Top Scholar

Chapter 471 The Arrogant Fear the Foolish (Seeking Monthly Tickets!!)
Although Su Lu was still a novice in officialdom, he could guess that this high-ranking official with a Henan accent was almost certainly surnamed Jiao.

I had long heard that Jiao Fang was a ruthless and aggressive official who would kill his colleagues at the drop of a hat. Seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved.

If Su Lu were to visit on private matters, he would definitely instruct the others to come quietly through the back door, and would never dare to provoke such a tiger.

But today he was not here for personal matters, but to formally pay homage to his mentor on behalf of the 349 students after the imperial examination, following the established procedure.

The petition signed by 350 students is still in the box he carries. If he were to shrink back in fear and try to escape through the back door after seeing his teacher being besieged and cursed by his enemies, wouldn't that make him a laughingstock?
It wasn't just him who lost face; it was the face of the entire Wuchen cohort!
No, I need to stand up straight!
In a flash, Su Lu devised a plan. He immediately alighted from the sedan chair, snatched the 'New Top Scholar' flagpole from the servant, and prepared to part the crowd to greet the new scholar.
Manager Peng was terrified and quickly grabbed him tightly: "Sir, you mustn't! You can't afford to offend that man!"

"What's wrong with that?" Su Lu flung his hand away and said coldly, "He's bullying my sect, how can I just sit idly by? He'll make all the people of Sichuan lose face!"

"Good! Well said!" The onlookers immediately made way for them. They got tired of watching one-man shows, but they found it much more enjoyable to watch a performance with someone else.

Especially when they saw the flag in Su Lu's hand, they became even more excited...

~~
Su Lu parted the crowd, holding a flagpole, and strode into the alley, only to be stopped by the Imperial Guards of Jiao Fang, who were accompanying him.

"What are you doing here?" The leader of the brocade-clad centurions sized up Su Lu's scholar's attire and the apricot-yellow banner bearing the inscription "Newly Recruited Scholar," and his usual arrogance vanished for a moment.

Su Lu, however, was full of imposing manner and shouted angrily: "Get out of the way! I am Su Lu, Su Hongzhi, the newly appointed top scholar, and I have come to pay my respects to our teacher on behalf of all my fellow students!"

"Do you know who's inside? Even if you were the top scholar, you couldn't afford to offend them," the officer in brocade robes snorted.

Suddenly, the Imperial Guard behind him whispered something in his ear. Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard commander's pupils constricted sharply, and he swallowed hard, saying, "We're doing this for your own good. Go back."

"Get out of the way!" Su Lu slammed his fist on the flagpole.

"Fine, let him have it, but you'll have to bear the consequences." Surprisingly, the commander of the Imperial Guards didn't stop him.

Su Lu then arrived at the gate of Wang Gelao's residence, ignoring Jiao Fang who was still cursing, and reprimanded the two Imperial Guards guarding the gate:

"What are you all doing?! Someone is yelling and cursing in front of the Grand Secretary's gate, even making death threats, and you all just turn a blind eye! Aren't you going to take him down?!"

The Imperial Guard was taken aback by the sudden question. If he hadn't heard Su Lu introduce himself earlier, he would have vented his anger on him. But now he smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Huiyuan, we can't afford to offend him."

Jiao Fang, already seething with anger, flared up even more upon hearing this, her beard bristling and eyes wide with rage. "Who is 'he'? How dare you address me like that? Don't you want to live?"

The two Imperial Guards turned pale with fright and hurriedly explained that they had misspoke.

Su Lu coldly questioned Jiao Fang:

"Then how about you, you old madman, ranting and making a scene in front of the Grand Secretary's door?!"

"Who are you calling an old madman?!" Upon hearing this, Jiao Fang immediately turned her anger on Su Lu, pointing her finger at his nose and cursing loudly:

"You brat! Who gave you the audacity to act so presumptuously here? You don't even recognize me? I am Jiao Fang!"

"Jiao Fang?" Su Lu sneered as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, "I think you're more like Jiao Quan! Grand Secretary Jiao is a first-rank official, the second-in-command of the cabinet, and he's attending court in the Forbidden City right now!"

"How can you act like this, throwing a tantrum in the street, constantly threatening to stab someone in the eye?" He looked Jiao Fang up and down, his face full of disdain.
"In my opinion, you're definitely an imposter!"

"Hey, I think you're more likely to be blind!" Jiao Fang pointed at the ostentatious python robe on her chest and sneered, "Do you recognize this python robe?!"

“I think this is a costume from a theatrical troupe,” Su Lu suddenly blurted out in Henan dialect, which was incredibly annoying and caused the onlookers to burst into laughter.

"I think you're looking for death!" Jiao Fang was so choked by his words that she almost couldn't breathe. Her eyes widened in fury, and she drew the embroidered spring knife from her attendant's waist, pointing it at Su Lu and threatening, "Quickly admit you're wrong! Otherwise, I'll stab you to death today, you little brat!"

"You're wrong!" Su Lu's words could infuriate anyone. His hands, however, moved swiftly, tucking the hem of his robe into his belt and holding the Huiyuan flag upside down, saying:

"You seventy-year-old geezer, how dare you threaten a young man from a military family like me? You're utterly stupid!"

"When I stabbed someone, your father wasn't even born yet!" Jiao Fang said viciously.

"Try it if you don't believe me!" Su Lu sneered, then loudly addressed the crowd, "Everyone, be my witnesses. If he strikes first, then this is self-defense!"

As he spoke, he deftly twirled the stick, "Even if I knock you to the ground, it's your own fault!"

