Top Scholar

Chapter 402 Literary Fortune Awaits Suspension
As the group of Imperial Guards escorted Su Lu around the screen wall, they were startled by the sight before them and stopped in their tracks.

The area outside Jieyuan Mansion was packed with the elders of Hejiang, completely blocking the main street.

Wait, why did I say "again"?

It can only be said that at this moment, just like at that moment, the eyes of the elders of Hejiang were filled with undisguised hostility, as scorching as burning firewood.

Many men were carrying carrying poles, hoes, and even red-tasseled spears; they were clearly not there to watch the spectacle.

Su Lu was the first person in Hejiang's history to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examinations, a source of pride for the entire county. Especially thanks to Lu Zhaoye's vigorous promotion of him back then, the people were all familiar with his childhood deeds and treated him like their own child.

Now that their own children are about to be taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard out of thin air, who would stand idly by?! If it weren't for Magistrate Hou leading County Magistrate Cao, Registrar Bao, and Instructor Hai, who led the yamen runners to hold the middle, the two sides would have already started fighting each other.

"What do you want to do?!" Qian Ning shouted from the high stone steps.

He wasn't holding back today—two hundred fully armed soldiers, complete with armor, shields, and bows and arrows, could easily cut through the street in no time.

He's going to get his revenge this time!
He immediately raised the imperial edict high above his head, the two vermilion seals dazzlingly red in the sunlight.

Qian Ning shouted sternly, "Look carefully, everyone! This is an imperial edict from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest a criminal! It bears the seals of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Ministry of Justice. Anyone who dares to obstruct it is committing treason and rebellion, and their entire family will be executed!"

"Don't try to scare me with your rebellion, you son of a bitch!" A hot-tempered man in the crowd scoffed, followed by a chorus of indignant agreement. "The top scholar is innocent; don't even think about taking him away today!"

"I'll count to three and get out of the way, or you'll die without a second thought!" Qian Ning drew his embroidered spring knife and threatened menacingly.

"one……"

"What the hell!" The people weren't buying it at all and surged forward even more fiercely.

Although the soldiers were subject to military orders, they were also soldiers from Sichuan. How could they lay a hand on their fellow villagers unless absolutely necessary? They could only use their guns and shields to hold back the surging crowd.

"Don't touch me!"

"I'll take it!"

The civilians and soldiers began pushing and shoving, and Magistrate Hou and his entourage were jostled about, their official hats long gone and their robes torn. The elderly parents cried out in distress, "Calm down! Let's talk this out! Oh, please don't hit me..."

The scene became increasingly chaotic and was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

At this point, Su Lu had no choice but to speak up. He said loudly, "Fellow elders, neighbors, brothers, please stop! Please hear me out!"

His voice had a magical quality; upon hearing it, the people of Hejiang County gradually stopped pushing and shoving and all turned to look at him.

"You all have protected me, Su Lu, with such deep affection that I have no way to repay you. Please accept my bow!" Su Lu bowed deeply to his fellow villagers and said earnestly:

"But I have no choice but to go today."

"Why? Can't we stay?" The people were filled with anxiety and reluctance.

"We really have no choice but to leave." Su Lu's grateful gaze slowly swept over the crowd, and he shook his head, saying:

"As you all have seen, the commander brought four men last time, but today he brought two hundred soldiers. If you all stay here to protect me today, he will bring two thousand or even twenty thousand soldiers next time. How can Hejiang County withstand such a turmoil? How can the lives and livelihoods of all the people in the county be affected by my actions?"

"We'll talk when we get here! We'll fight them to the death!" someone shouted from the crowd. "Even if you don't tell us, we know you've offended that eunuch Liu Jin—once you get to the capital, where will you survive?!"

Qian Ning now realized that the unruly people of Hejiang were truly willing to go all out, so he softened his tone and said:

"Don't worry, everyone. Jieyuanlang is not guilty of a serious crime. He was just implicated. He will be fine once he explains himself in the capital."

"I'm afraid they won't even make it to the capital; they'll be killed halfway there!" The common people have heard plenty of stories about Liu Jin sending assassins to hunt down exiled officials.

"I guarantee I will take good care of your top scholar along the way and ensure he arrives in the capital safely, is that not enough?" Qian Ning had a habit of being soft-hearted when others were tough, and he was willing to lose all face in order to get through this.

"Actually, I admire Jieyuanlang very much. I've come here several times to help him get rid of this trouble..."

"Damn it! Who believes your lies, you corrupt official!" someone shouted, pointing at Qian Ning. "How are we supposed to know how you, you son of a bitch, will ruin the top scholar once you leave the county?!"

"I guarantee it, is that not enough?" Qian Ning said helplessly. "You're no match for me!" Unfortunately, his words carried no weight with the people.

"Don't listen to his nonsense!" someone else shouted. "That bastard is Liu Jin's lackey. Once he's out of the city, no one will care about him. They'll definitely make sure the top scholar is killed!"

Seeing this, Magistrate Hou leaned close to Qian Ning and whispered, "Lord Qian, you may not know this, but the people of Sichuan are known for their fierce and unruly nature. In the past two years, they have been severely oppressed by the eunuchs, and the people are already full of resentment. Now that the fire has been lit, if we confront them head-on, it could lead to a popular uprising, which is no laughing matter!"

He lowered his voice even further as he spoke: "How about we... go back and discuss this further?"

