RWNEFE -Chapter 648 The Pale-Faced Eunuch’s Admonition!

After receiving the letter, Shen Lanxi immediately gave a reply and sent a special envoy to inform the Shen family in person.

“His Majesty says this is only a suggestion. If the Shen family’s children wish to continue studying at the Imperial Academy, she will not stop them. It’s just that the teachers currently teaching at the Imperial Academy will be reassigned to posts in civilian academies.”

They were called civilian academies, but in reality all were backed by the court. After Shen Lanxi’s reforms, the academies were almost equivalent to being nationalized. Although the court did not openly appoint officials to manage them, in practice all academy heads were now appointed positions—and every academy head in the capital had been personally appointed by Shen Lanxi.

Madam Liu and the other women were dumbfounded.

“They are court-appointed officials. They have committed no great offense. How can His Majesty demote them?”

Being transferred from an official academy to a civilian one—wasn’t that clearly a step downward?

Would those teachers even be willing?

They certainly wouldn’t. When the time came, they would surely unite with the other instructors to oppose it. They didn’t believe His Majesty would persist in going her own way.

“How dare you speak so recklessly about His Majesty!”

The pale-faced eunuch’s expression turned icy as he glared at Madam Liu with a sinister look.

Madam Liu was so frightened that her heart trembled.

Shen Conglian wished he could slap her. Trouble had only just struck the family; even the mourning period had not yet passed, and she was already forgetting her place.

“Please calm your anger, sir. She just speaks too quickly. That is not what she truly means.”

The pale-faced eunuch still stared at Madam Liu gloomily, his expression scarcely softening.

“For the sake of Second Master, I will not record these words today. But if you say anything treasonous again, this servant will report every word to His Majesty.”

Shen Conglian quickly took out banknotes and pressed them into the eunuch’s hand.

“Please calm your anger. We were overthinking things. His Majesty must surely have the family’s best interests at heart.”

After all, she herself bore the surname Shen, and so many sons of the family were guarding the realm for her.

As long as they committed no wrongdoing, she would certainly not act against them.

“It’s good that Second Master understands. In fact, His Majesty has long intended to abolish the Imperial Academy—not exactly abolish it, but merge it with the civilian academies.”

Shen Conglian felt his bribe had been well given.

“His Majesty loves the people like her own children and has always opposed extravagance and waste. Having the Imperial Academy’s teachers instruct only the Shen family’s children is somewhat wasteful. These teachers are all great scholars; if they take posts elsewhere, they can benefit far more people.”

“In other words, civilian academies are not inferior to the Imperial Academy. Take Bailu Academy for example—General Yuanxu once served there as headmaster. Many newly promoted officials at court have also come from civilian academies.”

Shen Conglian nodded repeatedly with a smile, and while turning his back, slipped several more banknotes into the eunuch’s hand.

The eunuch’s expression improved noticeably.

“His Majesty often sighs that the Zhou family lost because none of them understood the hardships of the common people. She does not wish the Shen family to repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty.”

So sending the Shen family’s children to civilian academies was actually a special consideration?

“Do you understand His Majesty’s good intentions now?”

Even if he didn’t fully understand, Shen Conglian still had to nod.

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

Having completed his task, the pale-faced eunuch rolled his eyes and left.

As soon as he was gone, Madam Liu began to cry.

“How can everything be blamed on me? It’s not my fault—I was only thinking of the children…”

The matter of the Shen family’s children entering civilian academies was thus settled, and Shen Lanxi issued further instructions.

The Shen children were to be dispersed among different academies, with no more than two Shen children in any single academy.

At present, the Shen family had fifty descendants in total—some over ten years old, the youngest not yet twenty days old. Among them were thirty-two boys and eighteen girls.

If all these children gathered together, even Shen Lanxi’s former residence would not be large enough to house them. Several neighboring houses had been purchased and expanded just to make room.

It wasn’t that the children themselves took up so much space, but each child was attended by at least two matrons, one maid, and two to four servants. With all these attendants added together, space quickly ran short.

Because of a single imperial decree and today’s events, most of the Shen family had already put Shen Congyi’s treason and the old madam’s death behind them, and were busy making arrangements for the next generation.

Only Shen Congwen was different. Since the deaths of Old Madam Shen and Shen Congyi, he had developed a drinking problem, spending every day in a drunken haze, rarely sober.

The commandery princess did not concern herself with household matters, so the rest of the Shen family simply bypassed the eldest branch; whenever something arose, the second and third branches discussed it together.

Afterward, the Shen family began selecting academies for their children, keeping everyone extremely busy.

As the women of the second and third branches bustled about, the eldest branch became conspicuously quiet by comparison.

“Elder Sister, which academy will we be assigned to?” a six-year-old girl with double buns asked innocently, looking at her elder sister Shen Emei.

Shen Emei had already grown into a graceful young lady, but hearing this question made her somewhat irritated.

Yesterday’s examination—she had lost again to Shen Chengfeng. He was several years younger, yet always pretended to understand everything, and the teacher indulged him, clearly favoring him.

“Don’t ask me. How would I know?”

The little girl was startled, lowered her head, and nervously twisted her fingers, not daring to speak again.

Shen Chengfeng, meanwhile, felt the matter couldn’t end like this. She would write to her father and ask him to think of a way.

—

Although Zhou Xinrou did not interfere, that did not mean she was unaware. She was actually pleased to hear that the Shen family’s children were being assigned to civilian academies.

The Shen family produced far too many children. Every year many were sent from the frontier to the capital—like rabbits, producing litter after litter. If these little brats had ever interfered with her affairs, she would never have allowed such noisy creatures to live.

Fortunately, they were sensible and stopped coming after a few visits. Otherwise, seeing those children shouting and running about, she would certainly have been unable to restrain herself.

…

Cheng Zheng prepared six large carts of belongings for Sang Guo: one cart of gold, silver, and jewels; three carts of items he commonly used; and the remaining two carts filled with past rewards and Sang Guo’s own savings over the years.

Seeing so much, Sang Guo anxiously wrote: “It’s too much, too much.”

Cheng Zheng replied, “Not much at all. Only one cart was taken from His Majesty’s private treasury. You know how generous His Majesty is.”

Sang Guo looked as if he might cry.

Cheng Zheng continued writing: “A few days ago, I already contacted Xiao Fang. When you arrive there, someone will look after you.”

Sang Guo truly could not bear to leave. A man is not supposed to shed tears easily, yet he had no other way to express himself. Even writing thousands of pages would not be enough to convey his feelings.

He could only weep.

Cheng Zheng smiled and patted his shoulder. No one understood Sang Guo better than he did.

If his own family were still alive and pleading with him now, he too would not be able to refuse.

Let it be this way. His Majesty never forced matters of the heart.

It was always others who forced them.

It was probably for the best that Sang Guo was leaving.

Cheng Zheng slowly curled his lips into a faint smile and raised his hand to give the order.

The wheels of the carts began to turn slowly. He glanced once at the palace gate and thought to himself that once he had settled Sang Guo, he would immediately return.