Chapter 1026: Grudges 2
Bai Shan looked at their master distressedly and asked softly, "Does the master resent your husband?"
Mr. Zhuang paused, then smiled faintly. "I was resentful when it happened, but Mr. Huang took great care of me. After I received the school's response, I didn't tell anyone about it. I figured, even if there wasn't a guaranteed place, I'd just take the exam myself. Unexpectedly, some unfavorable rumors started to spread within the school, saying I accepted money from the Chen family to give up my place. This was clearly unfair to other students, and ultimately the school decided to remove my recommended spot for the final exam."
The three disciples looked at their teacher with distressed expressions.
Mr. Zhuang smiled when he saw this, and patted their little heads. It had been so many years since the incident happened, and when he talked about it again, apart from feeling a little embarrassed about exposing his shortcomings in front of his disciples, he felt very calm in his heart.
However, "Back then, I was still very young and full of pride. I felt that if I stayed in the prefectural academy, the school might not give me a place in the next year's exam. So I left the prefectural academy and returned to Luojiang County. I first took the exam in Mianzhou and secured a place in the next year's exam."
"I met Chen Fulin again here," Mr. Zhuang shook his head and laughed. "We had a normal relationship when we were at the prefectural academy. Although he was older than me, because he came from a wealthy family, I took extra care of him in some matters. I didn't expect..."
I didn't expect that I would be targeted like this.
This was the biggest stain on Mr. Zhuang's life, so he was silent for a long time before he said, "In the capital, while I was waiting for the big exam, I submitted poems to two adults to make a name for myself. Three days after I submitted my poems, they were thrown back to me. The night before, Chen Fulin was drunk at a small poetry gathering and wrote two poems. Unfortunately, they were the same poems I submitted."
Bai Shan and the other two opened their mouths wide.
Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly and said, "The world of scholars is so small that even the smallest news can become a hot topic, let alone something this big? I have a bad character! That was the impression most people had of me at the time. Aside from a few close friends, no one believed me. Even when I told them about the school quota, they just thought I was accusing Chen Fulin out of anger and shame."
"There were only three days left until the final exam," Mr. Zhuang said. "Even if you gave me three years, I wouldn't be able to wash away this stain. I couldn't even take the Imperial College or the imperial examination again, so I left the capital."
"Because this incident spread back to our hometown, our lives in the county town became difficult. I sold our family land and moved away with my family. It was not until I was old and your senior brother got married and had children that we returned to our hometown. Now, there are not many people who still remember this incident, and those who do remember are no longer in the county town."
Bai Shan pursed his lips and asked, "Who stole your poem, sir?"
Mr. Zhuang's eyes finally revealed a look of regret. He looked out the window and after a while said, "A friend..."
Chen Fulin felt that they had a good relationship, but Mr. Zhuang really didn't think they were familiar with each other, so when his place was taken away and he was suppressed, he only felt unfair and resentful. Only when his poems were stolen did he feel the anger of betrayal.
That's why he was so sad.
Mr. Zhuang said softly, "I once considered him a close friend. We traveled together for half a year. We were both poor and destitute, and both were full of ambition. Who knows..."
Manbao asked: "What's his name and where is he now?"
Mr. Zhuang knew what she was up to. He glanced at her and shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since then, and I never asked about him, so naturally I don't know where he is."
Bai Erlang asked, "Sir, do you want me to find him and make him a witness for you?"
Mr. Zhuang laughed and said, "It's been so many years, why bother making trouble again?"
Bai Shan: "But aren't you worried that he will bring this up again and get in the way of us?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly and said, "I'm telling you this just to put you on guard. I'm old now, and I don't care about my reputation. But you, I'm afraid, will be influenced by me."
He paused and said, "How about this? I'll go talk to him tomorrow. We won't talk about what happened back then, and we can all live in peace. How about that?"
"No, it's nothing," Bai Shan said, "Sir, can you trust what a person like that says?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled lightly and said, "No."
"Then what's the point of asking him?"
Mr. Zhuang said nonchalantly, "Let's give it a try. What if he agrees? When people get older, they might not be so competitive anymore."
Three disciples: ...
Manbao said, "I don't think it's possible. Look, he's already quite old and still struggling in the Ministry of Revenue. He's only a fifth-rank official. If I were his age and only a fifth-rank official, I would have resigned and returned home to play."
Mr. Zhuang, who is only one year younger than Chen Fulin, said: "...Are we really old at this age?"
"Sir, I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about him," Manbao said seriously, "He's old at heart, so he's old from the inside out. But you're different. Your heart is young, so your body looks young too. You don't look old at all."
Mr. Zhuang stroked his beard and smiled with satisfaction.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang stared at Manbao with wide eyes.
Manbao raised his eyebrows at them proudly.
Mr. Zhuang smiled and shook his head when he saw this. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, the story is over. You should pay more attention in the future. You should go back to your own business. I will handle this matter."
"gentlemen……"
Mr. Zhuang waved his hand.
The three of them had no choice but to go out.
Bai Shan said, "How could there be someone in this world who doesn't care about his reputation? The teacher is just saying this to comfort us. If people say that he plagiarized a classmate's poem, he would still be very sad."
Manbao and Bai Erlang nodded vigorously and said in distress, "But what can we do? Chen Fulin will definitely not admit it. Judging from his appearance today, he might still want to drive the master away."
Bai Shan stroked his chin and said, "If I were him, knowing that you and I lived in the same city, I would definitely feel uneasy. Even if I could feel at ease, I would still feel disgusted when I saw you, like a thorn in my throat that I couldn't feel happy until I got rid of it."
Manbao and Bai Erlang turned their heads to look at him, exclaiming, "Shouldn't we walk around him out of guilt?"
"That's the thought of a person with a conscience, which he obviously doesn't have."
"Then why can you imagine what he's thinking?" Man Bao looked at him suspiciously, then looked at his left chest and said, "Touch your conscience and see if it's still there."
Bai Shan: ...
Bai Erlang laughed loudly and shouted, "He must be gone!"
Bai Shan kicked out, but he had anticipated it and jumped away.
Bai Shan said, "Do you still want to discuss this?"
I'm going to take the train home tomorrow, so I need to save my manuscript for tomorrow. See you tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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