Chapter Ninety: Just Like Our Youthful School Days

June 15th, after the fourth monthly lesson concluded, the students of the Ma Academy finally enjoyed a half-day break.

As usual, Director Ma treated the entire class to a meal, and today’s dishes were noticeably more refined. Yet, no one truly savored the food...

Because those two empty seats reminded them that tomorrow, yet another might bid farewell to this group.

Those classmates whose scores had already reached the critical edge naturally became the focus of concern. Everyone frequently raised their cups in toasts to them, sharing many sentimental words.

“Damn it, I still have half a point of leeway. Why are you toasting me like I’m done for?” Li Qiyu grumbled in frustration.

“You’ll lose all margin for error if you score half a point this time,” Su Dan replied calmly. “Do you believe you can earn a point in all six upcoming exams?”

“No, I don’t...” Li Qiyu’s face fell immediately. Turning, he hugged Su Lu’s shoulder and pleaded, “Godfather, save me!”

“Get off,” Su Lu pushed him aside helplessly. “I’ve taught you everything you should and shouldn’t know. Calling me grandpa won’t help now.”

“Don’t panic, Qiyu. This time’s question, ‘The pot calling the kettle black, what does it mean?’ is much simpler than last time. If you maintain your usual level, you’ll surely get a point,” Lin Zhihong reassured him.

“Thanks to Brother Lin’s kind words, I feel much better hearing that,” Li Qiyu smiled.

“What about me?” Cheng Wanfan pointed at his buck teeth.

“Your problem isn’t serious either,” Lin Zhihong laughed. “You’ve made great progress this past month; barring surprises, you should also get a point.”

“All thanks to big brother. He teaches me so much every day,” Cheng Wanfan raised his bamboo cup and toasted Su Lu.

“I really don’t know how to repay you, big brother...”

“Just score a point tomorrow—that’s the best way to repay me,” Su Lu clinked cups with him. The last one he had specially looked after had already dropped out; if this one followed suit, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

“I’ve done my best; the rest is up to fate,” Cheng Wanfan smiled wryly.

~~

The meal was eaten under a cloud of gloom, wasting Director Ma’s heartfelt generosity. Fortunately, there was a special promotion today, or else inviting them all would have been a loss...

After leaving the restaurant, seeing everyone still in low spirits, Director Ma suggested, “I see there are watermelons being sold at the dock. Why don’t we buy a few and head to the riverside to cool off and play in the water?”

“Great!” The group erupted in agreement. This time, despite insisting Director Ma not pay, the seventeen of them pooled a hundred wen and chose ten large watermelons—still fresh with leaves and earth, crisp and juicy—from the boat transporting them.

The students carried the watermelons on their heads and walked upstream along the river to find a shaded riverbank.

“This is it,” Director Ma said after surveying the spot with his ancestral scouting skills. “The current here is gentle, and there are no hidden undercurrents. We can swim safely.”

“Perfect!” The classmates tossed the watermelons into the cool river with splashes. In no time, they stripped off their clothes and jumped in like dumplings.

Some, like Cheng Wanzhou, were too shy to undress. But at moments like this, hesitation only made one a target for teasing. His classmates grabbed him from all sides, stripped him down to his small loincloth, and tossed him into the river while he shouted and flailed.

“Help! I can’t swim!” Cheng Wanzhou cried out in panic.

It wasn’t until Su Lu helped him stand that he realized the water only reached his chest.

Embarrassed, he admitted, “I thought it was much deeper.”

Everyone burst into laughter, the gloom finally dissipating.

The group then played freely in the water—some splashing and chasing, creating waves; others leisurely floating on their backs, drifting with the current. Some held breath competitions, diving underwater for long stretches before surfacing to cheers.

The river was filled with laughter, mingling with cicada calls and the babbling flow, washing away the month’s accumulated fatigue.

After tiring from playing, the students elbowed and nudged each other, tearing open the watermelons by hand, sharing halves and biting in.

The unique fragrance of watermelon spread instantly. The bare-skinned students held the red flesh dotted with black seeds and feasted heartily. At this moment, all decorum was forgotten; juice dripped down chins and onto chests, yet no one minded.

While splashing and eating, the classmates talked boldly, debating grand affairs, stirring Su Lu’s mind to recall an old poem from an elder—

“Just like young students in their prime, full of vigor. The scholarly spirit, commanding with boldness, pointing to the rivers and mountains, treating the great lords of old as dirt!

Do you remember striking the water midstream, the waves restraining the flying boat?”

“Director, this was a great event! I think next time, instead of just eating, we could also hike, climb mountains, and enjoy the view,” Qiao Feng suggested loudly, flicking a spent rind across the water.

He was athletically gifted; he and Director Ma had raced two miles swimming without a hint of exhaustion.

His idea was met with many nods, especially from Cheng Wanzhou, who preferred hiking to being stripped and thrown in the river.

