Chapter 51: Chapter 47: Blunder

“Sigh, Elder Chen… is so biased…”

“Isn’t that the truth? If only he’d been a little kinder to that mother and son from Mute Bay…”

“I heard the boy lives on a rundown boat and never knows where his next meal is coming from…”

Xiaohai, however, was completely oblivious. He clutched the few copper coins he had and cheerfully followed the crowd away.

In the blink of an eye, the Chen Family’s once noisy, festive, and jam-packed courtyard was left with nothing but a mess on the ground and a bone-chilling emptiness.

Elder Chen stood transfixed beside the basin of shimmering golden soybeans. His withered hand unconsciously grabbed a handful, only to let them rustle through his fingers, as if the “good fortune” he had just grasped was slipping away with them.

……

A rare, warm sun shone on the filthy waters of Mute Bay, casting a deceptively golden shimmer on its surface.

“He passed! He really passed! A Martial Scholar! Chen Qing became a Martial Scholar!”

The messenger shouted himself hoarse, running barefoot and wild across the muddy pier as if the good news were his own.

The news was like a drop of water in boiling oil, causing an instant explosion of commotion.

All of Mute Bay erupted in an instant, like a hornet’s nest that had just been violently jabbed.

The curtains of dilapidated shacks and rundown boats were flung open, revealing faces long-numb and weathered by hardship, now filled with nothing but shock and disbelief.

“GONG! GONG! GONG!”

The clear, resounding clang of a bronze gong drew nearer, drowning out all other noise.

Two Government Officials, dressed in black uniforms with red plumes in their caps, strode forward with their heads held high, led by a Junior Official holding a red-lacquered wooden tray.

Their expressions were arrogant, and they walked with a deliberate, stately air that was utterly out of place amidst the squalor of this slum.

“Official Announcement! Master Chen, given name Qing, of Mute Bay, Gaolin County, has passed the county’s Martial Arts Examination, ranking seventh on the C List! Congratulations, Master Chen! Felicitations, Master Chen!”

The Junior Official drew out his words in a long, resonant call that penetrated every corner.

The crowd erupted with a BUZZ, then fell into a deathly silence, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing and stifled gasps.

All eyes focused on the rundown boat.

Ms. Han’s hunched back straightened in an instant. She gripped the cabin door, her lips trembling violently as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The Junior Official stood on the narrow bow of the boat, quietly awaiting the reaction of the new Martial Scholar’s mother.

Ms. Han jolted, shocked out of her stupor by the immense news.

A profound sense of panic and unprecedented awe seized her. She hurriedly bent down to perform a deep bow, her voice trembling and laced with tears. “Th-thank you for troubling yourselves, esteemed Officials! I… I…”

“Oh, my! Madam, you do me too great an honor! You absolutely mustn’t!”

The arrogance on the Junior Official’s face instantly melted into a fawning smile, and he bowed even lower than a tax-collecting Government Official.

He respectfully presented the crimson announcement with both hands. “Master Chen is a young prodigy who has soared to new heights! His future is limitless! We came especially to deliver the good news and bask in the Master’s good fortune!”

The surrounding neighbors finally snapped out of their daze as if waking from a dream.

“Good heavens, Ah Qing really passed! A Martial Scholar! Mute Bay has produced a Scholar!”

Uncle Gao was so excited his beard trembled. With a THUD, he was the first to drop to his knees before Ms. Han. “I kowtow to Madam Chen! You’ve finally seen the end of your suffering!”

His kneeling was like the first domino falling.

On the pier and the neighboring boats, a whole crowd of people fell to their knees with a great RUSTLE. These were the “aunts” and “uncles” who had watched Chen Qing grow up, their faces now a mixture of incredulous awe, envy, and the vicarious thrill of his success.

“Master Scholar! Auntie Han, you’ve finally made it!”

Auntie Cuihua, who had the loudest voice, shouted with a tearful but incredibly excited tone, “I always said that boy Ah Qing was no ordinary child!”

As she spoke, she secretly pinched her own thigh, afraid she was dreaming.

Erya felt as if something had fiercely squeezed her heart, then suddenly let go, leaving behind a hollow sense of shock.

’In the blink of an eye, he’s become the high and mighty “Master Chen”?’

Even Landlord Zhao, the man she served, would have to bow to a Master Scholar.

Ms. Han finally caught her breath. Wiping away her tears, her voice was choked with sobs yet boomed with a newfound resonance, “The joy is shared! The joy is shared! To all my neighbors, the joy is shared! Lord Imperial Envoys, please, come in and sit!”

Flustered, she turned and rushed back into the cabin, emerging a moment later with a coarse earthenware bowl. It was filled to the brim with steaming hot, snow-white flour paste.

She tremblingly offered it to the official. “Lord Envoy, you’ve had a long journey. Please… have a little something to eat first…”

The Junior Official looked at the bowl of white flour paste without a hint of disdain. Instead, he accepted it with a beaming smile. “Oh! Thank you for your generous gift, Madam! This bowl of ’fortune paste’ smells wonderful. We must certainly partake in your household’s great fortune!”

The Government Official cleared his throat and announced loudly, “By the grace of the Imperial Court! As Master Chen has become a Scholar, his household is exempt from the poll tax and corvée labor for this year and the next! Henceforth, all future taxes shall be permanently reduced to forty percent! This is the boundless grace of the Emperor, bestowed upon the scholarly class!”

Hearing this, everyone present was overcome with envy.

As fishermen, they had spent their entire lives crushed under the weight of taxes, corvée labor, and Incense Money, unable to lift their heads.

A torrent of emotions washed over Ms. Han. She fumbled inside her clothes and pulled out a small, heavy cloth pouch she kept close to her body. Trembling, she offered it to the leading Junior Official. “Lord Imperial Envoy, for your trouble. A small token of our gratitude… Please, treat yourself and your men to some tea.”

The broken silver inside was what Chen Qing had left for her.

The Junior Official took the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and his smile grew so brilliant it almost overflowed. “Madam, you are far too kind, far too kind! We wish Master Chen a future as vast as the sky and hope he passes the Military Examination soon! We humble servants will take our leave now. We shall return another day to pay our respects to the Master and yourself!”

With that, he led the two Government Officials away. Banging the gong, he departed smugly amidst the reverent gazes of the neighbors and the unabated clamor.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep