The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

After half a cup of tea.

The prison was filled with the aroma of wine. Su Shi and two kidnappers, arm in arm, were playing drinking games and having a great time.

Wang Wenxuan was tied to a pillar, his eyes wide open, watching them feast on their food, his stomach growling with hunger, his spirit suffering a devastating blow.

Just then.

"boom--!!!"

A loud bang was heard.

The heavy iron prison door seemed to have been rammed head-on by a bull; the entire door panel flew off the frame and crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

The two kidnappers were so frightened that they dropped the chicken legs they were holding and instinctively grabbed their weapons, ready to fight to the death.

The smoke and dust cleared.

A tall, slender figure stood against the light.

Jiang Lin was dressed in a blue robe, his hair slightly disheveled, clearly having run all the way here.

His face was ashen, and he even carried a long sword he had swiped from a blacksmith's shop by the roadside. He exuded a chilling aura.

Qian Duoduo followed behind him, panting, carrying several bricks in her hands.

"Zizhan! Don't be afraid! Your teacher is here..."

Jiang Lin's murderous voice abruptly stopped.

This...this art style is off...

Jiang Lin's lips twitched, and the long sword in his hand awkwardly fell to the ground.

He glanced at Su Shi, who looked completely bewildered, and then at the weeping...

The anticipated scenes of bloodshed and torture did not materialize.

Before my eyes, the top scholar of the Song Dynasty, who should have been suffering inhuman torture, was now leaning against a pile of straw like an old man.

He held a glistening roasted chicken leg in his left hand and a chipped, broken bowl in his right, his face flushed, with a trace of suspicious sauce still clinging to the corner of his mouth.

At his feet, two kidnappers who should have looked fierce and menacing were actually humbly massaging Su Shi's calf, their technique surprisingly professional.

Another one-eyed man was diligently handing peeled peanuts to Su Shi, his expression even more affectionate than when he saw his own father.

As for the "mastermind" Wang Wenxuan...

Jiang Lin's gaze shifted and landed on the pillar. Young Master Wang was bound hand and foot, his mouth stuffed with that famous moldy rag, his face covered in tears and snot, staring intently at Jiang Lin with a desperate look as if he had seen a savior.

"Clang!"

Jiang Lin dropped the longsword in his hand to the ground.

This is the legendary...victim?

"Oh dear, Headmaster!" Su Shi swallowed the chicken in his mouth, his eyes lighting up, seemingly completely unaware of the murderous aura that Jiang Lin had just exuded.

"You've come at the perfect time! Although the Wang family's private chef's skills can't compare to Fanlou's, this braised beef is incredibly flavorful and satisfying! Come, have a sip!"

Jiang Lin took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to stuff this shameful disciple back into his mother's womb, slowly withdrew his leg, and straightened his somewhat disheveled clothes.

"I sent you out to gather material..." Jiang Lin gave a forced smile, his voice chilling, "So you've taken on disciples here? It seems the feng shui of this Wang family's private prison is quite nurturing."

Su Shi shuddered, quickly hiding the chicken leg behind his back and sitting up straight: "Master, you are wise! I am immersing myself in life, experiencing the despair of being 'trapped in a prison,' in order to write a good story about Guo Jing being trapped in the Mongol camp!"

As he spoke, Su Shi nudged the one-eyed man beside him: "Hurry up and pay your respects to the headmaster of my Jingshi Academy!"

The two men knelt down with a thud, their knees slamming onto the floor with a deafening roar: "Greetings, Chief... oh no, greetings, Headmaster!"

Jiang Lin lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the two men. Although the one-eyed man's hand holding the knife trembled, his tiger's mouth was covered in calluses, and the burly man's body was like a tower, his lower body extremely stable.

They were all ruthless characters struggling to survive in this world, but unfortunately, they followed the wrong master.

"Don't do this kind of dirty work with no future anymore." Jiang Lin casually took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his hands.

"Go and report to Jing Shi Academy. I will accept the position of elder of your 'Dirty Clothes Faction' if Su Zizhan has granted it to you."

"The academy needs a few guards who can keep things in order. They will pay you five strings of cash a month, and provide you with food and lodging. If you perform well, you may be allowed to attend classes."

"Listen...listen to lectures?" The burly man's eyes widened, his lips trembling. "We...we can listen to the classics?"

"Education should be provided to all without discrimination," Jiang Lin said calmly. "As long as one does not commit crimes, the gates of my academy are open to all."

