The next day, after school ended at the Prefectural Academy, Shen Cui followed the pre-arranged plan and personally went to the academy to pick up someone.

Mu Er Pang was among the first wave to come out.

Just like before, Mei Ruochu and the others stayed inside for a while to give some guidance to the new students.

Many people who hadn’t had the chance to receive guidance from Mei Ruochu and the others felt that since they were admitted to the Prefectural Academy, they weren’t any worse than others.

But when their essays were returned by the professors with a tone that didn’t seem quite right, they felt troubled and didn’t know what to do, so they could only seek guidance in their spare time after class.

When mother and son met, Mu Er Pang said, “Today is just like yesterday. Shen Aoshuang was called away by the professor again before the end of class, so we might have to wait for a while.”

Shen Cui nodded, “We’ll also have to wait for Ashu and Ruochu. The weather isn’t too hot anyway, so we can stand here for a while.”

After about two quarters of an hour passed, the number of people at the gate of the Prefectural Academy gradually decreased, and Shen Aoshuang came out before Mei Ruochu and the others.

As before, he passed by Mu Er Pang and Shen Cui with ease, not sparing them a glance.

The mother and son exchanged a glance, and Mu Er Pang spoke up, “Brother Shen, please stay.”

There was a hint of surprise on Shen Aoshuang’s face, but it quickly disappeared.

He replied calmly, “Brother Mu is here. I was lost in thought just now and didn’t see you. I apologize.”

Mu Er Pang couldn’t help but find it a bit amusing. He thought to himself, “It’s not the first or second time you haven’t seen me.”

But he didn’t say anything and continued, “My mother happened to come to pick me up and wanted to thank you in person.”

Shen Aoshuang quickly waved his hand, “It’s really nothing. Auntie doesn’t need to be so polite.”

While they were talking, Shen Cui had already added him to the system as a cultivation target.

Shen Aoshuang’s various data were right in front of her eyes.

It had to be said that he performed quite similarly to Mu Er Pang, who had taken the marrow-cleansing pill twice.

He excelled in various aspects, but his luck was a bit lower, just passing the pass line.

But that wasn’t a big problem anyway. As long as he didn’t fall below the pass line and wasn’t bound by rules like Mei Ruochu, there wouldn’t be any trouble.

Shen Cui glanced over and immediately checked his physique.

The first thing that caught her eye was the number 70 for physical fitness, but the status afterwards was—(Heavenly Disability: Sensory Dysfunction)!

‘Heavenly Disability’ meant being born with a disability.

Shen Cui hadn’t expected this result and asked the system in her mind, “What does sensory dysfunction mean?”

The system immediately provided an explanation: “Sensory dysfunction refers to the impairment of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. This temporary cultivation target has only half of the normal sensory functions for some senses, and for others, it’s even less. However, his physical condition is still quite good, with a score of 70.”

The system detected Shen Cui’s emotional fluctuations, so it added that last sentence.

However, Shen Cui wasn’t amused by it. She couldn’t help but say, “Are you saying that his senses are only half as good as normal? So, his vision is like being partially blind?”

The system confirmed this.

Shen Cui continued to ask, “Leaving aside other factors, how did a partially blind person manage to pass all the exams?”

“Well, he’s only partially blind, not completely. For example, while most people can read clearly at a distance of 30-40cm, he can manage with a distance of 10cm or 5cm. The imperial examination halls are closed environments, and the invigilators won’t pay attention to how he writes the exam.” The system explained.

“But why didn’t others notice?” Shen Cui asked.

“That’s because this temporary cultivation target is very good at acting. Just like the host and the first cultivation target are considered to have keen observational skills, after interacting with him a few times, didn’t you at most suspect that he might be nearsighted? Others would likely think the same.

Besides, the host should also know about ‘intuition’, right? The system didn’t list it as a qualification, but the ‘intuition’ of this temporary cultivation target is very accurate.”

So it’s no wonder Shen Aoshuang would rather let others misunderstand him than explain anything.

Ordinary nearsightedness doesn’t need to be hidden, but something like a sensory disability absolutely must not be disclosed to others.

Because nowadays, the imperial examinations also pay attention to the “body, speech, and book judgment”. The “body” part usually examines the student’s physique and appearance, but it also checks for any serious illnesses.

How could the court grant an official position to a person with such a disability?

Shen Cui couldn’t help but sigh. With such a disability, how much more effort did Shen Aoshuang have to put in to achieve this level? And how much psychological pressure did he have to bear with such a significant secret?

As she pondered, Shen Aoshuang exchanged a few words with Mu Er Pang and then said he had something to attend to at home, bidding farewell immediately.

Obviously, he had always kept his distance from others like this in the past, carefully concealing his secret.

Not long after he left, Mei Ruochu and the others also came out.

