Kong Ningyuan took out an "admission letter" from the White Deer Grotto Academy and respectfully presented it to Lianshan Jingcheng.
He Miaojun and Lianshan Jingcheng exchanged bewildered looks.
"The White Deer Grotto Academy is about to take in new students, and you've come to deliver an admission letter for Xin?"
"Yes."
"He hasn't even taken the exam yet. How has he already been admitted?" He Miaojun could not understand.
Wasn't this putting the cart before the horse?
The scholar patiently explained, "Young Master Xin is a worthy talent. He has been admitted by recommendation."
If people could be recommended for official posts at court, they could naturally be recommended for admission to an academy.
It was just that anyone recommended had to possess some special merit.
He Miaojun was even more confused. "My son is a worthy talent? What makes him worthy?"
Was it that, at such a young age, he already knew to advise Lianshan Jingcheng to sell more virility medicine?
From a business perspective, that was certainly worthy. Business at the Spring Revival Hall had boomed because of it.
But the White Deer Grotto Academy had a thousand-year legacy. Surely it could not value that?
Kong Ningyuan smiled faintly. "There is something you don't know, madam. Young Master Xin possesses great talent, but he prefers to hide his light. Since he hasn't spoken of it himself, it would not be proper for me to reveal it for him. All I can say is that the White Deer Grotto Academy needs worthy talents like Young Master Xin."
"You're Kong Ningyuan? One of the Seven Sons of White Deer? The Kong Ningyuan who yielded the pears at four and became famous throughout Jiangzhou?"
Lianshan Jingcheng had thought the young man looked familiar earlier. Now he finally recognized him.
Kong Ningyuan was not a returning patient of the clinic, but a leading figure among Jiangzhou's younger generation. He had yielded the pears at four, making his name throughout Jiangzhou. Later, he had been admitted to the White Deer Grotto Academy by recommendation, and he stood a very good chance of being recommended to the Imperial Court.
Someone like him had actually come to deliver an admission letter for his son?
Kong Ningyuan was not surprised that Lianshan Jingcheng had recognized him. Yet he showed no arrogance before this ordinary physician, instead adopting an exceedingly humble manner. "The matter of yielding the pears is merely undeserved praise from others. I must also thank Young Master Xin."
"Thank Xin? What are you thanking him for?"
Today, Lianshan Jingcheng and He Miaojun felt that their powers of comprehension were sorely lacking.
But Kong Ningyuan offered no further explanation.
By then, Lianshan Xin had heard the commotion out front and finally arrived.
"Brother Kong, you're here."
Upon seeing Kong Ningyuan, Lianshan Xin greeted him warmly and familiarly.
Kong Ningyuan smiled as well. "I came to deliver your admission letter from the academy. Congratulations, Young Master Xin."
"Congratulations to you too. You should be getting a recommendation to the Imperial Court from the academy, Brother Kong." Lianshan Xin said this as a statement, not a question.
At those words, Kong Ningyuan's smile became all the more genuine. "I have you to thank for that, Young Master Xin. Lianshan Xin."
"Just call me Xin, Brother Kong. 'Younger brother' works too. No need to be so formal."
Lianshan Xin clasped Kong Ningyuan's hand, then solemnly introduced his parents to him.
Entering a friend's home to pay respects to his mother marked a deepening of their friendship.
Born into an established family, Kong Ningyuan naturally understood such customs even better. He also wished to befriend Lianshan Xin, so he solemnly paid his respects to Lianshan Jingcheng and He Miaojun as a junior.
Then the two went to the rear courtyard to talk.
They left Lianshan Jingcheng and He Miaojun staring blankly.
"Younger brother, the academy has indeed recommended me to the Imperial Court, citing the incident of yielding the pears at four. I'm ashamed. Without your guidance, I truly wouldn't have known how to stand out among the seven brothers in my family. Please accept my bow."
Kong Ningyuan was about to bow when Lianshan Xin caught him, a look of utter confusion on his face. "Brother Kong, what are you talking about? I don't understand a word."
After a moment's pause, Kong Ningyuan burst out laughing. "Younger brother, you truly are a worthy talent. Rest assured, I will remember all the help you've given me, and I will repay it someday. The academy is riddled with factions, but I've already made arrangements. Once you enter, I'll introduce you to all my contacts there. Please don't refuse. I'll remain at the academy for another six months before taking up my post at the Imperial Court. During those six months, I'll make sure you establish a firm foothold."
