A Fight Breaks Out
"They're about to start arguing."
Lin Yunwan's article was sent over, and when A Fu returned, he saw them arguing.
Qi Lingheng paused for a moment, then said, "They'll fight again."
A Fu's eyes widened, and he stepped forward to ask, "What did that article you wrote, young lady?"
Xiruo was also very curious.
Lin Yunwan said softly, "Many students in the Ji Mountain Society are followers of the School of Mind and the School of School of Principle. If I use the doctrines of the School of Principle to debate the School of Mind, the School of School of Mind will find it contradictory, and the School of School of Principle will be dissatisfied."
In short, she wrote a Neo-Confucian essay disguised as a School of Principle of School of Mind.
A Fu may not understand much else, but he understands the temperament of scholars very well.
They might not fight over Gold and Silver, but they would fight over a single word or a differing opinion.
"This... I'm afraid a fight might really break out!"
A Fu stood by, waiting to see what would happen.
Qi Lingheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze darkening slightly.
Inside the courtyard, the situation escalated, the argument grew louder, and someone, unable to control their temper, started pushing and shoving each other.
A Fu chuckled, "Hey, they actually made a move!"
Xiruo was skilled in martial arts; she knew how someone would prepare to attack.
She whispered to Lin Yunwan, "... Young Master Yan's men are planning to make a move."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the men around Yan Jingzong started throwing punches at each other. One of them touched his bleeding lip and retaliated with a vicious punch, and the scene completely spiraled out of control.
"It's chaos, chaos, chaos!"
A Fu watched with growing tension, chuckling as he said, "These scholars look weak and helpless, but they're surprisingly heavy-handed."
Every punch lands squarely.
The bamboo outside was so lush that it blocked part of the view. Lin Yunwan took a step forward to observe the scholars she had chosen.
Xiruo also stood to the side, watching how the scholars in the courtyard would react to this argument.
"Girl, someone is trying to break up the fight."
A Fu followed Xiruo and said, "This guy knows how to mediate, look, he's actually taking sides! This will only make the fight worse!"
As expected, more and more people joined the fight.
"Yan Jingzong... hey, that kid's really smart, he's hidden in the corner."
A Fu stared intently at Yan Jingzong, and seeing him instruct his page to leave the courtyard, he said, "Hey, what... what did he send his page to do?"
Qi Lingheng said calmly, "Naturally, we should invite the garden owner to take charge."
No one could control the situation anymore, but since we had borrowed someone else's Garden, we had to give the owner some face.
At this point, the only option was to ask the owner of the garden for help.
A Fu smiled and praised Yan Jingzong: "He really is calm."
Lin Yunwan smiled faintly, "It's more than just calm."
"What else did Miss Lin discover?"
Qi Lingheng's voice became gentler and lower.
Lin Yunwan paused for a moment, then explained to him point by point, "He is also a follower of the School of Mind. He didn't seem angry after hearing the article I wrote. This shows that he is broad-minded and tolerant."
"When his close friends got into a fight, he realized his attempts to intervene were futile, so he stepped back. At the height of the chaos, to protect himself, he quietly retreated to the wall and instructed his servant to fetch help."
Qi Lingheng listened with great interest. "What did you discover from this?"
Lin Yunwan glanced at him.
Shouldn't the Prince be better at judging people than she is? Isn't that obvious enough?
Seeing that Qi Lingheng remained silent, as if he were genuinely asking for her opinion, she replied, "To advise one's classmate is benevolence, to take a step back is propriety, to protect oneself is wisdom, and to have one's servant ask someone to quell the dispute is kindness."
Qi Lingheng's smile deepened, "It seems he's the man you've taken a liking to today."
Lin Yunwan silent.
Yan Jingzong is indeed a very good man and would make a good match for him.
I just don't know if he has the sense to take responsibility.
A Fu pointed to the courtyard gate and chuckled, "The Garden manager is here."
Zhao Jingyi only occasionally came to listen to the scholars of the Ji Mountain Society discussing books and philosophy... It wasn't that he liked listening to these things, but he was afraid that if a society formed in his Garden, it would cause trouble if it spread and people started criticizing the Imperial Court.
He happens to be out today.
"Wow! This Yan Jingzong is indeed a good one."
A Fu was very surprised that Yan Jingzong was still so calm even at this time.
He took three steps at a time, pushed his way forward through the crowd, walked up to the steward, bowed, and spoke.
A Fu sighed, "It's a pity we couldn't hear what was said."
Lin Yunwan wasn't disappointed; her eyes gleamed slightly. "Regardless of what he said, it was all made clear in just a few words—the manager has already sent people to restrain the ringleaders."
The guards who followed followed suit, and, following the principle of capturing the leader first, immediately separated the most dangerous fighters.
A Fu laughed and said, "Scholar Yan is quite something—he can't explain himself clearly in just a few words, so the steward can't bring his men to separate them."
Lin Yunwan nodded.
That's the point.
She was so engrossed in watching that she realized she could no longer hear Qi Lingheng's voice. She turned her head slightly and saw that the Prince was also watching intently.
"It's not over yet."
Qi Lingheng suddenly spoke.
They continued watching, and sure enough, it wasn't over yet.
A Fu said, "These scholars... are the best at talking. How could the manager of Ji Mountain Garden possibly win an argument with them?"
Lin Yunwan paused for a moment, then said, "A manager is, after all, just a manager. They can manage people, but they can't uphold justice."
The scholars asked the steward to come and judge the matter... but what could the steward possibly come up with?
He couldn't even understand the article that stirred up the conflict!
The steward was able to say a few words at first, but then the scholars started arguing again... Both sides had descendants of the Jiangqian family, a scholarly family, and he didn't want to offend either side, so he could only evade the issue. "Hey... stop arguing, stop arguing!"
"Let's talk this out."
"It's just an article, why make such a fuss?"
It seemed things were about to get out of control again, and the manager was in a real bind.
Yan Jingzong stepped forward because he wanted to say something, but he was young and neither his talent nor his family background were the most outstanding, so he didn't have much to say.
A loud voice can drown out the other person's voice with just one shout.
A Fu shook his head. "A scholar indeed! Arguing with the market vendors is no different."
Qi Lingheng chuckled and said, "Let's go."
A Fu didn't understand and followed blankly, asking, "Your Prince, where are you going?"
Qi Lingheng glanced at Lin Yunwan before saying to A Fu, "You said it yourself, arguing with people in the market is no different. If I don't go, how will they handle this?"
Lin Yunwan curtsied and respectfully saw him off, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Prince."
Qi Lingheng smiled and led A Fu over.
Lin Yunwan and Xiruo stood by the window, and the familiar figures came into view again, causing the scholars to fall silent.
They said in unison, "Greetings, Prince Huan!"
Qi Lingheng walked to the front, his expression indifferent, but his tone still gentle. "Bring the article here so I can take a look."
The steward presented it with both hands.
Qi Lingheng read it aloud, pretending it was the first time.
Then he questioned each of the people who were arguing.
Lin Yunwan didn't know what Qi Lingheng had asked, but she saw that everyone was speechless. The situation was brought under control in an instant, and the chattering scholars suddenly fell silent. The bamboo in front of the pavilion rustled in the wind.