Top Scholar

Chapter 17 Stress

My uncle had no choice but to get on all fours and stick his butt out.

The old man pulled his "filial piety" pendant from the back of his neck and began to enforce family discipline.

Unlike his two older brothers, my uncle wasn't as well-behaved. After being hit twice, he howled and started running around the room.

"Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! You'll hurt the youngest one!" The old lady was still yelling from the side. Although she didn't know why the third son was being beaten, it was a mother's instinct to protect her son, especially her youngest son.

“Old man, even if you beat the youngest son to death, it won’t do any good. Since things have come to this, let’s get to the bottom of this first,” the eldest uncle advised.

"No way, I'm going to break his legs first!" the old man roared, ordering, "Youngest daughter, help your mother inside. Eldest and second sons, you two hold that bastard down!"

He then said to Su Lu and Su Tai, "You can't help, get out!"

As expected of a veteran, even in his fury, he still managed to arrange things in an orderly manner.

~~
The two brothers had no choice but to leave the main room, looking back every few steps.

After Chun-ge closed the door from the inside, the screams started again...

After returning to the room, Su Lu asked Su Tai, "How did you know, brother?"

“I told my older brother,” Su Tai said in a low voice. “My uncle told us not to tell the elders, but he didn’t say anything himself either. Something this big can’t be kept secret forever.”

“Yes, Auntie’s baby is growing so fast, if it keeps dawdling, we won’t even need to roll around in bed anymore.” Su Lushen agreed.

“Yes, I was so anxious I couldn’t sleep. I told my older brother as soon as I saw him, asking him to make a decision.” Su Tai sighed, dejectedly saying, “I broke my promise.”

“We promised not to tell our elders. My eldest brother isn’t considered an elder, so he didn’t break his promise,” Su Lu comforted his second brother. “Besides, you did the right thing; you can’t keep it a secret for your uncle any longer.”

"Only if the eldest brother gives him a push will things make progress." He also realized that his younger uncle was a child born late in life, who was lazy and irresponsible when it came to work.

Ironically, these lazy, glib, and slick-haired pretty boys are the ones girls like the most. Isn't that infuriating?
"Eldest brother is truly responsible," Su Tai said admiringly. "He is indeed the eldest grandson of the eldest branch, a role model for us all."

"Hmph, I'm just worried about causing a scandal and affecting my studies." A cold voice rang out as the eldest brother pushed open the door and entered.

"What? Big brother got kicked out too?" Su Lu quickly got up to greet him, afraid of being criticized again.

"No!" Su Man's lips twitched, and she said proudly, "I came out because I couldn't bear to see my elders get beaten."

"Yes, yes." Su Lu nodded quickly, rubbing his hands together, and asked, "What are your instructions, elder brother?"

"Be more composed." Su Man glanced at him, then turned her gaze to the banana leaf paper on the table.

"What is this?" He picked up a sheet and examined it closely.

“This is ‘banana leaf paper’ that my second brother made for me,” Su Lu replied.

"The idea came from Qiu-ge'er," Su Tai quickly added.

"You even know to imitate Huaisu's calligraphy on banana leaves." Su Man said, frowning with disdain, "But this handwriting... How many times have I told you, you should use your right hand to write."

"I've just started learning," Su Lu explained sheepishly. "Besides, this isn't calligraphy practice; it's copying and memorizing from books."

"You're also going to take the academy entrance exam?" Su Man saw that the book copied on the page was "Elementary Learning: wise sayings" and immediately understood his intention.

"Yes, I want to give it a try," Su Lu said, forcing himself to speak.

“I’ve been telling you to study since you were little, but you never did. I send you to school, and you run away the next minute. What’s wrong with you now?” Su Man sneered and said, “I advise you not to take the exam. You’ll only bring shame to the family.”

"Brother, don't say that," Su Tai quickly said. "Qiu-ge'er is working hard now, he's memorized a lot of books."

"Learning comes from hard work over time; what's the use of cramming at the last minute?" Su Man's expression softened slightly upon hearing this, and she asked in a deep voice, "Where have you gotten to in your studies?"

"We'll start learning the Four Books soon," Su Lu replied.

