Fate

This young Chief Registrar of Xuanwu City was named Wang Lian. He was twenty-one this year, and after becoming a Recommended Man, he had taken up the post of Chief Registrar of Xuanwu City.

Of course, he had not abandoned his great pursuit of the imperial examinations. While serving as an official, he still studied, preparing to continue on and sit for the Presented Scholar examination.

In ancient China, this generally would not have been possible. At most, one could become a retainer while preparing for the examinations, but in this world, it was allowed.

He was not from Xuanwu City. His family was in Southreach Commandery, yet his literary fame was illustrious, and even in Xuanwu City, his name was widely known.

He had another identity as well: a distant relative of Xuanwu Earl's Manor.

So, did Shen Lang know this Chief Registrar?

He really did. Three years ago, Wang Lian had even taught Shen Lang to read, keeping it up for roughly half a month.

And that old incident involved another person—the Number One Beauty within several hundred li, the dream lover of every young man, Jin MuLan, the daughter of Xuanwu Earl's Manor, hailed as Xuanwu City's Princess.

At the time, Jin MuLan had led a hunting party to the Back Mountain behind Shen Lang's home. There, they encountered a huge black bear, and her warhorse was startled, charging straight ahead.

At the time, Shen Lang had been a dim-witted bookworm, squatting in the middle of the road with an elementary reader in hand, reciting it while swaying his head back and forth.

Why had he been squatting right in the road? Because a colony of ants was moving house there. He was not counting the ants—he was afraid they would be trampled to death. So he stood guard until they finished moving and left. Whenever someone came by, he would remind them to go around.

Jin MuLan's startled warhorse had charged directly at Shen Lang, while a gigantic black bear pursued them madly from behind, more than a dozen arrows embedded in its body.

Shen Lang had been moments away from being trampled into a pulp beneath the horse's hooves.

This young lady of Xuanwu Earl's Manor had swiftly dismounted, planted herself on the ground, and with one hand forcibly held a panicked tall warhorse in place, saving Shen Lang's little life.

Not only that, the black bear behind them had continued charging forward, its enormous paw swiping at Jin MuLan's head.

With one hand holding the warhorse, Jin MuLan drew her sword with the other and slashed fiercely, cleaving the giant bear's head clean off. Her martial prowess had been utterly terrifying.

As for the dim-witted Shen Lang of that time, a horse hoof had grazed the back of his head, and he had fainted on the spot.

It was not that he had been seriously injured. The crucial thing was that he had been scared unconscious.

Thus, the memory of that incident had been etched into his bones, yet it was also rather blurry. Moreover, Miss Jin MuLan had been clad from head to toe in armor, with her face hidden behind a visor. That dim-witted Shen Lang had had no idea she was the Earl's daughter.

When Shen Lang reviewed that memory, he identified her as Jin MuLan from her silver armor, the banners of that troop, and the emblems on their shields.

Jin MuLan had saved Shen Lang's life, but after all, he had been injured by her warhorse, so she intended to take responsibility to the end.

Thus, she had sent a physician and some tonics from the Earl's Manor to treat Shen Lang.

She had even personally visited Shen Lang once, but he had been unconscious at the time and had not seen her.

Jin MuLan was practically Xuanwu City's Princess, lofty and exalted beyond compare. Compared with Xu Qianqian, she was nobler by heaven knows how much. At the time, Shen Lang had been no more than an ant; even if her warhorse had trampled him to death, it would have been his due.

Yet this noble young lady had not only sent people to treat him, but had personally come to visit him.

So Xuanwu Earl's Manor truly loved its people as dearly as its own children.

At the time, Wang Lian had just become a Recommended Man and had not yet become Chief Registrar. Since he was a distant relative of the Earl's Manor, he had come there as a guest.

Of course, even as a distant relative, he had rarely had opportunities to interact with Miss Jin MuLan. Though he was a newly minted Recommended Man, the gulf between his status and Jin MuLan's was still far too vast.

And he was deeply infatuated with Jin MuLan. Upon hearing of this matter and learning that Jin MuLan had actually visited Shen Lang, he had specifically come to Shen Lang's home to offer his regards. When he learned Shen Lang was still studying at the Town School, he personally taught Shen Lang to read. If Jin MuLan came to visit Shen Lang and saw that scene, she would surely be deeply impressed by Wang Lian.

Of course, Shen Lang at the time had been as stupid as a log and utterly impossible to teach. Wang Lian was extraordinarily talented, having become a Recommended Man at only eighteen. He truly had never seen anyone as pig-headedly stupid as Shen Lang.

He persevered for a full half month, but Jin MuLan never returned to Shen Lang's home, because she had gone off on military business.

So Wang Lian gave up and stopped going to Shen Lang's home to teach him. Teaching a fool like Shen Lang was simply torture.

Still, he and Shen Lang could barely be considered old acquaintances.

When they met again this time, Wang Lian had grown a short beard and wore official robes. Combined with the fact that only a handful of people in Shen Lang's memories were particularly clear, it took him a while to remember who this man was.

It was precisely because of this connection that Shen Lang had boldly demanded a contest with the Xu Family and produced Purple Dye and Rainbow Color Dye.

Because he knew that this young Chief Registrar had a grudge against Zhang Jin.

When Wang Lian had taught Shen Lang to read, he had cursed Zhang Jin no fewer than ten times.

Everything had gone according to plan.

