Chapter 90

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and Wei Shu, feeling guilty, closed his mouth.
Seeing Mei Ruochu like this, Shen Cui understood some things.

However, Mei Ruochu still seemed uneasy. After coming out, he said to Shen Cui, “Our elder mentioned it to you, right? I’m really unlucky, so it’s no wonder people gave me that nickname. Like this time, I should have arrived in about half a month, but our elder knew I wouldn’t have such smooth sailing, so he allocated a month for me… He hired a carriage for me, but just a few dozen miles out, the wheel broke. I had to walk into the city, intending to hire another carriage, but my purse was stolen as soon as I entered the city.”

They had agreed not to ask about his unhappy misfortunes, but since he brought it up voluntarily, Shen Cui followed his lead and asked, “How did you manage to come here afterwards?”

“I pawned my clothes first, got a few dozen coins, and then set up a stall in the local area, writing letters and drawing pictures for people. I have some skill in calligraphy and painting, so making a little money wasn’t difficult. After saving up enough money, I realized I didn’t have enough time, so I thought of taking a boat on the water route. I even paid extra for a larger and more stable boat. But halfway through the journey, we encountered a thunderstorm. Although nothing happened, the boatman refused to continue. We got off the boat with half of our fare refunded. After getting off the boat, I found that my purse had been stolen again… So I had no choice but to find a nearby city and use the refunded fare as capital to set up another stall… It was only today that I finally arrived here, with only a few dozen coins left in my purse. I thought of participating in the lantern festival, winning some prizes, and then coming to visit.”

It was fortunate that he had genuine talent and skills, otherwise, if it were an ordinary person, they probably would have had to beg for food all the way.

It was like a modified version of the “famine year starving artisan”.

It was probably also because they knew he could support himself with his skills, that the elder felt reassured letting him out.

But even so, he still wanted to come to visit with a gift. Shen Cui felt both heartbroken and amused.

Wei Shu suddenly realized, “No wonder last time when they posted the results of the prefectural examination. I offered you money, but you refused…”

Mei Ruochu scratched his head awkwardly. “Because even if you gave it to me, it would have disappeared in the blink of an eye. It’s better to have food in my stomach.”

Just as they were talking about food, his stomach growled again.

Obviously, he had spent all his few dozen coins on preparing gifts and hadn’t had time to eat.

There was freshly boiled water on the stove, and Zhou Shi was quick in her actions. She soon brought over a bowl of noodles.

Mei Ruochu thanked Zhou Shi and reached out to take the bowl.

Unexpectedly, the bowl that had been fine in Zhou Shi’s hands just moments ago suddenly made a crisp sound as soon as it reached Mei Ruochu’s hands, splitting into two halves right at the bottom.

Fortunately, Mei Ruochu was experienced. He used both hands to catch the bowl, hearing the brittle sound. He pressed the broken pieces together with force, preventing the noodles from falling to the ground.

Although everyone had heard about his strange background, hearing about it and witnessing it with their own eyes were different. Everyone’s faces showed surprise.

Even Zhou Shi couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement, “This bowl… it broke in half? It was fine just now…”

Shen Cui remained composed and said, “It’s probably because the bowl was old, and a crack had developed in it at some point. When it was exposed to hot water, it split open.”

Quickly regaining her composure, Zhou Shi went back to the kitchen and brought a newer, sturdier bowl, ensuring that it had no cracks, and had Mei Ruochu pour the noodles into it.

The blush on Mei Ruochu’s face didn’t fade. Seeing his lips move as if wanting to say something, Shen Cui waved her hand and said, “It’s okay, just a small incident. You should sit down and eat first. If you have something to say, you can say it after eating.”

Since he was the only one eating, Shen Cui didn’t have the dining table brought out again. Instead, she let him eat on the brand-new desk.

Just as he sat down, the equally new chair suddenly made a light cracking sound, and one of its legs broke!

Fortunately, the experienced Mei Ruochu hadn’t sat down fully, so he didn’t fall.

Wei Shu said, “It must be because my servant didn’t check properly when buying things and ended up with defective products. I’ll have him return them to the store tomorrow.”

After saying that, Wei Shu moved his own chair, which he usually sat on, over to Mei Ruochu. However, Mei Ruochu refused to take it and insisted on squatting in front of the desk in a horse stance, quickly finishing the noodles in a few big mouthfuls.

After finishing his meal, Mei Ruochu thanked them again. Then, he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “As you have seen, I’m probably what others call a ‘disaster star reincarnated.’ So, the elder doesn’t need to accommodate me out of respect for him. I didn’t intend to burden others when I came out this time. Whether it’s going back to the village to farm and herd cattle or setting up a stall to write and draw, I can make a living in the end.”

Seeing him like this, Shen Cui felt very helpless. No matter what she said now, Mei Ruochu would probably think that they were only accommodating him out of respect for the elder and not genuinely welcoming him.

She decided not to say much and simply said, “It’s late today. You can stay here for now. Let’s discuss this matter tomorrow.”

