Chapter 3 She was truly a woman of unwavering integrity.
"Do you remember a few days ago, about four days ago, in the afternoon, a group of officials smashed up Granny Deng's tofu stall?" Yu Mingshu said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Yu Dan was taken aback and said, "It seems there is such a thing. What's wrong?"
"That day, the purchasing manager of the Ma family bought three pieces of tofu from Granny Deng. After returning home, the old lady of the Ma family suddenly had a stomachache. After investigating, she suspected that the tofu made by Granny Deng was not clean."
“Master Ma was very filial, so he immediately reported it to the city magistrate. The city magistrate was afraid of the power of Master Ma’s father-in-law, the Zhang family, so he led people to smash the tofu stall and arrested Granny Deng.” Yu Mingshu told the story slowly, as if he were telling an ordinary story.
"It was later found that there was nothing wrong with Grandma Deng's tofu. It was Madam Ma who ate tofu and spinach at the same time, which caused her abdominal pain."
After the story was finished, Yu Mingshu looked at Yu Dan and asked, "Tell me, was Granny Deng wronged?"
“Injustice.” Yu Dan nodded emphatically.
Yu Mingshu's voice finally gained some emotion, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Granny Deng was locked up in jail for two days, a full twenty-four hours. After her release, she fell seriously ill. To this day, not a single person from Master Ma's household has come forward to apologize, nor has the market magistrate compensated for the damage to her stall. On the contrary, Granny Deng's son is extremely grateful to the government, thanking them for their thorough investigation..."
Yu Dan frowned and met her gaze: "What exactly does elder sister want to say?"
Yu Mingshu said, "You said you'd rather slaughter pigs and sell vegetables than study for the imperial examinations. Are you really sure you want to be one of those ordinary people who swallow their pride and endure humiliation?"
Yu Dan suddenly felt a lump in his throat and pursed his lips, remaining silent.
Yu Mingshu did not receive Yu Dan's answer until the carriage stopped outside the academy.
She thought to herself: The teacher's certificate worked its magic; she had so easily persuaded the misguided, averse-to-school teenager to stop.
Just before getting off the carriage, Yu Dan suddenly grabbed her sleeve: "Once you pass the imperial examinations and become an official, do you no longer need to swallow your pride?"
Judging from his tone, this didn't seem to be a question.
"Chang'an is such a big city, full of princes and nobles. When poor scholars from all over the country come to the capital, the most important thing is to find a master and choose a school. They have to bow and scrape and smile. How are they any different from ordinary people?"
Yu Dan chuckled self-deprecatingly and walked towards the academy gate, leaving Yu Mingshu with a mature-beyond-his-years back view.
Yu Mingshu reacted quickly, getting out of the car and chasing after Yu Dan, slapping him hard on the back: "The difference is, they have a choice!"
The sound of the blow was quite loud, drawing the attention of the surrounding students.
Yu Dan winced in pain, and fearing the stares of his classmates, his face flushed red, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Why did you hit someone?"
“Of course I’m warning you.” Yu Mingshu pressed the back of his head, leaned closer and whispered, “If you can’t learn, it’s a matter of ability; if you give up and refuse to learn, it’s a matter of attitude. I can’t tolerate a bad attitude.”
Yu Dan felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.
"Uh, what does 'retreat' mean?"
Yu Mingshu chuckled: "Your performance these past few months can be called 'slacking off'."
Yu Dan pursed his lips, unwilling to admit it.
…
Chang'an Academy is magnificent and imposing, with classrooms arranged in a "回" shape. It has two floors and a water reservoir dug in the middle of the courtyard. Students mostly pass through the corridors on both sides.
The academy divided students into different classes based on their exam subjects and learning progress, naming them with the characters A, B, C, D, and E.
Students in the classes from B to E were preparing for the final exams. Passing these exams would qualify them for the provincial imperial examinations. The class from A was a repeat class for students who failed the provincial examinations.
Yu Dan's grades were actually quite good when he first entered school, and he was assigned to the Ding Hall. After more than half a year of study, he successfully dropped to the last place in the year-end examination, and after the New Year, he was relegated to the Wu Hall.
Yu Mingshu escorted the person to the classroom door. At first glance, the room was filled with wealthy young men in fine clothes, the luster of the fine silks dazzling her eyes.
"Brother Dan, you've arrived so early today?"
The young man in purple, fanning himself, approached Yu Dan, his eyes scanning up and down. He raised an eyebrow at Yu Mingshu with interest. "Oh, is this your new pageboy?"
Yu Dan sensed the sarcasm in his tone and said warily, "Zhang Sanlang, don't get any funny ideas, this is mine..."
Before he could finish saying "sister," Yu Mingshu covered his mouth and interrupted, "I am his elder brother, Yu Mingshu, the second oldest in the family."
Yu Dan stiffly turned his neck, looked up at her, his eyes full of doubt.
Zhang Jun asked suspiciously, "I've never heard of Yu Dan having an elder brother."
Yu Mingshu said, "I used to serve my grandmother and take care of my parents back in my hometown. I only came to the capital these past two days. It has been many years since I last saw Sanlang, so it is inevitable that our relationship has become distant."
“I see.” Zhang Sanlang put away his fan, his tone intriguing. “Second Master Yu, you may not know this, but Chang’an Academy is different from rural schools. Our students here are all from noble families. A family like the Yus would probably have a hard time establishing itself without the protection of a powerful figure.”
