Mo Sang – CH 238

Chapter 238. Do Not Discuss Scholarship with Master Ma

In the martial arts arena, where many martial artists had gathered to celebrate the New Year, there were very few scholars. After the Grand Nuo Opera, only two or three rounds of drinking ensued, and the area under the reed shed was already too crowded to sit still.

Since Wen Cheng was not in charge of this lively event, and he had rushed back to read after watching the opera, his servants, except for a few on duty, such as Bai-Cheng, were free. They squeezed together with Hei Ma and his companions, toasting each other.

Hei Ma’s alcohol tolerance was truly poor. He wanted to watch the festivities all night long and continue shopping the next morning, so he absolutely refused to drink more.

Bai-Cheng tried to persuade him repeatedly, but Hei Ma would not drink. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him, and he slapped Hei Ma on the shoulder. “By the way, Master Ma, you absolutely must drink this cup of wine! It is not for me; it is something Ru-Yi instructed me to do. He repeatedly emphasized it!”

“Ru-Yi is so busy; why bother with Ru-Yi? I should be helping Ru-Yi out. If I could help, I would have gone already!” Hei Ma glanced at Bai-Cheng.

“I cannot help him with his affairs either. We each have our own duties; it is not something you can just do whenever you want. Do not interrupt!

Ru-Yi said that the first time you reviewed essays at Tengwang Pavilion, when you read out names, the first one was Zhou Pei, right? You did not recognize the character ‘Pei.’ Did he not tell you?

That’s a huge favor!

Ru-Yi said he’s busy today and really cannot spare the time, but this cup of wine cannot be skipped. Ru-Yi said that no matter what, you have to drink this cup of wine as a way of thanking him for that one word of help.

Hurry up, drink the wine!”

“Huh! I thought it was something serious! Turns out it is just this, a single word. Given my relationship with Ru-Yi, what kind of favor is this? It is nothing!” Hei Ma waved his hand dismissively.

“One word is not a big deal, but this word comes at a time!

Think about it: back then, standing so high up, so many people watching, just about to call out the name, and then… you did not recognize the word! If it were not for Ru-Yi, how would things have ended?” Bai-Cheng grabbed Hei Ma relentlessly.

“If he was not there, I could just ask someone else! It is just one word! How many words did I read that day? A dozen or twenty, right? In total, there was only one that I did not recognize! Only one!” Hei Ma held up a finger, almost touching Bai-Cheng’s face.

“Only one?” Bai-Cheng exclaimed.

“That’s only because I am from a respectable family! Well-educated and polite, there’s no word I do not recognize! If it were Datou, how many characters would he not recognize? At least half!

Datou, what about you? Mazha, tell me!” Hei Ma, with an imposing air, grabbed Mazha.

Mazha, still clinging to him, was pulled over as well, and both nodded.

When it came to recognizing characters, their Brother Ma was indeed very skilled.

Bai-Cheng was speechless for a long time after Hei Ma’s words, then suddenly let out a soft “uh.”

“I can recognize quite a few characters now. The other day when we were posting comments, Brother Chang posted them over there, and I posted them over here. Most of them were article titles that I looked at and matched myself. Out of three characters, I recognized at least two!” Datou leaned forward, earnestly explaining.

Meng Yanqing and the others, watching the commotion, could not hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

Meng Yanqing stepped forward, laughing wildly, and kept patting Bai-Cheng. After seven or eight pats, he finally managed to speak, breathless.

“Oh, oh, tell me! How can I? No way! Our Master Ma is a master! A master, you know?

It does not matter if you cannot read; that’s a minor matter! What’s important is your boldness! That’s the boldness! A master! Understand?”

“That’s right, that’s right! Brother Meng is right! Our Boss said the same thing.”

“No matter what you do, momentum! The first rule is momentum. With enough momentum, even if you are wrong, you are right! Come on, Brother Meng, have a drink!” Hei Ma reached for the wine jug and filled Meng Yanqing’s cup.

Bai-Cheng laughed so hard he stomped his foot, slapping his forehead and sighing repeatedly.

When it came to discussing scholarship with Hei Ma, he lost from the start, a complete and utter defeat!

Gu Xi, sitting at the head of the table not far from Bai-Cheng and Hei Ma, looked at the imposing Hei Ma, who was constantly giving a thumbs-up, and chuckled. Pointing at Hei Ma, he asked with a smile, “This Master Ma, is he really from a scholarly family?” “

“When I met him, he was indeed literate. He said he often pointed to the signs and billboards on both sides of the street and told Xiao Lu and the others that he knew this character and that character.

But nobody paid him any attention. They were starving; who had the time to care about characters? Besides, nobody knew how to read, so who knew if he knew them correctly?

Blind Mi said that Hei Ma could actually recognize four or five out of ten characters correctly, saying he must have been taught to read when he was still a baby.”

Li Sangrou paused slightly, then continued, “What he remembered most clearly was that his surname was Ma, and his given name was Ma Shaoqing. He remembered his own name most clearly and recognized it best.

Everything else was a mess; his stories were incoherent and contradictory.

However, there were a few things he never got wrong, and we could deduce a thing or two from them. For example, he said his family drank meat soup every day, that his house was very tall and he could not see the top, and that his courtyard was so big that it would take a long time to walk out.

Blind Mi said that, judging from his literacy and what he said, he was only two or three years old when he left his hometown. His teeth had not fully grown in, and he could not eat meat, only soup. The house was extremely tall, and the courtyard was huge because he was so small.