Naturally, they all returned to Cui Wei together.

After returning, Mu Er Pang noticed Shen Cui’s contemplative expression and took the opportunity to talk to her alone.

He asked, “Did you figure it out?”

Shen Cui didn’t answer his question but asked him instead, “Why do you trust me so much? I’m not a doctor.”

“What’s the point of all that? Anyway, I know you’re capable of things others can’t do. Please tell me, I really want to know.” Mu Er Pang insisted.

So Shen Cui told him about the system’s assessment.

The smile on Mu Er Pang’s face slowly faded, and he said with a touch of sorrow, “So, he avoids coming to the classroom after entering the Prefectural Academy, ignores us when we greet him, all because he’s partially blind? And on the day at the archery field, when everyone was shooting arrows, it was actually quite noisy, but since he couldn’t see or hear clearly, that’s why he wandered around like that… Couldn’t he ask someone for help? Even if someone could lead him there?”

Shen Cui didn’t need to answer this question.

Mu Er Pang continued quickly, “Well, if he asked for help whenever he encountered difficulties, he wouldn’t be able to hide any secrets. I guess it’s just a habit he’s developed over the years. Sigh, with impaired vision and hearing, not to mention his sense of smell and taste… Wouldn’t he miss out on enjoying real delicacies?”

Shen Cui nodded, then watched as Mu Er Pang squatted beside her like he did when he was a child, his chin resting on his hands, blinking at her.

She chuckled and tapped his forehead lightly. “Speak up, why are you making strange faces?”

Mu Er Pang rubbed his forehead and grinned, “Mother, you must have a way to help him, right?”

Shen Cui had indeed been looking through the system’s medications, but since Shen Aoshuang’s condition wasn’t classified as an illness in the system, but rather as a disability, she hadn’t found anything suitable in the medication categories.

She multitasked, continuing to search while asking, “Have you thought it through? If he could recover, it’s very likely he wouldn’t have to be inferior to you anymore.”

Mu Er Pang laughed indifferently, “What’s the point of being the only standout? Advancing together is the real win-win! Besides, where in our academy is lacking excellent people? If I only want to compare myself with others and can’t stand people better than me, then what’s the point of living? Plus, didn’t I write an article before about ‘Forgiving Others Is Like Restraining Oneself’? After that, I’ve thought about it many times. Actually, it aligns with a saying from Buddhism—’Saving others is like saving oneself, saving oneself is also saving others’.”

Shen Cui had already discussed these matters with the system earlier. Now she intentionally let Mu Er Pang say them out loud, so the system could see how wrong his previous thoughts were.

The system also caught onto Shen Cui’s intentions and said proactively, “The host can upgrade the academy first, gaining an additional student quota, and make him a cultivation target. I will block the ‘settings’ given to him in this dimension, allowing him to slowly recover. During this period, I will adjust the store and offer items suitable for him.”

Upgrading the academy again would require 4000 shopping points.

This wasn’t difficult at all. Mu Er Pang had accumulated quite a few shopping points even without trying, and Shen Cui hadn’t spent hers yet.

Moreover, because she had complained that the “Library” provided after the Prefectural Examination wasn’t very useful in the short term, the system gave her a choice after the Provincial Examination.

Option one was a physical item, the “Meditation Room,” where students who were depressed or lacked determination in their studies could enter to meditate quietly, helping them regain their initial intentions and firm up their determination. Option two was an additional 3000 shopping points.

The former was something Cui Wei didn’t currently need—several young students in the academy were diligent and studious, even causing Cuifei to work much harder than before since enrolling.

Shen Cui hadn’t chosen this option, so she had plenty of shopping points left.

In fact, even before this, Shen Cui had intended to upgrade the academy when she had enough resources at hand. Firstly, there would be more daily rewards, and secondly, after the incident with the “Marrow-Cleansing Pill,” she realized that the others in the academy hadn’t completely escaped the rules of the dimension. With the academy upgraded, it could better shield against those rules.

When Mei Ruochu first came to the academy, due to his low luck, he would occasionally encounter some misfortune.

After Cui fei joined, Shen Cui upgraded the academy once.

When Mei Ruochu accidentally returned with a bit of bad luck from outside, Shen Cui hadn’t had a chance to replenish it yet, and it wouldn’t affect him in the academy either way.

Shen Cui had confirmed with the system at that time that it was indeed due to the upgrade of the academy. So she had long had this idea in mind.

But the problem followed closely. When other students enrolled, they had shown proactive intentions, and Shen Cui only needed to go with the flow.

But Shen Aoshuang was so guarded, how could she convince him to come to Cuiwei Academy?

She couldn’t just let Mu Er Pang blurt out that he knew about the secret he had hidden for over a decade and that she had a way to cure him!

So Shen Cui reluctantly said, “Pang, you’ve really given me a puzzle.”

