Mo Sang – CH 272

Chapter 272. Ruthless

Da Chang, Meng Yanqing, and the others returned carrying loads on shoulder poles and baskets on their backs, all drenched in sweat.

Seeing Li Sangrou, Nanny Zhang, and Gong Xiaoyi checking the accounts, Dong Chao packed oranges and pomegranates into one basket, washed crabapples, hawthorns, pears, and grapes, and filled another large basket, carrying it over with both hands.

The baskets were too big, so Dong Chao had to bring over a table as well.

The accounts were settled quickly, and Gong Xiaoyi took his leave. Nanny Zhang, who lived there, did not need to leave. She picked up a crabapple and smiled at Li Sangrou, saying, “This year, fruits are all expensive. This year, everyone in and around Yuzhang City, including the nearby small counties, has made a fortune—the shrewd merchants and vendors have all done so.”

Seeing Li Sangrou raise an eyebrow, Nanny Zhang explained with a smile, “This all started because of the Boss. It is about this essay critique ever since it appeared in the Gossip Evening Post. Now, five out of ten pages in that paper are about it.

After Southern Liang abandoned Changsha City, Tanzhou is so close to Hongzhou. Scholars from there also come to write essays. Does the Boss read the Gossip Evening Post?” Nanny Zhang asked.

Li Sangrou shook her head, honestly replying, “Too many. I read very little.”

She hardly read those articles; she did not understand them, and besides, she did not need to worry about that part. There were definitely people in Jianle City specifically watching that.

“Oh my, it is incredibly lively!” Nanny Zhang stopped eating the crabapple, taking a bite of the fruit instead of talking.

“Let me think. Southern Liang abandoned Changsha City around the third or fourth months of this year. From then on, scholars from Tanzhou started coming to Yuzhang City.

At first, it was all right, but when one article made it into the top three, the scholars from Hongzhou got upset. First, they criticized it in the Gossip Evening Post, saying the Tanzhou scholars lacked morality.

The Gossip Evening Post has also been sold to Tanzhou, so they can join the conversation now. It has gotten really complicated. Originally, it was Jiangbei saying the Jiangnan scholars were all talk and no action, and Jiangnan saying the Jiangbei scholars were generalizing. Suddenly, it has become a battle of wits between the scholars of Hongzhou and Tanzhou, with the Jiangbei scholars offering neutral commentary.

Tsk! These scholars, their writing is not necessarily good, but when it comes to exposing shortcomings and criticizing, they are all first-rate—so scathing!” Nanny Zhang clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Li Sangrou chuckled.

“Later, the scholars from Hongzhou even petitioned Governor Luo, asking him to order a ban on scholars from Tanzhou writing at the Tengwang Pavilion.

I do not know what Governor Luo said, but anyway, he persuaded them all to go back.

More and more scholars from Tanzhou are coming to Yuzhang City. Scholars from all over Hongzhou should hurry up and come too. According to the proposal from the Hongzhou scholars in the fifth month, we cannot really let the people of Tanzhou have their writings engraved on their own Tengwang Pavilion.

Originally, Yuzhang City already had quite a few scholars coming from Jiangbei, Anqing Prefecture, Ezhou Prefecture, and even as far away as Xiangfan.

How many people will there be? Right? Most of them will come and not leave.

The General’s Office said that after the completion of the Tengwang Pavilion, a grand ceremony will be held. Perhaps even officials from the imperial court will attend, and renowned scholars will be invited to give lectures. There will also be several literary gatherings. General Luo will definitely be there. They say even the Imperial Academy’s Chancellor Huang from Jianle City will be coming.” Nanny Zhang leaned forward, unconsciously lowering his voice.

Li Sangrou chuckled, nodding as she laughed.

Chancellor Huang was not just coming; he had been there for quite some time.

“Everyone’s waiting for Chancellor Huang. Next year is the autumn imperial examination year!” Nanny Zhang continued, lowering her voice, “This war has reached a point where it is clear now. Soon, within the next year, or at the latest, by next year, this world will belong to the Great Qi.

With the unification of the empire, a special imperial examination is inevitable. This one coincides perfectly with the autumn and spring examinations. Without this special examination, the number of successful candidates will inevitably increase significantly. This is an extremely rare opportunity.

Listening to the scholars’ idle chatter, they love to gather in groups around the Tengwang Pavilion, drinking tea and engaging in lively discussions.

They say this is considered the first imperial examination since the founding of the dynasty. If you can pass this first examination, your status…tsk.” Nanny Zhang clicked her tongue, leaning closer to Li Sangrou, her voice even lower. “There are also quite a few scholars from Muzhou, speaking with a strong Muzhou accent, and some from Hangzhou. I wonder how they got here.

