YBTGX 09

Chapter 09

The Brewing Reputation

Not long after the farce ended, Steward Wang finally left. As he departed, he couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth, and his entire demeanor radiated relief. He had specifically urged Lu Lin that he would make a special trip in three days to pick him up. Old Li and the other neighbors also took their leave one after another, and the courtyard quickly returned to its usual desolation. Old Man Lu sat in silence, puffing on his pipe, his eyes frequently casting glances at Lu Lin filled with regret. Li Shi clung tightly to Lu Lin, unwilling to let him go for even a single moment.

…

Xiahe Village was not large. Trivial matters could spread throughout the entire village within half an hour, let alone a rare occurrence like the Lu family selling their grandson and causing such a scene. Old Li walked down the village dirt path with his hands behind his back, followed by the neighbors who had served as guarantors. The scorching sun left them drenched in sweat. One neighbor wiped his brow and couldn’t help but speak up first.

“That Old Lu family… they really missed a gem.”

“Indeed. Who would have thought that the silent ‘mute’ from the second branch could produce such a sharp child?”

“You didn’t see it—that boy knelt on the ground, and every word was so structured and clear, even better than the storytellers in the county town.”

“That was no six-year-old child. I think he must be the Wenquxing (God of Literature) himself, descended from the heavens and reincarnated in the wrong family.”

Old Li heard the chatter behind him and his footsteps suddenly halted. He turned back, looked at the neighbors, and shook his head. “Reincarnated in the wrong family? I don’t think so. It’s just that the Lu family lacked the fortune to hold onto such a heaven-sent prosperity.” Old Li sighed heavily. “You didn’t hear what the boy said at the end. It was so filial that it made my old bones ache. To save his father’s leg and keep his mother from grieving, he devised a win-win solution, even as he sold himself off. Five taels of silver—just for a mere five taels of silver—they pushed away such a prodigy and filial son.”

Old Li’s voice was filled with deep regret.

…

The afternoon sun spilled lazily under the large locust tree at the east end of the village. Several women sat on small wooden stools, sewing shoe soles, chatting away about this family and that one. A group of bare-bottomed boys chased each other beneath the tree, kicking up clouds of dust.

“Have you heard? The son of the Lu family’s second branch was sold to the Liu family in the county to be a pageboy.”

“How could I not have heard? My old man went to watch the commotion and told me all about it.”

A thin-lipped woman stopped her sewing and leaned in, looking mysterious. “You guys don’t know the half of it. The Lu family’s Eldest Uncle tried to pocket the extra two taels of silver from the sale, claiming he needed them for his study trip.”

“Really?”

“Would I lie about that? The boy, Lin-er, exposed him right on the spot and invited Old Li to preside as a fair witness. That scene—tsk, tsk.”

“Oh my, that eldest branch is truly despicable, using their nephew’s ‘body price’ to go off and live the good life?”

“Exactly! And if you ask me, the only one in that Lu family who could ever amount to anything in studies is that boy, Lin-er, who they sold off.”

“No kidding. I heard the child is only six, but he spoke and acted like a little adult. He bamboozled that steward from the Liu house so thoroughly that the man added two extra taels on the spot.”

“What do you call that? That’s having eyes but failing to recognize gold-inlaid jade—throwing away a precious treasure as if it were a common stone.”

A burst of laughter erupted. Just then, Lu Lin’s Third Uncle came wobbling from not far away. The moment the women saw him, the laughter ceased abruptly, but the judgmental stares and whispers became even more brazen. Third Uncle immediately sensed the strange gazes of the crowd. Although he was a libertine and lived an idle life, his skin wasn’t thick enough to endure being pointed at like this.

“What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome young man before?” Third Uncle retorted, chin held high.

A woman who had always been at odds with him immediately spoke in a sarcastic tone. “Oh, isn’t this the Lu family’s Third Uncle? Your family has certainly produced a big celebrity. A six-year-old filial prodigy, sold off just like that. You guys really have some nerve.”

“Indeed. Forgoing the true scholar-in-the-making in your own house to hand money over to that Eldest Uncle, who has been a mere student for twenty years—we womenfolk really can’t understand the Lu family’s way of doing business.”

“Hahahaha…”

Third Uncle’s face turned the color of a pig’s liver, and a surge of wicked fire rushed to his brain. “Bullshit!” Third Uncle, trembling with rage, pointed at the women and cursed. But there were many of them, and they weren’t afraid of a good-for-nothing loafer like him.

They poked and prodded at the Lu family’s dignity, one after another—saying they were blind, saying they forced their nephew to sell himself for five taels, and saying Eldest Uncle, Lu An, was just a useless spendthrift. Third Uncle clenched his fists so tightly he saw stars, but he couldn’t think of a single word to refute them. Too ashamed to stay, he pushed through the crowd and practically fled in defeat.

…

When Steward Wang returned to the Liu estate, the sun was already slanting westward. The two stone lions before the vermillion-painted gates were plated in dark gold by the twilight, looking majestic and solemn. Hanging above the lintel was a plaque with black characters on a gold background reading “Liu Manor,” the calligraphy vigorous and clearly the work of a master.

He had just stepped off the carriage when a slender figure rushed out from the side gate. It was Mo Xiang, the personal maid of the mistress, Madam Lin.

“Steward Wang, you’ve finally returned!”

“Why were you gone so long? Did you buy the new storybooks for the Young Miss?” Mo Xiang asked, her tone hurried, tiny beads of sweat on her forehead. “If there aren’t any new books, the manor is going to fall into chaos. The Master and Mistress have been going out of their way to avoid the Young Miss these past few days.”

Hearing this, Steward Wang pointed to a large, half-human-high parcel in the carriage. “I bought them. Everything I could find on the market, I bought; it should be enough to keep the Young Miss occupied for a while.”

On this trip, besides vetting the pageboy’s background, he had also taken on the task of searching for storybooks for the Young Miss. But the storybooks in all the shops, big and small, in the county had almost all been read by her. Finding more next time wouldn’t be easy.

Mo Xiang just pouted. “Oh, give it a rest. You always say it’ll be ‘enough for a while.’ Steward Wang, you know as well as I do that our Young Miss reads ten lines at a glance. This pile of books will last her two or three months at most.”

Steward Wang sighed helplessly at the thought of the Young Miss’s terrifying reading speed. That, indeed, was not something a normal person could match.

“You take these books to the Young Miss first. I need to go see the Master and Mistress to report the situation.”

Mo Xiang agreed, signaled two servants to move the books, and then, lifting her skirt, trotted along after him.