"Furthermore, the Eldest Jiang Miss’ life has been very bitter. She was sent to the rural residence at a young age, and she returned to the Jiang fu only to provoke such a dastardly move by the Jiang furen. It’s so pitiful." Yet another young nobleman shook his head, his voice tinged with sympathy.
"Jiang furen and Second Jiang Miss usually seem very gentle and amiable, how could they do such a thing?"
"Hey, one can know a person for a long time without knowing his or her true nature[5]. Didn’t you see the way Second Jiang Miss and Jinying Wang behaved last night? There must be something between them." This person had barely finished speaking when another scholar, opposite him, said, "You speak in such a sour tone of voice; you must indeed hate yourself for not being Jinying Wang, unable to announce that you’re marrying such a beauty?"
[5] Zhi ren zhi mian bu zhi xin ( 知人知面不知心 ) – lit., know the person, know the face, but don’t know the heart.
Everyone burst into laughter. At this time, someone walked in through the door, wearing a rain silk brocade jacket and with his brows tightly knit. It was Jiang Chao. With his entrance, the discussion came to an abrupt halt, but the eyes that followed him still harboured some ridicule. Naturally, Jiang Chao understood the intent of their glances, and an indescribable fire immediately ignited in his heart as he felt that they were all looking at him like he was some kind of joke. As a result, he entered the room with big strides and as he walked past Liu Min, he bumped heavily into his table. Unexpectedly, the inkstand on Liu Min’s table flipped over and the ink fell on Liu Min.
Jiang Chao turned back fiercely. A few drops of ink had also landed on his brocade jacket. He had already been raging silently, and now that the ink had stained his clothes, he did not wait for Liu Min to speak but moved forward to grab and then yank him out of his seat. "What are you doing!"
In the Imperial Academy, Jiang Chao had always shown himself to be gentle and warm. Although he was not close to Liu Min, he would never intentionally provoke him. Today’s behaviour was a result of his sullen mood. The scholars in the Imperial Academy were generally from the noble families, so he was unable to give offence freely. Considering the people around him, Liu Min was the only person he could use as a punching bag as he wished.
The others were watching him without saying anything, and no one would come to Liu Min’s aid. Jiang Chao had yanked Liu Min up by his collar. Liu Min was neither as tall as Jiang Chao nor as sturdy as hims, so he merely fixed his clear, unyielding eyes on Jiang Chao and remained silent.
Jiang Chao became unutterably furious when he saw no trace of fear in Liu Min’s eyes. Taking a deep breath, he smiled abruptly and said in a tone laced with malice, "You have dirtied my clothes. What do you think we should do?"
Liu Min usually held himself aloof as he went around the Academy. If he had met with situations like this one in the past, he would have vociferously defended his rights, preferring to die than to give in. That Jiang Chao would speak in such a manner was a grave insult to him, considering his excellent sense of self-respect, and everyone was waiting for the fireworks to start. However, to everyone’s surprise, the usually obstinate young man inclined his head slightly and said, "I apologise."
Everyone was rooted to the spot in shock.
Somehow, in that split second before he gave in to his impulses, Liu Min had suddenly thought of that anonymous person who kept sending him letters. In one of those letters, the other party had debated with Liu Min whether one should submit to those in higher and more influential positions. Liu Min preferred death to submission, but the other party thought otherwise. He said, as long as one’s heart and character were upright and honest, it would be prudent and sensible to comply with the ways of the world. For example, the bamboo trees in a bamboo grove were seldom broken off, because the bamboo could bend with the wind, yet still maintain its upright shape and form; it would never be blown down or blown away by the wind. On the other hand, the unyieldingly upright, lone trees, and the wildflowers that grew by the roadside, were the ones most easily snapped by the wind. The former did not know how to bend, and the latter did not know how to remain upright.
Everyone should be able to exhibit some degree of compliance and perseverance. An intelligent person who is able to master these capabilities would be able to do whatever he set his mind to.
It was at this time that Liu Min suddenly recalled this paragraph in the letter. The other party had said that, in this world’s affairs, it was perhaps much harder to bend over than to persist.
He eyed a rather listless Jiang Chao and repeated, "I apologise."
Jiang Chao came to his senses. He had never imagined that this impoverished, haughty person would apologise in front of him, but he was definitely not happy. Although Liu Min had said these words, he could see from his eyes that Liu Min was just as haughty as before, and was seemingly mocking his juvenile behaviour. For a moment, the rage in his heart flared even hotter. He sneered, "Do you think a verbal apology is good enough? If you don’t lick this clean for me today, don’t even think about leaving this room!"
