Chapter 106

Chapter 106 – Farewell (2)

Getting along with Ye Zhen in Zhuangzi for half a month, Teacher Shan didn’t feel as unfamiliar to her as before.

She did not face her coldly anymore.

“Teacher, haven’t you rested yet?” Ye Zhen came in with a smile and saw Teacher Shan facing the board alone, slightly dazed.

“Can you play board games?” she asked.

Ye Zhen smiled shyly. “A little bit but not very well.”

“Come and join me in the next round.” Teacher Shan waved and asked Ye Zhen to sit down opposite her.

This is …

Ye Zhen’s eyes looked down at the gameboard. Her eyes flashed with sadness, and she briskly said, “Teacher, this is Go¹².”

Teacher Shan looked up at her. “So, you know that it’s Go. That’s good.”

How could she not know? Her father liked this game before, and he loved it best when he surrounded the enemy’s stones and killed them with his own.

Ye Zhen had a white stone in her hand. Her skills in this board game were not bad. If she wanted to be serious, her attacks could easily break through Teacher Shan’s defense, but in front of her, she didn’t want to show too much. Teacher Shan watched Ye Zhen play in an orderly manner.

“Tomorrow, I am leaving.”

Ye Zhen looked up in surprise, “What does Teacher Shan mean by this?”

“I promised your mother at the beginning to teach you how to pass the entrance examination of the academy. Now that the examination is almost here, I have nothing to teach you anymore. How well you do then depends on your luck.”

In fact, she didn’t hate Lu Yaoyao as a student. On the contrary, she thought this student was brilliant.

“Teacher, if I fail to enter the academy, can you still be my teacher?” Ye Zhen asked in a low voice for she knew better than anyone that Teacher Shan could teach her a lot. She had already learned everything she needed but just couldn’t bear to be separated from her like this.

“No.” Teacher Shan refused cleanly. “If you can’t even get into the academy, what qualifications do you have to be my student again?”

Ye Zhen bowed her head. “Teacher Shan said that I will definitely enter the academy, and I believe her.”

“You don’t need to be nervous either. You’re not taking a vocational class, but attending a medical school. It’s relatively easier to enter,” Teacher Shan reassured her.

The Academy for Women had several branches. There were three grades in total and three classes in each grade. Girls could enter the academy as young as twelve. Besides passing the Six Arts, their family background was also expected to impress the interviewing teachers.

The most popular branch was the School of Medicine with the age limit of sixteen. Women who graduated from here had the opportunity to enter the palace to become imperial physicians.

Other classes such as life skills, embroidery crash courses had few students as the women were either from ordinary backgrounds or widows.

It was said that during the reign of Empress Duanhui, when the academy was at its peak, every class was brimming with talent.

However, now, no woman had the same courage as Qi Yanling, so that she could carve her place in this world.

Teacher Shan cleared her throat and fixed the tight clothing that was making her feel heavy at this moment–or was it really the clothing?

Ye Zhen looked up at her, imprinting her image in her mind. Tomorrow, this woman, who had been her friend since her previous life as the wang fei, would be leaving her.

She became a reminder of her past, and now, she would have to continue her mission without her.

“If that’s the case, farewell in advance, Teacher Shan.”