Chapter 50: The Substituted Wenxin (Part 2)

"Is this kind of thing... very frequent and common?"

Although both Qi Shan and Chu Yao have said that the grade of a literary talent doesn't represent everything, a high-grade literary talent always has its advantages. Not to mention a second-grade upper-level literary talent, which is second only to the top of the first grade! Who would want to settle for a middle or low-grade literary talent when they can possess an upper-grade one?

To steal someone's future and ruin their life is nothing short of depriving them of their prospects!

“It’s neither frequent nor common. Besides, not everyone can possess the literary skill of stealing the thoughts of others, nor can just anyone’s thoughts be ‘switched’. It’s just that my thoughts happen to be suitable… Such behavior would be a capital offense in any country.” Chu Yao chuckled self-deprecatingly. “However, if it’s ‘voluntary,’ then it’s fine.”

Shen Tang felt like she had seen a ghost, and said indignantly, "The rank of a literary talent is related to one's future prospects. How could anyone 'voluntarily' give up a second-rank upper-level literary talent to voluntarily exchange for a lower-rank one? Unless—this person was 'forced to volunteer'."

Chu Yao said, "Yes, it was 'forced'."

Shen Tang: "..."

Chu Yao continued, "My family was poor when I was young. My parents sold me to become the page of the eldest son of the Chu family. I started my studies with the eldest son. That eldest son was not good at studying. He was naughty and restless, and often asked me to do his studies for him."

The eldest son enjoyed martial arts, but Chu Yao was particularly fond of political strategy and tactics, seizing every opportunity to study them diligently.

"Not long after, it was discovered that I was ghostwriting for others to complete their assignments. I thought I would be expelled from the manor, or beaten up and sold off somewhere, but to my surprise, the master of the manor took pity on me and not only took me in as a student, but also bestowed upon me the surname 'Chu'."

Shen Tang asked, "Was the person who switched the beams and pillars your teacher?"

Chu Yao shook his head: "It wasn't him."

Shen Tang: "Oh, then I wronged an innocent person."

Chu Yao shook his head and smiled bitterly: "But he's not entirely innocent either."

That teacher did indeed do his best for Chu Yao, treating him in every way the same as the eldest son of the family. This made the good-natured eldest son jealous, and even the teacher's wife secretly wondered if Chu Yao was a hidden gem she had kept outside. Otherwise, he would be too good for her!

If the teacher's family thinks this way, how can Chu Yao, as the person involved, not see the teacher's favoritism and care?

Until the year before the crowning ceremony—

Chu Yao accompanied his teacher to a banquet in the palace. During the banquet, he drank a couple of extra cups of wine and woke up to find himself in a dungeon. His mentor, whom he had respected like a father for over ten years, made him an unreasonable request that still haunts him like a nightmare.

【Wu Hui, present your literary talent to His Highness!】

He watched his mentor's mouth open and close, each word uttered seeming distant and indistinct, as if coming from the heavens. Finally, they formed sentences in his ears that made him feel as if the world was collapsing, piecing together a truth that made his blood run cold.

It was a meticulously planned scam from the very beginning.

"My master's acceptance of me as his disciple was indeed three parts genuine."

Shen Tang looked sullen: "There's a 30% sincerity, but the remaining 97% is all about self-interest. They're just after your Wenxin, keeping you around as a backup for that so-called crown prince. Tsk, how can you feel good about being betrayed by the person you trust most?"

Chu Yao: "But other people won't think that way."

For example, the crown prince who benefited from it.

He promised Chu Yao that once the exchange of literary hearts was completed, and he ascended the throne, he would never forget Chu Yao's contributions. Even if Chu Yao lost his superior literary heart, he would still be given important responsibilities. He added that when Chu Yao was sold by his parents, he was already considered a lowly person. Without the kindness and guidance of his mentor, no matter how talented he was, he would at best be just a servant with some cleverness. How could he have achieved his current success?

Doesn't it make you feel a lot better if you think about it this way?

Therefore, he should be grateful rather than resentful.

"...The teacher also comforted me, saying that 'switching the beams and pillars' was not about stealing my literary talent, but about exchanging two literary talents..."

It's just that he lost his literary talent, not his literary heart.

