In the courtyard, Dan Fang emerged from the living quarters with a face that immediately darkened. As if venting her hatred, she fiercely kicked the pile of snow heaped against the wall several times with her embroidered shoes, then loudly berated the maidservant sweeping the accumulated snow from the courtyard.
Her cutting words were sharp and piercing. Dan Fang knew that Martial Graduate Dan and his wife inside the room could surely hear them.
Then Dan Fang took her son, Dan Yi Wu, by the hand and turned to leave, not even sparing a glance for the hem of her skirt, stained by melted snow.
The burly man in brocade followed behind.
From the moment he entered to the moment he left, Dan Fang's husband did not open his mouth again apart from offering a few auspicious greetings while kowtowing.
"What a misfortune for the family." As Dan Fang departed, a rare look of desolation appeared on Martial Graduate Dan's face.
He stared blankly at the entrance. Several decades had passed, and this residence, newly built in those days, had also yellowed and fallen into disrepair.
On the courtyard walls that received little sunlight, moss and green vines spread from the base. Several clumps of yellowing wild grass were even tangled around the withered vines...
Martial Graduate Dan's gaze shifted slightly, and he saw several stretches of corridor railing with peeling paint. The firwood beneath had turned black, rotten beyond recognition.
This old residence should have been proof that the family's wealth and honor had endured for nearly a century, something he could boast of before his ancestors after death, an object of envy for the local families...
Yet at this moment, not a trace of joy welled up in Martial Graduate Dan's heart.
"Master, I'll be leaving first." Seeing this, Wei Tu knew he should not remain here, so he bowed in farewell.
Martial Graduate Dan nodded and agreed.
—It was the first day of the New Year, a time for family reunion. Wei Tu, an outsider, truly should not linger here for long.
A disciple-son was, after all, not a real son.
After leaving the living quarters.
Wei Tu took several breaths of the cold air outside. The chill seeping from his nostrils into his chest cleared his mind.
When he had spoken those words just now, he had been conflicted as well. After all, he was living under another's roof, and it was never good to voice a refusal.
But deep down, he truly did not wish to become another person's servant again—on the day he redeemed himself, he had considered two paths. Besides taking the martial examinations, there was also the path of becoming a swordsman.
The contracts of sale stored at the Li Family residence had already been redeemed by him and Xinghua after they scraped together enough silver.
At the Shan Family residence, he did not want to sign another invisible contract of sale and bind himself tightly here.
"Just over a month left." Wei Tu looked up at the snowflakes dancing in the wind, then headed toward his side room.
What had happened today was merely a small interlude. He would not let it delay his future.
Health Cultivation Technique.
Tiger Crane Double Form Fist.
He would continue practicing them.
More than ten days later.
Dan Fang found an excuse and left the Shan Family with her son Dan Yi Wu and her husband.
When she left, following their previous agreement, she led away one fine horse from the Dan Residence stables.
Several more days passed.
Dan Yangong and Madam Shan Min also left the Dan Residence. Unlike Dan Fang, however, Dan Yangong said goodbye to Wei Tu before leaving and told him that when he went to the Prefectural City for the prefectural examination, he could stay at his home without standing on ceremony.
Wei Tu agreed.
He did not care for Dan Fang, but that did not mean he disliked Dan Yangong. If possible, he also wished to "mend the old friendship" with the Shan Family.
He had never forgotten Martial Graduate Dan's kindness in teaching him.
Time flowed onward.
At last.
February of the twenty-fourth year of the Qing'an Era arrived, and the martial examinations in Qingshan County drew near.
Wei Tu bid farewell to Martial Graduate Dan and prepared to leave the Shan Family for the martial examinations.
However.
Just as Wei Tu slung his luggage over his back and stepped out of the Shan Family courtyard, Martial Graduate Dan rode out on horseback and stopped him.
"The martial examinations include mounted archery. Without a horse you're used to, how can you achieve good results?"
