Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 372 Infamy Forever (11,000 words)

The wind rustled through the eaves.

Snowflakes began to fall from afar.

A snowflake landed perfectly in the teacup.

The scalding hot tea instantly melted the snowflakes. Yang Hetong smiled, not caring much, picked up the teacup, swirled it, blew on it, and took a small sip.

A light, delicate fragrance is his favorite type of tea, while he doesn't really like strong, rich black tea.

Watching Yang Rui's departing figure, a hint of affection and a smile flashed in her eyes.

Such an expression is extremely rare on Yang Hetong.

Yang Hetong was cold-blooded, ruthless, and cruel, like an eagle in the sky or a venomous snake in the bushes, but he treated his eldest grandson differently. Yang Rui did not disappoint him. Although he was not particularly intelligent and a bit introverted, unlike the lively and likable Yang Ming who had been beheaded a few days ago, Yang Hetong saw him as someone with a calm and steady temperament who could shoulder the responsibilities of the head of the family.

In Yang Hetong's view, the eldest grandson's lack of intelligence was simply due to his lack of enlightenment; he understood many things immediately without needing much explanation.

Moreover, Yang Rui has a special skill: writing.

This is not ordinary handwriting.

Yang Rui doesn't have his own style of handwriting, but he's very good at imitating other people's styles.

Even if it's the handwriting of someone you've just met, you can imitate it perfectly after just two glances, making it perfect for forging other people's letters.

Yang Hetong knew very well that Song Yan hated the Yang family.

But compared to the Yang family, Song Yan hated his older brothers even more.

Song Huai, Song Yi, Song Jing...

For the Yang family right now, what they need most is time. Once Emperor Ninghe passes away and the eldest prince ascends the throne, all their problems will be instantly solved. Winning over Song Yan, resolving their conflict, and keeping Song Yan away from Dongling are all aimed at hastening Emperor Ninghe's demise.

If you want to win them over, you naturally have to cater to their preferences.

Speaking of which, Song Huai and the others are considered to be Yang Hetong's grand-nephews, but for someone like Yang Hetong, who wouldn't even blink an eye if his own nephew were beheaded, why would he care about mere grand-nephews?

As long as one can achieve what one desires, the means used are irrelevant.

A slight smile appeared on his wrinkled old face.

Fighting against Emperor Ninghe in the imperial court, fighting against Fang De, and now fighting against Song Yan, while the Yang family is also fighting among themselves... It all feels incredibly fun.

……

The carriage creaked and groaned as it moved along the street.

The inner city is bustling with activity today.

The large number of people who had gathered earlier have not yet completely dispersed.

A soft, rustling sound came from the wind.

Most of the praise was for Emperor Ninghe. Originally, Emperor Ninghe didn't have much of a presence in Ning Kingdom, but after today's incident, his reputation among the people skyrocketed. It could be considered a protective charm... or it could be a death warrant.

Then came the insults directed at Bailu Academy and the Yang family.

Someone in the crowd spread the rumor that 50% of the officials executed this time were scholars from Bailu Academy, and 30% were related to the Yang family.

In this era, ordinary people tend to view intellectuals through a very strong lens.

Understanding profound principles, possessing talent, being unable to lie, and aspiring to become a just and upright official in the future—these qualities are likely rooted in an instinctive sense of inferiority. Upon seeing scholars, one feels three points inferior, hence the titles such as "Master of the Xiucai" and "Master of the Juren."

But now, that filter is shattered into pieces.

What kind of lousy scholars are they?

Bailu Academy was the most famous academy in Ningguo, having trained so many high-ranking officials, but in the end, they were all utterly incompetent and did a lot of terrible things. They were the worst at bullying ordinary people, and all that knowledge they had wasted.

There was a vague feeling, even a sense that those scholars were not as good as himself.

"How about we go throw manure at the entrance of Bailu Academy?" someone in the crowd suddenly suggested.

Song Yan's lips twitched.

The academy.

A place where a statue of Confucius is enshrined.

Especially Bailu Academy, which is revered as a sacred place by the scholars of Ningguo, to actually go to Bailu Academy to throw excrement is truly a despicable act.

Song Yan lifted the curtain on the side of the carriage and looked in the direction from which the sound came. Soon a shifty-eyed young man came into view. Song Yan pursed his lips and realized that it was an old acquaintance.

That's Lin Xiangwan's brother, Lin Xiangdong, who should have left Dongling City long ago; right next to him is Lin Xiangnan.

Previously, Song Yan had given the two men a silver ingot, telling them to leave Dongling as soon as possible, as Song Jincheng was probably searching everywhere for them and wanted them dead. The two men had readily agreed at the time, but who would have thought they would actually stay in the capital? They were quite bold, and they even managed to evade Song Jincheng's notice, which showed they had some ability.

