Chapter 60 He is my nemesis, he is my nemesis
The awning boat headed in the opposite direction of the painted boat and, about half an hour later, met the painted boat near Xiangmen.
Du Min straightened his clothes, mentally rehearsing how he could make the governor remember him after just one meeting as he boarded the painted boat.
"You're too late. The governor disembarked half an incense stick ago," Du Li said regretfully as he greeted them at the boarding gate.
Du Min was stunned. "Gone?"
“Yes, we disembarked right at Xiangmen,” Du Li said.
Du Min suddenly lost all strength, and all the words he had in his mind instantly turned into a surge of resentment. This resentment and anger swelled up so much that he felt like he was going to explode.
"Sigh..." Meng Qing sighed in annoyance, "I've wasted my time, and I'm freezing to death. A third-rank official! Du Min never even knew if he'd ever reach that rank. A golden opportunity to shine, just wasted like that. What a waste!"
Yes, it's really a pain. He was dragged to sit in the teahouse for an hour, and that one hour made all his efforts of guarding the Meng family for the past two weeks go down the drain. Du Min was filled with hatred. He wished that old man who was always holding him back was dead. That man always managed to deliver a blow to his plans when he had put in a lot of effort, making all his hard work go to waste.
“He’s my nemesis, he’s my nemesis,” Du Min murmured. “He will really destroy me.”
Meng Qing and Du Li looked at him.
Du Min covered his face. A few moments later, he walked to the side, took a few deep breaths of the cold air facing the river, and suddenly bent over and vomited against the railing. He also convulsed and knelt on the deck.
Du Li strode over and grabbed the back of his clothes to prevent him from falling headfirst into the river.
Du Min opened his mouth wide and retched, waving one hand behind his back, not wanting anyone to approach him.
The commotion alerted the group of people admiring the colorful horses at the bow of the boat. Meng Qing waved his hand, indicating that nothing was wrong.
After a while, Du Min calmed down. He stood up, holding onto the railing. Seeing that the planks were not dirty, he pointed to the teapot on the round table not far away.
Du Li poured him a bowl of cold tea to rinse his mouth and asked, "Why did you throw up? Did you eat something wrong?"
Meng Qing: "..."
"Perhaps," Du Min replied calmly.
"Third brother, take it easy. Think about it from a different perspective. Even if you showed up in front of the governor tonight, he probably wouldn't remember you," Meng Qing said, feigning concern.
Du Min smiled bitterly, "If that's really the case, I'll accept it; it's my own incompetence. But what if? If he's willing to help me out like Master Chen did, and give me a chance, would I still be so afraid of the imperial examination?"
"It's already like this, you can only try to think positively and not get yourself upset," Meng Qing said dryly. "Dr. Xu is still upstairs, do you want to go and show your face?"
Du Min waved his hand; he was listless.
“I’ll stay here with him. You go upstairs and get something to eat. We’ll be at Wumen in a little while,” Du Li said.
Meng Qing nodded.
Du Li went to the hot water room on the first floor and brought back a pot of hot water and two futons. He tossed one to Du Min and then chose a sheltered spot to sit down.
Du Min sat down as well, and the two brothers sat side by side without saying a word, quietly listening to the laughter coming from upstairs and watching the colorful horses on the painted boat.
The hanging lanterns cast a hazy glow, swaying and enveloping the two colorful horses, whose lotus patterns seemed to rotate.
After watching for a while, Du Min's anger subsided considerably. He said, "Father will probably cause trouble later. Can you help me keep it quiet?"
How to press?
"After the boat docks, you and I will get off first and try to prevent him from seeing Dr. Xu."
Du Li nodded without hesitation. He still remembered the fake pageboy incident and didn't want to expose it again.
As the hour of Xu approached, a group of monks appeared in front of the teahouse. As the light from the boats illuminated the dark river at the ferry crossing, the monks quickly crossed the bridge and hurried to the ferry.
"Esteemed benefactor, please step back a couple of times." A senior monk asked the old man blocking the ferry crossing to move aside.
Du Laoding was pushed aside by the monks, and Du Li and Du Min took the opportunity to get up and jump off the painted boat. The two brothers approached the old man who was still looking up at the painted boat with the same goal.
"Father," Du Min called out.
Du Laoding looked in the direction of the sound, and in the next instant, Du Li covered his mouth from behind. Du Min also took the opportunity to grab Du Laoding's hands. The two of them pushed and pulled, and kidnapped the villain who intended to do something bad.