But they didn’t worry about this matter for long, as an opportunity soon arose.

……

In the Prefectural Academy, after several days of studying the main subjects, the last day before the rest period ushered in the supplementary subjects.

The supplementary subjects were akin to elective courses in modern universities.

Students could freely choose to study the six arts in the Six Arts Garden, or engage in activities at facilities like the archery field or cuju field.

Mei Ruochu, Wei Xi, and Cuifei were quiet, so they went to the Six Arts Garden.

However, Wei Shu and Mu Er Pang were more active.

Mu Er Pang had initially planned to go practice archery, but Wei Shu told him there were other fun things to do!

Mu Er Pang’s eyes lit up as he followed Wei Shu and discovered that there was a polo field in the Prefectural Academy!

He had seen the place before, but unlike the archery and cuju fields, which had easily recognizable facilities, the polo field was vast, and the goals were small, so from a distance, it just looked like an ordinary open space.

Today, led by Wei Shu, he realized that there were fences around the field with signs reading “Polo Field Restricted Area, No Crossing.”

Unfortunately, although the Prefectural Academy had the field, they didn’t have horses; students had to bring their own.

However, there weren’t many families who could afford to raise horses, and even fewer students who were both affluent and interested in riding.

So the field remained empty most of the time.

When they moved into the Prefectural City earlier, Wei Shu had mentioned bringing some horses from home.

Later, he did bring them, but due to limited space in the mansion, Mu Er Pang had only learned a little in his spare time and hadn’t ridden on such an open field.

Wei Shu had managed to bring a horse from the academy and paid some silver to have the stable boy in the Prefectural Academy take care of it temporarily.

He helped Mu Er Pang onto the horse. Seeing that he knew how to mount from behind, keep his back straight, grip the horse’s belly, and hold the reins properly, Wei Shu knew he had learned well.

Without saying much, he personally led the horse around the field for a few laps.

The horse had been raised by the Wei family since it was young, so after a few laps, Wei Shu felt confident enough to let go of the reins and let him ride on his own.

Mu Er Pang took the reins from Wei Shu with excitement, gently nudged the horse’s belly, gave a tug on the reins, and the horse immediately changed from walking to trotting.

He rode several laps around the field in one breath, and his speed increased a bit.

Just as he was about to stop to catch his breath, someone suddenly walked out diagonally.

Luckily, he was a beginner, so the horse’s speed wasn’t very fast. He immediately tightened the reins and stopped the horse.

After the horse’s front hooves lifted slightly and stamped a few times, it stabilized.

Wei Shu rushed over and saw that the person standing in front of the horse was Shen Aoshuang again.

He was genuinely a bit angry, “What’s going on, Little brother Shen? You were wandering aimlessly on the archery field earlier, which could have only harmed yourself at most! Now you’re crossing the polo field, endangering yourself and others!”

If it had happened to him, Wei Shu might not have gotten angry.

But Mu Er Pang was a beginner, and if he had been distracted or reacted slowly just now, it was very likely that he would have fallen off the horse to avoid Shen Aoshuang!

“Big brother Shu, don’t be angry. I’m fine, aren’t I?” Mu Er Pang smiled as he dismounted, “I’ve had enough riding for today, and it’s just right to take a break. Why don’t you ride for a while?”

Mu Er Pang handed the reins to Wei Shu, who still had a bit of anger on his face, and gestured to him with a wink.

Then, he glanced at Shen Aoshuang and led the horse to the other side, leaving them to talk.

“I…” Shen Aoshuang couldn’t raise his eyes out of shame.

After hesitating for a while, he said, “I’m really sorry. I specifically asked around about places where no one usually goes, and they pointed me in a general direction, so I…”

Mu Er Pang scratched his head and said it was no big deal.

Wei Shu hadn’t seen clearly from a distance, which was why he had gotten so anxious.

But in fact, Mu Er Pang had noticed that Shen Aoshuang walked slower than usual, so the situation wasn’t dangerous.

If he had almost had an accident because of him, Mu Er Pang wouldn’t have been so calm either.

“Big brother Shu was just worried about me, so he spoke a bit harshly,”

Shen Aoshuang immediately shook his head. “He was right. It’s my fault. No matter what, I’m not being treated unfairly.”

After a pause, Shen Aoshuang’s normally straight back sagged slightly. “Mu Brother, being able to win the first place several times shows that you are talented. After several contacts, I think you have guessed some things…”

Mu Er Pang smiled faintly, thinking that this person was indeed clever, and it was no wonder that he felt a sense of mutual respect and wanted to help him.

He listened as Shen Aoshuang continued, “I know. I… I will go to explain the situation to the professor today and immediately drop out of the prefectural school.”

Mu Er Pang: …

This development is different from what he had in mind!