Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Clan Relatives
Early the next morning, more than an hour before the list would be posted, Teacher Gao was already waiting at the County School gate.
This time he fought his way to the very front. When he saw the third name on the notice—Li Xue Dong—he burst into laughter on the spot.
Third in the entire county.
It was a record-breaking result for the Gao Family School.
The county top scorer was the Second Young Master of the prestigious Hong family. He immediately began organizing a banquet, inviting the top ten to eat and drink together in celebration—after all, they were same-year classmates.
Li Xue Dong didn’t dare show his face for that sort of “classmate” gathering. Thankfully, Teacher Gao had already blocked it for him.
Teacher Gao had watched Xue Dong collapse from exhaustion for two days straight. In April he still had to sit the Prefecture Exam. Xue Dong needed to go home and recover. All social obligations could wait.
Teacher Gao took Li Xue Dong to the county yamen to thank Magistrate Huang and received a long stream of heartfelt advice in return. When they came out, Li Jin Zhu pushed Li Xue Dong in a cart. The four siblings, along with Teacher Gao and the others, left the city and headed home.
At Gao Cun Market Town, Teacher Gao and his two other students peeled off. Li Jin Zhu and her three younger siblings kept going.
Gao Cun Market Town was still seven or eight li from Little Li Village.
As the light faded, the four of them quickened their pace.
After they passed Li Family Market Town, darkness fell completely. Li Yu Zhu drew out a stick and kept close to Li Xue Dong, guarding him.
They hadn’t gone far when stones suddenly whistled through the air—seven or eight of them—slamming toward the group. Right behind the stones came a rush of half-grown boys, each gripping a stick.
Little Nan threw her arms over her head and screamed, loud enough to split the night. “Li Xue Fu is killing people! Li Xue Fu from Little Li Village is killing people! Li Xue Fu is killing people!”
“You’re talking nonsense! Stop yelling! Shut up!” Li Xue Fu, charging in front, went pale with panic.
Behind him, Li Xue Shou—thick-headed and eager—lunged past Li Xue Fu and barreled straight at Li Xue Dong.
Li Yu Zhu swung her stick.
The blow landed with a solid crack. Li Xue Shou shrieked and dropped face-first onto the ground.
Eldest Sister Li Jin Zhu whipped her camphorwood stick through the air with a sharp whoosh and shouted, face fierce, “Our sticks have iron tips! We’ll beat you dead!”
Li Yu Zhu’s face flushed red. Teeth clenched, she kept swinging, driving them back.
From not far away came Third Sister Li Yin Zhu’s frantic scream. “I’m coming! Eldest Sister! A Nan! I’m coming!”
Little Nan didn’t stop screaming. “Li Xue Fu is killing people! Li Wen Cai from Little Li Village is killing people and stealing our inheritance!”
The five Li siblings were all here. And in the distance, nearby households were already stirring, drawn by the noise.
Li Xue Fu’s courage snapped. “Stop yelling! We’re leaving—go! Now!” The boys turned tail and ran.
Li Jin Zhu shoved her stick into Li Yu Zhu’s hands, grabbed the wheelbarrow, and ran faster than the boys.
It was too dark for lingering. They needed to get home.
—
The next morning, Li Jin Zhu and Li Yu Zhu hurriedly sent Li Xue Dong and Little Nan back to the Gao Family School in Gao Family Market Town.
Li Xue Fu and Li Xue Shou would never dare come to Gao Family Market Town to beat or kill anyone. Li Xue Dong was far safer at the Gao Family School than at home.
Little Nan stayed as well, claiming she was there to care for her brother, and quietly sat in on classes.
Teacher Gao spent an entire lesson praising Li Xue Dong from every direction.
First came diligence: he never went out to play—everyone could see that.
Then came the proverb: read a book a hundred times, and its meaning reveals itself. “Look,” Teacher Gao practically sang, “Xue Dong is your proof!”
