Chapter 334 It’s Too Late
Chapter 334 It’s Too Late
There are not many students in the county school, only about a hundred in total.
But more than a hundred people gathered in one place, not only was the hall packed with people, but even the courtyard outside the hall was not empty.
Sitting at the same table with the teachers were Zhao Mingde and other children from noble families who had the best chance of entering the provincial academy. Also pulled together by the teachers was the little mute.
It’s a pity that the little mute is very taciturn. Even if one or two instructors take a fancy to the little mute, compared with Zhao Mingde and others who are surrounded by other instructors, the little mute’s place feels a little deserted.
Gradually, the two teachers who were talking to the little mute stopped being friendly with him. In the hall, the little mute was the only one drinking by himself.
The Chunhua Banquet was originally an activity to commemorate saints and sages, but eventually it gradually became a banquet to thank teachers.
At this time of year in previous years, the children of various noble families would bring wine and food from home to entertain and thank the teachers in the county school.
It is said that in the early years when the Great Qi was first established, the monthly salary of the teachers in the county school was not high, so that food and clothing became a problem.
Those teachers who could not afford to buy spiritual rice could only have a big meal by relying on the wine and food presented by the students of the county school at the Chunhua Banquet.
Nowadays, Da Qi has been at peace for a long time, and the teachers in the county school are all cultivators at least in the Jindan realm, so it is natural that they cannot afford to eat some magical rice and wine.
Therefore, the wine and meat at the Chunhua Banquet no longer had any appeal to them.
They came here not because they really wanted the wine and meat at the Chunhua Banquet, but because they wanted the extra gifts given to them by these hundred disciples in addition to the wine and meat.
However, there were two people who did not intend to pay tribute at the Spring Festival Banquet. One of them was Tian Lin, who was destined to leave the Immortal Cave, and the other was naturally the little mute.
Tian Lin had nothing to give as a tribute, and the little mute, besides having nothing to give, also had a solitary personality.
As the banquet was in full swing, everyone's attention seemed to be focused on the instructor, Zhao Mingde and others.
Only Tian Lin was paying attention to the little mute.
He soon noticed a wine jar that a maid had replaced for the little mute. When the jar was opened, the words indicating the strong liquor in the jar caught Tian Lin's attention.
Tian Lin didn't know who provided the fine wine for the Chunhua Banquet, but he knew that there was something wrong with the jar of wine in front of the little mute.
He couldn't help but look towards the corner of the Chunhua Banquet, where Yu and Fang were spying on the little mute.
Senior Yu and Senior Fang are both scion of prominent families in the prefecture and county. It was these two who conspired outside Tian Lin's house some time ago.
Tian Lin took a look at the wine in front of the little mute, then looked at the sneaky seniors Yu and Fang, and he suddenly understood.
He had known for a long time that these two people were going to attack the little mute, but he did not expect that these two people would dare to do it at the Chunhua Banquet, and the method they used was poisoning?
But if you think about it carefully, the little mute has no relatives or friends and is not very popular with his teachers.
The poisoning of the little mute will not harm the interests of anyone present. On the contrary, many children of noble families such as Zhao Mingde will benefit from it.
In this way, there is no need to worry about anyone standing up for the little mute afterwards.
To be precise, the accident of the little mute was also beneficial to Tian Lin himself.
In this way, there is one less strong opponent in the competition for admission to the provincial school.
But Tian Lin did not intend to sit idly by - because it would still be difficult for him to enter the state school if only a little mute fell ill.
But if it was Zhao Mingde and others who fell, the three places to enter the provincial school should be enough for him and the little mute to share, right?
Moreover, the Chunhua Banquet was a rare opportunity, and Zhao Mingde and others would never have guessed that someone would be here and poison them, including the instructor, at this time.
"Such good wine, isn't it a waste to give it to that little mute?"
In a place where no one was noticing, Tian Lin said to a maid in the hall, "Go and move the jar of wine to Instructor Cui and let Instructors Cui and the others drink it." The maid was obviously stunned and looked at Tian Lin in surprise.
As a maid, she was very clear about the identities of the students in this hall.
She knew that the little mute was not liked by the children of aristocratic families, and almost all of them despised the little mute.
But she also knew that Tian Lin's status was no higher than that of the little mute.
If the little mute hadn't performed so well that the nobles only noticed him, Tian Lin's life would definitely not have been so easy.
She was a little confused. How could a poor boy like Tian Lin have the qualifications to learn from the children of wealthy families and bully the little mute?
However, even though she didn't understand, it didn't stop her from doing what Tian Lin instructed.
After all, she was a maid of the Zhao family. How could she possibly stand up for the little mute?
The maid then walked up to the little mute and took away the jar of wine that had just been placed in front of him.
The maid acted openly in public. No one else thought there was anything wrong with it, so no one paid any attention to it.
Only Fang and Yu, two sons of the aristocratic families, changed their expressions. When they saw the maid carrying the jar of wine to Zhao Mingde and others, they were even more frightened and wanted to step forward to stop it.
But how could Tian Lin give them this opportunity?
He walked forward with a glass of wine in his hand, and said to Fang and Yu, two young men from aristocratic families, with a flattering look on his face: "Seniors, I have long admired your talents. Can I offer you a glass of wine?"
Senior Fang's face changed and he pushed Tian Lin away: "Get out of here!"
Although he struck hard in a hurry, he did not use all his strength.
Tian Lin took advantage of the situation and fell on a young man from a noble family next to him, and poured all the wine in his hand on the other two young men from noble families.
This action suddenly involved three or four young men from aristocratic families.
"What?"
Those young men from noble families, who had originally looked gentle and polite, now looked furious and tried to pull Tian Lin.
When Tian Lin saw Fang and Yu trying to squeeze over to Zhao Mingde, he grabbed their sleeves and said:
"My two seniors, I'm toasting you with all my heart. It would be fine if you didn't appreciate it, but why did you hit me?"
Fang and Yu were entangled by Tian Lin. They watched the maid carry the wine jar to Zhao Mingde and others, and then watched the maid pour wine for Zhao Mingde and others. There was a trace of despair on their faces.
Senior Fang was about to shout "Don't drink", but he didn't dare to say it out loud.
If the poisoning at the Chunhua Banquet killed the little mute but did not affect other people, no one would investigate it seriously, and they would have the opportunity to take action.
By then, Zhao Mingde and others would also accept his favor. Just find a scapegoat, and this matter would not be related to him.
But he did not poison the little mute to death, but instead exposed his own poisoning - even if the teachers at the county school wanted to forgive him, they could not help him get rid of the blame for the poisoning.
The most important thing is that the poisoning of Zhao Mingde and others actually did not do him any harm, but was rather greatly beneficial.
"No! Zhao Mingde and others were poisoned. The county government will do its best to investigate. By then, they will definitely find out that we are the one."
Several thoughts flashed through Senior Fang's mind several times in an instant, and he finally decided to step forward to stop it. But by then, Zhang Mingde and the others had already drunk the poisoned wine, and it was too late to stop it.
(End of this chapter)