Top Scholar

Chapter 91 When We Were Young

On June 15th, the fourth monthly class ended, and the students of the Lower Hall enjoyed a half-day break.

As usual, Ma Zhaizhang treated the whole class to dinner, and today's dishes were clearly more upscale, but no one seemed to taste anything...

The two empty seats reminded them that tomorrow, who knows who else will leave this group?

Those classmates whose grades had reached a critical point naturally became the focus of attention. Everyone frequently raised their glasses to them and said many sentimental things.

"Damn it, I still have half a inch of space left, why are you toasting with me too?" Li Qiyu said in his dialect, annoyed.

“If you get another half point this time, you’ll have absolutely no room for error,” Su said calmly. “Do you believe you can get one point in all six remaining exams?”

"I don't believe you..." Li Qiyu's face immediately fell, and he turned to hug Su Lu's shoulders, saying, "Godfather, save me!"

"Get out of the way." Su Lu pushed him aside and said helplessly, "I've taught you everything I should and shouldn't have taught you. Calling me grandpa won't help you anymore."

"Qiyu, don't panic. This time, the question 'What if the pot calling the kettle black?' is much easier than last time. As long as you can maintain your usual level, you'll definitely get a point this time," Lin Zhihong comforted him.

"Brother Chenglin, hearing you say that makes me feel much better," Li Qiyu said with a smile.

"And what about me?" Cheng Wanfan asked, pointing to his buck teeth.

“Your answer isn’t a big problem either,” Lin Zhihong said with a smile. “You’ve made considerable progress this past month, and you should be able to get a point if nothing unexpected happens.”

"It's all thanks to my elder brother; he teaches me so much every day." Cheng Wanfan raised his bamboo tube and toasted Su Lu.
"I really don't know how to repay my elder brother..."

"Getting even one point on tomorrow's test would be the best reward for me." Su Lu clinked glasses with him. The last student he had been paying close attention to had already dropped out of school, and he couldn't bear it if this one followed in his footsteps.

"I've done my best, but the outcome is up to fate," Cheng Wanfan said with a wry smile.

~~
The meal was a somber affair, a waste of Master Ma's hospitality. Luckily, it happened to be a special promotional day, otherwise, the meal would have been a complete waste…

After leaving the restaurant, Ma Zhaizhang noticed that everyone was still in low spirits, so he suggested, "I saw some watermelons for sale at the dock. Why don't we buy a few and go to the river to eat watermelons to cool off, and we can also play in the water and have some fun?"

"Good!" the crowd responded in unison. This time, they refused to let Ma Zhaizhang pay, and the seventeen people pooled together 100 coins to pick out ten large, crisp watermelons with leaves still attached and soil still clinging to them from the watermelon boat.

The classmates then carried large watermelons on their heads and went upstream to find a shady riverbank.

“We’re not going any further, this is the place.” Ma Zhaizhang used his ancestral surveying skills to observe the area and said, “The water here is very calm, and there are no undercurrents. You can swim safely here.”

"Alright!" The classmates threw the watermelons into the icy river water with a splash. Then, they quickly took off their clothes and jumped into the river like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.

Some were too embarrassed to take off their clothes, like Cheng Wanzhou. But in situations like this, the more hesitant he was, the more likely he was to become the target of pranks. His classmates grabbed him, stripped him down to just his trousers, and, while shouting, threw him into the river...

"Help! Help! I can't swim!" Cheng Wanzhou cried out in alarm, struggling in terror.

It wasn't until Su Lu helped him to his feet that he realized the water was only up to his chest...

He then said embarrassedly, "I thought the water was very deep."

"Hahaha!" The classmates burst into laughter, and their gloomy mood was finally swept away.

The group then began to play in the water to their hearts' content. Some started water fights, splashing water with their hands; others lay leisurely on their backs on the river, gently drifting with the current. There were also contests of holding their breath, each person diving into the water and only surfacing after a long while, drawing cheers from the crowd.

The river was filled with laughter and chatter, mingled with the chirping of cicadas and the rushing water, washing away all the fatigue accumulated over the past month with the current...

When they got tired of playing in the water, the classmates would elbow each other on the head, then open the melons with their bare hands, and each person would take half to eat.

The unique fragrance of watermelon instantly filled the air, and the naked students devoured the red-fleshed, black-seeded watermelons. At that moment, all manners and etiquette were forgotten; juice dripped from their chins to their chests, but no one cared.

While playing in the water and eating watermelon, the classmates chatted animatedly, discussing current affairs and pointing fingers at everything. This reminded Su Lu of the old man's poem: "In our youth, we were full of vigor and vitality." Scholarly spirit, bold and unrestrained, pointing fingers at the world, regarding the powerful officials of the past as mere dust!
Do you remember when we swam in the middle of the river, the waves stopping our boats in their tracks?

"Zhaizhang, this event was well organized! I think we shouldn't just eat in the future, we can also go hiking and enjoy the view from a high place," Qiao Feng suggested loudly, skipping a piece of watermelon rind he had just finished eating.

He was quite athletic; he swam two miles with Ma Zhaizhang and remained calm and composed.

This suggestion was echoed by many classmates, especially Cheng Wanzhou, who thought that at least they wouldn't be stripped and thrown into the river on a hike. "Of course I've thought about it, but wasn't there some trouble in Duzhang Man a while ago?" Ma Zhaizhang lay on the warm rock to dry, lazily turning over and saying, "My grandfather won't let me leave the town, let alone go into the mountains."

