The incident at the government office caused a huge stir, and within a day, news of it had spread throughout all of Jiangling.
The matter had already attracted a great deal of attention, and now that it seemed to involve the Cao Family's brothers turning on each other, it set the local rumor mill buzzing.
The next day, the brothers Ye Jingyan and Ye Yunfeng went to the academy as usual. The moment they arrived at the entrance, they were met with all sorts of looks from the crowd.
Ye Yunfeng, in particular, drew the most stares.
The carefree Ye Yunfeng paid them no mind, while Ye Jingyan remained as quiet and reserved as ever, his expression unchanged.
It was as if the turmoil of the outside world couldn't affect them in the slightest.
There was only a year's difference between the brothers, and since the academy was small and didn't have many students, they attended the same classes.
The two sat down, one after the other, seemingly oblivious to the stares of their classmates.
One boy was shoved forward by a few others. His mouth moved, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Ye Yunfeng was the first to lose his patience. "Spit it out."
Hearing this, the boy at the front finally spoke up cautiously. "Um, Ye Yunfeng... Cao—Cao Chengwu's death... it really had nothing to do with you, right?"
Ye Yunfeng had expected they would ask this and sneered, "What do you think? If I'd really killed him, would I still be sitting here right now?"
'Wouldn't I have been arrested long ago?'
'These people are ridiculous.'
The few boys looked at each other, at a loss.
They had never seen anything like this in Jiangling before. The shock of it all left them feeling both scared and curious.
"So... so does that mean he really died from eating river shrimp?"
Ye Yunfeng snorted. "I opened the coffin and saw it with my own two eyes! How could it be fake?"
Hearing this, the boys involuntarily took another step back, their gazes now tinged with fear.
'Opening a coffin for an autopsy right in the street!'
'And Ye Yunfeng is only twelve! That's far too bold!'
A skinny boy couldn't help but ask, "A-Aren't you scared? That was... that was a coffin with a dead body in it!"
Ye Yunfeng found this amusing.
"What's so scary about a dead person? My big sister says that sometimes, the living are far more terrifying than the dead!"
'A dead person just lies there; they can't hurt anyone!'
When he mentioned Ye Chutang, the expressions on the boys' faces grew complicated.
Another boy, tall and lanky, muttered under his breath, "And another thing... with a sister as fierce as yours, who would dare marry her in the future!"
Ye Yunfeng's temper flared instantly. He shot to his feet. "What did you say?!"
The boy was startled. He felt a pang of fear and retreated two steps, but then felt ashamed of his cowardice. He raised his voice and retorted, "Did I say anything wrong? What kind of girl opens a coffin in public for an autopsy like your sister!"
Ye Yunfeng was so angry he laughed. "My big sister is the most amazing woman in the world! You don't know a damn thing!"
The boy scoffed. "So what if a woman is amazing? If she can't get married off, she'll still be unwanted!"
Ye Yunfeng's fists clenched, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
Seeing this, the boy thought he was about to start a fight and grew scared again.
"You! What do you think you're doing? Are you going to start a fight here, too?!"
Someone next to him chimed in, "Exactly! Don't you forget, you just hit Cao Chengwu here two days ago. You want to cause more trouble now? The teacher will never let you run wild!"
Ye Yunfeng clenched his jaw, but contrary to everyone's expectations, he didn't resort to violence as he usually would.
He gave a cold laugh. "I hit him because he deserved to be hit! As for you lot... you're not even worth my time!"
At some point, Ye Jingyan had put down his book, his handsome, refined face a mask of calm.
He glanced at Ye Yunfeng, a flicker of approval in his eyes.
'Big Sister was right. This incident with the Cao Family really taught A Feng a lesson. He's not as impulsive and prone to troublemaking as he used to be.'
Seeing that Ye Yunfeng hadn't made a move, the crowd assumed he was scared and began to jeer loudly.
"'Not worth your time?' You're just scared! You're a coward!"
Ye Yunfeng's fists tightened. The next moment, he heard Ye Jingyan speak calmly from behind him. "My big sister opened a coffin for an autopsy to prove her own brother's innocence. A Feng fought to defend his sister's reputation. Both are acts of first-class courage. You, on the other hand, neglect your studies to gossip in a place meant for learning the words of sages. I fail to see how that makes you superior to us in any way."
His words left the boys utterly ashamed and embarrassed. They wanted to retort but didn't know where to begin.
"You—"
Before he could finish, someone suddenly shouted, "The teacher is here!"
The crowd hastily dispersed, and everyone scurried back to their own seats.
Then, an old man with a long beard and clad in a long robe walked in.
He first glanced at Ye Yunfeng, his brow furrowing slightly.
The old teacher disliked this type of student the most, not to mention that the academy had recently been dragged into trouble because of Ye Yunfeng.
Ye Jingyan tugged on Ye Yunfeng's sleeve, and only then did Ye Yunfeng sit down.
The next second, however, the teacher spoke.
"Ye Yunfeng, have you memorized the text I assigned you last time?"
Ye Yunfeng froze for a moment, a troubled look on his face.
He never liked studying to begin with, and with so much happening in the past two days, he had completely forgotten about it.
The teacher didn't seem to expect him to know it anyway. He snorted coldly. "Nothing but brute force!"
He walked up to Ye Yunfeng and took out his ruler.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ye Yunfeng didn't flinch. He simply held out his hand.
SMACK!
The teacher showed no mercy with that strike. A fiery red mark instantly appeared on Ye Yunfeng's palm.
Ye Yunfeng pressed his lips together, not making a sound.
The teacher then looked at Ye Jingyan behind him and said pointedly, "This is an academy, a place for scholarship! You are told to study hard so that you may learn reason and propriety, not for the fleeting pleasure of a sharp tongue! Some people shouldn't think they're so great just because they can memorize a few books!"
Anyone could tell these words were aimed at Ye Jingyan.
The boys who had been arguing earlier turned to make faces at them, unconcealed glee in their eyes.
Ye Jingyan acted as if he didn't see them and nodded slightly. "The teacher is right."
Only then did the teacher turn back, satisfied, and begin the lesson.
「On the way home from the academy.」
"Third Brother, I really don't get it," Ye Yunfeng couldn't help but complain. "I can understand if the teacher doesn't like me, but why doesn't he like you either?"
His third brother was impeccable when it came to his studies and essays, yet the teacher just loved to give him a hard time and never showed him a pleasant face.
"Wasn't it just because you corrected him that one time when you first started attending his class? He was clearly the one who taught it wrong, but in the end, he blamed you!" Ye Yunfeng kicked a loose stone, feeling a great sense of injustice on his brother's behalf.
Ye Jingyan, however, was long used to it. "It's a trivial matter. Pay it no mind."
Ye Yunfeng's mouth moved, but in the end, he couldn't hold back a quiet grumble. "It would be better if we were still in the Capital City. Then your progress wouldn't be held up, Third Brother—"
"A Feng!"
Before he could finish, Ye Jingyan cut him off, his expression grave. "Don't ever mention that in front of Big Sister again."