“No, no, the inn where I stayed before, the bed collapsed in the middle of the night. At the Hongle Academy, the elder also didn’t trust me to live with others, so he always had me live alone,” Mei Ruochu refused again. “Now that the letter and gift have been delivered, I still…”

“We sleep on earthen kang beds, they won’t collapse! Stop.. in Ciuwei Academy everyone listens to me,” Shen Cui asserted her authority for the first time, invoking the elder’s authority. “You’ll stay.”

But Mei Ruochu’s reasoning was also valid. His unfortunate constitution was indeed a bit frightening. Besides, Wei Xie’s body hadn’t fully recovered and couldn’t withstand any shocks. So, Shen Cui paused and said, “You’ll stay with Er Pang.”

Er Pang had such a high lucky value that the two of them could balance each other out.

Thinking of Shen Cui’s fierce defense and argumentation for him earlier, Mei Ruochu didn’t dare to say much more. He simply said in a low voice, “Then I’ll just sleep on a pallet in the corridor. I don’t necessarily have to sleep in the room.”

Shen Cui acted as if she hadn’t heard him directly, and just gave a meaningful look to Mu Er Pang, then pretended to leave solemnly.

“Big Brother Mei, you’ll stay with me. Let me show you around first.” Mu Er Pang grinned and grabbed Mei Ruochu’s hand.

Mei Ruochu resisted, trying to pull his hand back, but despite Mu Er Pang being less than twelve years old, he was surprisingly strong and Mei Ruochu couldn’t break free.

Mu Er Pang first showed him around the academy, then went to the dormitory to bring the blanket prepared for him, and finally took him home to his own room.

Once inside the room, Mu Er Pang set down the thin blanket but still didn’t let go of Mei Ruochu’s hand. He only released it after locking the door to ensure Mei Ruochu couldn’t leave.

Feeling touched, Mei Ruochu began, “I know you all mean well, but I really—”

Mu Er Pang didn’t give him a chance to say any more self-deprecating words. He picked up the Book of Changes placed on the kang table and asked, “Actually, I have a selfish motive too. I’ve been studying this recently, and I find it very difficult. Big Brother Mei, could you give me some guidance?”

Realizing that he couldn’t leave tonight, Mei Ruochu moved to the edge of the kang. After testing it with his hand to ensure it was sturdy, he sat down and began to explain, “The Book of Changes is indeed profound. Since the Han Dynasty, it has roughly been divided into two schools: the Xiangshu (Image and Number) School and the Yili (Ritual and Music) School. Later, it further diverged into five schools, each with its own disputes. There are thousands of books with annotations and explanations. I don’t know which school Mr. Lao studied, so I dare not teach recklessly. However, most annotations and explanations have similarities…”

He spoke eloquently, citing examples from various schools and commentaries, showing that he had a broad understanding of the subject.

Mu Er Pang had initially intended to find something to distract him, not expecting him to teach him seriously, but he couldn’t help but become engrossed in his explanation.

Meanwhile, in Shen Cui’s room, as soon as she returned, she immediately added Mei Ruochu to the academy system as the fourth candidate for cultivation.

Then she saw Mei Ruochu’s data graph—a hexagon with one corner depressed.

Setting aside his luck value, all his attributes were perfect, as Lao Buyu had said, comparable to Mu Yunchuan!

But his luck value… was only single digits, almost like Mu Er Pang’s data graph before he had developed his intelligence, with that part almost becoming a sesame seed.

[Even in this situation, he still thinks about not burdening others.] Shen Cui sighed helplessly to herself and muttered to the system. Then she opened the system mall to start selecting items for him.

Just then, Zhou Shi brought over the hot water she had prepared, so Shen Cui asked Mei Ruochu to go to the dormitory to freshen up.

Since Wei Shu had some acquaintance with him, he accompanied Mei Ruochu and provided him with some clothes to change into.

After he left, Wei Shu immediately said, “I really didn’t know he could be so unlucky. I didn’t mean to bring up his sad past.”

Shen Cui nodded in understanding and said, “Let’s leave it at that. If he wants to talk about his past, we’ll listen. But if he doesn’t bring it up, we won’t ask.”

They didn’t want to inadvertently bring up any painful memories and make Mei Ruochu feel uncomfortable, which would only add to their own guilt.

Everyone agreed with this approach.

After a while, Wei Shu came out first, his face showing reluctance. “I saw many injuries on his body while he was cleaning up. Some of the abrasions are fresh. He must have suffered a lot on this journey.”

Initially, they had merely pitied him for his misfortune. But now, knowing more about his situation, they couldn’t help but feel even more sympathetic and compassionate towards him.

A quarter of an hour later, Mei Ruochu emerged, having tidied himself up. He had cleaned his face, tied up his hair, and changed into Wei Shu’s clothes. He didn’t possess striking handsomeness, but he had a distinctly delicate appearance. At least now, he didn’t look pitiful anymore.

Wei Shu whispered, “This kid bears some resemblance to ‘Zhang Sheng’.”

Of course, this resemblance wasn’t about physical appearance but rather the fact that despite experiencing so much misfortune, there was no trace of resentment on his face.

Previously, Shen Cui had conjured up ‘Zhang Sheng’ as a fictional character, and at the time, she didn’t quite understand why Wei Shu got emotional when ‘he’ was mentioned.