Chapter 123: Her Fear

Lin Sangqian and Lin Yanbei stared at him in sheer astonishment. Master Ge waved his hand dismissively and said, "Forget it! A true hero does not boast of past glories... In short, Hou Tianlu is deceiving everyone." "Then why didn't you expose him?" Lin Yanbei asked. "At first, I wanted to tell everyone he was lying, but I am an instructor at Haixing Academy. Doing so would only lead people to believe I was deliberately slandering him out of rivalry. I did speak up, but no one believed me." "Since you are a Third-Rank Imperial Scholar, why did you come to this small town to teach at an academy?" Lin Sangqian asked, puzzled. Even if he had no desire to serve as a court official, countless prestigious families would be scrambling to invite him to be their private tutor. "Having seen too much of the bustling world, I simply wanted to find a quiet little place to settle down," Master Ge said. "This town is perfect." Lin Sangqian nodded, quite agreeing with this sentiment. She loved this town; the vast majority of its people were kind and hospitable, and the climate was delightful. She could tell Master Ge had little desire to dwell on the past, so she did not press him further. After an indeterminate amount of time, the carriage finally drew to a halt at the gates of Ruwen Academy. Hou Tianlu, accompanied by two pages, was waiting at the entrance to greet them, putting on a grand show of bowing respectfully to Master Ge. Unfortunately, Master Ge merely snorted and ignored him. Hou Tianlu's face darkened, secretly cursing Master Ge for being a sanctimonious hypocrite. The students all filed into Ruwen Academy. Lin Sangqian, wearing a hat and keeping her head bowed, followed the other pages inside. The students of Ruwen Academy stood in the courtyard, most of them with arms crossed, casting looks of utter disdain at the visitors from Haixing Academy. In their eyes, their academy charged higher fees than Haixing, which naturally made it superior, and thus their students were inherently better than those of Haixing. Master Ge's arrangement of this competition suited them perfectly; they were determined to trample everyone from Haixing Academy underfoot. Behind a tree, someone was peeking out. Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Sangqian caught a glimpse and immediately recognized Lin Shuimei. She was indeed at Ruwen Academy. It seemed her relationship with Hou Tianlu was truly extraordinary. Others also spotted Lin Shuimei and began to whisper among themselves, wondering why a woman was present in the academy. Master Huang, another instructor from Haixing Academy, said to Hou Tianlu with a forced smile, "Instructor Hou, is that your wife? She looks so young, barely in her teens, I would say. You are truly blessed, Instructor Hou."

"Hmph! Shameless!" Master Ge flicked his long sleeves, his face a mask of contempt. Feeling his pride stung, Hou Tianlu quickly walked over, pulled Lin Shuimei further away, and asked impatiently, "What are you doing out here? Didn't I tell you to stay in the room? Are you deliberately trying to make me a laughingstock?" He was a scholar and an instructor, yet he was caught hiding a woman in the academy. If this were to reach his wife's ears, it would be an even greater disaster. "I just wanted to come out and take a look!" Lin Shuimei said aggrievedly. "I am already yours, so why should I be afraid of being seen? Is our relationship really something to be hidden in the dark? Then just marry me and take me home already!" "You! You are impossible!" Hou Tianlu snapped. "Why do you think I am putting on this whole spectacle today? If it were not to teach a lesson to those who bullied you, would I go to all this trouble?" Lin Shuimei was taken aback, and then her tone softened. "I know you are doing this to vent my anger, but I just feel uneasy... Do you think Lin Sangqian might have come too? Could she ruin what we are planning today?" After all, she and her family had repeatedly suffered at Lin Sangqian's hands. She had developed a deep-seated fear. Lin Sangqian was her very nightmare. "What nonsense! Is Lin Sangqian not just a little girl? She is not part of the academy, how could she get in? If she dares to show up, I will simply throw her out! The folks from Haixing Academy would not dare say a word," Hou Tianlu said impatiently. Lin Shuimei nodded, finding his logic sound. After all, this was Hou Tianlu's territory; Lin Sangqian could not possibly get in. "Then you must teach Lin Yanbei and Lin Beitao a good lesson," Lin Shuimei said, unaware that Lin Beitao was no longer attending school. "As long as they suffer a setback, Lin Sangqian will be unhappy, and that will make me happy! Hey, only ten students came from Haixing today. Are you sure both of them are here?" "If they are not, we will deal with it next time! Hurry up and go back, and do not come out again!" "What about my lunch?" "Will you starve to death if you skip one meal?" Hou Tianlu said with disgust. Lin Shuimei felt a bit wronged again, but she did not dare say anything and turned to head back to her room. After a few steps, she looked back, her eyes scanning the crowd. Only after confirming she did not see Lin Sangqian did she relax. However, she did notice a remarkably short page. Did Haixing Academy employ such young pages? They truly were poor, far inferior to Ruwen Academy. Lin Sangqian's brothers could only attend such a shabby academy. Thinking this, Lin Shuimei felt much better and happily returned to her room.

Upon returning, Hou Tianlu forced a smile at Master Huang and Master Ge. "My apologies, that was my maidservant. She does not know any better. Please forgive the embarrassment." Maidservant? Everyone knew what was truly going on, but no one exposed him. After all, the competition between the two academies was what mattered today. "Instructor Hou, when shall we begin?" Master Huang asked. "Where is the venue?" "I have arranged a classroom. Each of our academies will send ten students to compete. Everyone, please follow me." Entering the classroom, the students took their seats. The students from Ruwen Academy sat on the left, while those from Haixing Academy sat on the right. Most of them were children under ten, naturally unable to hide their emotions. They were glaring at each other, as if whoever had the bigger eyes would win. "Why does your academy have such an older student?" Hou Tianlu asked, his gaze falling on Lin Yanbei. "Although he is older, he had never studied before and only joined our academy two months ago," Master Huang said. "So there is nothing unfair about including him this time." To be honest, among these twenty students, Lin Yanbei had been in school for the shortest time. "I see." Hou Tianlu nodded. "What is his name?" "Lin Yanbei." Hou Tianlu had already guessed he was either Lin Yanbei or Lin Beitao and merely wanted to confirm. Having identified his target, he looked at Lin Yanbei, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes. He had wanted to ask which one was Lin Beitao, but fearing it would be too obvious, he came up with an idea and had all twenty students state their names. As it turned out, Lin Beitao was not among them. Hou Tianlu frowned but did not dwell on it. Teaching Lin Yanbei a lesson would be enough. Moreover, his goal today, besides venting anger for Lin Shuimei, was to prove that Ruwen Academy was superior to Haixing Academy. "Very well, I now declare the competition between Ruwen Academy and Haixing Academy officially open!"