Catching Monsters

Chapter 735 Chu Qinghe

Fang Daru looked deeply worried, which puzzled Jiang Qiaoqiao. She rarely saw Fang Daru with such an expression since she became his disciple.

After leaving Fang Daru's courtyard, she touched her hair and looked curiously at the letter in her hand.

Could it be related to this letter?

But my brother is always busy outside, and I don't know when he'll be back.

After school, Jiang Qiaoqiao took a carriage back to the Jiang residence.

Upon returning to the Jiang residence, I heard the news that Jiang Yun had already returned.

"My brother is back?" Jiang Qiaoqiao's face lit up with joy, and she quickly ran towards the backyard.

Upon arriving at the backyard, they indeed saw Jiang Yun resting inside, chatting with Xu Suwen.

Jiang Yun had indeed just returned to the capital.

After leaving the Tuoba tribe, the rest of them went straight back to the capital, except for Liu Boqing, who left directly and went back to the Immortal Island.

On the way, Jiang Yun asked Liu Boqing about it out of curiosity. Liu Boqing just mysteriously said that they were preparing to welcome the Lord of the Immortal Island back.

More details were not disclosed to Jiang Yun.

During the conversation, Jiang Yun also learned that if Liu Boqing could obtain the Investiture of the Gods, it would be much easier to welcome back the Lord of the Immortal Island.

But now that the Investiture of the Gods has fallen into the hands of the Dragon Saint, the difficulty of forcibly snatching it from him is practically a pipe dream.

Upon returning to the capital, Black Snake rushed back to Tongyou Guard to report the operation to Qin Hong.

Their mission can be considered a successful completion of His Majesty the Emperor's orders.

Jiang Yun was chatting with Xu Suwen. After being away from home for a while, he had to ask about things at home recently.

Soon, he saw Jiang Qiaoqiao running in from outside: "Brother! You're back."

"What's wrong? Missing your brother?" Jiang Yun smiled, knowing in his heart that he had been too busy lately to spend much time with this girl.

Jiang Qiaoqiao nodded with a smile, then handed over a letter, saying, "Teacher Fang just happened to be looking for me today and asked me to give this letter to you."

"A letter from Fang Daru to me?" Jiang Yun was slightly taken aback. Looking at the letter Jiang Qiaoqiao handed over, she frowned slightly, feeling a little strange.

If Fang Daru has anything to say, why doesn't he just come to see me directly? Why does Jiang Qiaoqiao need to deliver a letter?

Thinking of this, Jiang Yun took the letter. At this moment, Jiang Qiaoqiao said hesitantly, "Brother, there's something else."

"Is there anything else?" Jiang Yun asked Jiang Qiaoqiao with a puzzled look.

Jiang Qiaoqiao said, "The imperial examinations will be held in a few days, and Qiao Haotian wants to participate..."

Jiang Yun asked in surprise, "He's taking the imperial examination? Why are you telling me this?"

“I want you to help him.” Jiang Qiaoqiao blinked and said, “Of course, I don’t want you to help him cheat.”

"But I've heard that our imperial examinations aren't entirely fair and just, and many of the participants have connections and backgrounds."

"I just want to at least give Qiao Haotian a fair chance."

Jiang Yun didn't know much about the imperial examinations; after all, given his status, he didn't need to care about such trivial matters.

He subconsciously looked at Xu Suwen beside him: "Is there cheating in the imperial examinations?"

Xu Suwen rolled her eyes at Jiang Yun: "How did you get your scholar status?"

Jiang Yun was speechless for a moment, then Xu Suwen said, "It can't really be called cheating, but you know the officialdom of our Zhou Kingdom..."

"Who said that the imperial examinations would be as exaggerated as your county-level examinations, where the examiners would write the questions for you? But it was still very easy for powerful and influential families to find out the exam questions in advance."

"Then they would have someone write down the answers in advance so that the sons of the powerful and wealthy who were taking the exam could memorize them."

"That happens quite often."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun said, "Then please help me find out who the chief examiner is this year. I'll have someone put in a good word for me."

Given Jiang Yun's current status and position, such matters can indeed be handled simply by making a heads-up.

Then, Jiang Yun opened the letter that Fang Tingzhi had given him.

But upon seeing this, Jiang Yun's face instantly darkened.

"What's wrong?" Xu Suwen and Jiang Qiaoqiao asked from the side.

Xu Suwen was somewhat concerned. Could it be that something serious had happened?
Jiang Qiaoqiao was simply curious.

