"Does this sort of thing... happen frequently?"
Although Qi Shan and Chu Yao had both said that the rank of a Literary Heart did not represent everything, a high-ranked Literary Heart still had its advantages. Not to mention that this was a Second Rank High Literary Heart, surpassed only by a First Rank High one! Who would settle for a middle- or low-ranked Literary Heart if they could have a high-ranked one?
Stealing the beam and replacing the pillar was no different from robbing someone of their future and ruining their life!
"It doesn't happen frequently, nor is it common. Besides, not every Scholar's Way allows one to steal another person's Literary Heart, and not just anyone's Literary Heart can be 'replaced.' Mine simply happened to be suitable... Such an act would be a capital offense in any country." Chu Yao smiled self-deprecatingly. "However, if it's 'voluntary,' then there's no problem."
Shen Tang felt as though she had seen a ghost. In an indignant tone, she said, "The rank of a Literary Heart concerns one's future prospects. How could anyone be 'voluntary'? Give up a Second Rank High Literary Heart and willingly exchange it for someone else's low-ranked Literary Heart? Unless—that person was 'made voluntary.'"
Chu Yao said, "Yes, he was 'made voluntary.'"
Shen Tang: "..."
Chu Yao continued, "My family was poor when I was young. As a child, I was sold by my parents and became the study attendant of the eldest son of the Chu household, studying alongside him. That eldest son was not suited for learning. He was unruly and restless, and often had me deal with his studies for him."
The eldest son liked practicing with swords and spears, but Chu Yao had a keen interest in strategy and political discourse. He seized every opportunity to study with exceptional diligence.
"Before long, my writing assignments and impersonations on his behalf were discovered. I thought I would be driven out of the household, or beaten and sold off somewhere at random. Who could have known that the master of the household would take pity on me? Not only did he accept me as a student, he also bestowed the surname 'Chu' upon me."
Shen Tang asked, "Was the person who replaced the Literary Heart your teacher?"
Chu Yao shook his head. "No, it wasn't him."
Shen Tang said, "Oh. Then I've wronged an innocent man."
Chu Yao shook his head with a bitter smile. "But he wasn't entirely innocent either."
That teacher had indeed devoted himself wholeheartedly to Chu Yao. In every respect, Chu Yao was treated no worse than the household's legitimate son. For a time, even the good-natured eldest son grew jealous and resentful, while the teacher's wife secretly wondered whether Chu Yao was some pearl left behind by her husband outside the home. Otherwise, how could he be treated so well?
Since even the teacher's family thought this way, how could Chu Yao, the person involved, have failed to see his teacher's favoritism and care?
Until the year before his capping ceremony—
Chu Yao followed his teacher to the palace for a banquet. He drank a few extra cups during the feast, and when he awoke, he found himself in a dungeon. The teacher he had revered like a biological father for more than a decade made him an unreasonable demand that still felt like a nightmare whenever he recalled it.
[Wuhui, give your Literary Heart to His Highness!]
He watched his teacher's mouth open and close. Every word that came from it sounded distant and indistinct, as though it had traveled from the edge of the heavens. In the end, those words formed a sentence in his ears that made him feel as if heaven and earth had collapsed, piecing together a truth that made the blood in his entire body run cold.
It had all been a carefully planned deception from the beginning.
"My teacher did accept me as his disciple with three parts sincerity."
Shen Tang's face was full of disgust. "There were three parts sincerity, but the other ninety-seven parts were schemes for profit. He had his eyes on your Literary Heart from the start, keeping you around as a fallback for that so-called Crown Prince. Tsk, being betrayed by the person you trusted most—how could that possibly feel good?"
Chu Yao said, "But others wouldn't see it that way."
For example, the Crown Prince who benefited from it.
He promised Chu Yao that once their Literary Hearts had been exchanged, he would never forget Chu Yao's contribution after ascending the throne, and would continue to employ him even without his high-ranked Literary Heart. He also said that when Chu Yao had been bought and sold by his parents, he had already entered the register of the lowly. Without the favor and cultivation of his teacher, no matter how talented he was, he would at most have been a clever servant. How could he have enjoyed his current glory?
Thinking about it this way, didn't it feel much better?
Therefore, he ought to be grateful rather than resentful.
"...My teacher also comforted me by saying that 'stealing the beam and replacing the pillar' wasn't about taking my Literary Heart, but about exchanging two Literary Hearts..."
He was only losing a Second Rank High Literary Heart, not losing his Literary Heart altogether.
