Thirty-two senior scholars in starch-stiffened robes marched out of the Imperial Academy’s faculty wing in lockstep, carrying battered oak book-trunks on their shoulders.
Down the grand marble staircase of the Imperial Immortal Academy marched thirty-two elderly scholars in grey and brown wool robes.
Each scholar carried a worn wooden book-trunk strapped to their shoulders, loaded with teaching notes, astrological charts, and historical commentaries.
Leading the march was Elder Historian Gu. He clutched a heavy oak walking stick in one hand and a stack of unpaid wage petitions in the other: [Elder Historian Gu | Head of Imperial History | Goodness: 93/100].
Beside him walked Master Astronomer Zhao, Master Herbalist Shen, and twenty-nine senior professors representing every major academic discipline in the empire: [32 Upright Imperial Academy Professors | Average Goodness: 91/100].
Outside the main doors, Provost Sima Heng stood in the courtyard, his silk cape stained with muddy pond water and smelling faintly of dead fish.
Behind Sima Heng, four black-armored bailiffs drew their curved sabers, blocking the exit.
“Halt!” Sima Heng shrieked, his voice cracking with panicked fury. “Elder Gu! Where do you think you are going with those academy archives?!”
