Chapter 68 Escape
The cherry tree at the entrance of Linjia Village stands tall and straight.
The dark green leaves were withered by the scorching sun, and several farmers lay crookedly under the tree, with a blackened, tattered straw mat under them.
It's almost July, the sun is scorching, the crops are parched, the river near the village is pitifully shallow, the riverbed is exposed, and the crops in the fields are wilting, their leaves withered and curled.
These people gathered here early in the morning, carrying buckets to fetch water to irrigate the crops. It took them all morning to barely finish irrigating the fields.
The elder under the cherry tree, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, sighed as he looked at the midday sun hanging directly in the center of the sky: "This year's harvest is probably doomed. It hasn't rained for a month or two. If it doesn't rain soon, the crops will all die of drought."
A man with his chest bare, sweat pouring down his body, said, "The autumn harvest is just over a month away. With this drought, how are we going to pay this year's taxes?"
The sweltering heat instilled a sense of lethargy and listlessness throughout the village, making everyone feel drowsy.
There has been little activity at Lin Changqing's house in the past few days. Since discovering that he was under house arrest, Lin Changqing has been staying in his room studying diligently.
Having been in mourning for three years and unable to take the imperial examinations, he decided to settle down and study. In August, Taiping Academy was recruiting students. If he could get in, he would have no worries about taking the imperial examinations three years later.
Taiping Academy is one of the four great academies. He originally wanted to enter Songbai Academy, but he had already missed the entrance exam and would have to wait three years for the next one. However, he couldn't wait, so he had to find a way to enter Taiping Academy first.
Today, the meal was delivered by the granddaughter-in-law of Fifth Uncle's family. Under the blazing sun, Madam Xu, who was delivering mung bean soup to Lin Changqing's main hall, greeted people with a beaming smile: "Third Brother, Fourth Brother? Fuya, come and eat."
Liu has recovered from her illness and was watering the fields today, so she didn't come back at noon.
Lin Changqing walked out of the house, holding a children's primer in his hand. His eyes were smiling, making him look like a gentle and refined gentleman: "Sister-in-law, Quan'er has finished learning the Three Character Classic, right? This is the Thousand Character Classic, you can start learning it now."
Madam Xu blushed slightly, wiped her hands with the corner of her clothes, and took the book from Lin Changqing. "Oh, I'm so sorry, thank you, Sanlang. I'll bring it back to you after that brat finishes reading it. I'll make sure he takes good care of it."
Lin Changqing sat down at the table and casually ladled out some mung bean soup: "It's alright. I copied the book myself. It wasn't worth much to begin with. I added annotations to the second half. If you don't understand it, just have Quan'er ask me."
Madam Xu sighed and helped Lin Changqing serve rice and vegetables, saying, "It's hot, and I was worried you'd get too much heat, so I made some mung bean soup to cool you down. If you need anything, just tell me, and I'll ask someone to take care of it."
As the two were talking, Fu Bao rushed in, while Lin Changxiao followed behind, leaning on a wooden cane and limping. He greeted the newcomers and then sat down at the table to eat.
Lin Changqing's face turned cold as he scolded, "Lin Chang'an! How can you be so unruly? Where have you been running around again? Did you wash your hands before sitting down at the table!"
Fu Bao rarely heard her older brother call her by her full name. Every time he did, it meant she was about to get a beating. As soon as Lin Changqing spoke, Lin Chang'an got off the table: "I'll go right now, older brother."
Lin Changxiao slowly sat down at the table: "She just ran around playing for a while, big brother, don't scold her."
Lin Changqing glanced at Lin Changxiao: "You go wash your hands too, none of them are easy to deal with!"
Madam Xu naturally couldn't linger, so she offered a few words of comfort and then left. Lin Chang'an and Lin Changxiao washed their hands and exchanged a glance, both seeing joy in each other's eyes. Only after everyone had left did they return to their room and sit down to eat.
Lin Chang'an looked at his elder brother and lowered his voice: "Brother, I've figured it out these past few days. If you walk thirty miles east along the back mountain and then cross three more mountains, you'll be able to get out."
Lin Changxiao also said, "I contacted the brothers from the escort agency I knew before. As long as you can get to the big rock in Dahewan the day after tomorrow, I can take you out with me."
