Chapter 632 - 352: Say Not the World Is Vast, Spread Your Wings and Cross the Azure Sea
Chapter 632: Chapter 352: Say Not the World Is Vast, Spread Your Wings and Cross the Azure Sea
Chen Yi was rather helpless when it came to the policy essay question about the southern campaign versus the northern expedition. He figured that whatever he wrote wouldn’t exactly touch Ma Shuhan’s heart.
While writing his verdicts, Chen Yi glanced at the illusory light screen. Several lines of large golden text hovered there:
[Opportunity +6.]
[At Jishi Medicine Hall, the You State’s Medical Saint Hand, Wen Xiuyin, visits for a consultation. Yuan Liu’er displays her innate talent, defeating Wen Xiuyin’s apprentice.]
[Evaluation: The person has not arrived, the voice has not been heard, the scene has not been witnessed. To not take an opportunity when it falls from the sky is the mark of an inherently lazy slacker.]
[Daily Intel · Profound-rank Lower Grade: During the Si hour, at the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion, the Shu State Imprisonment Department visits Xiao Yuan to demand Li Sanyuan. Reward: a minuscule amount of Opportunity.]
Seeing the last line, Chen Yi’s flowing brush paused for a fraction of a second before continuing.
The Imprisonment Department went to the Xiao family to demand Li Sanyuan? Had they tracked him down? But how did they know Li Sanyuan was with the Xiao family? After all, it was Xiao Jinghong who had personally gone beyond the Ancient Tea-Horse Road to apprehend him. Aside from the Xiao family, it was impossible for anyone else to know about this.
"Li Sanyuan... Was it the people from the Ji State Trading Company or someone else?" Chen Yi murmured. Finding it fishy, he secretly made a mental note to investigate the matter after the Annual Examination concluded.
Late into the night, the autumn wind rustled bleakly.
Inside the Annual Examination hall, there were plenty of Scholars like Chen Yi who burned the midnight oil to write. Not far from him, Ma Guan noticed Chen Yi’s movements. Knowing that Chen Yi hadn’t displayed his Calligraphy Dao, Ma Guan decided to follow suit.
However, Ma Guan was far too upright and orthodox, treating every single question with utmost seriousness. Whether it was the classics or the policy essay, he had to draft it in his mind first and scribble a few rough sentences before copying it onto a fresh sheet of paper. As a result, after more than half a day had passed, he had only finished the classics section and was currently agonizing over whether to choose the southern campaign or the northern expedition.
As a citizen of Shu State, fueled by past grievances, Ma Guan naturally wanted the Imperial Court to deploy troops south against the Barbarian Race. Yet, he also didn’t want Shu State to plunge into the chaos of war and implicate the common folk.
After pondering for an hour, he finally set his brush down to break open the topic: "I believe we should campaign south against the Barbarian Race to manifest the majesty of Great Wei..."
On the other side, Tang Ye had finished the three questions early on. Leaving only the final poetry section for later, he lay down and snored soundly.
For a time in the dim examination hall, candlelight flickered as snoring, the scratching of brushes, and the howling wind blended into an endless symphony.
On the high platform, Ma Shuhan remained seated upright, gazing at the distant night sky shrouded in dark clouds, seemingly deaf to the noise below. His expression was extremely complex—a mix of nostalgia, absolute resolve, and a faint, imperceptible trace of regret.
"In the end, I still couldn’t drag that old thief Yue Ming down with me. What a pity..."
The next day, during the Si hour.
Xiao Wan’er had Shen Huatang and Xie Tingyun drive the carriage toward South Street. Xiaodie had originally wanted to tag along, but because Xiao Wuge had returned early, she had to stay behind to guard Spring Lotus Garden.
Fortunately, the garden was lively. Pei Guanli had brought Yuan Liu’er back and didn’t let her go home the previous night, only dispatching someone to deliver a letter to her family. Thus, from morning until now, the WHOOSH of Martial Arts practice rang out intermittently within the Purple Bamboo Forest.
Once Xiao Wuge returned, he joined in as well. One moment he was begging Guanli to teach him footwork, and the next, he was dubiously asking Yuan Liu’er if she had really only learned Martial Arts for two days.
Xiaodie stood watch by their side, serving tea, pouring water, and handing out towels, not feeling tired in the least. Aside from the time she was lucky enough to watch when Chen Yi first learned Martial Arts, she spent the rest of her time busy with chores like sweeping and washing.
After watching for a while, Pei Guanli surprisingly pulled her in to practice Martial Arts together. Her reasoning was simple: teaching one person was the same as teaching two, so she might as well let Xiaodie give it a try. Honestly, she had been thoroughly struck down by Yuan Liu’er’s Martial Arts aptitude.
Before leaving, Xiao Wan’er came over to take a look and greet Yuan Liu’er. Having seen the girl previously when distributing porridge to refugees outside the city, and knowing she was Chen Yi’s grand-apprentice, Xiao Wan’er naturally offered a warm smile.
Learning that Pei Guanli was now teaching Yuan Liu’er Martial Arts, she smiled at the girl. "Liu’er, you are Qingzhou’s grand-apprentice and an apprentice at Jishi Medicine Hall. From now on, you are part of the Xiao family."
Yuan Liu’er was naturally a bit terrified. She had only taken on a master and gained a grandmaster; she never imagined she would suddenly transform from a commoner into a member of the Xiao family. But seeing that Xiao Wan’er wasn’t just being polite, her heart swelled with gratitude, overshadowing her initial panic and bewilderment.