The other scholars could not stop talking amongst themselves as they saw this scene unfolding before them. Although they also regularly bullied Liu Min, when it came down to it, they were all scholars, and should not be willing to participate in or initiate such degrading behaviour. In addition, the fact that someone as gentle and warm as Jiang Chao was behaving in such an aggressively imperious fashion caused them to be contemptuous of him.
Jiang Chao was totally unaware of the views of those around him. The only thing on his mind was to make things as difficult for Liu Min as possible, so that he would be reduced to begging in front of him. If he refused to beg for mercy, even if he managed to get out of this current situation, he would have plenty of trouble in the future. After all, he had a bed-ridden mother.
Liu Min squeezed his palms together. A hint of annoyance crossed his naturally delicate face, but he suppressed it very quickly. He took off his faded outer jacket and said, softly, "If this is what Master Jiang wants, then Liu Min can only do as he says." After saying this, he knelt down in order to lick off the ink drops from the corner of Jiang Chao’s clothes.
Everyone held their breaths. Today’s events were indeed too odd. Firstly, that the ordinarily cordial Jiang Chao would become so overbearing, and secondly, that the usually solitary, arrogant and candid Liu Min would bend the knee and exercise forbearance.
Jiang Chao still stood in the same spot, his heart filled with an indescribable anger. Initially, he had intended to use Liu Min as a means to vent his frustration, but he never thought that Liu Min act like a totally different person. It was like punching on soft, velvety cotton. What had clearly been intended as a move to demean Liu Min had somehow, with one look from Liu Min’s clear, haughty eyes, reversed the situation such that Liu Min seemed to be the person with the noble status, looking down on him.
Jiang Chao could not bear the thought and moved to stamp on Liu Min’s body. Who knew, just as he raised his leg, something struck his knee so that he was rendered immobile.
Mo Cong stepped forward. He said, "Where it is possible to let people off, one should spare them. Jiang xiong, is it necessary to make a fuss over an item of clothing? Liu xiong did not do it intentionally, so is it necessary to upset his mood just a few days before the preliminary round of the Imperial examination? Let xiaodi give you an item of clothing in compensation, and Jiang xiong can stop making things difficult for Liu xiong."
Liu Min eyed Mo Cong, never having thought that he would speak on his behalf. Jiang Chao was also astonished, but Mo Cong’s status was such that he could not freely act against him. Thus, even though he was still in a towering rage, he could not express it. He shook out his sleeves and snorted as he left the room with big strides, not once looking back.
Once Jiang Chao had left, Mo Cong told Liu Min, "It’s all right."
Liu Min stood up and lightly brushed the dust off his body. He did not seem concerned about the ink all over him as he thanked Mo Cong and resumed his seat to silently peruse his scrolls. His movements were confident and relaxed, without any hint of suppressed frustration, as if the altercation had not even occurred. Mo Cong observed him and a deep thought flashed in his eyes.
The Imperial Academy scholars were used to wrangling in this fashion, but they did not realise that the situation that had just played had been witnessed by two people – Master of Records Song and Chancellor Chen, who were both standing by the door. Master of Records Song was slightly angry. "Jiang Chao is too unreasonable. What does he think the Imperial Academy is, that he can come here and display such unreasonable behaviour as he likes, just because he is from a noble lineage? This brings such dishonour to scholars!"
"His heart was full of anger which he could not control," Chancellor Chen said. They too had heard of the previous night’s events, and naturally knew why Jiang Chao was behaving abnormally.
"No matter the reason, he should not have treated a colleague this way!" Master of Records Song said in annoyance. "Liu Min surprised me today; he actually knows how to yield. If it had been in the past, I don’t know how big the storm would have been."
If it had been in the past, with Liu Min’s temper, it was indeed bound to become a big mess. Even though, logically speaking, Liu Min had just cause, Minister Jiang was extremely prone to shielding someone by hiding their faults despite knowing that they were in the wrong, especially his di son and di daughter. In the end, the person to suffer would still be Liu Min.
"That he knows how to bend and yield is the most terrifying aspect." Chancellor Chen’s gaze deepened. "Previously, we thought little of him, but this boy can bend and stretch. If he is able to enter the Imperial Court, he will definitely become someone very capable and highly valued. The difference between him and Jiang Chao is considerable."
Master of Records Song was accustomed to Chancellor Chen not thinking highly of Liu Min. That he would actually spontaneously praise Liu Min at present, and hold the same view as himself, caused Master of Records Song to feel relieved. He said, in an agreeable manner, "Indeed, Liu Min is utterly sincere, and is always upright and forthright in his conduct towards others. Truly, a rare talent."
Chancellor Chen smiled and did not say anything else.
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Translated by : Shl
Edited by : Anks & Ely