Chapter 10: The Status of a Scholar

The setting sun reflected, the evening glow like fire.

The green waves in the lake rippled, the light shimmering, a beauty beyond description.

"So beautiful..."

Just as Luo Zijun was standing by the railing, admiring the scenery and looking out, he suddenly heard a burst of noisy footsteps approaching; he turned his head to look and saw a group of people coming aggressively.

"Are you Luo Zijun?"

A young man wearing a deep blue Confucian robe arrived in front of him first.

He wore the look of someone coming to settle a score.

"No."

Luo Zijun answered immediately.

This guy looked like he was here to pick a fight, didn't he?

Liu Songjin was taken aback and turned his head to look at Sun Yan'er, who had just walked up behind him.

Sun Yan'er sneered, her face full of mockery: "Luo Zijun, are you even afraid to admit your own name now?"

Luo Zijun looked at her with a puzzled expression: "Who are you..."

Sun Yan'er: "..."

"Yan'er, could you have recognized the wrong person?"

Huang Zhaodi, standing to the side, saw this situation and felt that they might have recognized the wrong person.

The others did not dare to speak again either.

Sun Yan'er's pretty face turned cold, and she gritted her teeth, saying: "How could I possibly recognize the wrong person? It's him!"

Even if this bastard turned to ash, she would still recognize him!

From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever said her feet were big, never!

Liu Songjin looked back at the youth in front of him, his face gloomy as he said: "A real man, a true gentleman, should have the courage to take responsibility for his actions! Since you dared to insult Miss Yan'er, why don't you dare to admit it?"

Luo Zijun said: "Who is Miss Yan'er, and how did I insult her?"

To tell the truth, he had really forgotten a bit.

Had he insulted someone?

Sun Yan'er's face turned livid instantly: "Luo Zijun, you're still pretending!"

Luo Zijun seemed to recognize her only then and asked: "Are you Miss Yan'er? When did I ever insult you? How did I insult you?"

It seemed he really hadn't insulted her, had he?

Seeing his attitude, Sun Yan'er was both ashamed and annoyed, her heart stifled, but she dared not tell the truth, and she was so angry her eyes turned red.

Liu Songjin immediately shouted angrily: "Luo Zijun, you are a grown man, yet you bully a weak woman; do you not feel shame? How could someone uncultured like you be worthy of Miss Yan'er? Miss Yan'er rejected you, so you resorted to insults; you are narrow-minded, low-class, and not even a human being!"

Luo Zijun looked at him and said: "Which ear of yours heard me insulting her?"

Liu Songjin's face was livid, and just as he was about to speak, a fat-faced man beside him said: "Brother Liu, don't waste your breath on him; just kick him off! A mere apprentice from a Pharmacy, yet he dares to come up here and soil this elegant place; who gave him the nerve?"

Huang Zhaodi, standing to the side, also sneered: "This guy has a glib tongue; just kick him off, don't waste your breath on him!"

Liu Songjin also knew that saying too much would lead to mistakes, so he immediately shouted: "For this Literary Gathering, one needs at least the status of a Scholar to board the boat! You are just an apprentice from a Pharmacy, you haven't even read books, what right do you have to be on this boat? Get off immediately!"

Luo Zijun ignored him and prepared to enter the boat cabin.

Seeing that he was being ignored, Liu Songjin was furious; he grabbed his sleeve and shouted again: "Kid, are you deaf? I told you to get off! If you don't get off, don't blame me for getting rough and throwing you into the lake to feed the fish!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Luo Zijun suddenly grabbed his collar, raised his hand, and actually threw him straight out.

"Huh, my strength..."

Luo Zijun was secretly surprised; his strength seemed to have increased quite a bit all of a sudden.

"Ah—"

Liu Songjin screamed as he flew over the railing, and with a "splash," he fell into the lake water, kicking up countless sprays.

The others nearby were instantly stunned into silence.

"Ah! Someone fell into the water! Someone fell into the water!"

Huang Zhaodi was the first to react and hurriedly called for the Brothel guards not far away.

Two guards immediately jumped into the lake to rescue him.

At the railing, the crowd that had just been so aggressive was now pale with fright, and no one dared to speak again.

This guy is so fierce!

Liu Songjin just wanted to scare him, but he actually took action directly! But this guy's strength is really great; he threw Liu Songjin down with one hand, how terrifying!

Several women were frightened out of their wits.

"What's going on?"

Hearing the news, the Brothel madam twisted her waist and hips and hurried over.

At this time, the two guards had also fished out Liu Songjin, who had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water.

Liu Songjin was scared out of his wits, and it took him a while to come to his senses; he immediately pointed at Luo Zijun, dripping wet, and cursed loudly: "Luo Zijun, I'm not finished with you!"