Martial Graduate Dan dismounted and tossed the reins of the Green Dappled Horse in his hand to Wei Tu.
"I know you don't want to take advantage of my Shan Family's wealth. I'll lend you this Green Dappled Horse. Return it after you finish the examinations."
"But by then, you'll have earned a degree. Perhaps you'll be able to buy this horse."
Martial Graduate Dan said this with a smile.
Hearing this.
Wei Tu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. His right hand tightened around the reins, signaling his acceptance of Martial Graduate Dan's proposal.
Within the Shan Family, he was not so distant either. He would not deliberately refuse the daily necessities sent over by the maidservants.
It was just that... a warhorse was far too precious.
His Redemption Silver had only been eight taels and eight mace.
In terms of value, this Green Dappled Horse was worth as much as more than ten sturdy servants like him who possessed a trade.
Naturally, he did not dare accept such a valuable thing lightly. But the martial examinations were too crucial. If lacking a familiar horse affected his performance, then he would be losing the big for the sake of the small.
"I know there's been a rift between us master and disciple because of what my youngest daughter said." Martial Graduate Dan walked up to Wei Tu and patted him on the shoulder.
Then he scolded, "But you and I are martial men. How can we be so petty? How unpleasant."
"When you return successful, Master will set a feast and lay out the wine. You and I, master and disciple, will drink great bowls of wine and eat great bowls of meat. To hell with the opinions of women and children."
His words were bold and hearty, full of vigor, his voice ringing like a great bell. It made Wei Tu's eardrums itch, nearly deafening him for a moment.
"Yes, Master..." After half a breath's pause, Wei Tu came back to himself. He looked at Martial Graduate Dan and answered with a smile.
More than half a year had passed.
Martial Graduate Dan seemed to have aged ten-odd years. There was much more white in his temples. Though he remained robust, he was far diminished from when Wei Tu had first met him.
After speaking, Wei Tu bowed deeply to Martial Graduate Dan once more. Then he mounted up and rode the Green Dappled Horse away from the river valley where Danjia Village stood.
After galloping seven or eight li.
Wei Tu gradually slowed his horse. He let out a soft sigh and recalled what Martial Graduate Dan had said.
He was not purely a martial man. Studying martial arts, training martial arts, and taking the martial examinations were all efforts he had made to cross the divide of social class.
But if sharing a hearty drink with Martial Graduate Dan could make him forget what had happened before, he would be more than willing.
"I wonder whether the child Xinghua and I have in the future will turn out like Dan Fang..."
"If that happens, I fear I would be helpless too."
Wei Tu shook his head, pressed down his stray thoughts, then cracked his whip and urged his horse onward.
Returning to Qingmu County Town.
Wei Tu planned to first find an inn and rent a lower room, then stable the Green Dappled Horse in the inn's stables while waiting for the martial examinations to begin in a few days.
Now.
He was no longer the Li Family's stableman. It was not quite appropriate for him to go stay with the Li Family again.
But as soon as Wei Tu entered an inn, the proprietor's quoted price startled him.
The rent for every room had increased severalfold from before.
Even the price of a firewood room was several times higher than what an upper room had once cost.
After hearing the proprietor's explanation.
Wei Tu remembered that the county examination for the civil examinations had taken place a few days earlier. Many scholars from Qingmu County's villages had rushed to the county town to take the Imperial Examinations.
At this time.
It was precisely when a room at an inn was harder to find than a needle in the sea.
"The county examination is divided into the main examination and three supplementary rounds."
"Only yesterday, the County Yamen posted the list. In three days, the supplementary rounds of the county examination will begin, and quite a few candidates will be eliminated."
"By then, the prices will be cheaper..."
"Why not rent one first?"
The proprietor continued.
Hearing this.
Wei Tu shook his head, left the inn, and led his horse toward the Li Family residence. He intended to swallow his pride and borrow a place to stay at the Li Family for a few nights.
He already owed Li Yaozu one favor. Owing another small favor now would do no harm.
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