White Heron Academy.
The Chief Minister strolled by the lakeside with two Grand Scholars from White Heron Academy.
Zhang Haoran followed behind the Chief Minister.
There were also two young disciples, one man and one woman.
At first, Zhang Haoran got along quite well with them, but he could sense the inborn air of superiority around them.
"Zhang Haoran, I've heard of you," the young male disciple said.
"Just an undeserved reputation," Zhang Haoran said modestly.
The younger generation behind them chatted quietly among themselves.
"My lord, I fear you did not invite the two of us for a walk today merely to stroll about, did you?"
At that moment, the Grand Scholar named Su Jia took the initiative to speak.
The Chief Minister chuckled. "This old man wishes to send a student to the academy."
The instant the Chief Minister finished speaking, the quiet conversation behind him abruptly stopped.
The young man and woman from the academy looked at Zhang Haoran.
Zhang Haoran himself was also rather puzzled.
Su Jia turned back to glance at Zhang Haoran and said:
"Lord Zhang is already a Golden Armored Guard, a royal attendant. How could the academy possibly accommodate such a great Buddha?"
The academy had always looked down on these servants of the imperial family.
Just as they had always despised the eunuchs who held power within the palace.
It had never been the Emperor who ruled the realm alone, but the Emperor and the realm's scholars who ruled it together.
Thus, when facing the Emperor, students from the academy had always advocated that there was no need to bow and scrape; they only needed to do their own duties well.
The Chief Minister heard the faint mockery in Su Jia's words and waved a hand.
"Grand Scholar Su Jia misunderstands.