The two tough men's eyes instantly reddened. They kowtowed three times, this time not for any personal gain, but out of utter submission.

Having dealt with the "thugs," Jiang Lin leisurely strolled over to Wang Wenxuan.

Qian Duoduo, with her keen sense of situation, stepped forward and ripped the rag out of Wang Wenxuan's mouth.

"Jiang Lin! You trespassed on my property! I'm going to report you to the Kaifeng Prefecture! I'll have my father impeach you! You'll be going to jail! Waaah..."

Wang Wenxuan was finally able to speak, but his mind had collapsed, and he could not form any coherent language except for howling threats.

Jiang Lin laughed.

He crouched down, his gaze level with Wang Wenxuan's. Those usually half-closed, languid eyes were now unfathomable.

"To report to the authorities?" Jiang Lin took out a gold hairpin with a little red mud on it from his pocket and gently twirled it between his fingers.

That was Qin Cao's personal belongings, the most beautiful courtesan of Fanlou.

"Alright, then let's go to Kaifeng Prefecture and tell them about it." Jiang Lin's tone was gentle, but every word was piercing. "The eldest son of the Wang family set up a trap in the dead of night to forcibly abduct the newly appointed top scholar of the imperial examination."

"Not only did they resort to vigilante justice, but they also carried out this shady business in their own private prison..."

Jiang Lin pointed to the wine and meat scattered on the ground and the unconscious servants, and finally pointed to the ropes binding Wang Wenxuan.

"...a peculiar hobby."

"Special...fetish?" Wang Wenxuan was stunned for a moment, then trembled with rage, his already swollen face twitching violently. "Jiang Lin! You're slandering me! I kidnapped him, I kidnapped him! Who has a fetish for him?!"

"Oh?" Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting between the gold hairpin and Wang Wenxuan. His tone was leisurely. "In the dead of night, in a poorly ventilated, abandoned slaughterhouse prison, Young Master Wang not only kidnapped the top scholar of the imperial examination, but also carried the personal gold hairpin of the most beautiful courtesan from Fanlou. Tsk, if word gets out, will it be considered a kidnapping, or some unspeakable homosexual affair, or a struggle for power and possession?"

"You..." Wang Wenxuan was speechless.

"Zizhan," Jiang Lin called out without turning his head.

"Disciple is here!" Su Shi replied indistinctly as he struggled to stuff the last bit of beef into his mouth.

"How did Young Master Wang 'humiliate' you just now? Tell me the truth, and I will record it in the case file and present it to the Prefect of Kaifeng." Jiang Lin's tone was calm, but it carried a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

Su Shi's eyes darted around, and he immediately tossed aside the chicken bone in his hand, leaning casually against the pile of straw. His broad body thudded with a muffled sound, and his right hand trembled as he pointed at Wang Wenxuan, his voice shrill and piercing: "Headmaster! He...he not only wanted to destroy my right hand, cutting off my literary path, but...he even forced me to eat those moldy cakes! Look, the 'bloodstains' on my hand are still wet!"

Su Shi raised his right hand, which was covered with oil and sauce left from eating the chicken leg. In the dim firelight, it did indeed look red and shiny.

"Bloodstains?" Wang Wenxuan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "That's chicken fat! That's soy sauce!"

"This is irrefutable evidence of the murder of a high-ranking official." Jiang Lin didn't even look at the oily hand, and stood up solemnly. "The top scholar of the current dynasty, a protégé of the emperor, was privately imprisoned by powerful figures on the eve of his appointment, and even branded with a hot iron... This is no longer a personal grudge, this is slapping the emperor in the face, and provoking the backbone of the entire Song Dynasty's literary world."

Jiang Lin turned around and waved to the one-eyed man hiding in the corner.

"Elder, come here."

The one-eyed man jumped up and came running over, bowing and saying, "Headmaster, please give your orders!"

"Didn't Young Master Wang just say that even if the top scholar is killed, his father can take responsibility?" Jiang Lin asked.

The one-eyed man betrayed his former employer without hesitation, nodding vigorously: "Yes! That's exactly what Young Master Wang said, he even said he wanted to chop off Young Master Su's hand and feed it to the dogs!"

"Did you hear that?" Jiang Lin looked at Wang Wenxuan, a cruel smile curving his lips. "Murdering the top scholar, defying imperial authority, and now this private prison. Does the Wang family think they have too many heads to bear?"