Du's mother and her eldest son sat in the teahouse, looking around. The monks carried the colorful horses across the bridge, and the painted boats at the ferry crossing seemed to be leaving as well.
Dr. Xu looked at the layperson's plate in his hand. It was handed to him by Huiming a cup of tea earlier. From tonight onwards, he would be a layperson at Ruiguang Temple.
"Dr. Xu, the cruise banquet for tonight is over. My family will head back first. Don't move, you don't need to disembark. I've already made arrangements; the pleasure boat will take you back later," Mr. Meng said to Dr. Xu.
"Okay, thank you." Dr. Xu stood up to see him off.
Mr. Meng was flattered and said, "Please wait here."
Dr. Xu insisted on seeing the Meng family off the boat, saying, "I have benefited the most tonight. Not only did I get to meet the governor, but I also have the honor of becoming a lay Buddhist at Ruiguang Temple. I will host a banquet to thank you another day."
"It is a great honor that our Meng Family Paper Horse Shop has reached the ears of the Prefect. We have also gained fame through your paintings," said Father Meng politely.
Dr. Xu looked around but couldn't find Du Min. He couldn't help but ask, "Why haven't I seen Du Min tonight?"
"He was delayed by something, and the governor had already left when he arrived," Meng Qing explained. "It's a pity, I wanted to invite him to come and introduce the governor to the orthodox status of paper effigies among the people, but unfortunately, the governor had already disembarked when I found him."
Meng Chun nodded, "It seems the governor doesn't quite approve of paper-made funerary objects."
Dr. Xu smiled, thinking to himself that it was fortunate Du Min didn't come; if Du Min had caught the eye of the governor, Master Chen would have been frantic. By all accounts, Du Min was, ironically, Master Chen's stepping stone to promotion.
"The governor is a high-ranking official of the third rank. He is capable of using bronze and jade artifacts as burial objects. Why would he approve of paper effigies? Don't even think about it," Dr. Xu said bluntly.
“You’re right, we were greedy.” Father Meng was satisfied with the current situation. Whether the governor approved or not didn’t affect him. “The river wind is cold at night, so we’ll go back now. You should go up too.”
Dr. Xu watched as the family disembarked from the painted boat, and then he instructed the boatman that the boat could set sail.
"The pleasure boat is gone." Du Ming stood up in shock. "Where's my father?"
"Wait a little longer," said Mrs. Du.
A moment later, Du's mother heard Meng Qing's voice passing by the teahouse, but she still couldn't see Du Laoding.
"Could it be that Dad accidentally fell into the river?" A bad feeling rose in Li Hongguo's mind.
Mrs. Du couldn't sit still any longer; she was going out to find someone.
"Guests, are you leaving? The bill hasn't been settled yet." The waiter stopped Mrs. Du and her party.
"I...I don't have any money on me. All the money is with the old man. He went out. I'll go find him and he'll pay when he comes," Mrs. Du explained anxiously.
"That won't do. You can't leave without paying the bill." The waiter stared at them warily.
"Mother, you and the two children stay here. I'll go with Du Ming to find someone," Li Hongguo said. "Second Brother, is that alright?"
"My third uncle is here." Qiaomei spotted the person standing outside the teahouse.
Du Min came in to pay the bill. He glanced at Du's mother casually and said, "Follow me."
"Where's your father? Have you seen him? He went to look for you, but you didn't see him?" Mrs. Du asked anxiously.
Du Min ignored him.
"Third brother, have you seen Dad? Did he fall into the river?" Du Ming pressed.
Du Min ignored him, not caring whether the people behind him could keep up, and just kept walking with his head down.
On New Year's Eve, there was no moon, and the night was dark. The road and the river were adjacent, and the gurgling sound of the flowing water sent chills down one's spine. Du's mother and Du Ming stood on the riverbank, hesitant to go forward. She wanted to find the old man but didn't know the way, and she was worried that if she followed Du Min, the old man would be waiting for her to rescue him.
“The third son should know where Father is. He has to observe three years of mourning after Father’s death, so he can’t study at the prefectural school anymore,” Li Hongguo reminded him. “Let’s follow him.”
Du Min brought his mother, brother, and sister-in-law to Ruiguang Temple. The monks were busy arranging two lotus-shaped horses. The temple gate was still open, so he led them inside and went straight to a meditation room.
