Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 172 Today's Main Focus: Literary Battle
This situation is quite unique compared to any previous one, because it involves a widespread social problem.

Previously, the issues of hiring courtesans as teachers and using vivid teaching methods were isolated problems, not widespread.

However, such social issues are very sensitive. If not handled properly, the resulting public outcry can be devastating, potentially bringing utter destruction to Wuming Academy.

Therefore, Wang Xi took the matter very seriously and discussed it with Huangfu Sengnian and the others until evening before coming out from the back hall.

"teacher!"

I ran into Hongxiu as soon as I stepped out.

Hongxiu immediately came over, looking slightly worried, and said, "Wang Xiaoque, I heard that the academy is in trouble."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "We have encountered some trouble, but please rest assured, teacher, the master has already taught us how to deal with it."

"is it?"

Hongxiu said happily.

Wang Xi hummed in agreement.

Hongxiu suddenly asked again, "Should we allow those noble ladies to study at our academy?"

Instead of answering, Wang Xi asked, "What is the teacher's opinion on this?"

Hongxiu hesitated slightly.

Wang Xi laughed and said, "It seems the teachers don't want them to come to the academy either."

Hongxiu smiled slightly and said, "Actually, there's nothing wrong with them wanting to study, it's just... I'm worried..."

Wang Xi said, "Understood! The teacher is also very worried about this, so please rest assured, we will find a way to make them understand our difficulties."

Hongxiu hurriedly replied, "If that can be done, that would be perfect."

"Sparrow".

Suddenly a shout was heard.

Wang Xi turned his head and saw Ashina Mi walking towards him. He quickly waved and said, "Mi'er."

"teacher."

Ashina Mi stepped forward. "What are you talking about?"

Hongxiu quickly explained, "We were talking about the public opinion outside regarding women's education."

After hearing this, Ashina Mi said, "Sparrow, have I caused you any trouble?"

Wang Xi said, "No! Why do you say that?"

Ashina Mi said, "I heard that it was because of me that many of my fellow students felt that the teacher was being unfair, because their sisters also wanted to come to the academy, but were prevented from doing so by the teacher."

In fact, the outside comments also caused some conflicts within the Nameless Academy. Linghu Baodi and Xue Jun believed that their older and younger sisters should come to the academy, but Linglong and the others, including Hongxiu, were not very willing.

The reason is simple: the difference in their social status is too great, and they don't know how to get along with those noblewomen.

Before Wang Xi could speak, Hongxiu comforted him, "Mi'er, how can you think like that? This matter has nothing to do with you."

Wang Xi smiled and nodded: "What the teacher said is right. Someone is deliberately causing trouble for us. They would do the same thing whether you are here or not."

Ashina Mi asked, "Really?"

Wang Xi smiled and nodded, "But I'll take care of it soon."

When Wang Xi first brought up the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, he mainly considered that this kind of love story had happened in every region and could resonate with everyone.

That's it.

However, unexpectedly, this sparked a trend of women pursuing education.

Wu Chongwen and his gang even found this incriminating evidence against them.

According to Huangfu Sengnian's prediction, they will definitely cause trouble at the next charity performance and provoke even greater conflicts.

Since there aren't many media outlets available, and the restaurant is only so big, one performance is definitely not enough. They originally agreed to perform once every seven days.

The second show was also packed to capacity, and even more sensational than the first.

Because public opinion continued to ferment over these seven days, it drew more attention to the play.

Wang Xi also personally came to Zhang Baishou's shop to supervise the operation today.

"Young master, things haven't been peaceful lately!" Zhang Huai quietly approached Wang Xi and whispered.

Wang Xi asked, "What news do you have?"

Zhang Huai said in a low voice, "There might be some trouble today."

After saying that, he glanced around.

In fact, Wang Xi had already seen it. Wu Chongwen, Yang Zhan and the others all came today, which was all expected. He then asked, "What are your thoughts on those ladies and wives?"

Zhang Huai said, "That's two points."

Wang Xi asked, "How should we divide it?"

Zhang Huai said, "Most of those who have read Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai have some dissatisfaction with your academy, but those who haven't read it don't care much."

Wang Xi nodded: "So, they were completely influenced by this play?"

Zhang Huai nodded.

Wang Xi couldn't help but smile bitterly, "It seems we've really shot ourselves in the foot this time."

There was no way around it; the acting was so good that everyone was completely immersed in the role, crying their eyes out. It was all incredibly moving, so of course we supported the women's pursuit of education.

