Chapter 1764 – Prodigal Lord
Jiang Pengji’s sudden surprise inspection caught everyone completely off guard.
Practically everyone was overwhelmed, mentally asking themselves three questions—
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
Surely, guys like Feng Zhen, who often showed up late or left early, were in a real panic, wishing they could sprout two Nezha’s fire wheels under their feet, sprout a pair of Lei Zhenzi’s wings on their backs, and somersault like the Great Sage to Jiang Pengji’s side to explain themselves, while conveniently destroying any evidence of their tardiness. Unfortunately, they didn’t have that kind of ability, and their Lord was an action-oriented type, which made it all the more tragic.
When Feng Zhen finally arrived, he collided with his Lord’s eyes, which seemed to hold a smile but were cold as ice. He felt an odd sense of being completely exposed. Mustering all his courage, he forced a polite but awkward smile and clumsily bowed to Jiang Pengji, taking his stiff seat.
On the surface, Feng Zhen looked unfazed, but inside, he was a wreck, silently praying that his Lord hadn’t noticed him.
Just as sweat started to bead on his forehead in panic, Xu Ke spoke up, temporarily saving him from his misery.
“With such an important event as the Lord’s return, why was no one informed beforehand?”
Xu Ke, the stewart, wore a disapproving expression. Even with how mature Jiang Pengji had grown, she still acted so recklessly.
While Dongqing was much more peaceful than other regions, it wasn’t entirely safe. Certain unruly elements could harm the common people. If these bandits had run into Jiang Pengji and startled her, it would be on them, her subordinates.
Moreover, the journey could be perilous, and no one could predict what mishaps might happen first—an accident or tomorrow.
If something happened to the Lord due to poor care, Xu Ke and the others would be doomed to eternal blame.
But Jiang Pengji replied, “A return this grand certainly draws the people’s welcome, but it’s too disruptive. If not managed well, people will crowd together, and accidents could happen. After contemplating, I decided to return quietly without prior notice…”
Even in her own time, large outdoor events always carried the risk of incidents, like crowd surges, let alone in this era with common people who had endured war. Jiang Pengji wasn’t one to create a spectacle at the expense of their normal lives; it was commendable that these people were slowly regaining their passion for life after hardship, and she didn’t want to disrupt it.
Her reasoning was sound, and Xu Ke and the others couldn’t argue against it, as her intentions were genuinely for the good of the people.
They couldn’t debate it, either; they had to unconditionally support her.
Throughout history, how many leaders were as caring and considerate as Jiang Pengji?
In others’ households, whenever they left, it was practically a parade, complete with drums and firecrackers, as if the whole world needed to come and worship them.
Jiang Pengji had just increased her popularity with this speech, and the crowd’s admiration for her grew by a good ten percent.
“I’ve returned this time to deal with some matters.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Zhen stiffened, his spine straightening.
Xu Ke asked, “What urgent matter required the Lord to make such a long trip back?”
In this day and age, there were no cars, planes, or yachts—traveling from Nansheng to Dongqing took over a month.
Calculating her pace, Jiang Pengji probably spent New Year’s Eve on the road.
If it weren’t important, why would she endure such hardship?
Jiang Pengji said, “It’s mainly about the graduation assessments for Golden Scales Academy’s top first-year students. These individuals are the fruits of many years of dedication and effort from the academy. Not only do the esteemed scholars expect much from them, but I do as well.”
Xu Ke couldn’t help but be moved.
How could these students bear the weight of their Lord’s hard work?
She had gone through the trouble of traveling back from the front lines, suffering for over a month on the road for their sake.
If any of those students failed their assessments, they would owe their Lord their lives; it would be a waste of years of education.
Jiang Pengji’s words stirred the emotions of everyone present, while a few informed individuals and five million idle viewers in the streaming room wanted to roll their eyes.
Did she not have any idea what she was really thinking?
True, she returned for the students’ graduation assessments, but the underlying purpose was to establish a framework for the imperial examination system, giving the noble families a significant talking point.
They could grumble all they wanted, but aside from Wei Ci and the idle fish, no one anticipated the true impact of the examination system.
It struck like a heavy fist, brutally dismantling the noble families’ monopoly and the commonly accepted bloodline inheritance, creating revolutionary significance.
Thanks to the examination system, the romantic ambition of “from farmer to the imperial court” in the common families finally had a chance to be realized.
Misjudging the significance behind this graduation assessment would ensure they were blindsided by Jiang Pengji.
“Since this is the first time, we can’t afford any missteps; what regulations have you prepared?” Long-distance communication certainly didn’t afford the convenience of face-to-face exchanges, so Jiang Pengji had communicated her directives in the most concise manner possible, leaving many areas unexplained.
Now that she was back, any form of communication was possible.
Xu Ke and the others had gotten everything ready before New Year’s, so they brought it forward for her scrutiny.
Jiang Pengji casually flipped through the documents and said, “These regulations are fine; we can use them directly.”
Those responsible felt an unspoken relief.
“However…” Jiang Pengji added, causing hearts to leap in panic, “It wouldn’t hurt to include a bit more formality to ensure that the students feel a sense of belonging to Golden Scales Academy and treat their assessments seriously.”
Everyone was puzzled.
Jiang Pengji continued, “We’ll rank the graduation assessment scores; the top fifty students will receive awards.”
Awards?
The stewart in charge of finances furrowed his brow and asked, “What will we reward them with?”
Neither the public treasury nor the Lord’s private funds were in great shape, and it was impossible to make sweeping rewards.
Furthermore, there were more students at the academy than just this one batch, so it didn’t make sense to shower them with prizes every year.
The main academy had two to three hundred students, but there were over twenty branch academies. How would they manage that?
Xu Ke hoped their Lord would wake up a bit and not waste money; they couldn’t afford to squander any more!
Jiang Pengji contemplated, “Each student participating will receive a learning token when they enter Golden Scales Academy, which records their basic information. How about this: for this year’s graduating students, the top performers will receive a specially designed ‘graduation learning token.’ The top three will be made of silver, the fourth to fiftieth will be bronze, and anyone below fifty will receive a wooden token.”
The graduation learning token was essentially a graduation certificate—a proof of their studies at Golden Scales Academy.
While it might not seem valuable, it was an honor.
In an era where honor and spirit were paramount, a small token could magnify a sense of belonging tremendously.
After hearing this, Xu Ke calculated the costs and let out a silent breath; the expenses were manageable, with the most expensive being a few silver tokens, and they could negotiate the size.
However, Xu Ke might have been too quick to feel relieved.
Jiang Pengji took the opportunity to propose the concept of graduation uniforms…
Um…
Honestly, the cost of those uniforms was far more exorbitant than any tokens!
Every student received new uniforms for every season, and an additional set upon graduation; their Lord truly didn’t grasp the value of rice and oil!
