Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 6 The Ancestral Home in Jinling, the Aura of Treasure
Early in the morning, Li Zhaoting was awakened by his biological clock.

Looking down, Feng Suzhen, exhausted from working late into the night, nestled in Li Zhaoting's arms like a calico cat.

Feeling Li Zhaoting's burning gaze, Feng Suzhen woke up with a start and exclaimed, "My lord, did I oversleep? Will people laugh at me?"

Li Zhaoting shrugged: "It's nothing! My dad is retired in Dali! Another elder of mine is in the capital. He's my distant uncle and once ranked third in the imperial examination."

"Tanhua Lang?"

“My uncle was a third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, and my eldest cousin was also a third-ranked scholar. My family wanted me to become the top scholar in the imperial examination, so my whole family was exiled to Lingnan, leaving only my second cousin.”

Will my second cousin be able to become the top scholar in the imperial examination?

"To be honest, I don't think there's any hope. The one in our family most likely to become the top scholar is my wife!"

"My lord is talking nonsense again!"

Feng Suzhen gave a coquettish reproach.

As a woman of exceptional talent with the ability to become a top scholar, Feng Suzhen's intelligence is beyond question. Last night, Feng Suzhen summarized a pattern based on Li Zhaoting's condition.

Li Zhaoting preferred to be addressed as "Guanren" (官人).

Li Zhaoting wasn't particular about how people addressed him; he could use "husband," "Li Lang," or "official," but perhaps influenced by another Suzhen, he preferred "official."

How can we accurately summarize "The Legend of the White Snake"?
Two snakes from Sichuan fought a man from Zhejiang and a monk from Henan, causing floods in Jiangsu. They were eventually suppressed in Hangzhou, leaving behind a son.

After his son grew up and became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he declared that Fahai's crimes were heinous, as he forcibly imprisoned Bai Suzhen, a reptile protection expert from Qingcheng Mountain, and that the matter must be thoroughly investigated!
Li Zhaoting embraced Feng Suzhen and softly told her the story of the White Snake. Feng Suzhen listened with rapt attention and wanted to compile it into a storybook and sell it around West Lake.

—To boost Dad's performance!
—Let my father see what Li Lang is capable of!
Li Zhaoting strongly supported this initiative, taking the initiative to help Feng Suzhen polish the text and even compiling a theatrical script based on the film and television plot, which was then performed by a local opera troupe.

Three days after the wedding, the couple returned to the bride's parents' home with gifts.

Feng Shaoqing hosted a banquet in response.

"My dear son-in-law, what are the plans for the future? Now that you are no longer a criminal, you can submit a petition to have your academic titles restored, or you can establish your own sect in this area."

To be fair, Feng Shaoqing would prefer Li Zhaoting to establish his own school of martial arts. With Li Zhaoting's unparalleled martial arts skills, pursuing the path of martial arts would obviously be smoother than taking the imperial examinations.

It's true that the Song Dynasty valued literature over military affairs, but in this world where martial arts flourished, having a Grandmaster from the Heavenly Gang Ranking behind you would surely lead to a meteoric rise in your career.

The explosive power of a top-tier expert is terrifying!

Feng Shaoqing had witnessed Tang Songting take action.

Three years ago, a sect called Maitreya Sect appeared in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, which misled the people and extorted money from them.

Upon hearing the news, Tang Songting flew into a rage. He stormed into the sect's headquarters alone and, within a quarter of an hour, killed all the high-ranking officials and destroyed all the Buddhist halls.

All that talk of "divine magic, transforming into myriad forms" is like paper in front of the pine-wood red-tasseled spear. The cult leader, who was all talk and no action, was instantly killed by Tang Songting with three spear thrusts.

Feng Shaoqing cannot ask the Tang family for help with everything.

If Li Zhaoting establishes his own sect, his son-in-law can step in if similar situations arise in the future.

“Father-in-law, I wish to return to Jinling to buy back the ancestral property, offer sacrifices to our ancestors, and then go to the capital to fulfill my sect’s orders. It will take about three months.”

“I have some connections in Nanjing and the capital. They are my classmates and good friends. They might come in handy. It will be much easier for you to do things if you carry my name card.”

"Thank you, father-in-law."

"We're all family, no need to be so polite."

"My son-in-law has a drink for his father-in-law!"

When returning to one's parents' home, one cannot stay at the house; one must return home that same night to show "not being attached to the old home." After all, the Feng family was an official family and needed to abide by the rules.

