Sage Scholar Academy's Retreat

Mo Yunxuan watched Wang Yuan's dejected expression, his brow furrowed. He wanted to comfort him, but after a moment's thought, he gave up.

The future him might make more changes, whether more brutal or more merciful.

The people of the Wei State Duke Mansion's job was to constantly adapt to his ideas and resolutely execute his orders.

Couldn't do it? Then they'd be replaced!

He couldn't possibly counsel subordinates on their emotions every time, nor would he overly consider the thoughts and opinions of these old timers from the Wei State Duke Mansion.

At most, when their opinions clashed, he would allow them to gracefully step down from their positions, and then provide them with a comfortable environment to retire in.

As for changing his own decisions out of respect for their opinions?

Don't be ridiculous! That was absolutely impossible!

In the end, he was the Wei State Duke!

He could accept his subordinates' advice, but he would never accept a subordinate attempting to change his will.

What's more, no one was irreplaceable. For Wang Yuan's work alone, Mo Yunxuan had 150 temporarily appointed Imperial Guard Elite Vanguard Soldiers who could each replace him.

Or perhaps Meng Qianxue, Meng Zhirou, or even Qiu Ziqin could replace him.

He wasn't that important, was he?

Mo Yunxuan casually picked up a calligraphy copybook collected by the Old Duke, written by a Great Scholar.

He carefully examined each stroke and line, asking indifferently, "What about the situation afterward?"

"News came from the Imperial Palace this morning, putting an end to the matter with Taihua Academy."

"Taihua Academy collectively rebelled, and the Imperial City Imperial Guard, with the cooperation of the informant Vice Dean Qiu, annihilated the rebels."

"The Wei State Duke's merit in quelling the rebellion was acknowledged, but because he mobilized troops without permission, his merits and demerits cancel each other out, and no reward will be given."

Confirming he had absolutely no artistic talent, Mo Yunxuan rolled up the calligraphy copybook in his hand again, casually stuffed it back where it belonged, and sat back down in his chair, smiling indifferently.

"This Ji Ruxue, she's so stingy she won't even give a small reward."

Seeing Wang Yuan about to speak but hesitating, Mo Yunxuan said calmly, "Alright, Uncle Wang, there's nothing else here for now. I'll be reading here for a while, you can go down first."

"Yes, Master."

Mo Yunxuan watched Wang Yuan's retreating back, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, don't make things difficult for me!"

He had inadvertently glimpsed the changes on Wang Yuan's status panel just now.

[Loyalty: 98→90]

Although it hadn't dropped below 90, this decrease made Mo Yunxuan feel a bit heavy-hearted.

Ever since he transmigrated, it was Wang Yuan who helped him take over power.

If possible, he truly wished Wang Yuan could accompany him all the way.

He had even added Wang Yuan's name to the list for the next reinforcement.

But looking at this number, a sentence would always involuntarily surface in his mind:

"Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolutely disloyal!"

Mo Yunxuan chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Heh, I am indeed naturally cold-hearted!"

He then stopped paying attention to Wang Yuan's status panel and opened Wang Hai's Virtual Script again.

He hadn't had time to check it before because of the sword-grinding matter.

Now that he finally had time, it was perfect for passing the time.

According to the script, Wang Hai was a transmigrator from Blue Star, and he transmigrated just after being castrated.

In other words, he didn't have a little ding-dong!

However, Wang Hai wasn't without support.

The day after he entered the palace, he was chosen by Imperial Consort Dowager Su Wan due to his delicate appearance and kept by her side.

Search book title and you might not find it, you can try searching for the author, perhaps the name was changed!

He often helped Su Wan with massages, foot washing...

Later, with Su Wan's help, he entered the Empress's sight, offered strategies to the Empress, and gained her trust.

With the Empress's permission, he established the Imperial Guard to monitor all officials. With imperial authority, he could execute first and report later, and his reputation once surpassed that of the Xuan Niao Guard, which was established decades earlier.

Besides Su Wan, a great benefactor, Wang Hai also possessed a special cultivation method.

It not only allowed for rapid strength improvement but also restored his male physique, strengthening his kidneys and body.

This was also his greatest reliance for later indulging in the imperial harem.

And it was what Mo Yunxuan valued most!

"According to Qing Li, Wang Hai should reach the Imperial Study in just a day or two."

"Oh~ So I unintentionally deviated from his script and disrupted his plans."

"No wonder he harbors such great hostility towards me. What a coincidence!"

"But Su Wan, she seems to be the daughter of a prominent clan from Jiang City in the south. The Wei State Duke Mansion doesn't have much influence there."

Mo Yunxuan was somewhat troubled by this.

Even if it came to a direct confrontation, he wasn't afraid of the Su Clan.

However, he simply didn't want to fight to the death with others, only for Ji Ruxue to reap the benefits.

Otherwise, even if he won, he wouldn't be able to swallow his pride, and he secretly made up his mind.

"I need to speed up the purchase of fierce beast corpses. It's time for another round of reinforcement!!!"

In the following days.

The announcement regarding the annihilation of Taihua Academy also reached the knowledge of various major powers and spread widely.

The military nobles didn't have much of a reaction to this.

After all, even though Mo Yunxuan's methods were a bit extreme and perhaps not entirely proper, they were considered normal behavior, upholding the inviolable dignity of the nobility.

More importantly, he hadn't harmed any allies!

However, the civil officials couldn't stand it, each one indignant, as if the country were about to fall the next day.

But being in high positions, it was inconvenient for them to act personally and give others grounds for criticism.

Unlike Sage Scholar Academy, which was mostly populated by commoners and had recently integrated many teachers and students from the Wei State Duke Mansion.

The other two academies in the imperial city, the Imperial Academy, run by the royal family, and Wenhua Academy, backed by Great Scholars, were mostly populated by descendants of civil officials. They held strong opinions against the nobility.

This also led to many imperial relatives and nobles, who should have remained neutral, having their stances skewed due to prolonged association.

Facing the Wei State Duke Mansion's actions, which were clearly excessive this time, these students naturally wouldn't pass up this opportunity to gain fame for themselves.

They began to vehemently criticize the actions within the academies, and some students even proposed:

to go on strike to request the Empress to severely punish the Wei State Duke Mansion.

They also planned to stage a silent protest outside the Palace Gate and organize street marches to express their opposition to the announcement.

These movements even reached Sage Scholar Academy, which rarely interacted with the other two.

However, as soon as any signs appeared, Dean Fang Wanqing immediately suppressed them.

She then spoke earnestly to the students, "If you don't want the new classmates and teachers to leave, pay more attention to your words and actions."

At first, everyone was bewildered.

What was this all about?

The two matters seemed completely unrelated!

But during a public lecture, they watched the new instructor walk onto the podium with a smile, yet his eyes held no emotion. When he looked at them, it was as if he were looking at prey.

At that moment, they suddenly understood the Dean's meaning.

After that, everyone at Sage Scholar Academy tacitly stopped discussing or even mentioning the matter.

The students of the Imperial Academy were mainly the offspring of imperial relatives and high-ranking ministers.

They were relatively restrained. Although they spoke carelessly, they ultimately did not put their words into practice.