YNRHPCYC Chapter 64

When Liang Yanbei arrived, he happened to see Wen Chan and Zhong Wenjin, each with one foot held by a young man lying on the ground.

The hold was so tight that it didn’t move even when Wen Chan tried to pull his foot.

And a boy with his sleeves rolled up was swinging his fists and rushing towards them while roaring like crazy.

There were many onlookers standing around and watching, but no one seemed to want to help.

Liang Yanbei took out the academy card from his sleeve again and threw it at the boy.

Wen Chan was caught off guard when his feet were hugged, and he subconsciously struggled. However, he didn’t expect that the boy who kept shouting “help” under his feet would be very strong.

Just as the person on the opposite side was about to rush over, a black thing suddenly flew over very fast and hit the boy’s yelling mouth accurately, instantly silencing the roar.

The young man clutched his aching teeth and took two steps back, his eyes wide open. His eyes were stained with tears from the physical pain, and he exclaimed angrily, “Who is it?!”

Wen Chan was taken aback, looked down, and saw that what fell on the ground was an academy card with the letters “A5” engraved on it. He seemed to have guessed who it was, and he turned his head to find a certain someone.

Sure enough, Liang Yanbei, who was dressed in all white, walked over with a harmless and kind smile on his face.

At this time, many people had already been attracted by the dispute outside the hall, and they were watching from a distance.

Liang Yanbei’s time in the capital was still short, but his reputation was not small. Especially after he had just made a great contribution. As soon as he showed up, someone recognised him and said, “Hey — — He is a member of Minister Liang’s family.”

There were two Young Master Liangs in the capital, but there was only one Minister Liang.

“It’s Liang Yanbei. I heard that he is a powerful man.”

Everyone whispered.

Wen Chan was lost in thought for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, the person under his feet had already been picked up by Zhong Wenjin.

The young man had obviously been punched, and blood flowed from his nose joyously. He was so scared that his legs were shaking and he could hardly stand. He hugged Zhong Wenjin tightly, “Save me, save me!”

Zhong Wenjin was very disgusted and pushed him to the side while saying, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you stand?”

But the boy hugged tightly, and Zhong Wenjin couldn’t push him away, and in a moment he watched him smear his nosebleed all over his body.

“Who told you to meddle in other people’s business?!” The young man, who had his teeth smashed, glared at Liang Yanbei fiercely. His teeth were still aching, so he didn’t dare to roll up his sleeves and rush up.

Wen Chan took a closer look at the man and found that he was familiar.

At present, there were three generals in Xi Liang, of which the Lu family was the most powerful, and the position of general in the Lu family was hereditary.

After the Zhong family’s rebellion and turmoil ended, the power and influence in Xi Liang changed drastically, and General Old Lu died in battle. Then the position of general naturally fell on the head of his son, Lu Yi.

With this person, Lu Yi, whenever he was mentioned, Wen Chan couldn’t explain him in a few words.

He held the title of general, but he was repeatedly defeated in battles. For a while, Wen Chan was feeling distressed for Liang Yanbei, who was injured in the battle. So he asked Lu Yi to go off to war in his place. But he lost several frontier wars, and a lot of troops and cities were lost.

I’m afraid he was born to a pig. Liang Yanbei once described him like this.

Lu Yi in front of him was still very young and immature, with his father’s shadow between his eyebrows. He glared at Liang Yanbei with his teeth bared, as if he wanted to pounce on him and duel with him at any time.

Wen Chan remembered that Lu Yi was a reasonable person, “You started first.”

“Laozi¹father / daddy / “I, your father” (in anger, or out of contempt) / I (used arrogantly or jocularly) hit him. What does it have to do with you!” Lu Yi stomped with anger.

“We are all scholars studying in the academy. Why do we have to fight?” Liang Yanbei persuaded him in a gentle voice from the side.

