Chapter 115 Stealing Books

After living in the Scholars Building for a few days, Su Fengzhang got to know quite a few southern scholars, such as He Tang who lived upstairs from him. He was probably a fan of his books and would come to the door almost every day.

For example, Bai Yu, who lived next door to him, arrived in the capital three days later than him and was also the top scorer in their prefecture.

In Qingzhou Prefecture, Su Fengzhang's reputation as the top three scholar was quite famous, but when he arrived at the Scholars' Building, the scholars he met were all outstanding figures. Now that a group of cranes lived together, no one seemed to stand out.

With so many people living here, there are naturally more disputes, not to mention that everyone in the Scholars' Building is originally a competitor.

There is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. It is difficult to make scholars admit that others are better than themselves. Now that the spring examination has not yet arrived, it is natural that a group of scholars living together will not admit defeat to each other.

If the Spring Examination was not approaching, and the scholars knew the importance of seizing the time to study, they would probably be competing in various literary and poetic competitions.

With so many people around and taking a gamble far away from home, it's inevitable that some people will feel restless.

Su Fengzhang was able to calm down and resumed his previous routine from the next day. His daily schedule from morning to sunset was full, which made Su Arong feel bored.

One day, when He Tang came over with some snacks, he saw Su Fengzhang practicing calligraphy again. He couldn't help but sigh, "Brother Su, you're really too hardworking! Others can't wait to rest every day, but you're not afraid of being too tired."

"How do you know I'm not resting? When I'm resting, you're probably still reading in your room at night." Su Fengzhang joked.

This is the truth. Everyone has different schedules. For example, Su Fengzhang likes to get up early and go to bed early, while He Tang likes to get up late and go to bed late. They feel listless during the day, but full of energy at night.

He Tang touched his nose and smiled awkwardly, "I don't want to either. It's too noisy during the day. I can't even concentrate on reading even if I plug my ears. It's better to lie down and sleep. It's quieter at night."

After saying this, He Tang was even more impressed: "Brother Su, it's so noisy outside during the day, with noises everywhere, how can you calm down?"

There is no answer to this statement. For someone who can listen to music with headphones while working on a plan, this level of noise is nothing and he can completely block it out subjectively.

After thinking for a while, Su Fengzhang simply explained: "When I concentrate on studying, it seems that I cannot hear other sounds."

He Tang sighed deeply and said, "I want to, but any noise next door gives me a headache."

Su Fengzhang was also helpless about this. His five senses were extraordinary. If he had not been accustomed to blocking out other noises, he would have been unable to bear it long ago. This skill might be innate and become second nature.

He Tang couldn't help but sigh. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a noisy sound outside. He covered his forehead and cursed, "What's going on? Isn't this the Scholars' Building? How come it's noisier than an ordinary inn?"

Su Fengzhang pricked up his ears and frowned: "It seems something happened."

He walked to the window and looked down, and saw a lot of people gathered in the yard, making a lot of noise, with red faces and thick necks.

"Isn't that Bai Yu and Ji Chu? Let's go down and take a look." He Tang said.

Bai Yu lives next door to Su Fengzhang, and Ji Chu is He Tang's neighbor. These two are also quite talented and are familiar to them.

When they walked downstairs, they happened to see a burly scholar grabbing Ji Chu by the collar and shouting, "You little thief who stole the book, you southerners are so cunning and treacherous, yet you are still trying to make excuses."

Ji Chu's face flushed crimson. He was usually a soft-spoken person, but now he couldn't help but shout, "Who stole the book? Don't slander me."

The scholar held on to Ji Chu tightly, sneering, "You're caught red-handed, and you're still trying to make excuses."

"Let's talk it over. Don't do anything yet." Bai Yu was good friends with Ji Chu, so he stepped forward to stop them.

But with his thin arms and legs, he was no match for the other person. The man pushed him away with a casual push. Bai Yu fell backwards and almost hit the rockery.

