Chapter 312

In this world, there has never been a shortage of people who kick a man when he's down.

The news of Gu Kang's failure spread throughout Shang Jing; if he had not previously become a disciple of Mr. Wen, this failure would have been understandable.

After all, the former Second Master Gu used to ride horses in Shang Jing's pleasure quarters, consorting with red and green, wasting who knows how many years; suddenly turning over a new leaf, a prodigal's return is worth more than gold.

However, this reputation for learning was discounted in the eyes of most people.

But now Gu Kang has become Mr. Wen's disciple, and even his inner-door disciple, which carries considerable weight.

Mr. Wen is a rare great scholar of Southern Qi, a teacher to two emperors; to be his disciple naturally means one is not far off.

Mr. Wen usually acts unconventionally, but not to the point of taking a fool as a disciple.

When Mr. Wen first took Gu Kang as a disciple, he likely saw some talent and character in him.

Precisely because of this, everyone in Shang Jing awaited to see what rank Mr. Wen's disciple would achieve in this spring examination.

Unexpectedly, the result was shocking: he failed to place among the top seventy-two jinshi, and his name was not even among the over three hundred mingjing candidates.

One should know that the mingjing exam is especially easy, requiring mere rote memorization of legal essentials; yet even so Gu Kang failed to pass, which is hard to explain.

Now the whole of Shang Jing looked upon Mr. Wen and his disciple with thick scorn.

Now Gu Kang had just come down the mountain to fetch medicine for his master, only to be surrounded by these Southern Qi spoiled youths, inevitably facing humiliation.

Standing before Gu Kang was none other than the so‑called little tyrant of Jing Cheng, the Heir Apparent of the Qingping Marquis's residence, Wang Zheng.

This Wang Zheng is the sole son of the Qingping Marquis, spoiled by his father in his old age, which has bred an arrogant, lawless nature.

He enjoys bullying the weak in Jing Cheng, using the strong to oppress the weak, and domineering over men and women alike.

In earlier years, Gu Kang and this man were of like mind, having drunk together once, so they were acquainted.

Later, after Gu Kang was expelled from the Gu ministerial residence, his former drinking companions, fearing his bad luck would rub off on them, all avoided him.

Gu Kang's ties with those people were completely severed; he never expected to meet them again, only to be humiliated to this extent.

Wang Zheng stared fixedly at Gu Kang's face, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

Once he and Gu Kang were both hopeless degenerates in Shang Jing; now that Gu Kang has become Mr. Wen's disciple, his father and grandfather have repeatedly held Gu Kang up as an example, cursing him soundly.

They all urged him to reform like Gu Kang and read more books.

Can Gu Kang possibly compare with him?

He is a legitimate Heir Apparent of a marquisate, his Wang family being one of the eight great clans, with wealth so vast it cannot be spent; what is Gu Kang, that he dares to compare himself?

Previously, as Gu Kang was still associated with Mr. Wen, Wang Zheng dared not provoke him.

Who would have thought that in this spring examination Gu Kang performed abysmally; now Wang Zheng, facing Gu Kang, has regained confidence and cannot help wanting to humiliate him.

"Yo! Isn't that the Gu family's zhuangyuan? Why aren't there officials with red notices beating drums to bring good news to your home?"

Wang Zheng has a vicious tongue, always picking at Gu Kang's heart to stab him; Gu Kang's two hands twitched slightly, then clenched tightly into fists.

He stepped to the side, trying to go around this worldly devil.

Unexpectedly, after just a few steps, Wang Zheng suddenly seized his collar and shoved him to the ground.

With a thud, Gu Kang fell sitting on the ground.

This fall was especially unsightly, his cheek scraping the ground and leaving a bloody trail.

Moreover, his face had previously been burned, leaving hideous scars that were unpleasant to behold.

This time blood seeped out, mingling with mud, making him look like trash tossed into the dust; instantly, jeering laughter rose all around.

Wang Zheng went further, stepping firmly on Gu Kang's injured leg.

Gu Kang's leg wound had not yet healed well; taking the exam in the examination hall, suffering cold and changing dressings was not convenient.

These days the wound had been faintly aching; being stepped on by Wang Zheng, he instantly felt pain so intense that sweat beaded on his forehead.

Yet his eyes were ice‑cold, his composure steady, and he did not utter a single sound of pain.

He lifted his head and stared fixedly at Wang Zheng; his gaze was piercingly sharp, causing Wang Zheng's foot to loosen slightly.

He suddenly sensed that something about Gu Kang had changed, something he did not recognize.

He despised Gu Kang's appearance the most, thinking, "We're all good‑for‑nothings, so why does he look down on me so?"

Wang Zheng then lifted his foot to kick Gu Kang in the belly; Gu Kang, unable to dodge because of his injured leg, took the blow full on.

Gu Kang felt a wave of bloodiness rising in his throat; even so, he continued to stare at Wang Zheng and slowly said, "One day…"

Gu Kang did not finish his words, and precisely because he did not, Wang Zheng felt his heart tremble with fear.

A hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes as he thought, "Gu Kang has long been cast out by the Gu family; even if he became Mr. Wen's disciple, what difference does it make?"

"Isn't he just a good‑for‑nothing snack?"

Even such a formidable teacher as Mr. Wen couldn't get him to pass; perhaps kicking him to death would please Mr. Wen.

Wang Zheng lifted his foot to kick Gu Kang in the chest, but he did not expect the blade hidden in Gu Kang's sleeve to flash out; Gu Kang raised his hand and drove the knife hard into the leg that was kicking him.

This dagger was a gift from his elder sister, capable of cutting iron like mud; before everyone's eyes, the thrust pierced Wang Zheng's leg, leaving a bloody hole.

Wang Zheng let out a miserable cry, clutched his leg and collapsed, shaking with pain, and shouted like a madman, "Beat him to death! Young master, beat him to death!"

Even the vicious lackeys who often followed Wang Zheng out never imagined that such a frail scholar as Gu Kang would dare to draw a blade against his own master.

Wang Zheng had run rampant in Shang Jing for years; this was the first time anyone had stabbed him in the street.

His own attendants nearby were stunned, then rushed forward to press Gu Kang to the ground.

Just then, a hurried hoofbeat sounded from afar.

Immediately a group arrived, parting the onlookers; the leader, a royal guard, leapt from his horse and strode quickly toward Gu Kang.

When the onlookers saw that they were imperial emissaries, they all stepped back to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Even the wounded Wang Zheng stopped speaking, staring in disbelief at the scene before him.

Gu Kang gritted his teeth, rose from the ground, and fixed his gaze on the royal guard standing before him.

He did not know what offense he had committed again that warranted such a crowd mobilizing against him.

From the start, his thought had been simple: earn money well, ransom Miss Ruoxi from the Pleasant Red Courtyard, then rent a place to settle her.

I never imagined that, step by step, I would lose control of my fate and end up in this situation today.

"Young Master Gu, please come with us."

Two guards stepped forward from left and right and grabbed Gu Kang's arms.

Gu Kang's heart gave a slight tremor; he looked at the guards before him and said coldly, "Even if you want to arrest me, you need a reason, don't you? I don't know what crime I've committed—are you really going to take me away in front of everyone?"

The head guard stepped forward with a cold sneer and said, "The Emperor has summoned you to the palace—do you still need a reason?"