"In that case, it would be ungracious of me to refuse."
The two exchanged a look and laughed together.
A backroom deal had been struck.
The imperial examinations were difficult, especially with Great Yu Dynasty's court so powerful and the acceptance rate so low. Landing a government job was even harder than it had been in his previous life.
Unless someone was a true prodigy, anyone who could secure a recommendation would certainly take that route.
The Kong family was an established clan, so its descendants naturally qualified for recommendations. But Kong Ningyuan was the sixth of seven brothers in his generation. Even an established clan could not send all seven through that channel. Only the worthiest could go.
So who was the worthiest?
Kong Ningyuan, who had yielded the pears at just four years old.
Had four-year-old Kong Ningyuan understood anything about yielding pears?
He hadn't understood a damn thing.
He was not like Lianshan Xin, who had lived twice and retained wisdom from a previous life. At four, he had still been playing in the mud.
But Lianshan Xin understood.
He had met Kong Ningyuan, and afterward, the story of Kong Ningyuan yielding the pears at four had spread throughout Jiangzhou, making him a leading figure among its younger generation.
Of course, the Kong family itself had done most of the work in that process. At most, Lianshan Xin had supplied the idea, and he had given it to Kong Ningyuan for free.
Lianshan Xin understood that what came free was worth the most.
Now his returns had arrived.
A little lip service had earned him recommended admission to an elite institution equivalent to Tsinghua or Peking University in his previous life. Was it worth it?
Lianshan Xin thought so.
Kong Ningyuan also thought he had profited enormously.
That was a win-win.
As for turning on him and denying their relationship outright... quite apart from Lianshan Xin having a backup plan, Kong Ningyuan was not so shortsighted.
Only a greater benefit could make him turn hostile outright.
"Younger brother, there's one more small matter I hope you can help me with."
"What is it?" Lianshan Xin asked curiously.
Kong Ningyuan spoke with perfect composure. "I have a friend who's recently been finding himself willing in spirit but weak in flesh. He heard your clinic has a unique secret formula and asked me to help."
Lianshan Xin blinked. Without another word, he fetched two boxes of pills for Kong Ningyuan and his imaginary friend.
"Brother Kong, tell your friend to take these before intercourse. They're guaranteed to work."
"Younger brother, that friend of mine doesn't want anyone else to know about this."
"What just happened?" Lianshan Xin's eyes began to cloud with confusion.
Kong Ningyuan laughed again, then patted Lianshan Xin's hand and praised him. "Younger brother, you truly are a genius at playing dumb."
A little later, Lianshan Xin personally escorted Kong Ningyuan out of the clinic. Only after seeing him all the way to the street corner did he reluctantly bid him farewell.
He had not asked for payment.
With rich people, one had to talk feelings.
Only with people who had no money did one talk money.
That was a lesson Lianshan Xin had learned as a seasoned Xiaohongshu user.
The sisters really did have plenty of wisdom.
Once Lianshan Xin disappeared from view, Kong Ningyuan tossed the two boxes of pills to his attendant.
"Take them yourself. If you have no use for them, you can sell them to someone else."
The attendant asked curiously, "Young master, there's clearly nothing wrong with you. Why insist on letting Lianshan Xin misunderstand?"
Kong Ningyuan smiled faintly. "When dealing with others, fools pretend to be clever, and clever people pretend to be fools. Revealing your own shortcomings is the best way to deepen a friendship and lower someone's guard. The gap between my background and Lianshan Xin's is too great. If I don't find a way to close that distance, we'll only drift further apart."
"Young master, Lianshan Xin is merely an ordinary person. Is he worth lowering yourself to befriend?" The attendant still felt that his master was getting the short end of the stick.
Kong Ningyuan was unconcerned. "This costs me nothing and does him a favor. How am I lowering myself? If Lianshan Xin soars to great heights someday, I'll be his friend from humble days. If he remains unknown, I lose nothing."
"But you've lost face."
Kong Ningyuan's smile turned scornful. "Face? Only successful people have face."
After turning the White Deer Grotto Academy's admission letter over and reading it several times, Lianshan Jingcheng and He Miaojun finally accepted reality.
But they were still worried and puzzled.