“Who is a scholar! Laozi will go to the battlefield to fight in the future!” Lu Yi seemed to look down on people like scholars, “No matter how many books you read, it is not as practical as practicing a long sword!”

Nine out of ten will suffer from being laughed at. Intellectuals are not useful at all²From a line in 雜感, a poem written by Qing dynasty poet Huang Jingren..

Wen Chan couldn’t refute this for a while.

“That’s not what I said.” Liang Yanbei walked up to the young man in two steps, picked up the black academy card with his toes, and took it in his hand. He smiled at Lu Yi and said, “Do you know the biggest difference between people and livestock?”

Lu Yi was stunned, “What?”

“People can read; livestock can’t.” Liang Yanbei exerted force with his fingers, and a crisp “click” sound was heard from his palm. His smile still remained unchanged, “It’s not wrong to hit people, but it’s wrong to hurt innocent people.”

He took Lu Yi’s hand and put the thing in his palm, “This academy card is for you.”

The academy card had been broken into several pieces, and it was hard to believe that it was broken with bare hands.

Wen Chan nodded, “Young Master Liang spoke well. A gentleman uses his fist and not his mouth.”

Liang Yanbei glanced at him in surprise, “???”

Realising that he had said it wrong, Wen Chan hurriedly changed his words again, “A gentleman uses his mouth and not his fist. You can negotiate anything.”

After saying that, he turned around to look at the unlucky guy who was beaten by Lu Yi and had a bloody nose. He sniffed and still refused to let go of Zhong Wenjin, revealing only half of his face.

Based on this half of his face alone, Wen Chan could recognise him.

It seemed to be the little young master of the He family, He Yuncheng.

If he remembered correctly, He Yuncheng’s eldest sister was Lu Yi’s wife.

“…… I advise you to stop.” Wen Chan said silently to Lu Yi. If he threw a few more punches, he might kill his wife.

“Don’t be meddlesome!” Lu Yi was furious. When seeing that there were many people on the opposite side, a wise man would know better than to fight when the odds are against him. He threw the pieces in his hand to the ground, “Just you all wait and see!”

After speaking, he rushed out of class A5.

Liang Yanbei watched him run away and walked in front of Wen Chan, “Next time you encounter this kind of lunatic, just take the roundabout way.”

If he had come a step later just then, he would definitely have been accidentally injured by his fist.

Wen Chan had also run into this incident abruptly and said, “I will pay attention.”

“Hey, my friend. That person is gone. Why don’t you let go? Look at my clothes. They are all covered with your nosebleed.” The sound of Zhong Wenjin’s complaining was heard.

Only then did He Yuncheng let go in a panic, clutch his nose, and apologise, “I’m sorry. I will accompany you to get a new dress!”

Zhong Wenjin handed him a jinpa³brocade handkerchief, “Forget it. You’d better go and get your nose treated.”

It just so happened that he also got a just and honourable reason to give Xie Zhaoxue to ask for leave and go back to the mansion.

He Yuncheng thanked him again and left in a hurry, covering his nose.

After a while, the fuzi came with a book in his hand and looked at a circle of people standing outside, “Why don’t you all come in? Don’t you want to study anymore?”

The fuzi looked very stern, and the frightened teenagers rushed back to the hall. Liang Yanbei glanced at the fuzi, turned his head, and whispered to Wen Chan, “My academy card is broken. So I’ll retake the exam. You wait for me.”

Wen Chan thought: So this is why you crushed the academy card just now?

The fuzi walked over a few steps and bowed deeply to Wen Chan, “This worthless one greets Your Ninth Royal Highness.”

“Fuzi, there is no need to be polite.” Wen Chan held out his hand to help.

Liang Yanbei and Zhong Wenjin greeted the fuzi at the same time, and the two left together, while Wen Chan followed the fuzi into the hall.

The hall was not small, the tables were neatly arranged, and the seats were not yet fully occupied.

Wen Chan looked for a vacant seat to sit down in, took off the book bag on his body, and put it on the table. He then took out a book.