The child, around ten years old, spoke in an affected, pretentious manner, exuding a greasy air that made Yu Mingshu feel nauseous.
Having passed the teacher's exam, she possessed some acting skills. Suppressing her nausea, she feigned humility and bowed, but her words were sharp and forceful.
“When Ming Shu first came to Chang’an, he did not know any of his classmates. However, Ming Shu had read a few medical books and knew that humans have four limbs and two feet, a trunk and spine. The spine supports the sky, and the two feet stand on the ground. This is how humans stand between heaven and earth.”
"As you said, those who need to rely on others to survive may be vines in the forest or lice on the skin, but they cannot be called human beings."
Based on Yu Mingshu's previous life's style of conduct, she always cultivated good relationships and did her best to maintain harmonious relationships with her classmates. However, kindness is not the same as weakness, and she was never polite to those who were born with malice.
Zhang Jun's expression was unpleasant, but he forced a mocking smile: "Fine, very well."
Yu Mingshu ignored him and asked Yu Dan in a low voice, "Where is Mr. Yang?"
Yu Dan pointed south: "Go out through this corridor, there is a statue of a saint in the courtyard, and to the east of the statue is a row of side rooms, the first of which is Mr. Yang's elegant residence."
Yu Mingshu frowned: "East?"
Yu Dan pulled over the page who was tidying up the desk to prepare ink, and said, "Xia Man, take my sister over there."
“No need, you keep a close eye on Sanlang.” Yu Mingshu decisively refused, and casually warned, “If he skips class again, I will hold you responsible.”
Xia Man, caught between the two, looked troubled and pleaded with Yu Dan.
Yu Dan waved his hand helplessly: "Listen to her."
Yu Mingshu turned to leave, but unexpectedly a tall and slender man was hiding outside the door.
Her turn was so sudden that the people outside were caught off guard. She didn't have time to back away either, and only subconsciously put her arm in front of her, bumping into the man's chest.
A muffled groan came from above, as Yu Mingshu was knocked back half a step.
Ultimately, it was her fault for not being careful enough. Yu Mingshu covered her arm and looked up at the person in front of her: "I'm sorry! Are you alright?"
The man was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge. He had the striking features of a handsome man, and just one glance from him could make people feel good and forget the embarrassment of the collision.
"It's alright, you go ahead."
Yu Mingshu stopped refusing and quickly left, his clothes billowing in the wind as he brushed past her figure by the door.
Yu Dan let out a breath, familiarly moved closer to the man, and complained, "He Erlang, why are you eavesdropping?"
He Zheng watched the figure disappear into the distance, and gradually recalled the scene he had seen on the second floor of Mingyu Pavilion yesterday. The two figures gradually overlapped and then gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor.
He turned to look at Yu Dan and asked in a low voice, "Is that your sister?"
Yu Dan was quite surprised: "You know him?"
"I just met her yesterday." After saying that, He Zheng sincerely exclaimed, "She is truly a woman of unyielding spirit."
Yu Dan was puzzled by this sudden praise and asked in bewilderment, "How could a mere verbal argument earn such high regard from He Erlang?"
"What verbal dispute?" He Zheng asked, his expression puzzled. He placed his right hand over his chest, where Yu Mingshu's elbow had struck him earlier, and the pain was still throbbing.
Yu Dan was even more astonished: "Didn't you hear me?"
He Zheng said, "I only vaguely heard something about vines and lice. Could it be that I missed a good show?"
"This... isn't a big deal." Yu Dan hesitated for a long time, feeling that it would be too troublesome to explain, so he simply brushed it off.
…
As class time approached, Yu Dan sat down looking like he was heading to his execution.
The desks at Chang'an Academy were all long tables, seating two people with room for another person in between. If a student brought a page, the page would stand on either side of the wall, without a chair, so that the page could easily help the master grind ink and wash brushes.
Yu Dan and He Zheng were notorious troublemakers at the academy, so they naturally became deskmates.
Xia Man arranged the paper, brushes, and books for Yu Dan, and was about to roll up her sleeves to grind the ink when a figure in sapphire blue passed by, leaving behind a disdainful laugh.
"Even someone as upright as Yu Sanlang, who has no one to rely on, still needs a page to grind ink for him?"
Yu Dan and Xia Man both looked at him. This person's surname was Xie and his given name was Ansheng. He was the fifth son in the direct line of the Xie family.
The Xie family prospered for over three hundred years, weathering several wars and witnessing the changing of the imperial family, yet it remained steadfast throughout.
This person is not to be trifled with; I'll just have to put up with it.
Xie Ansheng had anticipated that they wouldn't dare to retort, and said with even more pride, "If you ask me, given your family's circumstances, you should indeed do everything yourself. Yu Sanlang actually followed our example and hired a page, which is really too wasteful."
Zhang Jun, who had just lost out to Yu Mingshu, rallied his forces and sarcastically remarked, "On another note, ink sticks aren't cheap either. Since Brother Dan doesn't like writing, he might as well save the money for ink and buy himself a decent outfit. That would be better than anything else in the future, making him a good father-in-law."
Xie and Zhang often took pleasure in mocking students from poor families, something Yu Dan was already used to. He tightened his knuckles, silently lowered his head, and stared intently at the difficult and obscure text in the book.
People around them chimed in, and the group of boys laughed and joked incessantly.
He Zheng grew annoyed, his brow furrowing deeply. He reached out from his sleeve toward the inkstone, waiting for his chance to strike.
The two people laughing the loudest in front of them suddenly fell silent.
A note from the author:
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