Chapter 88: Begging for Money
At the gate of the academy, Jiang Yihuan was stopped. No matter how much she pleaded, the gatekeeper, an old man, still wouldn’t let her in.
She rummaged through her belongings and pulled out two cents, saying to the old man, "Sir, please do me a favor. I have something important to discuss with Xiao Ci. You know Xiao Ci, don’t you? Your academy didn’t even charge him tuition just to let him study here. Now that he’s inside, treating his family like this is really discouraging."
The old man didn’t take the money Jiang Yihuan offered. Upon hearing the name Xiao Ci, his tone became even more solemn.
"This is a new rule of the academy, and it was Xiao Ci himself who insisted on it. He can’t just break a rule he set himself, can he?"
Jiang Yihuan’s expression changed slightly, a hint of irritation flickering across her eyes, but she quickly resumed her gentle demeanor, saying, "Then please pass a message for me. I won’t go inside. I’ll just wait for him here. A few words will do."
The old man, thinking that Xiao Ci was a beloved student of the Mountain Master and the teachers, and a promising candidate for the imperial exams from their academy, hesitated but agreed, hoping to use this opportunity to befriend him.
After the old man went in, Jiang Yihuan’s face turned a bit sour. It wasn’t until she heard footsteps that she changed her expression, looking up with a smile that froze upon seeing Jiang Yihui.
Jiang Yihui sneered when he saw Jiang Yihuan, saying, "The gatekeeper said a family member of Xiao Ci came to visit. I was wondering how a servant could have family; turns out it’s my dear little sister! You came to the city and instead of seeing your big brother, you specifically came to see a servant. Could it be that you’ve taken a liking to him?"
"Brother, don’t talk nonsense, there’s nothing of the sort," Jiang Yihuan said, embarrassed and indignant. Upon seeing a familiar figure approaching, her embarrassment turned into inferiority. "A person like me, how could I be worthy of Brother Xiao?"
Jiang Yihui frowned, looking at Jiang Yihuan with disdain. "What kind of person are you? At least you have a decent family background, much better than him. Besides his face, what does he have that makes him worthy of you?"
"Brother, please don’t speak nonsense." Jiang Yihuan stomped her foot, so ashamed she seemed ready to crawl into a hole. "Brother Xiao is so good; he is future-material for fame and officialdom. I’m just a village girl who barely knows a few big characters. How could I be eligible to pair with him? Please don’t say such absurd things. You’re just upset that I brought food and didn’t deliver it to you. I’ll give it all to you instead."
Jiang Yihuan picked up the basket on the ground and shoved it into Jiang Yihui’s hand.
Jiang Yihui was about to make more sarcastic remarks when Xiao Ci walked over. The latter said to Jiang Yihui, "The teacher is testing homework, and it’s almost your turn."
Jiang Yihui glared fiercely at Xiao Ci, "I’m telling you, no matter how foolish this girl is, she’s still my sister. Don’t get any ideas about her. Someone like you may not even pass the imperial exams. If you don’t pass, you’ll still have to be a servant to the Jiang Family for life, never thinking you can escape us."
Back then, Zhong Lanhua agreed to cooperate with him in changing his registration because a contract was pre-written. The contract stated that ’Xiao Ci’ must pass the exams to attain fame. If he didn’t, he would be returned to his original status. If he did pass, he’d have to repay the Jiang Family ten thousand taels of gold. Because of this contract’s existence, the Jiang Family would not lose out whether Xiao Ci succeeded or not, which is why they so generously allowed him to change his registration.
"My affairs are no business of yours. You should worry about yourself. If you fail this homework, the teacher will demote you from the Heaven Class to the Human Class."
Jiang Yihui clearly thought of something, his face turning uglier, and he turned with a swish of his sleeves to leave.
"Heaven Class, Human Class, what’s that?" Jiang Yihuan asked, "It sounds quite unusual."
"The Human Class is for beginners, students aged five to ten are regularly tested based on their level of study; you pass the test to advance to the Earth Class. Students in the Earth Class have studied for three to five years and have a good foundation, but aren’t yet at the examination level. When the teachers think they’re ready, they can move up to the Heaven Class."
"So does that mean you in the Heaven Class can go take the imperial exams soon and become an official?" Jiang Yihuan looked at Xiao Yanci with eyes full of admiration.
Xiao Yanci relished being looked at that way by Jiang Yihuan, it comforted him from the setbacks he faced lately.
"Not exactly. Our academy is still small; there aren’t many good seeds here. Even the current Heaven Class has only a few capable of sitting for the exams. They’re just a bit better off than the Human and Earth Classes."
"No matter about others, I know Brother Xiao definitely already has the ability to take the exams. The teachers and Mountain Master came to ask you to study, didn’t they?" Jiang Yihuan said.
She wasn’t really here to listen to these boring things. This person is really dull, saying things a girl can’t even understand.
"By the way, Huan’er, did you have something to discuss with me?" Xiao Yanci asked, realizing Jiang Yihuan’s purpose for finding him.
Jiang Yihuan’s eyes reddened.
"What’s wrong?" Xiao Yanci asked with concern, "Who bullied you?"
"I’ve been planning to find a job in the city lately, I’ll be quite busy, so I wanted to tell you, in case you worry if you can’t find me at home."
"Find what kind of job? Your embroidery is so good; haven’t you been making money from that?" Xiao Yanci frowned. "Tell me, and I’ll help you."
"Some time ago, my mother and I borrowed money to buy a carriage. Unexpectedly, the carriage collided with the Su Family’s ox cart. The carriage broke, the horse ran away, and we were left with nothing except a debt of dozens of taels. If I don’t find a way to earn more money, the debt collectors will come, and my mother and I will be sold into servitude. It’s my fault. I should have discouraged my mother, shouldn’t have bought the carriage."
Xiao Yanci frowned, "Why buy a carriage? Carriages are expensive and impractical."
"You know my family and the Su Family are at odds. The Su Family bought an ox cart, and my mother was so angry she had chest pains and couldn’t sleep for days. Later, she said buying a carriage would one-up the Su Family so we bought one."
"How did such a thing even happen? The Su Family must’ve done it on purpose, right?" Xiao Yanci said angrily, "Those people are despicable, always playing dirty tricks, truly shameless."
"I heard that there’s an embroidery workshop in the city that’s hiring. If I stay in the city to do embroidery, I could earn three taels of silver a month. Even generous customers might reward me. If I work for a year or so, I should be able to pay off the debt."
Xiao Yanci took out a silver note from his pocket, saying, "This is from the wall paintings Landlord Liu requested. It’s ten taels in total. Take it to repay part of the debt. I’ll send more to you when I earn it."
"How can I? I can’t accept your money." Jiang Yihuan’s eyes shone bright, but her face was one of deep shame.
"I told you, as long as I have it, whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be alive. Huan’er, although your mother is harsh, I’m still grateful she bought me. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met such a kindhearted girl as you..."