[Translation] Don't Let The Country Go (不讓江山): Chapter 9 — Bullying People

 

Having just come from the world outside the city walls—where clothes barely covered the body and food was never enough—into this world inside the city of luxury, fine clothes, and endless abundance, Li Diudiu still felt as though he were dreaming.

Maybe when the dream ended and he opened his eyes, Master would be standing in front of him again, picking straw from his hair and asking if he was hungry.

If you’re not hungry, good.
If you are, endure it.

Walking along the academy paths and watching the students passing by, Li Diudiu still didn’t feel like he belonged here.

The classroom for the four of them was beside the small lake, near a grove of trees.

When Li Diudiu arrived, he realized he was the last one there. Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong had clearly come early on purpose, hoping to humiliate him in the dining hall. As for Liu Shengying—the timid boy who obviously still hadn’t weaned himself from his mother’s protection—his early arrival was rather surprising.

The four boys had naturally split into three groups.

Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong stood together chatting, occasionally glancing at Li Diudiu with obvious disdain in their eyes. They whispered back and forth about something; Li Diudiu figured it probably wasn’t anything nice.

Liu Shengying stood alone timidly by the doorway. He looked at Li Diudiu, then at Zhang Xiaolin and the others, unable to decide where to stand. His face was full of grievance, as if he were the one being bullied by all three of them.

They remained like that until class time was almost upon them, when instructor Yan Qingzhi finally arrived carrying several books.

The moment they saw him, all four bowed respectfully.

Yan Qingzhi looked over them, then tossed a key to Li Diudiu.

“From now on, you must arrive first every day. Opening the classroom is your responsibility. Before I arrive, prepare hot water for me. I need tea.”

Li Diudiu caught the key and said nothing.

Receiving this key meant more than just being the first to arrive each day.

It also meant he would always be the last to leave.

After unlocking the classroom, Yan Qingzhi sat down in the wicker chair and crossed one leg over the other in a posture unbefitting a teacher. Proper people considered such sitting vulgar and uncultured. Logically, an academy instructor should never sit that way.

There were plenty of desks inside, and the students could choose where to sit freely.

Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong sat together in the first row. Li Diudiu also sat in the front row, choosing a seat beside the window.

Liu Shengying hesitated for a long while again. His eyes became redder and redder, as if merely choosing a seat was difficult for him. In the end, he sat alone in the second row, looking utterly pitiful.

“Are you afraid of scaring me?”

Yan Qingzhi glanced at Liu Shengying.

“Why are you sitting so far away?”

Waaah—

Liu Shengying burst into tears on the spot.

Yan Qingzhi frowned. He wanted to say more, but after thinking about it, he decided there was no point wasting words on a child like this.

“As is tradition at Four Pages Academy, the first lesson will not concern knowledge.”

Yan Qingzhi tapped the desk lightly with the teaching rod.

“It will concern character.”

Then he pointed at Li Diudiu.

“Li Chi, go fetch water.”

Li Diudiu froze.

He stood and asked, “Sir, isn’t class about to begin?”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

Yan Qingzhi spoke calmly, but every word felt as sharp as a blade.

“Poor people may possess knowledge, though it’s useless even if they do. But poor people have no need to listen to lessons about character. Among the poor, having good morals won’t necessarily earn you respect, but it will certainly make you suffer. Among the rich, whether you possess morals or not is irrelevant—because you are not one of them.”

Li Diudiu suppressed his anger.

Ever since entering the academy, this so-called First-Class Grade-A Instructor had done nothing but call him poor.

Li Diudiu stared at Yan Qingzhi for a long moment.

Yan Qingzhi stared back.

Then he asked, “Do you want to ask something? Are you asking why poor people are unworthy of good character?”

Li Diudiu slowly let out a breath and shook his head.

“I want to ask where the water room is, sir.”

Yan Qingzhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had not expected Li Diudiu to endure even this without exploding.

“Find it yourself.”

Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong both burst out laughing.

What the two of them had been whispering about earlier was precisely this matter.

That day after Zhang Xiaolin got beaten up, his family had visited instructor Yan Qingzhi that very night and delivered many gifts, asking him to drive Li Diudiu out of the academy.

Although Zhang Xiaolin’s family possessed influence, the academy had its own rules. Even instructors could not expel students without cause.

The only solution was to force Li Diudiu to leave on his own.

Leaning close to Sun Rugong, Zhang Xiaolin whispered, “See? I told you the instructor wouldn’t treat him kindly. At this rate, that bastard will leave on his own soon enough. This academy was never meant for people like him anyway. Just a toad dreaming of swan meat…”

Sun Rugong smiled and nodded.

“You’re right. But look at him—thick-skinned as boiled pork. Clearly he has no intention of leaving. He even wants to flatter the instructor. So…”

He leaned toward Zhang Xiaolin and whispered into his ear:

“After class, tell the instructor to meet you in the woods by the lake. Say you have something important to tell him. Then the two of us provoke Li Chi. Last time he hit you because the headmaster intentionally arranged the sparring test. This time is different.”

He smiled coldly.

“The academy rules say students who fight will be expelled no matter the reason. Fighting disgraces scholarly dignity. Once you fight Li Chi in the woods and the instructor arrives, just pretend to lose and let him hit you a few times. Since the instructor accepted your family’s gifts, he won’t punish you severely.”

Zhang Xiaolin immediately admired him.

As expected of his friend. What a brilliant plan.

Li Diudiu carried the kettle out of the classroom and glanced back once. Yan Qingzhi sat there lazily with crossed legs, speaking casually about something. He clearly wasn’t teaching seriously.

