The capital of the Song Kingdom.
“Creak!”
As the heavy gate was closed, two officials affixed a seal to it, then glanced sympathetically at a family nearby.
“Father, why are they sealing our home?” a little girl asked innocently.
“Because our main family has angered His Majesty, so in his wrath, the emperor has exiled all nine branches of our Fang family to a border town. From now on, this is no longer our home…”
The girl’s father gazed at the sealed gate, murmuring softly, his expression deeply forlorn.
“Husband, now that we’re exiled by His Majesty, what shall we do in the future?” A beautiful woman with a slightly swollen belly stood beside him, her face full of anguish and worry for what lay ahead.
“No matter. I’ll try seeking help from my teacher again. Perhaps he can assist us!”
“At the very least… I hope he can spare our family the pain of exile!”
The man sighed softly, then addressed the two officials, “Gentlemen, I plan to visit the Zhang residence. Would you kindly accompany us?”
“Mr. Fang, you’re too polite. Everyone knows you’re the Fang family’s most likely candidate to become a scholar-official. Though you’re exiled now, perhaps it won’t be long before you return to the capital through the imperial exams.
Our duties aren’t urgent, so if Mr. Fang has matters to attend to, go ahead!
We’ll follow along,” one of the officials said with a smile.
“Thank you both!”
Mr. Fang nodded, then led his wife and daughter away from the old residence they had lived in for decades.
Not far from the Zhang residence, he had his wife, daughter, and the officials settle temporarily in a tavern, while he entered the Zhang residence alone.
Half a day later, Mr. Fang returned, his face etched with defeat.
In the tavern, the woman sighed inwardly upon seeing him but asked no questions. Instead, she comforted him, “Husband, don’t worry. With your scholar’s status, even in a remote border town, I believe we won’t fare too badly.”
Mr. Fang gave a bitter smile, shaking his head. “My teacher refused to see me. I knelt outside his residence for half a day but gave up in the end.”
“Let’s go. Pack our things, call Ru’er, and we’ll set off now. If we delay, we might invite gossip, and if His Majesty imposes further punishment, it’s more than we can bear.”
Originally hoping to entrust someone with their plight, Mr. Fang now had no choice but to decide to leave the capital.
The journey took over two months, and they finally arrived at a town near the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
The town was called Pingyao.
After thanking the two officials, Mr. Fang and his family officially settled in Pingyao.
That day, the town’s governor was stirred into action, holding a grand welcome banquet for Mr. Fang’s family.
Thus, Pingyao gained a new “Fang” household and a private school for educating children.
Months later, Mr. Fang’s wife died in childbirth, leaving behind a son. This tragedy dampened Mr. Fang’s ambition to reclaim his status through the imperial exams and return to the capital.
One day, young Fang Ru saw her father drinking sullenly and learned from his drunken words of the long-cherished wish buried deep in his heart.
From then on, Fang Ru resolved to study diligently, aiming to pass the imperial exams and clear her family’s name.
Fang Ru worked hard, becoming a renowned prodigy in Pingyao. In a “Recommendation of Talents” exam held by the county magistrate, she took first place, becoming the youngest scholar in the county.
However, becoming a scholar was not Fang Ru’s goal. To advance further to the provincial or imperial exams, she needed a local official’s recommendation to qualify.
To this end, Mr. Fang took out half his life’s savings and travelled east to the capital again, hoping to meet his teacher and seek his help.
But this time, he didn’t even cross the threshold of the Zhang residence. The purse he sent was thrown back in his face by the Zhang household’s steward.
“My master is now the Grand Tutor of the court, a man of great distinction. You think a few measly gold ingots will convince him to pull strings for you?
What do you take my master for?!
My master is known for his integrity. Next time, this steward will have your legs broken and throw you into prison!”
Under the steward’s vicious glare, Mr. Fang chose to leave.
When he opened the purse, he found the gold had been swapped for stones.
Mr. Fang could only swallow his anger, though his heart burned with resentment. When he left the capital, his figure seemed even more hunched.
Thus, Fang Ru’s path to officialdom ended. The county magistrate, feeling it a pity, extended an olive branch, saying a noble was willing to recommend Fang Ru for the provincial exam, but only if she served a month at his residence, doing “tasks.” If satisfied, he’d recommend her not only for the provincial exam but also for the imperial exam.
Mr. Fang was furious, chasing the messenger out of the school with a broom.
Just as the family resigned themselves to their fate, a greater calamity struck: Fang Ru fell gravely ill!
Mr. Fang spent his entire fortune seeking renowned doctors from nearby counties, but none could cure her. They watched helplessly as she grew weaker, eventually losing sensation in her legs.
At this moment, a hunter named “Mo Fan” entered the Fang family’s school.
“Fang Ru greets Young Master!”
In the backyard of the Fang school, Fang Ru, pale and seated in a wheelchair, bowed slightly to Mo Fan.
She noticed this hunter named Mo Fan was quite different from the hunters she’d seen selling beast carcasses at the town market.
Young Master Mo had an ordinary appearance and a bald head, but he didn’t frighten her at all. His polite demeanour intrigued and piqued her curiosity.
Mo claimed he came to learn to read and had paid a hefty sum.
At first, Fang Ru suspected he was using literacy as an excuse to get close to her, but his astonishing learning ability soon shocked her.
In just a few days, Mo Fan mastered every character Fang Ru knew, behaving courteously throughout.
“Young Master Mo, I’ve taught you all the characters I know… Your learning ability is simply too fast. I have no more characters to teach you.”
Looking at the earnest bald man before her, Fang Ru gave a wry smile.
“No matter. Since you’ve taught me all the characters, teach me something else!”
“By the way, how much do you know about the Song Kingdom and this southern frontier? I hunt and travel often, so I’d like to learn more about the geography and culture of the southern frontier.”
“Aren’t you a hunter? Shouldn’t hunters know the roads best?” Fang Ru frowned, a trace of doubt in her eyes.
“I’m a hunter, true, but I usually roam the nearby mountains. Game is getting harder to find, so I want to try new places.
I’ve heard scholars say, ‘The world’s rivers and mountains are found in books.’
As a scholar, you must have read many books and have a deep understanding of the world’s rivers and mountains,” Mo Fan explained.
“The world’s rivers and mountains are found in books?”
Fang Ru looked surprised, staring at Mo Fan for a moment before smiling. “Alright, I’ll teach you more. I can’t let those two gold ingots you paid go to waste.”
