Chapter 30 Breaking the Stalemate
Meng Qing suddenly had a brilliant idea: "Then you can threaten them with your life. They threaten your future with your reputation, and you can threaten their future with your life, along with the reputation of the entire prefectural school."
Du Min was stunned; he seemed to understand something.
"How does Dr. Xu treat you?" Meng Qing asked.
"He doesn't like me very much."
“Since he doesn’t like you, the fact that he instructed his servant to have us persuade you to drop out of school is probably not out of a desire to cherish your talent or your life. He’s afraid that if you die here, it will affect the reputation of the prefectural school, and he’s afraid of taking responsibility.” Meng Qing said in a low voice, “If he’s afraid you’ll die, you should die in front of him, forcing him to stop persuading you to drop out of school, and he’ll also have to worry about controlling those bullies.”
Du Min seemed to be deep in thought.
"Are you afraid of what people at the academy will say about you? Are you afraid of having a bad reputation?" Meng Qing asked again.
Du Min smiled bitterly, "Second sister-in-law, what reputation do I have left here?"
“Then go ahead and make a scene. It’s better to have a reputation for suicidal than to be constantly manipulated and suppressed by others. You’ve already reached a dead end, so go all out this time. You’ll find a way out somehow. Don’t worry about how easy or difficult the path is; if there’s a path, there’s an exit.” Meng Qing encouraged him, and she suggested, “Don’t wash up today. Go to school looking like this tomorrow. If anyone tries to kick you out again, go crazy and write a suicide note in blood, threatening to splatter blood at the school and make them face murder charges.”
Du Min understood what she meant, and he nodded repeatedly, "I understand, Second Sister-in-law, I get what you mean."
"Be careful not to actually crash into something and kill yourself," Meng Qing jokingly reminded him.
Du Min scratched his head and smiled.
"Think it over carefully. If you're going to cause trouble, make a big scene. Make it look like you're going to drag everyone down with you. It would be best if there was some bloodshed," Meng Qing excitedly suggested.
"What if they team up to kill me and cover it up?" Du Li was a little worried.
"Du Min is a scholar with a small reputation, many classmates, and several mentors. He has connections in the literary circle of Wu County. He's not so easy to kill; killing is easy, but cleaning up the mess is difficult. If they really dared to take his life, would they go to such lengths to get rid of him? Besides, killing in a group is not the same as killing alone. Keeping a secret is so difficult. This is tantamount to handing over a fatal handle to others. It's one thing if the whole group is useless, but if one of them achieves great success, the others will all die," Meng Qing analyzed with great experience.
The Du brothers, Du Li and Du Min, both looked at her.
"What are you looking at?" Meng Qing was puzzled.
"Have you been plotting murder?" Du Min asked.
Meng Qing raised her hand and slapped him, teasing, "Are you alright now? Don't want to die?"
Du Min lowered his head in embarrassment.
Du Li couldn't believe his eyes. He saw in Du Min the same way Meng Chun was with Meng Qing—obedient and extremely close.
Meng Qing didn't think there was anything wrong with hitting her brother-in-law. She continued to give him advice: "You think it over, and then go crazy and drive us away."
"After I send you away, I'll go out again, pretending to deliver my will to someone else." Du Min didn't want to die anymore, but he was also afraid of losing his life. His second sister-in-law was right, but he was afraid that he would encounter some fools who would kill him to silence him. He wanted to let the news out first so that they would be wary.
"Well, you can decide for yourself. Your plan is definitely more thorough than mine." Meng Qing had no doubt about that. She changed the subject and asked about something else: "Where are you eating? Can you eat in the cafeteria at the prefectural school? Or will you buy food outside?"
“I’m not the only student living in the academy; there are five others next to me. The academy provides cooks, and I can just pay to eat there.”
"Have you eaten these past few days? No, haven't you? You've lost almost as much weight as your second brother," Meng Qing said.
Du Min looked at himself, then at his second brother. Compared to his brother, his second brother was thinner, and the bones under the skin of his wrists, exposed outside his clothes, were visible. He suddenly remembered that his second brother had carried him on his back from Jiayufang for half an hour to the prefectural school that afternoon, and then carried him to the clinic.
