CHAPTER 79

These days, Wang Luosheng lived the darkest days of his life. He was unhappy at home. Every day when he returned home, the house was a mess. The weather was cold, but there was no hot soup or hot meal at home. The food cooked by his mother and sister was so bad.

Life in the academy was not going well. With that annoying Shen Lin there, Wang Luosheng had to devote a lot of his attention to hating Shen Lin.

It just so happened that Shen Lin rented a house near the academy. Being so close to the academy, it was not only convenient in traveling back and forth, but he could also return home to eat and rest at noon every day. He was many times more relaxed than Wang Luosheng in traveling back and forth. Shen Lin’s calmness made Wang Luosheng jealous and crazy.

Once upon a time, this calmness belonged to him, but now, Shen Lin, the peasant who was once looked down upon by everyone, has gained a lot of love in the academy and is about to surpass him.

Wang Luosheng has studied in the academy for so many years and has always been the top student. He is also highly regarded and liked by Master Yang, so all the students in the academy respect Wang Luosheng very much. However, the arrival of Shen Lin changed this situation. Not only that, he kept embarrassing himself. Wang Luosheng was horrified to find that many students in the academy no longer looked at him the same way as before.

After Yang Yunyan left, Wang Luosheng was in a state of confusion. It seemed as if all of this had a source.

When did all this begin to change? Yes, it began to change when Su Wan left the Wang family and went to the Shen family.

Ever since Su Wan left the Wang family, his home began to become messy, and his once orderly life was completely disrupted.

The Shen family’s life got better day by day. In the eyes of the people in Qingshi Village, Shen Lin was a model of a good life after moving to County. The Yang brothers, who were once very poor, also got along well with Shen Lin and Su Wan, and their lives got better day by day. For this reason, many villagers wanted to have a relationship with Shen Lin through the Yang brothers so that Shen Lin and Su Wan could give them a chance to live a better life.

Shen Lin, who was once looked down upon by everyone in Qingshi Village, is now respected by everyone, while he, who was respected by everyone before, has been declining.

All of this seemed to be closely related to Su Wan. Today, Su Wan was already a well-known beauty in Qingyun Town, and her popularity was almost equal to Yang Yunyan.

Su Wan used to be pretty, but she wore tattered clothes all day long and always obeyed him. He only felt disgust towards her, but now he actually felt that Su Wan was a little out of his reach.

If he goes to find Su Wan now and tells her that he will treat her well in the future and will never treat her unfairly, even if he makes her a concubine, she will come back to him.

After all, she once liked him so much; how could she just say she didn’t like him anymore?

Even if Shen Lin is living a comfortable life now, what’s the use of being comfortable? He has missed so many years of schoolwork, so he won’t be able to pass the exam even if he lives a comfortable life.

When he passes the imperial examination, he will wait for Su Wan to come to him crying and beg him to be his concubine.

Wang Luosheng felt a little relieved. The most important thing now was to marry Yang Yunyan, then rent a house near the academy and study hard.

Wang Luosheng planned it this way and implemented it accordingly. On the second day, Wang Luosheng dragged his sick body and took his family to the Yang family to propose marriage.

Master Yang has always hoped that Wang Luosheng would come to propose marriage. Wang Luosheng is the most promising student in the academy. If Wang Luosheng has to wait until he passes the imperial entrance examination, a family as powerful as the Yang family may not be able to marry Wang Luosheng.

In the past, Master Yang had a student. Before he passed the exam, that student couldn’t even dream of marrying the daughter of a county magistrate. But once he passed, he was chosen as a son-in-law by a first-rank official in the capital.

Wang Luosheng was born with good looks, so there was a high possibility that he would be chosen as a son-in-law by high-ranking officials.

At this moment, Wang Luosheng came to propose marriage, and Master Yang was only symbolically embarrassed for a while and then decided on the marriage between Wang Luosheng and Yang Yunyan.

After the engagement, the Yang family also lent money to Wang Luosheng. Master Yang was still a little unhappy about the loan, but thinking of Wang Luosheng’s future, Master Yang thought that the more this was done, the more grateful Wang Luosheng would be, and in the future, he would value his father-in-law’s family more.