These people were filled with righteous indignation at the moment, and when they heard Lin Xiangdong's words, their eyes lit up and the crowd erupted in excitement.

"Yes, it's manure, it's manure. Places like Bailu Academy are so smelly, it's probably not even as good as my family's outhouse."

"This is terrible. If I had known I was going to pour manure on Bailu Academy, I wouldn't have come to water the grounds before the New Year."

"I also have a black dog at home. I've heard that black dog blood can ward off evil spirits. Should we sprinkle some on the White Egret Academy to protect it from evil?"

Amidst the cacophony of sounds, the crowd suddenly dispersed, presumably to prepare the raw materials.

Song Yan then instructed the driver to park the carriage by the roadside, saying that they could go to the Yang family's banquet anytime, as such a lively scene was not easy to see.

About fifteen minutes later, the scattered crowd regrouped, numbering several hundred people. Each person carried a carrying pole on their shoulder, with wooden buckets at both ends. The buckets contained frozen filth. It seemed that there were even more people than before, perhaps because they had met some like-minded comrades on the way.

Many people had beads of sweat on their foreheads. Although it was not far from the outer city, the journey had been quite tiring. The soldiers in both the inner and outer cities had completely abandoned their duties today, and no one cared that these commoners were carrying manure into the inner city.

The weather is cold, so the smell dissipates slowly.

Even so, the inner city still reeked of a foul stench.

Some gatekeepers at official residences, their faces contorted with disgust, yelled at these peasants to get out of there or they'd be beaten to death, only to be immediately kicked out by their masters. What a joke! These peasants were in a fit of rage; how could they be so oblivious, jumping out to yell at them now, as if they wanted to smear excrement on their own property?
If you can't even see this clearly, what are you doing here? Get lost.

Seeing this, some people who were about to leave rushed forward to inquire. Upon hearing the news, their eyes lit up with excitement, and they expressed their desire to contribute. Although they didn't have time to go home and collect manure, they still wanted to join in the fun. As a result, the crowd grew larger and larger, and in a short time, it became a dense, imposing mass, heading towards the direction of Bailu Academy.

At a glance, there must be several thousand.

Song Yan then instructed the driver to follow from behind.

They stopped at Bailu Academy. From a distance, Bailu Academy covered a vast area, with its snow-white walls almost blending into the snow. Although it did not look too luxurious, it was still simple and elegant. However, from the gilded plaque and the tall statue of a sage inside the courtyard, it was clear that the academy was quite wealthy.

At this very moment, inside Bailu Academy, a large number of students are gathered together, indignantly criticizing Emperor Ninghe for being far too cruel.

What about the claim that emperors and scholar-officials have always ruled the country together? What about the claim that mistakes can be corrected, or even demoted, so why arbitrarily kill scholar-officials?
They even want to exterminate the entire family?

He was an utterly incompetent and tyrannical ruler.

As for Marquis Song Yan and Prefect Fang Shan of Dongling Prefecture, they naturally became sycophantic and treacherous villains in the eyes of these scholars.

When he got to the point where his words were heated, he would stand up, put his feet on a stone bench, and speak with great fervor.

In his words, it was as if if Song Yan and Fangshan were not eliminated, the Great Ning Kingdom would cease to exist and the nation would be in imminent danger... Some even wrote furiously, preparing to write a biography of a treacherous minister on the spot, determined to make Song Yan infamous for eternity.

In the eyes of these scholars, resisting foreign tribes, eradicating the Ghost Cave, and rescuing children were all minor matters; the arbitrary killing of scholar-officials was absolutely unacceptable.

The chaotic commotion outside naturally caught the attention of the scholars. They were all engrossed in their cursing when they heard the noise outside. They were immediately annoyed, as if they had been interrupted halfway through their stretch. They were extremely uncomfortable.

Immediately, the group of scholars walked towards the door, pulled it open, and before they could even smell the stench, they saw a dense crowd in front of them. There were indeed many people, and the scholars were indeed startled, but they quickly calmed down. Ultimately, their long-standing arrogance of looking down on peasants prevailed, and one of them stepped forward and waved his hand: "Who are you?"

"Who asked you to come?"

"Do you know where you are? This is Bailu Academy. If you dare to gather here and cause trouble, believe me, I will have you arrested and have your legs broken."

The scholar angrily rebuked.

This is how we usually treat these peasants.

Whenever I get angry, these peasants tremble like leaves, not daring to offend me in the slightest. Some even kneel down and kowtow to beg for mercy.

The scholar, however, clearly did not notice the angry expressions on the faces of these peasants... Break their legs? This inevitably brings to mind the children with their limbs twisted on the carriage. Yes, for these high-ranking scholars of Bailu Academy, breaking someone's legs must be commonplace, right?

That's why they can speak so casually, as if it's nothing serious, without ever considering that what they're doing might completely destroy a person and a family.

How could someone like that be an official in the imperial court?
What kind of bullshit world is this?

