Chapter Twenty-Eight: Born into the Wrong Family

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I glanced around the marketplace while Ma Wencai and Zhu Yingtai followed behind me. At last, I found the malt candy—the very same shop where I had bought sweets on my way up the mountain. Delighted, I hurried over.

“Shopkeeper, I’ll take ten packets of malt candy.”

“Ten packets?” Ma Wencai, following close behind, was taken aback. He picked up a packet and examined it casually. “Did you fall into a jar of sugar?”

I snatched the packet from his hand. “Of course not. These are for Brother Lantian. He has to drink bitter medicine every day, so this malt candy will be just the thing to take away the bitterness.”

I pulled silver from my sleeve and paid the shopkeeper. Zhu Yingtai immediately came forward and seized my hand, demanding angrily, “Liu Yiqing, if you had silver, why didn’t you take it out sooner? You made me spend the money Shanbo gave me.”

I gave a cold snort. “Zhu Yingtai, Shanbo’s money is money, but mine isn’t? You were the one who made us lose our travel funds. I didn’t even ask you to repay me, and you still want to complain?”

I turned my head away in irritation. “What nonsense.”

“Liu Yiqing, Shanbo truly misjudged you. He treated you as a good brother, yet you’re nothing but a petty villain!” Zhu Yingtai cursed from behind me.

I turned back to face her. “Whether Shanbo misjudged me or not is for him to decide. It’s not your place to make comments. Besides”—I shrugged indifferently—“I never said I was a gentleman.”

Zhu Yingtai stamped her feet in fury, but I could not be bothered with her. I walked straight into an ornaments shop. The craftsmanship of ancient articles really was exquisite. I chose a mirror and a hair crown for myself. After all, I was a man now; if I wanted to buy anything feminine, I could only grit my teeth and endure it.

As I was paying, I happened to notice a delicate folding fan. Its style bore some resemblance to the one Wang Lantian had owned before. I picked it up and admired it carefully. The calligraphy on it was exceptionally beautiful. Holding up the fan, I waved it at Ma Wencai.

“Brother Wencai, is this fan attractive?”

Ma Wencai nodded. “It is. The workmanship is exquisite, and it even bears an inscription by Wang Xizhi.”

“Wow.”

I raised the fan and studied it closely. So this was the handwriting of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi. I admit, I acted on impulse.

“Shopkeeper, I’ll take this fan.”

The shopkeeper immediately came over to greet me. “Young master, you certainly have a discerning eye. This is a treasure our shop acquired from a pawnshop. The price is thirty taels of gold.”

Damn, had I heard correctly? This fan cost thirty taels of gold? Was this daylight robbery?

I stared at the fan for a long while. Forget it—I would buy it. Wang Lantian had taken such good care of me at the academy, and besides, the Liu family had money to spare.

Ma Wencai, meanwhile, regarded me with open suspicion, as though he thought I could not possibly afford it.

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I sighed. My heart ached at the thought of it—thirty taels of gold, for heaven’s sake! I rummaged through all the pockets on my person, produced thirty taels of gold, and handed them to the shopkeeper.

I had no idea how to carry things inside my sleeves, so I had Yezi sew countless inner pockets into all my clothes.

When I stepped out of the shop, Zhu Yingtai glared at me fiercely. She seemed to hate me even more now. Tossing out the words, “Aren’t you afraid of being crushed to death by all that weight?” she walked away on her own.

I followed after her, waving the fan, and suddenly realized how terribly heavy it was.

Thirty taels of gold!

Good heavens! I had truly brought this upon myself.

Ma Wencai walked behind us with an expressionless face, offering no opinion. I had no idea what he was thinking.

Never mind. We would soon be back at the academy. The only regret was that I had failed to bathe during this outing. Nothing could have been more disappointing.

We walked back to the academy. From far away, we could already smell a delicious fragrance. We also saw a crowd of people tugging at one another, though I could not tell what they were arguing about.

We quickened our pace and approached. My eyes lit up.

Wasn’t that Shanbo?

Why was everyone pulling at him? The Headmaster and the teachers were there as well.

When Zhu Yingtai saw Shanbo being bullied, she immediately rushed forward to defend him.

“What are you doing?”

“Liang Shanbo is about to be expelled from the academy,” Liu Xiangdong said gleefully.

Ma Wencai and I hurried after her.

“Headmaster, Teacher, may I ask what offense Shanbo has committed that you intend to expel him from the academy?”

When the teacher saw that I was the one speaking, he immediately replied, “Young Master Liu, it is not that we intend to expel Liang Shanbo. Rather—”

“Rather what?” Zhu Yingtai interrupted. “Who exactly is trying to drive Shanbo out of the academy? And on what grounds?”

“It is I!”

A slender-faced man emerged from the academy gates. He wore an ornate brown robe and a golden hair crown, and a considerable number of servants followed behind him.

Another pampered young master. Nishan Academy was truly unreliable. Apparently, anyone with money could simply enroll halfway through the term.

Indignant, I said, “You, the newcomer! Who are you, and what gives you the right to drive Shanbo away?”

The moment I spoke, everyone present froze. Silence fell over the crowd. Only Zhu Yingtai and I stood there in utter confusion, while Ma Wencai frowned and said nothing more.

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The man slowly walked toward me. The closer he came, the more intensely fragrant he seemed.

Could it be…?

Before I could think further, the man called my name.

“Yiqing, what sort of way is that to speak? Did falling into the water make you forget even your eldest brother?”

Eldest brother? Could this be the legendary Liu Yitang, whose fragrance was said to carry for ten miles?

Good heavens, he really was fragrant. My elder brother was remarkably handsome, with delicate, refined features. If he put on women’s clothing, no one would ever be able to tell he was a man.

“Brother, I…”

Awkwardly, I glanced at everyone around us.

“Brother, I… Yezi has already told you everything, hasn’t she?”

“Mm.”

Liu Yitang reached out and rested a hand on my back. A shiver ran through my entire body. His hand was astonishingly soft.

“Yiqing, Yezi told me everything. It was your brother’s fault for not sending more people to look after you.”

“Brother, you’ve lived in Nanjing for years, so it’s only natural that you couldn’t keep an eye on everything at home. I won’t blame you. But as for my present condition, please don’t tell Father and Mother. I’m afraid they’ll worry.”

Fortunately, Xie Daoyun had once mentioned that Liu Yitang lived in Nanjing.

Ma Wencai stepped forward and saluted Liu Yitang with cupped hands.

“Lord Liu.”

“Worthy nephew Ma, it has truly been many years! You’ve grown even more handsome.”

Liu Yitang was delighted as he patted Ma Wencai on the shoulder.

Good heavens! Three dark lines appeared in my mind at once.

Worthy nephew Ma? Wasn’t that a generation above him? Liu Yitang, you’re my brother! If you call Ma Wencai your nephew, then wouldn’t Ma Wencai have to call me his aunt?

“Lord Liu, you flatter me.”

The two of them exchanged the usual polite pleasantries.

I was so startled that I even forgot about Shanbo for a moment. Fortunately, Zhu Yingtai reminded me.

“Lord Liu, may I ask what offense Liang Shanbo has committed that you intend to expel him from the academy?”

Liu Yitang curled his lips into a sly smile.

“He has committed no offense at all. He was simply born into the wrong family.”

The moment I saw his smile, I felt a chill in the air. But what did he mean by being born into the wrong family?

“Brother, what exactly do you mean?”

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