Top Scholar

Chapter 401 The husband sings and the wife follows
"If you're going to force this connection," Su Lu said with a sneer, "you might as well say that even if everyone farts, they're cursing Eunuch Liu! That way, you can arrest whoever you want!"

"That's right, we won't need to use torture to extract confessions anymore. Just pour some cold water on them and they'll be fine!" Su Tai grinned.

As they were talking, the bearded imperial guard let out a fart, and quickly said in a panic, "I didn't curse..."

"Get out of here..." Qian Ning glared at him, then turned to Su Lu and said, "Are you done talking?"

"Of course not!" Su Lu said righteously, "It's one thing for you to insult me, but you've even insulted my teacher Wang Yangming and headmaster Zhu Yushan. I must clear their names! They are both virtuous and talented men who are loyal to the emperor and love their country. The so-called 'traitors' are pure slander! I studied under them to learn the way of the sages and the righteousness of loyalty to the emperor! Naturally, I am not some worthless traitor!"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Furthermore, the Grand Master Xiao Ti Xue widely published 'If You Can Use It, You Can Act,' intending to encourage scholars in Shu to uphold their principles regardless of whether they are in favorable or adverse circumstances, and to assist the monarch and support the country after completing their studies. How could it be an insinuation about the court or a slander against the emperor?!"

He slammed his fist on the table and declared righteously, "No matter who it is, such word-for-word misinterpretation and far-fetched connections are nothing more than an attempt to use the charge of 'creating heretical books and spreading heretical words' to implicate loyal officials and put me to death! Such acts of confusing right and wrong and fabricating charges are truly treasonous and a scourge to the country and its people!"

His words were insightful and righteous, and the Su family members were greatly encouraged, no longer feeling their previous fear and unease.

Qian Ning's face turned pale and then red after being refuted, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time: "You, you're just making excuses! You're too good at making excuses..."

Su Lu sneered: "Whether it's sophistry or not, public opinion will judge! Heaven and earth bear witness, the sun and moon can attest to my integrity. I, Su Lu, have acted uprightly and sat honestly, and have never overstepped any boundaries! If you want to convict me based solely on such absurd misinterpretation, you are far too disregarding the laws of the country, the principles of heaven, and the hearts of the people!"

"I'm not good with words, I can't argue with you, a top scholar. I'm not going to talk to you anymore, hurry up and get in the carriage with me." Qian Ning's head was throbbing from being scolded, so he stopped arguing and said, "In the capital, there are plenty of eloquent and persuasive scholars who have passed the imperial examinations. Go and argue with them to your heart's content."

"Hehe..." Su Lu chuckled, expecting the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be reasonable was like asking the sun to rise in the west.

"Come with us!" Two Imperial Guards stepped forward to take Su Lu away.

"Who dares to touch my brother?!" Su Tai stood in front of Su Lu, his eyes wide with anger.

"Su Tai! Don't you want your fame and fortune anymore?!" Qian Ning shouted.

"What the hell!" Su Tai shouted back, "Nothing is more important than my brother!"

“Brother…” Su Lu pulled him back and whispered, “Don’t forget what I told you.”

“I haven’t forgotten…” Su Tai lowered his head and choked up.

~~
The three brothers had a deep conversation at Erlangtan.

The candlelight flickered in the east wing of the old house, illuminating the solemn faces of the three brothers. Su Lu looked intently at his two elder brothers and said solemnly, "Qian Ning's target this time is only me. He will definitely not mention the matter of Simian Mountain again."

"He wants me to smear the teacher as a way to curry favor with Liu Jin, but I would rather die than agree to that." After a pause, Su Lu said resolutely:
"Although I am afraid of death, I am even more afraid of being nailed to the pillar of shame, falling from a respected scholar to a coward despised by everyone. This would bring shame upon my entire family and clan, and even the people of Taiping Town, making them unable to hold their heads high!"

He sighed softly, "So I have no other choice, but you are different..."

Su Man and Su Tai were about to retort when Su Lu raised his hand and said, "Brother, don't be impatient. I know you care about me and want to share my hardships."

“That’s right, brothers fight tigers together! We, as the two older brothers, can’t just watch you suffer alone!” Su Man said in a deep voice.

“That’s right, if we go to jail, we go to jail together; if we die, we die together!” Su Tai said in a muffled voice.

“Yes, that makes you feel better.” Su Lu shook his head decisively and said, “But we are too weak. Even if the three brothers are tied together, we are not enough to fill the teeth of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

"..." The two elder brothers nodded silently. If Liu Jin's secret agents could force the two Grand Secretaries Liu and Xie to hang themselves and torture the Alliance Leader Li like a dog, let alone the three of them who were just minor scholars.

“So, to fight a tiger, we need to be like brothers. First of all, we need to have Wu Song’s skills.” Su Lu continued to persuade, “But we clearly don’t have those skills right now. If we keep jumping into the fire pit one after another, we will only ruin ourselves in vain. This is not saving me, but dragging the entire Su family down with us!”

Seeing that his two elder brothers were persuaded, he continued, "Struggle requires strategy. We are not afraid of sacrifice, but we must not make pointless sacrifices. If we are to put our family in a desperate situation for the sake of momentary pleasure, it will only cause pain to our loved ones and joy to our enemies. It will not be of any benefit to the rescue or to the fight against the eunuch faction."

