Painting Doctor Jinhua

Chen Xu thought of what Liu Jingyan said: She wanted to make a deal with His Majesty during this coming-of-age ceremony! I just hope His Majesty can handle it impartially!

So the one who handles this matter impartially refers to Princess Yunyin, also known as Princess Yuhua Chen Jianchen?

So what is the deal she's talking about?

Should Xiao Xian be loyal to the Chen royal family and serve the court?

"Hahaha...Okay, very good. Since you guys are so disloyal to me, then I won't be polite!"

Xiao Jian suddenly burst into laughter, and his eyes became sinister and weird.

"Aren't you going to guard Prince Zhaoming's selected works and collection of books? Then I will destroy them all!"

"Xiao Jinyu, I was already prepared long before you wrote to me to attend this ceremony. If you are unkind and unjust to me, I will destroy all of Prince Zhaoming's books and assets. No one will ever get them!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the guests present, especially some young scholars, could not help but become angry.

In this era, literary collections are more precious treasures than money and other materials. Many books are unique copies. Once lost or destroyed, they will never appear in the world again.

When the Western Wei invaded Jiangling, Xiao Yi, the Emperor Yuan of Liang, actually burned 140,000 volumes of books in order to prevent his collection of books from falling into the hands of thieves. Those books were rare books that he had collected for more than 40 years. The destructiveness of his act was comparable to that of Qin Shihuang's burning of books and burying of scholars!

Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong also loved reading. When he was alive, he recruited talented people and wrote books diligently. It is said that the collection of books in the Eastern Palace at that time was tens of thousands of volumes. When the prince passed away, the collection was passed down to later generations. It is unknown how many volumes it would have today.

"Xiao Jian, if you dare to burn books, you will be a sinner for all eternity like Emperor Yuan of Liang, Xiao Yi!" Some scholars could not help but rebuke him.

"Hahaha... so what? I have nothing now, what can you do to me?"

Xiao Jian laughed wildly, but Xiao Jinyu remained expressionless. Xiao Xian ordered his men to tie up Gong Yizhong and bring Xiao Jian forward.

No, why aren't they nervous at all!

Shouldn't I be heartbroken and beg him not to burn the books?

Are you begging?

As long as you ask me, everything can be negotiated!

Please!

Xiao Jian roared in his heart, and at this moment, he saw Xiao Jinyu sneering.

Gong Yi Zhong said: "Master Wu Lang, long before you were ready to burn the books, our little girl had already anticipated that you would do so, so all your troops guarding the library are already under the command of the little girl and Master Xiao Qi.

Besides, you are so heartless, how many people are willing to follow you? Miss Luan was forced to hand over the key to the library to you, but it does not mean that you can dominate everything.

We, the tribesmen, must obey Lady Luan's orders and protect the cultural heritage of Prince Zhaoming, especially the library, until our death!"

At this time, Gong Liangcheng rushed back with a group of his troops and handed a key to Xiao Jinyu.

"Little girl, this is the key to the library. Master Wulang ordered the butler to burn the library, but we have taken it down, and the library is intact."

Xiao Jinyu nodded and said, "Okay! Thank you for your hard work!"

Then he handed the key to Xiao Xian.

"Hahaha...Brother Emperor, did you see that? This slave girl is very cunning and calculating. If you don't kill her, she will sooner or later endanger the Chen family's kingdom.

By the way, she also colluded with Lanling Wang, the envoy from Northern Qi. She had been secretly communicating with Lanling Wang for a long time. This lowly maid…"

At this time, Prince Lanling could no longer bear it and was about to stand up when Chen Xu finally spoke.

"Fan Yi, take her away! Hand her over to the Chief Justice!" he ordered sternly.

"Yes!"

Fan Yi responded and ordered two guards to drag Chen Jianchen away.

Chen Jianchen seemed to be in disbelief, but also seemed to understand something. He cried and laughed, shouting, "Brother, you can't do this to me, you can't do this to me, I am..."

She didn't get to say the rest before she was knocked unconscious by the hilt of the sword by the guards.

The guests present were all stunned and speechless, looking at Xiao Jinyu and Lanling Wang with a hint of inquiry in their eyes that was difficult to express out loud.

Or it could be curiosity, admiration, or amusement.

Only Xiao Xian showed a look of fear and worry. He couldn't help but pull Xiao Jinyu to his side to block everyone's sight with his body.

"Princess Yunyin's words are fabricated. Even ants try to survive. We are just taking precautions to protect ourselves. This has nothing to do with conspiracy, let alone endangering the country!"

After Xiao Xian said this to everyone, he turned to Emperor Chen Xu again and said sincerely:

"It is not easy to be a king, and it is even more difficult to be a good minister. If loyalty and trustworthiness are not shown, there will be suspicion and trouble!"

"Your Majesty, please do not listen to slander!"

Chen Xu's expression was really confusing. At this moment, Xiao Jinyu said to the guests in the garden:

"Uncle Xian and I have agreed that our Lanling Xiao Clan will open up a clan school in the future. Anyone with aspirations in the world, regardless of their wealth, can enroll!"

When this sentence was uttered, several poor scholars present cried out in surprise. You know, people like them who came from poor families originally had very few ways to study. After Emperor Yuan of Jin established the capital in Jiankang, he did set up the Imperial Academy, which taught five sciences: literature, history, Confucianism, metaphysics, and yin and yang. It had continued since the Southern Dynasties, but the Imperial Academy was also monopolized by the nobles. The nobles were exempt from entrance exams, but these poor people did not even have the qualifications to enroll.

If one could enter the Xiao clan school, it would certainly be not much different from the Imperial College, and even worse, it would be even better!

Xiao Xianlang could compose poems at the age of three, and had memorized the classics of Confucius, Mencius, Laozi and Zhuangzi at the age of five. If it were not for the profound heritage of such an aristocratic family, how could such a gifted and talented person be raised!

Moreover, the Xiao family does not set any threshold for poor families to join, which is really something that makes poor scholars all over the world overjoyed!

So, is this the reason why the Xiao family invited people from poor families to attend Xiao Xian’s coming-of-age ceremony?

But will the Xiao family's recruitment of so many talents make the emperor jealous?

Just as this thought was lingering in the minds of the scholars, Xiao Jinyu said:

"This move is to train and select talents for the emperor, so all the schools opened will belong to the emperor!"

These words were obviously spoken to Emperor Chen Xu, who was sitting at the top and observing the overall situation.

After these words were spoken, many people breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that the emperor would be unhappy and would really do as Princess Yunyin said and use this young lady as a target.

This young lady is really thoughtful!

"Also, my Xiao family will no longer maintain private soldiers, and the number of tenants and servants we support will no longer exceed 500!"

This sentence finally moved Chen Xu.

Is this the deal you made with me?

"Therefore, the Xiao family will not take back the seal of the military commander in Princess Yunyin's hand, but from now on, it no longer belongs to my Xiao family, and the Xiao family will no longer recognize it!"

Having said this, Xiao Jinyu paused, then changed the subject and said loudly:

"Besides that, I, Xiao Jinyu, voluntarily marry to Northern Qi, representing the State of Chen and Qi to forge an alliance between the two countries and a friendship between Qin and Jin!"

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Prince Lanling.

"Gao Changgong, does what you said before still count?" she asked.