Chapter 19: 19 Genius
Editor: Atlas Studios
After dinner, Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun returned to the academy, only to be informed that their dormitory had collapsed.
“When did it collapse?” Xiao Liulang asked.
A student said,”It collapsed not long after you guys left. Many people saw you heading towards the dormitory and started worrying that you might get buried in there.”
They were planning to go, but…
Xiao Liulang paused for a moment.
Gu Xiaoshun rushed to check the collapsed dormitory. The shattered walls and cracked floors were everywhere, all due to the falling beams. Thinking about what would happen if one of those beams fell on human heads, he patted his chest in fear, “Thank god my sister came to get us for dinner, otherwise, we would have been buried alive!”
Counting the previous incident at the medical hall, this was the second time. Both times, it was because of her that they were able to avoid a catastrophe.
Xiao Liulang looked in the direction where Gu Jiao had left, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
The dormitory situation at Tianxiang Academy was always tight. Because this enrollment invited as many as a hundred and one new students, the most significant influx ever, there were simply no spare dorms to accommodate them. Thus, Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun were forced to continue their day study.
Usually, the lodging fee is included in the academy fee, there is no refund even if you don’t stay. However, considering this is not the student’s fault, the academy volunteered to cover Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun’s daily transportation fees.
Gu Xiaoshun didn’t care much. He didn’t like the Gu Family, but he didn’t necessarily love the academy either; everything was the same to him.
“Brother-in-law, you must be thrilled, right?” Gu Xiaoshun asked Xiao Liulang quietly on their way back to the classroom.
“Why would I be thrilled?” Xiao Liulang countered.
“You get to sleep with my sister now!” Gu Xiaoshun, who was thirteen years old and was too young to understand certain things, blurted out the words. He thought it was the norm for a husband to sleep with his wife, but he wasn’t quite sure what they did after they went to bed.
Therefore, he wasn’t ashamed when he said it.
Xiao Liulang choked, “Stop talking nonsense.”
“Oh.” He wasn’t speaking nonsense, right? His brother-in-law could go home and sleep with his sister now!
After entering the classroom and settling down, they began their afternoon mathematics lessons. The imperial examination does not include maths, only involves the Eight-legged Essay, so the government didn’t attach much importance to maths. The reason this subject was offered was entirely because the principal wanted to cultivate versatile talents for Zhan Country.
As soon as Xiao Liulang sat down, Professor Zhang called him out, “The principal is looking for you.”
Xiao Liulang then visited the principal in Zhongzheng Hall.
As he approached the entrance, he unexpectedly met Gu Dashun, who was coming out of Zhongzheng Hall.
There was a lingering look of satisfaction on Gu Dashun’s face. However, upon seeing Xiao Liulang, his brow furrowed, “What are you doing here?”
Xiao Liulang ignored him, leaned on his crutches, and walked past him.
Gu Dashun frowned.
Had Xiao Liulang come to meet the principal too?
Gu Dashun was told on his first day of school that the principal highly appreciated him. Later, he received hints that the principal was planning to choose a personal disciple from this batch of students and encouraged him to work hard.
Of course, he had to work hard.
With his talent and the guidance from such a distinguished scholar like the principal, there was no reason for him not to pass the examination.
Last night, he spent nearly the entire night penning an essay. He showed it to Professor Chen the next morning. At noon, Professor Chen showed it to the principal, and the principal called him over to ask him some questions about the essay. He answered them all very well.
He could tell that the principal was satisfied.
He figured he was practically assured of being chosen as a disciple, but he was puzzled about why Xiao Liulang was there too.
For the dormitory issue perhaps?
He heard that Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun’s dormitory collapsed at noon. Such an unlucky incident has happened to them, which just revealed their unfortunate fate.
With this in mind, Gu Dashun smirked coldly and strutted back to the classroom with a pompous air.
Inside Zhongzheng Hall, the principal pointed to the Eight-legged Essay on the table and asked Xiao Liulang, “Did you write this yourself?”
“Yes,” Xiao Liulang replied.
The principal’s sharp eyes fell on Xiao Liulang. The boy was only about seventeen, still holding a hint of innocence in his face, yet revealing a steadiness and coolness beyond his age between his brows.
His leg was crippled, but he seemed more noble than any healthy student.
“Why didn’t you answer the first two subjects?” the principal asked.
Outsiders only knew that this student scored badly in the exams, but they had no idea he turned in two blank exam papers for the three subjects.
He should not have been admitted, but the essay he wrote was indeed stunning.
Although Gu Dashun’s essay was also good, it was only decent for a freshman. When compared to Xiao Liulang’s, it seemed lackluster.
Xiao Liulang did not answer the principal’s question.
He was such a stubborn child. The principal sighed silently in his heart and waved his hand, “Alright, you may go back to class.”
Xiao Liulang performed a student’s salute and turned to leave.
A scholar dressed in regular clothing came out from behind the curtain.
“Teacher.” The principal immediately stood up and respectfully saluted the scholar.
The scholar picked up Xiao Liulang’s essay and shook his head after reading it, “Your student has a strong rebellious streak.”
After saying goodbye to Xiao Liulang, Gu Jiao went to the nearby market.
The town’s eastern market was similar to the marketplace in the west, but a bit more upscale and correspondingly pricier. However, the marketplace was now closed, so she had to shop at the store or the market.
Gu Jiao bought five pounds of flour, two pounds of top-grade pork belly, and two pounds of salt. In total, she spent more than a hundred copper plates.
As she passed a cloth shop, she remembered that when she was doing laundry for Xiao Liulang a few days ago, his middle and inner clothes were torn.
She bought a set of each and asked the shopkeeper for some leftover fabrics. If some clothes could be patched up, she would do it.
Although she had never patched clothes before, she had sutured hearts. If she regarded the fabric as a piece of skin, it should be easy to sew, right?
Gu Jiao packed the things she bought into her basket and was ready to return to the village. As she stepped out of the shop, she noticed more soldiers on the street.
Some residents were whispering to each other nearby.
“What happened?”
“I heard that the patients from Mafeng Mountain have escaped. The government is searching for them all over the streets!”
“Oh no, leprosy patients? That’s a nightmare!”
“Indeed! We should stay indoors these days, just in case we bump into them! Once you catch it, you’re a goner, there’s no cure!”
In ancient times, leprosy was considered incurable. It meant certain death after infection.
Gu Jiao suddenly remembered something – it seemed that Xiao Liulang’s elder brother died of leprosy.
The squad of soldiers finished their search and moved on to the next street.
Gu Jiao returned to the village.
She didn’t take the incident on the street to heart. After returning home, she began to prepare Yangchun noodles.
While she was kneading the dough, there was suddenly a loud thud from outside, as if something had knocked against her front door.
Gu Jiao wiped her hands on a dry cloth and went to check. She found an old lady had fallen at her doorstep.