Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1189 The Sect's Jade Shattered

The faces of everyone at Luming Academy were darker than the last, with Hou Yirui's face being so dark it could drip ink.

Ren Hou Yirui never expected that this seemingly composed disciple would utter such words as "country bumpkin" in front of all the people today, which truly gave him a great surprise.

If public anger is not quelled in time, it will likely be long before the news of "the disciples of Luming Academy disrespecting the people" spreads throughout the surrounding prefectures and even reaches the capital.

What should have been a proper thesis was about to turn into a denunciation meeting at Luming Academy.

"I think... there's no need to continue with the thesis." A lazy voice sounded from beside Hou Yirui.

Hou Yirui turned his head and saw that the boy who was speaking had a smile on his lips, and his eyes showed not only excitement at watching the show, but also disdain for Huai Shaoyong.

"Who are you?" The black-bearded old man beside Hou Yirui looked at him warily. "Whether or not to continue the thesis is none of your business."

"Old man, don't worry about who I am." The young man's gaze swept over Huai Shaoyong on the stage, then over the indignant crowd below, and he laughed, "If you continue arguing, you'll only make yourselves a laughing stock. Your Luming Academy might as well admit defeat and save some face for yourselves."

"How dare you!" the black-bearded old man roared. "When did it become your place, a mere child, to interfere in the affairs of my Deer Cry Academy?"

"Hiss—what's that smell?" The boy wrinkled his nose and took several steps back, then raised his sleeve to cover his mouth and nose, and mumbled, "Old man, did you not brush your teeth this morning? Stay away from me."

As soon as he finished speaking, laughter erupted from those around him.

The black-bearded old man trembled with rage and immediately tried to rush towards the boy, but Hou Yirui held him back tightly.

"Headmaster!" The black-bearded old man looked at Hou Yirui in confusion, "This kid is clearly deliberately picking a fight, why are you...?"

"Since you can tell he's just looking for trouble, don't get entangled with him!" Hou Yirui's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He closed his eyes to calm himself down. "The most urgent thing is to stabilize public sentiment and protect the reputation of the academy."

He thought to himself that perhaps he really shouldn't have come today.

He underestimated the student surnamed Pei and overestimated Huai Shaoyong, almost ruining the reputation of Luming Academy.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Hou Yirui turned to face the people, cupped his hands and said, "Fellow villagers, my son was young and ignorant and spoke without thinking. On his behalf, I apologize to you all!"

With that, he bowed deeply, then turned to Huai Shaoyong and shouted sternly, "Hurry up and apologize to the villagers!"

"Teacher?" Huai Shaoyong froze, looking at Hou Yirui in disbelief. "This disciple is not wrong; it's clearly them who can't understand..."

"Shut up!" Hou Yirui roared. "The people are the foundation of the nation. To disrespect them is a grave mistake! If you don't apologize today, you are no longer a disciple of my Luming Academy!"

Huai Shaoyong was struck dumb upon hearing this.

He was just angry and said "country bumpkin," so why did he have to apologize in public?

The resolute look in Hou Yirui's eyes stung him deeply.

Looking back on everything that happened today, he had already lost face, and now, even his teacher wasn't on his side.

In an instant, Huai Shaoyong could no longer suppress his resentment and exploded: "This disciple is not wrong, this disciple will never apologize!"

"Whoosh—" The boy who had been picking a fight earlier whistled, "Interesting, interesting, master and disciple turning against each other."

Hou Yirui never imagined that Huai Shaoyong would publicly contradict him.

I wanted to minimize the problem, and then resolve it altogether, but now...

Thinking of the century-old foundation of Luming Academy, Hou Yirui's eyes showed even more determination: "If you insist on not apologizing, then from now on, you and Luming Academy will have nothing to do with each other!"

Huai Shaoyong's face turned deathly pale.

For a moment, he did consider bowing his head and apologizing.

But when his eyes met those in the audience, resentment welled up in his heart again.

Why?

The teacher had previously said that his policy essay was the best one in recent years.

If it is the best, why should we cater to these common people?

"They attacked me first, criticizing my writing. My words... were unintentional!" Huai Shaoyong said, his neck stiff, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below the stage. "If you want me to apologize to them, they must apologize to my writing first!"

There was a moment of silence after these words were spoken.

The next instant, a barrage of insults swept in.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Jiang Zhiming stepped forward again.

This time, he no longer stopped the people, but looked at Hou Yirui, whose face was stiff: "Master Hou, your disciple is stubborn and has aroused public anger. I wonder how Master Hou will deal with this?"

Hou Yirui knew that Jiang Zhiming was forcing him to make a decision.

Previously, he had placed high hopes on his disciple Huai Shaoyong, regarding him as a future pillar of the academy.

But now, Huai Shaoyong has disregarded the academy's reputation, pushing the entire academy into the eye of a storm of rumors...

Should we protect this disciple, or protect the academy's reputation?

The answer was obvious, but Hou Yirui still hesitated, because he found it hard to sever the bond between master and disciple that had lasted for many years.

A moment later, he looked up at Huai Shaoyong, his voice deepening: "I'm giving you one last chance. Will you apologize to the people or not?"

A trace of reluctance lingered in his eyes, but Huai Shaoyong seemed to be completely enraged by those words. He took out a jade pendant from his pocket and threw it forcefully onto the table.

"I don't apologize!"

"Clang-"

The jade pendant fell onto the platform, scattering in pieces.

Hou Yirui stared intently at the jade pendant fragments, his eyes bloodshot: "Good, good, good..."

That jade pendant is proof of a student's identity at Luming Academy.

Back then, when Huai Shaoyong became his disciple, he personally tied the jade pendant to Huai Shaoyong's waist. Now, in the blink of an eye... it has been smashed to pieces.

“In that case, I will say no more.” Hou Yirui picked up a piece of broken jade from the edge of the platform, put it in his pocket, and said with his eyes downcast, “The jade is broken. From now on, you, Huai Shaoyong, and I, and Luming Academy, will have no further connection.”

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the crowd.

The rest of the students from Luming Academy were still in a daze.

They simply couldn't understand how things had turned out this way in the blink of an eye, when they had clearly come to stand up for the students.

"You really are..." The black-bearded old man pointed at Huai Shaoyong, wanting to curse but not knowing what to say, so he could only glare at Huai Shaoyong fiercely before turning around and following Hou Yirui's steps.

The common people were still a bit confused, and subconsciously made way for the group from Luming Academy.

"Headmaster Hou, please wait!" Jiang Zhiming called out loudly.

Hou Yirui did not stop walking and said without turning his head, "Lord Jiang, there is no need to stop me. I have nothing more to say."

"...No." Jiang Zhiming jumped off the stage and strode over: "I want to ask, do you still stand by your promise to Pei Xuezi regarding the classics and lectures?"

"What did you say?" Hou Yirui asked in disbelief.