Zheng Guang walked up to the Jiang couple.

“Has the general come to pick up his son?”

Jiang Fengyuan turned around in surprise and said, “How come you’re here?”

Zheng Guang, a well-known figure in the court, was famous for his sharp tongue, capable of making anyone furious with his words.

Very few people in the court could get along with him, except for Jiang Fengyuan.

During the recent incident in Jiangnan, Jiang Fengyuan had informed Zheng Guang about it, but it was clear that Zheng didn’t care much.

Fortunately, the emperor had sent the crown prince to handle it in the end.

Zheng Guang pointed to the academy. “My son is studying here. I don’t know why, but the principal invited me.”

Jiang Fengyuan thought to himself: It’s expected that you’d be invited, but why was I invited too?

While he was still puzzled, he accidentally spoke his thoughts aloud.

When he saw the resentful eyes of the person beside him, Jiang Fengyuan quickly realized he had made a mistake.

Although he had a good relationship with Zheng Guang, the latter was notorious for holding grudges and was ruthless in his criticism.

What he had just said in front of Zheng Guang had unintentionally mocked his son.

“Lord Zheng, that’s not what I meant,” Jiang Fengyuan explained weakly.

Zheng Guang snorted coldly.

[Great, my father will be scolded tomorrow. This man in front of me is the notorious Lord Zheng, the ‘Great Scolder’ of the court.]

Jiang Yuanxi, Jiang Fengyuan’s daughter, was secretly delighted.

Jiang Fengyuan felt a chill down his spine.

[What will Lord Zheng scold my father for? It can’t be about that incident, can it?]

Jiang Fengyuan was anxious.

What incident? What incident was it?!

He was growing increasingly anxious.

But Jiang Yuanxi didn’t elaborate further.

Chen Shi, Jiang Fengyuan’s wife, didn’t mind. Her daughter’s casual tone suggested that it wasn’t a major issue.

Not a big deal.

The door to the academy slowly opened, and the officials were invited in. Chen Shi stayed outside to wait for news.

To be cautious, she handed her daughter to her husband’s arms.

Once inside, all the officials immediately sensed something was wrong.

The students, all wearing identical outfits, stood in the middle of the academy.

Zheng Guang was puzzled. “What’s going on here?”

The other officials were equally curious, and Jiang Fengyuan, standing at the front, finally spotted his son.

Jiang Yuansheng saw his father and quickly lowered his head, kicking a small stone on the ground.

Jiang Fengyuan: …

He felt something bad was happening.

The principal of the academy, Zhuang Zhongke, was seated at the top. Regardless of rank, all the officials saluted him.

Zhuang Zhongke was a famous scholar in Shengjing, even the emperor paid him respect.

He instructed someone to show the officials to their seats.

“I’ve called you all here today to discuss a solution,” Zhuang Zhongke said.

The officials exchanged glances.

Could they come up with a solution to the problem that even a great scholar like Zhuang Zhongke couldn’t solve?

Here’s what happened:

After returning to the academy that day, it wasn’t long before Guo Kun came to find Jiang Yuansheng. At first, Jiang Yuansheng didn’t want to bother with him, but Guo Kun was persistent and wouldn’t leave.

With no other choice, Jiang Yuansheng decided to play along.

They all had some drinks, and while Guo Kun wasn’t paying attention, Jiang Yuansheng swapped their wine cups.

In the end, it was Guo Kun who passed out.

That night, Guo Kun’s people thought the person slumped over the table was Jiang Yuansheng, so they carried him away in the dark.

Jiang Yuansheng had intended to go back, but his sister kept emphasizing that in his previous life, he had been taken to a brothel. The imagery was so vivid.

Curiosity got the better of him.

Jiang Yuansheng was very curious—if the person being taken away was Guo Kun, how interesting would that be?

After all, Guo Kun was his nemesis. Watching him get embarrassed would be even more exciting.

The next morning, he secretly went to the brothel.

He was spotted by some fellow students who thought that this renowned scholar was sneaking off to meet a master to learn something in secret.

Filled with admiration for the scholar and curiosity about the master, one of them woke up their friends in the academy.

Soon, almost half of the academy’s students sneaked out and followed Jiang Yuansheng.

When they arrived at the brothel, what they saw shocked them and disgusted their senses.

Zhuang Zhongke finished telling the story, and all the officials turned to look at Jiang Fengyuan.

Chen Guang: Look, look at what your son has done.

Jiang Fengyuan almost lifted his daughter to hide his face, avoiding the murderous glares of the officials.

“Why are you looking at me? I wasn’t the one who went.”

The officials: “Do you want to go?!”

[My brother is amazing, he actually got the whole academy to follow him and witness the drama.]

That day, Jiang Fengyuan had offended half of the court officials.

He could already imagine how tomorrow’s morning court session would go—he would be the most talked-about figure.

The current issue was how to save face for these young elites.

After all, the whole of Shengjing had seen it.

The students of Tian Shan Academy had gone to a brothel.

Zhuang Zhongke, though a great scholar, was only focused on teaching and cultivating students. This was the first time he had encountered such an issue.

If it were a trivial matter, he would have ignored it, but it involved the reputation of a noble young master.

Who knew that the refined and gentle Jiang Yuansheng had such a side to him?

Moreover, the matter involved many court officials, which was why Zhuang Zhongke had invited them to discuss it.

Zhuang Zhongke asked, “Do any of the officials have good suggestions?”

“I believe the one who led this should be punished,” said the Left Minister.

The Right Minister agreed. “Yes, and we should also deal with that Guo Kun.”

Jiang Fengyuan was unhappy.

“My son just went to watch a play. Why should he be punished? He didn’t know so many people were following him,” Jiang Fengyuan said confidently.

The officials weren’t fools.

The blame should fall on these kids.

The Left Minister waved his sleeve. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

The whole of Shengjing probably already knew about this.

These aristocratic families valued their reputation, and if nothing else, they could just kill him and have another child.

That morning, the emperor, who was used to a full court, felt strange when half of the officials were absent.

Especially Zheng Guang, who didn’t show up today.

“Where did everyone go?” the emperor asked.

Courtier Feng: “The officials all asked for leave this morning. They said something happened at Tian Shan Academy.”

The emperor: “What happened?”

Courtier Feng: “They didn’t specify.”

The emperor was very curious. What could have happened that caused so many officials to be absent?

The emperor ordered, “Go and find out!”

At Tian Shan Academy, the officials were brainstorming, and every few minutes, they would turn to glare at Jiang Fengyuan.

Jiang Fengyuan was already numb to it.

[What’s so difficult about this? Just say that my brother led the students to catch the academy’s troublemakers.]

Jiang Yuanxi was fiddling with her fingers.

Jiang Fengyuan’s eyes lit up.

[Guo Kun has committed many heinous acts, and the traces are clear. It would be easy to find out.]

[For example, he seduced the Left Minister’s daughter and tricked the Right Minister’s son into giving him money…]

Ultimately, these officials should be thanking my brother for removing the scum.

Jiang Fengyuan suddenly heard some juicy gossip from the frontlines.

But his daughter’s suggestion was actually feasible.

“Officials, this incident was caused by Guo Kun. His morality is corrupt. Mr. Zhuang can easily investigate it. My son, and all your children, were just doing the right thing by removing the troublemaker.”

“By bringing back the villain Guo Kun, they didn’t do anything wrong—on the contrary, they did a great service.”