DNS - Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Fang Shifei still had to attend the official academy. She needed to take the imperial examination, and the fastest way to secure a spot as a candidate was to graduate from the official academy.
Normally, she had to look after Du Ling, often skipping classes intermittently. Now that Lin Xingyuan had arrived, she was finally free to spare some time.
Early the next morning, she steamed some rice and took it to the academy. She sat down quietly, waiting for class to begin.
"Fang Shifei!"
Someone at the front shouted sternly.
Fang Shifei frowned slightly, holding the brush in her hand and continuing to write, pretending she hadn't heard.
The teacher who taught the Analects slammed the table: "Fang Shifei, you are still a student of Changshen Academy. Are you already starting to defy your teachers?"
Lu Geyang, sitting next to her, nudged her, reminding her nervously. Only then did Fang Shifei stop writing, stand up, and ask, "Is something the matter, sir?"
The other students snickered, whispering, "Here we go again."
Clearly, her being reprimanded was a regular occurrence.
"You dare ask what matter?" The teacher pointed at her and said, "You didn't come to class yesterday, and the day before yesterday you gathered a crowd to fight and bully a fellow student. This is a disgrace to the teachings of the sages. Do you know your mistake?"
"This student did not lay a hand on anyone," Fang Shifei said. "May I ask who was injured and where?"
He Xingdong in the front row turned his head and said, "A scholar can be befriended but not coerced, approached but not forced. They can be killed but not humiliated. The foul words you spoke yesterday were tantamount to murder!"
Fang Shifei glanced at him: "Then how are you still clinging to life?"
The teacher roared in anger: "Fang Shifei!"
Fang Shifei raised an eyebrow.
He Xingdong was the County Magistrate's son, and everyone in the academy had to give him face. Among the students, it was mostly normal interaction, but some of the teachers' expressions were truly unpleasant.
As for this Young Master He, it was hard to describe him in a few words. He was quite normal as a person, usually without the airs of a profligate son, but his mind was a bit muddled, and his eyes were blind.
Instigated by others, he had always been at odds with her.
As for Fang Shifei, nominally, she came from a humble background.
Her father, Fang Gui, was originally just a small carpenter. Five years ago, Fang Shifei traveled with her master to seek refuge with him. She appeared out of nowhere and became Fang Gui's second son born outside. Only then did Fang Gui start doing business in the north. Now, in less than five years, he was a merchant in Shuidong County with a modest fortune.
Naturally, a mere Fang Gui still couldn't command much respect in front of the County Magistrate.
The day before yesterday... the day before yesterday, He Xingdong came looking for trouble again and was cursed back by Fang Shifei.
"Is this your last assignment? It talks about 'the benevolent way that illuminates all things'. Heh, I see you are still far from understanding it." The teacher directly tore the paper and slapped it on the desk: "Get out and reflect properly."
Fang Shifei wasn't angry either. She swaggered out, already used to it.
Lu Geyang watched her leave with concern.
He Xingdong smiled smugly, but then quietly slipped over to Fang Shifei's seat and asked Lu Geyang, "What was he copying just now?"
Lu Geyang said, "He was helping me copy books."
"Oh... alright." He Xingdong was a bit disappointed when he saw he couldn't cause trouble. Finally, he asked, "What book are you copying?"
Lu Geyang flipped through the pages and replied, "My father is injured, so I'm copying some books to supplement the household income."
A couple of days ago, his family got some pork belly fat to render lard. After rendering, his father was reluctant to throw away the cracklings and ate them himself. As a result, the cracklings were fried too hard, and he chipped his tooth, bleeding a lot.
Fang Shifei's expression was strange when she heard that at the time.
His father woke up with a fever early that morning. Lu Geyang wanted to copy a few books to sell so he could get medical treatment. When Fang Shifei heard this, she said she would help him copy. To be precise, it should be 'recite and write', as she could already recite these books backward.
Although printing existed now, block printing was too expensive, and the number of printing blocks was limited. Only books like the Analects and Book of Poetry had seen their prices drop; other books still relied on manual copying for circulation. Those with beautiful handwriting could make a living by copying books.
It was just that scholars rarely did such things, which showed that the two of them were truly poor.
And indeed, they were among the few commoner students in the official academy.
He Xingdong couldn't possibly help him copy books like Fang Shifei did. So he lowered his head, fumbled in his bosom for a while, took out all the money he had with him, pushed it over, and said, "You use this for now."
Lu Geyang said in a low voice, "Please take it back."
He Xingdong said with a grin, "I'm lending it to you. Write me an IOU. Say that in one year... two years, you'll repay me double the amount. Isn't there still profit for me?"
Lu Geyang hesitated for a moment, then accepted it. He took another piece of paper, wrote the note, and handed it over with both hands, saying, "Please take a look."
He Xingdong didn't even look, casually crumpled it into a ball, and put it inside his clothes.
Lu Geyang smiled helplessly. He thought to himself, it's fine, I'll just remember it.
He Xingdong was just childish. He was still very good to his fellow students. More or less everyone here had received his help.
Lu Geyang couldn't help but say, "Young Master He, if you could just show Fang Shifei half the..."
He Xingdong interrupted him angrily, "No! I just hate him, he's the only one I can't stand!"
After saying that, he buried his head and started sleeping on the desk.
Lu Geyang sighed helplessly.
During the break, the teacher left, and Lu Geyang went out to see Fang Shifei.
