Chapter 131: Madam Ren Teaches Her Son-I Became a Master Craftsman by Weaving Straw Sandals(Wukong chews on candy.)

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A single interval was far too short, yet Wang Ge managed to locate two centers. Her left hand was more nimble, but her vision was being affected by the circles already drawn. Clearly, adding circles inward was much slower than continually expanding outward just now.

No more. My eyes are playing tricks on me.

She raised her head to steady herself and felt that everything in her field of vision was spinning.

Waves, waves... waves, waves...

Boom!

With three strokes of the timekeeping drum, the examination came to an end. Every candidate immediately set down their engraving knives, afraid that if they rubbed their eyes while their minds were still reeling, they might injure themselves.

The artisan clerks surged forward in pairs. One held an adjustable bronze compass to take measurements, while the other recorded the count on a corner of the candidate’s wooden board. Only by working this way could they supervise one another. After all, those who cheated were not limited to the candidates. The patrol officers—and even the examiners—could cheat as well!

First row: no one eliminated.

Second row: no one eliminated. Wang Ge’s circle count: eighty-six.

The two artisan clerks conducting the measurement exchanged a discreet glance, both filled with admiration.

This young lady is formidable.

Third row: no one eliminated.

Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth rows... no one eliminated.

“All candidates, heed this order! From this moment onward, each group will report their numbers in pairs. The winner will leave the line at once and go to the rest area on the eastern side to collect the midday meal. You must not move to another section. Remain in the rest area and await notice of the next examination!”

At the examiner’s command, the pairs began from the western side, each opponent announcing the number of circles carved on his or her board.

First group: forty-seven against fifty.

Wang Ge frowned. How could they have so many fewer than she did?

The winning candidate stepped out hesitantly. Only after seeing that neither the examiner nor the patrol officers reprimanded him did he lengthen his stride, convinced that he had understood the rules correctly and was indeed permitted to leave at once.

Second group: fifty-three against fifty-four.

Third group: forty-nine against fifty-eight.

Wang Ge was in the fifth group. Her opponent, Candidate Mei, announced his number first, his smugness already carrying the certainty of victory.

“Sixty-eight!”

Of the compass, square, and measurements, the compass was what he excelled at most!

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“Eighty-six.”

I’m terribly sorry. I truly didn’t mean to make you look bad.

With a trace of secret delight, she left at a brisk pace. How foolish she had been. When she said she had not had enough time to improve her freehand circle-drawing, she had been comparing herself with her other abilities—not with other artisans.

By the time she reached the rest area, Wang Ge no longer felt the slightest bit smug. Instead, she became even more self-reflective. So what if she was stronger than the opponent just now? There was always someone beyond the heavens, and among the strong there were always stronger still. Her true opponents were those stronger people—and Wang Nanxing from her previous life!

Candidates were not permitted to converse with one another in the rest area, thus preventing quarrels and fights at their source. Wang Ge did not feel particularly hungry. As she ate, she wondered whether the afternoon session might be the bronze vessel-making contest Huzi had mentioned.

The winners arrived one after another. None appeared especially hungry, nor did anyone seem desperate to use the latrine. They had all taken the artisan examination before, and many were already mid-ranking artisans. Their physical strength and willpower were far beyond those of ordinary people.

Bu Zhi Township, East Lane Ward, Kudzu Vine Lane.

It was midsummer, but the noon heat was not especially severe. Liu Bo’s face, however, was burning.

His mother had scolded him.

It had been years since his mother had reprimanded him. Today, not only had she truly lost her temper, she had also sentenced him to stand in the courtyard for an entire hour.

“Reflect properly!”

Madam Ren had still not calmed down.

It had begun when Liu Bo placed the jade hairpin he had nearly finished polishing on his writing desk and forgot to put it away. Madam Ren saw it and remarked, “That tender green color would suit a young lady perfectly.”

Liu Bo knew she expected an answer.

“She is...”

Madam Ren cut him off and asked solemnly, “Do not tell me who she is or where she comes from yet. I only want to know this: do you like her? How much do you like her?”

“Your son... feels that she is most like me—resolute, kind, and brave. She would make a suitable wife.”

“Only suitable?”

“Although I cannot say that I like her yet, I will study harder for her sake and strive to win a better future for her.”