No matter how Li Diudiu looked at him, he didn’t resemble a top-tier academy instructor.

In truth, Li Diudiu had already learned where the water room was yesterday.

When Yan Qingzhi humiliated him earlier, he really had wanted to argue back. But at that very moment, he remembered Master.

Master had struggled desperately to get him into this academy and repeatedly told him not to cause trouble.

So he endured it.

After filling the kettle with hot water, Li Diudiu returned carrying it carefully. Even the vine-wrapped kettle itself counted as a small luxury for ordinary families, mainly because it could keep water warm.

Though not for very long.

In times like these, ordinary people avoided spending money wherever possible.

When he returned with the hot water, Yan Qingzhi was already leaving the classroom holding his books.

The instructor glanced at him.

“What took you so long? I’ve already finished teaching, and you’re only now returning with the water. Next time, run there and run back.”

Li Diudiu inhaled deeply and nodded.

“This student understands.”

“Don’t call yourself a student. You are not one yet.”

After saying that, Yan Qingzhi walked away.

Li Diudiu looked at the kettle in his hands.

“Sir, aren’t you making tea anymore?”

Without even turning his head, Yan Qingzhi replied:

“I’m afraid tea brewed with water fetched by you would absorb your poverty. Consider the first kettle as something for washing yourself. Leave it there.”

Then he left.

Li Diudiu was only eleven years old.

Standing there, he looked both helpless and furious.

He truly wanted to smash the kettle and walk away.

But then he suddenly remembered the look in Yan Qingzhi’s eyes.

The man was waiting for him to lose his temper.

Just then, Zhang Xiaolin came out of the classroom and sneered at him.

“Well now, how does poor-man water taste?”

Li Diudiu took another deep breath.

He endured it again.

Carrying the kettle back inside, he heard Sun Rugong say with a smile:

“Hurry and sit down to review your lessons. The instructor told us to study on our own. You missed the lecture earlier. Want me to teach you?”

Li Diudiu looked at him and shook his head.

“Thank you, but no.”

Liu Shengying opened his mouth as if to say he could teach him too, but after seeing Sun Rugong’s expression, he lowered his head and stayed silent.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaolin hurried after Yan Qingzhi to arrange the meeting at the lakeside woods. He had already prepared his excuse:

First, he would simply say there was something important. Once the instructor arrived and saw Li Chi fighting him, Zhang Xiaolin would explain that he only wanted to thank the instructor for helping him vent his anger, but feared others might misunderstand if they saw them talking together, which was why he invited him to the woods.

Everything had been planned perfectly.

Now all that remained was for Li Diudiu to take the bait.

Li Diudiu sat down and opened the academy books.

The previous night he had already read through much of them. The lessons were simple—Master had taught him all of this when he was only five years old.

There was nothing new at all.

On the low garden wall several zhang away, Gao Xining sat watching everything unfold.

Her little face had turned pale with anger.

She was furious that Yan Qingzhi bullied others, and equally angry that Li Diudiu showed absolutely no temper at all.

But then another thought crossed her mind.

If Li Diudiu lost his temper at the instructor, Yan Qingzhi would finally have an excuse to expel him from the academy.

“Is he really that cowardly…”

she muttered to herself,

“...or did he think of that too?”

About a quarter hour later, Zhang Xiaolin ran back and sat beside Sun Rugong, flashing a triumphant gesture.

Sun Rugong grinned in response.

“I already spoke with the instructor. We agreed to meet in the woods after classes end.”

Zhang Xiaolin looked smug.

More than half an hour later, Yan Qingzhi finally returned.

After sitting down, he glanced at the vine kettle beside him and pointed at it.

“Li Diudiu. The water is cold. Go fetch another kettle.”

Li Diudiu stood.

“Yes.”

Yan Qingzhi narrowed his eyes again.

He wondered whether this child was naturally timid and obedient, or simply extraordinarily patient.

Either way, Li Chi clearly would not openly defy him, which made things feel rather boring.

Li Diudiu fetched hot water a second time for Yan Qingzhi’s tea, then returned to his seat to listen to class.

The lesson was mathematics, one of Four Pages Academy’s foundational subjects. Many students disliked it because it was troublesome.

Li Diudiu took careful notes.

Before he could even finish writing, Yan Qingzhi suddenly strode over with a dark expression.

“When I have not instructed you to take notes, none of you are allowed to write! Or are you planning to take what I teach outside the academy to show off? Perhaps because you’re too poor, you intend to sell your notes for money?”

This time Li Diudiu was truly close to exploding.

Yan Qingzhi snatched up the notes and glanced over them. His expression changed slightly.

A moment later, he tore the page to pieces and tossed them into the air.

“Clean that up after class. If you make another mistake, I’ll expel you from the academy.”

Li Diudiu took several deep breaths in succession.

“Yes.”

After replying, he sat back down.

Yan Qingzhi frowned.

“Who allowed you to sit? Stand there. You’ll remain standing until classes end today.”

Li Diudiu clenched his fists so tightly veins bulged on the backs of his hands.

Before he could finally erupt—

A clump of dirt suddenly flew in through the window.

Smack!

It struck Yan Qingzhi squarely on the forehead.

The dirt exploded across his face.

“Who was that?!”

Yan Qingzhi roared, whipping his head toward the window.

But nobody could be seen.

Behind the low wall, Gao Xining crouched down, her heart pounding wildly.

She had been so angry she grabbed the first dirt clod she could find and hurled it.

Fortunately, her aim had not disappointed her.

“Hmph…”

Gao Xining crouched there and muttered softly:

“That’s what you get for bullying people!”