In the Ziwei Palace.
Although the Hundred Rivers Academy was highly respected and had sent countless officials to the imperial court for more than a hundred years, its reputation in Luoyang had plummeted due to the recent events.
Led by the Censorate, more than a dozen officials presented their reports in the morning court. They pointed out that the Hundred Rivers Academy was not strict in teaching and that the students had committed crimes.
The purpose of the establishment of the Academy was to improve the quality of the officials and to benefit the people. It was hard to imagine that the students of the Academy had repeatedly raped women. If such a person were to enter the Imperial Court in the future, wouldn't it be a disaster for the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty?
Before the scandal broke out in the academy, the Vice Principal or Instructor of the Baichuan Academy liked to make impassioned remarks in the morning court. After Wei Bin, Jiang Zhe, and the others were exposed, they never appeared in court again.
The officials from the Qingyun Academy and the Myriad Scroll Academy naturally wouldn't defend the Hundred Rivers Academy. For a time, there was a rare situation where the officials accused the academy.
Of course, the actions of individual students couldn't implicate the entire academy. The Empress only ordered the Hundred Rivers Academy to restrain the students and prevent such incidents from happening again.
After the morning court ended and the officials left, Li Mu was still in the palace.
Mr. Mei walked over and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Li Mu said tactfully, "In the past two months, in order to help Her Majesty clean up the evil tendencies in Luoyang and unite the people, I've offended all the officials and nobles in Luoyang and even the academy. What if they attack me behind my back …"
Mr. Mei comforted him, "Don't worry. If they dare to attack you in Luoyang, they won't be able to hide it from Her Majesty. No one has the guts."
Li Mu said, "It's better to be safe than sorry."
Mr. Mei understood Li Mu's intention and said helplessly, "I'll ask Her Majesty."
She left the palace and soon came back with a Fu-lu in her hand.
Li Mu wasn't good at writing talismans, but he was knowledgeable. The Fu-lu's Spiritual Power was restrained and looked ordinary, but it gave Li Mu a familiar feeling. The Golden Armor Talisman gave him the same feeling.
Obviously, this was a Heaven Rank Fu-lu.
Mr. Mei handed the Fu-lu to Li Mu and said, "His Majesty gave this to you. Keep it with you. When you are in danger, you don't need to activate it. It will protect you. This talisman can block a cultivator of the sixth realm for a moment. Once it is activated, His Majesty will be able to sense it immediately."
The Empress was still as generous as ever. This way, Xiao Bai's safety would be guaranteed.
Li Mu accepted the Fu-lu and said, "Please thank His Majesty for me."
Mr. Mei rolled his eyes at him and said, "You are the only one who can ask for a reward from His Majesty."
Li Mu felt that there was nothing wrong with his way of doing things. In his heart, the relationship between him and the Empress was not that of a monarch and his subject, but that of a boss and an employee.
The premise for Li Mu to work for her was that she could afford to pay him satisfactory remuneration.
An employee could do anything for her boss, but the premise was that she had to give him grass.
A boss who let the horse run but didn't give the horse grass would not be able to recruit loyal employees.
Leaving the palace, Li Mu passed by a jewelry store and bought a protective talisman that could be hung around his neck. He replaced the talisman to ward off evil spirits and put in the Heaven Rank protective talisman that the Empress had just given him.
Back home, Li Mu gave the protective talisman to Xiao Bai and said, "Wear this. Don't take it off at any time."
Xiao Bai obediently tied the red thread around her neck and then stuffed the protective talisman into her chest.
Li Mu's throat moved and he looked away without leaving a trace. He said, "Okay, go and cultivate …"
People were used to describing women who were fatally charming to men as fox spirits. There was a reason for this. The seventeen-year-old Xiao Bai was already so charming. In a few years, she would be so charming that all men would fall head over heels for her …
Li Mu had never seen other fox spirits, but he was sure that not every fox could be as beautiful as this after transforming into a human form.
After recovering from Xiao Bai's charm, Li Mu began to think about the Academy.