"Are you tired when you carry me on your back?" he asked.
Du Li realized what he meant, blinked, and awkwardly turned his head away without answering.
Du Min lowered his head, and then he remembered the details he had overlooked: his second brother had tried twice today to persuade him to drop out of school, trying to take him away from here, rather than worrying that he would not be able to study or take the imperial examinations after leaving the prefectural school.
"Have your second brother bring you food tomorrow. He can wait outside. You can go out to eat after you're done. If the timing isn't right, don't go out. He can pretend to wait a little longer. If he doesn't come, he can take the food back and eat it himself." Meng Qing waited for a long time but the two taciturn men didn't say anything, so she decided to speak for herself.
Du Min stopped resisting and hummed in agreement.
“You two brothers have had your bones removed, and the combined weight of your flesh is probably less than fifty pounds. You’re frighteningly thin. I’ll take this opportunity to have your second brother stay in the city for a while longer, and have him bring you food every day so he can also get some nutrition,” Meng Qing said tentatively.
“I live in the city, so there’s no one to do the work in the fields.” Du Li didn’t think much of it. He didn’t forget his mission and refused, saying, “You can send him a few meals when you’re free, but if you’re busy, just let him eat at the academy.”
Meng Qing glanced at him sideways and said, "With a body like yours, are you really planning to work yourself to death in the fields?"
"It's not that serious..."
"Second brother, listen to my sister-in-law," Du Min said. "I don't need the family to pay for my upbringing anymore. It won't affect anything if dozens of acres of land are left fallow this year. If Dad doesn't want the land to lie fallow, he can hire people to plant rice seedlings. After deducting the labor costs, there will still be some left over from the harvest."
Du Li was someone who had toiled in the mud since childhood, and the fact that his land was left uncultivated made him uneasy.
Du Min saw through his thoughts and said with a sigh of disappointment, "You need to take better care of yourself. If you have a mouth, you should know how to speak. If you just keep working hard, who will appreciate you? You'll work yourself to death and no one will care."
"Listen to your third brother," Meng Qing echoed. She had made the right move; Du Laosan's heart was now on her side.
Du Li squinted, focusing on the thought that suddenly surfaced in his mind. Looking at Meng Qing and Du Min, he thought, "Hey, these two are like siblings right now, even confiding in each other."
"Get out! Get out of here!" Du Min suddenly snapped, jumping off the bed, grabbing the bedding, and hitting the two men. "Get out! My business is none of your concern."
Du Li was startled. With a bewildered look on his face, he was dragged out the door by Meng Qing.
Du Min chased after him, his hair disheveled. He threw a blanket at the blanket as if it were a weapon, shouting madly, "Don't even think about making me drop out of school! I'd rather die here!"
After saying that, he abandoned the bedding, hid back inside, and slammed the door shut.
"Du Min, Du Min!" Meng Qing ran back and banged on the door. "Don't be so stubborn, don't do anything foolish."
"Get out!" Du Min cursed from inside the house.
Du Li saw the people living nearby come out to look, and he glared at them fiercely, "What are you looking at? Are you happy that you've driven him crazy?"
"If anything happens to him, we'll sell our house and land and go to Chang'an to sue you. We'll make the Emperor decide the case and see if commoners can even come to the prefectural school!" Meng Qing shouted angrily. She picked up the bedding from the ground, felt its dampness, and suddenly became furious. Holding the bedding, she walked towards them and threw the filthy blanket at the person closest to her. With her hands on her hips, she cursed, "You despicable bastards! If you're so capable, compete with my brother-in-law to see who can pass the imperial examinations. Don't resort to such underhanded methods like rats in the gutter."
"Shrew! Shrew!" the student who was almost hit shouted back guiltily.
The door to Du Min's room opened again, and he said coldly, "Leave and don't bother me again."
"Alright, alright, we'll be going now. Don't do anything foolish." Meng Qing took the opportunity to leave.
Du Li picked up the bedding and said, "I'll go back and bring you a clean bedding."
Du Min ignored him and closed the door again.