Two or three days later, Li Zhaoting finished handling the follow-up matters of the wedding and took Feng Suzhen to Jinling.

Feng Suzhen was well-read and possessed superb martial arts skills, but she had never left her home. When she learned that Li Zhaoting was going to ride a horse to Jinling, she was as excited as a little swallow.

Feng Suzhen and Li Zhaoting had very similar experiences. They both had a mysterious and unpredictable master who was very generous and would give them divine weapons and fine horses.

Li Zhaoting's mount was an ugly horse, yellowish-brown with spots all over its body, the hair of which was curly. It was a foal that had not been gelded and retained its original wildness.

The curly hair looks like scabies, but it is actually a characteristic of the "Qilin breed," a fine horse known as the "Scabies Qilin," which excels at long-distance raids.

The mount of Li Yuanba, the most powerful general in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, was a "one-character ink-carved unicorn with a lizard-like body," which accompanied Li Yuanba into battle and made great contributions.

Li Zhaoting had difficulty naming his horse. Since his beloved steed loved to drink alcohol and drank 20 jin of strong liquor every day, he simply named the steed "Qilin" "Laojiu" (meaning "old liquor").

Feng Suzhen's mount was a tall, majestic horse, entirely blood red, which roared like a dragon and traversed water and ravines as if walking on flat ground.

It was none other than the famous "Red Hare".

Red Hare should have been entirely fiery red, but this horse had a crescent-shaped white hair on its forehead. Based on this feature, Feng Suzhen named it Crescent Moon.

Hangzhou is about 600 li away from Jinling, which is only a day's journey for a fine horse.

However, since it was Feng Suzhen's first time away from home, everything seemed new and exciting. Li Zhaoting treated this trip as a honeymoon, accompanying his wife on sightseeing.

When they saw something novel, magnificent, or beautiful, they would stop to admire it. They would only travel a little over a hundred miles each day, and it took them five or six days to finally reach Jinling.

The sightseeing trip did not interfere with our business.

Li Zhaoting asked a friend to scout ahead and investigate the martial arts forces in Jinling, so as not to be completely clueless.

Which friend?

Of course it's Tang Zhuquan!

Old Tang wholeheartedly agreed; he would rather row a boat, forge iron, and grind tofu than stay at home.

"My lord, what does rowing a boat, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu have to do with Tang Zhuquan? What kind of mortal world is this?"

There are three kinds of suffering in the world: rowing a boat, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu.

In terms of physical exertion, there's no need to elaborate.

Rowing, swinging a hammer, and pushing a millstone are all very physically demanding.

Boatmen often face severe weather, and a slight mistake can lead to shipwreck and loss of life. When a boat runs aground, they need to be towed. They are often away from home, and their families are prone to unforeseen events. Blacksmiths face the furnace every day, swinging heavy hammers in the scorching heat, making them susceptible to heatstroke and dehydration.

Making tofu requires getting up in the middle of the night and going through a very complicated process to make a single block of tofu. Then, you push a cart out to sell it, but the bumpy journey makes it easy for the tofu to break.

There are 360 ​​professions, and none of them are easy.

Governing a local area is not that simple!

Li Zhaoting gently twirled his fan and pointed to the Qinhuai River in the distance, saying, "We're almost in Jinling. The ducks in Jinling are quite good. Let's find a restaurant and try some!"

Feng Suzhen looked at Li Zhaoting with admiration.

"My lord knows a lot."

"So-so, just so-so, I only know a little bit."

Li Zhaoting raised his head smugly.

……

The land embraces the grandeur of Nanjing, and the city is surrounded by the flowing river.

Nanjing is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is protected by Zhongshan Mountain to the east and the Yangtze River to the west, giving it a majestic and imposing presence. It is also a strategic location for both land and water transportation.

"As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, King Fuchai of Wu sent people to smelt bronze here, which was called 'Yecheng' (Smelting City)."

Goujian endured hardship and humiliation, eventually destroying the state of Wu. He then built another earthen city on the Qinhuai River, which he called 'Yue City'.

The State of Yue was destroyed by the State of Chu. King Wei of Chu built a new city on Qingliang Mountain and named it Jinlingyi.

During the Later Han and Three Kingdoms period, after the Battle of Red Cliffs, Sun Quan moved the capital to Jinling, which he renamed Jianye. The following year, he built a city on the original site of Jinling and named it Stone City.

The mountains surround the ancient capital;
The tide beats against the empty city, leaving only loneliness in its wake;
The old moon over the east bank of the Huai River;
"Even late at night, he still comes over the city wall..."

