Chapter 10
Gao Yuan turned his face away from Zheng Fa, gripping the hem of his clothes tightly, his posture tense.
Zheng Fa's expression was calm, but inside, he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.
On the contrary, Han Cheng, who had been the most dejected just moments ago, now seemed to have given up entirely. His gaze flitted between Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, wearing an expression that suggested he was enjoying the show.
No one spoke.
The silence was the hardest to endure. Zheng Fa had no idea how long it had been when the figure of Steward Wu hurriedly appeared.
Zheng Fa watched as Gao Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, clearly swallowing hard.
"I have already reported to the lady," Steward Wu began as soon as he arrived. "She has decided on the selection for the Seventh Young Master's book boy:"
He glanced at the three of them, paused slightly, and then said:
"Gao Yuan."
Gao Yuan couldn't help but sway slightly.
"…and Zheng Fa."
"Two?" Xu Zheng asked, a bit surprised.
"Two," Steward Wu confirmed.
He was puzzled himself. Initially, the lady only wanted to find another book boy for the Seventh Young Master, and she might have already had Gao Yuan in mind. But when he reported Zheng Fa's qualifications, the lady changed her original plan.
He still remembered as he left, a voice from behind the curtain had faintly said:
"Interesting!"
Zheng Fa couldn't help but glance at Han Cheng's expression.
Indeed, it was hard to describe.
Out of the three, two had been chosen.
Who was feeling awkward now?
Zheng Fa could imagine how Han Cheng's mood must have exploded.
"You two should go home and pack today, and come to the manor tomorrow."
With that, he signaled for Zheng Fa and the others to leave.
As they departed, Han Cheng walked away quickly, clearly feeling a bit disgruntled.
Gao Yuan, however, deliberately walked beside Zheng Fa, and Zheng Fa sensed he had something to say.
Sure enough, as they watched Han Cheng gradually fade into the distance, far enough that he shouldn't be able to hear their conversation, Gao Yuan spoke up: "Zheng brother, we should work together in the future."
The tone of his words was quite meaningful.
Zheng Fa turned to look at Gao Yuan, seeing only sincerity on his face, devoid of the earlier wariness.
This change in attitude was a bit too swift.
Even though the position of the Seventh Young Master's book boy was particularly special in the Zhao Manor, why was Gao Yuan suddenly so humble?
"Zheng brother may not know, but we are not the first book boys for the Seventh Young Master."
"I know. The only son of the steward from Tianzhuang was previously the Seventh Young Master's book boy. He was beaten and sent back."
"No, it's not just him." Zheng Fa looked at Gao Yuan's five fingers, which were stretched straight: "Five people, since the Seventh Young Master entered the Mongolian region, have already served as his book boys. All were dismissed by the lady, and the unfortunate ones, like the steward's son you mentioned, were even punished."
Zheng Fa couldn't help but grin.
Now he understood a bit why Gao Yuan wanted to win him over.
In front of the difficult Seventh Young Master, their identities had shifted from rivals to comrades.
As for the scheming among colleagues?
They hadn't even settled in yet; what was there to fight about?
Thinking of this, Zheng Fa couldn't help but ask a question he had been pondering: "Gao brother, I heard that you have a degree?"
"Just luck. Three years ago, I passed the Tongsheng exam."
"A degree? Can't that lead to an official position?" Remembering his history lessons, Zheng Fa found it hard to understand why Gao Yuan was here competing for such a minor position as a book boy: "Why would you compete for such a small role?"
"An official?" Gao Yuan seemed not to understand Zheng Fa's question: "Who said one can become an official? A Tongsheng must take the Xiucai exam, and a Xiucai must take the Jinshi exam. Well, if one passes the Jinshi exam, they can indeed be appointed to a clerk position, but that's not an official role."
"Clerk?"
"Zheng brother, do you really not know? In our court, whether it's a county lord or a provincial lord, only disciples of the Immortal Sect can hold those positions. They just don't want to deal with mundane matters, so they need us Confucian scholars to be clerks and do their bidding."
"As for the minor position of book boy, the Zhao family has deep ties with the Immortal Sect. Moreover, the Seventh Young Master's sister is a disciple of the Immortal Sect. As a mere Tongsheng, how could I dare to look down on this book boy position?"
Watching Gao Yuan's departing figure, Zheng Fa pondered over what he had just said.