He Miaojun frowned. "Xin, becoming a student at the White Deer Grotto Academy is naturally a good thing, but there are struggles within the academy too. It's the foremost academy in Jiangzhou and one of the World's Four Great Academies. Plenty of its students come from extraordinary backgrounds. Besides, it teaches both literary and martial arts, and it leads the Jiangzhou Martial World itself. With a sharp weapon in hand, the urge to kill arises. As far as I know, students at the White Deer Grotto Academy are injured or crippled in fights every year."
Lianshan Jingcheng nodded in agreement with his wife. "Your mother is absolutely right. Son, our family may not be fabulously wealthy, but we can live without worrying about food or clothing. Just settle down, learn medicine from me, and inherit the Spring Revival Hall. Why take risks?"
Lianshan Xin said calmly, "Father, studying medicine cannot save Great Yu."
Lianshan Jingcheng: "?"
"Nor can it save our family. Medicine can be a useful skill, but it cannot be the foundation on which we stake our lives."
"Nonsense. Your father built his livelihood on medicine. Have you ever lacked food or clothing?" He Miaojun scolded. "Don't start looking down on your father just because you've met a scion of an established family like Kong Ningyuan."
"Mother, I've never looked down on Father. It's precisely for his sake that I must become a student at the White Deer Grotto Academy."
"What do you mean?" Lianshan Jingcheng frowned.
Lianshan Xin looked at Lianshan Jingcheng, his eyes deep and dark. Yet he was looking through Lianshan Jingcheng's body at another scene:
Three days earlier, President Qu of the neighboring merchants' association had asked Lianshan Jingcheng to treat his wife's younger brother. That brother-in-law was the local thug who ruled this street, and he had been hacked half to death in a gang fight.
Lianshan Jingcheng had done his best, but he had still failed to save him.
Afterward, President Qu had stopped supplying medicinal ingredients to the Spring Revival Hall.
That was utterly unreasonable. Even the finest physician could not guarantee that every patient would be saved.
But many people in this world would listen to reason only when dealing with the strong.
Lianshan Jingcheng had brought lavish gifts to apologize, bowing and smiling, yet he had still been turned away at the door.
Then he had brought fine wine to invite the Qu family's steward for a drink. He had drunk until he vomited, yet still failed to receive a single reassuring answer.
Lianshan Jingcheng had hidden all this very well. He Miaojun knew only that he had failed to save the patient, not that President Qu had subsequently made trouble for him.
Lianshan Jingcheng thought Lianshan Xin did not know either.
But Lianshan Xin knew.
This was his gift. When he stared at other people, he would occasionally see secrets from their past.
"Father, President Qu's brother-in-law was hacked to death by someone else. But President Qu bullies the weak and fears the strong, so he'll take his anger out on you and blame you for failing to save him. Cutting off our supply of medicinal ingredients is only the first step. I'm afraid he'll keep making trouble for you."
He Miaojun's expression changed abruptly. "What happened?"
Lianshan Jingcheng's expression shifted slightly too. "Xin, how do you know about this?"
"I saw you taking gifts to apologize, Father, and being turned away by the Qu family," Lianshan Xin said.
Lianshan Jingcheng's expression grew strained. "I've embarrassed you."
As a father, he certainly did not want his child to see his helplessness.
Lianshan Xin shook his head and said solemnly, "Father, a man supporting his family with a skill, bowing his head and forcing a smile outside the home for their sake-that isn't shameful. Making the whole family suffer for the sake of his own petty pride-that's shameful."
Lianshan Jingcheng was moved. "Xin, you've grown up."
"Yes, I've grown up. So I can't let you shoulder everything alone, Father. When I saw Kong Ningyuan out, we passed the Qu residence. I'm certain the Qu family saw us. President Qu bullies the weak and fears the strong. He dares to make trouble for a physician at an ordinary clinic, but he won't dare make trouble for the father of a student admitted to the White Deer Grotto Academy by recommendation. Father, you won't have to work so hard anymore. I'll support this family alongside you."
For ordinary people, living without worrying about food or clothing was never easy.
If you thought it was easy, someone else must have been shouldering that hardship for you.
Lianshan Xin had understood that truth in his previous life.
So he would not take it for granted that an ordinary life was a blessing.
An ordinary life was not a blessing. It was hardship.
Before you continue