Smack!

Madam Ren threw the hairpin to the ground, shattering it.

“Mother, please do not be angry. If you are angry with me, you may simply reprimand me.” Liu Bo was frightened, but he could not understand why his usually gentle mother was so furious.

“Do not think that just because your father is away from home all year, you are anything like me. You take entirely after him! The same stupidity, the same shameless certainty that your stupidity is justified! You sound exactly like him when he said those idiotic things back then!”

“Mother...”

“Liu Bo! Answer me this. If there were no such young lady, would you stop striving? Would you stop studying diligently? Would you stop fighting for a future, stop hoping to enter the Imperial Academy, stop wanting to become an official one day? This future you are fighting for—does it benefit you most, or does it benefit her?”

The words struck Liu Bo’s face like a cudgel.

That was right. He had wanted to compete for admission to the Imperial Academy the following year from the very beginning. Without Wang Ge, would he not have wanted the same thing? And when he had helped Wang Ge vent her anger some time ago by writing an article satirizing Xie Tangzhou, had he truly not hoped that the article would spread his reputation farther and win him the admiration of more ambitious young men?

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Madam Ren continued, “To put it harshly, how many years can the affection between husband and wife last? Even if there are ten parts of fondness at the beginning, after several years only two or three parts may remain. You have only two or three parts of fondness for her now. After several years, when you have risen in the world, what will be left? Charity? Expecting her to survive by watching your mood? You do not even have ten parts of genuine affection, yet you dare tell me her name and origins? Do you respect her? Do you know whether she would want you to speak of her so casually? To be discussed so casually by mother and son? Liu Bo, take your broken hairpin and go stand in the courtyard. Even if the heavens do not rain, they could never soak through the depths of your foolishness! Out!”

“Yes. Heh heh. Mother, you are far more powerful than the rain. Your son has already been thoroughly drenched—and taught. Do not be angry, do not be angry. I will go reflect at once.”

It was proof that even a breezy, careless tongue could flatter and ingratiate itself. Liu Bo put on a pitiful expression, picked up the broken hairpin, and went outside. Unfortunately, this time his mother did not soften and call him back. He stood there until the midday meal, and still she did not summon him.

Another half hour passed.

Madam Ren came over. Liu Bo’s eyes were as clear as a deer’s. To keep herself from relenting, Madam Ren looked away and asked, “How has your reflection gone?”

“Your son knows his mistake! From now on, I will regard Wang—” He stopped himself. “I will regard that young lady only as a friend. I will never do anything that harms her reputation or causes people to misunderstand.”

“Good. Come and eat.”

“Mother, there is a happy matter I have not yet told you. All my fellow students praise me for my intelligence. They compare me to Yuan Yanshu of Chen Commandery.”

“If anyone praises you that way again, you must never accept it. A-Bo, perhaps one day you may reach Yuan Yanshu, but certainly not now.”

“Why?” Liu Bo was not offended. He was asking in earnest.

“For one thing, Yuan Qiao received his capping ceremony at the age of twelve and took the courtesy name Yanshu. Why? Because he was already managing affairs outside the household and needed a courtesy name. Among all the sons of the great clans, who would dare compare himself with him? When others praise you, it means they think highly of you. How can you fail to know your own limits?”

Liu Bo grew solemn and bowed to his mother.

“Thank you for teaching me, Mother. Your son understands.”

At that very moment, in the second examination grounds for prospective master artisans outside the county seat, the third examination event was beginning—the afternoon contest.

Candidate Mei, who had just lost to Wang Ge, stared at the wooden board on which she had drawn her circles and cursed his rotten luck.

The afternoon contest required each candidate to add a circle within every concentric circle drawn by the winner.

Sixty candidates were taking part in the afternoon session, and twenty would be eliminated.

The other candidates had already begun. Candidate Mei, however, could not bring himself to start. He had nowhere to begin.

Wang Ge’s circles were packed incredibly tightly together, with only half a spacing unit between their radii. Merely looking at them made his scalp prickle. How could he dare add a circle between any two of them?

He had not been wronged by losing to her.

But was she ill? Had she known the examination rules beforehand? Could she not have located one fewer center? Why had she drawn the circles so tightly together that she had squeezed his prospective master artisan examination completely out of existence?

The End of the Chapter