At this point, Su Lu stood up and bowed deeply to his two elder brothers: "I implore you two brothers, no matter what happens, you must remain calm and composed, and prioritize the greater good. To put it simply, if I am imprisoned while you two are still out there, the Su family will have someone to uphold its reputation, and no one will dare to take advantage of our misfortune. But if you two act impulsively, and all three of us scholars end up in jail, those petty people who are usually consumed by jealousy and covet our family's property will definitely take advantage of the situation. At that time, the Su family will truly be doomed!"

~~
“Furthermore, I also have selfish thoughts,” Su Lu added. “If only I am captured, the division commanders can focus their efforts on rescuing me, and my two elder brothers can also run around for me; but if all three of us are imprisoned, the difficulty of the rescue will more than double. Who can we rely on to run around for us then?”

"So I implore you two elder brothers to try your best to set aside your own feelings and give your younger brother more hope," Su Lu pleaded in a deep voice. "Please, elder brothers!"

He was always measured and reasonable in his words, and his persuasive arguments left his two elder brothers speechless. They were filled with anguish, yet they knew their third brother's words were all true and irrefutable—impulse would only bring greater danger. Only by protecting themselves could they leave a chance for Su Lu's survival and a guarantee for the Su family… After a long while, Su Man sighed deeply, pulled Su Lu up, hugged his shoulders tightly, their heads close together, and choked out, "Don't worry, your elder brother knows what's important and will never cause you trouble."

Su Tai nodded emphatically, tears welling in his eyes, and put his arms around Su Lu and Su Man's shoulders, saying, "Me too!"

~~
Su Tai was eventually persuaded by Su Lu, and watched dejectedly as his younger brother walked past him toward the Imperial Guards.

"Don't touch me, I'll go with you." Su Lu glanced at the two Imperial Guards who were trying to grab him.

"Don't touch him, don't touch him." Qian Ning quickly stopped his two subordinates, and for some unknown reason, he whispered to Su Lu, "I'll give you one last chance... As long as you write that thing, this eight-legged essay can be interpreted according to your own ideas. That way, not only you, but also your teacher, the Grandmaster, and even the headmaster in Qiongzhou will all be safe and sound."

He paused for a moment, then threatened, "Otherwise, they, and your family will all suffer because of you."

"No need for further words." Su Lu shook his head, hardening his heart: "You can't have your cake and eat it too."

"You're so young, how come you've become such a blockhead? Your newlywed wife is so pitiful, she's already living like a widow before even returning home. Aren't you just making things difficult for her?" Qian Ning deliberately provoked him.

"You're overthinking it." A clear and decisive female voice rang out, and everyone looked in the direction of the voice. They saw Huang E, with a plain face, wearing simple clothes and carrying a bundle, walking out from behind the screen.

“My husband upholds morality and his conscience. As his wife, I only feel honored; there is not a trace of pity in him.”

"Madam Huang..." Qian Ning was taken aback, but Huang E was a famous talented woman in Sichuan and the daughter of Huang Ke, the provincial judge of Shanxi, so he had to be polite.

He coughed and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Wherever my husband goes, I'll go," Huang E said calmly. "There's no rule that says family members can't accompany him, is there?"

"No, not really..." Qian Ning said in a muffled voice.

“Xiumei…” Su Lu looked at his wife with heartache. Although Huang E had said many times that they would be together through thick and thin.

But when the moment actually arrived, he was still extremely reluctant to part with it...

"My husband, if you wish to be a righteous man, I will not stop you. And please, my husband, do not stop me from being my virtuous wife." Huang E grasped his hand, stood beside him, and spoke softly:

"This is just our duty..."

"Alright, through thick and thin, we'll be together!" Su Lu nodded gratefully, tightly grasped his wife's hand, and together they kowtowed to the old man and Su Youcai before getting up and walking outside.

The group of Imperial Guards all looked at Qian Ning, waiting for him to order the confiscation of their property. They had all come all this way through hardship, hoping to make some money this way.

Although the warrant didn't explicitly state the task of confiscating property, gathering evidence was always a given. It's always good to strike while the iron is hot, and maybe even make a quick buck along the way.

Qian Ning hesitated at this moment. He was no benevolent man; in the past two years, he had raided the homes of countless high-ranking officials and nobles. He had even driven Xie Qian's son to jump into the river... So he was not afraid of Su Lu and his wife's background.

In this world, he only cares about the emperor sitting on the throne and the emperor standing on the throne; everything else is insignificant.

But today, Qian Ning was truly in a difficult position. He couldn't quite pinpoint the reason, but it seemed that Su Lu's lecture had finally made him realize how terrifying it was to be regarded as an enemy by all the scholars in the world…

It was perhaps because Su Lu's wisdom, courage, and righteousness were so dazzling that he realized that if this person did not die, he would surely become a great man in the future!

He obviously couldn't kill him, otherwise he would truly be regarded as an enemy by all the scholars in the world, not to mention that the Prince of Shu still possessed the late emperor's jade pendant...

Since we can't kill him, it's best not to offend him to the point of no return.

"Forget it, this article is enough to convict him." Qian Ning finally waved his hand and said, "Just have his family pay for his travel expenses."

P.S.: I'll read the next chapter tomorrow morning...

(End of this chapter)