Wealth Brings Distant Relatives from Deep in the Mountains (Please Bookmark, Please Follow)

"The martial examination lasted four days."

"Today was the first round, testing only skill and courage... Once the examinations are over, I'll go see him..."

Wei Hong thought to herself.

Just as Madam Li had once believed, Wei Hong naturally had no regard for an ordinary male relative from her maiden family. But a male relative from her maiden family who stood a chance of earning distinction through the martial examination? That was an entirely different matter.

"As for what happened back then..."

"An apology will do."

Wei Hong's eyes flickered.

She had risen above Master Huang's many concubines and become a favored secondary wife who had borne him a son. What she relied on was not merely her beauty, but also her methods.

She was confident that after promising Wei Tu substantial benefits, this nephew from her own clan would not only wipe away all his former resentment toward her, but would also feel gratitude toward her from the bottom of his heart and cling firmly to her side.

Of course.

She would not regret the decision she had made back then.

Abandoning the useless Wei Family members who wanted to bask in her reflected glory had been the necessary path for her to live better in the Huang Residence.

Otherwise, she would have been no different from those foolish, clumsy concubines—sending benefits back to their maiden families until their husbands' families despised them, leaving them utterly defeated and battered beyond recognition.

Wei Tu, who was taking the next skill and courage examination, knew nothing of Wei Hong's thoughts. When he received the note she had sent while waiting, he too stood dumbfounded for a moment.

He had not expected that among the seated gentry, his Second Aunt, Wei Hong, was also present.

After reading what was written on the note, Wei Tu pondered briefly, then rolled it up and tucked it inside his coarse-cloth belt.

The message was simple. It told him to wait in the square after the examinations and not leave, preferably to visit the Huang Residence.

"When poor in the bustling marketplace, no one asks after you; when rich in the deep mountains, distant relatives come calling."

Wei Tu thought of those words.

Still, Wei Tu bore gratitude toward Wei Hong. If she had not helped him back then, it would have been exceedingly difficult for him to obtain a complete Health Cultivation Technique three years ago.

Without the Turtle Breathing Health Cultivation Technique, it would have been hard for him to stand here today. Perhaps... it would have taken him much longer to leave the Li Residence, register as a commoner, and become a martial master.

Shortly afterward.

The second skill and courage examination—saber dance—began.

The gentry focused most of their attention on Wei Tu, the dark horse of this county examination's martial examination.

Blades and swords were extensions of one's fists and feet.

Generally speaking, a martial master skilled in Saber Techniques would not be poor at unarmed combat either.

And someone good at unarmed combat surely had to have a fine master and Lineage Records.

—This was an excellent opportunity for them to probe the background of Wei Tu, this dark horse.

Even the martial examination examiner watched Wei Tu with expectation in his eyes, hoping that this martial master who could lift a "five-hundred-jin" stone lock would shine brilliantly in this round.

In the civil examination, there were unspoken rules regarding seated masters, examination patrons, and room masters; examiners and candidates could likewise share the status of master and disciple.

The martial examination was much the same.

If Wei Tu took first place, the examiner would also gain fame and profit.

However...

The next moment.

The examiner was somewhat dumbstruck.

Wei Tu's saber dance in the arena could be considered fierce, his blade intimidating as it whistled through the air with tiger-like force. Yet compared to several candidates before him, it was clearly rather ordinary—or rather... somewhat inferior.

"He probably lacks proper instruction. What a pity for those muscles and bones, that inborn divine strength..." The examiner secretly shook his head.

Then, after pondering for a moment, the examiner announced, "C-13, Wei Tu, saber dance, B-plus grade..."

Recalling Wei Tu's earlier excellent performance, the examiner developed a small measure of favoritism and raised Wei Tu's score from Middle-B to B-plus grade.

"What a pity. I thought Qingshan County might produce another martial graduate, but it turns out he merely possesses astonishing strength..." On the high platform, Magistrate Chen shook his head at the sight.

Martial masters of astonishing strength were rare, but they had little effect on either his official career or Qingshan County.

They were not worth his special attention.

At the same time.

Upon seeing Wei Tu's saber dance score, the gentry throughout the audience finally felt as though a weight had been lifted from their hearts and breathed a sigh of relief.

If his Saber Techniques were lacking, then he had no good lineage. They no longer needed to worry that Wei Tu would overshadow their own sons and nephews in the remaining examinations.

"B-plus grade?"

Hearing the result, Wei Tu was not disappointed. Instead, he felt somewhat happier.

Martial Graduate Dan had only taught him the fist manual for Tiger Crane Double Form Fist in mid-October of last year, and he had learned the corresponding Saber Techniques even later.

He had studied them for only about two months.

—To receive a B-plus grade in the saber dance examination after only two months of study already counted as exceptional talent.

Wei Tu left the arena.

He waited for the next examination.

Before long.

The third and final skill and courage examination, Drawing a Heavy Bow, began.

This examination tested strength and one's Martial Way foundation.

Without sufficient strength, one could not draw a heavy bow.

With a weak Martial Way foundation, one could not concentrate strength in one place. When Drawing a Heavy Bow, a person was like a bowstring—if even one part lacked strength, then even with sufficient power, it would be difficult to draw the heavy bow to a full moon.

Wei Tu's Health Cultivation Technique had already reached great mastery. There were no weak points in the strength throughout his body. When his turn came to draw the heavy bow, he drew a Four-stone bow nine times with each arm, then ended with the most difficult move, "drawing the bow behind the back."

In this examination, Wei Tu smoothly earned a Grade B+ result.

As for a top-grade result...

That required drawing a Five-stone Heavy Bow.

A five-stone bow required five hundred jin of strength.

Wei Tu already struggled to lift a five-hundred-jin stone lock, let alone draw a Five-stone Heavy Bow while performing all manner of difficult movements.

To draw a Five-stone Heavy Bow with ease, one needed at least six or seven hundred jin of strength.

The three skill and courage examinations ended.

The watching commoners scattered like birds and beasts, while the officials on the platform departed one by one, yamen runners clearing the way with official placards reading "Silence" and "Make Way."

Very soon, only the visiting gentry remained in the City God Temple square.

The martial masters taking the martial examination also departed in twos and threes, rejoining their families.

Not long afterward.

Of the place where the martial masters had stood, only Wei Tu remained, solitary and alone.

Fortunately, Wei Hong did not make Wei Tu wait long. She approached together with a plump middle-aged man.

Two or three servants in blue followed behind them.

"Wei..."

When they were about thirty paces from Wei Tu, Wei Hong suddenly quickened her steps. A smile appeared on her face as she warmly greeted Wei Tu.

"Second Aunt."

Wei Tu appeared somewhat reserved. He bowed to Wei Hong and responded.

—He had always been uncomfortable with such excessively false politeness.

It had been the same when facing Li Yaozu.

And it was the same now when facing Wei Hong.

But he was no longer the same as before. He now had the strength to establish himself in Qingshan County and no longer needed to force himself to flatter anyone.

He could simply deal with matters as they came.

Kindness received and the way one conducted oneself were two different matters. Wei Tu distinguished between them clearly.

Wei Hong did not particularly mind Wei Tu's reaction. She gave him a meaningful look, pointed to the plump middle-aged man beside her, and said, "Wei, this is your uncle-in-law. Call him that... Later, come sit for a while at the Huang Residence. Your uncle-in-law and I will celebrate for you. After all... in this county town, I am your only relative..."

Her words came swiftly and clearly. As she spoke, her face took on an added expression of pity, as though she were sympathizing with the misfortunes Wei Tu had suffered in the past.