When he heard Shen Lang call him "Brother,"

the Chief Registrar frowned slightly. Rather than answering Shen Lang, he said, "Instead of studying properly, you went off to make Dye. Is that not willingly debasing yourself?"

This was not prejudice. In this world, two crafts were held in the highest esteem: studying and martial training. The two were almost equal.

In ancient China after the Song Dynasty, scholars basically suppressed martial men; literature was esteemed while martial pursuits were despised.

Yet in this world, in the Great Yan Dynasty, civil and martial pursuits were equally noble. Both belonged to the absolute ruling class.

The Martial Examination was as illustrious and prestigious as the civil examinations.

But becoming a Dye artisan was a thoroughly lowly profession.

That Dye master of the Xu Family just now had already been exceptionally accomplished, yet from beginning to end, he had not even been given a name. He had only been addressed as Artisan Xu.

Of course, this Chief Registrar was merely saying it casually.

Back then, in order to curry favor with Miss Jin MuLan, he had taught Shen Lang for half a month. Shen Lang's pig-headed stupidity remained vivid in his memory. A person like that could study for a hundred years and still never become a Licentiate. Studying was nothing but a waste of time, life, and money for him.

"As for Miss Jin of the Earl's Manor!" The young Chief Registrar, Wang Lian, turned and cast Shen Lang a sidelong glance. "She is the legitimate daughter of a century-old noble house, incomparably honored. Her name is not something a mere country bumpkin like you may call directly."

With that, Chief Registrar Wang Lian turned and left.

As he turned away, disdain appeared on his face.

The reason he had made trouble for the Xu Family just now was entirely because he had a grudge against Zhang Jin and had taken the chance to suppress the Xu Family. It had nothing to do with his friendship with Shen Lang.

Although he had taught Shen Lang for half a month, there was not the slightest trace of friendship in his heart.

What a laughable country yokel. He actually wants to use this chance to cling to me? What wishful thinking—so shallow and ignorant!

The young Chief Registrar Wang Lian sneered inwardly, then rode his horse straight back to his residence.

Shen Lang saw everything clearly from behind. This Chief Registrar did not think highly of him at all and had no desire to rekindle any old acquaintance.

Of course, this did not surprise him in the slightest.

After Chief Registrar Wang Lian left,

Lin Mo, the owner of Brocade Pavilion, said, "Shen Lang, you won. You slapped the Xu Family's face hard. But you would have been better off losing. Now you're in even deeper trouble!"

Tian Shisan of the Black Clothes Gang said flatly, "Shen Lang, you're finished!"

Lin Mo said, "The Chief Registrar only opposes the Xu Family, which is why he suppressed them. He was not protecting you at all. So whatever trouble or danger you encounter next, he will have no intention of lending a hand to save you. He's far beyond your reach."

Shen Lang knew all of this!

This Chief Registrar Wang Lian was young and high-spirited, born into a distinguished family. Naturally, he would not take a ruined country family seriously. Based on the previous memories, Shen Lang understood him well enough.

But using him to suppress the Xu Family today was already enough. Shen Lang had never hoped to form any connection with him.

Besides, Shen Lang would soon become Wang Lian's rival in love.

Therefore, Shen Lang's entire family had not escaped danger. They had even fallen into a more perilous situation. The Xu Family now wanted to kill him more than ever.

He was merely buying time—just one day to carry out his reversal plan.

Once it succeeded, he could completely reverse the situation and even stand above them all.

When that time came, the Xu Family, the Lin Family, and Tian Heng would not dare touch even a single hair on his head. Instead, they would tremble in fear that Shen Lang might come to suppress them.

And this one day depended on the value of Rainbow Dye. That was also why he had dyed Rainbow Silk just now.

This Rainbow Silk had to be dazzling and shocking enough, had to display immense value, and had to make the Xu Family drool with greed.

If nothing unexpected happened, Xu Qianqian would soon come looking for him.

Today's events had indeed been dangerous, but they had basically all fallen within his calculations.

Sure enough, not long after Shen Lang left Lin Mo's Brocade Pavilion, Xu Qianqian appeared. Her carriage stopped before him.

"Shen Lang, I underestimated you before." Xu Qianqian said softly, "I never expected you to learn dyeing for my sake. You truly put your heart into it. Why didn't you say so earlier?"

It was perfectly natural for her to think this way. The previous Shen Lang had indeed been utterly obsessed with Xu Qianqian and willing to give everything for her.

And the Xu Family dealt in cloth and Silk. In Xu Qianqian's eyes, it was only natural that Shen Lang would study Dye in order to please her and make himself useful.

And in the craft of making Dye, clever people might truly not be suited for it. It required someone stubbornly single-minded and foolish, conducting countless experiments until finally discovering the most perfect formula.

"If you had told me earlier, I would not have needed to drive you out of the family." Xu Qianqian's voice grew even gentler. "Our marriage was false to begin with. I am going to marry Young Master Zhang Jin. But you can still return to the Xu Family as a retained artisan. What do you say?"

Shen Lang said nothing.

Xu Qianqian's gaze was soft and beautiful as she said sweetly, "Shen Lang, I will give you ten gold coins every month—enough to support your whole family. You only need to hand over the formulas for Purple Dye and Rainbow Color Dye. I can prepare the finest dye workshop for you, so that you may devote yourself wholeheartedly to the art of dyeing and become the most outstanding artisan. Don't you love me deeply? Aren't you willing to give everything for me? This way, you can help me."

Note: I beg all my honored readers for votes!