Ning'an County's Literary Academy was an even larger complex than the county yamen. This was true throughout the Human Race, for the Literary Academy not only housed the Temple of Sages, which oversaw all manner of grand sacrificial rites, but also tens of thousands of examination rooms, as well as classrooms, dormitories, and more.
The plaza before the Temple of Sages was immensely broad, capable of holding over a hundred thousand people.
From early morning onward, scholars from all over Ning'an County streamed in. More than sixty thousand had arrived, from Child Scholars to Metropolitan Graduates. Many non-scholars also stood outside the Literary Academy, hoping to catch Fang Yun's lecture and soak up a bit of Literary Qi.
One group at the Literary Academy entrance was especially conspicuous. A great many women stood there, every one of them with a swollen belly. Some muttered quietly.
"May Void Sage Fang bless me with a son who can become a Provincial Graduate, bringing glory to our ancestors."
"Have mercy, Void Sage Fang. Bless me with a Zhuangyuan son!"
Around these pregnant women stood many married women. Like the pregnant women, they had come to absorb some Literary Qi, hoping their future children would be more intelligent.
Around the married women were many parents with children no older than five or six, and some even held infants only a few months old. The children had not formally entered elementary schooling, but in their parents' eyes, hearing a Void Sage lecture would be of immense benefit to them.
Before Fang Yun arrived, the crowd discussed matters in low voices.
"I heard grain prices soared today!"
"That always happens during the lean season. My family bought four hundred jin of grain long ago, enough to last until the winter wheat ripens."
"Your family bought it,