Anger
Teacher Liu was slow grading papers. The teachers had a special room, and opposite him was Teacher Miao, who suddenly shouted loudly, praising, "Wonderful, wonderful!"
The shout caught the attention of other teachers. They all had the same exam papers but had never seen one so exciting.
"My student Gu Huanchong wrote the best I've ever seen," Teacher Miao said, stroking his beard.
Other teachers looked at Gu Huanchong's paper and clicked their tongues in admiration.
Teacher Liu didn't join in and sat gloomily. The old man was a bit vain. He continued grading and soon reached Liu Yingqu's paper.
Many questions were unanswered, but he got the difficult calculation right. However, the answer was dry, so Teacher Liu deducted half the points. Then he saw the last essay question.
He hadn't read the content yet but glanced roughly and saw only one line, very short!
That young man! Teacher Liu was so angry he trembled and stood up, knocking over his chair with a sharp noise, attracting many teachers' attention.
They all knew Teacher Liu and Teacher Miao didn't get along. Now Teacher Miao had a good disciple, Gu Huanchong, while Teacher Liu had no outstanding students. Although Wu Sheng was good, he couldn't compare to Gu Huanchong.
Teacher Miao smiled, "What's wrong, Teacher Liu? Do you have a good article to share?"
Teacher Liu was embarrassed and felt mocked by Teacher Miao. He ignored him and awkwardly stared at Liu Yingqu's paper, then sat back down.
Other teachers gradually sensed something was wrong. Teacher Liu usually retorted, but now he seemed completely absorbed by that article.
Teacher Miao wanted to catch his rival's mistake, so he quickly looked at the paper—so much blank space!
"Well written. Teacher Liu, show it to others," Teacher Miao said.
Teacher Liu felt bitter but forced himself to say, "Four characters: 'Expel foreign invaders and stabilize the internal affairs.'"
"???"
"What about the rest?"
Teacher Liu: "There is no more."
"…"
"These four characters have nothing to do with diplomacy. They don't match the question! Flattering words!" a teacher argued confidently.
"Stabilizing the court and eliminating external threats—how is that unrelated to diplomacy? Without a stable court, how can there be diplomacy?"
"You mean the Great Zhao court is unstable? Liu Yingqu is just a small scholar without any rank. What does he know about court affairs? How dare a small scholar be so arrogant!"
The new emperor just ascended and forbade talking about internal instability. This was an old court tradition; no one dared mention it.
"Instead of arguing, why not ask the student why he wrote this?"
"Good idea. Have someone call him over. Wait, I'll bring him myself." Teacher Liu wiped his sweat and secretly scolded Liu Yingqu, calling him a hypocrite!
If you can't write, don't write. If you do, don't make it absurd with a hint of truth.
When Teacher Liu reached the study hall, he found it empty and remembered that students could go home today.
Liu Yingqu was naturally not there.
The other teachers could only hold their papers, feeling like a cat was scratching their hearts.
Teacher Miao wondered why Liu Yingqu wrote that and happened to meet his proud disciple Gu Huanchong.
"Greetings, teacher," Gu Huanchong saluted.
"Are you going home?"
"Yes, teacher."
Teacher Miao: "Your teacher's wife has made you a new set of clothes. Go pick it up later."
"Thank you, Teacher and Teacher's wife." Gu Huanchong felt a warmth in his heart and asked with concern, "Teacher, what troubles you?"
"A student from Class D wrote only four characters for the final essay question: 'Expel the barbarians, secure the interior.'"
Gu Huanchong's heart skipped a beat; how had he not thought of that? He felt a bit frustrated inside. "Teacher, whose exam paper is this?"
"Liu Yingqu," Teacher Miao replied.
When Gu Huanchong returned to the village, he was still thinking about Liu Yingqu. To him, Liu Yingqu was just a good-for-nothing, short-sighted fellow. He figured it was just a coincidence; if it were a real exam and he only wrote four characters, Liu Yingqu wouldn't succeed.
Gu Huanchong gradually calmed down. He thought of Baizhi and then about the conflicts between Baizhi and his parents. His mother hoped that after he passed the imperial exam, he would bring honor to the family and even find a good daughter-in-law, but Baizhi was a widow.
Gu Huanchong felt troubled inside.
Jiao Ming's home was in Qingshui County, where his family ran a restaurant. Today, all three roommates were heading to the county town, and they boarded a bullock cart together.
The academy had a two-day holiday, reportedly for the emperor's birthday. They all envied Liu Yingqu a bit since he had only been studying a few days before he could go back home to play.
This emperor, Emperor Zhaolie, was somewhat capricious. In the original story, he appeared gloomy and paranoid.
He was born crown prince, but the empress died early, and the previous emperor favored a noble consort. That consort had a son, and both mother and son wanted to ascend the throne. Before Zhaolie became emperor, he endured a difficult period.
He had some psychological issues to some extent.
"It's settled, I'll treat you all to a meal," Jiao Ming said happily.
Gu Zhan and Liu Yingqu couldn't refuse. Gu Zhan was going to the county town to buy some books and also some food for his family. He had six siblings; the eldest was already a father of three, and the youngest was only four years old. The whole family lived together.
Liu Yingqu thought of the original owner's relatives. Liu's father had fled during a famine and only settled in Liu family village later. There were no relatives around Liu's father. Aunt Tan was from Tan village and had some relatives, but they rarely visited. After all, Liu Yingqu's studies were a big financial hole, and no one wanted to get involved with Aunt Tan to avoid being asked for money due to kinship.
Only Aunt Tan firmly believed her son could pass the imperial exam.