Wang Luosheng rented a house not far from the academy, but the money given by the Yang family was not much, so Wang Luosheng could not afford to rent a house like Shen Lin’s. Besides, his parents and sister had to work at home and could not come to the city, so there was really no need for him to rent such a big house. Moreover, it was so cold, and a big house would cost a lot of money to burn charcoal. It would be better to rent a smaller one.

Wang Luosheng rented a dilapidated house near the academy, which saved him the journey to Qingshi Village. Although he needed to burn the stove himself, it was more convenient than before. He lived alone, and there were not many items in the house, so it was not as messy as a village home. After school, Wang Luosheng could study with peace of mind.

But after a few days, something happened again that prevented Wang Luosheng from studying with peace of mind. There were four or five students in the academy who were very attentive to Shen Lin. During breaks, they always took the initiative to find Shen Lin to talk, but no one came to his desk.

In the past, there were students who would come to Wang Luosheng to ask questions, but Wang Luosheng was reluctant to talk. Gradually, everyone was afraid of annoying Wang Luosheng and stopped coming.

At this time, the people surrounding Shen Lin stabbed Wang Luosheng, and Wang Luosheng felt more and more that the people around him were too cold.

Why? I am the top student in the academy; how could anyone support Shen Lin more?

Wang Luosheng couldn’t concentrate on the teacher’s lectures. After thinking for a long time, Wang Luosheng came up with an idea. Before school was over, Wang Luosheng invited five or six students who had always wanted to interact with him but he had always been cold to them to his rented house to drink tea and study.

Now that I have a place to live nearby, it is very convenient to invite people.

Even though Shen Lin lived in a big house, he had never enthusiastically invited his classmates to his house. If he was willing to invite them, it would definitely win the hearts of his classmates.

The invited students were a little surprised. In the past, when they took the initiative to talk to Wang Luosheng, Wang Luosheng would arrest them. Only people of status like Duan Jingtian could get Wang Luosheng’s good face.

Though Wang Luosheng has embarrassed a few people in the academy recently, it is inevitable that everyone will have embarrassing experiences. Besides, Wang Luosheng is different from others. After Wang Luosheng passes the imperial examination, he will definitely be admitted to the academy. Master Yang has said it countless times: If all students can be as smart and hardworking as Wang Luosheng, then everyone can pass the imperial examination.

The teacher has said so, so it is obvious that Wang Luosheng will definitely pass the imperial examination in the future.

Under such circumstances, how could they not go when Wang Luosheng invited them? So, the four or five classmates all went with Wang Luosheng.

These young people who went back with Wang Luosheng were not very good at studying. After all, if they were good at studying, and as the imperial exam was approaching, they would have all hurried back to study.

Wang Luosheng asked these people to go back, partly to chat and partly to ask everyone to read together, but these people couldn’t sit still. Before they had read quietly for an hour, two of them shouted that since there were so many people, they might as well play cards together.

In the past, apart from Wang Luosheng, these few people often got together. However, their parents couldn’t bear to see them being idle and not doing their jobs, and no family wanted to be regarded as a place for them to gather. At this time, the place rented by Wang Luosheng happened to become their gathering place.

These people immediately went out to buy cards and started playing. Wang Luosheng was somewhat reluctant, but he also felt that if he did not let these classmates play cards here, he would be suppressed by Shen Lin, so Wang Luosheng decided to let them play their games and he would learn his own things.

The cards were bought back quickly, and the people playing the cards cheered loudly. Wang Luosheng was already uneasy, and this made him even more upset.

Wang Luosheng comforted himself: It’s okay, it’s okay; gold will shine wherever it is placed.

Hence, these young men gathered at Wang Luosheng’s place every day to play cards. Apart from being a little noisy and burning more charcoal, Wang Luosheng couldn’t stand it. After all, when he went to the academy, these people were always attentive to him. In comparison, no one was so attentive to Shen Lin.

After a few days, Wang Luosheng was still a little unsatisfied. These five people were attentive to him, but they were all uneducated and unskilled. Just having these people praise him was not enough to restore his former glory.