Before they even left the prefectural school, Meng Qing and Du Min encountered the page who had led them in. This time, she didn't greet them with a smile but said angrily, "We've been kicked out, and he refuses to drop out of school even if it kills him."
"Who is bullying him? Look, his bedding has been splashed with swill. Is this how you bully people? Doesn't anyone in your academy care about this?" Du Li was so angry that her mouth trembled.
The pageboy was embarrassed and said vaguely, "I...I don't know either. I'll mention it to Dr. Xu later."
Meng Qing sighed deeply. She took out a money pouch from her bosom, stuffed it into the pageboy's hand, and said, "I came in a hurry and didn't bring much money. Please don't mind. Please go and check on him often for us, so he doesn't take his own life."
The pageboy dared not get involved in this matter. He stuffed the money pouch back and declined, saying, "Dr. Xu also instructed me to go out on errands, so I won't accompany you any longer."
Meng Qing watched him run away with a cold eye, and she and Du Li continued walking outside.
After she and Du Li left after an incense stick's time, Du Min changed into clean clothes, tied her hair back up, held a roll of paper with writing on it in her hand, opened the door and went out.
"Young master, Du Min has gone out." Xing Shu's page ran to report to his master.
"Where did he go? Don't tell me he's really trying to kill himself. Go and check on him quickly." Xing Shu ordered repeatedly. He paced anxiously around the room and sighed, "I hope this doesn't really result in someone's death."
"Du Xuezi, are you going home?" Dr. Xu's page had just returned after dodging Meng Qing and Du Li when he encountered Du Min about to leave.
"No," Du Min replied, and left.
*
Meanwhile, Du Li and Meng Qing were almost home. Meng Qing remained silent the whole way, pondering whether Du Min had encountered this situation in her dream life, and if so, whether she had offered advice as she had today.
"Do you think my third brother will be able to stay at the prefectural school as he wishes?" Du Li asked.
Meng Qing nodded, "Yes."
At least in her dream, Du Min passed the imperial examination, and after waking up, she did nothing to influence his decisions, especially regarding his studies. Everything that is happening now must have happened in her dream as well.
Not necessarily… “What is it about your third brother that caused a rift between him and your parents?” she asked.
"I don't know either, I've never seen them argue." Du Li had also thought about it, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.
"It's not because I'm unhappy with your parents, is it?" Meng Qing laughed at her own words.
"You're dreaming." Du Li laughed at her for patting herself on the back. He then pondered, "It was impossible before, but who knows what will happen in the future. If he can get through this difficult time, he might have some sincerity towards you and truly respect you as a sister-in-law."
Meng Qing glanced back at him and said, "Perhaps you can too."
Du Li remained silent until they returned to the Meng family home, when he finally spoke: "Forget it, I won't bother with this. He doesn't care for true feelings and sincerity, and I can't afford to give them to him."
Hearing this, Meng Qing said no more. He didn't need to change; Du Min probably liked him more the way he was. Of course, she also liked his true nature—a bit naive yet insightful, not calculating but not stupid, willing to suffer losses but also knowing how to speak up for injustice.
"Have someone pass a message back to your parents. Tell them to come back a few days later, at least until Du Min has given them a result," Meng Qing told him.
Du Li nodded, "I know, I can tell what's important. Besides, I'm not a doctor. Even if I rushed back overnight, my parents wouldn't get better overnight."
"Keep your third brother's matter a secret for now, lest they come and cause trouble again," Meng Qing reminded him. "I'm feeling a bit bloated, and Wangzhou needs to nurse. I'll go to the paper horse shop first. You don't need to go. Take the bedding apart and wash it clean, then take some money to the market to buy a food box, a big one."
After saying that, Meng Qing hurriedly left.
Du Li sat on a stool under the eaves for a while. This whole mess! He sighed deeply, went back inside to get scissors, cut open the seams, and unwrapped the quilt cover. He poured out the clumps of silk floss inside. The quilts Du Min brought to the academy were made from fine silk floss pounded by Du's mother; the once smooth silk floss was now a dirty yellow, and there were even larvae crawling inside.
He quickly filled a basin with water and soaked all the silk floss he had taken out in it. Immediately, a layer of insect eggs floated to the surface. He then remembered the quilt cover and filled another basin with water to soak it as well.