As long as Wenxin is still alive, even if he is only a seventh-rank lower-upper class, it is something that someone of his lowly birth has no right to hope for.

What else is he dissatisfied with?

Shen Tang scolded, "These are the words of a robber! Why doesn't he give his literary talent to that damned crown prince? Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Have all these years of studying gone to waste?"

Who doesn't know that a high-grade literary talent is better than a low-grade one?

A robber is a robber, yet he insists on giving it a high-sounding reason of "loyalty," which is utterly disgusting and despicable!

Perhaps his mentor still possessed some conscience and remorse, and given that Chu Yao was indeed still useful, he agreed to whatever Chu Yao wanted to learn or watch. Even though Chu Yao was resentful, he dared not show it and could only silently work hard, trying to salvage something.

Not two years later, another ridiculous thing happened.

Shen Tang pressed, "What is it?"

Chu Yao's expression was strange: "The Crown Prince lost the struggle with his other brothers and was involved in the 'curse of witchcraft.' During his imprisonment, he went to the toilet in the middle of the night, fell into the pit, and drowned. His followers were also wiped out, including my mentor. He ended up with his house confiscated and being exiled."

Shen Tang: "..."

Although his mentor treated Chu Yao like his own son, he never allowed him to regain his status as a respectable person, so he was implicated when his family was raided.

As a member of the deposed crown prince's faction, his fate was naturally not good; his palace was abolished and his property confiscated and sold into slavery. Relying on some connections he had accumulated before, he didn't end up in a terrible state. Instead, with the help of friends, he became a retainer of Consort Chu and accompanied her to the State of Xin.

Before things could settle down for long, Chu Ji fell.

Chu Yao and Chu Ji's other assets were sold off, and they ended up in Xiaocheng, where they washed dishes at Yuehua Tower for five years.

After hearing the whole tragic story, Shen Tang was speechless.

It's not unusual for someone to have bad luck, but it's unusual for someone to have bad luck all the time. Ever since he was replaced by Wenxin when he came of age, he has never had a smooth life!

but--

"The gentleman still hasn't explained what 'three liang' means."

Chu Yao: Didn't I say that?

Shen Tang said expressionlessly, "You didn't say."

"Oh, that's because I forgot to mention my Confucian way."

Shen Tang: "...Can you say that???"

Chu Yao was quite straightforward: "Why can't I say it? Anyway, the spirit of literature has been lost, and the way of the scholar has been abandoned. What's the harm in saying it?"

Shen Tang: "...That makes a lot of sense."

Chu Yao said with a helpless expression, "My 'Scholar's Way' is 'a glimmer of hope after darkness,' which is the 'a glimmer of hope after darkness' in the story of 'the mountains and rivers seem to block the way, but then a village appears amidst the willows and flowers.' It can only be used in desperate situations, and it is beyond my control. As for whether it is actually useful, I don't know. I only know that on the night I was replaced, I had a long and very clear dream in which I went to a pharmacy and got a prescription."

Shen Tang: "..."

So it's still an uncontrollable passive skill.

Whether it was launched or not, and whether it was effective, is completely unknown.

It's bad enough, but bad enough.

Shen Tang pressed further, "What prescription?"

"Ginseng, rhubarb, aconite, and rehmannia, each five qian, supplemented with three liang of moon essence, can help one understand one's destiny and cure stubborn diseases."

Shen Tang's lips twitched, speechless with emotion.

"This is just a prescription from a dream, and the old man actually believes it?"

It was probably prescribed by a quack doctor.

Chu Yao's "Way of the Scholar" feels unreliable, just like the "image for reference only" tagline in advertisements.

It will be available on September 1st!

There should be a splash screen event when it goes live; setting three targets is really difficult.

After some final thought, I set a goal.

First, we need 2,000 initial subscriptions (meaning we need 2,000 readers to subscribe to the first chapter; we currently have just over 10,000 favorites, a ratio of 5:1, so we should be able to reach that, but I'm not very confident).

Second, accumulate enough donations to become an Alliance Master (one extra chapter for each Guild Master donation).

Third, 1,000 monthly votes (one extra chapter for every 100 monthly votes).

(End of this chapter)