472 A Farce?

Everything from Hundred Flowers Lane to the main street instantly becamesilent, and then burst into an uproar! The crowd was in fervent discussion, the stewards of the Four Great Marketsand those important figures under the awning speechlessly shook their heads,and those experts that had come to challenge the Orthodox Academy wrinkledtheir brows in displeasure. At such a time, the Orthodox Academy suddenly beganto enroll new students? Just what did they want to do? The current OrthodoxAcademy didn't even have a real lecturer or teacher. Just what sort of studentdid they want to recruit? In addition, quite some time had passed since spring.Those students with decent potential had long since successfully entered theother five Ivy Schools. Even if they wanted to enroll new students, just whatsort of students would they be able to get? No matter what anyone thought, Priest Xin had already said his piece, and theannouncement that the Orthodox Academy was admitting students had also alreadybeen put up. The moment the Orthodoxy cavalry dismantled their cordon in front of theOrthodox Academy, the crowd surged forward like the tide to the OrthodoxAcademy and began to study the enrollment notice on the wall. "A term of three years, with a final examination for assessment. If onepasses, then one is recognized as a student of the Orthodox Academy. If onecan't, then get lost?" "Just who wrote this announcement? How can it be so sloppy?" "Hey, look here! Students of the Orthodox Academy don't need to pay tuition,and they even get allowance and meals?" The Orthodox Academy's enrollment notice used red paper and was written inblack ink. Red paper and black characters made for an exceptionally striking combination.It vividly fell on the eyes of every person. Those simple yet extraordinarily complex provisions, those simple and evensomewhat crude rules, immediately astonished the crowd, leaving them mystifiedas to how to respond. The stewards of the Four Great Markets made a few copies of the enrollmentnotice's terms, thus allowing the people under the awning and those expertsthat had come to challenge the Orthodox Academy to know the specifics of theOrthodox Academy's enrollment. After reviewing the announcement, the stewards were even more speechless. Theycould clearly see that this matter was not in accordance with Chen Changsheng'scharacter. This was assuredly the handiwork of that young master of the Tangclan. Consequently, the stewards of the other three markets successively madetheir way to the Heavenly Fragrance Market's station and questioned it:'Steward, just what does your market's young master plan on doing? Depend onthis to stall for time?' 'Without mentioning anything else, we had a prettygood arrangement yesterday didn't we?' 'Next match, weren't we going to haveLittle Principal Chen try and use five moves?' After reviewing the announcement, the crowd also did not scatter, but rathercongregated in front of the Orthodox Academy's gate and conversed. No one knewwhy the Orthodox Academy had chosen the height of summer, a time nottraditionally used for enrollment, to suddenly begin enrolling new students.However, this did not stop each member of the crowd from drawing their ownconclusions. The Orthodox Academy…would probably not enroll any new students. Without mentioning that the other Ivy Schools had already taken in a round ofstudents in the spring, the sole fact of the Orthodox Academy's currentsituation foreordained that there would not be many people who would dare toapply. The present Orthodox Academy was no longer that taboo of the capital it hadbeen before last year, the forgotten cemetery of old. It already had the signsof new life, but how could it deal with this year's tension in the capital?Especially because the Orthodox Academy was precisely the teeth of the storm,where two powerful forces clashed, if one were to enter the Orthodox Academy tostudy, rather than learning something, they would probably bring uponthemselves endless and boundless troubles. At this time, the Orthodox Academy's gate was once more pushed open. ChenChangsheng and the others carried out several tables, along with brush, ink,and paper. With a rumble, the crowd surrounded them. The common folk of the capital hadalways feared nothing, and straight away began asking them the questions ontheir minds. Fortunately, the Li Palace priests and Orthodoxy cavalry swiftly arrived onthe scene. Without waiting for Chen Changsheng and the rest to grow dizzy fromthe endless stream of questions, they partitioned off a section. Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six, and Xuanyuan Po sat themselves behind threeseparate tables. A stack of paper was arranged on the table, the ink on the inkstone had already been grinded out, and the brushes had been placed on theirracks. Chen Changsheng's table also had the register of the Orthodox Academyand the principal's seal. Everything had been prepared, only applicants were wanted. It was now fully morning, eight or nine o'clock, and the new sun had alreadyrisen. As time slowly passed, the place in front of the Orthodox Academy's gatesstill contained just three tables and three people. The crowd surrounding the announcement had already dispersed, but still no onehad come to apply. Xuanyuan Po's gaze flitted over the delicate brush on its rack and thenglanced at his rough and big hands. He thought to himself, uprooting trees iseasy, but writing is too hard…luckily, it seems that no one will be comingtoday. Chen Changsheng somewhat awkwardly lowered his head, but since things hadalready come to this point, he also didn't want to blame Tang Thirty-Six foranything. He just helplessly thought, could it really be that no one will cometo apply? Tang Thirty-Six's table was the most bustling. From time to time, a youngmaiden would bashfully walk up, place a sachet of perfume on his table, andthen sprint away like a startled deer. There were even a few audacious maidenswho requested that he write a few words on their fans. Of course, these youngmaidens only wished to borrow this rare opportunity to get a little closer tohim, but not a one truly applied. Priest Xin, who was responsible formaintaining order on the scene, had an unsightly expression on his face, butTang Thirty-Six seemed unaffected. Yes, he wasn't one bit embarrassed, or atleast he didn't show it. He warmly laughed and whispered a few words to thoseyoung maidens and then gathered all those presents of perfume on the table.Moreover, he also indicated that he would definitely make good use of thesegifts. After a while, when Tang Thirty Six's table was somewhat less busy, ChenChangsheng availed himself of the opportunity to draw close and whisper, "Whichone is Bie Tianxin?" Tang Thirty-Six replied, "This sort of personage naturally won't randomlyappear on the scene. I've already looked—he's not there." Chen Changsheng relaxed a little, and then said, "Your table is almost full." Tang Thirty-Six subtly raised his eyebrows. With an indescribable confidenceand pride, he asked, "Envying this elder brother?" Chen Changsheng lowered his head and said, "But your table doesn't have asingle application form." Tang Thirty-Six lightly coughed. "There's no need to rush." Chen Changsheng replied, "Seeing how much you enjoy being surrounded by thosegirls, I can tell that you really are in no rush." Tang Thirty-Six replied, "What do you know? I'm building up a good image! TheOrthodox Academy wants to enroll new students. I am its living signboard. It'sonly a matter of course that I be patient and warm." The news that the Orthodox Academy was enrolling new students very quicklyspread throughout the entire capital. Many people, including those importantpersonages, couldn't hold back their curiosity. By either coming personally ordispatching competent subordinates, they wished to know just what exactly thoseyouths of the Orthodox Academy were up to. There were two important personages who, in the past few days, would oftenappear in that tea house in Hundred Flowers Lane. Of course, they would not beabsent today. They were precisely Daoist Siyuan, one of those that had suggested the newrule of the All-School Martial Exhibition, and Mao Qiuyu, Archbishop of theHall of Illustrious Persons and representative of the Pope's will. Daoist Siyuan gazed at the desolate area in front of the Orthodox Academy, atthose three tables and those three youths, and shook his head. "Truly a load ofnonsense." Mao Qiuyu sat across from him at the table and watched Tang Thirty-Six wave atthe maidens in the crowd. Chortling, he said, "Truly a funny fellow." Before he was the Archbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons, he wasPrincipal of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Before Tang Thirty-Six entered theOrthodox Academy, he was his student. Daoist Siyuan wrinkled his brow and said, "This sort of farce truly shames theLi Palace." "A farce? I don't see it that way. Perhaps they won't be able to enroll asingle new student today, but…" Mao Qiuyu's smile vanished as he indifferently declared, "The entire continentwill soon know, the Orthodox Academy…after almost twenty years, has finallybegun to once more enroll new students." The Orthodox Academy beginning to enroll new students once more was speakingof the fact that it was doing so formally and on a large scale. It wascompletely different from how Chen Changsheng had mistakenly entered theOrthodox Academy. In the eyes of many of the elders of the conservative faction of theOrthodoxy, as well as the many people of the capital who still remembered thepast magnificence of the Orthodox Academy, this was an incredibly significantevent. But at present, from morning until noon, this event really did seem just likea farce. From beginning to end, the area in front of the Orthodox Academy onlycontained three tables and three youths. It was so desolate that even thespectators on the side felt rather embarrassed, let alone those involved. At some point, Tang Thirty-Six had Xuanyuan Po find a big umbrella in theOrthodox Academy's storeroom. It was placed above the three tables, blockingout some of the sunlight and also allowing them to pass a boring period of time. "Is this okay?" Chen Changsheng lowered his head and asked. By now, the young maidens that had come to send flowers could no longer bearthe intense heat and had reluctantly taken their leave. The spectatorsremaining in the lane were looking over as they engaged in spirited discussion.From the expression on their faces, it was evident that they were jeering,although there was no malicious intent.