The fuzi glanced at the people in the hall, and without caring whether they were all present, he opened the book and read in a deep voice, “Read with me. The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined. And, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained to⁴Which basically means, ‘when you know where to stop, you have stability. When you have stability, you can be tranquil’. This line is from The Great Learning. The author is now believed to be Zēng Shēn 曾参 (also pronounced Zēng Cān), who is often referred to as “Master Zēng” or Zēngzǐ 曾子). He was a Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius. He later taught Zisi, the grandson of Confucius. And to know more about this, check out the page on ‘The Great Learning (Bilingual)’ by the University of California, San Diego.

Also, I used the other translation cause I felt like that would sound more like how it was said in ancient Chinese classes. Or should I use the easier version instead? Please let me know in the comments.……”

“The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined. And, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained to……”

Wen Chan was surrounded by the distinct sound of students reciting and suddenly felt strange. After all, he had never studied in an academy but had always studied in the palace.

It seemed like, with so many people reading together, the book was not so boring.

He Yuncheng clutched his nose and did not seek a doctor. Instead, he walked along a minor road until he saw a low pavilion before speeding up and walking over.

“Big Brother Zhong.” He approached and shouted in a low voice to the person sitting in the pavilion.

The man turned his head, and his handsome face was somewhat similar to that of Zhong Wenjin. After seeing He Yuncheng, he smiled slightly, “You are here.”

“According to what you said, I just looked at Li Yisong’s neck, and there was no red mole.” He Yuncheng’s face was calm, completely different from before, and he handed over the Jinpa in his hand, “This is what he gave me.”

Zhong Wenting seemed a little disappointed with the news. He took the Jinpa and took a closer look. He saw the character “Song” embroidered on the lower right corner of the Jinpa and was silent.

After a while, he asked, “Is this your blood? Are you hurt?”

He Yuncheng didn’t expect him to ask suddenly. He was taken aback for a moment and shook his head, “It’s fine now.”

Seeing that there was still a trace of blood left on his nose, Zhong Wenting pulled the person and asked in a deep voice, “Who injured you?”

He said, “I deliberately angered Lu Yi so that I could get close to Li Yisong.”

After Zhong Wenting heard this, he frowned and sighed, “Don’t do this in the future. Come on, follow me to see a doctor.”

He Yuncheng pursed his lips slightly, didn’t struggle, and left with Zhong Wenting.

Over there, Zhong Wenjin, who didn’t know that he had been suspected, ran to class A1 to find Xie Zhaoxue, gladly and diligently. When he arrived, the fuzi was taking a class. He stood by the window, peeking in with a pair of small eyes that were a part of the disguise, and saw Xie Zhaoxue at a glance.

Many people in the hall noticed this man, who suddenly appeared by the window, and looked sneaky. One after another, they all looked over. So the fuzi stopped reading midway and asked Zhong Wenjin, “Which class are you from? What are you doing here?”

The fuzi’s question attracted the attention of everyone in the hall. Xie Zhaoxue took a glance and found that it was Zhong Wenjin. When he looked at him for a second time, he saw the blood on his shoulder. Because Zhong Wenjin was wearing light-coloured clothes, the colour of the blood was obvious.

Xie Zhaoxue immediately stood up from his seat, walked out of the hall without saying a word, and ran to Zhong Wenjin.

“Are you hurt?” He pulled the person away from the window and frowned his beautiful eyebrows, staring at Zhong Wenjin’s shoulder.

“No, this is someone else’s blood. Some people just fought.” Zhong Wenjin waved his hand.

Xie Zhaoxue breathed a sigh of relief. He touched Zhong Wenjin’s shoulder again, and after confirming that it was not his blood, he said, “They are really regardless of the law and of natural morality. Who dares to fight in the academy?”

Zhong Wenjin said, “The one from the Lu family. He seems to be called Lu Yi.”