"Yes, my dad also told me to be careful, and he even forced me to live in the academy." The students chimed in.

Su Lu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "And now?"

"It should be alright now," Ma Zhaizhang said. "I heard my grandfather mention it a while ago. Apparently, those gang leaders have been caught and confessed that they didn't come down from the mountains to commit the crime on their own initiative."

"Ah, could it be that someone hired them?" The classmates became interested.

"It seems that it really is." Lin Zhihong was already dressed. His father was the commander of Luzhou Garrison. Although he was not as powerful as Commander Ma, he was very well-informed.

“When I went home last time, Lincheng was under martial law. But my father said it was because of infighting within the Pacification Commissioner’s Office, and it had little to do with us Han people.”

"I see..." The classmates lost interest when they heard it was an internal matter among the Roro people. Although they were all in Yongning, they didn't live in the same world.

"Tell me about it, tell me about it," Su Lu said with great interest.

Lin Zhihong naturally had to answer whatever 'Brother Su' wanted to know, so he organized his thoughts and said, "This matter dates back to eight years ago. At that time, the previous Yongning Pacification Commissioner, She Jiye, died young. His wives and concubines fought fiercely over the position of Pacification Commissioner. Although I was young at the time, I still have some impression of it."

He paused for a moment, then thoughtfully added some background information: "Brother Su may not know this, but the Luo Luo people are different from us. Not only can a son succeed a father, but a mother can take over her son's job, a wife can take over her husband's job, and even a daughter-in-law can take over her father-in-law's job. Of course, daughters have no problem with it either."

“I know, it’s Lady Shexiang from back then!” Li Qiyu laughed. “And the current Yongning Pacification Commissioner, She Saihua, isn’t she the wife of the previous Pacification Commissioner?”

“That’s right.” Lin Zhihong nodded. “However, although direct relatives can take over, there are still differences. Usually, sons take priority over daughters, while wives and mothers only temporarily take over the position of chieftain when the next generation is underage.”

After saying that, he returned to the main topic and said: "When She Jiye died, he left behind a wife and a concubine. His wife was She Saihua, and his concubine was She Ziying. She Saihua had only a five-year-old daughter named She Yunluo. She Ziying, on the other hand, had a three-year-old son named She Yunming."

Su Lu couldn't help but secretly admire him; a top student is indeed a top student, telling stories in a logical and clear manner with distinct details.

"She Saihua and She Ziying began to compete for the position of Pacification Commissioner. They compared their qualifications. She Saihua was the principal wife, so she had an initial advantage. However, She Ziying had a son, so he won back a point. But She Saihua's daughter was two years older, so in the end, She Saihua narrowly won."

"It's said that there were many who supported She Ziying at the time. Those people forced She Saihua to agree that once She Yunming came of age, the position would be passed to him, and only then would they stop opposing her succession," Lin Zhihong said with a mocking smile.

"But having tasted the sweetness of power, how could she be willing to relinquish it? Moreover, this woman is extremely shrewd. In eight years, she has bound the leaders of various departments to her own cause, and she has also cultivated excellent relationships with the imperial court and the Three Guards."

"On the contrary, that foolish woman, She Ziying, believed She Saihua's promises and did nothing but watch her grow stronger."

“Not everyone has political talent,” Su Lu laughed. “Most people wouldn’t know how to use real power, even if you gave them to them, let alone She Ziying, who only has influence.”

"Brother Su, you've hit the nail on the head!" Lin Zhihong praised. "After completely taking control of the situation, She Saihua began to frequently push her daughter to the forefront. For example, when the Luo Luo people held their ancestral worship ceremony, she had her daughter offer sacrifices... Even a blind man could see that she was preparing to make She Yunluo her heir."

“Now She Ziying was furious,” Lin Zhihong continued. “He bribed Du Zhangman to kill She Yunluo on her way to visit her family. But something went wrong. Anyway, that girl was lucky and managed to escape all by herself.”

"She didn't say how she escaped back?" Su Lu hurriedly asked.

"Brother Su, the things you care about are quite strange." Lin Zhihong glanced at Su Lu.

Su Lu chuckled awkwardly, "I just found it strange. How could a little girl possibly run back on her own?"

"She Yunluo said that her guard, Su Jia, lured away Du Zhangman, covering her escape, and they eventually encountered the large rescue force." Lin Zhihong nodded, pondering the suspicious points, and said:
“However, my father said that the location where Su Jia was found dead was more than ten miles away from the location where She Yunluo was found. Brother Su may not know that he has never traveled through the mountains, but for a young lady who usually stays away from the world, more than ten miles is tantamount to a dead end. Yet She Yunluo walked out in just half a night. What does that mean?”

"What does that mean?" Su Lu asked, looking completely clueless.

"This means she didn't get lost at all, and didn't take a single wrong turn. Many veterans can't do that; only experienced hunters with deep jungle knowledge can," Lin Zhihong concluded.

"So my father judged that a hunter must have helped her, but she probably refused to admit it for the sake of her reputation."

"Excellent!" Su Lu praised. Hearing that She Yunlu had actually kept the secret, regardless of her original intentions, the heavy weight that had been hanging over his heart for two months finally lifted.

Otherwise, there are so many smart people in this world; as long as she provides clues, they'll eventually find their way to those men.

P.S. This extra chapter is dedicated to the Alliance Leader 'Fcloud,' a long-time reader and a master of witty remarks... He may not comment much, but every word is precious!

(End of this chapter)