"You bastards, just wait and see. If Du Min ever amounts to anything, you'll be sorry," Du Li cursed.
*
"Young Master, Du Min first went to the Chen residence and asked a servant to deliver a letter. After that, he went to Rulin Lane, probably trying to find connections to return to Chongwen Academy." Xing Shu's pageboy followed Du Min for half a day and only returned after sunset.
"Didn't he keep saying he'd rather die than drop out of school?" Xing Shu said.
"That's what they say, but if he really can't stand it anymore, does he really intend to kill himself?" the page said.
Xing Shu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "He's back?"
"He's back, but he's gone back inside. The doors and windows are all tightly shut," the page replied. "Young master, don't worry about this. Whether Du Min lives or dies is none of your business. You didn't bully him."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice called out "Student Du" came from the back dormitory.
"Du Xuezi, are you inside? Dr. Xu requests your presence." Dr. Xu's page knocked on Du Min's door.
“No, I won’t drop out of school,” Du Min shouted. “I’ll go to class tomorrow. If anyone tries to kick me out, I’ll kill myself in the classroom.”
The pageboy tried to persuade him, but there was no sound from inside, as if the place were dead. He could only hurry back to report.
Xing Shu came out to look, and Shi Anlin from next door came over and asked, "What did he say?"
The other party was Shi Zhengli's cousin and also Shi Zhengli's henchman. Xing Shu couldn't afford to offend Shi Zhengli, so he could only reply: "He said he's going to class tomorrow, and if anyone tries to kick him out, he'll kill himself in the school."
"Would someone as calculating as him be willing to die? He probably wouldn't even dare to step out of this door," Shi Anlin scoffed.
However, at the beginning of the next morning, Du Min opened the door and came out. Under the mocking and teasing gazes of the crowd, he left the back house with his head held high.
"Let's go, let's go see what's going on!" Shi Anlin shouted excitedly, skipping breakfast.
This morning was the policy essay class. Before class started, quite a few people had already arrived. Shi Zhengli and the others were exchanging their policy essays. When they saw Du Min, they all stopped what they were doing.
Du Min ignored everyone, walking confidently to the last row. His desk was gone, and his stool was nowhere to be found either. Amidst the mocking laughter, he gave up on finding his desk and stood stiffly against the wall.
"Get out, and don't make me say it a second time." Shi Zhengli walked to the front, pressed his fan against Du Min's chin, and said, "Since you're so ungrateful, then just wait for your infamy to spread far and wide."
Du Min snatched the fan from his hand and slapped it across his face.
"You son of a bitch, you're asking for it! Beat him up!" Shi Zhengli roared.
Since pageboys are not allowed to attend school, the students present hesitated to make a move. Only when Shi Zhengli and Shi Anlin started hitting people did they reach out and trip Du Min to prevent him from fighting back.
"Young master, the master has arrived... Dr. Xu has also arrived."
"Aaaaaah—" Du Min screamed madly, attacking the person restraining him with all his might, using his hands and feet, even biting wherever he could get his hands on. He fought recklessly, and the person who had been restraining him screamed and retreated in terror.
"Stop it, all of you!" Dr. Xu shouted as he entered and saw the scene.
The others were stunned, but Du Min acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He picked up a stool and threw it at Shi Anlin.
"Stop him!" Dr. Xu shouted.
Du Min had his chair taken away, and he kicked Shi Zhengli hard, only to be pinned to the ground in the next instant.
"You want to kill someone?" Dr. Xu walked over and questioned. "Expel yourself from the state academy. You must leave immediately. The state academy cannot tolerate you."
"I won't leave, I'd rather die than leave," Du Min shouted, straining his neck.
"Take him away," Dr. Xu instructed the page who had followed him in.
Du Min was torn off the ground. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at everyone present and shouted angrily, "You all want me dead, and you won't give me a way out. Fine, I'll die, and I'll drag you all down with me."
He suddenly ran forward, and the page who was holding him was caught off guard and broke free in an instant, only able to watch helplessly as he crashed into the door.
The others were so frightened that they screamed.