A hint of excitement flashed in Lin Changqing's eyes: "Good, good, good, thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Taiping Academy was recruiting students in August. As long as he could escape, there was still hope. However, Lin Changqing was unaware that while he was handling his funeral at home, the two students who had vouched for him had already gone to the county government to cancel their guarantorship.
However, without a local student acting as a guarantor, one simply could not enter Taiping Academy.
So even if you manage to escape, you still won't be able to participate in the recruitment process.
The villagers stopped him from doing so, thinking they didn't want him to be hurt, so they kept it a secret.
Of course, the villagers also had their own little plans. What if Sanlang really found out and they decided to fight to the death? This was just right. They had hope but couldn't escape the village. They could stay in the village peacefully, and teach their children in addition to their studies.
In the evening, Madam Xu came to deliver dinner again. Lin Changqing looked at Madam Xu, hesitating to speak, and asked, "Sister-in-law, could you please return the book I borrowed from you this morning?"
Madam Xu was taken aback for a moment, and her smile vanished instantly: "Well, the child is looking at it. Does Sanlang want a book?"
Lin Changqing shook his head and sighed: "Before the New Year, my teacher gave me a policy essay, which was very well written. He repeatedly told me to study it carefully. During my midday rest, I vaguely dreamed that the exam questions were exactly the same. So I got up to look for that policy essay, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I thought maybe it was tucked in some book. That policy essay was extremely well written. If I took it to the academy gate, I could probably exchange it for some money to supplement my family's income. But I recently lent out five or six books, and I really forgot which one it was in."
Madam Xu hesitated for a moment: "Is it really possible to exchange it for silver?"
Lin Changqing sighed deeply: "Of course, at least five taels of silver, but unfortunately I can't find any. If I could find more, I'm sure some of my classmates from the academy would be willing to buy them for ten taels of silver."
Madam Xu nodded without speaking: "I'll ask Quan'er when I get back, but I didn't see it when I brought it back at noon."
Not long after she finished speaking, Madam Xu patted the man at the door and hurriedly led her people back home. A dark look flashed in Lin Changqing's eyes as he waved his hand and beckoned Fu Bao over: "Fu Bao, do you know the way?"
Lin Chang'an nodded: "Brother, I've already checked it more than a dozen times. Getting you to that mountain won't be a problem."
Liu lifted the curtain and came out carrying a small cloth bag: "Sanlang, let Fubao go with you. This is the silver we have saved at home. Take it all. It's better to be frugal on the road than frugal. Your brother and I are at home. No matter what the villagers do to us, they won't do anything to us. You take Fubao with you. You and your brother can take care of each other. Fubao is not a child anymore and can take care of himself."
Lin Chang'an's eyes lit up and he said, "Big brother, I can pretend to be your page. Take me with you."
Lin Changqing hesitated: "The journey is long and arduous. If I want to catch up with the recruitment, I must arrive in the provincial capital before the end of the month. I'm afraid Fu Bao will suffer if he comes with me."
Lin Chang'an shook his head: "I'm not afraid. I'll go with my older brother. Besides, I know the way to the back mountain well, so it'll be cheaper for him to take me."
After thinking for a moment, Lin Changqing nodded, took the package, and gathered up his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the house before taking Fu Bao and preparing to flee to the back mountain...
The next day, Xu Niangzi borrowed an oxcart with her husband and headed to the county early in the morning. Before leaving, she was about to tell someone to deliver food to Lin Changqing's family when she bumped into Liu Shi, who was watering the fields, before she even got on the road.
Feeling guilty, Madam Xu didn't dare look at Madam Liu's face at all, but Madam Liu asked, "So early in the morning, is my niece-in-law going out?"
Madam Xu replied, "Yes, Auntie."
With a kind and amiable face, Liu waved her hand and said, "Then I'm afraid we won't be able to deliver the food today."
Madam Xu's smile was stiff: "I was just about to tell my mother-in-law that I'd send lunch to your family."
Ignoring Xu Niangzi's stiff face, Liu patted her and said, "No need to trouble yourself. I'm almost done. If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. I'll take care of it myself. Look how anxious you are. Go on."
Startled by the sway, Madam Xu forgot about cooking. Her mind was preoccupied with getting to the county first. She hurriedly said goodbye and went to find the man who had borrowed the oxcart from her family. Only after getting on the cart did she nervously touch the papers in her arms and say, "I just bumped into Sanlang's mother. It scared me to death. Let's hurry up and sell it as soon as possible so we can have peace of mind and come back as soon as possible."
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