“I’ve thought about it, but recently haven’t there been bandits causing trouble?” Director Ma lay on a warm rock drying off, lazily turning over. “My grandfather wouldn’t even let me leave town, let alone go into the mountains.”

“Right. My father also told me to be careful and forced me to stay at the academy,” others agreed.

Su Lu’s curiosity sparked. “What about now?”

“Should be fine, I guess,” Director Ma said. “My grandfather mentioned the bandits have been caught recently. They confessed they weren’t the ones who actively went out to cause trouble.”

“Ah, so someone hired them?” the classmates perked up.

“Seems so,” Lin Zhihong, now fully dressed, explained. His father was an official in Luzhou Guard. Though not as powerful as Ma Qianhu, he was well informed.

“When I went home last time, Lincheng was under martial law. But my dad said it was an internal conflict in the civil administration, not much to do with us Han people.”

“Oh...” The classmates lost interest upon hearing it was an internal matter among the Luolu people. Though they all lived in Yongning, they inhabited different worlds.

“Tell us more,” Su Lu was especially interested.

Lin Zhihong, eager to satisfy ‘Brother Su’s’ curiosity, began carefully: “This goes back eight years. When the newly appointed Yongning civil administrator, She Jiye, died early, his wife and concubine fought bitterly over the position. I was young but remember some of it.”

He thoughtfully added some background: “Brother Su might not know, but the Luolu people are different from us. Not only can a son inherit his father’s post, but a mother can take over her son’s position; wives can succeed husbands; even daughters-in-law can succeed fathers-in-law, and daughters even more so.”

“I know, Lady She Xiang from back then!” Li Qiyu smiled. “And now the Yongning civil administrator She Saihua, isn’t she the official wife of the former administrator?”

“Exactly,” Lin Zhihong nodded. “Although close relatives can inherit, there are distinctions. Usually, a son takes precedence over a daughter, and wives or mothers only temporarily govern if the next generation is underage.”

Returning to the main story, he continued: “When She Jiye died, he left one wife and one concubine—She Saihua the official wife, and She Ziying the concubine. She Saihua had only a five-year-old daughter, She Yunluo. She Ziying had a three-year-old son, She Yunming.”

Su Lu couldn’t help but admire Lin Zhihong’s clarity and detail in storytelling—a true scholar.

“She Saihua and She Ziying fought fiercely for the civil administrator position. Comparing conditions, She Saihua had the edge as the legal wife; She Ziying had a son, which balanced things somewhat. But She Saihua’s daughter was two years older, so she narrowly won.”

“Apparently many supported She Ziying. They forced She Saihua to promise that once She Yunming came of age, he would inherit the position, so they stopped opposing her succession,” Lin Zhihong sneered.

“But having tasted power’s sweetness, how could she willingly give it up? She was very cunning. Over eight years, she secured all the heads of various divisions, and maintained good relations with the court and the three guards.”

“In contrast, She Ziying was foolish. She trusted She Saihua’s promise and did nothing, watching helplessly as She Saihua grew stronger.”

“Not everyone has political talent,” Su Lu smiled. “Most people can’t even wield real power if given the chance, let alone She Ziying, who only had influence.”

“Brother Su hits the mark!” Lin Zhihong praised. “Once she fully controlled the situation, She Saihua began pushing her daughter forward, having her make offerings at Luolu ancestral rites... Even a blind man could see she planned to name She Yunluo as heir.”

“This made She Ziying furious,” Lin Zhihong continued. “She bribed the bandits to assassinate She Yunluo during her inspection tour, but something went wrong. That girl was lucky and escaped alone.”

“Did she say how she escaped?” Su Lu asked eagerly.

“That’s a strange question, Brother Su,” Lin Zhihong glanced at him.

Su Lu laughed awkwardly. “I was just wondering how a little girl could manage to escape by herself.”

“She Yunluo said her guard, Su Ga, distracted the bandits and covered her escape, and they eventually met a rescue troop,” Lin Zhihong nodded, pondering the inconsistencies.

“But my dad said the place where Su Ga was found dead and the place where She Yunluo was discovered are over ten miles apart. Brother Su, you might not know mountain paths, but for a young lady who never leaves her estate, that’s essentially a death trap. Yet She Yunluo got out in half a night. What does that mean?”

“What does it mean?” Su Lu looked puzzled.

“It means she didn’t get lost or wander off course at all. Even many seasoned veterans can’t do that. Only a hunter with extensive jungle experience could,” Lin Zhihong concluded.

“So my dad believes a hunter helped her, but for her reputation’s sake, she refuses to admit it.”

“Excellent,” Su Lu praised. Hearing that She Yunluo had truly kept the secret eased a weight he’d carried for two months.

Otherwise, with so many clever people in the world, once she gave any hint, they’d have found them all long ago.

ps. This chapter includes an extra update, dedicated to the patron ‘Fcloud,’ a longtime supporter and master of witty lines... Though not speaking much, every word is a gem!