Those students were all unfamiliar faces, and among the teachers, only one of them was someone Xia Zhaoyi had known before.
Several carriages drove away very quickly.
A few waiters were sitting at the door enjoying the sun. Seeing the fight, they started talking quietly.
"I don't know what happened."
"Dongping Academy has never stopped."
"After all, it's hard to stop the storm."
"Oh, I hope nothing happens to Dongping Academy, otherwise we will also collapse."
Xia Zhaoyi looked at Dongping Academy. The architectural style was not as majestic and solemn as that of the capital city, but more elegant and clumsy. The plaque hanging above was still the same as that of the capital city, and was handwritten by the former dean, Mr. Ouyang.
The voices and faces of many people seemed to appear in front of his eyes. Xia Zhaoyi looked away and suppressed the sadness in his heart.
Back at the inn, Old Man Qi and Old Tong hadn't come back yet, so Xia Zhaoyi asked for some refreshments in the lobby downstairs.
The seat he was sitting was close to the window sash. The sky was setting and it was bright and clean. Xia Zhaoyi was writing while Zhi Changle was holding his chin and staring at the window outside in a daze.
About half an hour later, Old Man Qi and Old Tong finally came back, walking very fast and looking anxious and nervous.
Zhi Changle called them, and they hurriedly came and sat down. Before they could calm down, Old Man Qi said, "I heard that Mr. Dahan was poisoned to death!"
Xia Zhaoyi paused with his pen, leaving very deep ink spots on the paper, and raised his eyes to look at Old Man Qi.
"Just now! I saw the body being sent to Dongping Academy! I heard that several gentlemen were kidnapped a while ago, and one was poisoned one day. Now it is the third day, and the next one is Mr. Zhan Chen!"
Zhi Changle was dumbfounded: "Who did this?! He actually wanted to attack Dongping Academy!"
"I don't know! I've asked many people, but I can't find anything!"
"At present, Dongping Academy is still maintaining a calm situation on the outside," Xia Zhaoyi said in a deep voice, "That may be someone from Li Ju."
"Tianrong Guard is here?" Zhi Changle asked in surprise.
Xia Zhaoyi's face was calm, but when she heard these three words, she almost broke the pen in her hand.
Old Man Qi thought for a while, nodded and said, "That's right. They might not have been able to get through Hengxiang before. Now that Youzhou is in chaos, it will be much easier for Donggan's people to take advantage of the chaos."
"Ah Li," Lao Tong looked at the girl, "What should we do now? Do you want to take care of it?"
Xia Zhaoyi said nothing, put down the pen gently, and turned to look out the window.
There is a stream with clear waves beside the inn. The sound of the water is pleasant, and the sunlight falls on it, creating a shimmering golden wave.
"Something's not right," Old Man Qi said, "This matter seems very strange. Hengxiang seems to be calm, but in fact it is turbulent. There are many eyes here because of Dongping Academy. Now that something like this happened in Dongping Academy,
There is no reason for those forces to be able to sit still. Are they all secretly watching the show, checking and balancing each other, to see who can't sit still first?"
In recent years, Dong Qian had not always taken no action against Dongping Academy. Xia Zhaoyi learned from the letter he received from Zhao Ning's office that at least seven so-called "imperial edicts" had been issued, ordering Dongping Academy to move to Hejing.
This is impossible, only a fool would do it.
Dong Gan has also secretly sent many men, but he has never directly attacked the gentlemen like now.
Perhaps it was indeed related to the Youzhou War. The security at the pass was relaxed, and more people came, which was enough for them to act.
There was no expression on Xia Zhaoyi's face, but the slanting sunlight fell on her face, and her face lost all color and became pale.
Mr. Dahan was so respected that when he was in the capital, all the academicians and supervisors were taken to Hejing. It was he and Mr. Qiu who presided over the Dongping Academy together.
Moreover, he is also the mentor of his eldest brother Xia Zhaode.
In fact, there is also a "Dongping Academy" in Hejing, which was founded by Academician Du who was taken away, but the only one recognized by the world is Hengxiang.
Last year, Academician Du hanged himself.
The family and country are in ruins, the peaches and plums are withered, and the old man's character no longer loves the world.
"Ah Li?" Old Man Qi called in a low voice.
Xia Zhaoyi looked away.
"We are going to deal with Dong Gan, so why don't we take care of this matter this time."
"Don't worry about it this time, there will be another time," Xia Zhaoyi said. "Obviously, if we come forward, the situation will be worse in the future. Therefore, we can't take care of this matter. We have to let people who can take care of it."
"Someone who can take care of it?"
Xia Zhaoyi stood up: "I'm going to find Zhao Ning."
There are many carriages parked in Ning'an Building. There are especially many carriages and horses today, and the open space beside it is almost full.
The guards guarding the horses were arranged in a row, and the luxurious sedan chairs were in order. Gu Yi followed the other servants and ran back and forth. Although he looked ugly, his words were particularly pleasing to the eye, and he called everyone he met.
The sky before sunset is covered with gorgeous clouds, with a clear blue background, cotton-white gauze clouds, and a gentle breeze. It should be a very pleasant moment.
Tonglin Street is the most prosperous market in Hengxiang. The street is spacious and there are two markets on the east and west sides. Especially the market on the east side is built next to the water and is full of food, drink and entertainment.
The most prosperous inn in Hengxiang where Xia Zhaoyi lives is on East Street.
She took Old Man Qi and walked all the way to West Street, looking for the Ning'an Building that Zhao Ning mentioned. Many people along the street were lighting lanterns and hanging them to welcome the night.
A burst of abuse came from afar.
Old Man Qi looked up, already in a bad mood. When he heard someone scolding him so harshly, Old Man Qi also cursed a few words.
The curses were mixed with the cries of women, and many people gathered around.
A woman shouted loudly: "Don't report to the official! Don't report to the official! My wife went to call her husband, don't report to the official!"
"Report to the official! What are you going to do if you don't report to the official? This is the first time!"
"What's the use of reporting to the police? It's better to let her husband take care of her!"
Old Man Qi aroused curiosity and said to Xia Zhaoyi, "I'll go take a look."
He trotted up.
A woman was kneeling on the ground, holding her head, disheveled, and crying miserably.
Behind was a pharmacy, and there were some medicinal materials scattered around the woman. Old man Qi's sharp eyes saw two thick ginseng roots at a glance, which were worth a lot of money.
The shopkeeper and the clerk of the drugstore were scolding each other. The shopkeeper looked like he was someone not to be trifled with. While he was cursing, he stretched out his hand to hit the woman on the ground.
"Gu Yi is here!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"Stop fighting, her husband is here, calling for compensation!"
The woman knelt on the ground and trembled even more when she heard the word "Gu Yi".
Old Man Qi looked forward and saw that the man who came was not small, as tall as Zhi Changle and Lao Tong, but he was severely lame and extremely ugly.
The man walked quickly under the guidance of others. When he got closer, he suddenly raised his foot and kicked the woman kneeling on the ground hard in the back.
This kick was more serious than the previous scuffle between the shopkeeper and the waiter. The woman screamed in pain and slid away against the rough ground.
"You shameless thief bitch!" Gu Yi scolded, stepped forward and kicked her again.
