Mu Erpang looked conflicted, after all, the enrollment of students at his own academy was all handled by Chen Cui.
He always says that he is the young master and should help share more responsibilities, but he really has no experience in this area.
He didn't know how to respond for a moment, and was organizing his words when Shen Aoshuang heard that he had stopped talking, bowed and apologized, then turned around and prepared to leave in the direction he came from.
Mu Erpang suddenly remembered that he couldn't see the emotions on his face clearly, and hurriedly said: "Brother Shen, please stay, that's not what I meant."
Shen Aoshuang stopped with a puzzled look on her face.
"I don't mean to make Brother Shen drop out of school. But Brother Shen is not wrong. After several contacts, I did find that... Brother Shen has some differences from ordinary people, but I only told my mother about it. We kept it a secret and did not mention it to anyone in our own academy."
"Thank you for hiding it for me." Chen Aoshuang's tense body relaxed a little, "Brother Mu, don't worry. I will remember your kindness after I leave the prefecture school."
"No, I already said I didn't want you to leave the prefectural school, why are you still saying that?"
Chen Aoshuang explained, "I didn't explain it clearly. Actually, I wanted to find a place where no one was around today because I was thinking about leaving the academy. The environment of the academy is...too difficult for me to get used to. Brother Wei is right. If I stay here, I will not only harm myself, but also others."
Speaking of this, no matter how good Shen Aoshuang's 'acting skills' are, she can't maintain her expression.
There is no scholar who does not know that the opportunity to enter the provincial school is very precious, and he is the same.
Knowing that this opportunity was hard to come by, he insisted on coming here, even at the risk of having his secret discovered.
It has only been a few days and so many troubles have already occurred. He felt that he was just daydreaming.
"What if I say... I can help you?" Mu Erpang asked tentatively.
Chen Aoshuang said, "Brother Mu, you mean you can be my guide, right? This can certainly help me a lot, but human energy is limited. If you take care of me all the time, how much energy will you have to devote? You are a person of the Third Grade of Lianzhong, how precious is your energy and time? Finally... of course, I also have my own reasons."
He paused, pursed his lips, and said in an obscure voice: "I don't want to be like a useless person, needing others to take care of me in everything. And Brother Mu knows something, it's because we are destined to be together, and we have more opportunities to meet each other than others. If others find out something from our interactions and know me... I don't want that either."
Mu Erpang scratched his head, thinking that his mother was right. This matter was indeed a bit difficult to handle. Shen Aoshuang's situation was somewhat similar to Cui Fei's before. They both had some inferiority complex in their bones. The difference is that Cui Fei is just fat, and he knows that there is hope for him to change. And Shen Aoshuang was disabled by nature, and he didn't believe that anyone could really help him.
"I wonder if Brother Shen believes in Feng Shui?" Fat Mu, who was at a loss for words, hesitated for a long time and could only bring up this matter.
Shen Aoshuang was a little surprised why he suddenly changed the subject, but still shook his head honestly and said, "I don't believe it."
Not only does he not believe in Feng Shui, he also does not believe in supernatural powers or anything like that.
Looking back at his early years, his family discovered that he was different from ordinary people. They first sought medical treatment and medicine, but when the medicine was ineffective, they began to put their hopes on ghosts and gods. They took him to visit famous temples and Taoist temples, and even listened to the words of some witches and charlatans, who asked him to adopt stones and trees as his godparents...
If the clay statues in the temples and Taoist temples had spirits, why would they still look like this?
"Brother Mu, you don't have to persuade me. I'm telling you the truth." He pursed his lips and showed a self-deprecating smile. "I don't have any big ambitions. I just want to pass the imperial examination and become an eighth or ninth rank official. If I go further, I will naturally not pass the palace examination. Let me be bold and say that if I aim to become a juren, I can go to this prefectural school or not. I overestimated my own abilities before, and now it's time to let it go."
This was the first time that Chen Aoshuang had shared so much of her worries with someone. She felt somewhat regretful, but more importantly, she felt that she had released a lot of the depression that had been in her heart for many years, and she felt much better.
Mu Erpang knew that it would be difficult for him to convince him, so he simply changed the way he said it: "I have helped Brother Shen a few times. Before Brother Shen leaves, maybe you can listen to my unreasonable request and help me too?"
Shen Aoshuang naturally nodded and agreed, “Brother Mu, just tell me, as long as I can do it.”
"Brother Shen has always been good at poetry, but I have some shortcomings in writing poetry. I would like to ask Brother Shen to give me some pointers before I leave the prefectural school."
"Brother Mei is not..." At this point, Shen Aoshuang paused, thinking that Mei Ruochu's poetry talent was indeed good, but that kind of talent was his innate talent, which others could not learn. My excellence in poetry and prose is the result of many times more effort than that of ordinary people, and this excellence can be passed on and replicated to others.