"You've arrived? Then I'll be leaving." Du Li was standing guard outside the meditation room. When he saw Du Min, he only greeted him, as if he hadn't seen the others.
Ignoring him, Du's mother pushed open the door to the meditation room and saw Du Laoding sitting on the bed with something stuffed in his mouth and his hands tied.
"You beast! How could you tie up your father? Don't you want to live?" Du's mother pounded on Du Min's head.
Du Laoding made a few "uh-uh" sounds, and Du's mother hurriedly went to untie him.
With his hands freed, Du Laoding took out the two handkerchiefs that had been stuffed in his mouth, gagged twice, and stared at Du Min with resentment in his old eyes.
"Kneel down." Du Ming, taking advantage of Du Min's power, gave him a shove.
Du Min glanced at him disdainfully, dusted off non-existent dust from his sleeves, and walked up to Du Laoding calmly, saying, "Do you know why my second sister-in-law turned back halfway? The governor boarded the pleasure boat, but by the time I got there, he was already gone. Do you know the governor? He was the chief examiner for the provincial examination."
Old Du froze for a moment.
"I was half an incense stick late, just half an incense stick! But I spent an hour with you in the teahouse, and you didn't say a single useful word." Du Min kicked the bed hard.
Du Laoding wasn't without regret, but he was even angrier at Du Min's attitude. Du Min completely disregarded him as his father and even tried to take advantage of him.
“When will you admit that you can’t help me anymore? Not only can you not help me, you’re also dragging me down, even harming me.” Du Min approached him, staring into the flickering old eyes in front of him, and said, word by word, “The worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life is having you as my father.”
With a "smack," Du Min was slapped to the side, ignoring the burning pain. He turned his head and repeated, "The worst thing that has ever happened to me is having you as my father. Do you understand? You are a failure, incompetent, short-sighted, and utterly unwise. What's laughable is that you still insist on being self-righteous and thinking you're clever. In my eyes, you are a joke."
Old Ding was furious. He grabbed Du Min and slapped him hard across the face again.
Du Min spat at him, "This is the last time I'll tolerate you. Go back to Dujiawan at dawn tomorrow and don't interfere in anything related to me again."
“I’ll go see Dr. Xu tomorrow, and you won’t need to go to the state capital to study anymore.” At this moment, Du Laoding truly intended to ruin Du Min, a son who was of no use to him and even hated him, and who would never repay him no matter how successful he became.
“Fine, go ahead. I won’t go with you. I’ll go back and sharpen my knife and wait for you. Don’t come back after you’ve finished complaining. I’ll kill you and then kill myself.” Du Min said to him with a smile. He had lost his mind and was staring at Du Lao Ding with almost maniacal eyes. “Where should I start? The neck? Or the chest? You choose one.”
Old Ding was terrified. "You've really gone mad."
"That's because you drove me crazy. You drove me crazy, I was a perfectly fine person." Du Min's eyes were stubborn and extreme. He unconsciously clenched his hands and raised them in front of his chest, his gaze fixed on him, as if searching for a place to strike.
Startled, Du Laoding got up and walked away. He felt a chill run down his spine. After staring at Du Min for a while, he opened the door and left.
Du Min then stared at Du's mother like a venomous snake. Du's mother was so stared at that she didn't dare to cry out loud, and she quickly ran out.
"You've really gone mad." Du Ming was also scared. Du Min's madness didn't seem to be an act. He took Jin Shu and left.
Li Hongguo quietly looked at Du Min. She inexplicably recalled what Du Min looked like when she first married into the Du family. At that time, he had not yet entered Chongwen Academy and was studying at a private school in Pingwang Town. He would come back once every half month. After returning, he would cling to his parents and tell them about his life at the private school.
"Mother, I'm scared," Qiaomei whispered.
Li Hongguo picked up Qiaomei and quickly ran away.
Du Min closed his eyes and collapsed wearily onto the bed. He didn't bother to close the door, which was letting in a gust of cold wind, nor did he bother to worry about where the people outside would be sleeping that night. He pulled the heavy, stiff reed quilt over himself, trying to clear his mind and get some sleep.
*
The next day.
Du Min woke up, sat on the bed for a while, and after he was fully awake, he put on his shoes, opened the closed door, and went straight down the mountain to the ferry.