With a loud thud, followed by a loud bang, the wooden door slammed against the wall. Du Min slid to the ground, and before anyone else could react, he got up and slammed his head against the wall again.
"Quick, quick, grab him!" Dr. Xu shouted, he was so frightened he almost fainted.
Du Min was grabbed, and he struggled to slam his head against the wall. As he struggled, he shouted, "You forced me to my death! I want everyone in Wu County to know that the sons of powerful families from the prefectural school have joined forces to force me to my death. I will not let you have peace even after I die!"
"He...he went out yesterday, to the Chen residence and also to Rulin Lane." Xing Shu realized what was happening and exclaimed, "He even delivered a letter to the servants at the Chen residence!"
Dr. Xu was jolted awake; he nearly couldn't catch his breath. If Du Min really died at the state academy, and word got out, his doctorate would be over.
"Du Min, we can talk things over. No one is forcing you to die. Don't take extreme measures," Dr. Xu soothed him gently.
"No one is forcing me to die? Your students are all forcing me to die. They've slandered my reputation, threatened to ruin my future, and forced me to drop out of the prefectural school. That's forcing me to die!" Du Min cried, his face covered in blood. "I've studied for twelve years, spending hundreds of thousands of coins. My whole family relied on me, hoping I would succeed through my studies. He, he, and he—they all threatened me. If I didn't drop out, they would ruin my reputation and prevent me from even taking the provincial examination. All my efforts over the past twelve years are gone. I have no face to see my parents. I'd rather die than let them be ridiculed."
"You speak so eloquently, yet you don't even want to acknowledge your own parents, and you're afraid they'll be ridiculed?" Shi Zhengli sneered. "You pretended to be sick before, and now you're making a scene and threatening suicide. You've really got some tricks up your sleeve."
"Let me go." Du Min tried to push away the servant who was pulling him.
"Shut up." Dr. Xu snapped at Shi Zhengli with disgust. Hearing the commotion outside, he yelled, "What's all the noise outside?"
"Du Xuezi's second brother has arrived. He was worried that Du Xuezi might commit suicide, so he rushed in to find him."
"Second brother, second brother! Shi Zhengli and the others from the prefectural school are trying to force me to my death! They want me dead!" Du Min shouted hoarsely. "Go quickly, report to the authorities, and avenge me!"
Seeing that the fire wasn't hot enough, Du Min steeled himself, mustered all his strength, and lunged forward, crashing headfirst into the hard corner of the table, blood splattering from his forehead. He fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back as he stared at the terrified faces.
"Someone's dead—" someone shouted in fear.
"Third brother!" Du Li shouted outside the school, "Let me go! I'm going to report this to the authorities! You killed my third brother!"
"Stop him! Don't let him leave!" Shi Zhengli shouted, ordering his servants.
“He’s still breathing, go get a doctor.” Dr. Xu’s hands trembled as he touched Shi Zhengli’s nose. He stood up and slapped Shi Zhengli across the face. “You, you…you are of bad character, morally corrupt, bullying your classmates, and taking lives. From this day forward, you are no longer a student of the state school.”
Shi Zhengli was shocked. He hurriedly defended himself, saying, "I didn't. Everything I said is true."
"The truth? You didn't threaten him? You didn't try to kick him out of the state academy? When did it become your place as a student to interfere in the affairs of the state academy?" Dr. Xu rebuked angrily. "I already reprimanded you before, but you didn't repent and even dared to escalate your behavior. The state academy can't tolerate you. Pack your things and leave immediately."
"Someone, give the order: from this day forward, Shi Zhengli is forbidden from stepping into the prefectural school." Dr. Xu ordered.
“You can’t fire me. My elder sister married into the Xiao family of Lanling, and my grandfather was once the Vice Minister of Rites.” Shi Zhengli became arrogant again.
"I will visit Mr. Shi another day to catch up." Dr. Xu turned and left, instructing, "Carry Du back to his dormitory and quickly fetch a doctor."
"Doctor, should we keep Du Xuezi's second brother or let him go?" the page asked anxiously from outside.
