My virtue is above yours.

Chen Jingxuan found it hard to believe: "Fan Chengyu, a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, would actually come to your door to beat you at midnight? This doesn't make sense!"

"He didn't hit me; he came to deliver money. Here's what happened."

An hour ago.

Headmaster Cui Cheng heard a knock at the gate. He got up, changed his clothes, and opened the gate to find a middle-aged man in plain clothes standing outside.

The headmaster leaned against the door and cautiously asked, "Who comes here? What brings you here?"

The man bowed and said, "I am Fan Chengyu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, who is also in charge of the Construction and Maintenance Department. Knowing that the academy is struggling to survive, I have come to pay my respects."

The headmaster looked at the other person with a suspicious gaze, but out of courtesy, let the other person go inside first.

The two sat down in the main hall.

Vice Minister Fan began, “I deeply appreciate the difficulties faced by the academy. The former headmaster is upright, benevolent, and virtuous, raising many orphans and teaching impoverished children. However, the deeds to the houses and land are missing, and I am truly unable to pay the resettlement compensation, as is the rule of the court. Although I had personal motives in organizing this project, it is a public matter. Therefore, I have privately raised this money in my own name and donated it to the academy as a way to make up for my guilt.”

Vice Minister Fan took out a bulging money bag from his pocket and politely handed it over.

Cui Cheng didn't understand what he meant. Perhaps the local thugs who had been harassing people these days were the work of the lower-level officials, and that the official in charge, Vice Minister Fan, was indeed a good person.

"I thank Lord Fan on behalf of the children."

Headmaster Cui Cheng staggered forward, about to take the money bag, when it slipped from the other person's hand and landed with a thud on Headmaster Cui Cheng's leg.

The old man let out a scream and fell to the ground instantly. His leg was broken immediately, and he was in excruciating pain. Even the slightest movement was excruciating.

The purse opened, and strings of copper coins spilled out, about three strings of coins.

The headmaster was certain that even if his bones were porous, the weight of the copper coin falling naturally would not break his leg.

There is only one possibility: it didn't slip from his hand naturally, but rather that Vice Minister Fan applied a great deal of force to the money bag when he wasn't paying attention.

The elderly man, around sixty years old, clutched his broken leg and wailed, "Why are you treating this old man like this?"

Vice Minister Fan maintained his gentle and humble demeanor, and said calmly, "I was grateful for the old abbot's benevolence, which is why I dared to raise some money. If you feel this is inappropriate, I will take it back."

He squatted down, picked up the money bag, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Vice Minister Fan straightened up unhurriedly: "I suddenly remembered that the academy's house deeds and land deeds have not been lost, and the Ministry of Works received them a long time ago. Headmaster, you should have received the money as well, since you left your signature and fingerprint on them."

He pulled a document from his pocket, which stated that ten days ago, the academy had already handed over the house and land deeds to the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Works had also paid one thousand taels of silver. It bore the signature and seal of the headmaster, Cui Cheng.

The headmaster saw it clearly; the handwriting was almost identical to his own. However, he remembered clearly that he had never found the contract, let alone completed the handover with the Ministry of Works. As for the thousand taels of silver, that was utter nonsense.

"This is a forgery!" Xiao Mi, the older child who had been eavesdropping at the back door, rushed out and angrily swung a large wooden stick at the back of Minister Fan's head.

A burst of true energy erupted, knocking Xiao Mi to the ground.

Vice Minister Fan stepped on Xiao Mi's face and said coldly, "Attack your elders, how utterly disrespectful! It seems Shengyang Academy didn't teach you anything, so let me teach you!"

Vice Minister Fan stomped hard on Xiao Mi's face, the rough ground scraping against the child's tender face, leaving streaks of blood.

Xiaomi struggled and cursed, but the other person wouldn't let go.

The headmaster pleaded desperately, "Don't hurt the children! We don't want the academy anymore! Please don't hurt the children!"

"You've already pocketed that thousand taels of silver, Elder, so how can you say you don't want it?"

Vice Minister Fan walked to the desk and picked up a piece of paper with the headmaster's name written on it.

He walked over to the headmaster, pinched his thumb, and suddenly squeezed it hard. Blood instantly seeped out from his fingerprint. He then pressed the headmaster's thumb onto the paper with the signature on it.

Vice Minister Fan held up the two sheets of paper and showed them to Xiao Mimian: "Take a look and see if these two signatures and seals are exactly the same?"

Xiaomi stood there stunned; the signature and fingerprint on the paper were exactly the same.

Vice Minister Fan bowed respectfully once again: "Headmaster, please rest early. Construction will begin in two days. Do not delay His Majesty's schedule. It would be against etiquette if blood were to be spilled on the construction site."

After saying this, Vice Minister Fan turned and left.

-

After hearing the story, Chen Jingxuan was filled with anger and doubt.

"This Vice Minister Fan is simply outrageous! He actually beat up an elderly person and a child. But why does that document he mentioned have your signature and fingerprint on it?"

The abbot, his face pale with anxiety, cried out, "I don't know either! I absolutely did not sign it! Daoist, are you also suspecting me of embezzling funds? I swear to God Niwan, if I am lying, may Heaven not protect me! If you don't believe me, I'll cut out my heart for you to see!"

Headmaster hurriedly reached for the knife beside the bed, but Chen Jingxuan stopped him: "Headmaster, don't worry, I trust you."

Chen Jingxuan knew that the contract had been stolen by Vice Minister Fan beforehand, and the headmaster would not hand over the contract to him.

The abbot grasped Chen Jingxuan's hand, tears welling in his eyes: "Master Chen, thank you for believing me. I am truly innocent."

"Headmaster, I trust you. Just stay in the academy for the next few days and leave everything outside to me."

Chen Jingxuan did not go home, but stayed at the academy for the night to avoid further trouble.

He sat under the jujube tree planted by his master, sorting out the doubts in his mind.

If Vice Minister Fan truly practices the Way of Propriety, why is he able to steal and bully others? Isn't he afraid of lowering his own cultivation level?

As a fourth-rank official, there was no need for him to make things difficult for the headmaster. Even if he wanted to cause trouble, why would he personally visit him in the middle of the night? Wouldn't that be lowering his status?

If the goal was to destroy the academy, burning the contracts would have been the best option. Why take the risk of keeping the thousand taels of silver and leaving behind evidence?

Perhaps Vice Minister Fan was foolish, or perhaps he was so confident of victory that he became careless.

It's also possible that this is the true path he cultivates, and that the Way of Rites is just a facade.

In any case, this is a good thing for Chen Jingxuan. No matter what means Fan Shilang used to forge the signature and fingerprint, there will be loopholes, and he plans to use this to bring down Fan Shilang.

For a contract to be handed over, it must go through the hands of the clerk in charge, plus the person who forged the signature and seal. If we can find the witnesses of these people and the relevant physical evidence, we can defeat Vice Minister Fan from a procedural standpoint.

The next morning, Chen Jingxuan held his clinic in Xinyangfang as usual. He sent someone to inform Yi Bei that if there was any news from the Ministry of Works, he should come to Xinyangfang to find him.

Chen Jingxuan was taking the pulse of a middle-aged man when the man suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, "Master Chen, there's something I must tell you!"