The Ace Bigshot Becomes A Farmgirl

Now that we know the emperor actually knew Meng Yunzheng early on, doesn’t that mean...

Yes, Meng Yunzheng and Xiang Weinan are good friends.

Ever since the end of last year when the Third Prince and Second Prince conspired in rebellion, and Xiang Weinan claimed the first merit, everyone knew although Xiang Weinan was a son-in-law of Xiao Family, he wasn’t a part of the Third Prince’s faction.

Xiang Weinan is the emperor’s confidant, so it’s highly possible Meng Yunzheng is too.

At this very moment, the crowd’s gaze towards Meng Yunzheng changed.

Damn, this kid really concealed himself deeply.

Furthermore, just how many confidants does the emperor have?

After the end of last year, many people realized that Lord Jing, the Minister of Ministry of Central Judicial Office, who usually didn’t seem conspicuous, had also been the emperor’s man for a long time; not to mention Xiang Weinan and Qi Lie, there were many others they couldn’t even fathom.

And now comes a new top scorer who consecutively aced six exams? The emperor’s eye is truly sharp, selecting individuals with real talent.

Everyone felt conflicted, while the emperor feigned ignorance.

He looked at Meng Yunzheng and said, ”I can agree to let you go back and teach, but I also have a condition.”

”Your Majesty, please command.”

”Since you claim it’s to cultivate more pillars of talent, once you’ve established your academy, it must truly supply talents to the imperial court. Three years from now, your academy must have at least five candidates pass the palace exam. Furthermore, in the future, you must ensure at least five people become Advanced Scholars each time. Otherwise, you must admit you’re not suited to run an academy and honestly return to continue your duty at the Hanlin Academy as a compiler. How does that sound?”

Whoa...

Five???

People were shocked, considering the Dasu dynasty consists of so many prefectures, with at least a thousand candidates and sometimes even ten thousand taking exams at the Examination Hall during the metropolitan exam. Among so many candidates, only two to three hundred are admitted.

And among these two to three hundred, Jiangnan and the capital comprise more than half. After all, these two places naturally possess superior conditions and are populated with scholars.

As for the remaining Advanced Scholars, even if evenly distributed among the various prefectures, only a handful would remain.

Some prefectures might not even have one.

Now the emperor demands an academy that hasn’t even been opened yet to produce at least five Advanced Scholars in three years? Is he really not making things difficult? Is Meng Yunzheng destined to be lucky with the emperor or adversarial?

Apparently aware of what these people were thinking, the emperor added two more sentences, ”Of course, I won’t make it hard for you. Your academy currently has no students, and whether you can have candidates participate in the county exam three years from now is still uncertain. Thus, any candidate studying at your academy for more than half a year within these three years, from elsewhere, will be counted in those five slots.”

Others lowered their heads silently, finding it challenging as well.

Which candidate would study at a barely established and obscure academy for half a year? Even if the Mountain Master of the academy is a joint top scorer of six exams, it might still lack appeal.

But Meng Yunzheng accepted, ”I can do that.”

The emperor raised his eyebrows, ”You’re certainly very confident.”

Meng Yunzheng smiled, ”To be honest with Your Majesty, I have already invited Mr. Huai’an from Lingzhou to teach at the academy, and by then, Mr. Huai’an will bring some of his students along.”

”Whoa!”

”Who did you say?”

”Mr. Huai’an?”

”He actually agreed to teach at your academy?”

The crowd couldn’t restrain themselves from making sounds, for Mr. Huai’an’s fame was too overwhelming.

This person is a great scholar of his era, having participated in the imperial exams and becoming the top scorer at the age of twelve. He later joined as a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, rapidly ascended, and ultimately became the Crown Prince’s Tutor.