He had only taken a small step forward and it was far from victory. Every Academy in Luoyang had more than a hundred years of history. A few tainted students could not shake their foundation.
If he wanted to change the Academy's control of the imperial court, he had to find a good reason for the Empress.
Baichuan Academy.
In response to the recent crisis of the Academy's trust, Vice Principal Chen gathered all the instructors of the Academy and warned them seriously, "Restrain your students. If there is nothing important, do not leave the Academy. If any of them commit crimes and tarnish the Academy's reputation, no matter how big or small, they will all be expelled from the Academy …"
All the instructors nodded and said yes.
This crisis of the Academy's reputation was the first since its establishment. If they were not careful, they would destroy the Academy's century-old reputation.
One of the instructors said, "Today in the imperial court, the officials from Clear Sky Academy and Myriad Scroll Academy slandered our Baichuan Academy. We cannot give them another chance."
Another instructor snorted coldly. "What qualifications do they have to slander us? Apart from White Deer Academy, the students of Greencloud Academy and Myriad Scroll Academy aren't any better than us. In my opinion, we should expose the dirty deeds of their academies and let everyone see!"
"Stupid!"
Vice Principal Chen glanced at him and said, "Can't you see that this is Her Majesty's intention? She has long been dissatisfied with the officials from the Great Zhou leaving the Academy. If we drag Clear Sky Academy and Myriad Scroll Academy down, won't it give Her Majesty a good reason?"
The other instructors heard this and came to a realization.
The four Academies had always been on the same side when it came to selecting officials for the imperial court. If the four Academies were the first to have internal strife, then the one who would be the happiest would be the Empress, who had long wanted to deal with the Academy.
No matter if it was Baichuan Academy, Clear Sky Academy, or Myriad Scroll Academy, the Empress wanted to see any of them fall. What she wanted to see more was the four Academies killing each other.
Fortunately, Vice Principal Chen reminded them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have thought of this.
"I didn't expect a woman like Her Majesty to be so scheming."
"She wants to sit by and watch the Academies fight amongst themselves. Her intentions are sinister …"
"We can't let her succeed!"
… …
Vice Principal Chen let out a long sigh and said, "The Academies have existed for so long, and there are indeed many problems that have arisen internally. This wasn't the Academies' intention. The Academies can slowly correct these problems, but if Her Majesty takes the opportunity to interfere and change the structure of the imperial court, I'm afraid that in a few decades, the four Academies will only exist in name …"
One of the instructors said worriedly, "Clear Sky Academy and Myriad Scroll Academy aren't much better than Baichuan Academy. It's very easy for them to find out about the dirty deeds their students have done. I'm afraid that even if we don't do anything, someone else will …"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man guarding the entrance of Baichuan Academy hurriedly ran in and said, "Principal, bad news. Li Mu is here again!"
Li Mu asked Wang Wu and the others to set up a table in a shady corner at the entrance of Baichuan Academy. There was a brush and ink placed on the table.
He moved a chair over and sat down behind the desk with a grand air of grandeur.
Several instructors walked out of Baichuan Academy. The leader angrily scolded, "What are you doing here again?"
Li Mu turned around and put his arm on the chair. He said, "In order to clean up the unhealthy practices in Luoyang and return the people a clear sky, the Luoyang government has started a street activity. From today onwards, if the people want to report a case, they don't have to go to the government office. They just have to do it here."
The instructor said, "If you want to do it, do it somewhere else. This is the Academy, not the Luoyang government's place."
The Academy didn't stop the Luoyang government from handling cases, but he put it at the entrance of the Academy. Those who didn't know would think that the Academy was bullying the people and he was here to support them …
Li Mu said, "This place is big and spacious. Besides, I'm not blocking your way. This is the Academy's place, but it's also the land of the Great Zhou. This place has been temporarily expropriated by the Luoyang government …"
Under Li Mu's gaze, Wang Wu rolled the paper in his hand into a loudspeaker and shouted, "Those who come from the south and those who come from the north, come and take a look. Constable Li is handling a case here today. Everyone, if you have any grievances, please seek justice. If you have any grievances, please seek revenge …"
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