But for those who haven't seen it, it's really okay, since it was extremely rare for women to attend college in the past.

"Ha ha!"

Suddenly, a loud laugh rang out, abruptly ending the performance on stage.

Linghu Baodi, who was on the stage, looked up at the sound and saw that it was Yang Zhan. She couldn't help but shout angrily, "Yang Er, stop causing trouble!"

Yang Zhan stood up, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. It's just that your acting was so ridiculous that I couldn't help myself. I hope you can all forgive me."

Many customers were quite surprised, wondering how something so touching could be funny.
Linghu Baodi also asked excitedly, "What's so funny?"

A person standing nearby said, "You've woven this story into such a tragic and beautiful tale that everyone feels sorry for Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Yet your teacher's words and actions are inconsistent. On the one hand, he talks about the difficulties women face in pursuing education, but on the other hand, he turns away women who want to study. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"Bastard!"

Linghu Baodi shouted angrily, "Which academy in the world has female students? Only our Wuming Academy does!"

Yang Zhan said, "But everyone knows that those female students were just palace prostitutes who were sent by the Ministry of Rites. If the Ministry of Rites had approached the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Academy would have accepted them too."

"That's right. You all spoke so righteously, but it turns out you're just all show and no substance."

"What charity performance? I think it's just that Mr. Wuming trying to gain fame for himself. We used to respect Mr. Wuming a lot, but it turns out he's a despicable person."

"You bastard, how dare you insult my husband."

Linghu Baodi rolled up her sleeves and was about to rush over, but was stopped by Qingzhi.

But in that short time, many people started to make a fuss, making all sorts of veiled insults and sarcastic remarks about Mr. Wuming.

Seeing that the other side had a large and powerful force, Linghu Baodi was also a little intimidated.

Although he was also brave and fierce, he wasn't stupid. His opponent had clearly come prepared, so he dared not act rashly. Just then, Wang Xi suddenly came up on the stage and said, "Baodi, Qingzhi, you two go down and rest for a while."

Linghu Baodi glanced at Wang Xi, then angrily stepped down from the stage.

After they left, Wang Xi cupped his hands in greeting to those around him and said, "Elders, you all saw it clearly. It wasn't that we were canceling the performance, but rather that someone was deliberately causing trouble."

When Wu Chongwen, who was sitting below, saw Wang Xi, he was filled with hatred, like an enemy meeting. He immediately stood up and said, "Don't you dare to spout such nonsense here! Your master is a fraud, and you won't even let people talk about it? How domineering!"

Immediately, a group of people echoed this sentiment.

Wang Xi immediately rolled up his sleeves and said angrily, "You are really like thieves crying 'stop thief!' You are clearly spreading rumors and slanders. If you can't give me a clear explanation today, don't blame me for being impolite."

"I'm not afraid of you."

Yang Zhan was about to go.

I've wanted to beat this kid up for a long time, but it's a pity that Huangfu Sengnian isn't here, otherwise I would have beaten him up too.

"Hey!"

Wu Chongwen quickly stopped Yang Zhan, saying, "Don't be fooled."

Today they focus on dialogue and avoid physical confrontation, because once physical confrontation occurs, it becomes difficult to determine right and wrong.

After saying that, he asked Wang Xi, "Let me ask you, was this play written by your master?"

"Yes."

Wang Xi nodded.

Wu Chongwen then asked, "In this play, your husband intentionally portrayed the woman's yearning for education to evoke sympathy from the audience. What was his purpose in doing so?"

Wang Xi said, "First of all, of course, it's for the sake of a wonderful story; secondly, it's also what many women today yearn for, so that the story is more realistic and everyone can enjoy it."

Wu Chongwen asked with a smile, "Then I wonder if your teachers support or oppose women's education?"

Wang Xi said, "Of course we support it. Otherwise, our Wuming Academy wouldn't be recruiting female students. Although it was sent by the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites had discussed it with my master beforehand."

"is it?"

Wu Chongwen chuckled: "If that's the case, why have I heard that many women have asked others to apply to your academy, but your husband has refused them?"

Wang Xi nodded and said, "That's true, but what does that prove?"

Before she could finish speaking, a soft snort was heard, "It shows your husband is biased. Why can your little princess go, but we can't?"

Wang Xi glanced sideways and saw that it was the young lady from the Yang family. He shook his head and said smugly, "I admit that the master does favor me. If you were my little princess, you could go too."

These words immediately drew criticism from the young women present.

