Chapter 512: Is Studying Interesting
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
In order to appease the displeasure of the Emperor and the Empress, the Minister of Revenue’s Residence was particularly concerned about the renovation works at the academy in the aftermath.
In less than half a month, the workers finished the job that was originally supposed to take a month or so.
The Minister of Revenue bowed and stood behind Su Ying as he said humbly, -Your Imperial Highness, please see if there is anything you are not satisfied with. I will immediately get someone to rectify it.”
Su Ying walked around the fully renovated academy. It had to be said that the Minister of Revenue had put in a lot of effort. The compound was as good as new, and even the flowers and greenery in the backyard had been put in place. The service was so considerate that even pillows and quilts were provided in every dormitory.
“Not bad.”
The Minister of Revenue heaved a sigh of relief inwardly when he heard what
Su Ying said.
“It’s good that Your Imperial Highness is satisfied. The student enrollment here is also full. Please take a look at this name register.
Su Ying simply told Bai Shuang to take the name register. “Since everything has been prepared, get Zhou Xiangrong to come over tomorrow.”
After all, she was the one who asked for this women’s academy, so Su Ying couldn’t leave her out.
Zhou Qing replied, “Yes, Your Imperial Highness.
After the inspection, the Minister of Revenue followed Su Ying to the back courtyard. There was a small dining hall here. This was a place for students to eat.
“Get the academy’s kitchen cook to a few dishes for me to taste and to check
the chef’s culinary skill.”
“Yes, I will get someone to arrange it at once.”
After the Minister of Revenue gave his instructions, he personally took the tea from the servant and poured Su Ying a cup of tea. He presented a very proper attitude throughout.
Su Ying picked up the teacup and took a sip. She didn’t know much about tea, but she could tell that this tea was very expensive.
“How’s the investigation going, Minister?”
The Minister of Revenue’s face tensed up, and his lips twitched before he asked, “May I know what Your Imperial Highness is talking about?”
“The Minister’s Residence produced such a loyal servant to protect his master.
I’m sure you are also very surprised, aren’t you, Minister?” So much time had lapsed. He should have discovered some useful information by now.
The Minister of Revenue glanced at Su Ying furtively. He hadn’t expected the Empress to know that he was still investigating this matter. After all, the Ministry of Justice had already closed the case.
“Don’t use the official line to brush me off. I want to hear the truth,” Su Ying
said nonchalantly with her eyes closed.
This matter didn’t involve anything that couldn’t be revealed, so the Minister of Revenue told Su Ying the truth, “Your Imperial Highness, I have indeed gotten someone to investigate and they unearthed some things. The caretaker at my residence is indeed loyal, but his son is a true bastard. He loafs around the whole day without a proper job. I found out that before this incident, he owed the gambling den a lot of money. He even stole the caretaker’s retirement fund and hasn’t repaid it.”
The Minister of Revenue paused for a moment before continuing, The caretaker even beat up that brat for this matter. However, the strange thing is that he returned the money in less than two days.”
Though the caretaker was very disappointed in his son, he assumed the son was trying to stall for time before returning the money and so did not ask how the money came about.
“You’re saying that he got a large sum of money from an unknown source before the incident happened?”
“Yes. I suspect that this matter is related to the gambling den, so I sent people to the gambling den to investigate, but I couldn’t find anything.”
Su Ying slowly opened her two eyes. “Then who is the owner of that gambling den? Do you know?”
“I heard that it is the property of Marquis Xibei’s Residence.”
Marquis Xibei?
Su Ying didn’t have much of an impression of him.
The Minister of Revenue saw Su Ying’s puzzled look and explained, “Marquis Xibei retired from the Ministry of Appointments in his early years to enjoy his old age. His eldest son was sent outside the capital city to be an official, and the remaining children were all officials in the Imperial Court.
Su Ying nodded. “Anything else?”
The Minister of Revenue continued, “That brat has a lover in the brothel, but she fled after the incident. My people are trying to track her down right now.
Of all the time to leave, why did she only leave after something happened?
There was something wrong with this lover.
“Continue investigating. If you don’t have enough manpower, go to the Minister of Justice and ask him to assign people to you.
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. I will do as you say.”
The Minister of Revenue was also glad that he had continued to investigate this matter. It seemed that the Emperor and the Empress also felt that there was something else going on behind this.
As the two spoke, Su Ying caught a whiff of the aroma of cooked food.
She turned around and saw Bai Shuang walking up with the food.
All the dishes being served had been tasted by the chef himself. Bai Shuang only brought them out after confirming that there were no problems. After a busy morning, Su Ying was also hungry, so she dismissed the Minister of Revenue and the others for them to take their meals.
“That chef and I selected a few dishes that Your Imperial Highness likes to eat. Please try his cooking, Your Imperial Highness.”
Su Ying picked up a piece of pork rib with the chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
The pork ribs were sweet and sour. There was a faint sweetness in the sourness, coupled with a light fruity fragrance. It was exceptionally appetizing to eat, especially since the meat of the pork ribs was particularly tender. The taste was really not bad.
Bai Shuang then scooped a bowl of chicken soup for Su Ying, which she gulped down completely.
After eating her fill, Su Ying allowed the Minister of Revenue to leave first. She arranged for the people she had prepared beforehand to come into the academy.
“Your Imperial Highness, are you coming over tomorrow?”
“Yes. I will take a look at the students.” Tomorrow was the school opening ceremony, so she had to be present.
After Su Ying was done with the matters here, she got ready to return to the palace. Just as she reached the door, she saw Zhou Xiangrong alighting from the horse carriage.
When Zhou Xiangrong saw Su Ying, she lowered her eyes and went forward to bow. “Greetings, Your Imperial Highness.”
“You may rise. Why are you here, Miss Zhou?”
Zhou Xiangrong straightened up. “Your Imperial Highness, I’ve been coming over these days to see the renovation progress of the academy.”
Su Ying raised her eyebrows. She could see that the girl was really serious about this matter. “The premises have been repaired, and the students and teachers are all ready. Come over tomorrow. I will let you be the school supervisor. Do you think you are up to the task?” The school supervisor was in charge of the students’ educational matters. As for the position of the academy’s principal, Su Ying would temporarily take up this post. She would give up her position once she found a more suitable person.
Zhou Xiangrong’s face revealed a hint of joy. “Thank you, Your Imperial Highness. I will definitely not disappoint Your Imperial Highness.” Su Ying murmured a reply before boarding the horse carriage and returning to the palace.
Once she returned to the palace, the Minister of Revenue got people to deliver the teaching materials for the students to Su Ying for her review.
Su Ying flipped through the books in her hand and felt her eyes becoming bloated.
These books were nothing more than introductory books to teach reading. In general, there was not much of a problem with them.
Before these books were sent to Su Ying, a court minister had already reviewed them and confirmed that there were no problems before they were allowed to be brought to her.
These books would be delivered to the students when they arrived at the academy tomorrow.
“Ji, do you think studying is interesting?” Su Ying had never touched a book in her past life. Everything they learned was copied into a microchip, which was directly implanted into their brains. It saved them a lot of trouble.
Ji raised his tiny head from the book. His tiny face, which bore a 50% similarity to Xiao Jin’s, was extremely serious. “Mother, in books, there are houses of gold. In books, there are graceful ladies. It’s wonderful beyond words.”
Su Ying’s eyebrows twitched.. She appeared a little uncultured somehow…