being forced into a corner recently? Why has the Crown Prince been so eager recently?"
"Yes, you're well - informed." Mr. Lin praised. "The Tang family is in a hurry. Since you're asking now, it means they've come to you for help. You can agree to their request. This will add some weight to your side."
Meng Ruyi was slightly surprised and felt warm inside.
It turned out that Mr. Lin had known about the Tang family's movements for a long time. But in order to give them some help, he had chosen to let Tang Xiyi get in touch with the academy through her and Song Huaizhi.
"Thank you, sir."
Song Huaizhi said, bowing to Mr. Lin. But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the man in front of him. "If you keep being so polite, it'll be dark before we finish talking."
It was so amazing. Meng Ruyi thought it was a bit funny. She couldn't help covering her mouth and looking at Song Huaizhi's rare embarrassed look with a strong smile in her eyes.
"By the way." Mr. Lin said. "It's not easy to arrange your accommodation. You could stay in the men's and women's academies respectively, but it would be inconvenient for you two to meet. Or..."
Mr. Lin said, a smile appearing on his face. "You can both stay in the two yards next to mine."
"…Ah?"
Meng Ruyi was shocked. She couldn't help widening her eyes slightly as she looked at Mr. Lin. "Isn't this... isn't this too high - profile?"
Staying next to Mr. Lin was almost like telling everyone that they were using connections to get in and that they had a special relationship with Mr. Lin.
Meng Ruyi had always been a low - key person. She never expected Mr. Lin to be so high - profile all of a sudden. She asked a bit uncomfortably, "The academy doesn't seem to be very peaceful recently. Maybe this is a good thing?"
Seeing the hesitation on Meng Ruyi's face, Mr. Lin smiled. "Yes, Ruyi is right. So it's better to be high - profile from the start. This way, some people will think twice before they act, and it might save you a lot of trouble."
Meng Ruyi had to admit that she was a bit tempted.
Song Huaizhi frowned beside her. After listening to the two of them, he directly said, "Thank you for your arrangement, Mr. Lin. We'll stay in the yards next to yours."
"Good." Mr. Lin was in a great mood. He waved his hand and said to the two of them, "I knew you two would choose this way."
"I guess your things will be unpacked by the time you go back."
So Mr. Lin had already made up his mind and was just waiting for them to agree?
Seeing the smile on Mr. Lin's face, Meng Ruyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She subconsciously glanced at Song Huaizhi and saw that he was also smiling and nodding slightly at her, with a look of satisfaction in his eyes.
Meng Ruyi was stunned.
Mr. Lin smiled faintly. Watching the silent interaction between the two of them, he already had a plan in mind.
It seemed that he hadn't misjudged Song Huaizhi back then. This young man had been guarding Ruyi for a long time. Now that he was older, he was even more inseparable from her. He knew that if he proposed the above condition, Song Huaizhi would surely not refuse.
So after the two of them finished looking at each other, Mr. Lin continued, "Now let me tell you about the current situation and the forces in the academy. You can ask the attendants I've assigned to you about the specific rules."
Saying this, he sipped his tea and slowly introduced.
When it came to the Shangguan family, his tone became a bit heavier. "Half a month before you came, Shangguan Xue, the eldest daughter of the Shangguan family, also came to the academy. This girl is not simple. She came here to avoid trouble."
Meng Ruyi perked up.