Is there really nothing wrong with a seven-foot-tall man enjoying the luxuries provided by a woman?
This soul-searching question emerged in the minds of everyone in Shuaixing Hall after Zhao Rong’s words struck directly at their souls.
They couldn’t help but take several more glances at Zhao Rong, who spoke with such conviction and righteousness.
Many people began to feel a slight wavering in their hearts.
Is it he who is strange, or is it me?
A big manly man obviously shouldn’t rely on a woman’s charity for sustenance, not one bite, or else it’s a stain, a laughingstock to others.
The correct stance should be for the man to lead, with the woman behind him, not to overstep boundaries.
This was an unquestioned truth for everyone in the Academy, hmm, it seems like a universally acknowledged truth.
However, now a lively example was jumping right in front of all the students.
And he seemed to relish in living off a woman’s charity, even questioning them as to why they don’t do the same.
This prompted some serious contemplation.
Now that I think about it... if it were a fairy of Zhao Lingfei’s caliber from Taiching Prefecture, having a taste of that charity might seem, perhaps, somehow acceptable...
Some of the male students in the hall felt enlightened in their values, and their gazes towards Zhao Rong changed.
They looked at him as if they were looking at a life mentor, a shepherd guiding the flock.
Hmm, if it weren’t for Meng Xuezhen being present in the Academy at that moment, he probably would’ve quietly moved forward to seek some life advice from Teacher Zhao.
Zhao Rong, in fact, wasn’t particularly interested in the job of being a life mentor and enlightening others.
Especially not to big men, well, women are another story.
For instance, he once enjoyed showing a certain clumsy little Fox Demon new doors to the world.
Letting her gain enlightenment time after time, boldly embarking on one thrilling exploration after another, challenging the "impossible," the "unacceptable," and the "don’t" in her fox life.
Encouraging the little one, giving her courage to try... then getting even more lost.
However, Zhao Rong’s previous speech definitely wasn’t meant to enlighten his classmates or Meng Xuezhen.
It was truly a spur-of-the-moment sentiment.
Zhao Rong had always wondered about one thing.
If he hadn’t married into the family, and Zhao Lingfei had married into his,
then her actions, sewing clothes for him, bringing him porridge, and caring for him, would appear to others as Zhao Rong flourishing as a husband and his wife being virtuous.
But now, he had married into Zhao Lingfei’s family.
And if Zhao Lingfei did the same things for him, it would be seen as Zhao Rong living off a woman’s charity, contemptible in the eyes of others.
What’s the essential difference between the two?
Qing Jun’s behavior had always been the same, and the sentiment between Zhao Rong and her had never changed as they cherished and treated each other with consideration.
If this is also called living off a woman’s charity,
Then Zhao Rong would sincerely like to say one thing.
He liked such charity.
Even if he is seven feet tall, a Saint’s disciple, a Mochi Academy student...
However, as Zhao Rong always remembered, Qing Jun once casually said something half-seriously.
"It’s just us living our life together, what do we care about others? If we care about this and that, it’s just too tiring."
Zhao Rong remembered when Qing Jun said this, her focused and slightly resentful expression accused him of caring too much about others’ opinions.
Zhao Rong just stared at her, thinking he could never get enough of Qing Jun .
Even if he were offered the Great Emperor of the Human Clan’s position in exchange, he wouldn’t accept it.
No matter what Zhao Rong thought,
unfortunately, his heartfelt words did not move a certain serious woman in the room who had ingrained traditional Confucian virtues of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor into her very bones.
This was the first time Zhao Rong saw Meng Zhengjun’s smile.
Hmm, he guessed it must be a smile of anger.
Not like the smile of the old Sacrificial Officer when looking at the ’pillar of the Academy.’
Imagine, a forty-year-old woman, always with a stern face, clad in archaic, cumbersome clothing.
Sitting, standing, every little daily detail meticulously controlled.
Too serious, too proper.
And then, she suddenly smiled at you.
Zhao Rong felt... it was somewhat chilling, almost better not to smile.
But before he could further voice his complaints, Meng Zhengjun snapped her roster shut with a ’slap’, took a step forward, and smiled.
"Very well, very well, Zhao Ziyu, today you have truly opened my eyes. Mochi Academy has been established for a thousand years, with thousands of students passing through, but never has there been one who entered as a disgraced son-in-law. You are the first in a thousand years."
"You encourage others to follow the path of righteousness and yet you boldly and justifiedly covet a woman’s charity. You, too, are the first shameless person."
Her scolding was like a sharp sword, piercing the quiet in the hall.
At the same time, it pointed directly at someone.
The pressure of a Great Confucian Cultivator’s aura came rushing forward.
But Zhao Rong was no longer the fragile scholar he had been on the Qingfeng Pavilion ferry, without the strength even of a free-roaming chicken.
The physique of an Ascending Realm pinnacle cultivator, made half of the Demon Race, allowed him to face the fierce wind not as a confused ant but as a resilient and sturdy pine rooted deep into the ground.
Zhao Rong’s presence did not falter; he firmly grabbed his sleeve, his fist level with his abdomen.
His expression calm, he took a step forward.
At this moment, in the eyes of everyone in the hall, this classmate and teaching assistant named Zhao Ziyu stood tall and spoke unhurriedly.
"Whether being a son-in-law is disgraceful or not, I do not know; praised by the Academy as the first in a thousand years, I dare not accept; as for the first shameless person you mentioned, Teacher Meng, I cannot agree nor accept."
"As Mochi Academy’s Teacher Meng, in charge of the Six Halls’ discipline and a model for all students, please refrain from... speaking nonsense."
Meng Zhengjun’s expression turned cold.
"You dare say I speak nonsense? You do not feel ashamed of being a son-in-law of low status, is this accusation unjust to you?"