"What? You haven't even studied the Four Books yet? What kind of test is this?!" Su Man tossed the banana leaf paper into Su Lu's arms, then turned and left, saying, "It's a complete waste of time!"

"Is Chun-ge'er so temperamental? Is he going through puberty?" Su Lu watched his retreating figure, both amused and exasperated. He thought to himself, "Luckily, he only comes back once every two months, otherwise how would I manage?"

Su Tai looked at Su Lu with sympathy and whispered, "Big Brother has extremely high standards for himself and for those around him."

"I understand, he's under pressure." Su Lu suddenly realized that his older brother was Captain Akagi of the Su family.

Fortunately, he was mature and unaffected by Chun Ge'er, and sat down to practice calligraphy.

I was hoping to ask the academically gifted older brother for help with my studies, but now I can skip that...

~~
All afternoon, the hall was filled with roars and wails.

Don't let his usual listless demeanor fool you; when he gets moving, he's surprisingly strong and has incredible stamina.

When it was time for dinner, neither Grandpa nor my uncle showed up. My eldest uncle and father looked completely exhausted, as if they had plowed ten acres of land.

"Where are the two of them?" Su Lu asked in a low voice.

"Your grandpa went for a walk, and your uncle is lying in his room. He won't be able to get out of bed for at least ten days." Su Youcai stretched his aching arms, having almost broken them from the old man's blows while trying to shield his third brother.

"What about my uncle..." Su Tai couldn't help but ask.

"That brat is quite the worrywart," the uncle said irritably. "Before the old man left, he told me to go and sound out the eldest son of the Cheng family tomorrow."

"So Grandpa agreed?" the two brothers asked excitedly. "We already have a child, what can we do if he doesn't agree?" the eldest uncle sighed. "Sigh, the trouble is yet to come."

"Let's just get the marriage done without any real planning," Su Youcai said. "We can't let the child be born and then be laughed at."

Although Yongning is a melting pot of Han and Yi people with a free-spirited folk culture, large families like the Cheng and Su families still adhere to the customs of the inland regions. At least on the surface, they maintain a respectable facade…

"You two better watch your mouths and don't go around talking about it!" the eldest aunt instructed the two brothers again.

"Don't worry, Auntie, I absolutely won't. I won't even see any outsiders," Su Lu said, displaying the confidence of a typical otaku.

"I can't speak it either, I don't understand it!" Little Jinbao said proudly.

"..." Su Tai kept his head down and ate his rice, not daring to say a word.

"Won't the Cheng family make things difficult for us?" Auntie asked, still a little worried.

"Probably not. The child isn't in the third son's belly, and they still pride themselves on being from a family with a long tradition of scholarship." Su Youcai pondered, "No matter how you look at it, they're the ones who are more anxious."

"I get it now!" Uncle suddenly slapped his thigh again: "No wonder the Cheng family was so quiet today! It's probably because that old man Cheng didn't want to stir up trouble at this crucial moment!"

"Could the bride price be reduced?" the aunt asked immediately.

"You unlucky woman, is this the time to bring this up?" Her uncle rolled his eyes at her.

The eldest aunt immediately became unhappy, nagging about how this marriage, which seemed to have fallen from the sky, was impossible to afford. She added that Chun-ge was going to take the imperial examination next year…

Su Man couldn't sit still any longer and put down her rice bowl, saying, "I'm full."

After saying that, he got up and went back inside.

~~
Su Tai was also going back to the distillery to steam grains, and Su Lu followed him out of the main room.

"At least Uncle's matter is resolved, Second Brother, you can rest assured now." Su Lu escorted his Second Brother downstairs.

"Hehe..." Su Tai chuckled, "It's good that it's resolved. Uncle can blame me however he wants."

"He's thanking you so much." Su Lu smiled as she watched her second brother walk away, then went upstairs to her room to finish her homework for the evening.

But he saw that his father was already lying in bed. Su Lu then asked, "How about we continue tomorrow?"

"Time is of the essence, we can't afford to waste any more time." With great willpower, Su Youcai sat up, rubbed his face vigorously, and returned to his seat at the table, asking, "What should we talk about today?"

