Chapter 201
Chapter 201
As one of the four meritorious marquises, the Marquis of Zhenbei, Jiang Ting, had long been stationed at the Northern Border with a powerful army under his command.
Ren Fengjue had never met him.
He had only heard his father say that the Marquis possessed a fiery temper and truly lived up to the name Ting, meaning “Thunder.”
Whether waging war or handling affairs, he acted with thunderous speed and overwhelming force.
Thus, Ren Fengjue found the old man’s claim entirely plausible.
Jiang Ting tolerated no wrongdoing. How could he permit the people of the Northern Border to worship a Ghost God indiscriminately?
But Scholar Zhong’s case had occurred decades ago. Who could prove whether Minister Zhong had visited the Ghost God Temple?
It was nearly dark when they left the teahouse.
Yu Lang stretched at the entrance. “It felt as though we sat for only a moment. How is it dark already?”
He asked Ren Fengjue, “My lord, are we returning to the Zhong residence now, or…?”
Ren Fengjue shook his head. “We will visit Beiding Academy.”
The old man had said that Minister Zhong was an orphan raised at Beiding Academy.
After entering official service, he donated money to the academy at regular intervals.
He had continued doing so for more than thirty years.
Beiding Academy was also in the eastern district, close to Liuhua Alley.
The moat ran directly before its gate.
Two gnarled old trees stood outside, where several children were playing.
When they learned that visitors wished to tour the academy, the children immediately summoned its steward.
Under the steward’s welcome, Ren Fengjue and the others entered.
It was mealtime. At a call from the dining hall, more than a dozen children swarmed inside.
Three or five scholars lodging at the academy also passed slowly before them with books in their arms, swaying their heads as they recited under their breath.
As the steward introduced the academy, courtesy compelled him to invite the visitors to eat with them.
To everyone’s surprise, Ren Fengjue readily accepted.
Even Yu Lang was astonished. The man was only being polite. Why had Lord Ren taken him seriously?
The steward also froze, but having offered, he could hardly withdraw the invitation.
He led them to the dining hall and arranged a separate table.
Unexpectedly, the academy’s food was delicious. Though only several simple vegetarian dishes were served, they had been paired with great ingenuity.
The stuffed tofu in particular tempted even Xia Ximo to take two pieces…
Seeing that she liked it, Lord Ren quietly placed the final piece in her bowl.
Yu Lang, whose chopsticks had just reached out, felt deeply aggrieved.
At that moment, a robust man of about forty emerged from the kitchen to greet the steward.
The steward introduced him as the dining hall cook, surnamed Wu and known as Uncle Ah Wu. He too had grown up at the academy.
Ah Wu laughed and said that written characters had made his head spin since childhood; only food roused his interest.
The previous headmaster saw he was not made for study and allowed him to help in the kitchen.
By now, he had worked there for more than thirty years.
Ren Fengjue naturally praised him, then asked, “Uncle Ah Wu, since you have remained at the academy so long, were you acquainted with the current Minister Zhong?”
Ah Wu chuckled. “Minister Zhong also grew up here, but I was not yet ten when he earned his degree. We were too far apart in age to play together, but I knew him well enough.”
Ren Fengjue asked, “I heard Minister Zhong was close to another scholar with the same surname. Do you remember him?”
Ah Wu answered without hesitation, “Of course. I remember him very clearly…”