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"The meeting's over?" She touched her face, looked at the sky, and then at the Academy Student from the Imperial Academy Gate walking one after another towards the gate of the mansion. "How come it's already time to leave school? Wasn't it supposed to be just two hours of kneeling as punishment? Doesn't that mean I've been cheated? My knees are numb."

"Two hours? You stood there for two hours?"

Hearing her aggrieved accusations and glancing at the self-humiliating wooden board beside her, Li Chenjing clenched his fists, stood up angrily, and demanded, "Who!? Who made him kneel here until he fainted!?"

"In response to Grand Secretary Li, the disciplinary rules for newly Academy Student are overseen by Dr. Doctor Liu, Doctor of Law, which is probably—" a passing Academy Student replied with a bow.

"Summon him to see me!"

"Well?"

"Now! Bring him to see me!"

The Grand Secretary of the Eastern Palace openly lashed out and berated his subordinates at the Imperial Academy!

The Prime Minister's son, who even the dean had to show him respect and whose expression was always blank and impossible to read, has become enraged!

His aura was sharp and imposing, and his eyes were fierce and ruthless.

All the Academy Student stopped in their tracks and stood still, exchanging glances. No one dared to take another step forward. They knew that he was not only the Dongxu Grand Secretary, but also the Minister of Personnel Dongxu Mansion was responsible for recommending officials to the court every year. This was the highest-ranking institution among the Six Ministries. Who would serve the emperor in the palace and who would be sent far away from the Capital was all decided by Grand Secretary Li's pen.

To prevent the Academy Student from flattering and currying favor, Grand Secretary Li, always cold and aloof, never interacted with Academy Student. Why would he now extend a helping hand to a newly appointed, punished junior Academy Student at the Imperial Academy Gate?

"So it was you who made him stand in the scorching sun for two hours as punishment?" Li Chenjing asked coldly, standing with his hands behind his back, looking down at him.

Doctor Liu had been inexplicably brought along, had no idea which rule he had broken. Looking at the short Academy Student behind Grand Secretary Li, he nodded and said, " In Chief Counselor, it is indeed me."

"Well, what wrong has he done that warrants punishment until he faints?"

Such questioning made Doctor Liu lose face among the Academy Student coming and going. He could only bite the bullet and answer, "This Academy Student has only been in the academy for a short time and has been absent many times. The Dongxu Mansion is a court academy with strict rules. If he is absent from class today, will he be absent from the palace tomorrow? Therefore, he is punished by kneeling for two hours!"

"If Academy Student has difficulties at home, shouldn't we make an exception and handle the situation accordingly?"

"Make an exception?" Doctor Liu was stunned, his eyes widening as he looked up at Grand Secretary Li. "Grand Secretary Li... rules are rules, and there should be no exceptions. Only good-for-nothings need to be made an exception for. These are your own words..."

"..." He appeared in front of me again! What kind of cold-blooded animal was he before? He was truly repulsive!

He scratched his head in frustration, childishly ruffled his hair, and looked back at her with concern. She must have heard what he just said. It must have annoyed her again.

Seeing him turn back to look at her with a troubled expression, Zhu Bafu sighed, assuming he was asking her for help. See? He tried to be a hero, but ended up shooting himself in the foot. In the end, she's the one who has to come to his rescue. Humph! Hindsight is 20/20. Offending the Doctor will only make Small Shoes for her later. Feigning innocence, she tugged at Li Chenjing's sleeve, forcing a smile and pretending to be a good person, "Young Master, let it go! I've already knelt down, so don't make things difficult for Doctor Liu."

"No way!" Li Chenjing refused her without even thinking.

Hey! I've already saved your face, what more do you want!

"I don't want to!"

"Don't want what?" Don't want face, don't want substance, or don't want shame?

"We don't want Li Chenjing's ridiculous rules!"

"Well?"

"He... no, it was me, who set what other rules! Doctor Liu, tell me."

"Your Chief Counselor, what are you going to do?"

Cancel them all!

"..."

"Well?!!"

The exclamation did not come from her mouth, but from every Academy Student passing by the Imperial Academy Gate.

Cancel all of them means --

Once selected and admitted to the residence, gambling and drinking are forbidden; female relatives are not allowed to approach within a three-mile radius of the Dongxu Mansion; those who violate school rules must write down their failures and be forced to kneel Imperial Academy Gate as a public spectacle; entering brothels and gambling dens is considered lucky if you aren't caught, but if you are, well, you'll have your three thousand worries wiped out, your Mortal Realm desires severed, and those who are dissolute and incorrigible will be expelled from the residence and never employed again—should all these supposedly virtuous and stabilizing rules, which are in fact inhumane and restrictive to the souls of these literati, be abolished?

Grand Secretary Li has damaged his head! He wants to overthrow his cold-blooded rule, embrace the great love of education, and restore a free and open learning environment for the Academy Student!

"Little Eight, no one will make you kneel as punishment anymore," he said with a smug smile.

"... Should I say thank you?" But she really couldn't bring herself to say it.

"You're welcome."

"..." Hey! He actually dared to reply! Nobody's genuinely thanking him, okay?

"I did all of this willingly for you." Completely oblivious to her perfunctory attitude, he broke into a bright, sunny smile, his lips and eyes radiating warmth. "I'll prove to you that I'm completely different from the person I used to be!"

"..." Of course it's different! You weren't so slow-witted and dull before!

What do the rules of the Dongxu Mansion, the rage for a lover, the benefits for future Academy Student, the educational reforms—what do they have to do with her anyway? She just knelt there pitifully all day and flipped the table!

Grand Secretary Li has changed!

He became more approachable and easier to get along with, or rather—he became incredibly popular.

By canceling those terrible clauses, he won the favor of all the Academy Student. Taking advantage of the victory, Grand Secretary Li's approachable and gentle attitude was like a spring breeze blowing through every corner of the Dongxu Mansion. No other Commander Mansion had ever greeted the Academy Student who bowed their heads to him with such a smile.