Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 723 - 663: The Grand Preceptor’s Birthday, We Must Celebrate Properly!

Chapter 723: Chapter 663: The Grand Preceptor’s Birthday, We Must Celebrate Properly!

The moment he stepped out of the courtyard, the Grand Preceptor felt as if he had been reborn.

The high walls of the courtyard no longer represented a cage that restricted his freedom but were instead a past he did not wish to look back on.

The pebbles on the road, every blade of grass and bush, seemed intoxicatingly beautiful.

The birds in the sky emanated a sense of freedom; the white nectar that dripped from the birds... ha... spit!

At this time, the entire Imperial College began to bustle with preparations for the Grand Preceptor’s birthday celebration.

After all, the Imperial College was funded by the state treasury and certainly was not short of money.

Plus, they were celebrating both the Grand Preceptor’s recovery and his birthday, so naturally, the preparations were extremely grand.

Grand Preceptor Ren Buqun looked at the festive decorations everywhere and felt utterly delighted.

When he was doing well in the imperial court, it was still during the Northern Zhou era.

But the Yuwen emperors were fickle, which led to him, although prospering at the time, not daring to be too high-profile.

Later, when Yang Jian ascended to power and established the Great Sui, becoming Kaihuang, he could basically only serve as an advisor within Confucianism and never had a chance to take the stage.

Now, he could finally stand tall again.

And this time, he was the Grand Preceptor of the Imperial College.

In the future, the students from the Imperial College would all be his protégés.

Just thinking about how the ministers standing in the court in the future would all be ones he had nurtured, Grand Preceptor Ren Buqun felt an inexplicable joy.

Plus, his birthday celebration was coming up soon.

His happiness doubled.

At that moment, even the bitterness he had accidentally tasted in his mouth earlier seemed to fade away.

When the Grand Preceptor arrived at his office, he found that the Cat-eared Lady had already come and tidied up the room for him.

"Grand Preceptor, you’re here! We’ve tidied the room for you, please let us know if you need anything else," said the Cat-eared Lady.

Seeing how well the Cat-eared Lady, Zhang San, was treating him at this moment made the Grand Preceptor even more certain that something must have happened, forcing Zhang San to make concessions and even seem somewhat eager to please him.

Very good!

This was extremely pleasing!

Sitting in the Grand Preceptor’s seat, Ren Buqun took a long, deep breath.

It had been a long time since he felt this way. Although Ren Buqun could not articulate exactly what this feeling was.

Just then, several students arrived at the door.

"Grand Preceptor, we have matters we’d like to consult with you about."

That’s right!

It was this feeling of people eagerly coming to him for help.

The Grand Preceptor gestured the students to come in with a wave of his hand toward the door.

The students immediately entered.

"Grand Preceptor, first of all, congratulations on your good health," they said.

The Grand Preceptor smiled beamingly at the vibrant young students.

"Well, what’s the matter?" he asked.

"Grand Preceptor, it’s like this, we plan to hold a polo match in a few days, seven days from now. But we fear that some students might not be able to come on that day, so we’re here to ask if you could arrange for the whole Imperial College to have a day off on that day."

The Grand Preceptor furrowed his brow upon hearing this.

What nonsense are they asking me to grant a day off for?

"You all think you have a right to go out and play?"

Just as the Grand Preceptor was about to rebuke, another student beside him immediately spoke up, "This time for the polo match, we have rented the Han Family’s polo field. We will invite all the prominent noble families from Daxing City to come and watch, showcasing the elegance of our Imperial College under your leadership. If you do not attend by then, and many teachers and students do not go either, wouldn’t that be a pity?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Buqun realized that this was actually an opportunity to enhance his own reputation.

If that’s the case, then he might as well agree.

Thus, the Grand Preceptor wrote on the spot an approval notice for all students of the Imperial College to have a day off on that day.

He even wrote a notice encouraging everyone to attend the polo match on that day and had several students take it to find Preceptor Situ to post it.

He had just returned to his post and managed to accomplish such a significant event.

Surely, Emperor Kaihuang would have a special appreciation for me when he learns about the polo match I approved. Hahahaha...

Thinking of this, Ren Buqun burst into another fit of heartfelt laughter.

Meanwhile, throughout the Capital, many people received word that the Grand Preceptor’s birthday was approaching.

Although many people who knew the Grand Preceptor were aware his birthday was still over half a month away,

hearing about the recent activities within the Imperial College, everyone thought the Grand Preceptor was finally putting down Zhang San, so he was immediately holding a birthday banquet to announce who really called the shots at the Imperial College.

It could be said that, in the blink of an eye, the Confucian faction rejoiced and celebrated.

It was not easy to regain face in front of the Legalists.

So, on the day of the birthday banquet, people who came to the Imperial College to offer birthday wishes came in an endless stream.

Especially the people of Confucianism, almost every somewhat famous and not-so-famous person who could bring something as a gift came.

However, as soon as the guests entered the Imperial College, they encountered Zhang San registering the gifts.

"I will thank you on behalf of the Grand Preceptor for your kind intentions. But with you all bringing so many precious gifts, are you not afraid that Emperor Kaihuang will investigate the Grand Preceptor? Although the Grand Preceptor is as clean as a whistle, if you stuff his sleeves full of these things, he won’t be able to remain untainted," said Zhang San.

At that moment, the guests realized that indeed, many in the Confucian faction maintained relationships through gift-giving.

But there were also some who were staunchly incorruptible and never willing to give gifts.

At this moment, everyone was feeling rather awkward.

Zhang San immediately said, "Therefore, when you come to offer birthday wishes, knowing that our Imperial College’s Grand Preceptor Ren Buqun is as clean as a whistle and does not accept gifts, you plan to donate these gifts to the Imperial College. This preserves the Grand Preceptor’s integrity and also expresses your sentiments. Gentlemen, this is what you mean, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"That’s exactly what we mean."

As the guests somewhat reluctantly and somewhat willingly handed over their gift lists, Zhang San had someone record each one.

Although the Imperial College’s eight hundred new students were all sponsored by Zhang San himself, the College still had significant daily expenses.

As the actual person in charge of the Imperial College, Zhang San naturally needed to pay more attention to this aspect.

Once everyone had handed over their gift lists, they headed inside before anyone else could lead the way.

And the Grand Preceptor sitting at the top of the hall, smiling and greeting everyone as they arrived, didn’t forget to have Preceptor Situ come over to him.

"Preceptor Situ, shouldn’t we select some of the more valuable gifts these people have brought to display? Why do I see that there is not a single gift displayed in the hall? These people didn’t come just with empty hands, did they?" the Grand Preceptor asked.

Preceptor Situ awkwardly replied, "Grand Preceptor, the guests were worried that giving you valuable gifts might tarnish your clean reputation. Therefore, the gifts were directly donated to the Imperial College."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Preceptor drew in a cold breath.

So I am celebrating my birthday, and yet it’s the Imperial College that’s reaping the benefits?

At that moment, the Grand Preceptor suddenly felt uncomfortable and secretly thought: Could this be Zhang San’s conspiracy? Perhaps he is using my birthday to get everyone to offer gifts, then taking them all into the College’s stores?

This possibility could not be ruled out.

Still, how would such a move benefit Zhang San?

For a moment, Grand Preceptor Ren Buqun also fell into deep contemplation.

Little did he know, the real source of his discomfort was yet to come.