Chapter 42

After the 15th of August, the weather quickly turned cool, and the Cold Dew was approaching.

It was the season when geese flew south and chrysanthemums bloomed yellow.

The days of studying passed quickly, one by one.

Lin Yanchao spent his days at the village school, studying with his classmates.

Every evening after class, he would seek guidance from the old scholar on Confucian classics. He had already memorized the chapters of the Great Learning thoroughly, and the old scholar’s explanations made everything clear. In a few days, he would be able to read the Analects, and the annotated version of the Analects he had bought from the bookstore would come in handy.

Studying under the old scholar was not as easy as it was with Lin Chengyi. Lin Yanchao’s current level was still too low to compare the two, but both were more than qualified to be his teachers.

Lin Yanchao no longer dared to look down on the old students. After all, they had passed the prefectural examination, and every step forward in the imperial examinations was worthy of respect. As a mere child, he had no right to criticize them.

While studying under the old scholar, Lin Yanchao sometimes had free time and would go to Zhang Xiang’s house to borrow books.

Zhang Xiang, as the second generation, was usually arrogant and did not treat people well. However, after seeing the appreciation the inspector had for Lin Yanchao, he also favored Lin Yanchao and opened the door for him.

But when Lin Yanchao went to Zhang Xiang’s study, he was disappointed. Most of the books were bought to decorate the house, and they were mostly poetry and ancient texts. This disappointed Lin Yanchao, who was looking for specialized examination books. However, with his thirst for knowledge, he didn’t care and read whatever books he found useful.

After all, there’s a saying that books are not read unless borrowed. If not read, it would be a waste of Lin Yanchao’s good memory. Others would read for days, but Lin Yanchao would memorize the books. Unfortunately, despite reading so many poetry collections and books, his own poetry skills did not improve and remained at the level of doggerel.

Lin Yanchao did not just read books. Occasionally, he would play in the Min River with Zhang Haoyuan and Hou Zhongshu, catching shrimps and fish.

One day, while they were playing in the water, a cry for help came from the other side of the river. Lin Yanchao looked up and saw a small boat in the middle of the river, spinning in the rapids. A young boy was barely keeping the boat afloat with a bamboo pole, while a girl on the boat was terrified.

“Quick, go save them!”

Lin Yanchao said he would go into the water, and Zhang Haoyuan and Hou Zhongshu, who were also there, followed him.

The river was turbulent, and Lin Yanchao dove in, swimming with powerful strokes. As a child who grew up by the river, he was a good swimmer and knew the currents and whirlpools well. Saving them was just a matter of reaching out.

A wave hit the boat, and it capsized with a splash.

Lin Yanchao’s heart tightened as he saw the boy and girl struggle to the surface, shouting for help. The boy, who knew how to swim, was holding the girl, and they could stay afloat for a while.

“Not good, cousin, my foot is caught.”

“What happened?”

“Damn, it’s a fishing net.”

The boy shouted, and the girl cried in panic.

At this critical moment, Lin Yanchao swam over with all his strength. He reached the girl, lifted her, and swam towards the shore. Hou Zhongshu and Zhang Haoyuan also freed the boy from the fishing net and saved him. The five of them swam back to the riverbank.

The boy and girl were on the riverbank, coughing and spitting out water. The girl was almost fainting, and Lin Yanchao pinched her nose to revive her.

Several servants in blue clothes ran over.

“Master!”

“Miss!”

One servant massaged the back and chest of the two young people, leaving Lin Yanchao and the others aside.

Lin Yanchao and the others looked at each other, thinking that the two they had saved were from a wealthy family.

A middle-aged woman, supported by two maids, arrived, panting and crying, “My children!”

“Madam, don’t worry, the master and miss are fine!”

“I was so scared.”

Zhang Haoyuan and Hou Zhongshu could see that this family was wealthy, as they had so many servants. Hou Zhongshu winked at Lin Yanchao, clearly relieved that they had done a good deed and might receive some reward.

After a while, the boy and girl recovered and clung to the woman, still shaken.

An old servant said to the woman, “Madam, these young men saved the miss.”