"Fifty coins, to Dujiawan. Do not take any more people on the boat."
"Alright." The boatman immediately lifted the pole and left the shore.
The group of people who were following Du Min down the mountain all turned to look at Du Laoding when they heard this.
Du Laoding, annoyed by the stare, barked out loud but was actually quite timid, "What are you looking at me for?"
“Father, let’s hurry back by boat, lest the third son have to go back to sharpen his knife,” Li Hongguo said.
Du Laoding glared at her.
Seeing that the old man was silent, Du Ming knew that he was also afraid, so he hurriedly went to the ferry to ask if there were any boats that were willing to leave the city.
*
On the first day of the new year, after breakfast, the Meng family went to Ruiguang Temple to burn the first incense. After burning incense, the four members of the Meng family went to pay New Year's respects to Master Konghui. Du Li did not go; he carried Wangzhou to the meditation room where he had stayed the previous night.
“Benefactor, the pilgrims who stayed in this meditation room last night left early this morning,” said the novice monk who was cleaning the room.
Du Li thanked her, and when he met Meng Qing, he told her the news: "Du Min has chosen to go back with his parents."
Meng Qing glanced at him with a smile, "Yeah, his parents are amazing."
Du Li sighed and asked, "What are your plans for the next step? Or are you just going to leave it at that?"
Meng Qing didn't tell him; she only said to wait and see.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Meng Qing and Du Li took Wang Zhou and Meng's mother back to Meng's parents' home to pay New Year's respects. Meng Qing's maternal grandparents had passed away, so they went to her maternal uncle's house instead.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, I visited my second uncle's house to pay my respects. On the fourth day, I visited my third uncle's house to pay my respects. On the fifth day, all three uncles came to the Meng family.
After visiting relatives and resting for three days, the market opened on the ninth day of the new year. All the shops and businesses opened for business on this day, including the Meng family's paper horse shop. The family and their apprentices began to work on the business they had taken on before the new year.
On the Lantern Festival, Du Min arrived, but he did not see any members of the Meng family in Jiayufang or Zhimadian.
“My master’s family went to Ruiguang Temple. It seems that Dr. Xu invited them to witness his ordination ceremony,” Shen Yuexiu told him.
"Receiving the Three Refuges? Dr. Xu?" Du Min hadn't expected Dr. Xu to be so obsessed with Buddhism. When he arrived at Ruiguang Temple, Dr. Xu was receiving the Three Refuges ceremony.
"I, Huiwu, take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha for the rest of my life." Dr. Xu knelt before the Buddha statue, holding a sutra scroll in his hands. He was dressed in hemp clothing similar to a monk's robe and devoutly recited the refuge sutra while looking at the Buddha statue.
The monk who presided over the ceremony for Dr. Xu was Master Konghui. Dr. Xu's wish was fulfilled, and he became his lay disciple.
Du Min stood outside the Buddhist hall and noticed that there were quite a few people invited to witness Dr. Xu receiving the ceremony. In addition to the Meng family, Master Chen and the teachers from the prefectural school were also present, and the rest of the people were probably Dr. Xu's family.
After the ceremony concluded, the Meng family members came out first.
"Uncle Meng, Aunt Pan, Second Sister-in-law, Second Brother," Du Min greeted them one by one.
"Have you lost weight?" Mencius' mother asked. "You don't look well."
Du Min forced a smile and said, "No, I got cold while on the boat."
Meng Qing quietly observed him, and judging from his attitude, she understood that he hadn't discovered the little thing she and Du Li had done before the New Year.
"Dr. Xu is treating us to lunch at noon. You'll be coming with us," said Meng's mother.
Du Min caught a glimpse of Master Chen out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw that Master Chen was also looking at him. He quickly went over to greet him, "Du Min greets Your Excellency."
"When did you arrive?" Master Chen nodded to the Meng family and led Du Min out of the hall.
“I arrived about an incense stick's time ago. I only entered the city today. I heard from an apprentice at the paper horse shop that Dr. Xu is receiving instruction at Ruiguang Temple, so I rushed over to see if I could run errands for him,” Du Min explained.
“You are quite thoughtful.” Master Chen entered the pagoda, climbed the stairs to the third floor, and stood in front of a window.
Du Min lagged behind, standing three feet from the window. Following Chen Yuanwai's gaze, he could clearly see two colorful horses outside the mountain gate, with many pilgrims gathered around them to admire them.