"Idiot, let him out and cause trouble? Let him go take care of Du Min, I'll go back and change my clothes and come right away." Dr. Xu ordered angrily, and he scolded in his voice, "How did you let him in? Change the doorman for me, he's useless."
The pageboy responded with "Yes, yes," not daring to explain that the gatekeeper didn't know what had happened inside. Du Li claimed that Du Min was trying to commit suicide, and no one dared to stop him from entering.
"Make it clear that no unrelated people will be allowed to enter the academy from now on," Dr. Xu added.
"Yes, I'll give the instructions right away." The page ran off.
Du Min was carried out, and when Du Li saw that his head and face were covered in blood, his heart skipped a beat, and his legs went weak and he couldn't stand up.
"Third brother! Du Min!" He pushed aside the people who were blocking him, threw down the food box, and ran over.
"He's not dead, he's still breathing. We've already gone to call the doctor." Dr. Xu's page ran over and said, "Second Brother Du, you go with them to take care of Du Xuezi. The doctor will be here soon."
Du Min opened his eyes as well, "Second Brother."
Du Li wiped away her tears, "How are you? You scared me to death."
Du Min didn't answer. He looked up at the sky and wept. This ordeal was over.
The doctor arrived quickly. After examining the patient, he said, "The wound isn't serious, but there's a lot of bleeding and the patient is weak."
Dr. Xu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Prescribe the medicine, and prescribe several doses of blood-tonifying medicine."
The doctor treated Du Min's wound and then went out to write a prescription.
"Doctor Wang, don't talk about what happened today outside," the pageboy instructed as he followed him out.
"I understand."
Inside the room, Dr. Xu walked to the bedside and saw that there were only a few clothes on the bed, and under the clothes was a hard bed board that smelled of swill. He instructed, "Go and prepare an empty room for Du Xuezi to stay in."
Du Min weakly opened his eyes. "Doctor, can I still stay in the prefectural academy to study?"
"You refuse to drop out of school even if it kills you, what can we do if we don't keep you? I won't pursue this matter today. Just stay at the academy for another two years and don't cause any more trouble." Dr. Xu admonished him, half-reprimanding him.
"Yes." Du Min lowered his eyes.
"Will no one else bully him? Will anyone still threaten him?" Du Li pressed.
Dr. Xu glanced at him and said, "I'll take care of it."
"Thank you," Du Li said, bowing slightly.
Dr. Xu looked at Du Min and asked, "What did you send out yesterday?"
“I didn’t send it out because I was worried it would harm my teacher and old classmates, so I changed my mind at the last minute. I only sent a letter to the Chen residence to deliver a message that the paper house that Master Yuan ordered from the Meng family’s paper horse shop has been completed,” Du Min explained.
Dr. Xu immediately realized that today's scene was a trap deliberately set by Du Min. He recalled what Master Chen had said: "This lad has some strategy and is a promising talent."
"You're pretty ruthless to yourself." Dr. Xu glanced at his head; the way he acted like he didn't care about his life when he tried to kill himself was so convincing that it scared him.
Du Min remained silent.
Dr. Xu didn't say anything more and left directly.
No sooner had he left than servants came to pack Du Min's belongings and help him move.
"Second brother, I'm hungry. Go and buy me some food," Du Min said.
"OK."
But once Du Li left the prefectural school, he couldn't get back in.
Dr. Xu's page was waiting at the front gate. He said kindly, "You made too much noise this morning and disturbed Dr. Xu. He ordered that no unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter the academy. Give me the food, and I will take it to Du Xuezi."
“But my third brother is seriously injured, and I have to go in to take care of him. He can’t move now, and if he is bullied again, he won’t be able to fight back,” Du Li said.
“He didn’t resist when he had the chance,” the pageboy said, then added kindly, “Don’t worry, Dr. Xu made an example of him, and no one will dare to cause trouble again. As for Scholar Du, I will arrange for a medicine boy to go and serve him.”
Upon hearing this, Du Li could only hand over the rice cake he was holding.
"Please tell Du Min that I will bring him lunch at noon, and I will bring him lunch every day from now on. Tell him to remember to send the medicine boy out to get the food."
"Okay, I'll pass on the message."