So he didn't ask any more questions and nodded, "Of course there is no problem with that."
Mu Erpang finally laughed, "Then let's make a deal. Brother Chen has to teach me poetry and prose day and night before I leave the prefectural school. He can only leave after seeing my progress."
Chen Aoshuang nodded in agreement. He thought that since Mu Erpang could get three medals in both junior and senior classes, he must have very good talent. It would only take a few days at most to teach him some experience. Then he will leave the provincial school as planned.
After talking for a while, Mu Erpang realized that Wei Shu had been waiting for a while, so he pointed out a really quiet place for Chen Aoshuang and asked him to stay there quietly. In fact, he was willing to take Chen Aoshuang there himself, but he guessed that Chen Aoshuang would not want to be taken care of in such a "special" way, so he did not do anything extra.
The auxiliary courses on this day were much shorter than the regular courses. At the beginning of the You hour, which was three o'clock in the afternoon, everyone returned to the classroom. The professor came over to assign homework, and the school was dismissed.
Some of the scholars returned to the dormitory, some went home, and some called their friends to go out for a small gathering.
Chen Aoshuang waited in her seat for a while as usual. When she heard the noise gradually died down, she walked out slowly while recalling the map of the prefectural school in her mind.
When he arrived outside the provincial school, he heard a familiar voice.
Mu Erpang stepped forward and said, "Brother Shen is finally out. I asked Brother Mei and the others to go back first. I was waiting for you. Let's go."
"Where are we going?"
Mu Erpang said, "Didn't we agree that Brother Chen would teach me poetry and prose day and night? Tomorrow is a day off, isn't it a good time to teach me? To save Brother Chen from running back and forth, you should just come home with me today."
Chen Aoshuang nodded, thinking that it made sense. Anyway, she wouldn't be staying in the prefectural school for long, so she should seize the time.
He asked Mu Erpang to wait for a moment, then walked to the place where he usually met the servant, informed him, and followed Mu Erpang into the carriage.
Mu Erpang couldn't help scratching his head in the carriage. In fact, he didn't expect things to go so smoothly. After all, if his mother was disabled, she would never be so at ease to let him go to someone else's house.
But at least things were going in the direction he hoped, so Mu Erpang didn't say anything, and just said to him: "The dean of our academy is my mother, the gentleman's surname is Lao, and the others are Brother Mei, Brother Wei, my junior brother, and Brother Afei, they are all very easy to get along with."
Chen Aoshuang said that he didn't need to worry about it. After all, the provincial school had been in session for several days, and he had also understood the character of the people in Cuiwei to some extent.
Especially later today, Wei Shu came to apologize to him, "I was far away and didn't see clearly. I thought Hanshan was almost injured, and I spoke a little harshly in a hurry. Please don't take it to heart."
Shen Aoshuang naturally said no, after all, it was indeed his fault.
Wei Shu finally reminded him, "Brother Chen, you think I am talking too much, but I still want to remind you that the horse riding field and the archery field are very dangerous. Brother Chen, don't walk around thinking about your worries next time."
That is, from his words, Shen Aoshuang knew that Mu Erpang was not lying, and he was trying hard to help him keep the secret, not even telling Wei Shu. Otherwise, Wei Shu wouldn't have thought that he was distracted by something and did that unusual thing.
How could he feel uneasy about an academy that could educate such outstanding students?
On the contrary, he was still a little curious.
When they arrived at Cuiwei, Mu Erpang wanted to lend a hand to help Chen Aoshuang get off the carriage, but he resisted the urge and watched him slowly get off by himself.
He slowed down his pace, introduced the layout of the academy, and led Shen Aoshuang in.
"My brothers just informed us that you were coming to visit us, so we are just starting to add some dishes. We may have to wait a while before we can have dinner."
Shen Aoshuang shook her head and said, “Brother Mu is too polite. He told my aunt not to bother adding any dishes for me.”
Anyway, his sense of taste...no matter what he eats, it tastes like chewing wax. No one's work is in vain.
As he spoke, Mu Erpang led him into the classroom. The others were still in the dormitory washing and changing clothes, only Chen Cui was already waiting.
Seeing them coming, Shen Cui first inquired with her eyes. After all, Wei Shu and the others came back early, and they only said that Mu Erpang was going to invite Shen Aoshuang to be a guest today, but it was hard to say whether it would succeed or not. They were not very clear about it either.
What Shen Cui wanted to ask right now was whether her fat son had persuaded Shen Aoshuang to join her own academy?
The mother and son understood each other's thoughts. Mu Erpang shook his head slightly, shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands.
Chen Cui also understood - got it, it was "tricked" to get it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
