Look Into It for Me

"Yes, yes. Anyone who thinks it's taking too long can go back and have someone else come. We're fine; we're not afraid of the time being long, we're only afraid of not learning well."

These people aren't stupid.

After seeing Zhao Ruxi's painting, everyone realized that this was a very rare opportunity. Putting aside everything else, just the fact that they would be highly valued upon returning to the government office after learning this painting skill would surely make them important.

Seeing that everyone was quite obedient and there were no more troublemakers like the young man in brocade robes, Zhao Ruxi was very satisfied and began to explain the concept of sketching to everyone.

Zhang Changshen stayed in the front yard to keep Zhao Ruxi in check. After sitting for a while, he came back to check and found that the classroom discipline was excellent. The officials all treated Zhao Ruxi with great respect, addressing him as "Teacher Zhao" and bowing respectfully when asking him questions. Only then did he feel at ease and leave.

Before leaving, he said to Kang Shilin with emotion, "Mister Kumu, what I admire most about you is your discerning eye. I never expected that Layperson Zhiwei, such a young lady, would be so skilled in painting and so adept at dealing with people. Thinking back to my youth, I was far inferior to Layperson Zhiwei."

When they first met, Zhao Ruxi went to the Court of Judicial Review to paint, and he was deeply impressed by Zhao Ruxi, but not to the point of being amazed.

Seeing how well she handled people at such a young age, her presence was just as impressive as those of them who had been officials for a long time. He was quite impressed and now completely regarded Zhao Ruxi as an extremely formidable person.

If she's like this at such a young age, what will she be like in the future?

Kang Shilin was extremely satisfied with his young apprentice's performance, and after being praised by Zhang Changshen, the old man couldn't stop smiling.

Zhang Changshen was no ordinary man; he was extremely capable. He appeared gentle on the surface, but was actually quite arrogant. There were very few officials in the entire court who would even look up to him and praise him.

"Not bad, at least you didn't embarrass this old man," Kang Shilin said modestly. But his upturned mustache still revealed the old man's pride.

Wu Zong had already gone to find the gatekeeper when they arrived at the front hall and instructed him, "After school today, those people will definitely come to ask you about Miss Zhao. Tell them a lot, let them know how powerful my master, senior brother, and junior sister are."

These constables originally came from the Court of Judicial Review. Wu Zong was afraid that those people would cause trouble, so he specially transferred five constables to take turns maintaining order. During the two months that the school was open, they stayed here.

Upon hearing this, the constable immediately understood.

He winked at Wu Zong, grinned, and said, "Don't worry, sir. I know what to do."

After the two boarded the carriage to return to the capital, Zhang Changshen asked him, "Have you found out who was behind that person?"

Wu Zong knew he was referring to the young man in brocade robes.

The Court of Judicial Review organized the training course, which was ordered by the Emperor. Although those who had never seen Zhao Ruxi's paintings were skeptical of her skills, they still felt that her painting style was extraordinary.

Therefore, whether they were scions of noble families or lower-ranking officials, everyone cherished this opportunity. To secure a spot, everyone used every trick in the book.

Now that they've finally managed to snag a spot, no one dares to provoke Zhao Ruxi in front of Zhang Changshen, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Even if they disdain Zhao Ruxi, they should at least wait until they leave before showing her any disrespect; that would be perfectly reasonable.

But some people acted like fools, provoking Zhao Ruxi in front of Zhang Changshen and Kang Shilin, who were both his senior brothers and the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He didn't believe a word of it was done without someone instigating it.

"After the bailiffs dragged him away, they interrogated him. He remained tight-lipped, only saying that he had a master and had initially enrolled to learn painting because he heard that there was no need for formal teacher-student etiquette. So when he heard that Zhiwei's account differed from the rumors, he couldn't help but ask. He truly had not disrespected Zhiwei."

Wu Zong shrugged. "He didn't do anything wrong, and I can't very well have someone torture him, lest someone use it against me. I'm not afraid of being impeached, it's not worth it for such a trivial matter."

Zhang Changshen was most satisfied with Wu Zong's clear-headedness; he would never do anything foolish.

"You're right. Investigating him wouldn't be difficult, and there's no need to risk being impeached. Maybe he's just waiting for you to make a move," Zhang Changshen said. "There are quite a few people who don't like our Court of Judicial Review."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps this person is targeting our Court of Judicial Review."

Zhang Changshen was highly capable; few in the entire Great Jin could match him in handling cases. Even Emperor Xiao Ge relied heavily on him, making his position as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review extremely secure.

He was a tough guy who never got involved in factional struggles or took sides in the succession battles. When investigating cases, he was ruthless, showing no favoritism and only revealing the truth, regardless of who had committed the crime. Once he found out the truth, he would report it directly without showing any leniency.

As a result, there are quite a few people in the capital who hate him. And countless others disapprove of him and want to remove him from his position so their own people can take it.

Therefore, although Zhao Ruxi had recently offended Jia Songlin and his son, they did not consider that possibility.

With that incident, the entire capital is watching the Jia Family. If they were to send someone to cause trouble for Zhao Ruxi at this juncture, they would be truly foolish. If the censor impeached them, they might not even be able to stay in the capital.

Therefore, neither Zhang Changshen nor Wu Zong believed that the Jia Family was responsible for this incident.

Investigating this person's background is of little use to these seasoned investigators.

They knew everything about the relationships, both overt and covert, among the powerful families in the capital. They knew which family a person belonged to; the records were all in the government offices. They could basically guess who it was just by thinking about the family's network of connections.

As for empirical evidence, it's simple. Once you guess it, just have two people follow the young man in brocade robes and keep an eye on the other family's movements. The young man in brocade robes can't possibly not be in contact with the people behind him.

Of course, if the person behind him has grand ambitions, they will hide them very well, making it not so easy to find out the truth.

While Zhang Changshen and Wu Zong were talking, a man in gray had already reported what had happened at the training institute to Xiao Lingyan.

Xiao Lingyan, "They've really got a death wish. Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! I want to see who's so bold as to dare to mess with me. I'll make sure they regret it!"

At the Beining training center, Zhao Ruxi gave a brief explanation, had everyone collect their easels and other equipment, gave them some pointers, and then left the training center to return to the Green Plantain Courtyard.

Because they Zhang Changshen to finish their court session, and the opening ceremony was already late, they painted for a while before it was time for their midday break.

After class, some students approached the gatekeeper and began asking about Zhao Ruxi's powerful backer.

The constable was a braggart by nature, and after receiving Wu Zong's instructions, he boasted even more. "Do you know who Master Teacher Zhao's teacher is? Have you heard of Mister Kumu? Ah, he's not only a great painter, but also very famous. In the capital, he's a man who can make trouble with a stomp of his foot."

Thus, Mister Kumu's amazing deeds became known to everyone.