As long as his Literary Heart remained, even if it was merely a Seventh Rank Low one, it was still something that a person of his lowly birth had never been qualified to hope for.
What more could he be dissatisfied with?
Shen Tang cursed, "That's the logic of bandits! Why didn't he give his own Literary Heart to that blasted Crown Prince? If you don't want something done to yourself, don't do it to others. Had all those years of study gone into a dog's belly?"
Who didn't know that a high-ranked Literary Heart was better than a low-ranked one?
A bandit was still a bandit, yet he insisted on draping himself in the grand-sounding reason of "loyalty." It was truly nauseating and contemptible!
His teacher might still have retained a few shreds of conscience and guilt. In addition, Chu Yao was indeed still useful to him, so whatever Chu Yao wanted to study or read, he agreed whenever he could. Even though Chu Yao was furious, he did not dare show it. He could only work silently, trying to salvage something.
Less than two years later, another ridiculous incident occurred.
Shen Tang pressed him. "What happened?"
Chu Yao's expression turned strange. "The Crown Prince lost his struggle against his brothers and became embroiled in the 'Curse Disaster.' While imprisoned, he got up to relieve himself in the middle of the night, fell into a pit, and drowned. His entire faction was uprooted as well. My teacher was among them, and ended up with his household confiscated and himself exiled."
Shen Tang: "..."
Although Chu Yao's teacher had treated him like a son, he had never restored Chu Yao to a lawful status, so Chu Yao was implicated when the household was confiscated.
As a faction member of the deposed Crown Prince, his fate naturally could not be good. His Dantian was crippled, and he was confiscated and sold. Relying on some connections he had accumulated in the past, he did not fare too miserably. Instead, with the help of friends, he became a retainer of Consort Chu and later followed her to Xin Country.
But before he could enjoy peace for long, Consort Chu fell.
Chu Yao was sold off along with Consort Chu's other assets and, after being passed from hand to hand, drifted to Xiaocheng, where he washed dishes at the Moonlit Pavilion for five years.
Shen Tang, having heard the entire tragic story: "..."
It wasn't strange for someone to have bad luck once. What was strange was having bad luck continuously. Ever since his Literary Heart had been replaced when he came of age, nothing had gone smoothly for him!
But—
"Sir still hasn't explained what the 'three taels' are about."
Chu Yao said, "I didn't?"
Shen Tang said expressionlessly, "You didn't."
"Oh, then I forgot to mention my Scholar's Way."
Shen Tang: "...You can say it?"
Chu Yao was perfectly frank. "Why can't I? My Literary Heart is already gone, and my Scholar's Way has already been ruined. What does it matter if I tell you?"
Shen Tang: "...That makes quite a bit of sense."
Chu Yao said helplessly, "My 'Scholar's Way' is 'Willow Dark Flower Bright.' It's the 'willow dark, flower bright' from 'The mountains and rivers seem to end, but dark willows and bright flowers reveal another village.' It cannot be used until I reach a desperate situation, and it is not something I can control. As for whether it's actually useful, I don't know either. I only know that on the night my Literary Heart was replaced, I had a long and extremely clear dream. In the dream, I went to a pharmacy and had a prescription written."
Shen Tang: "..."
So it was still an uncontrollable passive skill.
No one knew whether it would activate, or whether it would be useful after activating.
Things had gone from bad to worse.
Shen Tang asked, "What was the prescription?"
"Five qian each of ginseng, rhubarb, aconite, and rehmannia, supplemented with three taels of moonlight. It can reveal the Mandate of Heaven and cure stubborn illnesses."
The corner of Shen Tang's mouth twitched. She was rendered speechless.
"That was only a prescription from a dream, and the old gentleman believed it?"
It had probably been written by a quack.
Chu Yao's "Scholar's Way" gave off an unreliable feeling, with the same flavor as the "images for reference only" disclaimers in advertisements.
It goes up the day after tomorrow, September 1st!
There should be a splash-screen event when it goes up. Setting three goals is really difficult.
After mulling it over for a while, I finally settled on some goals.
First, two thousand first subscriptions. (That means two thousand readers subscribing to the first chapter. The current collection has just passed ten thousand, so that's a ratio of five to one. I should be able to reach it, right? I'm not very confident.)
Second, accumulate enough rewards for one Alliance Master. (One Helm Master reward gets one extra chapter.)
Third, one thousand monthly votes. (For monthly votes, I've decided on one extra chapter for every one hundred votes.)
Before you continue