How shameless!
Wang Xi, however, was enjoying himself immensely, and even winked at Ashina Mi beside him.

The shameless are invincible.

This greatly alarmed Wu Chongwen. "Are you two flirting?" he exclaimed. "Doesn't this prove that your master's words and actions are inconsistent, and that he is a fraudster who steals fame from the world?"

"Of course not."

Wang Xi glanced at it and said, "Let me ask you, did you watch the whole play?"

Wu Chongwen nodded and said, "Of course."

Wang Xi then asked, "So, what is the ending of this play?"

Wu Chongwen said, "That's why Zhu Yingtai died for love."

Wang Xi said, "Knowing that you still say this, you're either stupid or malicious. This is a tragedy, not a comedy. To knowingly do the impossible is truly harming others for one's own reputation."

Wu Chongwen was slightly taken aback. "Don't try to change the subject. We're talking about women's education, not telling a story."

"That's what I was talking about too."

Wang Xi looked around and said, "To be honest, in the beginning, Bao Di and I also hoped that those women could come to our Wuming Academy to study."

I even went to argue with the teacher about this. But he only asked me one question: who could guarantee that if those women were allowed to study at the nameless academy, the tragedy of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai wouldn't happen again?

Many of the elders present nodded in agreement.

This nameless person is at least sensible.

However, this drew the ire of some young women.

"Even if it's a tragedy, we're willing to accept it."

"Exactly. We want to go to school, but we just hope to meet our own Liang Shanbo."

"I wonder if I'll turn into a little butterfly if I die for love."

Sweating profusely!

You brainless fans are beyond saving.

Wang Xi was on the verge of tears when she said, "Sisters, you'll never encounter Liang Shanbo, you'll only encounter Wang Xiaoque and Li Jieman."

"Never mind then."

"Giggle!"

A burst of laughter followed.

Wu Chongwen was also quite helpless with these young women.

We're having a verbal debate, why are you interrupting?

Cen Wenzhi suddenly said, "Just as you said, it's very difficult to meet Liang Shanbo in the academy. Most of the time, it's people like Wang Xiaoque and Li Jieman. It's clear that this is just an excuse from your teacher. Anyone with a clear head knows that the possibility of things like what happens in the story happening in reality is extremely small."

Wang Xi laughed and said, "You still don't understand what my master means, but with your talent, this is quite normal."

Cen Wenzhi gave a cold smile: "I'd like to hear the details."

Wang Xi said, “My husband has always admired Taoist thought, and Taoism respects the natural way. Everything should follow its natural course, whether it is friendship, love, or filial piety. They all arise naturally. How could my husband go against the Tao?”

In other words, as long as they come to the Nameless Academy, my husband will treat them all the same. As long as they don't do anything out of line, he won't interfere if they develop feelings for anyone, but will let things take their natural course.

However, this was not what their parents wanted to see. As a teacher, he naturally had to explain to the students' parents, but he was unwilling to go against his principles, so he chose to refuse.

The gentleman is considering this matter from a teacher's perspective, not from a romantic one. Your shallow understanding makes it impossible for you to comprehend this.

"you."

Cen Wenzhi was about to retort when an elder said, "Well said. Although I don't agree with your husband's ideas, as a teacher, this is how it should be."

Wu Chongwen persisted, saying, "Since your master knew this was impossible, yet still wrote this play to encourage women to pursue their studies, isn't that deliberately stirring up trouble?"

Wang Xi said, "I also consulted you on this issue. But you said that Confucius and Mencius traveled around the states without making any changes, but Confucianism achieved great success in the Han Dynasty and has continued to this day."

Therefore, it is clear that one person cannot change anything; one must follow the general trend and not go against the will of Heaven. The existence of social class has its own rationale. However, my husband firmly believes that such outdated customs, and the prohibition against women attending academies, will eventually be abandoned; it's just that the time is not yet ripe.

Before he could finish speaking, someone said, "Who does your husband think he is, daring to spout such nonsense here?"

Wang Xi looked up and saw a handsome middle-aged man. He recognized him as Cui Riping, the younger brother of Cui Riyong, the prime minister at the beginning of the Kaiyuan era. He was from the same clan as Cui Gu'er and belonged to the Boling Cui clan. However, he belonged to the third branch, while Cui Gu'er belonged to the fourth branch.

Wu Chongwen glanced at the man and smiled to himself. Now you've offended even the most powerful and influential families. Let's see what you're going to do now.

(End of this chapter)