"What was this? Hanging portraits of all the Hundred Schools here?"
"The other schools had long since declined. This could very well enrage Confucianism."
"Not only that, I heard several other schools still had secret inheritances. If people like that learned of this, they surely would not let it rest?"
"Not just those hidden sects—even the Hundred Schools themselves probably would not let this matter go lightly. These portraits differ from clay statues. They cannot gather incense and worship, and can only be gazed upon in reverence. But gathering so many of them at once..."
"Exactly. Ordinary households might hang one or two portraits, while Noble Clans might hang a few more, but there was usually some connection involved. Yet what Marquis of Pacifying the Realm has done is far from ordinary. Gathering so many Sages of the Hundred Schools together is itself deeply thought-provoking, not to mention that Marquis of Pacifying the Realm has always drawn attention. Even if there were no issue to begin with, once it passed through his hands, it would become one."
"I just wonder how the other academies will view this. I heard that over the Literary Web matter, quite a few Grand Confucians and Grandmasters were dissatisfied with Marquis of Pacifying the Realm. The Noble Clans matter became so inflamed before partly because many Grand Confucians and Grandmasters tacitly allowed it."
Outside the hall, many people discussed the matter in hushed tones. For a time, they even forgot the original purpose of this Sage Worthies Hall and instead became concerned with how the many academies would react.
Clay statues could gather incense and worship, while portraits generally could only be used to commemorate the departed. This was a compromise. Had an ordinary Noble Clan hung them, it would have been one thing,