Chapter 41

Xu Hao lay on the wooden bed, barely breathing, having been beaten twice in one day. He felt deeply wronged. Fortunately, the servants of the Mu family did not play for real; otherwise, his life would have been in danger.

No matter what, he had finally achieved his goal. When the Lady of the Qian State learned of his identity, she was quite courteous and ordered the steward to prepare a guest room for him.

His injuries were only superficial. The Mu family's servant applied medicine to Xu Hao's wounds and brought him a bowl of herbal soup, but Xu Hao did not drink it; instead, he poured it out. Youth was his capital, and he only needed a night's rest to recover.

The next morning, before dawn, Xu Hao was already dressed and ready. He washed his face with the icy well water and exercised in the courtyard alone. When the sky brightened, a servant brought him a bowl of porridge and some side dishes. After eating, he followed a servant to the study.

The teacher was the same examiner from the previous day, still with a smiling face. Besides Xu Hao, there were three other students: a scholar named Zhao Hesong, who was in his twenties, with a proper appearance and average build, looking quite talented; a distant relative of the Mu family named Feng Quan, who was twenty years old, with a sallow complexion, thin and dark, and a mole on his upper lip; and a scholar named Zhou Peng, who was in his thirties, very handsome and elegant, a well-known neighbor who had failed the imperial exams multiple times but was invited by the Mu family due to his reputation.

They greeted each other. Two scholars, one child, and one commoner—Xu Hao, though a commoner, was the youngest, and no one looked down on him. From now on, they would be classmates.

The teacher did not pay much attention to the two scholars, Zhao Hesong and Zhou Peng, as there was little he could teach them. Moreover, for scholars to come as companions, they must have had other motives or fallen on hard times.

Clearly, Zhao Hesong belonged to the former category. He had run out of money after staying in the capital for a long time and was staying at the Mu residence, waiting for the next exam. Zhou Peng, on the other hand, was a scholar who was not good at managing his affairs. Over the years, he had depleted his resources and lived a very frugal life. He came to the Mu family for the few taels of silver.

Xu Hao was also a paid companion, and the teacher was not particularly enthusiastic about him either. Here, only Feng Quan had paid fifty taels as a gift, and there was also the third son of the Mu family, Mu Ang, whom they had not yet met.

The teacher instructed the two scholars to study on their own, ordered Xu Hao to read the "Xiao Ya," and Feng Quan to read the "Guo Feng." He himself sat and sipped his tea.

Xu Hao, having come, decided to make the best of it. He frowned and recited the text word by word in his mind. When he encountered parts he did not understand or words he could not pronounce, he asked Zhou Peng, who was very patient and explained tirelessly.

The books at the time were written in traditional vertical script without punctuation, mostly dry and full of classical Chinese. For a modern person who had not even entered the gate of learning, reading them was naturally very painful. To become a scholar, one had to memorize the Four Books and Five Classics thoroughly, deeply understand their meanings, and read extensively to be able to cite classics and use them freely. This was why Xu Hao had resisted studying.

Xu Hao liked reading and was fond of Sinology, but he did not like rote learning or being a bookworm. However, since he was a companion, he would take his duties seriously and not be lazy.

After half a day, Mu Ang, who was twelve years old, arrived with two servants. The servants busily laid out soft cushions, set out hot tea and snacks, and placed warm foot and hand warmers before leaving.

Xu Hao, observing coldly, thought that if he had gone to his own school, he would have received the same treatment. He had felt quite content, but in this new environment, it seemed so glaring.

At this moment, the teacher became spirited, walked to Mu Ang's seat, and asked him to read "Xia Meng." However, Mu Ang could not read a single word, and Xu Hao almost burst out laughing. It seemed the teacher was also new.

Facing his patron's son, the teacher showed great patience, teaching Mu Ang word by word. But Mu Ang was like a block of wood, forgetting what he had just learned. The teacher continued to teach, repeating the short passage dozens of times.

Xu Hao noticed that Mu Ang was playing with something under the table. Since it was their first meeting, he pretended not to see.

By noon, the teacher, hoarse and exhausted, waved for everyone to take a break. As Xu Hao and the others stood up to see the teacher off, Mu Ang suddenly jumped up and ran out like a monkey.

The teacher smiled helplessly and left with a dejected look. Feng Quan said with a smile, "I had the servants prepare a few extra dishes; let's all enjoy them."

Zhao Hesong took the opportunity to ask, "What's wrong with the third son? He doesn't recognize a single word?"

"He's doing it on purpose. He knows a hundred or so characters," Feng Quan said with a mysterious smile.

"An uncarved block of wood cannot be made into a vessel," Zhao Hesong said, having understood. He had seen such unruly students before, who did it to annoy the teacher, and eventually, they were left to their own devices.

At this point, Zhou Peng asked Xu Hao, "You don't seem like someone who hasn't studied. Why can't you understand the 'Xiao Ya'?"

Xu Hao replied, "When I was young, my sister taught me to recognize characters, but I never studied formally."

"I see," Zhou Peng nodded and said warmly, "If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me. The teacher probably won't have time to teach you."

"Thank you, Brother Zhou. I'll send you a gift later," Xu Hao said with a smile.

"Ah," Zhou Peng sighed, smiling bitterly, "To be honest, I've been a private tutor before, but the villagers were very calculating. At first, I had twenty students, which barely supported my family. Later, they started making various excuses, saying the harvest was bad or they needed help in the fields. Often, only a few students would come for months, and in a fit of anger, I closed the school."

Zhao Hesong asked, "Will you take the exam next year, Brother Zhou?"

Zhou Peng nodded, "Of course. I have no other skills besides reading. Even if I have to sell my property, I will continue to take the exams."

As they spoke, a few servants brought in food boxes. Feng Quan instructed them to set the table. The two scholars politely declined but eventually sat down. Xu Hao followed and started eating.

"Right, don't be shy," Feng Quan said, smiling and asked, "Is Brother Xu from around here?"

"Xiao Family Village."

"Oh."

Feng Quan immediately became more friendly, clearly knowing who the Xu family from Xiao Family Village was.

After lunch, Xu Hao wandered alone in the inner courtyard. He came to a two-meter-high white wall with an open archway, unguarded.

Since no one was watching, Xu Hao walked in. It was a garden, with a small path paved with white pebbles. In front was a fish pond, about two to three acres in size, surrounded by willows.

It was already winter, and everything was quiet, but one could imagine the beauty of the garden in spring and summer.

By the pond was a long corridor with carved and painted railings. Outside was a row of ancient pines of various sizes, numbering in the hundreds. At the end of the corridor was an octagonal pavilion.

Xu Hao stopped at the corridor and did not explore further. Instead, he turned and walked back.

In the Shuofang Pavilion, the walls were adorned with various famous poems and paintings. The embroidered curtains and precious antiques were exquisitely arranged. Mu Ningsnow was painting attentively by the window.

Beside her, Zhiyan said, "It seems that person is a gentleman and turned back."

Mu Ningsnow did not speak, gently turning her wrist to add a touch of bright red cinnabar to the plum branch in her painting.

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