She felt grateful to Ma Liangcai, to Chen Yi, and to Xiao Wan’er and the Xiao family.
Ever since her father’s unexpected death, Yuan Liu’er had been prepared to work like a horse for the rest of her life. Even though, thanks to Chen Yi, the people at Jishi Medicine Hall helped her give her father a proper burial, and Ma Liangcai took her in as an apprentice to teach her Medical Skills rather than treating her as a servant, in her heart, selling herself to bury her father was no joke. She would spend her entire life repaying that debt of gratitude.
That was why she studied the Medical Dao so diligently, and why she was just as devoted to learning Martial Arts from Pei Guanli. Whatever Ma Liangcai and Chen Yi told her to do, she would do it with all her heart and soul, striving to be the best.
Once Xiao Wan’er boarded the carriage and left, Yuan Liu’er resumed practicing the Big Spear Pile Skill.
With every breath, her body swelled slightly. Upon closer inspection, one could see the blood vessels bulging in rings beneath her slightly tanned skin, as if blood were surging powerfully within.
While guiding Xiao Wuge’s footwork and instructing Xiaodie on her Stand Form, Pei Guanli kept her eyes on Yuan Liu’er. Seeing that Yuan Liu’er had already begun using Qi Force to temper her body, Pei Guanli’s shattered confidence finally managed to crawl back up.
"Liu’er... this grand-niece-apprentice is just like her grandmaster. Neither of them are human," she thought. "Granny Shan, could you spare just a tiny bit of talent for your favorite Guanli? Just a tiny bit!"
Leaving aside Pei Guanli’s internal wailing, Xiao Wan’er’s carriage was passing through the middle courtyard when she happened to spot Elder Master Xiao furiously rebuking several Imprisonment Officers. Hesitating slightly, she instructed Shen Huatang to listen closely.
It wasn’t until they reached the front courtyard that she learned what Elder Master Xiao had said from Shen Huatang:
"That Li Sanyuan is indeed locked up in the Xiao Family Punishment Hall, but he is, after all, someone Jinghong brought back.
"Even if your Imprisonment Department discovered he had an affair with Zhu Hao, colluded with the Peacock King Banner, and illegally sold ironware, as long as Jinghong doesn’t give the word, I have no method to hand him over to you."
Then the men from the Imprisonment Department tried to say a few words, only to be scolded and driven out by Elder Master Xiao. The general gist was to tell them to wait until Xiao Jinghong returned to the Prefecture City before coming back to demand Li Sanyuan.
Hearing this, Xiao Wan’er’s brow relaxed. "Huatang, after we pick up my brother-in-law later, remind me to make a trip to the East Market. Grandfather’s health has only just improved; he shouldn’t be getting angry. Jishi Medicine Hall has some herbal teas; we’ll bring some back for him to drink."
She had initially thought the Elder Master was furious about something else. Learning that it was just the fallout from Liu Hong and the others’ affairs, she felt relieved.
Shen Huatang voiced her assent, and together with Xie Tingyun, they drove the carriage to the outside of the examination hall.
By this time, the sky had grown dim, thickly blanketed by dark clouds. Fortunately, no rain fell to obscure their vision. Outside the Annual Examination hall, dozens of government officials were already on duty, having blocked off nearly half the street for carriage parking. By the time Xiao Wan’er’s group arrived, quite a few carriages were already parked there, including some belonging to people she knew.
For instance, Inspector General Tang Zixing’s wife, Madam Zhang, had brought her people to take Tang Ye home. There was also the Wan Family’s precious daughter, Wan Rourou; followed by two maids, she claimed she was there to pick up her fourth younger brother.
Xiao Wan’er naturally went over to exchange pleasantries. Madam Zhang, however, looked a bit embarrassed. Previously, due to Tang Ye’s situation, she had visited the Xiao family quite often. But later, as the Xiao family faced continuous troubles, Tang Zixing worried she might get dragged into it and ordered her to stay home.
Seeing Xiao Wan’er now, she inevitably felt guilty. Xiao Wan’er, oblivious to this, assumed Madam Zhang had just been busy with the Medical Dao Academy recently and had fallen behind on her social visits. She chatted and laughed as usual, though steering clear of more intimate, private topics.
Amidst the laughter, Madam Zhang suddenly said, "I fear something might happen at this year’s Annual Examination."
Recalling what she had heard from Chen Yunfan the day before, Xiao Wan’er feigned ignorance. "What sort of thing?"
Madam Zhang glanced left and right, then lowered her voice secretively. "This morning, my husband was discussing with someone about arresting a certain person. Although I didn’t hear the person’s identity clearly, I know my husband said they are inside the examination hall..."
"Arresting someone?" Xiao Wan’er froze slightly; this was clearly vastly different from what she had anticipated.
Wan Rourou chimed in, "Could it be related to the Annual Examination questions?"
Madam Zhang shook her head. "I don’t know either, but for my husband to personally order their arrest, they must be a Minister of the Court, not an ordinary Scholar."
Xiao Wan’er quietly let out a breath of relief. As long as they weren’t trying to arrest Chen Yi, it was fine.
As soon as Noon arrived, the gates of the Annual Examination hall opened.
Scholars clad in long gowns walked out one by one, their expressions varying wildly. Some looked haggard, some were dazed, some were ecstatic, and others, like Chen Yi, looked thoroughly relaxed and carefree.
But before he could even regroup with Xiao Wan’er, a voice boomed from inside the examination hall behind him:
"Chen Yi, Chen Qingzhou! The essay you wrote is absolute rubbish..."