Chapter 476: New System

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Outside Qingzhou City, Taihe Village.

Over a hundred villagers were talking angrily after hearing the newspaper read out loud.

“These old scholars are so annoying. We’ve only just started living a peaceful life, and now they’re stirring things up again.”

“That’s right! If it weren’t for His Highness’s policies, how would we have good days like this? We absolutely can’t let these scholars fool His Highness with their nonsense.”

“Yeah! Kick them all out of the domain and let them cause trouble elsewhere! That Xie Ziyun’s family lives in our village—we should go ask his parents how they raised such an ungrateful son. If His Highness hadn’t given the powerful families’ land back to the Xie family, where would they have gotten the money for his education? Let’s go!”

“…”

The villagers were getting more and more agitated with every word.

The leader was the village team leader. With a wave of his hand, the people of Taihe Village followed him to the Xie family home.

Yesterday, Xie Ziyun had been beaten nearly to death and brought back to the Xie home. Today, his father, Xie Dongyi, was staying home to take care of him and hadn’t gone to hear the newspaper reading.

Just as he was cursing the people who beat his son, the villagers stormed angrily into his house.

“Xie Dongyi, take your son and get out of this domain! Our village doesn’t accept people who bring us shame!” shouted one villager.

“Exactly! If people from other villages find out that Xie Ziyun is from here, they’ll curse our village to no end. This is so humiliating.”

“It’s more than just humiliating. This is betrayal! Eating from the Great Prince and then turning against him—disgusting. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“…”

Xie Dongyi was stunned by the shouting. He shouted back, “What are you talking about? I don’t get it. My son was beaten and you’re not even sympathetic? Now you’re humiliating him too? You think I’m easy to bully?”

“Bah! He should’ve been beaten to death!” yelled one villager.

Xie Dongyi’s face turned red with anger. To him, Xie Ziyun was the family’s pride. Just last year he had met high-ranking officials in Chang’an, which had been something to brag about. Now that the villagers were saying these things, he was enraged. He grabbed a hoe and threatened, “Li Er, say one more word and see what happens!”

At that moment, a villager spoke up, “Xie Dongyi, you didn’t go hear the newspaper today, did you? Your son’s name is in it now. He actually led a bunch of scholars to cause trouble at the county office, going against His Highness publicly, and even demanded the shutdown of Bowen Academy and the return to the old feudal system.”

Hearing this, Xie Dongyi froze and said in disbelief, “You’re lying! You’re all jealous of my son. He’d never do that!”

“Why would we lie? The reporter is still at the village entrance. Go ask him yourself,” said another villager.

Xie Dongyi’s expression shifted. In the end, he decided to find out the truth. He dropped the hoe and ran to the village center. Not long after, he came back like a wooden statue.

“We didn’t lie, did we?” the village leader sighed. Judging by Xie Dongyi’s look, it was clear he hadn’t known what his son had been up to.

Xie Dongyi collapsed onto the ground and began crying loudly. “You little bastard! I worked day and night in the fields to pay for your schooling. You should’ve studied hard to serve His Highness. But instead, you shame him like this. Without His Highness, how would you even continue your studies? Waaaah…”

His crying moved some of the angry villagers. One tried to comfort him, “Xie Dongyi… it’s up to you now. But our village can’t keep him. He’s too dangerous. We don’t want to get dragged down by him one day.”

Hearing that, Xie Dongyi’s face turned pale. Looking at his second son, third son, and little daughter, he made a decision in his heart. He said, “Please allow him to heal first. Once he’s better, I will cut all ties with him. He will leave the domain. Whether he becomes successful or dies on the road, I will no longer care.”

The villagers fell silent and left after exchanging glances.

After everyone left, Xie Dongyi went back inside. Xie Ziyun was lying in bed. Although he had been beaten by many people, they had held back a little. His injuries weren’t too severe.

Seeing his son awake, Xie Dongyi said, “You heard what they said outside. When you’re better, leave. Our village won’t tolerate someone ungrateful, and neither will our family.”

Xie Ziyun’s eyes showed both fear and anger. He said, “Father, this isn’t my fault. I studied for so many years, yet in the domain I’m not even qualified to enter the official system. Why? In the end, the Great Prince is just a foolish ruler. He looks down on poor scholars like us and gives us no chance!”

“Nonsense!” Xie Dongyi snapped. “Everyone from Bowen Academy is allowed to take the exams. Why didn’t you go to Bowen Academy? Isn’t it because the chief examiner in Chang’an is Cui Hao, and you were afraid your connection with Bowen Academy would ruin your chances? Aren’t you and your so-called scholar friends all arrogant snobs who look down on domain officials?”

Xie Ziyun was speechless. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

No one knows their son better than a father. To Xie Dongyi, becoming an official in the domain or the court was still a way forward. But what his son had done crossed his bottom line.

Everyone in the village knew that supporting the Great Prince was the only way to keep their good lives. They had seen the refugees from Jizhou—how pitiful they were. That memory was still fresh. No one wanted to end up like them.

After a pause, he said, “There’s now a public school in the county town. The government says any child from any household can go. Once they finish, they can take the exam for Bowen Academy. If they get in, they’ll become the pillars of the domain. I plan to send your second and third brothers to study.”

“Father, can you really afford to send them both?” Xie Ziyun argued.

“Public school doesn’t cost money,” Xie Dongyi sighed. “His Highness is so generous, and you don’t even want to serve him. What are you really thinking?”

Hearing this, Xie Ziyun fell silent.

While he was deep in thought, those scholars who followed him in causing trouble also faced similar outcomes. Many of them had just been blindly following the crowd. Once they realized the consequences, they quickly wrote apology letters to the government office and promised not to repeat their actions. Some even signed up for the Bowen Academy entrance exam.

This time, the unified action of merchants, civilians, and craftsmen completely scared the scholars, and no one opposed Xiao Ming’s announced policies.

As the news continued to roll in, Xiao Ming was very pleased with how everyone reacted. He hadn’t expected that this opportunity would allow him to fully establish his own talent development and selection system.

Just as he was feeling proud, craftsmen from the glass workshop arrived at the palace and handed him a telescope.