Chapter 69: A Path To Wealth
Academy. Zhong Chushan tapped Zhou Wangshu’s desk and said in a low voice, “The chess lesson this afternoon was particularly boring. How about I take you out to play?”
Zhou Wangshu flipped through the chess manual in his hand and shook his head. “I’m not like you. Even if I can’t get an official position, I still have to study hard and not let down Yaoguang and my mother-in-law’s kind intentions.”
“You’re not Xiao Ci. Even if you skip class, no one will care. Your mother-in-law and that young wife aren’t watching you all the time, so why be so stubborn?” Zhong Chushan curled his lip.
“Yaoguang and my mother-in-law indeed won’t watch me every moment, but my heart knows if I’ve let them down. I can deceive everyone, but I can’t deceive my own heart.”
Jiang Yihui mocked from the table next to them, “He’s not like you. Even if he can’t study, he has family property to inherit. If he doesn’t study, he’ll only have to go back to digging dirt.”
“Aren’t you the same? Oh, it might really not be the case. After all, your bookboy has become the favorite of the headmaster and teacher. Even if you can’t get an official position, you can strut around the academy relying on your bookboy. You’re not paying tuition fees now because of that bookboy, right? You really have good fortune, with a bookboy supporting you.” Zhou Wangshu shook his head. “Unlike me, who can only rely on my own family’s daughter-in-law.”
Jiang Yihui slapped the table and looked coldly at Zhou Wangshu. “If you dare, say it again.”
“Why are you getting fierce? Isn’t what he said the fact?” Zhong Chushan shot back. “The fact can’t be spoken? What are you feeling guilty about?”
Xiao Yanci walked in from outside and saw the strange atmosphere in the lecture hall. His gaze stopped on the standing Zhong Chushan, then followed Zhong Chushan’s gaze to see Jiang Yihui.
Jiang Yihui’s eyes were spitting fire, his gaze toward him full of malice.
He frowned.
What madness is this person having again?
He didn’t seem to have offended him, right?
“Xiao Ci, come over and grind ink for me.” Jiang Yihui said loudly.
Xiao Yanci clenched his palm.
This damned lowborn, how dare he…
But now his household registration was under his family. Even if it had become commoner status, if his family used some means, he could still end up falling into slave status.
He endured the hatred in his heart and slowly walked over, obediently grinding the ink.
Jiang Yihui raised his head proudly, looking around, with an air of ‘he doesn’t dare disobey.’
The other classmates saw Xiao Yanci like this and also showed disdainful expressions.
So what if he was the teacher’s favorite? It still couldn’t change the fact that he was someone’s servant. Even though the teacher had intervened and he now had commoner status, he was still controlled by others.
When the teacher came in and saw this scene, he said displeasedly, “Xiao Ci, what are you standing there for? Why don’t you sit back down?”
Xiao Yanci sat at the first desk in the front.
Xiao Yanci elegantly gave a salute and sat back in the front.
“Jiang Yihui, Xiao Ci is now your classmate. If you order him around like this again, I’ll call all your family over to ask if you have any objections to our academy, so you act obedient in front but disobey in secret, doing things like bullying classmates.”
Jiang Yihui muttered, “He was originally my bookboy. It’s already good enough that we’re exceptionally merciful and granted him commoner status. What’s wrong with grinding ink for me?”
“What did you say?” The teacher slapped the lectern.
“Teacher, I understand. I won’t order him around in the future.” Jiang Yihui said reluctantly.
“That’s right. You are classmates and should get along harmoniously.”
Zhong Chushan said from the side, “He really knows how to bully the weak and fear the strong. A few days ago, you were picked on in the canteen, and he didn’t stand up for you!”
“The teacher is the teacher after all. The teacher wants to train my ability, so let’s not complain about the teacher.” Zhou Wangshu good-naturedly comforted him.
“What’s good about this lousy class? I can’t even understand it. I really don’t get why my family insists on making me come study.” Zhong Chushan yawned. “Anyway, I’m fated to open a gambling house in the future. Have you ever seen someone who opens a gambling house speak all flowery and literary with others?”
“Why hasn’t Brother Buyu come to class recently?” Zhou Wangshu asked.
“He just let a young lady go and got beaten by his family. He has to lie down for at least half a month.”
“Isn’t his family a dance hall?”
“It’s a dance hall. Though they sell skills but not their bodies, there are always persistent patrons who want to take advantage of the young ladies, so that place isn’t some clean and upright spot either. Some young ladies were sold into the family by their relatives, unwilling to live like this, so they try every way to escape. That boy has seen too much since childhood, but his heart is still soft and he’ll secretly let people go.”
“Then tonight we’ll go visit him!” Zhou Wangshu said. “I’ve been at the academy for so long, and you two are my only friends.”
Hearing him say this, Zhong Chushan perked up and began planning where to play after visiting Chen Buyu. In Zhong Chushan’s eyes, since none of them could study anyway, it was better to happily make friends and play one day at a time. When his family gave up on him one day, they wouldn’t make him study that nonsense anymore.
The chess lesson was played in pairs. Zhong Chushan played against Zhou Wangshu. It started out random, but as they played, that messy board actually came alive.
The teacher patrolled the room and, passing their chessboard, stroked his beard with a pleased expression. “Progress, not bad.”
Zhong Chushan was full of confusion.
His chess skills had improved? What kind of talk was that?
Could it be that he had some talent in chess, just unknown before, so it had been buried?
At night, Zhou Wangshu and Zhong Chushan went to the only dance hall in the city to visit Chen Buyu.
The dance hall manager recognized Zhong Chushan and welcomed them over. When he looked at Zhou Wangshu, his eyes were full of amazement.
“Young Master Zhong, is this young master also your classmate?” the dance hall manager said.
“Of course.” Zhong Chushan said proudly. “He even lives with your young master!”
“Since he’s an academy scholar, he should be skilled in music, right?” The dance hall manager looked at Zhou Wangshu expectantly. “Our zither player is sick today, and we’re worrying about having no one to play the zither. Could we ask this young master to help fill in?”
Zhong Chushan was stunned. “Why don’t you ask me?”
“Young Master Zhong is joking. Who doesn’t know you and our young master only love to play and aren’t good at anything else?” The manager smiled and said the heart-piercing words.
“Then why ask him? Does he look like someone skilled in music?” Zhong Chushan shouted even louder.
“To tell the truth, this young master looks like a man of profound learning. I’ve been here for forty years and seen all kinds of people. A person’s temperament can’t deceive.”
“Heh, why don’t you just say he looks good and seems smart. Unfortunately, you’re going to misjudge…” Zhong Chushan’s words weren’t finished before being interrupted by Zhou Wangshu.
Zhou Wangshu was courteous and mild-mannered as he said, “Since it’s being a zither player, there should be wages, right? I wonder how much wages for playing one piece?”