"I need to trouble you with one more thing. My food box is still in the academy. Could you please help me find it? It's a new food box that I bought yesterday."
The page sent the servant who was sweeping the floor to find it for him.
After a stick of incense had burned, Du Li received the dirty food box. He quickly washed it with river water, then carried the lunchbox back to report to Meng Qing.
Meng Qing was receiving the steward of the Chen family. "I was thinking of going to the mansion to deliver a message in the next couple of days, but I didn't expect you to come today. Please come with me, the paper house is in the attic."
"It was Scholar Du who came to deliver a letter yesterday, saying that the paper house was finished, and the master instructed me to come and take a look," Steward Chen explained.
Meng Qing was slightly surprised. She thought to herself that since Du Min's letter had already been delivered to Master Chen, she no longer needed to think about speaking well of him to Master Chen.
“The paper house is right here.” Meng Qing pushed open the door and asked, “Does Master Chen need to see it in person? My family has a donkey cart and can deliver it to your door.”
Steward Chen was too stunned to reply; he was awestruck by the three-section paper house placed in the center of the room. The paper houses, about half a person's height, had black walls and roofs, with each tile appearing remarkably lifelike. He walked to one side of the paper house and peered over. In the first courtyard, there were paper figures sweeping, and in the stable, a paper horse grazing with its head down; outside the stable, there was even a stack of hay. In the second courtyard, there were paper figures standing or squatting, looking like students studying, and in the private school, there were paper figures turning the pages of a book. In the last courtyard, pavilions and towers were complete, their shapes resembling those in the Chen residence to some extent, but their arrangement was different, so they wouldn't arouse any unease in a stranger.
Meng Qing watched the admiring look on Steward Chen's face and said modestly, "This is the first time I've made such an exquisite paper house. There are still many shortcomings. I don't know if Master Chen will be satisfied."
"No, no, the master will definitely be satisfied. It looks just like the real thing. Miss Meng's skills are superb," Steward Chen hurriedly said.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me." Meng Qing looked smug.
"Here's what we'll do: you take some men and help me send the paper house back, and I'll settle your wages while I'm at it, so I don't have to make another trip." Steward Chen felt that the money he brought wasn't enough to cover the value of the paper house. In order to avoid giving his masters a bad reputation for abusing their power, he planned to take it back first and let them see it, to see if they could add some more money.
Meng Qing glanced at the bundle he was carrying, but she didn't expose him. She said, "Okay, I'll go down and call someone."
Mencius' mother went back to drive the donkey cart, while Mencius' father, Meng Chun, and several apprentices came up and together lifted the paper house downstairs.
The paper house was pulled by a donkey cart across half of Wu County, arriving at the Chen residence with a cart full of exclamations and praises.
“I drove that kid from the main branch of the Shi family away. Du Min dared to cause trouble, threatening to kill himself, and blood was drawn on the spot. He almost lost his life. This commotion caused quite a stir, and many people know about it. No matter how domineering the old monster of the Shi family is, he can't turn black into white.” Dr. Xu stared at the chessboard, placed a piece, and said, “I will return the humiliation I suffered at my teacher's funeral.”
"Senior brother, thank you." Master Chen handed over the paper in his hand. "This is what I received last night. This kid knows what he's doing and didn't dare to do anything reckless."
Dr. Xu glanced at it, his gaze landing on the words "paper house," and looked up to ask, "The Shi family previously humiliated you and your teacher with paper funerary objects, and you still touched this thing?"
"If I avoid it, I'll only be ridiculed..." Upon hearing Steward Chen's voice, Master Chen looked outside and asked, "What is it?"
"Steward Chen is back," the gatekeeper announced.
"My lord, I have brought back the master's paper house. Please take a look. The Meng family's craftsmanship is superb. I am but a novice, and I think this paper house is comparable to porcelain."
Upon hearing this, Master Chen invited Dr. Xu to take a look together. He continued, "I have read Du Min's policy essay. You should also take a look. His words are insightful. After reading his policy essay, I believe that paper-made funerary objects may very well replace pottery funerary objects and actual burial items in the future."
Dr. Xu shook his head and said jokingly, "Five hundred years from now?"
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