Fortunately, Su Fengzhang was quick-witted and pulled him back, otherwise he would have been disfigured by the blow.

Bai Yu turned pale with fear and subconsciously touched his face before shouting, "You're actually trying to hurt someone! Don't go too far."

Seeing Bai Yu nearly getting hurt, the students from the Southern Scholars Building came out to criticize him, saying, "The truth of the matter hasn't even been revealed yet, and you're already trying to hurt someone. Are you really scholars or just street butchers?"

"That's right, do you have any evidence that Ji Chu stole the book?"

"Bai Yu didn't offend you. If he had been hit by that blow just now, he would have been disfigured. Are you trying to ruin his future? Or are you, a bunch of northern scholars, scared of the combined North-South rankings this year and planning to destroy as many of them as possible?"

Seeing the southern scholars furious, a northern scholar stepped forward. He was holding a folding fan, handsome, and elegantly dressed, with a certain air of a scholar. He said, "You are being biased. What does this have to do with the north and the south? Can't he speak out if he gets caught stealing books?"

The rough scholar shook the Ji Chu in his hand and sneered, "That's it, don't confuse right and wrong."

Su Fengzhang held down his hand and said calmly, "If you want to talk properly, let go first."

"Stop meddling in other people's business." This scholar liked to act tough, especially when he found that most southern scholars were weak and could fall down with just a push. Now he used the same trick to push Su Fengzhang down.

He didn't know that Su Fengzhang looked thin, but his body was full of tendons. He didn't move at all when he pushed him. Instead, the hand he was holding felt pain. The man quickly shook off his hand, and when he looked again, his wrist was already red.

"What have you done!" the man said angrily.

Su Fengzhang lowered his head to look at Ji Chu's neck, and indeed found it was already red. He immediately said, "Nothing like you."

"You!" The man was about to explode in anger, but was stopped by the person who had just come. "Brother Lin, please calm down. Since you are at a loss as to how to deal with this matter, let's just confront each other right here and now. If we fight, we will only invite criticism."

Bai Yu had already walked behind the two men and explained in a low voice, "The two leaders on the opposite side, the impulsive and irritable one is called Lin Yuye, and the smiling tiger is called Su Qun. They are the leaders of this year's northern scholars."

"Brother Ji, what happened just now? Why did they say you stole books?" Su Fengzhang asked in surprise. In his memory, Ji Chu was a nerdy character, but it was impossible for him to steal books.

In fact, no one present believed that the books were stolen. After all, anyone who could live in the Scholars' Building was a juren, so why would they need to steal books?

Ji Chu touched his neck with lingering fear and explained, "I don't know what happened."

"Just now I was feeling bored in the house and wanted to go out for a walk. When I walked to the yard, I happened to see a book on a stone bench. Seeing that there was no one around, I thought someone had dropped it, so I picked it up and read it for a while."

"Who knew it was such a well-written book? I was immediately captivated. As I was reading, I was about to turn back when they rushed out, shouting and yelling, 'How could I have known the book was theirs?'"

Everyone was speechless after hearing this, and they understood the cause of the incident.

Lin Yuye on the opposite side sneered: "Well, he himself admitted to stealing the book."

He Tang denied this and shouted loudly: "Mr. Lin must be deaf. Ji Chu clearly said that he found a book and flipped through it for a while. It has nothing to do with stealing books."

"He picked up the book and didn't return it. Doesn't that mean he was planning to take it away?" Lin Yuye was determined to take the matter. "Taking something without permission is called stealing. Taking something by force is called robbery. Don't you southern barbarians understand this principle?"

"Who are you calling southern barbarians? You are the rough ones!" Bai Yu couldn't help but retort.

Lin Yuye shouted, "I'm scolding you guys, you guys are so arrogant. If you don't know, you will think that the top prize is already in your pocket. I feel ashamed for you just watching."

