Above the Great Dao
Chapter 548 - 256: The Scholar with Mud-Covered Legs

Chapter 548: Chapter 256: The Scholar with Mud-Covered Legs

The station’s errand runners came bustling over again, demanding they compensate for the station’s losses.

Sun Yisheng, despite holding an official position in the Western Capital, had only a minor rank as the ambassador to the Guanghui Warehouse under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, being a small Ninth Grade official with little authority. Even if he had any, the station was a local establishment, subordinated to the local county, under the management of county government, beyond the reach of the Western Capital’s officials, thus any damages incurred had to be compensated in money.

Sun Yisheng didn’t have much money on him. His trip back to Xinxiang wasn’t entirely to pick up Chen Shi for the journey to the capital; it was primarily to celebrate the New Year back home, and escorting Chen Shi was merely a convenient arrangement, which was why Chen Tang hadn’t given him much money.

Chen Shi also didn’t have much silver on him, having given his funds to the accountant Shao Jing. In his efforts to bring down the Wan Family in Qingzhou, while they indeed possessed substantial wealth, most of it had been distributed to rob the rich to aid the poor, leaving him with little for himself, and in fact, he had invested quite an amount of Silver Coin.

With no other options, Sun Yisheng could only mortgage the horse carriage to the station, and only then did the station’s errand runners relent.

Originally, a few guards from the Embroidered Uniform Guard had accompanied the carriage, but now that the money was gone, hiring the guards became impossible, and Sun Yisheng, with a thick face, dismissed them.

He felt a mix of anxiety and restlessness in his heart, "Master Chen Tang has entrusted me with the protection of the young master on his journey to the capital, and now, not only have we lost the carriage, but we’re also out of money, and I’ve suffered a serious injury. What are we to do if danger befalls us on the way?"

Although Chen Tang had said to abandon Chen Shi and return safely to the Western Capital if danger arose, such a thought had never crossed his mind.

Sharing his hometown with Chen Tang, Sun Yisheng had received many favors from him and was deeply grateful. Not to mention that Chen Shi was Chen Tang’s son, even if it were a stranger, as long as Chen Tang had instructed him to ensure their safe passage to the Western Capital, he would have fought tooth and nail to deliver Chen Shi there!

The next day, Sun Yisheng sat in the wooden cart, which also held Chen Shi, Hu Feifei, and Nannan, along with their clothing, making the space somewhat cramped.

Hu Feifei clutched Nannan, who found the Primordial Spirit and Nascent Soul warming by the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp to be quite amusing.

The Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp was a great treasure from the underworld and the possession of the leading horse-faced runner. Though the flame of this treasure appeared small, both Chen Shi’s six-to-seven-inch Nascent Soul and Sun Yisheng’s ten-foot Primordial Spirit found it spacious enough to accommodate them.

Chen Shi, having injured himself while reading, was in much better shape than Sun Yisheng, and thus spent most of the time holding the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp to warm up.

The wooden cart was a little crowded, so Chen Shi found a piece of wood and carved a courtyard, which, though much more rudimentary than the one he had gifted to Li Tianqing, was still complete with a small bird, its five internal organs intact, including pavilions, towers, rockeries, and fish ponds.

Hu Feifei, Nannan, and Black Pot found the journey tedious and hid in the small courtyard. When they passed through the county of overhanging rocks, the dog went to the market and bought a lot of furniture: tables, chairs, stools, dressing tables, beds, cabinets, everything needed, asking someone to deliver them before moving them into the courtyard.

He also bought pots, pans, ladles, along with grains, oils, rice, flour, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and set up the kitchen neatly.

Before long, a flock of chickens, ducks, and geese were driven over, and Black Pot let them roam the yard.

Having paid with a silver note, the delivery person left gratefully.

Sun Yisheng watched this scene in amazement and suddenly asked, "Where did the dog get the money?"

Chen Shi responded, "I gave it to him. I didn’t expect he hadn’t spent it all."

Back when Chen Shi had money, he gave Black Pot a few silver notes to make purchases on its own. He wouldn’t have guessed that Black Pot would spend so thriftily. Now that Chen Shi was penniless, ironically, he needed to rely on its modest savings.

Looking into the small courtyard, Sun Yisheng saw Black Pot and Nannan wearing woven hats, laying on newly purchased sun loungers, basking in the sun.

The wooden cart jostled, shaking the little girl and the dog slightly, but they seemed comfortable.

As for Hu Feifei, she was busy in the kitchen cooking.

Wisp-like kitchen smoke rose from the quaint one-foot-square courtyard.

Sun Yisheng envied the sight and wished he could hide away and heal as well.

But after all, he had to ensure Chen Shi’s safety. How could he hide away in the small courtyard to enjoy himself?

"Master Chen, now that you have achieved scholarly honors, have you been assigned an official position?" Sun Yisheng inquired.

Chen Shi shook his head, "No. My title as the top scorer in the imperial examination has an improper history. I was delayed during the Gongzhou examination and somehow muddied my way through to become the top scorer. It’s normal for the court not to arrange an official position for me."

Sun Yisheng had heard from Chen Tang about this matter and said, "The Gongzhou incident is not your fault. The court hasn’t arranged an official position for you not because of Gongzhou but most likely because they can’t trust to place you in Gongzhou or Xinxiang. They would be at ease only if you hold a position in the Western Capital."

Feeling this topic was inappropriate, he quickly changed the subject and smiled, "After taking the provincial examinations with Master Chen Tang back then and planning to rush to the capital for the higher-level exams, we didn’t follow this Five Lakes route but took the one through Gongzhou instead. We were planning to rest there for a few days, but before we even settled down, we were robbed of all our traveling funds."

Chen Shi couldn’t help feeling a sense of camaraderie and asked, "Were you sold off to a farm?"

Sun Yisheng exclaimed, "How did you know? Master Chen Tang and I were indeed deceived by a fellow villager with a Xinxiang accent and sold to a farm outside the city!"

Chen Shi was about to speak of a friend, but a laugh came from the small courtyard with Hu Feifei’s voice, "Because he got sold too!"

Sun Yisheng suddenly felt a kinship, and their relationship became much closer.

"Taking the Gongzhou route is shorter, but taking the Five Lakes route, one must cross the three major mountain ranges, which adds several days to the journey. But many have been cheated in Gongzhou, so they’d rather take a longer path to avoid it," said Sun Yisheng.

On the official roads for the carriages and horses as well as for the examination candidates heading to the capital, increasingly more could be encountered.

The wealthy and powerful candidates traveled by carriage, while those from poor families carried their trunks on their backs.

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