"What self-defense? There's no such article in the Ming Dynasty Code! Even if I stab you, it's all for nothing!" Jiao Fang weighed the situation and knew that youth had an advantage, and that being taller was always better; she knew she couldn't beat him.

“But the Great Ming Code states that ‘those who act later and are in the right are punished two degrees less.’” Su Lu laughed loudly, “I’ll give you a few whacks, and after reducing your punishment by two degrees, you’ll have nothing left.” “You!” Grand Secretary Jiao was so angry that he trembled all over, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword shaking. He exclaimed in a shocking voice, “If you dare touch me, I’ll lie on the ground! I’ll show you the consequences of assaulting a first-rank official!”

"Whoa..." The onlookers booed in unison, never expecting that the arrogant and stubborn Grand Secretary Jiao would be so shameless.

Su Lu never expected Jiao Fang to say that. Wasn't she just an old rogue? But this didn't stump him at all, so he fought fire with fire, saying:
"Come at me! One slash from you and I'll be down. Even if you're Jiao Fang, injuring a newly appointed top scholar in the street is enough to finish you off!"

He paused, then added, each word piercingly cutting: "Besides, I still have my elder brother who passed the imperial examination and can still bring honor to our ancestors! But your good-for-nothing son didn't pass the imperial examination. Once you're finished, your Jiao family is finished!"

"You..." Jiao Fang was struck on a sore spot, so angry that her vision blurred and she swayed. If she didn't stab Su Lu in the back now, the persona she had cultivated over the years would completely collapse.

Just as he was filled with rage and malice, and was about to swing his knife without thinking, the door behind him was suddenly pushed open.

"Stop!" Wang Ao shouted, revealing himself and angrily rebuking Jiao Fang, "Jiao Fang, do you have any dignity as a high-ranking official? You're nothing but a scoundrel!"

"You old bastard, you've finally come out! I'll stab you first!" Jiao Fang was worried that she couldn't beat Su Lu, but when she saw the old man who couldn't even kill a chicken, she immediately turned her attention to him.

Unexpectedly, Wang Ao smiled faintly and said, "Come on! According to the Great Ming Code, if grandparents or parents are beaten by others, and their children or grandchildren immediately come to their aid and retaliate, they shall not be punished unless they suffer broken bones!"

Then, in a deep voice, he instructed Su Lu, who was standing behind Jiao Fang, "If he dares to lay a hand on you, disciple, you beat him up!"

"Alright!" Su Lu was overjoyed. With Teacher Wang involved, he could finally give Jiao Fang a good beating.

"Let's do it! Let's do it!" the crowd jeered.

"..." Jiao Fang was completely speechless. She couldn't beat Su Lu, and she couldn't mess with Wang Ao.
Continuing this stalemate will only lead to further humiliation.

Throughout his life, Jiao Fang's bravery and ruthlessness were merely means to an end. He only resorted to violence because he found it particularly effective against civil officials; he never truly risked his life.

Today, they blocked Wang Ao's door and cursed him, just to get back at him for failing the imperial examination... But not only did his son fail, all the candidates in Henan were ruined by this Grand Secretary Jiao.

If Jiao Fang doesn't lash out, her fellow villagers will curse her to death behind her back.
What face will the Jiao family have left in Henan?

Who knew they would run into Su Lu, a hothead with incredibly powerful connections?

Moreover, he is a first-rank official, the second-in-command of the cabinet and the minister of personnel, while Su Lu is just a minor scholar. If things really escalate to the point of mutual destruction, that would be a huge loss!
Grand Secretary Jiao had never made a losing deal in his life. In the blink of an eye, he was already having second thoughts.

But before leaving, one must salvage one's dignity—

"Then die!" he roared suddenly, turning around and slashing at Su Lu with his knife!

Grand Secretary Jiao was calculating his moves perfectly—if Su Lu dared to retaliate, he would simply lie down on the ground and scream like a pig being slaughtered, "Ouch! Murder! I'm going to die..."

If Su Lu were to back away or dodge in fear, his boast would be exposed, and he would at least have managed to save face.

Who would have thought that the young man was cunning and had already guessed that he was going to play this trick of extortion. Seeing that Grand Secretary Jiao was going to slash at him, he slightly turned his body to the side and easily made way for him.

No matter what, he was Su Tai's younger brother. He often practiced spear fighting with his second brother, so he had the skills to face a seventy-year-old man.

As a result, Jiao Fang missed his target with his sword, lost control of his strength, stumbled, and fell heavily onto the bluestone ground with a thud. He grimaced in pain and didn't recover for a long time.

Seeing this, Su Lu stood the "New Top Scholar" flag upright on the ground, put his hands on his hips, and laughed loudly, "Go ahead and report to the authorities! All the neighbors saw clearly that I was unarmed, with only this top scholar flag here. You were the one who tried to attack me with a knife, but I didn't touch you at all!"

"What a disgrace!" Wang Ao's voice was filled with utter disbelief. "A high-ranking official of the first rank, daring to stage an accident in public—what kind of behavior is this?"

"When did I ever stage an accident for insurance fraud?!" Jiao Fang's face flushed red. Ignoring the pain all over his body, as if he had been hit by a carriage, he turned and cursed at the Imperial Guards who were watching the commotion.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help this old man up!" Since the attempt to stage an accident failed, he absolutely could not admit it.

The Imperial Guards suppressed their laughter and rushed forward to help Grand Secretary Jiao up and put him into the sedan chair.

Amidst the laughter and jeers of the people at the alley entrance, the sedan chair bearers awkwardly carried Minister Jiao away, swaying precariously...

P.S. This is a post to be edited later. Please vote with monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)