Chapter 17

"Your ancestors were at most seventh-rank minor officials, and they were dismissed. But I am the eldest son of the Changning Hou Mansion! Even if I am unlearned and idle, I can still inherit the title and become a Marquis by relying on my ancestors' shade! And you..."

He smashed his book on Shen Mo's head one by one: "You are only fit to be a plaything for me!"

"Didn't you say he looks like a urine bucket? Then what are you waiting for, pour more water on him and let him be of full use!"

So those playboys giggled, unbuckled their belts, and took turns humiliating Shen Mo.

"What are you doing?" The teacher heard the commotion and hurried over to check.

Lin Rufeng was still fearless: "Shen Mo spilled urine in the school, teacher, look, this is the good student you taught, he doesn't understand etiquette, righteousness, integrity, or shame at all."

How could the teacher not see that they were bullying people? But he was hired to teach here and was supported by the Lin family.

Naturally, he didn't dare to offend the Lin family's eldest son, the future Changning Hou, so he could only wrong Shen Mo:

"Shen Mo, since you made it dirty, clean the school before going back. Everyone else, disperse!"

That day, Shen Mo squatted alone in the school, wiping the dirty floor over and over again.

His family had spent money and pulled strings to let him study here, so he couldn't give up halfway no matter what.

Endure, endure a little longer. When he gets his degree in the imperial examination next year, it will be fine... it will be fine.

He had clearly thought it through, but why couldn't he stop his tears from falling, and why was he still so sad?

Why does the class system exist in the world?

Why is the difference between people so vast?

Why...

I just want to study hard...

After coming out of the school, heavy rain poured down, and he walked numbly in the torrential rain, hoping the rain could wash away the filth on his body.

But that foul smell lingered on the tip of his nose and couldn't be removed no matter what.

Passersby hurried past, casting mocking glances at him, making him feel even more ashamed.

The raindrops lashed down, his cheeks hurt, is even heaven bullying him?

A smoky purple oil-paper umbrella hung silently over his head, blocking the rain and haze.

The voice of a servant came to his ears: "My Miss sends you an umbrella to help you shelter from the wind and rain."

When he took the umbrella, a carriage with the words "General Mansion" slowly drove past him.

The carriage didn't go far and stopped at the door of a cloth shop, and a young lady in a green dress stepped down.

Seeming to feel something, the young lady suddenly looked back, her autumn-water-like eyes looking at him through the heavy rain curtain.

Without the arrogance and prejudice of the great families, her calm eyes carried a bit of gentle kindness.

That glance was like a bright lamp in the fog, casting a piece of light into the young man's dark and desperate heart.

Later he learned that she was the third young lady of the Weiyuan General Mansion, a famous talented woman in the capital.

In addition, he also heard that Miss Liu had been kind since childhood and would set up porridge sheds to help the people on the first and fifteenth of every month.

What a noble birth, what a clear and kind person.

He felt inferior for a short moment, then thought: "If I can top the list in the autumn examination next year, perhaps..."

Behind the "perhaps" was a delusion he dared not have.

He would not allow himself to have any blasphemous thoughts toward such a beautiful woman.

It was just that every time the third young lady's porridge shed opened on the first and fifteenth, he would quietly hide in the distance to watch her giving out porridge.

—This world is full of filth, and she is the only clear lotus!

Since that day, he studied even harder.

Perhaps one day, he would be able to cross the class barrier and summon the courage to walk in front of her...

But his efforts were even more glaring in the eyes of playboys like Lin Rufeng, who were unlearned and sleepy as soon as they heard a lecture.

So they bullied Shen Mo even more intensely.

They tore up his cherished books and scribbled on the articles he had worked so hard to write.

Being beaten was even more of a norm.

Lin Rufeng especially liked to hit people, and he liked to hit them in different ways, such as riding on Shen Mo's back and whipping him, shouting: "Horse, run fast, otherwise I'll whip you to death!"

He would also deliberately pull away his stool when Shen Mo was in class, and then light incense underneath...

Many times, Shen Mo couldn't stand it and wanted to drop out.

But no matter how bad the Lin family school was, the teachers here were great scholars of the world with five cartloads of books, allowing him to learn a lot of knowledge he couldn't learn in his hometown.

He told himself: "I have suffered so much, endured for so long, if I give up halfway and delay my studies, all my previous efforts will be wasted!"

In his most desperate moments, that rainy evening, the oil-paper umbrella that blocked the haze over his head, and that clear and beautiful young lady would appear in his mind.

One day, Lin Rufeng suddenly said to him in a friendly manner: "I have taken a fancy to a girl, but that girl likes talented people and thinks highly of herself. Shen Mo, if you can help me write love letters to win her heart, I won't make things difficult for you anymore, how about it?"

Shen Mo hesitated and didn't speak.

Lin Rufeng grabbed his neck and threatened viciously: "If you dare to refuse, I will make it impossible for you to stay in school! I will also break your legs so you can't take the imperial examination!"

Shen Mo was already terrified of him, and after being threatened, how could he dare not agree?

Shen Mo's literary talent was indeed remarkable, and after writing seven love letters in a row, the other party began to write back.

At first, it was just general pleasantries, but after dozens of letters, the young girl's tender feelings were written on the paper.

Every time he saw Lin Rufeng holding the letters full of the young girl's feelings and showing off without regard for others, Shen Mo couldn't help but feel guilty.

But what could he do?

He just didn't want to be beaten and bullied anymore, he just wanted to study hard and pass the imperial examination.

That's all.

But life is so unfair, some people do all kinds of evil things, yet they are still free and at ease.

And he, just forced to make a mistake once, retribution came.

That day, he saw the third young lady of the General Mansion at the school gate—the clear young girl he had quietly hidden in his heart.

But the young lady he admired was looking at Lin Rufeng with a shy and affectionate face...

At that time, Shen Mo knew that the young girl who had been writing letters to him was actually the third young lady of the General Mansion—Liu Wanqing.

He had written moving letters with his own hands, but he had pushed the young lady he admired into the arms of Lin Rufeng, this scum!

By the time Shen Mo discovered it, it was too late, and the two families had already set the engagement.

That day, the usually cowardly Shen Mo hit Lin Rufeng for the first time.

What he got in return was even more violent treatment.

Lin Rufeng stepped on his bruised face and told the truth with a smile:

"I knew you liked Miss Liu, a toad wanting to eat swan meat! So I deliberately set a trap to make you help me write letters."

"How is it, how does it feel to make wedding clothes for others? Does it feel good? Hahaha!"