"We've arrived. You all sit first," Jiao Ming lifted his robe, jumped down from the bullock cart, and entered a restaurant, chatting and smiling with a woman.
"Greetings, aunt," Liu Yingqu and Gu Zhan quickly bowed.
"Hello, I'll prepare a few dishes for you," Jiao Ming's mother smiled warmly and soon brought out two plates of meat dishes, a plate of cold vegetables, and a bowl of century egg and loofah soup.
In these times, being able to afford meat was already rare. Liu Yingqu moved his chopsticks but didn't keep picking at the meat dishes. He was extremely measured, sometimes considerate and meticulous to an unbelievable degree.
After the three finished eating, Gu Zhan went to buy things, and Liu Yingqu thanked them and took his leave.
"Come visit often," Jiao Ming said warmly.
After the two left, Jiao Ming's mother said, "You never brought friends home before."
"We live together, so we're closer than others," Jiao Ming helped clear the dishes.
"Then why didn't you bring them earlier?"
Jiao Ming scratched his head. "I just forgot."
Before, he and Gu Zhan weren't familiar with Liu Yingqu. If he brought Gu Zhan home alone without Liu Yingqu, it would feel awkward.
Jiao Ming's mother didn't know her son's little thoughts and just smiled, "That young scholar in the blue robe looks very handsome, a fine young man!"
Jiao Ming: "He's quite famous for his good looks."
Liu Yingqu didn't know that Jiao's family was talking about his appearance. He arrived at the Shen family's mansion, where two imposing stone lions stood guard. The red gates were tall, and several guards stood at the entrance. Liu Yingqu thought for a moment and decided to go to the money exchange instead.
"Young Master Liu, welcome. What brings you here?" Manager Li welcomed Liu Yingqu into the small room, already suspecting something. He guessed Liu Yingqu was out of money and calculated that it was time to ask for funds.
"Manager Li, can you help me find Jiang Luoluo?"
"No problem. I'll send someone to the mansion right away to find Miss Jiang… Jiang Luoluo?" Manager Li was a bit confused.
Liu Yingqu sat in the money exchange, thinking. Although fifty taels of silver was good, it still hurt his heart. He had some silver on hand. If he gave the copied script to the bookstore owner, he could earn two taels of silver.
Then he would buy some chicks. He noticed Aunt Tan and Liu Yunyuan didn't have new clothes, so he planned to buy them some, along with paper, ink, books, and some food.
Money must be earned wisely, and life should be a bit better.
When Jiang Luoluo arrived at the money exchange, she looked confused and didn't understand the situation.
"Young Master Liu, what do you need from me?" Jiang Luoluo felt bitter inside, hoping he wouldn't make things difficult for her. She was a personal attendant, and her gaze kept drifting toward the curtains.
"Qingwu gave me fifty taels of silver. Please pass it to him," Liu Yingqu took a silver note from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Luoluo.
"…Ah?" Jiang Luoluo was a bit flustered. She hadn't expected this when coming to the money exchange. "You should give it to Master in person."
"I'm afraid he won't accept it," Liu Yingqu said, knowing a bit about Shen Qingwu's temperament.
Jiang Luoluo held the silver note, incredulous. This was silver taken from Liu Yingqu. In her eyes, Liu Yingqu was a bottomless pit—only taking in, never giving, and stingy to the extreme.
She felt like she had given her young master a love potion. It used to be fine, but now Jiang Luoluo feared her young master was sinking deeper and deeper.
Sure enough, upon hearing Liu Yingqu's words, Shen Qingwu couldn't hold back and came out from behind the curtain.
"You still know I won't take it. What I give you is yours," Shen Qingwu said sulkily.
Seeing this, Jiang Luoluo could only leave the small room, silently hoping they wouldn't quarrel.
Only Liu Yingqu and Shen Qingwu remained inside the room.
"I can't just take your silver," Liu Yingqu said. "So much, too."
Previously, Liu Yingqu took money readily, but these past few times he had declined Shen Qingwu's silver. This made the young master feel a bit wronged; he wasn't trying to be stingy but worried his lover wouldn't have enough to eat or wear.
Liu Yingqu saw Shen Qingwu's grievance and quickly reached out to hold his hand. "I found work copying books, enough for myself. If you give me more silver, it would only spoil me."
He realized Shen Qingwu liked holding hands!
"Then… then I feel sorry for you," Shen Qingwu blushed, stammering as he was held. It felt like his palm was on fire.
Liu Yingqu thought Shen Qingwu was easy to coax, no wonder he was deceived, and felt a bit soft inside.
"I'm fine," Liu Yingqu said softly and gently. "Just hearing you say that is enough."
That wasn't gold or jewels; how could a few words make up for cold or hunger? Shen Qingwu's mind wandered, and his face flushed hot with embarrassment.
He felt unwilling again. When Liu Yingqu said something, did that mean he would calm down? He angrily scratched Liu Yingqu's palm.
Liu Yingqu felt ticklish and said, "Ticklish."
That voice was clear and carried a hint of lingering affection.
Shen Qingwu tilted his head to look at Liu Yingqu, who wore old clothes but had a tall, slender figure and an extraordinary aura. Shen Qingwu felt Liu Yingqu was different from others.
What exactly it was, he didn't know.
The warmth in his palm made his heart burn a little.
"Hot, isn't it?" Shen Qingwu said.
Liu Yingqu let go and said softly, "I'm glad you're not angry."
He was really afraid.
Actually, he also wanted the silver.
"I'm not angry," Shen Qingwu said guiltily. "If you don't spend silver, I'll spend more myself buying jewelry."