"It's nothing." Jiang Yun quickly put the letter away and said, "I'm going out for a bit."

Soon, Jiang Yun went out, his face grim, and quickly headed towards the location of the Northern Garrison Command.

The contents of Fang Tingzhi's letter were quite simple.

"Commander Jiang, you need to be extra careful these days. As far as I know, there are people in the Confucian school who want to harm you. However, I am a Confucian myself, so it is not convenient for me to tell them to their face."

Back at the Beizhenfusi Yamen, looking at the letter Fang Tingzhi had written to him, Jiang Yun was also puzzled. Who in the Confucian Academy wanted to harm him?
Is it because he received Confucian baptism?
That's not right. The matter of baptism had already been agreed upon with the Confucian school.

He also promised that if the Confucian school needed his help in the future, he would lend a hand.

I have no grudges against the Confucianists. Besides, given my position in the Zhou court, why would the Confucians want to oppose me?

Furthermore, the person who would turn against him would likely be of unusual status and position, even within the Confucian school.

For a moment, Jiang Yun stared at the letter in his hand, completely baffled.

Soon, Jiang Yun pushed open the door, found Qi Da, and said, "Qi Da, change into some casual clothes and come with me to the Renyi Academy."

"Change into casual clothes?" Zidane paused for a moment, then quickly nodded and went to change his clothes.

The two then headed towards the Renyi Academy. By this time, it was getting dark, and Jiang Yun did not lead Qi Da through the main gate.

Instead, they went through the back door.

There were two people from the academy guarding the back gate.

Seeing Jiang Yun and Qi Da approach, he frowned slightly and asked, "What do you two do?"

The main reason is that although Jiang Yun and Qi Da changed their clothes, they were still wearing silk, which clearly indicated that they were rich and noble.

Jiang Yun smiled and said, "I've come to visit Master Fang. Please help me pass on a message that he's an old friend of mine."

After saying that, Jiang Yun also took out two ten-tael silver notes from his sleeve and handed them over.

"This……"

The two men exchanged a glance. According to the rules, it wasn't something that the two gatekeepers could decide to do, such as visiting the great scholar Fang.

However, the other party was dressed in an extraordinary manner and claimed to be a friend of Fang Daru.

More importantly, the two silver notes handed over were quite substantial. "Gentlemen, please wait a moment while I go in and ask," the two exchanged a glance, then one of them quickly went inside, not forgetting to ask before entering, "What is your name, sir?"

Jiang Yun smiled and sealed the letter, handing it to Fang Daru: "Just give this letter to Fang Daru."

Afterwards, Jiang and Yun waited quietly in place. Not long after, the man came out and said with a smile, "After seeing your letter, Master Fang asked me to invite you in."

Zidane glanced at Jiang Yun with some confusion. What was Lord Jiang doing?

Given Lord Jiang's status, if he wanted to see Confucian Master Fang, he could have simply revealed his identity directly. Why did he need to hide his identity like this?

Although he had doubts, he didn't say much. He knew that Jiang Yun must have his reasons for doing this.

Soon, the two of them, led by the gatekeeper, headed toward the courtyard of the great scholar Fang.

Upon arriving outside the courtyard, the gate was already open, and Fang Tingzhi stood at the doorway.

Fang Tingzhi frowned slightly and quickly dismissed the person who had led the way. Then, he glanced at Qi Da and said, "This must be Commander Qi of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, right? I'm sorry to trouble Commander Qi to stop outside as well."

Jiang Yun nodded to Qi Da before entering Fang Tingzhi's courtyard.

In the courtyard, there is a tea table, which is where Fang Tingzhi usually writes calligraphy and paints, or drinks tea.

After inviting Jiang Yun to sit down, Fang Tingzhi sighed slightly and pointed to the letter on the tea table: "I shouldn't have written this letter to remind Lord Jiang, but I thought that Lord Jiang is a good person and a rare good official in the Zhou Kingdom's officialdom."

"Furthermore, your sister has become my disciple. After learning of this, I hesitated for a long time before finally writing this letter."

As he spoke, he took out a teapot and slowly brewed tea.

Jiang Yun nodded: "I am very grateful that you, esteemed scholar Fang, are willing to remind me. However, I am still puzzled after receiving this letter."

"Who exactly is it within the Confucian academy who wants to get rid of me? I don't seem to have offended any of you Confucian scholars."