“We can begin the lectures on the Four Books now,” Su Lu replied. In truth, he had been waiting for this moment. What he had learned before was merely an appetizer; the main course was yet to come!
"Hmm." Su Youcai nodded and slowly said, "The four books, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects, and Mencius, are the foundation for maintaining the world and hold an unparalleled position. Therefore, from elementary school to the Imperial Academy, they are used as the core teaching materials, and the same applies to the imperial examinations in the future."

"Why?" Su Youcai asked himself again and answered, "Because the Four Books construct a complete framework of 'cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world'—The Great Learning is the foundation, 'the legacy of Confucius, the gateway for beginners to enter the realm of virtue'; The Analects is the root, the norms for Confucius' disciples to conduct themselves; Mencius is the development, elaborating on 'benevolent governance' in detail; and The Doctrine of the Mean is the ideal, describing the highest standard of virtue and the highest realm of life."

"Therefore, when we study the Four Books, we should also follow this order: first, we should read the Great Learning to establish its framework; then we should read the Analects to establish its foundation; then we should read the Mencius to observe its development; and then we should read the Doctrine of the Mean to seek the subtleties of the ancients."

After finishing his preface, Su Youcai opened a handwritten copy of "The Great Learning" and said, "I told you before that Zhu Xi's 'Collected Annotations on the Four Books' must be the only interpretation of the 'Four Books,' and you must not deviate from its meaning."

He then earnestly advised, "So don't question things when you're learning. The more you question, the more painful it will be, and it will cause trouble. It's not too late to express different opinions when you pass the imperial examination one day."

"Son understands." Su Lu nodded; his father was overthinking it. He was a test-taking machine who could "pass through a sea of ​​flowers without a single petal sticking to him."

“Alright, let’s begin.” Su Youcai then began to explain the *Great Learning* to his son:

"The books of the Great Learning are the methods by which ancient universities taught people. Since Heaven bestowed life upon all people, it has endowed them with the nature of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom..."

~~
Su Youcai was really too tired today. He gritted his teeth and spoke about a thousand words to Su Lu before he couldn't stop yawning repeatedly.

Although Su Lu was still not satisfied, he didn't want to become the second stressful person in the Su family... Well, actually, he was already in a tough spot.

How much more hardship did my father and second brother suffer because of his studies?

But now that he had realized it, he had to change. Su Lu resolutely quit get out of class and urged his father to go to bed.

Su Youcai lay down on the bed and immediately began snoring loudly.

Su Lu went to fetch water to wipe his father's hands and feet, and then covered him with a quilt... It was already September, and it was still quite cool to sleep with the window open at night.

But with the windows closed, the smoke from the pine oil lamp would sting his father's ears. He couldn't just skip his studies at night and give up halfway, so Su Lu could only lament his own filial impiety and then cover his father with thicker blankets…

With mixed feelings, Su Lu sat back down at the table, making the most of her 'golden hour' before bed, when suddenly a chill ran down her spine. She looked up and saw a dark figure outside the window, sneering at her.

"Ah!" Su Lu was so startled that he almost threw the inkstone away. Fortunately, he realized in time that the person was none other than his 'good older brother' Chun Ge'er.

"You're such a filial son." Su Man glanced at Su Youcai, who was wrapped up like a rice dumpling, and her praise was full of sarcasm.

"There's no way around it; poor people have to pay a price if they want to study," Su Lu sighed.

“But your father will pay the price.” Su Man removed the window bar and closed the window, saying, “Turn off the light and come to my room.”

Su Lu didn't know what his older brother was going to do, but he obediently blew out the pine torch and went to the next room.

After Su Man came of age, he was given this study and bedroom. Although he only returned once every two months, the room was still spotless, obviously because his aunt cleaned it often.

Su Lu stood in front of the table, looking at the writing implements on it and the bookshelves behind it, and couldn't help but feel very envious.

“From now on, when I’m not here, you can read here at night.” Su Man sat down behind the table and said with a straight face, “It’s not for your sake, but because I’m afraid that Second Uncle and Xia Ge’er will get sick from the cold.”

(End of this chapter)