Just then, Xiao Die came hurrying over and said that Eldest Miss had already prepared the meal.
Chen Yi nodded, signaling for her to go ahead. He then withdrew his gaze, looked at Ma Guan and the others seated before him, and said with a smile:
"I truly know nothing about Mr. Lingchuan's matter."
Ma Guan hesitated, wanting to continue his questions, when Chen Yi said, "But there is no need for you to panic."
"Perhaps by the time you return to the academy, Mr. Yue Ming and Mr. Zhuo Ying will already have brought back news."
Tang Ye, beside Ma Guan, asked, "Sir, do you think the Yamen may have arrested Mr. Lingchuan by mistake?"
Chen Yi could not help laughing. Shaking his head, he said, "I have been busy preparing for the yearly examinations lately. Where would I find the time to think so much?"
Seeing that Ma Guan, Tang Ye, and the others wanted to speak but held back, he rose and said, "Some people cannot be judged merely by appearances, and some matters cannot be viewed only in terms of right and wrong."
"As for what sort of person Mr. Lingchuan is, or whether he has violated the law, I will not comment. But I believe the Shuzhou Yamen would not act without cause."
"Especially against an instructor of our Guiyun Academy."
Ma Guan opened his mouth. "Sir, you mean Lingchuan—"
Chen Yi shot him a glare and cut him off irritably. "Perhaps the people from the Yamen merely invited Mr. Lingchuan over for some questioning."
That was already an extremely perfunctory answer.
He truly had little liking for Zhu Lingchuan—a man who kept company with Liu Hong. What was there to say about him?
Yet Ma Guan, Tang Ye, and the others had come with