"It's these scumbags, throw them at him."

Suddenly, someone shouted, and the voice sounded somewhat like Lin Xiangdong, but Lin Xiangdong could not be seen. Immediately, a burly man with a thick face of hair stepped forward carrying a wooden bucket.

Those scholars were about to say something.

Then I saw something dripping and pattering down on me.

A considerable amount seeped in through the open mouth, open eyes, nostrils, and ears.

This group of unlucky people were completely unaware of what had happened. They stood there, stunned and motionless, until a few breaths later, a nauseating stench filled their nostrils and mouths. When they saw the filth hanging on their bodies, they finally came to their senses.

In an instant, everyone's expression changed drastically.

Before he could say another word, he leaned against the door and began to vomit violently.

The peasants outside the gate, whom they looked down upon, didn't care about any of that. They immediately poured several more buckets of filth on it, and some even threw it forcefully, pouring a large bucket of filth directly onto the plaque of Bailu Academy, making the gilded characters less visible.

That's black dog blood.

In this era, black dog blood is perhaps even dirtier and more filthy than the stuff in a latrine.

The group of scholars were completely panicked and hurriedly tried to escape back into the academy to close the gate and prevent these peasants from continuing their madness. But who would have thought that as soon as they tried to run away, these people rushed up in a swarm, forcefully pushed open the door, grabbed one of them, dragged him to the corner, and gave him a good beating.

Even worse, some people carry buckets of manure and apply it everywhere.

Some people, carrying carrying poles, smashed things everywhere.

Some people randomly picked a spot, unbuckled their belts, and even gave them a three-fold shake before leaving.

The scholars' dormitories, lecture halls, and studies—almost every part of the vast Bailu Academy was devastated. Even the statue of the sage in the center of the courtyard was toppled. Some people, taking advantage of the chaos, grabbed whatever valuables they saw in Bailu Academy and ran off: porcelain, jade, writing brushes, ink, paper, books, and paintings—most of them could be sold for some money.

In an instant, Bailu Academy was like a bandit's rampage, sweeping everything in its path.

Song Yan watched quietly from a distance, neither stopping nor participating, but simply shaking his head.

Manipulating public opinion is an extremely dangerous thing. One wrong move and it can easily spiral out of control, especially with shady deals and free purchases.

Lin Xiangdong instigated the whole thing, but the current situation is clearly beyond his control. It's not just the anger caused by the torture of those children, but also the release of pent-up anger from being oppressed by officials and scholars for so long.

It was like a raging flood that swallowed everything.

The people were releasing their pent-up emotions, venting their frustrations, and causing destruction.

Those scholars who were usually so righteous and fearless, like heroes, were either beaten to a pulp or found a secluded place to hide, for fear that they might also be beaten to a pulp by accident.

The out-of-control populace was truly terrifying; their bloodshot eyes were like those of jackals, as if they wanted to tear them apart. "Damn it, when I become an official, I'll definitely teach you peasants a lesson..." many scholars thought to themselves.

Of all the academies throughout history, this one is perhaps the only one to have experienced this ordeal.

For this reason alone, Bailu Academy will likely be infamous for eternity.

Yeah, it really stinks.

Song Yan watched for a long time as more and more common people joined in. The once elegant and refined Bailu Academy was now filled with a foul stench and cries of agony. Gradually, even the official residences around Bailu Academy were affected.

Shaking his head, Song Yan then instructed the driver to urge the carriage away from the area.

On the way, they saw Zhao Gaizhi leading the Imperial Guards, leisurely and unhurriedly walking towards Bailu Academy. It was clear that he had received orders from Emperor Ninghe not to go too fast.

Emperor Ninghe probably wanted to take this opportunity to suppress the influence of Bailu Academy among scholars.

However, these things are irrelevant to Song Yan.

After about 15 minutes, Song Yan finally arrived at the Yang family's gate. Looking up, he saw pavilions and towers.

Beautiful and grand.

There are also two stone lions at the entrance.

The building's grandeur surpasses even that of the Fang family.

Song Yan alighted from the carriage. Perhaps because of the distance, they hadn't been disturbed by the rioters. Gazing up at the vermilion gate, Song Yan suddenly smiled:
I wonder if this counts as walking into a trap?

If the Yang family wanted to kill him, this should be the time with the highest success rate, right?

If someone were to take this opportunity to assassinate me, even if it wasn't the Yang family who did it, they would most likely be blamed on the Yang family.

He found it somewhat amusing. Could it be that he had been living a quiet life for too long, and now he was always thinking that someone wanted to assassinate him?

Thinking this to himself, he shook his head... But just then, a sudden warning signal struck Song Yan, and his eyelids twitched wildly.

The next moment, Song Yan suddenly turned around.

In his wide-open eyes, a sharp crossbow bolt grew larger and larger in his pupils.

(End of this chapter)