Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Uncle, I've come to get A Rong to head to town with me."

"Chaoning, you're here."

Cui Shi and Gu Feng—Gu Rong's second brother, who happened to be home—greeted Gu Chaoning.

Knowing the two were going to town to see if the messenger had shown up yet, Gu Changhe said nothing but still snorted coldly at Gu Chaoning.

Gu Rong heard Gu Chaoning's voice and stepped outside.

As soon as he came out, he saw his father glaring at Gu Chaoning with a sour look and snorting coldly.

Gu Rong knew his father was still sore about Gu Chaoning beating Xu Fengshou yesterday. He gave Gu Chaoning a reassuring smile, then blinked at his dad, his eyes clearly saying, "Act normal."

Gu Changhe caught the message in Gu Rong's eyes and immediately puffed up in a huff.

Seeing this, Gu Rong's face fell, and he moved to pull Gu Chaoning away.

Cui Shi and Gu Rong's second brother Gu Feng also strode over, blocking Gu Changhe's view so his grumpy face couldn't be aimed at Gu Chaoning.

Seeing them like this, Gu Changhe grew even angrier.

"Hey, I haven't even said a word yet, and you're treating me like a thief!"

Gu Chaoning looked helpless and stopped Gu Rong from pulling him away.

Over the years, thanks to his friendship with Gu Rong, the elders of both families had grown close. Gu Changhe had even come to treat Gu Chaoning like one of his own kids—Gu Chaoning knew all this.

And precisely because of that, he didn't want to hurt the elders' feelings.

Gu Chaoning walked around Gu Rong, Cui Shi, and Gu Feng, stepped in front of Gu Changhe, and gave him a bow.

"Uncle He, I fully understand what weighs on your mind. But Xue Geer is clever as can be, mature beyond his years. I was simply too furious to bear the Xu family's insulting words."

Gu Chaoning bowed deeply once more to both Gu Changhe and Cui Shi.

"I was reckless and made you all worry. I hope you can forgive me, Uncle He, and not let your anger over me ruin your health."

With these words and gestures, and with Cui Shi, Gu Feng, and Gu Rong chiming in to calm him down, Gu Changhe could no longer keep his face so dark.

But he still had anger in his heart, so he gruffly said to Gu Chaoning, "You sure know how to talk—Xue Geer this, elders that—but you don't regret it, do you?"

"If you couldn't stand the Xu family, you should have told the elders! Let us handle it. Yesterday you made such a scene—hitting people and making threats. Do you still care about your reputation as a scholar?!"

Gu Changhe had been a village chief for so long that he'd had dealings with officials.

Others might not see it, but he could tell that Gu Chaoning had deliberately engineered the beating of Xu Fengshou yesterday.

Xu Fengshou hadn't said anything out of line yesterday, but the Xu family must have said something before, and Gu Chaoning had got wind of it.

Gu Chaoning bowed with clasped hands but heaved a deep sigh.

"The sage's books teach 'benevolence' and 'righteousness.' If I can't even protect the people around me without worrying about my reputation and hiding behind my elders, then I'd be ashamed of myself before the sage's teachings and my family's love."

At these words, Gu Changhe and the others were all stunned into silence.

Gu Changhe let out a long sigh and told the two of them to go.

He didn't show it outwardly, but inwardly he was quietly impressed and felt especially satisfied with Gu Chaoning.

Gu Rong was moved by what Gu Chaoning said and couldn't find words for a long time.

What was the point of studying and taking exams?

This was a question the teacher often asked, and the students' answers would surely be to serve the court and the emperor.

But that answer was too high and mighty. Gu Rong had always known why he'd started studying in the first place.

It was to make himself better, to understand right from wrong, to protect his family, and to improve his family's situation.

Though Gu Rong didn't speak, his gaze kept falling on Gu Chaoning's face, growing more and more intense.

Although Gu Chaoning knew Gu Rong's character and could guess his thoughts,

that intense stare still made him uncomfortable. In the end, he could only quicken his pace, hoping to get to town faster.

Dukou Town.

Sure enough, the messenger still hadn't arrived.

Everyone couldn't hold back their worry anymore. Gu Chaoning walked alongside Gu Rong and overheard some students already discussing renting a cart to go to the county.

As they walked out, Gu Rong turned back and heard many students agreeing to go to the county. He grew restless too.

He looked at Gu Chaoning: "How about we go too?"

Though he knew the results would surely be fine, coming from a fellow student like himself, that sounded too unconvincing.

Besides, if he appeared too calm, it would make people talk.

Gu Chaoning nodded in agreement: "Let's go back and talk it over with the elders."

Last time, Gu Wen drove them in a mule cart. This time, it'd probably be another elder driving them again.

Gu Rong had been so anxious that he'd forgotten about that. He nodded repeatedly.

Too anxious to linger in town, and understanding Gu Rong's feelings, Gu Chaoning picked up the pace back to Xiaohe Village.

At the village entrance.

Song Taohua gathered up her basket and was heading home.