Hearing this, the woman looked at the three of them. Zhang Haoyuan and Hou Zhongshu felt a bit inferior in the presence of the woman’s noble aura.

The woman smiled and said, “Well, these young men acted bravely and saved my son and daughter. They truly have a kind heart.”

Hearing the woman’s praise, the three of them smiled.

The woman said, “Zhongbo, give each of them 100 coins as a token of appreciation.”

100 coins? Zhang Haoyuan and the others smiled, finally understanding who the woman was.

The girl spoke up, “Mother, is my life worth only 100 coins?”

The woman was taken aback, clearly doting on her daughter. She smiled and said, “Well, my daughter has a good heart. Why don’t you invite them to our house for a banquet and have them bow to your father?”

Before Lin Yanchao could speak, Zhang Haoyuan sneered, “Thank you for your kindness, but saving them was just a small effort. Since the miss is fine, it’s all good. As for bowing, well, let’s skip that.”

“You still have some pride. From your speech, you seem to be a scholar.” The woman smiled, not offended by Zhang Haoyuan’s words.

The woman calmly said, “Since you are a scholar, have you heard of the Tongxian Gong family?”

Lin Yanchao, surprised, said, “Madam, the Tongxian Gong family!”

“Exactly.” The woman smiled confidently, knowing that her family was well-known in the provincial capital. In the past, mentioning the Tongxian Gong family would earn respect from everyone.

“Please forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard of the Tongxian Gong family.” Lin Yanchao answered seriously.

Hou Zhongshu and Zhang Haoyuan laughed.

Hearing Lin Yanchao’s words, the woman’s face fell.

The boy, who had been saved, spoke up, “Mother, they saved me, and we should thank them properly.”

The woman smiled gently, “I know, but be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Yes, Mother.” The boy bowed his head.

Lin Yanchao understood that the Tongxian Gong family was the residence of the top scholar. The boy and girl were grateful, but the woman seemed to dislike being associated with them. Since that was the case, there was no need to force themselves to visit, as it would only make them look bad. One’s dignity is important.

Hou Zhongshu said, “We saved them out of good will. If you say so, we’ll consider it nothing happened.”

“Fine, we’ll visit to thank you another day!” The woman smiled, not trying to retain them.

Suddenly, Zhang Songming ran over from the shore, looking happy, “What are you doing here? Let’s go back to the village. The teacher passed the prefectural examination and became the top scholar, entering the prefectural school as a doctoral student!”

Top scholar?

“Which teacher?” Hou Zhongshu asked, disbelieving.

“Of course, it’s Mr. Lin!” Zhang Songming added.

“The teacher became a scholar, and even the top scholar!” The three of them were shocked and then overjoyed.

Zhang Haoyuan, moved to tears, asked, “Songming, is it true?”

“It’s true. The announcement is at the village school, and your father and Master Zhang have also come.”

Zhang Haoyuan, overwhelmed with joy, hugged Lin Yanchao, “That’s great, the teacher became a scholar, a scholar!” Lin Yanchao smiled, feeling relieved. He calculated the time and thought that the prefectural examination in August had results announced in September, which was quite slow.

Being a scholar was one thing, but being the top scholar was crucial. Passing the prefectural examination first would give a good chance of passing the provincial examination, as long as Lin Chengyi didn’t have the same bad luck as Pu Songling.

The woman was also surprised and stepped forward, smiling, “So your teacher is the top scholar of the prefectural examination. No wonder his students are so brave. Go back and tell your teacher that the second master of the Gong family invites him to a banquet. You are also welcome to come. Zhongbo, give him an invitation.”

A servant bowed and respectfully handed over the invitation.

Lin Yanchao, who had 30 years of experience, did not show his displeasure. As the saying goes, one does not hit a smiling face. There are many such opportunistic people in the world, and there was no need to make enemies. Lin Yanchao said calmly, “Madam, saving people is our duty. I will pass the invitation to the teacher, and whether he visits will be up to him.”

The woman, a perceptive person, understood that her earlier attitude had left a bad impression, but the young man was still polite.

The woman smiled, “Fine.”

Lin Yanchao turned to leave.

“Thank you, savior, for saving us.” The boy and girl bowed in gratitude.

Page break

Page break