CH 32

Chapter 32: These Kids are Clever and Have a Promising Future!

The young masters were intimidated by Lin Beifan’s gaze.

They bowed and said in unison, “Greetings to Director Lin!”

“Hmm!” Lin Beifan nodded, then produced a cane in his hand and walked towards the group of young masters standing there. He said, “But according to the regulations of the Imperial Academy, being repeatedly late or leaving early will result in a punishment of 100 strokes! Who wants to go first?”

“Wait, Sir Lin!” one of the young masters called out.

“What is it?” Lin Beifan asked.

The young master took out a few silver banknotes from his pocket and handed them to Lin Beifan, flattering him, “Sir Lin, here’s a total of 100,000 taels! Can you waive the punishment for us?”

Lin Beifan naturally put the silver banknotes into his pocket, then patted the young master’s shoulder and smiled, “You’re well-prepared! Not bad, with a bright future ahead of you! I’ll let you go this time, but don’t let it happen again!”

“Thank you, Sir Lin!” The young master was overjoyed.

Other young masters saw this and also took out their silver bills.

“Sir Lin, this is my 100,000 taels, can you waive my punishment?”

“Sir Lin, I also have 100,000!”

“Sir Lin…”

And so on…

In this way, without even laying a hand on them, Lin Beifan had already collected 1.2 million taels, more than yesterday.

Lin Beifan was very satisfied, “Not bad! They really deserve to be students of the Imperial Academy, with good understanding! I won’t blame them this time, but if they do it again, I’ll punish them severely!”

“Thank you, Sir Lin!” Everyone was overjoyed.

“Uh, Sir Lin, can we leave now?” one of the young masters asked cautiously.

“Leave? Where are you going?” Lin Beifan smiled.

“To…to attend class!” The young master was terrified.

“How long have you been absent? Did you forget what day it is today?” Lin Beifan’s expression turned serious as he declared in a loud voice, “Let me tell you, today is the day of the monthly exam, so go take the exam!”

“Yes, Sir Lin!” The young masters were frightened.

“Oh, I forgot to mention! In order to encourage students to study hard, I have added a new regulation: if you fail the monthly exam, you will receive 20 strokes! If you fail twice in a row, it will be 40 strokes! If you fail three times in a row, it will be 80…and so on, until you pass! I hope you all pay attention!” Lin Beifan announced loudly.

“We’ll even get caned when we fail our exams?!” The young masters cried out.

“Of course!” Lin Beifan spoke resolutely, “As students of the Imperial Academy, you enjoy the best educational resources in the country, so naturally, you should aim higher! If you can’t even pass the exam, what are you good for?”

The young masters were speechless.

They felt like this regulation was targeted at them!

“Now go take the exam!” Lin Beifan waved his hand, “Be honest, I’ll personally invigilate the exam! If I catch you cheating, you’ll receive 100 strokes!”

“Yes, Sir Lin!” The young masters left dejectedly.

This day was the day of the mock exam at the Imperial Academy.

To urge the students and select talents, the schools across the country would host a monthly exam, known as the monthly test. Those who performed well received point rewards and could advance to higher schools or obtain better educational resources.

It even had benefits for future career development. Therefore, both students and teachers attached great importance to it.

As the one responsible for students’ academic performance, Lin Beifan naturally became the chief invigilator, overseeing all the exam venues and maintaining exam discipline.

Under his authority, no one dared to cheat. After the monthly test, grading and scoring took place.

There were three levels: A for excellent, B for passing, and C for failing.

The group of incompetent noble students all failed!

Lin Beifan angrily exclaimed, “I can’t understand why you all failed such a straightforward test? You made so many spelling mistakes, it’s unbearable! Some of you even misspelled your own names. I don’t know what kind of books you’ve been reading!”

…..

The group incompetent noble students were all trembling with fear.

“Director, forgive me and give me another chance!”

“I’ll study hard and pass next time!”

“Please don’t be angry, your health is not worth it!”

“Please don’t hit me! I will accept any amount of scolding!”

……

“Without rules, chaos will ensue, and mistakes must be punished!”

Lin Beifan picked up his cane and asked, “What should be done now?”

The group incompetent noble students understood his intentions and each painfully took out their silver banknotes.

One cane was worth 1,000 taels, and 20 canes amounted to 20,000 taels! Individually insignificant, these 24 academic nobles collectively provided Lin Beifan with 480,000 taels!

Lin Beifan stuffed the thick silver banknotes into his pocket and nodded satisfactorily, “Not bad, very clever! If you applied this cleverness to your studies, you would have achieved results long ago! Go back and study hard, strive to pass next month’s exam, otherwise, it won’t just be 20,000 taels!”

“Yes, sir!” The group incompetent noble students responded weakly.