Even passing the Jinshi exam only led to being a clerk? It seemed that those disciples of the Immortal Sect, high and mighty, were the ones who granted these people a modicum of power simply because they were too lazy to deal with trivial matters.
Now he understood the difference between the Xuanwei Realm and the ancient times described in history books.
In history books, ancient dynasties had a power structure resembling a large pyramid: imperial power, ministers, and commoners, with power flowing from the top down.
But in the Xuanwei Realm, everything revolved around the Immortal Sect, like concentric circles.
The Immortal Sect was the largest circle, with its disciples becoming feudal lords in local areas, almost controlling all power, only accountable to the Immortal Sect and not to higher feudal lords.
Their families formed smaller circles, which in turn expanded into clerks and family servants, creating even smaller circles.
It seemed to align more with the concept of feudal lords in Western textbooks.
Thus, for Gao Yuan and others like him, serving as a servant for a powerful family like the Zhao family was already a very good choice.
At this moment, he deeply understood the value of his position as a book boy.
However, his understanding of this world was still shallow, and he wasn't sure if his conclusions were correct. But he was certain that in the Xuanwei Realm, the Immortal Sect held supremacy, leaving no space for imperial power to exist.
Exiting through the back door, he found the old man who had driven him there still waiting.
But he didn't see Huang Yu.
"Young Master has arrived?" The old man saw Zheng Fa and immediately got down from the cart, pulling out a small stool from behind and extending his hand to help Zheng Fa up.
At a glance, Zheng Fa understood that the old man had probably heard about him becoming the Seventh Young Master's book boy.
The Zhao family had been established for a thousand years, and the relationships among the servants were intricate. Sometimes, the news within the household could be hidden from the masters but not from a driver like the old man.
He quickly waved his hand, jumping onto the ox cart by himself.
The ox cart had changed as well. When Zheng Fa had come before, the cart was covered with ordinary wooden planks, with a few vegetable leaves scattered about.
Now, however, a thick black blanket was laid over the planks.
Looking at the old man, he was smiling at him with a respectful demeanor.
"Young Master, shall we set off?"
After patiently waiting for him to settle, the old man spoke in a tone of inquiry.
"Sir, just call me as you did before," Zheng Fa finally couldn't hold back: "Just call me Xiao Zheng, let's go."
The return journey on the ox cart was quick. Amidst the sound of the wind, Zheng Fa suddenly heard the old man speaking to him:
"Young Master… Xiao Zheng, the food box beside you is a little something I bought for myself at the Juxing Tower in the city. Please take it back with you."
Zheng Fa had already noticed the food box, made of black lacquered wood, tightly sealed, looking quite valuable.
"Sir, I can't accept something for nothing…"
"What do you mean 'something for nothing'? Today, I also received some of your mother's cured meat and pancakes! I’m not afraid of you laughing at me; your mother's cooking is excellent, not worse than the chefs at Juxing Tower! Taking this little food back is me getting the better end of the deal!"
Zheng Fa could swear that when he came, he hadn't sensed how much the old man liked his family's cured meat.
"That's just some homemade stuff."
"Xiao Zheng, don't be so polite. When you come to Jingzhou City, you should bring something back for your little sister, right?"
Thinking of his little sister Zheng Shan's reluctant expression, Zheng Fa fell silent.
By evening, as the smoke began to rise from the small houses by the fields, Zheng Fa finally returned to the village.
Before he even got off the cart, he heard his little sister Zheng Shan's voice under the big elm tree at the village entrance:
"Wait for my brother to come back! Let’s see if you dare to bully me again!"
Zheng Fa's heart tightened. Although his little sister Zheng Shan was a bit of a crybaby at home, she rarely cried outside.
But now, her voice carried a hint of tears.
---
**Chapter 12: Fear**
In the twilight, Zheng Fa could clearly see his little sister Zheng Shan standing under the big elm tree at the village entrance.
In front of her stood three boys, each at least a head taller than her, with the one in the middle clearly taking the lead.
Zheng Fa immediately recognized the boy in the center.
Tall and thin, with a hooked nose and sparse eyebrows, he had a rather pallid face.
This was Wang Gui, the only son of the steward of the village.
The former holder of the position he now occupied as a book boy.
He had heard from his mother a few days ago that Wang Gui had been reprimanded by the lady and sent home, barely able to get out of bed when he arrived at the village.
Yet today, he was here bullying his little sister.
Wang Gui's complexion was indeed paler than usual, his face almost devoid of color, making his expression even gloomier.
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