He does not remember how he got to Jiangdu City. When Blind Mi found him, he looked about five or six years old, very sick, with a wound on his back infested with maggots. After he recovered, Blind Mi said he asked him, but besides a few words like ‘meat soup,’ he only remembered the word ‘hunger.'”

Gu Xi sighed softly.

“These little beggars were able to survive and grow up because of Blind Mi.” Li Sangrou looked at Da Chang, who was sitting steadily, arm-wrestling with a group of commanders and lieutenants, and Hei Ma and the others surrounding Da Chang, stomping their feet and shouting.

“What is Master Mi doing now?” Gu Xi changed the subject.

“Before I came here, he went to Yangzhou. I do not know if he’s in Yangzhou now, or back in Jianle City, or maybe back in Nanzhao.

He claims to be unattached. In all his life, he’s only ever written to his Senior Sister Lin. Besides his senior sister, he only receives letters from her,” Li Sangrou chuckled.

“Where’s his Senior Sister Lin? In Jianle City?” Gu Xi asked with amusement.

“I do not know. They are both free spirits.”

“Hmm, enviable,” Gu Xi sighed.

He had never experienced true freedom. People like them were not allowed to be free.

Hei Ma shrieked, interrupting their conversation.

Ten commanders and deputy generals in a row lost an arm-wrestling match against Da Chang!

Da Chang stood up, swinging his arms.

Bai-Cheng and the others stomped their feet, laughing, whistling, and clapping.

“It’s settled! A bet’s a bet!” Across from Da Chang, ten men, all looking rather stern, shouted.

“One jar of wine each!” Hei Ma yelled.

“No way! Frog Jump, ten each!” Chuantiao pushed forward, shouting.

“Make up faces and sing opera!’ Mazha chimed in, equally enthusiastic.

“Then we will have to play clowns!” Datou pushed his way forward.

“Master Chang, what do you say?” Bai-Cheng pushed Hei Ma and Chuantiao back, one in each hand.

“You decide whatever you want,” Da Chang said with a simple, honest expression.

“How about we do a Breaking Formation Dance? We all know it. We just need a drum. It will liven things up for everyone.” The leading lieutenant looked back at the others, and seeing everyone nod, he looked at Da Chang.

“Alright!” Da Chang readily agreed.

“I will beat the drum. In the whole army, I am the best at beating the drums for the Breaking Formation Dance! My beats are the clearest!”

A lieutenant general, brandishing his hand and shouting, rushed forward, snatching two drumsticks from the servant carrying the drum. He then immediately set up the drum, and as soon as it was ready, he struck a series of light, lively beats along the rim to demonstrate his skill.

Seeing the ten men lined up, ready, the lieutenant general slammed his drumstick into the center of the drumhead.

The surrounding commanders and lieutenants gathered around, clapping along to the beat and occasionally letting out a shout.

Hei Ma watched for a while, then exclaimed, “So this is the Breaking Formation Dance? It is too easy! I can do it too!” Before he finished speaking, he swung his arms forward, charging into the formation, then lunging left and stepping back right.

“Me too! Me too!” Chuantiao and Mazha charged forward, one after the other.

Both were quite intoxicated and, charging too fast, Chuantiao crashed headfirst into the back of Hei Ma, causing him to stumble and take a step forward. Chuantiao then grabbed the waist of a commander who was bending over, pulling him down onto his backside.

“What the hell is going on?” the commander exclaimed, trying to get up, but Mazha pounced on him again.

Dong Chao, who was closest, laughed heartily. He stepped forward, first pulling Mazha up, then Hei Ma, until the commander finally stood up.

Dong Chao pulled Hei Ma aside, then blocked Chuantiao and Mazha. “You two took the wrong steps! There’s a proper way to do it! Watch me, come on, follow me!”

“You took the wrong steps, too. Hei Ma did it right this time. I will do it, I will do it.” Another Yunmeng Guard squeezed in next to Dong Chao, pushed him aside, and stepped forward to demonstrate.

“Damn it, you two are completely wrong! Where’s your face? Let me do it!” People from behind pushed their way forward.

The old Yunmeng Guards and their commanders, lieutenants, and officers formed a circle, each pointing out what was wrong and urging others to come forward, dancing and waving, shouting for everyone to come and see.

Everyone else was wrong; only one was dancing correctly.

Gu Xi looked at the chaotic, frantic dancing and twirling, raised his eyebrows, and after a moment, burst into laughter.

This was not a breaking formation dance; it was a demonic dance!

The martial arts arena was in an uproar, the excitement lasting until dawn.

As day broke, most people went back to sleep. Da Chang, Hei Ma, and a few others, as was their custom, went to stroll around Yuzhang City. Meng Yanqing and the others did not stroll around much; most went back to sleep, yawning.

Wen Cheng, after watching the Grand Nuo Opera yesterday, rushed back to read the articles at Tengwang Pavilion. He stayed up until almost dawn and then quickly slept for a while.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, in Jianle City, it would be a grand celebration. But here in Yuzhang City, according to the previous discussion between Governor Luo, himself, and Gu Xi, Gu Xi was to host a banquet for the scholars, literati, and prominent families of Yuzhang City. He was certain to attend and also to oversee the preparations.

Li Sangrou declined Gu Xi’s invitation, yawning as she went back to sleep.