Then he shrieked: "Liu Mama, hurry and kick him off the boat! He is not a Scholar, he is just an apprentice from a Pharmacy; he has no right to be on this boat!"

His fat-faced friend Wu Kui also said angrily: "Liu Mama, this person not only snuck onto the boat, but also took action and threw Brother Liu into the lake; he really doesn't hold your Tianxian Pavilion in any regard! You should beat him up first, then throw him into the lake and let him swim to shore himself!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Songjin also hurriedly stood up and shrieked: "Right! Beat this little beast up hard first! Then throw him into the lake! This matter absolutely cannot be let go just like this!"

He was now soaked from head to toe, his newly made clothes were dirty, his newly combed hair was messy, and the makeup on his face was gone; he was utterly disheveled and humiliated, and his heart was naturally filled with such anger and hatred that he wanted to pounce over and bite him a few times!

Liu Ju frowned as she looked at the youth before her, somewhat suspicious: "This should be Young Master Luo, right? May I ask, Young Master, are you a Scholar?"

At this moment, Huang Zhaodi, standing to the side, said: "Liu Mama, he came up with Su Bie; he is not a Scholar at all, Yan'er knows him."

!

Liu Ju's expression immediately turned sour, and just as she was thinking of sending someone to find Su Bie, Su Bie and the other two heard the commotion and happened to squeeze through the crowd of onlookers at that very moment.

"What are you doing? What are you all doing?"

Seeing Luo Zijun surrounded by a group of people aggressively, Su Bie hurried over and shielded him in front.

Wang Dafu also hurried over and said, "Hey, are you trying to bully the few with the many?"

Zhang Yitian stood in the back, hesitated for a moment, and did not dare to come over.

Liu Songjin immediately gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Su Bie, this person is not a scholar; why are you breaking the rules by bringing him onto the boat?"

That fat-faced Wu Kui also sneered, "Brother Su, it's one thing for you to hang out with your usual fox friends, but how could you bring him onto a boat for an occasion like this?"

Su Bie looked bewildered.

At this moment, Liu Ju also spoke with a sunken face, "Young Master Su, I trusted you, which is why I let you bring a friend aboard, but you still cannot..."

"Wait!"

Su Bie finally reacted, shifted his body to the side, and pointed at Luo Zijun behind him, saying, "Do you mean to say that because my brother Luo is not a scholar, you are surrounding him and preparing to drive him off the boat?"

Huang Zhaodi said crisply, "So what if we are! He is not a scholar, so even if he is your friend, he has no right to be on this boat! Liu Mama, don't you agree?"

Liu Ju nodded and said with a very serious face, "Young Master Su, although you are a distinguished guest of my Tianxian Pavilion, rules are rules. For this Literary Gathering, no one without the status of a scholar or higher is allowed on board. When you boarded just now, I asked, but you..."

"Liu Mama."

Su Bie suddenly wore an amused expression: "Do you think I have any reason to lie to you about this? My brother Luo here is indeed a scholar."

There was truly no need for him to lie about such a thing.

On the wall of the Prefectural Office, his brother Luo's name was still clearly written!

"Impossible!"

At this moment, Sun Yan'er suddenly stepped out and said with a sneer, "How could he possibly be a scholar? He clearly has never even attended a school."

At this time, her Young Maid Xiao Cui also stepped out: "Last time, this servant saw with my own eyes that this person was carrying a Medicine Chest! Moreover, my master knows their family, and we know exactly what their family does. This person has never even read a book, so how could he be a scholar? He is clearly a fraud!"

At this moment, everyone's gaze turned toward the youth by the railing.

Liu Ju frowned, her gaze unkind, and just as she was about to speak, a man's voice suddenly came from the crowd: "Liu Mama, I know this Brother Luo. He is indeed a scholar; he passed the exam just a few days ago and was in the same cohort as me."

Once these words were spoken, everyone was stunned and looked over.

Sun Yan'er opened her mouth, and just as she was about to speak, another person walked out from behind that man and said, "I also remember this Brother Luo. During the Prefectural Examination, he was the third to hand in his paper; he definitely passed as a scholar."

At that time, this Brother Luo's sister had laughed in an extremely exaggerated and terrifying way at the place where the examination list was posted, so he had a very deep impression.

"Brother Luo, where is your Scholar Nameplate? Hurry and take it out for everyone to see."

Su Bie laughed out of extreme anger and hurriedly reached for the Scholar Nameplate on Luo Zijun's person, actually pulling it directly from his waist, and then held it up in front of Liu Mama.

Under the golden sunset, the patterns and characters on the nameplate shone brilliantly, with the three large characters "Luo Zijun" clearly written upon it.

Seeing this nameplate, Sun Yan'er froze on the spot.

Her Young Maid was also standing there with a dumbfounded expression at this moment.

As for the others, they all looked at each other in dismay.

(End of this chapter)