Hearing Yi Qing say this, Wu Min wanted to slap her right away. She knew Yi Qing would surely say something sarcastic at this moment.
Yi Qing laughed seeing Wu Min getting angry. "You really won't tell me?"
"I want to eat meat," Wu Min said straightforwardly.
Yi Qing palmed her forehead. It seemed the Lu family had been treating Wu Min badly, making her come out asking for meat. "Ruo Hong, go tell the kitchen to set up a grill."
"Yes," Ruo Hong replied and went to give the order to the kitchen.
Yi Qing and Wu Min also went to the kitchen. Setting up a small grill and sitting beside it to eat the freshly grilled meat would be perfect.
Wu Min regained her spirit after eating two servings of roasted meat and started complaining about her future mother - in - law.
In short, Mrs. Lu disliked Wu Min's clothes, thought she was ignorant of etiquette, and didn't like that she didn't even care when bugs crawled on her...
"She said the Lu family was praying for Lu Tianxun's well - being, so the whole family was on a vegetarian diet. Lu Tianxun isn't dead! Why do they need to pray?" Wu Min said angrily.
They had long expected that Wu Min would have trouble fitting into the Lu family, but they didn't expect it to be this serious. After all, Mrs. Lu didn't seem like an intolerant person.
Now thinking about it, not only did Lu Tianxun not want to get married himself, but the reason why Lu Tianzuo hadn't gotten married for so long might be related to Mrs. Lu. Mrs. Lu was constantly pressuring Lu Tianzuo to get married, but when he really took a fancy to someone, she would pick on the girl, so Lu Tianzuo didn't dare to choose, and no one dared to send their daughters to Mrs. Lu.
"In the Great Jin Dynasty, we don't only pray for the dead," Yi Qing explained. "You didn't eat much meat before either."
Wu Min indeed used to eat little meat, but after tasting the meat cooked by Yi Qing, she couldn't do without it.
Moreover, the diet in the Great Jin Dynasty was rich and diverse, and Wu Min just wanted to have a try.
"I want to eat it now," Wu Min said as she ate. "Today she even made me learn etiquette. She said that a daughter - in - law of the Lu family shouldn't be a disgrace. And your clothes are so hard to wear. How can I go collecting herbs in them? I'll surely trip."
Yi Qing couldn't agree more. Actually, when they were at home, they wouldn't wear such complicated clothes. They only wore them for some banquets.
"Didn't you talk to Lu Tianxun about it?" Yi Qing wondered when Wu Min had become so obedient.
"He goes to some academy as soon as he comes back. When he finally comes home at night, his mother keeps finding things for me to do. We don't even have a chance to talk." Wu Min thought it would be better if she was still in Wu Gorge.
Yi Qing thought Mrs. Lu was doing it on purpose. As such a strong - willed woman, she didn't like things going out of her control. "Yunyang Academy. I can take you there." She thought this matter still needed Lu Tianxun to handle.
But was Lu Tianxun really that concerned about Yunyang Academy? He went to take over the academy as soon as he came back.
"Okay," Wu Min said, wiping her hands with a handkerchief on one side and urging Yi Qing to go quickly.
Just then, Ruo Hong came in from outside. "Madam, Mrs. Yuan is asking to see you."
"Tell her I'm not at home," Yi Qing refused directly.
"Yes," Ruo Hong bowed and left.
Yi Qing and Wu Min left through the back door. They got on a small carriage and went straight to Yunyang Academy.
Lu Tianxun had already taken over Yunyang Academy. Some things had really happened to the academy during his absence. A few days ago, a companion student was caught stealing knowledge and helping his young master cheat. He was severely punished by the academy, and it ended up costing him his life.
The death of a servant wasn't a big deal, but the dead man's elder brother knew Song Zhiyu, the most handsome man in the Great Jin Dynasty. Song Zhiyu was not only extremely good - looking but also proficient in perfume - making, poetry, calligraphy, painting, and music, driving countless women in the capital crazy.
Song Zhiyu, who usually never got involved in worldly affairs, actually intervened in this matter, so it became a big deal.
When they arrived at Yunyang Academy, there were a lot of people blocking the academy's front gate, demanding an explanation from the academy.
"What are they doing?" Wu Min asked curiously.
Yi Qing sent Ruo Hong to find out. She then learned what had happened. It was probably like a situation in modern times where a child had an accident at school, and the family carried a coffin to block the school gate to get compensation.
But this wasn't modern times. Maybe there was really some injustice, so Yi Qing couldn't make a hasty conclusion.
"Let's go through the back door," Yi Qing signaled.
Earlier, Ran Ran had worked at Yunyang Academy, so Yi Qing was very familiar with the back door. A group of them entered the academy through the back door.
Not only was Lu Tianxun at the academy, but Xu Maozhi was also there. Seeing Yi Qing coming, he hurriedly greeted her.
"Why did Madam Xiao come?" Xu Maozhi was surprised.
"I'm here to find Baozi. I also brought Wu Min along," Yi Qing signaled to Xu Maozhi. "Come with me to see Baozi."
Xu Maozhi nodded. The two left, leaving Lu Tianxun and Wu Min in the room.
"I heard a companion student died. At most, the prefect would come to have a look. Why has it escalated to involve the Supreme Court?" Yi Qing wondered.
"This matter should indeed be handled by the prefect, but since it involves official families, the emperor has asked our Supreme Court to cooperate. Now this matter has become an issue related to the imperial examination system in the Great Jin Dynasty," Xu Maozhi said with a headache.
He was good at finding the truth from small clues. The truth of this matter was clear, but the problems it had brought about were too troublesome.
"The imperial examination system?" Yi Qing hadn't paid attention to this. "What's the problem?"
"The imperial examination system in the Great Jin Dynasty combines recommendation and examination. To take the exam, one must have three recommenders. It's not a problem for noble families and wealthy households, but it's very difficult for poor scholars," Xu Maozhi sighed.
"Do you mean that without recommendations, one can't take the exam?"
"Yes. If a recommender has a problem, the student taking the exam will be implicated."
"Isn't this a bit too unfair?"
"The court's original intention was to let respected people recommend students with good character so that students wouldn't be led astray by people with bad intentions. It was supposed to be a process of mutual supervision and selection. It's a pity..."
"Isn't this too rigid?" Yi Qing still couldn't agree. "To err is human. If so, once a person has a problem, too many people will be implicated."
"So the court has stipulated that only the direct recommender will be implicated, and others won't be held accountable."
As they were talking, they arrived at Baozi's residence.
Because of what had happened in the academy, classes had been suspended. The students who hadn't gone home were chatting in their residences. They sized up Yi Qing and the others when they saw them coming.
When Yi Qing wasn't in the capital, Xu Maozhi often came to the academy to see Baozi. In fact, he was there to support Baozi. Some people here knew him.
"Is Baozi an outcast?" Yi Qing walked to the innermost residence. Baozi had a single dormitory with a courtyard.
"According to Duo'er, it's that others aren't worthy to be with him," Xu Maozhi said with a laugh.
He considered himself a high - minded person, but he had nothing to say in front of Xiao Duo. If Xiao Duo wasn't as cold - tempered as his father and didn't like to pursue fame and fortune, he would have been well - known in the capital long ago.
As soon as Yi Qing reached the courtyard gate, Xiao Duo suddenly turned around. He relaxed when he saw them.
"What's wrong with you?" Yi Qing didn't know why Baozi was so vigilant.
"I want to know how Mo Kong died," Xiao Duo said word by word.