Lu Geyang was sallow and thin, always looking like he hadn't had enough to eat. He studied diligently, and his aptitude was indeed very good.
He brought Fang Shifei a cup of water to quench her thirst and asked with a headache, "How did you end up clashing with Young Master He?"
Fang Shifei said indifferently, "He starts it every time. What does it have to do with me?"
Lu Geyang: "Young Master He isn't a bad person, he just doesn't know how to yield. If you're unwilling to give way to him, of course he'll get angry."
Fang Shifei said, "Then of course I'm not willing to give way to him. Who is he to me?"
A young man nearby interjected, "Hey, He Xingdong's temper is bad. But Fang Shifei's temper is both stubborn and bad. You want to persuade him? You'd be better off trying to persuade Young Master He."
Fang Shifei smiled: "Hey, you understand me."
"I'm not praising you, don't get carried away." The young man chuckled, "Brother He's father is the County Magistrate. If you offend him everywhere, I don't think you'll ever graduate."
Fang Shifei snorted, "That's not necessarily true. A flaw doesn't hide the jade. Besides, the flaw isn't on me."
The young man said, "The flaw is precisely on you. Without the official document issued by the government, you still want to take the imperial examination? There are plenty of ways to deal with a commoner like you."
While they were talking, He Xingdong walked over. The students, worried that the two of them would cause trouble together, also followed out and watched from the side.
He Xingdong stood in front of Fang Shifei and snorted, "Fang Shifei, you've got guts. I told you long ago to be sensible, but you just had to cross me. How about this? You obediently come with me to apologize to Younger Sister Ying, and I'll have the teacher let you graduate and the government issue you the official document. Isn't that a good deal?"
"Your Grandpa Fang disdains it!" Fang Shifei laughed, "Let me ask you, was it your idea for the teacher to deliberately ridicule me today?"
He Xingdong raised his head: "So what if it was?"
Fang Shifei was still holding back a surge of anger. Hearing this, she smiled: "Nothing much. If you dare to complain about me to the teacher, I dare to complain about you to your father."
He Xingdong said smugly, "Go ahead if you dare. Can you even see my father?"
Fang Shifei shook her head: "I don't need to see him myself. I can have you deliver a message to your father."
"Dream on," He Xingdong said. "Who do you think I am?"
Fang Shifei curled her lips into a smile at him: "Not anyone—"
Without giving him time to react, Fang Shifei clenched her hand into a fist and punched him directly in the face.
Everyone was shocked and rushed over to help He Xingdong up. Lu Geyang turned sideways to shield Fang Shifei, looking as if he didn't know her.
"Fa-Fa-Fa—" He Xingdong let go of his face, his eye socket already bruised. He said exasperatedly, "—Fang Shifei, are you crazy! You dare hit me?"
Fang Shifei rubbed her hand, shook off the people behind her, and said, "Just go back and see your father with that face. He'll understand everything."
Lu Geyang said disapprovingly, "Fang Shifei, a gentleman uses words, not fists. How could you be so reckless?"
Fang Shifei: "He acted unjustly first. Should I still talk about being a gentleman with him?"
He Xingdong was about to step forward again. Everyone quickly stopped him and tried to mediate.
He really didn't learn his lesson. With Fang Shifei's martial arts skills, ten of him combined couldn't beat one Fang Shifei!
One had itchy hands (provocative), the other was ruthless. Wasn't this just asking for a beating?
The crowd quickly tried to appease him: "Young Master He, don't you know Fang Shifei is crazy? Why bother asking for trouble?"
"Let it go, let it go. He's just a rough person, don't stoop to his level."
He Xingdong's face hurt when he used force, and he hissed, sucking in cold air. He said angrily, "I'm going to have you arrested!"
Fang Shifei didn't care at all: "Go ahead and arrest me. If you lock me up, how much better off will Fang Ying be? Don't forget she's my third sister. Although she hates me, my father likes me. As long as you lock me up, I'll have Old Master Fang marry her off to someone else."
"I—" He Xingdong stamped his foot, "You—you really think I can't do anything to you?"
Fang Shifei crossed her arms: "If you could really do anything to me, you wouldn't have tolerated me for all these years."
He Xingdong was about to cry from anger.
Lu Geyang tugged at her sleeve: "Fang Shifei!"
Fang Shifei flicked her sleeve: "Why are you pulling me? Can I, a commoner, scare him? Didn't I tell him to come at me?"
He Xingdong became even angrier.
He simply flicked his sleeve and left, not attending the rest of the class.
The crowd stood there, at a loss, and finally sighed.
He Xingdong wasn't like a typical profligate son; even when extremely wronged, he wouldn't resort to hitting people.
Fang Shifei was the one who would.
Lu Geyang pushed her shoulder and accused, "Fang Shifei, you went too far! We're all fellow students. Talking is one thing, but how could you hit someone? Besides, his... his father is the County Magistrate! Do you not want to live anymore?"
Fang Shifei: "Anyway, I can't be friends with him. Why be polite?"
Lu Geyang: "There's no feud in the world that can't be resolved. The two of you are just having some minor squabbles. If you didn't deliberately provoke him, how could he target you everywhere?"
Fang Shifei, however, said very seriously, "There isn't one now, but who knows, maybe there will be in the future? I don't mind if he hates me a little more."
Lu Geyang said angrily, "You two really have—terrible tempers. I'm not dealing with this anymore!"
Fang Shifei lowered her head and touched the pendant at her waist. She also felt it was pointless and simply went home.
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