They are all very low-key. After all, this is still Southern Liang. They’ve already arrived. Scholars, after all, have to maintain a certain air of integrity.”

Li Sangrou chuckled.

“In and around this city, every inn, big or small, is packed. Scholars who’ve arrived in the last two or three months have had to rely on relatives and friends who’ve found inns, sharing rooms with two or three people. If that’s too crowded, they go to the neighboring counties, making the round trip every morning and evening.

So many people, all with money, need food, drink, and daily necessities—they all have to spend money.

Just around the corner, that mother and son have made a fortune selling wash water.

Many families in this city have vacated any rooms they can, cleaned them, furnished them with new beds and bedding, added a table, and made them ready to live in, and the prices are not cheap!

Countless people have come to inquire about our courtyard, asking if it is for sale. Quite a few innkeepers have asked to rent it for a year at exorbitant prices.

I’ve turned them all away. We are not short of that little bit of money.” Nanny Zhang waved her hand dismissively.

Li Sangrou glanced at Nanny Zhang sideways.

………………………………

The next day, after another ten days’ worth of commentary was posted, Meng Yanqing divided the work into two groups of twenty or thirty people, each group spending an hour watching the poet that Lady Wei and her companions were looking for.

They watched from day to night, until around midnight the following day, when they finally spotted the person. One of the two Old Yunmeng guards on duty went back to report, while the other secretly followed.

Around the end of the morning, Li Sangrou and Lady Wei found the owner of those poems.

Sure enough, not far from Tengwang Pavilion, at a farmhouse, was a woman, very thin, pale, and old, carrying a child no more than a year old on her back. The child looked like a boy, and he was chewing on something, his hands and face covered in drool.

Beside the woman, a burly man in his thirties held a large, rough earthenware bowl, glaring menacingly at Li Sangrou and the others. Beside him was an equally burly old woman, holding a similar large bowl, her eyes darting around, scrutinizing everyone.

“I am looking for her.” Li Sangrou pushed Lady Wei back, signaling her not to come closer, then stepped forward, pointed to the pale woman, and looked at the old woman.

The old woman’s eyes darted around, scrutinizing Lady Wei’s silk robes and jade bracelet from Li Sangrou’s gaze to Lady Wei’s.

“These three poems, did you write them?” Li Sangrou held up three sheets of paper in front of the woman.

The woman pursed her lips tightly, instinctively glancing at the burly man.

The burly man craned his neck to look, then slapped the woman hard on the head. “You will never learn!”

The woman fell onto the water vat, the things the child behind her was carrying flew out of their hands, and the child burst into tears, grabbing the woman’s hair with both hands and pulling hard.

“You!” Lady Wei cried out in alarm, trying to rush forward, but Li Sangrou stopped her.

“Do not come closer, and do not speak. Step back,” Li Sangrou whispered in her ear.

Lady Wei gave a soft “hmm,” her lips pressed tightly together, and stepped back.

Watching the woman straighten up, find the food that had been tossed from the child’s hand, rinse it with half a ladle of water, and hand it back to the child.

“Did you write this poem?” Li Sangrou, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened, looked at the woman and asked again.

The woman subconsciously shifted, head bowed, and remained silent.

“A distinguished guest is asking you a question!” the old woman beside the burly man shrieked. “Are you dead?! She’s just like that, utterly useless! Do not bother with her, distinguished guest!”

The old woman lunged at Fourth Madam Wu née Wei.

Li Sangrou held out her hand, blocking the old woman. “Go back, stand still, and do not speak until I ask you a question, or I will break your legs.”

“You dare!” The burly man slammed the bowl onto the table and was about to charge forward.

Da Chang stepped forward, grabbed the burly man by the neck, and pushed him onto the table. With a slight squeeze, the man struggled to breathe. When Da Chang released him, the man coughed violently.

“Alright, we can talk now. Did you write this poem?” Li Sangrou looked at the woman and asked with a smile.

“Yes,” the woman replied softly.

“What’s your surname? What’s your name? How old are you?” Li Sangrou scrutinized the woman; she looked far too old.

“My surname is Yu, my given name is Cui, and I am twenty-four this year.” In those few words, Yu Cui glanced at the burly man and the old woman several times.

“You are in the prime of your life. Your poem is very good, full of inspiration. I can help you get rid of this man, this old woman, this place. I will find you a place, a job, so you can read and write poetry freely. Do you want to come with me?” Li Sangrou looked at Yu Cui and asked directly.