Then he somehow turned Li Xue Dong’s nervous stiffness into character: humble, cautious, steady, not arrogant, not rash.
Teacher Gao’s pride could have filled all of Gao Family Market Town.
That evening, Teacher Gao called Li Xue Dong to eat with him and spoke about the Prefecture Exam.
“These examinations aren’t only skill,” he said. “Luck matters too, and I’d say luck is with you right now. The Prefecture Exam—you must go sit it. Ping Jiang Prefecture is over a hundred li from here. You’re weak, so you should go two or three days early, rest properly, and then test. Afterward you’ll likely need another day to recover before traveling back. That’s nearly ten days for the round trip, and it takes a lot of copper cash.”
He leaned closer, voice firm. “You and your eldest sister should go to your Li clan and find the clan head. Have the clan give you the travel money. That’s what the clan should do. Once you earn a degree, the clan will benefit plenty.”
Li Xue Dong listened and nodded. Eldest Sister had already been thinking the same thing. If they could get travel funds from the clan, they had to try.
Little Nan went back to Little Li Village to pass on the message. Then Li Jin Zhu and Li Yu Zhu hurried to Gao Cun Market Town, picked up Li Xue Dong, and went to Li Family Market Town to find Clan Head Li Da.
Clan Head Li Da was in the ancestral hall with several clan elders, discussing arrangements for the Qingming rites.
Li Jin Zhu pulled Li Xue Dong inside. Facing Clan Head Li Da’s irritated stare, she forced a smile. “I’m Li Wen Shan’s eldest daughter from Little Li Village, of the Wen generation. This is my brother. My brother placed third in this year’s County Exam. Teacher Gao says my brother can pass the Prefecture Exam, so I brought my brother—”
“Is your brother mute?” Clan Head Li Da cut in, eyes narrowing.
“No…” Li Jin Zhu flinched and gave Li Xue Dong a nudge. “You speak.”
Li Xue Dong swallowed, standing under the elders’ sideways glances and open dislike until his voice came out thin. “My teacher, Teacher Gao from Gao Cun Market Town, and the magistrate both said I should try the Prefecture Exam. Ping Jiang Prefecture is far. The round trip is almost ten days, and my family is poor.”
“Go back first,” Clan Head Li Da said, flicking his gaze from Li Xue Dong to Li Jin Zhu. “This is a big matter. We need to discuss it.”
“Yes.” Li Xue Dong ducked his head and turned at once, retreating as if the hall itself might bite him.
Li Jin Zhu wanted to say more, but the clan head and elders had already turned away, refusing to meet her eyes. She swallowed the words, left the ancestral hall, helped Li Xue Dong onto the cart, and pushed it back with her head hanging.
After they finished discussing the Qingming arrangements and had half a cup of tea, Clan Head Li Da frowned. “Now. About that Wen-generation boy just now.”
“He’s from our branch,” Clan Elder Li Wen Xi said. “Same village as my Old Three. Old Three talks about that family often. They had four daughters before they finally got a boy. They spoiled him rotten—sick every few days. At his age, they say he barely walks. His sisters push him in and out on a little cart. His father worked himself to death coddling him.”
“That won’t do,” another elder muttered, shaking his head. “Studying is hard labor. One exam can last seven or eight days. Can that body endure it? Even if he’s clever, it won’t matter.”
“Our Li family has had county top scorers before,” a different elder said, voice sour. “The old clan head treated that top scorer like a treasure, and then what? He amounted to nothing.”
They had fed and supplied candidates—paper, ink, brushes—only to watch them fail again and again. Copper wasted, year after year, and not one had ever passed the Prefecture Exam.
“These past few years, no one’s had it easy,” someone else added.
“Then we set a rule,” another elder said. “No more taking copper from the clan until they at least pass the licentiate exam.”
The opinions settled into agreement.
Clan Head Li Da gave a single nod. “Fine. Then we’ll talk again after he earns a licentiate.”