The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1036 - 1015: Grudges II

Chapter 1036: Chapter 1015: Grudges II

Bai Shanxin looked at their teacher with concern and asked softly, "Teacher, do you hold a grudge against your teacher?"

Mr. Zhuang paused for a moment before smiling shallowly and said, "I did hold a grudge when it happened, but Mr. Huang took good care of me. After receiving the response from the academy, I didn’t speak out about it. I thought that even if there were no guaranteed spots for further study, I could simply take the examination myself. Unexpectedly, some unfavorable rumors began to spread around the academy, suggesting that I had taken money from the Chen Family to give up my spot, which was clearly unfair to the other students. Ultimately, the academy decided to remove my nominated spot for the imperial examination."

The third disciple looked at their teacher with an expression full of distress.

Seeing their looks, Mr. Zhuang smiled and patted their little heads. The events had passed so many years ago; discussing them brought nothing but a bit of embarrassment in front of his disciples, while deep down, he felt very calm.

However, "In those days, as a young man, my pride was strong. I felt that staying at the prefectural school might not secure me a spot for next year’s imperial examination, so I left the prefectural school and returned to Luojiang County. There, I took part in the examinations held in Mianzhou, securing a spot for the following year’s imperial examination."

"I met Chen Fulin there," Mr. Zhuang shook his head and said with a hollow laugh, "Our relationship in the prefectural school was average. Although he was older than me, he came from a wealthy family, so I used to take extra care of him in some matters, never expecting..."

Never expecting to become a target like this.

This was the biggest blemish of Mr. Zhuang’s life. Therefore, after a long silence, he continued, "In the capital, while waiting for the imperial examination, in an effort to gain fame, I sent poetic works to two officials. Three days after my poetry was sent out, it was returned to me because, unfortunately, the night before, Chen Fulin had gotten drunk at a small poetry gathering and composed two poems—it just happened to be the two poems I had submitted."

Bai Shan and the others gaped in shock.

Mr. Zhuang smiled lightly and said, "The scholarly community is so small that the slightest matter can cause an uproar, let alone a major incident like this. My character was called into question! At that time, the vast majority of people had a poor impression of me. Aside from a few good friends, no one believed me. Even if I revealed the issue with the prefectural school spot, people simply thought I was spitefully slandering Chen Fulin out of embarrassment."

"There were only three days left until the imperial examination," Mr. Zhuang said. "Not to mention three days; even three years wouldn’t be enough to wash away this stain on my reputation. The Imperial Academy, and even the court examinations, were no longer within my reach. Therefore, I left the capital."

"Word of this incident got back to our hometown, and life in the county city became difficult for us. So I sold our family’s land and moved elsewhere with my dependents. It wasn’t until I grew older and your Senior Brother had married and had children that our family finally returned to our hometown. Now, there are few who still remember the incident, and those who do are no longer in the county city."

Bai Shan pursed his lips and asked, "Who stole Teacher’s poetry?"

Only then did a look of sorrow appear in Mr. Zhuang’s eyes. He raised his head to look out the window, and after a long while, he said, "A friend..."

Chen Fulin thought they were close, but Mr. Zhuang genuinely didn’t feel they were familiar. So when his spot was taken away, and he was suppressed, he only felt injustice and resentment, but it was only when his poetry was stolen that he felt that deep-seated rage of betrayal.

That was why he was so heartbroken.

Mr. Zhuang said softly, "I once considered him a confidant, we traveled together for half a year, equally impoverished and full of ambition. But who would’ve known..."

Manbao asked, "What’s his name, and where is he now?"

Mr. Zhuang knew what she was intending to do, looked at her, then shook his head, "I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since then and never inquired about him, so naturally, I don’t know where he is."

Bai Erlang asked, "Teacher, would you like us to find him to testify for you?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "So many years have passed, why bother stirring things up again?"

Bai Shan said, "But aren’t you worried he might bring up the matter again and cause trouble for us?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled lightly and said, "I told you just so you’d be prepared. I’m old now and don’t care about this reputation of mine. It is you who might be affected by it."

He paused before continuing, "Here’s what we’ll do, I’ll go talk to him tomorrow. I won’t bring up the past, and we’ll all live in peace, how about that?"

"Not how about that," Bai Shan said. "Teacher, can you really trust the words of such a person?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled shallowly, "No."

"Then what’s the point of asking him?"

Mr. Zhuang said indifferently, "Just to try. Maybe he’ll agree. People soften as they get older; perhaps he’s no longer so fiercely competitive."

The three disciples: ...

Manbao said, "I don’t think it’s possible. Look, he’s still struggling in the Ministry of Revenue at his age, only a fifth-ranked official. If I were his age and only reached a fifth-ranking position, I would have resigned and gone back home to enjoy myself."

Mr. Zhuang, who was only a year younger than Chen Fulin: "...are we really that old?"

"Teacher, I’m not talking about you, I mean him," Manbao said seriously, "He is old in heart, so he appears old inside and out. But you’re different, your heart is young, so your appearance looks young too, you can’t even see the signs of age."

Mr. Zhuang smiled contentedly, stroking his beard.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang stared at Manbao with wide eyes.

Manbao raised an eyebrow at them smugly.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhuang shook his head, smiled, and gestured, "Alright, you’ve heard the story, just be more careful in the future. Go on and tend to your own matters; let me handle this."

"Teacher..."

Mr. Zhuang waved his hand.

The three disciples had no choice but to leave.

Bai Shan said, "How can there be people in this world who wouldn’t cherish their own reputation? Teacher is just saying this to comfort us. If people outside were to say he once plagiarized his classmate’s works, he would still be deeply hurt."

Manbao and Bai Erlang nodded vigorously, troubled, "But what can we do? Chen Fulin definitely won’t admit it. From his behavior today, he might still wish to drive Teacher away."

Bai Shan stroked his chin and said, "If I were him, knowing that Teacher lived in the same city, I would certainly be anxious. Even if I could justify it to myself, seeing Teacher would fill me with disgust, like a fishbone stuck in my throat that I need to get rid of to feel at ease."

Manbao and Bai Erlang turned their heads to look at him and exclaimed in surprise, "Shouldn’t he be the one feeling guilty and avoiding Teacher on his own accord?"

"That’s how a person with a conscience would think, but clearly, he doesn’t have one."

"Then how can you guess what he’s thinking?" Manbao looked at him suspiciously, then at his chest and said, "Try touching your heart to see if it’s still there."

Bai Shan: ...

Bai Erlang burst into laughter, exclaiming, "It must be gone!"

Bai Shan kicked out, but he was prepared and swiftly dodged.

Bai Shan said, "Are you guys going to discuss it or not?"