Inside the restaurant's private room, Li Zhaoting enthusiastically recounted the history of Nanjing to Feng Suzhen, who looked at him with adoration, like a naive young girl.

When it comes to江湖 (jianghu) anecdotes and folk tales, Feng Suzhen may not be as knowledgeable as Li Zhaoting, but she knows these things with clear historical records very well.

Whether you know it or not is one thing.

Who told Feng Suzhen the story is another matter.

Feng Suzhen joked, "I heard that people in Nanjing love to go to the Qinhuai River. I thought you were going to lament that the courtesans are oblivious to the sorrow of a fallen nation, still singing 'The Flowers of the Rear Courtyard' across the river!"

Li Zhaoting said seriously, "Madam, you are mistaken. How can courtesans 'know the sorrow of a fallen nation'? Are these courtesans the ones who shout 'sacrifice themselves for righteousness' all day long?"

When foreign enemies invaded and the country was destroyed, those sanctimonious Confucian scholars, who were writing letters of surrender and petitions of obedience, were actually asking the singing girls to sacrifice themselves for righteousness.
Furthermore, if a singer makes a living by singing, what will she eat and drink if she doesn't sing the songs requested by customers? If she drives away customers, will the madam let her off the hook with her whip?

"What a load of rubbish, a scholar! He's not even as good as a courtesan!"

Li Zhaoting was referring to events that occurred over a hundred years ago.

Due to a temporal and spatial discrepancy, the Manchu Qing dynasty in the north had already been passed down to the Qianlong period, which was earlier than the Song dynasty.

When the Manchu cavalry marched south, Liu Rushi, a courtesan from Qinhuai, wanted to drown herself to die for her country, but the great Confucian scholar Qian Qianyi was afraid of death and eventually surrendered to the Manchus.

Ironically, the official history of the Qing Dynasty classified Qian Qianyi as a traitor in the second category of the "Biographies of Traitorous Officials," officially labelling him as a disloyal and treacherous minister, condemned both in life and after death.

Feng Suzhen had heard about this incident and held Qian Qianyi in contempt, but Li Zhaoting's second half of the sentence made Feng Suzhen feel a completely different philosophy.

The singing girl is like a rootless duckweed, only seeking to make a living.

Does it make a difference whether you understand or not?

Before we could finish speaking, the duck was served.

Li Zhaoting first picked up a piece of duck skin.

This is Li Zhaoting's habit.

The same applies when eating pork knuckle.

Li Zhaoting grew up in Nanjing and knew the city's cuisine very well. He was telling stories while eating, and just as he was having a good time, a commotion suddenly broke out below.

He channeled his inner energy into his ears and listened intently. He heard the sound of a sword being drawn, followed by a series of sharp, clanging sounds. Two groups of people were engaged in a sword duel.

On one side were two young men and women, who, judging from their moves, were fellow disciples using the Huashan sword technique. The woman's attacks were exceptionally ruthless, with every move a sinister killing blow.

On one side was a swordsman dressed in a white robe, whose attire suggested he came from the Western Regions. It was already summer, yet he was wearing a fox fur coat and was sweating profusely from the heat.

White robe, fox fur coat, fur jacket, swordsman...

Li Zhaoting guessed the origin of the white-robed swordsman.

He is a disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect.

The Snow Mountain Sect is located in Lingxiao City of Tianshan Mountain, where it is snowy and cold all year round. They like to wear fox fur to keep warm, and white robes are for easy concealment, so they can use snow escape to ambush enemies.

The events are quite simple.

After arriving in the Central Plains, the disciples of the Snow Mountain Sect did not change their attire, nor did they possess the ability to withstand the cold and heat. Their appearance of wearing fox fur coats in the middle of summer attracted a lot of attention.

If they were just watching out of curiosity, the Snow Mountain Sect disciples wouldn't care. But today, they encountered this woman, who was sharp-tongued and sarcastic, and made many disparaging remarks about the Snow Mountain Sect.

One side provoked the other, while the other was seething with anger. The two sides started fighting downstairs after a disagreement.

The Huashan Sect has very few disciples, and even fewer female disciples. There is only one female disciple with such a terrible personality.

Sun Zhongjun, the "Flying Witch"!

Sun Zhongjun… Gui Xinshu… Yuan Chengzhi…

Golden Snake Swordsman!

The Golden Snake Treasure!

A glint of light flashed in Li Zhaoting's eyes!
　Please collect and read
　　
　
(End of this chapter)