Chapter 13

When they heard the name Xiaoyue, the two brothers paused, stopping in unison.

Neither of them wanted to leave, but they dared not disobey the command of the headmaster. After much hesitation, they finally left the Wen residence.

The headmaster did not pay attention to his two students. He searched the inner chamber but found no one, and his hurried appearance caught the attention of his wife. The madam, wearing a large coat, stood in the doorway and replied, "Sir, Xiaoyue is practicing martial arts in the back courtyard. Are you looking for her...?"

"Have her come to the study immediately!"

The madam instructed her attendant to go to the back courtyard to call the young miss, while she followed the headmaster to the study, poured him a freshly brewed cup of tea, and gently soothed his emotions. She then checked the remaining energy of the beast soul furnace and quietly withdrew.

The headmaster did not drink the tea. He paced back and forth, deep in thought since noon, trying to decide the best way to handle Yue Heng.

Hearing the door being forcefully pushed open, the headmaster knew it was his youngest daughter. He looked up, and his brows furrowed.

"Xiaoyue, you... you're a young lady now, why don't you care about your appearance at all? Go back to your room and tidy up before coming in!" The headmaster, seeing his daughter's attire, felt a surge of anger. He was already quite troubled.

Wen Xinyue, who had been practicing in the back courtyard, was urgently summoned by her father and rushed over, still slightly out of breath. She found her father's sudden scolding completely unreasonable.

She looked down at her outfit: a red tight-fitting martial arts practice suit, a waist belt, and martial arts boots. Because practicing made her sweat easily, she wore short sleeves and shorts, exposing parts of her arms and legs. But this was normal, wasn't it? Martial artists always dressed like this!

However, she dared not disobey her father's command. Wen Xinyue pouted and returned to her room, slamming the wardrobe doors.

The madam knocked on the door and entered. Wen Xinyue couldn't help but complain, "Mother, is Father upset about something at the residence and taking it out on me? I practice like this every day and dress like this every day. Who did I offend today?"

In front of her mother, Wen Xinyue took off her martial arts practice suit without hesitation, revealing her graceful figure. Every part of her body was perfect, and years of practice had given her a well-defined, elastic physique, exuding youthful beauty.

While bathing alone, she would sometimes look at her perfect body and be lost in admiration, somewhat self-obsessed.

She admired her appearance and body and also enjoyed others admiring her. On the street, she always had the highest回头率 (turnaround rate), and the young boys at the martial school looked at her as if they wanted to devour her. Whenever she saw those longing gazes, she felt incredibly proud and satisfied, and would lash out with a whip, making those boys who couldn't even beat her cry out in pain.

But now, because of her father's old-fashioned requirements, she had to change into uncomfortable home clothes and deliberately dress like a quiet, well-bred young lady, which made her very unhappy.

The madam noticed the委屈 (grievance) on her daughter's beautiful face and gently consoled her, "Xiaoyue, you must understand your father. He has to manage hundreds of students and learners in Hong County, and the pressure of teaching is immense. Today is the spring examination, and every year at this time, he is extremely busy. Don't upset him, okay?"

Wen Xinyue tightened her chest band, then loosened it a bit, adjusting her large chest to be more comfortable. But the maid's dress, tailored for a well-bred young lady, always made her feel constricted.

She replied helplessly, "I understand him, which is why I didn't argue on the spot. Father has never supported my martial arts training and always wanted me to learn from my sister, but I can't read those books and am not cut out for a literary career! Besides, you gave birth to me when Father was forty. In the seventeen years since, has his literary realm advanced even once? To be a scholar like that is really too poor!"

The madam was shocked, "Xiaoyue, you must never mention this to your father! Who doesn't know that the higher you go, the harder it gets? How many scholars are stuck below the fourth level? Far more than just your father. You just made the initial list for the martial recruitment exam and haven't passed the first-level practitioner test. If your father hears this and gets angry, you might not be able to continue your martial path!"

"I..." Wen Xinyue was in a panic, not knowing how to respond, and could only stomp her foot in frustration, "How can Father do this? Would he abuse his power to hinder my exams?"

The madam sighed and lovingly stroked her daughter's head, "He is the headmaster of Hong County, and if he wants to interfere, it would be easy. Your father is a third-level scholar, in charge of the county's education, respected by thousands of people. His daughter wants to abandon literature for martial arts, which has already caused a lot of criticism. Xiaoyue, listen to me and talk to your father nicely, okay?"

Wen Xinyue felt rebellious, but she wouldn't show it immediately, and she wouldn't get angry at her always gentle mother.

She could only hold her breath and unwillingly return to the study.

She noticed the relief in her father's eyes but felt very aggrieved. She was clearly a martial artist and didn't like those feminine activities, so why didn't her father understand her?

