Chapter 251: The Jinxed Star
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“Be careful!!”
Madam Xu’s voice cracked with fear.
Right before her eyes, the plaque suddenly loosened and plummeted down towards Li Zi Xi, the Third-Rank Scholar.
Li Zi Xi reacted swiftly, throwing himself toward the corner to evade it.
Bang…
With a thunderous crash, the plaque hit the ground, missing him by a hair’s breadth.
However, in his hurried escape, he crashed into Windchaser’s dog bowl, shattering it. A jagged edge scraped a gash across his arm.
Madam Xu’s eyelids twitched violently.
“Quickly! Call the physician!” She was so anxious that beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead.
Deng Zhi stared at the fallen plaque, dazed. “How is this possible? It was inspected just yesterday!” Every month, the household conducted checks on all suspended objects to prevent accidents.
Li Zi Xi’s knee was bruised from the fall, but he waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. This has nothing to do with you.”
“It’s just my bad luck.”
“It’s normal. Really.” He chuckled awkwardly, “I should be apologizing to Madam for the fright I caused.”
Madam Xu, still shaken, sighed. “Thankfully, the exam is over before you injured your hand. Otherwise, you might have missed it.”
Li Zi Xi remained indifferent.
Lu Yan Shu’s cheek twitched. “Mother, he has already missed quite a few…”
“Honestly, his knowledge is no less than mine. But his luck… is abysmal.”
Madam Xu: ???
Lu Yan Shu’s expression was complex.
Li Zi Xi shook his head. “Brother Yan Shu, I am not your equal.”
“There’s no harm in speaking the truth.”
“I am infamous for my wretched luck. My first Provincial Exam, I took a bull cart to the examination hall, but midway, the bull suddenly fell ill. It flung me off, and I broke my arm.”
“When I finally passed the exam, a fire broke out at home, burning everything to the ground. I lived in a straw hut in the mountains for half a year.”
“During my Metropolitan Exam, halfway through, the Examination Hall collapsed. The only part that fell was where I was sitting. I got buried under the rubble, my head cracked and bleeding.”
“Ha! At least it didn’t kill me. I had to hold my bleeding head while I continued the exam…”
Madam Xu stared at him in horror, her face filled with shock. Such dreadful luck was unheard of!
“Knowing my misfortune, I rushed to the Capital immediately after passing the Provincial Exam. What took others two days took me months…”
“To be safe, I avoided the waterways and took the official roads instead. Who would have thought… I’d encounter bandits even there? They took all my money.”
“Luckily, they didn’t kill me.”
“I begged my way to the Capital.”
“Ah, at one point, I secretly joined the Beggars’ Sect and was protected by Brother Bun, which is how I survived the journey.” Li Zi Xi laughed awkwardly. His life had truly been one disaster after another.
Madam Xu stammered, unable to find the words to comfort him.
“Even when His Majesty appointed me as the Third-Rank Scholar, there were fears that I might bring misfortune to Northern Zhao’s fate.”
Madam Xu cleared her throat, trying to encourage him. “But now that you’ve ranked Third, surely your hardships are over. Have your parents arrived in the Capital?”
“My father died. My mother remarried. He passed away in an accident before I was born, and my mother remarried immediately after giving birth to me.”
Madam Xu: …
“Er…” Madam Xu struggled to respond.
“My grandmother raised me until she passed away when I was six. After that, I survived by eating whatever the villagers gave me. The village chief took pity on me and raised funds to build me a straw hut.”
“Our village once produced a Distinguished Scholar who established a clan school. He hired a Scholar to teach, and I was exempt from tuition. That was my only chance to change my fate.”
“During my studies, I made a bosom friend. So, I suppose I wasn’t entirely miserable.”
Madam Xu’s eyes turned red. “Your life has truly been filled with trials.”
“One year, during a famine, the village chief even arranged a marriage for me. I had a son.”
Madam Xu wiped her tears. “Then, at least, you finally had a family.”
Li Zi Xi sighed. “My wife ran away.”
Madam Xu’s face darkened. She had spoken too soon. “At least you still had your close friend.”
“She ran away with him.”
Madam Xu: …
“At least you still have a son. That’s a comfort, right?”
“The child wasn’t mine either.”
“She took him when she left.”
Madam Xu: ……..
She opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. No, this wasn’t just misfortune—his fate seemed utterly sealed!
Li Zi Xi, however, seemed at ease. “Don’t cry, Madam. At least I’m still alive, and I’ve earned a title. The future remains bright.”
Deng Zhi sniffled, wiping away her tears. “Madam, I have never seen someone with such tragic luck.”
“Little things like this are nothing to him anymore.”
Just as she finished speaking—
A chubby, round figure wobbled over the threshold.
Lu Chao Chao lifted her little head.
“Waaaah! Where did this unlucky ghost come from?!” she hollered at the top of her lungs.
From Lu Chao Chao’s perspective—
Li Zi Xi’s entire aura was shrouded in inky blackness. Never before had she seen someone this ill-fated.
Oh no.
“A jinxed star reincarnated!!”