Xie Zhaoxue’s memory was better than Zhong Wenjin’s. When he heard the name, he immediately identified this person, nodded, and thought to himself that when he went back, he would talk to his father to report General Lu in front of the emperor. So that he will discipline his son well when he returns home.

“Why were you looking for me?” Xie Zhaoxue asked.

“My clothes are dirty. So I have to go back and change them.” Zhong Wenjin said confidently.

Xie Zhaoxue knew that he was going to skip classes again, so he said, “It’s true that you have to change. It just so happens that I have something to go back for too. Let’s go together.”

When Zhong Wenjin heard this, he became discouraged. But after thinking about it, it was better than sitting in the hall and studying all the time. So he simply followed.

He urged, “Then let’s go quickly.”

Xie Zhaoxue took leave from the fuzi, and the two left the academy together.

Wen Chan sat alone in the hall, not to mention that Liang Yanbei, whom he was waiting for, didn’t come, and even Zhong Wenjin was gone. Fortunately, he felt a sense of novelty in his heart. So he didn’t feel too bored until the noon bell rang.

The fuzi left with the book in his hand again, and the young people in the hall left the academy one after another in twos and threes and went home. Soon, the hall was empty.

Wen Chan was currently a little far from the palace, and it was troublesome to exit and enter again. And he didn’t plan to go back either. He sat in the hall and took out the two boxes of pastries from his book bag that Ah Fu had prepared for him and opened them to eat.

As soon as he had eaten a piece, Liang Yanbei walked in, “Your Highness isn’t going back to the palace?”

Wen Chan pushed the box forward and motioned to him to eat too, “It’s troublesome to go back and forth.”

He threw a piece into his mouth and felt that it was a little sweet. So it couldn’t be eaten as a meal. He said to Wen Chan, “The academy bell will not ring until two hours later. Will Your Highness stay here all that time? Besides, if you don’t have a meal during the horseback archery in the afternoon, how can Your Highness have the strength to draw the bow?”

Wen Chan chewed the pastry and felt that he had a point.

“Why don’t you go to my house? Your Highness can also take a nap after eating.” Liang Yanbei suggested.

“Go to your house?” Wen Chan heard this and reflexively thought of Liang Jun’s face. He wanted to refuse, “Forget it. What if I bother Minister Liang……”

“Whatever your Highness wants to eat, I will let the cook in the house cook it for you. It is much better than these pastries.” Liang Yanbei’s tone was gentle, unhurried, and full of temptation, “I remember that Your Highness loves to eat braised chicken from He Yue House. This is my cook’s specialty.”

“Okay, okay.” Wen Chan no longer had the slightest thought of refusing, and hurriedly said, “Then I’ll bother you. Probably Lord Liang won’t mind.”

Liang Yanbei’s eyes curled, and he smiled brightly, “Naturally.”

Translator’s corner

Thank you so much for reading the chapter. If you liked my translation and wanna support me, you can comment down your thoughts or send me a Kofi.

KO-FI

Don’t feel shy to let me know in the comment section or in the discord of Knoxt if you find any mistakes~

• 1
  father / daddy / “I, your father” (in anger, or out of contempt) / I (used arrogantly or jocularly)
• 2
  From a line in 雜感, a poem written by Qing dynasty poet Huang Jingren.
• 3
  brocade handkerchief
• 4
  Which basically means, ‘when you know where to stop, you have stability. When you have stability, you can be tranquil’. This line is from The Great Learning. The author is now believed to be Zēng Shēn 曾参 (also pronounced Zēng Cān), who is often referred to as “Master Zēng” or Zēngzǐ 曾子). He was a Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius. He later taught Zisi, the grandson of Confucius. And to know more about this, check out the page on ‘The Great Learning (Bilingual)’ by the University of California, San Diego.
  
  Also, I used the other translation cause I felt like that would sound more like how it was said in ancient Chinese classes. Or should I use the easier version instead? Please let me know in the comments.