“Last December, my second sister-in-law discussed the matter of making colorful horses with me. She said that if it weren’t for the fact that the master was in mourning, these two colorful horses would be the most suitable gift for you,” Du Min explained nervously.
Master Chen chuckled, "Do you think I'm unhappy that you didn't use my name to enshrine the colorful horse in the Buddhist temple?"
"I dare not presume to know. I was just reminded of this matter when I saw you, and I was just chatting idly." Du Min was so nervous that sweat beaded on his forehead. He sensed that something was wrong with Master Chen's attitude.
Master Chen turned around. "You also remember that it was I who recommended you to the prefectural school?"
Du Min was now certain that he had really offended Master Chen, but he couldn't remember what he had done wrong.
"The student will never forget the kindness of your recommendation and your shaping of him. Your kindness is like sweet rain in a drought, a kindness that is like a second life." Du Min expressed his feelings.
"Really? Wasn't it you who rushed to see the governor on New Year's Eve?" Master Chen asked.
Du Min suddenly knelt on the ground, "I...I..."
"Get up, why are you bowing so deeply?" Master Chen helped him up. Seeing Du Min sweating profusely from fright, he scoffed, "With such little courage, you dare to run around like a headless fly? So eager to become the governor's student, why don't you participate in the provincial examination this year? I'll give you a chance to amaze everyone."
"I am ashamed, I have no talent to amaze everyone." Du Min's face was ashen. He realized the problem and admitted his mistake, "I am a poor scholar from a farming family. My vision is as narrow as an ant's. I have no elders to guide me and only a superficial understanding of officialdom. It is my ignorance that has offended you, sir. I hope you will forgive me. I wish to pay a visit to the governor because he is the one who sets the questions for the provincial examination. I want to understand his political views so that I can cater to his preferences during the examination."
Seeing that he spoke sincerely and took the blame upon himself instead of blaming Meng Qing, who had gone back to guide him, Master Chen realized that he was not someone who dared to take responsibility and had improved compared to before. His expression softened, and he said, "I will teach you a lesson today: a servant should not serve two masters, and those who try to please everyone usually do not have a good ending."
Du Min choked on his breath and bowed his head in agreement.
"I have already instructed Dr. Xu to take the time to guide your poetry and prose. You should calm down and study diligently with him. Don't be like a fly, rushing to him at the slightest hint of something fishy." Master Chen made his point clear.
Du Min finally understood why Dr. Xu was giving him special treatment. He knelt down again, tears streaming down his face, "Thank you for your high regard, sir."
Master Chen glanced at the Meng family members walking past the tower, pondered for a moment, and reminded them again: "Tell your second sister-in-law to keep a low profile. If she wants to be famous, she should just go back to being a lowly person."
Du Min felt a chill run down his spine. Had Meng Qing also offended Master Chen?
"Yes, I'll talk to her about it later."
Master Chen tossed him a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, then turned and strode away.
The Meng family waited outside the mountain gate for a long time but Du Min did not arrive. Fearing that they would miss the appointed time, they stopped waiting for him and went to Dr. Xu's house first.
As Master Chen walked out of the pagoda, he encountered Dr. Xu, and he jokingly asked, "Master Huiwu, are you heading home?"
"What kind of master am I?" Dr. Xu chuckled. "You're still here? Want to come over for dinner?"
“I am in mourning, so I will not attend the banquet.” As Master Chen walked out with him, he said casually, “I just had a talk with Du Min. I’ll have him take the provincial examination this autumn to temper his pride and let him know what a scholar should do.”
Aren't you afraid he'll pass the exam?
"What am I afraid of? Without my guidance, how can he pass the provincial examination? Going to Chang'an would be a waste of time." Stepping out of the mountain gate, Master Chen boarded the carriage. "I'm off now."
Dr. Xu nodded, watching the carriage drive away. His face darkened; these officials all behaved the same way when they abused people.
"Dr. Xu? You haven't gone back yet?" Du Min walked out of the mountain gate and saw the unexpected person. He deliberately waited until Master Chen and Dr. Xu walked out of the mountain gate before leaving the pagoda, but he still ran into them.
“I’m waiting for you. Come on, let’s go to my house for dinner,” Dr. Xu said.
"Wait for me?" Du Min asked incredulously.
Dr. Xu, not wanting to waste any more words, left first.
Du Min hurriedly followed.
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