Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Godmother Truly Has Vision

How could anyone sleep with a thousand knots in their heart?

Su Xuan Ming tossed and turned until dawn, memories flashing and replaying like scenes on a stage.

When the first light broke, he suddenly sat up, eyes burning. “I must study. I must open this academy.”

He swallowed breakfast in a few bites and hurried out to look for a site.

“Second Brother—where are you going?”

At the main gate of Marquis Yong Chang Manor, Su Xuan Ming ran into Su Yun Ting, who was also heading out.

Su Yun Ting’s face was pale. Dark shadows bruised the skin beneath his eyes. He let out a cold laugh. “Li Shao Yan uses straw as a scale and thinks far too little of people. I’m going to make him see who the real weight is.”

Su Xuan Ming looked at him—frail as a willow in the wind, yet crackling with anger. He pinched the bridge of his nose, careful not to spark an explosion. “Second Brother, going alone is dangerous. Should we call the other brothers too?”

Su Yun Ting paused. More people meant more strength. In the end, he nodded.

So the two of them went door to door, knocking on every sworn brother’s gate.

Li Ming De hurried out with his outer robe half on, a honey-spicy bun clenched between his teeth.

Young Lord Li chased after him and warned, “The academy matter is tied up in a lot. If you can’t decide, listen to the Marchioness’s advice.”

Li Ming De waved him off, pushed through the gate, and joined the stream of sworn brothers.

“So Li Shao Yan is really that powerful?” Chen Yi Xuan said, incredulous. “He can make it so no one in Capital dares rent you a courtyard?”

Su Xuan Ming shook his head. “Courtyards with decent conditions that aren’t afraid of Li Shao Yan are too expensive for us. The ones we can afford get threatened by Li Shao Yan and Headmaster Wu.”

Jiang Guang Hai stopped at the morning stalls, bought Guang Han cakes and True Lord porridge, and handed them out. “Fill your stomachs. If we end up fighting later, you’ll need strength.”

Su Yun Ting arched a brow. “Fighting?”

Jiang Guang Hai ate his porridge like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. “Brother said you wanted to teach Li Shao Yan a lesson. We should find a quiet corner where no one sees. Best if we cover his head too, so it doesn’t come back to bite us.”

Su Yun Ting slowly turned and stared at Su Xuan Ming with a look full of disbelief—and grudging admiration. He leaned closer and whispered, “Brother… you’ve improved. You even know how to use my name to do revenge.”

Su Xuan Ming blinked, completely lost.

“Tsk,” Su Yun Ting muttered, smoothing his expression. “So it was a misunderstanding.”

He raised his voice so the others heard. “We’re not going to fight. We’ll search again—see if there’s any suitable place left.”

Jiang Guang Hai didn’t bother with false hope. “If they’re putting in this much effort, there won’t be any fish slipping through the net. Did Godmother give any hint?”

Li Ming De swallowed his bun and spoke with his mouth still half full. “Exactly. My father specifically told me to listen to Godmother. It feels like there’s more going on.”

Su Xuan Ming and Su Yun Ting exchanged a look. It was only an academy. How had it tangled into something this big?

Su Xuan Ming tried to remember every word. Finally, uncertainly, he said, “Mother said if there’s none in Capital, we should look in the Capital Outskirts. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten.”

The group stood there, thinking hard. What deep meaning lay in Godmother’s words?

“Maybe she just said it casually?” someone said.

Su Xuan Ming turned—and realized a ring of people had gathered behind them. Even the breakfast stall nearby was full of guests pointing and whispering.

Since Su Xuan Ming had caught them eavesdropping, they didn’t bother pretending anymore. They stared openly and asked, “Young Master Su, what did the Marchioness mean? Do you have any ideas?”

Su Xuan Ming was speechless.

Had Capital’s commoners always been this hungry for gossip?

A scholar-looking middle-aged man at the stall watched coldly, disdain sharp in his eyes. “It’s just a woman’s words. Only commoners like you would think it has hidden meaning. Across all the academies under heaven, I’ve never heard of one founded by a handful of teenage boys.”

His companion laughed. “It’s rich youths amusing themselves. Don’t take it seriously. Tell me—does anyone in Capital trust them? Does anyone offer their courtyard to support them?”

The young gentlemen ignored the ridicule. Frogs at the bottom of a well. They knew nothing of Godmother’s true strength.

“Xuan Ming,” Jiang Guang Hai asked quietly, “where did Godmother say those words?”

Su Xuan Ming answered, “At a small courtyard beside Ming De Temple—near the Hui Min River. About a hundred meters away there’s Lei Family Bridge.”

A bridge.

[!]

Su Xuan Ming, Su Yun Ting, and Jiang Guang Hai spoke in unison. “When the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten!”

Su Xuan Ming’s eyes lit up. He sprinted toward the riverbank. “Boatman! Rent a boat!”

Ten boys. Two boats. They headed west along the Hui Min River.

The onlookers went wild. Those with time to spare rented boats too, urging their boatmen, “Follow the ten sworn brothers! Wherever they go, we go!”

Those who couldn’t leave lingered at the shore, anxious and unwilling to miss anything. They grabbed the breakfast stall owner by the sleeve. “If news comes, write it down! When I finish work, I’ll come back for it!”

“Got it!”

The awning boats set out from New Bridge, drifted west past Tai Ping Bridge, and reached Lei Family Bridge.

Su Xuan Ming pointed at a distant courtyard, excitement plain on his face. “Mother said it there!”

He waved his hand like a commander. “Boatman—keep going!”

The boatman was a gossip lover himself. Among the cluster of awning boats, he was the first to answer Su Xuan Ming’s call. “Got it! Young Master Su—up ahead is the first bridge by the Armory. The arch is low. If we can’t pass—”

“Then we stop,” Su Xuan Ming said, grinning.

Winter sunlight spilled over the river. The water rippled, the scenery bright and mild.

Multi-masted ships rode the waves, carrying goods from the four seas into Capital. On the bridgehead of a cargo-and-passenger ship stood all kinds of people, turning their heads in wonder, as if stunned by Capital’s prosperity.

And unlike any other winter day, the Hui Min River was suddenly full of awning boats cutting against the flow, swift as arrows.

The people aboard looked giddy, as if headed to a grand gathering.

Familiar sailors cupped their hands around their mouths and shouted across the water. “Where are you all going?”

A busybody on one of the boats shouted back, “To see the peerless beauty’s solution!”

The local sailors understood instantly, their hearts itching. “Fu Quan Teahouse! I’ll buy you a pot of tea!”

“Deal!”

Some out-of-town guests blinked, bewildered. What riddle was this?

The local sailors kindly explained, and the outsiders’ eyes widened.

“Just how beautiful is this Marchioness,” one outsider marveled, “that His Majesty is obsessed to this extent?”

“Does she have three-inch golden lotuses,” another asked eagerly, “gliding like a goddess, stepping through flowers without crushing a petal?”

Someone snapped, eyes blazing. “What nonsense are you spouting? How can you compare the Marchioness to dancers? Even in Capital, dancers rarely bind their feet!”

A woman on the passenger boat folded her arms and snorted. “If the Marchioness had tiny feet, how could she cross half of Capital to stand up for her children? How could she face the Dragon-Martial Grand General and the headmaster of Mount Song Academy without yielding an inch?”

The clerk hurried to smooth things over. “Enough. Don’t wander off topic. Let’s watch how the Marchioness handles this!”