"How can that be?" Qian Ning's face turned ashen, so frustrated he felt like vomiting blood. He had failed to take away a single scholar twice, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was losing all face! If word got back, he would become a laughingstock and have no place to stand.

He composed himself, gritted his teeth, and said, "I have shown my official warrant today, which is tantamount to proclaiming an imperial edict. I must take this person away no matter what! Otherwise, what prestige will the court have left?!"

"How about this?" Magistrate Hou said, trying to mediate when he saw that neither side was willing to back down. "Our county will also send people to follow Su Jieyuan all the way to ensure his safe arrival in the capital."

"Alright then." Qian Ning was caught in a dilemma, and all he wanted was to get his men out of this hellhole as soon as possible. After all, who could control him once he was out of Hejiang?
"But words are meaningless, and I cannot convince the people," Magistrate Hou said in a deep voice.
"I would like to request that you, Commander, write another contract, promising that Su Jieyuan will not be mistreated along the way and that his life will be safe after arriving in the capital. I am willing to vouch for you, Commander—if anything happens to him, let the people smash up my county office and strip me of my official hat!"

Qian Ning was stunned for a moment, then raised an eyebrow at Magistrate Hou: "Goodness, you're really willing to go all out?"

As mentioned before, the county government was an extension of imperial power to the local level. In any dynasty, if the people smashed up the county government, it would be a major incident that caused a huge uproar.

When the time comes, Magistrate Hou will almost certainly bring out that contract. Although it will be virtually impossible for him to save himself, it will be enough to drag him down with him... So unless absolutely necessary, he doesn't want to leave any written evidence.

"What else can we do?" Magistrate Hou sighed, pointing to the people behind him.

“My lord, you may not know how deep the feelings of the people of Hejiang are for Su Jieyuan. Have you heard the prophecy that ‘the future of literature awaits Su’? Our county is weak in education and has never produced a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). Since Su Jieyuan was born, we have suddenly had hope. All five Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examination) from our county this year are related to him.”

"Even all the newly appointed scholars in Luzhou have received his guidance—last year, the top ten students in the prefecture all abandoned the prefectural school and chose our Hejiang County school in order to learn from him." Magistrate Hou said with an increasingly serious tone:
"As a result, all ten people passed the imperial examination this autumn, while in the history of Luzhou, the most anyone had ever passed was six. So the people of the whole county firmly believe that the 'Su' in 'Wen Yun Dai Su' is the same 'Su' in 'Jieyuan' (a top scholar in the provincial examination), and they are counting on him to greatly promote the literary fortune of the county and make Hejiang produce more talents!"

"It's just a prophecy, and you actually believe it?" Qian Ning didn't expect that the more they dug into Su Lu, the more information they found, and he couldn't help but spit out his mouth, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

"Of course I believe it—even I, your humble servant, firmly believe it!" Magistrate Hou said solemnly.
"All the children in the county were enlightened by the phonetic writing system created by Su Jieyuan; the more than two hundred primary schools in the county were also preserved thanks to his tireless efforts and overcoming of numerous difficulties. In the past, less than one in ten people in Hejiang could read, but now all the young men can read and write!"

"While I dare not claim this flourishing of culture and education to be the best in the world, it is certainly comparable to the most renowned literary regions of Jiangnan!" He paused, his gaze sweeping over the eagerly awaiting crowd, his voice growing increasingly earnest:
"Therefore, Su Jieyuan was an enlightening teacher and a wise man who promoted education in Hejiang! It is only natural that the people would respect and protect such a literary star who cared deeply for his hometown and benefited the local area!"

Magistrate Hou said, emphasizing each word, "If you don't agree to this condition, you can forget about taking anyone out today!"

The threat was quite clear.

Looking at his officers, they were all lax, ready to rebel at any moment...

After listening to Magistrate Hou's heartfelt words, Qian Ning looked at the people who had been barely calmed down by Su Lu, and then at the soldiers behind him who looked displeased. He hesitated for a long time, then finally sighed and admitted defeat:
"Fine, I'll sign!"

He cursed inwardly, 'This is practically using my own official position as a stepping stone for Su Lu, getting myself into this mess for nothing. If I had known it would be this troublesome, I shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess in the first place…'

But there's no going back in life; you have to finish what you started, even if it's painful.

Frustrated, he had someone write out a contract, then gritted his teeth and signed it.

The people in the county also agreed that Instructor Hai would act as the county's representative to escort Su Lu to the capital.

Only then did the elders of Hejiang make way for them. Qian Ning quickly ordered his men to escort Su Lu and his wife, and together with Instructor Hai, they hurried out of the city and boarded the Jinyiwei official ship that was already waiting at the dock.

The elders of Hejiang accompanied the scholar on his final journey.

As the planks were removed, the sails were raised, and the official boat slowly sailed away from Jiangdongmen Wharf, cries of grief erupted from the shore.

Su Lu stood at the stern of the boat, lifted the corner of his robe, knelt on the deck, and solemnly kowtowed to the riverbank.

Upon seeing this, the people knelt down in return, just like wheat fields that had fallen over!
Qian Ning was deeply shocked by this scene and became even more convinced of his judgment.

The Imperial Guards behind him were also extremely grateful that their godfather was wise enough not to raid the Su family's property, otherwise they would have really been doomed today.

P.S. Don't worry, everyone, it's still a fast-paced, enjoyable read... Please vote with your monthly tickets!!!
(End of this chapter)