Benjamin Howard received the order and left. This is the advantage of being a child born into the family—they are born and raised in the The Howard Family, and deep down, they already identify themselves as a member of the The Howard Family. Even if they are dissatisfied with Edward Howard, they still carry out Edward Howard's orders with utmost loyalty.

Benjamin Howard left, and Edward Howard sat cross-legged in his room, closed his eyes to meditate, and digested the gains he had made earlier in the library.

Thomas Howard was still sitting in that bamboo grove. He had already realized that Edward Howard wanted to take charge of Charles Howard's affairs. Although he felt that Edward Howard was indeed more mature than before, he also thought he was overestimating himself.

The academy that Charles Howard attended was the renowned Liling Academy, a sacred place in the hearts of scholars throughout the Great Xia Dynasty, and the seat of the Confucian sect.

The students of Liling Academy were not only exceptionally talented in literature, but also not the kind of traditional scholars who were physically weak. On the contrary, the Confucian sect could stand alongside the Daoist sect precisely because the students from Liling Academy all possessed extraordinary skills. In terms of martial arts and mental cultivation, the foundation of Liling Academy was in no way inferior to that of Yuqing Temple.

Charles Howard's performance at Liling Academy was not outstanding, but average. Now, he had already reached the early stage of the eighth-grade Body Qi realm. Of the six major Confucian classics, he had studied two in depth and read the other four thoroughly. Even Charles Howard was feeling stifled and unhappy from being squeezed out—what could a useless second-generation like Edward Howard possibly do?

Because Benjamin Howard had previously neglected Edward Howard, he felt guilty, so he handled this task with exceptional efficiency. In just over half an hour, Benjamin Howard hurried back and immediately reported upon entering, “Young master, I have already found out everything.”

“Speak!”

“Yes. Three days ago, Young Master Lie received an invitation to attend a poetry gathering. But after he arrived, he was stopped at the door by Rachel King from his class, along with several classmates. They said that only those with cultivation at the mid-stage of the eighth-grade Body Qi realm or above could participate in the poetry gathering that day, and since Young Master Lie did not meet this standard, they flatly refused to let him in.

Young Master Lie argued with them, asking why he was invited in the first place. Rachel King and her group, with fake smiles, said that the servant responsible for notifying people was ignorant, and that they hadn’t expected a dignified descendant of the The Howard Family, already eighteen years old, to still not have reached the mid-stage of the eighth-grade Body Qi realm.

At that time, Miss Carter was also present. Young Master Lie was extremely humiliated and angry, and tried to force his way in, but was easily pushed out by them. All of those people were at the mid-stage of the eighth-grade Body Qi realm—Young Master Lie couldn’t handle even one of them, let alone all together.

Afterwards, the newly arrived Teacher Dawson from the academy came out and harshly scolded Young Master Lie. Young Master Lie didn’t dare talk back to the teacher, and returned home in utter humiliation. I heard that he locked himself in his room that night and drank alone in frustration.”

Edward Howard's face was extremely grim. These people were clearly setting a trap on purpose, just to embarrass his big brother! And that Teacher Dawson was no good either, aiding and abetting the bullies—where was the dignity of a true teacher?

The Miss Carter mentioned by Benjamin Howard was Sophia Carter, the eldest daughter of the Song family, one of the Four Great Pillars. She was seventeen this year, in the same class as Charles Howard, and the dream girl of his big brother Charles Howard. However, the Song family looked down on the The Howard Family, which was destined to have no future, and refused to marry their daughter to Charles Howard.

Charles Howard also didn’t dare defy his grandfather’s arrangements, so he married his current wife. But everyone in the The Howard Family could see that big brother was not happy after marriage.

To be humiliated like that in front of the one he loved, Edward Howard could truly empathize—he was furious!

But he also keenly realized a problem: “This happened three days ago. What does it have to do with today?”

Benjamin Howard continued, “Originally, Young Master Lie was well-versed in the Classic of Filial Piety, so he was always responsible for collecting the homework for that subject in class and delivering it to the teacher. But ever since that Teacher Dawson arrived, he kept picking on Young Master Lie—sometimes saying he was unworthy of being a noble’s descendant, sometimes saying his cultivation was too low. Today, he even took away this responsibility from Young Master Lie and gave it to Rachel King!”

Edward Howard understood. When he ran into his big brother earlier, he was upset precisely because of this.

Benjamin Howard was also indignant: “The most infuriating thing is that this Du fellow’s excuse was that Young Master Lie wasn’t working hard enough! But everyone knows that Young Master Lie is the most diligent in the class—he arrives earliest, leaves latest, and is always eager to seek advice from the teachers! Yet this Du fellow slandered Young Master Lie like this!”

Edward Howard let out a cold laugh: “Rachel King? That’s the Zong family ranked first among the Six Great Pillars, right?”

“That’s her. Including the last poetry gathering, all those who deliberately opposed Young Master Lie were led by her.”

“And that Du fellow, what’s his name?”

“George Dawson.”

Edward Howard said calmly, “What a fickle world. A dignified Confucian mentor, qualified to teach at Liling Academy, and yet so snobbish! They must think our The Howard Family is finished, and that the Zong family, ranked first among the Six Great Pillars, will naturally replace us as one of the new Four Great Pillars!”

Benjamin Howard was furious as well: “Wishful thinking! Our The Howard Family will never fall!”

Edward Howard truly hadn’t expected that a mentor could be so despicable. After thinking for a moment, he nodded to Benjamin Howard: “You did well with this task. Go and claim a reward of ten taels of silver.”

Benjamin Howard was overjoyed: “Thank you, young master.”