She stood up and saw two figures walking in from the village entrance.

On closer look, she saw it was Gu Chaoning and Gu Rong.

Song Taohua knew the two had been going to town every day lately, waiting for the messenger to bring the exam results.

Seeing them walking back with pale, grim faces, and remembering they'd gone to town several times without any news, Song Taohua started to wonder.

Could it be they didn't pass?

Song Taohua straightened up and called out loudly: "Chaoning, Rong, off to town to check the results again?"

Gu Chaoning and Gu Rong also saw Song Taohua, but before they could greet her, they heard her call out.

Gu Rong, embarrassed by the word "again" from Song Taohua, could hardly lift his head.

Gu Chaoning kept his expression steady, looking at Song Taohua and saying, "Yes, Auntie Peach, are you heading home?"

Song Taohua waited a moment, and when she saw that Gu Chaoning and Gu Rong had nothing more to say, she broke into a smile and replied.

"Oh, yes, yes, I'm heading home now."

But inwardly, she grew more suspicious.

So they really did go to town to check the results, but seeing the lack of joy on young Chaoning's and young Rong's faces, did they really fail?

Or had the results not arrived yet? Was the messenger really that unreliable?

Song Taohua guessed it must be one of those two outcomes; otherwise, why would no one speak after she deliberately waited a while?

The first option was probably more likely.

Song Taohua exchanged a few more words with the two, then hurried away.

Seeing this, Gu Chaoning and Gu Rong also quickened their pace, said what they needed to say to the elders, and parted ways.

Meanwhile, Song Taohua didn't rush home. As she walked back, she scanned the area as if looking for someone.

Before long, she spotted a familiar figure.

Her face lit up with joy, and she wanted to shout but instead called out in a hushed voice to the person ahead.

"Hey, hey, Zhao Fangfang!"

Zhao Fangfang turned around, and seeing Song Taohua, she beamed.

Especially seeing Song Taohua's expression, Zhao Fangfang knew to lean in close, shooting her a wink.

Song Taohua grabbed Zhao Fangfang's hand: "Fangfang, guess who I just saw on my way back."

Zhao Fangfang instinctively looked around, and seeing no one, she anxiously turned to Song Taohua: "Who? Who?"

After building up Zhao Fangfang's suspense, Song Taohua grinned and said, "I saw young Chaoning and young Rong coming back from town together."

Zhao Fangfang also knew about Gu Chaoning and the others going to town to check their results these past days.

So what's the big deal?

Seeing Zhao Fangfang's confusion, Song Taohua pursed her lips, wearing a mysterious look.

Seeing her like that, Zhao Fangfang, though not understanding what was wrong, was buzzing with curiosity.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Song Taohua said, "I'm telling you, you can't tell a soul."

Zhao Fangfang nodded vigorously: "Of course, of course! Sis, just tell me!"

Song Taohua deliberately dragged it out, and when she saw Zhao Fangfang hunched over, head almost touching her lips, Song Taohua finally pushed her head away and spoke.

"Them coming back together isn't a big deal."

"The key is, both of them had sour faces when they returned, especially young Rong—he wouldn't even look me in the eye."

"Tsk tsk tsk, I reckon they must have failed, why else would they have such long faces?"

Zhao Fangfang was shocked, eyes wide, covering her mouth and whispering, "No way, aren't Chaoning and Rong supposed to be really good students?"

Song Taohua patted her hand knowingly: "Oh, think about it, is the imperial exam really that easy? Those officials hog all the spots; there aren't many left for farm kids."

"The landlord's kid over in Chen Family Village studied longer than Chaoning and the others, and he failed a bunch of times."

Song Taohua paused for a moment, then, remembering how tough the Gu family could be, added, "But then again, it's hard to say—maybe the letter just hasn't come yet."

Zhao Fangfang listened to Song Taohua, but she also remembered how scary Gu Chaoning looked when he hit someone yesterday.

That reminded her of how Gu Chaoning used to run wild—chasing dogs, climbing trees for bird eggs, and scooping fish from the river.

"...Maybe he really did fail. You're right, Peach Blossom, that exam's no walk in the park."

The two kept gossiping until Song Taohua's daughter-in-law came looking for her, and then they parted with a wink and a nod.

Song Taohua couldn't help but remind her, "Fangfang, don't you breathe a word to anyone!"

Zhao Fangfang didn't even turn her head, agreeing repeatedly, "Not a word, not a word..."

*

Yin Hongxue, with a basket slung over his back, stood before Xu Xiaoshui, his face lit up with surprise and delight.

"Brother Chaoning did like this, like this, like this..." Xu Xiaoshui clenched his fists and held them up like he was about to throw a punch, his eyes going wide.

Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan stood before him, their mouths slowly dropping open like they'd actually seen Gu Chaoning throw a punch.

That day, Xu Xiaoshui happened to be cutting grass nearby, so he saw the whole thing.

His face was full of excitement, and he acted the whole thing out for Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan, all fired up.