Just these few days, Master Yang saw that Wang Luosheng seemed to have returned to his previous state, and the students were also very attentive to Wang Luosheng. Thinking that the previous beating of Wang Luosheng would still have some impact on Wang Luosheng, as Wang Luosheng’s future father-in-law, Master Yang also wanted to restore some prestige for Wang Luosheng before the special examination.

So, Master Yang gathered all the students of the academy together in an afternoon, and Wang Luosheng taught everyone about studying.

Wang Luosheng had already thought of ways to increase his prestige. Through the company of these and those five people, Wang Luosheng already knew that if people always stay in one place, they are more likely to develop a closeness that others do not have.

If those people who don’t have time to curry favor with me on weekdays live close to me, they will inevitably come to me after school to ask me some questions. In this way, everyone will need me even more. In this way, there will be very few people who support Shen Lin in the entire academy.

Moreover, Wang Luosheng and the others were a little annoyed by the disturbance caused by these five people. If other people who shared the same interests as these five moved in, they would probably go to play cards somewhere else.

So when passing on his experience, Wang Luosheng strongly advocated that one must live close to the academy. He himself suffered in the past because he lived too far away; otherwise, his academic performance would have been much better.

The students all thought what Wang Luosheng said made sense. Wang Luosheng told them that he was renting a house not far away, and if they had extra money, they could also rent a house near his house to study.

Wang Luosheng fully explained the benefits of living near the academy. After all, Wang Luosheng was the top of the academy, and he had appeal and was a king. After Wang Luosheng said this, many scholars were tempted.

In the past, everyone looked down on the dilapidated house at the west end of the academy, but now, after hearing what Wang Luosheng said, this small and shabby house has its advantages. Doesn’t it cost very little to rent it?

If you rent a house in the east end, it would be a bit expensive for most students.

Shen Lin sat down in the audience, a little surprised. He bought the houses west of the academy for this reason. Originally, Shen Lin was too busy with his studies during this period and had no time to manage these properties.

Shen Lin originally thought that if he could get a good ranking in the exam, he could use this as a gimmick to publicize the benefits of living close to the academy. Unexpectedly, before he even hung the window, Wang Luosheng had already helped him promote it.

Wang Luosheng mentioned Shen Lin: “It’s not just me. Look at Shen Lin in our dormitory. He didn’t go to school before. He worked on the farm at home for a few years. This time he returned to the academy to study and rented a house nearby. Shen Lin has such a weak foundation, but he still has to rent a house nearby. We all still have the possibility of going to high school, so we need to pay more attention to him.”

Shen Lin: “…”

What Wang Luosheng meant was that even Shen Lin, who was so poor at studying and had no hope of passing the exam, took it so seriously. Since everyone has a greater chance of passing, we need to pay more attention to it.

Wang Luosheng cast his gaze towards Shen Lin: “Brother Shen, if you move closer to the academy, it will definitely be a great help to your studies.”

Shen Lin nodded. “If we move nearby, we can save a lot of time to study every day.”

The scholars who had always admired Wang Luosheng began to whisper, “That’s right, Shen Lin hasn’t studied for several years. He takes it so seriously even though he has no hope. What about us?”

Shen Lin: “…”

The scholars were still whispering:

“Let’s rent a place nearby. The house on the west side of the academy doesn’t cost much.”

“But the house on the west side of the academy is too shabby, so small and run-down.”

Wang Luosheng heard everyone’s concerns and said, “Although the house at the west end of the academy is a bit old, it can provide shelter from the wind and rain. Although it is small, it has everything. It is really suitable for studying. Besides, we are all scholars, and living together we can also take care of each other. If you have any questions about your studies, you can come and ask me.”

Many students began to be excited.

Shen Lin didn’t expect that Wang Luosheng helped him do all the things he wanted to do after the exam.

If he said now that it is a good idea to rent a house near this academy, it will definitely not be as good as what Wang Luosheng said.

Listening around, many students have already started discussing renting a house at the west end of the academy.

Shen Lin thought to himself that it looked like Su Wan would be busy arranging the accommodation for the students and collecting rent these days.