"Xiaoyue, I have something to discuss with you."

"Please speak, Father."

Wen Xinyue decided to listen first.

The headmaster said, "You have made the initial list for the martial recruitment exam. Next is the unified retest for martial artists, scholars, and craftsmen. Whether you can become a first-level practitioner depends on whether you can pass the retest in two days. I have always disagreed with you becoming a martial artist because it's not elegant for a girl to fight. Although there are mid-level female martial artists in the military, high-level martial artists are mostly men, and women are rare. And women... well, you'll understand when you grow up."

Again, the same old talk about women being inferior and martial arts being dominated by men. Wen Xinyue sat quietly, expressionless, but in reality, she was silently resisting. She wasn't really listening, and her thoughts drifted back to her practice earlier.

The headmaster, seeing his daughter's demeanor, understood her thoughts.

He gave a sly smile that no one noticed and said, "But I've changed my mind and am willing to support you. I allow you to participate in the martial artist exam."

"Huh? Is that true?" Wen Xinyue's head snapped up, and she was overjoyed. All the resentment she had been holding in vanished instantly. Her bright eyes sparkled with excitement, and the quiet, well-bred young lady of a moment ago suddenly became as agile as a hare.

She jumped up, grabbed the headmaster's hands, and shook them, "Father, you are so wise! Ha ha!"

"Cough, cough!" This doesn't look like a well-bred young lady at all; it's more like a female demon! The headmaster was headache-ridden; he really didn't know what to do with his youngest daughter.

He had two daughters. The elder, Wen Xinchun, had been obedient since childhood and, influenced by him, met a talented young man while studying in the Qi Prefecture. They later married and had children. Her husband now holds a high position in the literary department of the Chu Kingdom's Qi Prefecture, with a bright future. Their family is safe and secure, with no risk of military service or fighting in the demon beast mountains.

People say daughters are close, but this youngest daughter had worried him for seventeen years, especially since her birth was related to a major crisis he had nearly died from.

Forget it, no point dwelling on that. The headmaster's thoughts returned to the study, and he gestured for Wen Xinyue to calm down.

"As a condition for supporting your martial arts training, I want you to help me with something."

"What is it?"

"Um, cough... in two days, I will arrange for you to meet a scholar. He is very weak, and you should try to protect him... cough... I hope you can become friends with him..."

Whenever the headmaster felt awkward, he would cough involuntarily, a habit known to everyone, including Wen Xinyue.

Her pretty face lost its smile, her eyebrows arched, her small, firm nose wrinkled, and her mouth opened wide in surprise. Her mind raced, trying to guess her father's true intentions.

She was a martial artist, but that didn't mean she was stupid.

After a long pause, she asked suspiciously, "That scholar... isn't he your illegitimate child?"

The headmaster was taken aback. He should have been furious, but then he thought, could this be a perfect excuse?

"Hmph! Xiaoyue, you must not doubt my loyalty. I have never done anything to betray your mother! But you are not entirely wrong. He is indeed an illegitimate child, but he is... the son of the magistrate of Qi County!"

The headmaster lied through his teeth, directly blaming the magistrate of Qi County. He said seriously, "Xiaoyue, this child has a special status. Before he becomes a student, I cannot personally take care of him, and the magistrate of Qi County cannot be involved either. We need to keep a low profile to protect him, so we can only ask for your help. As long as he passes the retest and becomes a student, his name will be registered, and I can step in. You only need to take care of him slightly during the retest, for a total of two days. This task is very simple, right?"

"So it is an illegitimate child!" Wen Xinyue closed her mouth, her eyes flashing with anger. After a long pause, she said resentfully, "The magistrate of Qi County is so bad! His wife is so good to him! Men are no good!"

The headmaster glared, "Nonsense! I am a good man!"

Wen Xinyue was taken aback, then burst out laughing. Father and daughter looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes. In the world of Zhongyuan, men were respected, and women were subordinate. With constant battles against demon beasts, the gender ratio was already imbalanced, and polygamy was extremely common, especially for powerful men with many wives and concubines. What was one more illegitimate child?

A couple like the headmaster and his wife, who had been together for decades, was already quite rare. Wen Xinyue, influenced by her upbringing, naturally found such things repulsive, but she couldn't change the environment and could only sigh in resignation.

Her father had made his condition clear: she had to take care of the scholar during the retest in two days in exchange for his support of her martial arts training.

This deal seemed very fair, and she was ready to agree.

But the young girl's mind worked quickly. Suddenly, she thought of something and changed her mind, asking, "Father, you don't think I can't pass the retest, do you? Are you deliberately finding a strong scholar to help me? And are you making up a story about an illegitimate child to trick me into believing it?"

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