The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 201 Giving Gifts

However, Zheng Xun still lost his temper.

Jiang Yang is no good; accepting bribes is commonplace for him.

As a result, many students of varying quality have entered Liuhe Academy.

Through word of mouth, all the students learned of Zheng Xun's identity.

A group of people swarmed around her like flies. She had only walked around the academy once, but almost every few steps she would encounter someone who would come up to greet her.

"Princess, I am..."

"Step aside."

"Princess, listen..."

"Do not listen."

“Princess, I have been at the academy for over ten years, and no one knows the academy better than me…”

"Oh, I don't want you, get out!"

Seeing Zheng Xun lose his temper, Jiang Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

It's good that she's getting angry; it means she's about to lose her temper.

It would be best to get so annoyed that you just turn around and leave, no longer caring about all these people in the academy who don't seem like scholars.

He didn't believe that she would be in such a fit of anger that she would care about how these people got into the academy.

What he didn't know was that Zheng Xun already knew his hands were dirty, so it was easy for him to deduce his thoughts.

She was just a little disappointed.

Zheng Jin's adoptive parents were such good people, yet the Liuhe Academy that nurtured them has been ruined into what it is today.

She pouted, bored. "There's nothing left to see. Let's go back."

Jiang Yang's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

He thought he had escaped a disaster and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Even the legendary princesses are nothing special.

What does it matter if she's like a goddess statue? She's not a real goddess after all.

Even a true goddess would have to bow her head before him.

Back at the accommodation arranged by Jiang Ye, Zheng Xun closed the door, but the anger on his face vanished instantly.

"Zheng Shi".

Zheng Shi knew she had important matters to instruct him on, so he quickly responded.

"Go and invite Inspector You and Feng Lian."

"Yes."

Not long after Zheng Shi received the order and set off, someone knocked on Zheng Xun's door.

As soon as Zheng Xun opened the door, he saw a student standing outside.

The other person bowed and smiled, holding up the box in their hand: "Greetings, Princess, Princess..."

Zheng Xun stared at him silently for a while: "Is there something you need?"

"Having heard of the princess's arrival, I have prepared a small gift..."

"Your father is the prefect of Fuzhou? Didn't he teach you not to bother others so casually?" Zheng Xun leaned against the doorframe, showing no intention of letting him in. "I know why you've come. I'll tell you clearly now, don't bother with these useless efforts!"

These people never took her seriously, otherwise they wouldn't have ignored her thoughts and repeatedly tried to get close to her.

Even though she was clearly showing signs of impatience, they weren't brainless; they just didn't think her thoughts mattered.

After reflecting on it, she realized that she had been too kind.

So he added, "If you really want to stand out in the imperial examination, then study diligently and don't think about those crooked ways. If you come to give gifts again, then don't even bother participating in the preliminary examination. Or are you saying that you think your father's chair is too comfortable, so you want him to go home and retire?"

Her threat was so blatant that the young man's face turned extremely ugly for a moment.

"Princess, you can't..."

"If you don't believe in superstitions, then go ahead and try it."

The young man ultimately dared not gamble. Even though he was indignant, he didn't have the courage to cause trouble and had to politely bow and take his leave in the end.

However, although Zheng Xun sent him away, he did not find peace.

There are many people with ulterior motives at Liuhe Academy.

Because of Jiang Yang's presence, it's customary to give gifts when handling matters within the compound.

Regardless of whether it works out or not, whether you have the ability or not, if others are giving gifts, can you not give them?

Therefore, it wasn't just one or two people who came to bother Zheng Xun.

Annoyed and impatient, Zheng Xun picked up his pen and wrote the first question on the upcoming exam: "On the necessity of abolishing the practice of giving gifts and favors when handling official business."

After finishing writing, she nodded in satisfaction, then turned and went to a quiet courtyard nearby.

Keep knocking, she won't hear it anyway.

Zheng Jiu glanced at her several times with concern.

Zheng Xun, ever perceptive, finally couldn't help but ask him, "Zheng Jiu, why are you staring at me like that? Just say what you want to say."

"What does the princess intend to do with them?"

"Deal with it? No, we won't."

Zheng Jiucai didn't believe it.

The princess isn't a pushover; she's been bothered like this for so long, he doesn't believe she wouldn't want to teach them a lesson.

Seeing Zheng Xun holding a calligraphy brush, seemingly pondering what kind of questions to set, he suddenly asked, "Does the princess intend to make the questions difficult enough to eliminate them directly from the preliminary round?"

Zheng Xun said calmly, "No, there are quite a few people in the academy who don't have much power or wealth. They are talented, but their family backgrounds are just average. These people were originally Jiang Yang's tools to stabilize the academy's reputation. If I were to ruin their reputation because of my own personal grievances, what kind of person would I be?"

Zheng Jiu was stunned for a moment, his tone more complicated than ever before.

"The princess is of great righteousness."

"It's not about righteousness. You're right, I really don't intend to let them off the hook."

There are many ways to deal with people. Forget about those who can't even pass the preliminary test; they'll probably never have anything to do with her again.

However, those who harbor resentment towards her after their gifts were rejected are not suitable for official positions, no matter how well they perform in the exams.

Her goal was to select some pillars of the Great Yong Dynasty, and also for her own sake; she didn't like troublemakers.

Zheng Jiu couldn't help but laugh at the thought that those people had painstakingly schemed for something only to lose an opportunity because of it.

He loved watching the drama unfold and asked with great interest, "When does the princess plan to begin the preliminary examination?"

"Not urgent."

We need to deal with Jiang Yang first, lest it interfere with her talent selection.

For the next few days, Zheng Xun did not go out and stayed at home peacefully, living her own quiet life.

Her peace was short-lived, because those who genuinely wanted to give gifts could always find a place for her.

Knowing she wouldn't open the door, they abandoned that approach and instead threw the gifts and valuables directly into her yard.

At first, Zheng Xun assigned Zheng Jiu to guard them, and Zheng Jiu would throw them out the same way they were thrown in.

But Zheng Jiu also gets tired.

She didn't want her perfectly good subordinates to be burdened by this kind of mess.

So she changed her mind.

She dared to accept gifts from them.

They assumed that since she had accepted the gift, she owed them a favor and would naturally help them with their affairs.

Unfortunately, they were wrong; Zheng Xun was not a man of principle.

After accepting it, she immediately sent it back to Yuanxiu Academy in Wuzhou and the capital. It was impossible for her to do anything about it.

However, her quiet acceptance of the gift made Jiang Yang, who thought he was safe, increasingly uneasy.

His patience was far less than Zheng Xun had imagined. After only a few days, he couldn't hold back any longer and couldn't help but go to test the waters.

When he arrived, Zheng Xun was working on a topic he had just come up with.

The questions from Wuzhou Academy have already reached Fuzhou, so she can't use the old methods to set questions.

Jiang Yang brought a very fine old tea brick.

It's a refined and elegant item, but Zheng Xun's current body is only about ten years old, so he can't drink tea at all.