Students from wealthy families like Duan Jingtian were taken to and fro from school by horse-drawn carriages, unlike others who had to walk and spend a lot of time on the road.

Therefore, most of those who need to rent a house are students from ordinary families. For those from ordinary families, they cannot afford to rent a house near Shen Lin’s home in the east of the city, so renting a house in the west of the city is the best choice.

Many students are eager to try and rent a house in the west of the college.

After school, Shen Lin went back and told Su Wan what happened in the academy. Su Wan added oil to the lamp next to Shen Lin’s desk and said, “I don’t know what Wang Luosheng is thinking. From what I know about him, if he has any good ideas for studying, he would hide them and would not tell anyone else.”

Shen Lin said: “I have also discovered in the academy these days that if a colleague asks him questions about studying, he is unwilling to answer. I don’t know why he wants to call on everyone to rent a house in the west of the city.”

Su Wan said, “No matter what his intentions are, with what he said, some students will go to the west end to rent houses, which saves us from the trouble. Wang Luosheng must not know that the houses in the west end are all ours; otherwise, he would not be so kind to help us rent out the houses.”

“If someone rents the house in the west these days, I won’t show up, lest Wang Luosheng finds out that the house is ours and there will be trouble. Let our maid show up.”

Shen Lin nodded. “However, although you don’t show up in public, you have to pay attention to those who rent the house. This is the first time that our house on the west end has been rented out. The test results of this first batch of students will greatly affect the price we rent the house in the future.”

“So, our house is not for anyone to rent. It needs to be for students who are ambitious. Don’t rent it out yet. Let me see the name of the person who wants to rent the house. I have been in the academy these days, and I can roughly guess who will be admitted.”

Su Wan smiled and said, “You really thought it through. I was just thinking that Wang Luosheng was helping us rent out the house and saving us a lot of effort, but you even thought about the future.”

Shen Lin looked at Su Wan’s words of praise; his eyes were gentle, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised: “You are so smart; how could you not have thought of it? It’s just that I said it.”

Su Wan poured more tea for Shen Lin: “No matter how smart I am, I don’t have two heads and eight hands. There are always things I can’t think of and can’t do. You still need to consider some things carefully.”

The candlelight flickered, and the pearl pendant on Su Wan’s head swayed, sparkling.

Shen Lin was a little stunned. Su Wan had never said such words before. She seemed to be able to do everything and think of everything.

Shen Lin always knew that she was just a teenage girl.

He had always wanted to become stronger so that he could take the burden off her shoulders and let her be like other carefree girls.

Either she took everything on her shoulders or she took it for granted.

In the past, she seemed to be made of iron and had never said such words. Shen Lin rarely felt that he was so needed.

Shen Lin looked into Su Wan’s eyes and said, “Don’t worry; no matter whether I can pass the exam or not, I will always try my best to give you a stable life.”

Su Wan smiled and said, “If there is any hardship, I will bear it with you.”

The next day, as expected, many students came to rent houses from the landlords in the west of the academy. These were all met by Su Wan’s maids. First, the students who planned to rent a house were asked to fill out a form, which basically contained information such as name, home address, etc.

By the evening, more than a dozen forms had been received.

Su Wan sighed with a smile. It had to be said that Wang Luosheng’s appeal as the number one was still there. More than a dozen people wanted to rent a house, which was already a lot.

After Shen Lin returned, he selected three uneducated people and asked the maid to tactfully reject their wishes to rent a house the next day.

Shen Lin also asked his servant to find a few poor but hard-working students who had not filled out the rental form overnight and said he could rent the house to them at a lower price.

After listening to Wang Luosheng’s words, these students all wanted to rent a house near the academy. However, their families had already spent a lot of money on their studies, and it was really too much to make such a request.

However, at this time the landlord took the initiative to come forward and expressed his willingness to rent the house at a low price. The students were unwilling to be shortsighted and were happy to rent the house.

In this way, within a few days, all of Shen Lin and Su Wan’s houses at west of the academy were rented out.

Though the rent is not high, seven or eight out of ten of these students are expected to pass the imperial exam.

If they can pass the imperial examinations, the rent will certainly increase in the future.