Kindred Spirits in Misfortune

The Old Man driving the cart said one sentence, and Huang Yu, who had boarded later, fell silent.

Zheng Fa said nothing either. Only the Old Man's long whip cracked through the wind.

They hurried along in silence, and an hour later, the ox cart entered Jingzhou City.

Inside and outside the city were like two different worlds.

Outside lay vast stretches of Farmland, open and broad, yet desolate.

The only living people they occasionally saw were one or two Farmers bent over at work in the fields.

Though Jingzhou City was large, the dense crowds on its streets made it feel cramped and congested.

The three of them were probably traveling along Jingzhou City's main thoroughfare.

Shops lined both sides of the road, and many people had come out to stroll.

The mighty Danzhu Ox, capable of traveling a thousand miles a day, could only squeeze miserably through the crowd here, like a little cat, creeping forward timidly.

Huang Yu seemed to come back to life then. Sitting on the cart, he clung to the railing and stretched his neck to look at the shops on either side.

The cloying sweet fragrance from the pastry shops made him swallow.

The little trinkets sold in the general stores held his gaze fast.

The young ladies lingering in the silk shops made him, already old enough to understand such things, sneak glances at them. Only after they had passed did he dare turn back for another look.

Once he calmed down from the excitement of entering the city, he noticed Zheng Fa sitting steadily beside him. Zheng Fa was also smiling as he looked over the bustling streets, but he showed none of Huang Yu's excitement.

As though sensing his gaze, Zheng Fa turned around and looked at him curiously.

Huang Yu gave a light cough and sat up straight.

Zheng Fa smiled at him. A flicker of embarrassment and irritation crossed Huang Yu's face.

The ox cart passed through the streets and headed toward the western district.

"Jingzhou City has always had a saying: the east is rich, the west noble, the south mercantile, and the north lowly. Our Zhao Family is in the most honorable western district." The Old Man driving the cart spoke with unmistakable pride.

Sure enough, the farther west they went, the fewer pedestrians there were.

Yet the area was by no means desolate.

Instead, grand residences stretched one after another, their gates tightly guarded. Ordinary people simply did not dare wander about here.

The excitement on Huang Yu's face faded, replaced by a hint of nervous caution.

After another half an incense stick's time, they arrived before a compound.

Calling it a compound was not quite right. It was more like a sprawling, magnificent complex of buildings.

From the street, they could not even see where the white Courtyard Wall before them ended.

The many wealthy households they had passed earlier had already left Huang Yu speechless with wonder, but at the sight of this one, his mouth still fell open, deep admiration appearing on his face.

Two lions over twice a man's height stood at the main gate, their disdainful eyes slanting down at passersby.

The plaque above the gate bore two words: Zhao Manor.

The ox cart did not stop at the main gate. It went around it, then around a side gate, before finally stopping at an inconspicuous back entrance.

"You're here?"

A Middle-aged Man dressed like a House Servant had been waiting at the door. The moment he saw the Old Man driving the cart arrive, he hurriedly urged, "Quickly! The Manager is waiting! He's just waiting on these two!"

"Aren't these two the ones who live farthest away?"

The man waved for Zheng Fa and Huang Yu to follow him. "If you ask me, these two are just here to make up the numbers."

The Old Man did not argue. He merely snorted. "Madam said everyone in the family of this age had to come. You dare leave even one out?"

"Exactly!"

Neither of them made any effort to avoid speaking in front of Huang Yu and Zheng Fa.

Huang Yu seemed to find their words grating. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to retort.

But when he looked up at the towering Courtyard Wall, a trace of awkwardness flashed across his face, and he closed his mouth again.

His expression only grew more miserable. He drew in his head and shoulders, every movement restrained, as though he did not even dare lift his feet while walking.

He turned to look at Zheng Fa beside him, only to find that Zheng Fa seemed not to have heard any of it. He was even leisurely looking around, apparently quite curious.

"Who are you putting on an act for?" Zheng Fa heard Huang Yu mutter softly. From the corner of his eye, he saw Huang Yu secretly straighten his back.

Seeing the little expressions shifting across Huang Yu's face, Zheng Fa more or less guessed what the Youth was thinking.

Whether it was Jingzhou City or the Zhao Family Courtyard, both were things Zheng Fa had never seen before. Deep down, he was not without excitement either.

But compared with when he had first arrived in the modern world, this was far less stimulating.

Besides, he had seen Tall Buildings with his own eyes.

He had seen this sort of grand residence on television too.

Now that he had entered this great compound, rather than feeling inferior, he found it novel.

It felt like arriving at a tourist attraction.

Compared with Huang Yu, he naturally appeared calmer.

The Servant led the two of them to a graceful lotus pond. At the far end of the pond stood a Waterside Pavilion built beside the water.

"This is the manor's Second Study Room. You two go over there." He pointed at the main entrance of the Waterside Pavilion and went no farther, merely speaking to them from where he stood.

Following Zheng Fa, Huang Yu walked along the wooden walkway over the lake to the entrance of the Waterside Pavilion.

There, they found dozens of Youths around their age already standing outside.

When those Youths saw the two of them, they first looked them over from head to toe.

Then, as one, they ignored them. They remained gathered in twos and threes, with almost no reaction at all.

Huang Yu quietly gritted his teeth.

Zheng Fa could tell that they were all competing for the position of study attendant.

At that moment, if they had greeted the two of them with wariness, or even hostility,

it would have pleased Huang Yu far more than this indifference.

But after taking a careful look at those Youths, a trace of dejection appeared on Huang Yu's face. As though ashamed of his own inferiority, he lowered his head.

Just take their clothes.

Zheng Fa wore old, coarse linen garments.

Huang Yu was naturally a little better off. He wore clothes his mother had made from new cloth, but the material was still rough and stiff.

Many of the Youths here wore silk. Even those who did not wore neat scholar's robes.

That was beyond what Huang Yu's Family Background could afford.

That alone was not enough to make him abandon all hope. After all, the position of study attendant was not decided by one's Family Background.

But the scholar's headbands worn by the three people at the entrance left him unable to muster even the slightest desire to compete.

After several years of Basic Education, he already knew that only scholars who had earned the title of xiucai could openly wear scholar's headbands.

The way those three were dressed made it perfectly clear that they had already earned scholarly titles...

It was precisely because he understood this that Huang Yu truly despaired, finally understanding what the Old Man had meant:

So what if you had attended Basic Education for several years?

His Basic Education Teacher was merely an old xiucai himself...

By now, the breath of courage he had gathered when he boarded the ox cart was like air leaking from a hole, draining away bit by bit until nothing remained.

He looked at Zheng Fa. Zheng Fa still had that unruffled appearance, but Huang Yu no longer found it irritating.

He even faintly felt that they were kindred spirits in misfortune.

He himself was already suffering so much.

Zheng Fa dressed even worse than he did and had attended less school than he had.

He should be... suffering even more, right?

Feeling the goodwill in the Youth's eyes, Zheng Fa was somewhat baffled. He had not even said a word—why was Huang Yu looking at him so warmly?

As for suffering...

To be honest, Zheng Fa had no idea what scholar's headbands were supposed to mean.

As though they had been waiting specifically for Zheng Fa and Huang Yu, the tightly closed Room Door before the Youths opened the moment they arrived. A Male Servant walked out and said to everyone, "Line up. Go in one at a time!"

Inside, dozens of low desks had been arranged in several rows, with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone set upon them.

Zheng Fa drew a deep breath. It felt like he had returned to a Monthly Exam. Rather than feeling nervous, he actually felt a familiar sense of Peace of Mind.