“She is…” The old woman was slapped back before she could finish her sentence.

Yu Cui glared at Da Chang, who had hit her, and the old woman, who had been slapped, forgetting to answer Li Sangrou’s question.

“Are you leaving or not?” Li Sangrou looked at Yu Cui and asked again with a smile.

“Where to?” Yu Cui asked softly.

“Jiangbei, Yangzhou, anywhere away from here is fine; wherever you like,” Li Sangrou replied with a smile.

“Am I alone?” Yu Cui asked again in a low voice.

“Yes,” Li Sangrou answered with a firm “hmm.”

“I have a child.” Yu Cui glanced back.

“Boy or girl?” Li Sangrou looked at the child who was eating with one hand and pulling at Yu Cui’s hair with the other.

“Son.”

“That’s their family heirloom. Your mother-in-law will risk her life to raise him well.” Li Sangrou glanced at the burly man glaring at her and the old woman whose face was swollen on one side.

“I am worried,” Yu Cui said, her eyes downcast.

“I want to buy this child. Name your price,” Li Sangrou said, turning to the burly man and the old woman.

The burly man’s eyes widened, and he quickly turned to look at his mother.

The old woman’s eyes darted around rapidly. After a moment, she looked at Fourth Madam Wu née Wei and gritted her teeth, saying, “I will not sell! That’s the root of our Wang family! If you take him, take us with you! Not one less!”

Li Sangrou looked at Yu Cui. “Are you coming or not?”

“Can I not take the child?” Yu Cui asked Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou gestured to the old woman. “You heard everything.”

“Can we not all come together?” Yu Cui’s voice was very low.

“No.” Li Sangrou’s voice was gentle, but there was no room for negotiation.

“I am worried about the child,” Yu Cui said softly after a moment of silence.

“Alright, I understand.” Li Sangrou took a step back, turned, and gestured to Lady Wei. “Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Yu Cui called out, taking a step quickly after her.

Lady Wei stopped abruptly, holding her breath as she looked at Yu Cui.

Li Sangrou stopped, turned back, and looked at Yu Cui.

Yu Cui took another step forward, now only a step away from Li Sangrou, and whispered, “Could you… please make them stop hitting me? Just do not hit me.”

“I can only take you with me. I cannot stop them from hitting you,” Li Sangrou looked at Yu Cui, paused for a moment, and then said slowly.

“I gave birth to this child. The first three were girls; none of them survived. This one… I gave birth to four, and this one…” Yu Cui rattled off a string of words.

Li Sangrou looked at her and paused for a moment. “I can only take you with me. You are alone.”

“I really cannot. This child is mine. I…” Yu Cui’s head was pulled back by the child behind her.

Li Sangrou looked at her, did not answer, and, after a moment, turned and left.

Lady Wei followed Li Sangrou out of the village, onto the main road, and got into the carriage. Looking at Li Sangrou sitting by the door, she frowned and said, “Why did you not let her take the child? What’s wrong with taking the child?”

“Helping someone can only be done when they are at their lowest point, pulling them out of hell.

But when you pull them out of hell, the evil spirits around them will desperately hold them back, using them to climb up together.

Either they use all their strength to kick away those evil spirits and escape alone. If they cannot bear to pull one up, they will pull a second, and then it is one pulling another.

Everyone has one or two people they cannot bear to part with, people they’d rather die to pull up. You cannot only understand one, right?

In the end, she’s still in hell.

Being in hell is not because of the place, but because of the people around you.” Li Sangrou’s tone was slow.

“After all, it is her own child,” said Fourth Madam Wu.

“She’s indecisive. You can tell from her words.

That child keeps pulling her hair. She cannot control the child, or perhaps she’s unwilling to discipline him. What kind of child will grow up in her care?

Also, her only request of me is that I stop them from hitting her. If one day that man and that old woman find her, as long as they do not beat her, even if they lie on top of her and drain her dry, she’ll be happy.

This person cannot stand on their own two feet, so I cannot help them.

I never help those who cannot stand on their own two feet.”

Lady Wei paused for a moment, then sighed deeply. “It’s quite pitiful.”

“There are countless pitiful people in this world, several at every turn,” Li Sangrou said coldly. “I am very busy. Helping anyone is just a small favor. I cannot always watch over them or lend a helping hand. I can only help those I can.”

Li Sangrou paused, then continued, “Life is short. In these limited decades, I hope to do as much useful work as possible. If I help someone, I hope they can stand tall and become a shady tree.

If I am helping someone, but through them I am feeding a group of evil spirits, then that goes against my conscience.

I am not a saint; I simply want to do something to change the world long afterward.”