He Tang sneered, "Why should you be so embarrassed? I think you should be ashamed. You don't know right from wrong and don't know the truth, so you falsely accuse others. Is this your character? This really broadens my horizons."

Lin Yuye uttered a spitting sound and cursed, "You pretty boy with sweet words, don't think you can fool me with just a few words."

Bai Yu also shouted, "If you're not satisfied, just report it to the authorities. I'd like to see if Shuntian Prefecture will sentence Ji Chu for stealing the book."

"Just report it to the police, who are you trying to scare?" Lin Yuye was obviously a man who would not be persuaded by anything, and he shouted.

Seeing that he looked like he was about to kill someone, Bai Yu couldn't help but step back and hide behind Su Fengzhang. Then he continued to curse: "A gentleman uses words, not fists. What, are you going to hit someone again?"

Lin Yuye looked at Su Fengzhang with some caution, but he didn't go forward. "You rat who can only hide behind others, come out if you have the guts, and we'll fight."

The argument intensified, and the rational students around them, fearing that things would get out of hand, hurried over to mediate: "Alright, alright, stop arguing. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Yes, everyone should take a step back. We are all going to participate in the Autumn Examination next year. If this really ends up in court, no one will be able to save face. We might all be punished."

In fact, although the argument seemed fierce, the people present were still rational. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the northern scholars were using the book incident to deliberately humiliate the southern scholars.

Lin Yuye subconsciously looked at Su Qun behind him. The latter smiled slightly, opened his folding fan and said, "It is indeed a misunderstanding, but this book is a manuscript passed down from the Lin family. It is understandable that Yuye is a little nervous."

"My dear brother, when you go out in the future, don't take home a book you picked up. Who knows if it has an owner?" Su Qu said with a hint of sarcasm, "If you don't have much money at home and envy someone's collection of books, you can borrow it."

When Ji Chu heard this, his face turned pale and he was obviously feeling extremely ashamed.

"Hey, let me see who is bragging. Isn't this Brother Lin Yuye? Your family has been farming for three generations. Do you have a room full of books?" A voice broke the deadlock.

Su Fengzhang looked at the visitor with some surprise, but saw Meng Ting dressed in a romantic style, holding a folding fan in his hand. He looked somewhat similar to Su Juan, and his face was full of ridicule.

Su Que narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, "Isn't this the great scholar Meng? What evil wind has brought you to the Scholars' Building?"

Meng Ting walked straight to Su Fengzhang and said calmly, "Whatever evil wind blew you in here is the same wind that blew me here."

Su Qun laughed and said, "I don't understand what you mean."

Meng Ting glanced at him, then turned his gaze to Lin Yuye and laughed: "Why don't you show me what kind of precious manuscript it is that can attract the two of you to mobilize troops."

Without waiting for Lin Yuye's consent, he reached out and took it to look at it. He laughed after seeing it: "So it's this thing. I thought it was very precious. You treat it like a treasure. It's obvious that you have never seen the world."

"You're looking for death!" Lin Yuye couldn't stand such sarcasm.

Meng Ting laughed: "Why, you are only allowed to belittle others, but you can't stand others' ridicule?"

After saying this, regardless of how ugly his expression was, he stared at Su Qun and said, "Teacher Su, you have many ways to become famous. Isn't this method a bit too despicable?"

Su Qu raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "Master Meng has misunderstood me. This was indeed an accident."

Meng Ting refused to listen to the explanation and said with a smile, "Aren't you trying to embarrass the Southern scholars? Why don't I give you this opportunity? Three days later, in the Scholars' Building, each of us will send three people to compete. Then we can discuss the truth with our pens."

Su Qu looked at Meng Ting in surprise, thinking that Meng Ting was too bold. Did he really think he was invincible?

Su Qun naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by, so he said, "Since the great scholar Meng has issued a challenge, how dare we not accept it? How about this, we each invite three scholars to comment on it, to ensure fairness."

"It's a deal." Meng Ting said firmly.

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