Fang Tingzhi slowly brewed tea and said, "Among the five academies of Renyi, Yangzheng, Sitian, Qinghe, and Tianjun, there are countless experts. As far as I know, the person who wants to deal with you should be from the Qinghe Academy."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun frowned slightly and asked, "Qinghe Academy?"

Fang Tingzhi nodded and slowly said, "Qinghe Academy is the latest of the five great academies. A thousand years ago, it was just a school. Later, the last sage of Confucianism studied and learned to read and write in Qinghe Academy and eventually became a sage. Only then did it become one of the five great academies."

A thousand years ago?
Sanctification?

Jiang Yun frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice, "Master Fang, could this last sage be one of the six sages who remained in the mortal world?"

"The Six Sages of the Human Realm?" Fang Tingzhi was slightly taken aback, then shook his head and said, "I don't know about that."

"I also vaguely learned from a friend at Qinghe Academy that Qinghe Academy seems to want to deal with you recently, but I don't know the specific reasons."

"However, there is also a first-rank Confucian master presiding over the Qinghe Academy..."

"That's all I can tell you."

After hearing this, Jiang Yun picked up the tea, took a sip, frowned slightly, and then said, "Thank you, Confucian Master Fang."

"I have important business to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

Upon hearing this, Fang Tingzhi frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Lord Jiang, I only heard about what happened at Qinghe Academy. If they didn't attack you, then it's not true."

He knew Jiang Yun had many tricks up his sleeve...

Jiang Yun smiled and said, "Don't worry, Master Fang, I always try to persuade people with reason..."

After leaving Fang Tingzhi's courtyard, Jiang Yun, with a somber face, pondered for a long time before saying, "Qi Da, come with me to the palace first to confirm something."

Soon, Jiang Yun hurriedly led Qi Da towards the direction of the palace.

……

Qinghe Academy was located in the northern part of the inner city of Beijing, next to the inner river.

It occupies quite a large area.

The houses built along the river became a popular spot for students of Qinghe Academy to stroll and study.

On the riverbank, a middle-aged man in his forties sat cross-legged, the willow branches beside him swaying in the wind. He could spend an entire afternoon watching the fish in the river.

Soon, footsteps sounded behind them.

The newcomer appeared to be over seventy years old and was a top-tier Confucian master of the first rank within the Qinghe Academy.

His name is Peng Chenxing.

This person was highly accomplished in Confucianism. In his early years, he entered the court as an official and rose to the rank of second grade. However, he later realized that seeing the corruption of the court, he knew that even if he continued to serve as an official, he would probably be unable to do anything for the people.

Finally, he resigned from his official post and returned to Qinghe Academy to continue studying Confucianism.

To achieve the highest level of excellence.

He looked at the person in front of him and slowly said, "Master Chu, I have made arrangements for capturing Jiang Yun. But, should we really take action?"

"Jiang Yun is currently in the court and enjoys the Emperor's favor. If we take action against him, it will likely enrage the Emperor..."

The man known as Master Chu shifted his gaze from the fish in the river and slowly said, "This matter is for the sake of all living beings. Chaos is about to break out in the world, and Jiang Yun is not the one who will save them."

"He is also not a Confucian."

"It's a pity that he has such good fortune. I'm only taking his fortune for the sake of all living beings; I won't take his life."

At this point, Chu Qinghe said calmly, "Go and prepare, and get started as soon as possible."

……

Within the palace.

Jiang Yun rushed over to visit Fang Tianzong immediately.

He needed to ascertain one thing: whether one of the six sages currently existing in the world was the one who became a sage a thousand years ago at the Qinghe Academy.

Soon, Jiang Yun arrived at the Imperial Garden of the palace, where Fang Tianzong was sitting quietly by the pond, listening to the birdsong and the fragrance of flowers all around.

Jiang Xing led Jiang Yun to this place very quickly.

With a smile on his face, Jiang Xing said, "Sage Fang, Lord Jiang has come to visit you."

"Oh, Jiang Yun is back?" Fang Tianzong raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a deep voice, "Lord Jiang, I've been waiting here for the Serpent Saint, but he hasn't shown up yet. When will you finally fulfill your promise to me?"

Hearing Fang Tianzong's question, Jiang Yun smiled and said, "I will definitely fulfill my promise to Sage Fang, please rest assured..."

"I have come here with a question I would like to ask Sage Fang."

"Qinghe Academy, I heard that a thousand years ago, someone became a saint. Was he one of the six saints who are still alive today?"

You mean that guy Chu Qinghe?

(End of this chapter)