Chapter 73 - 73: It Turns Out to Be the Second
Chapter 73: It Turns Out to Be the Second
Young Master’s_l
Translator: 549690339
“Mother, the person who got the recommendation letter is not me…”
“Not you? If not you, then who?” Madam Yun stood up and approached Wei Yichen.
Her gaze fell on the letter. When she saw the name “Wei Jinyi”, her face turned pale.
“How could it be Jinyi?” Madam Yun was taken aback; she could hardly believe what she saw.
Even though this matter was supposed to be about luck, who could have thought that when the letter from the Four Treasure House arrived at the Military Prefecture, the recipient would be the second son who has always held little concurrence.
Madam Yun did not even know that Wei Jinyi bought the blind boxes from the Four Treasure House.
For a moment, Madam Yun found it hard to accept. Just a moment ago, she was under the impression that her son was lucky to obtain the recommendation letter but then, she was told that it was a mistake!
When the letter arrived at the Wei residence, she never thought of a second possibility!
Wei Yichen looked at the name written on the letter, he also didn’t know what to say, his heart was heavy as he shared his mother’s dismay.
After a while, Wei Yichen, who had calmed down a little, returned the letter to Madam Yun, “Mother, give this letter to my second younger brother.”
“But Yichen…” Madam Yun hesitated.
“Mother, what should be given to the second brother should be given to him, I am also happy for him,” said Wei Yichen.
Madam Yun was deeply conflicted, “But this is the opportunity you have always dreamed of.”
“I know I do want this letter of recommendation very much. Perhaps with this letter, my longstanding wish to become a disciple of the Tibetan layman could be fulfilled. But if this opportunity is not meant for me, I should not wish for it anymore,” Wei Yichen said.
“But Yichen, this is just a matter of luck…”
“Even if it is luck, it only proves that second brother’s luck is better than mine. His luck is his own.”
“But Yichen, it’s just a recommendation letter. Without enough ability, the Tibetan layman might not accept the recommended person as a disciple. When compared with Jinyi, who has never been to school before, you are more likely to be accepted by the scholar, as many teachers have recognized your abilities,” Madam Yun said.
Wei Yichen shook his head, “Despite the fact second brother has never been to school, he also loves reading. Since his name was also left at the Four Treasure House, it shows that he also wants this opportunity. A gentleman does not take away others’ interests, let alone from my brother.”
“Mother, you should stop thinking otherwise, just send the letter to second brother,” Wei Yichen insisted.
Looking at Wei Yichen’s unwavering face, Madam Yun had no choice but to extinguish the thought that had just sprung up in her heart.
“I understand. Don’t worry, I will think of other ways for you,” Madam Yun promised her son with a firm tone.
After talking with her oldest son, Madam Yun gave the letter to Cuiping to deliver it to Wei Jinyi in the Bamboo Compound.
Then, she returned to her room, lay down on the couch, her demeanor betraying her exhaustion.
The ups and downs, the fluctuation of emotions, left her feeling drained.
In the Bamboo Compound, Xiaobei handed over the letter that Cuiping just delivered to Wei Jinyi, who was writing at the Octagonal Pavilion.
After reading the content of the letter, Wei Jinyi calmly said, “Ruoruo was right after all.”
“Young Master, so does that mean the recommendation letter Miss Ruo mentioned has been arranged?” Xiaobei asked, his face full of surprise.
“Hmm.”
“Young Master, what will you do? Will you really accept the nomination as his disciple?”
“It’s Ruoruo’s sincerity and it might also be an opportunity for me,” Wei Jinyi said.
“But Young Master, that Tibetan layman is in Huzhou Prefecture, which is far away from here,” Xiaobei said worriedly.
“Perhaps, it’s time for me to leave the Wei residence,” Wei Jinyi murmured, his eyes shining with deep thoughts.
###
Meanwhile, at Tingsong Garden, Wei Ruo received a pigeon post.
Upon opening it, she found that it was a note from the Tibetan layman. The note was delivered by someone from the Four Treasure House and then attached to their usual homing pigeon by a milkmaid for final delivery.
The opening of the note was a displeased reproach, to which Wei Ruo was already accustomed.
In the note, the Tibetan layman scolded Wei Ruo’s shameless action of using his works to attract customers and increase sales, and finally, he accused her of forcing a “disciple” on him. Despicable! Shameless!
Wei Ruo thought to herself that she had no choice. If she knew more than one knowledgeable person, she would have considered them too.
Although the first half was scolding, the tune changed in the second half of the note. Assuming that the person chosen was morally upright and academically competent, he begrudgingly accepted having a student and reminded Wei Ruo to take good care of herself and to visit him in Huzhou Prefecture when she had time.
“A tough exterior but a soft heart.” Looking at those words that showed concern for her, Wei Ruo couldn’t help but smile.
The Tibetan layman, originally named Ruan Zheng, was a distinguished scholar and painter whose work was highly appreciated by the Emperor when he was an official in the capital.
After decades in the officialdom, he spent twenty years in anonymity. It was not until he became an Imperial Scholar that he gained some recognition, but his outspokenness often led to offending people, forcing him to retire early. He and his wife retreated to the mountains and he started calling himself the “Tiben layman.”
Wei Ruo knew him because once Ruan’s wife had a stroke and was seriously ill. Ruan Zheng went down the mountain to seek medical help. He came to the Mo Jiazha village, and upon the villagers’ recommendation, found Wei Ruo who lived in the other yard.
Wei Ruo treated Ruan’s wife and saved her life. Ruan Zheng said he had no money to pay for the medical fees, and before Wei Ruo could say anything, he gave her a basket full of his calligraphy and paintings as payment.
Wei Ruo didn’t know whether his calligraphy and paintings were valuable back then, so she just accepted them.
As a result, Wei Ruo’s small warehouse stored more than a dozen of the Tibetan layman’s calligraphy and painting artworks.
Whenever she had the opportunity, she would take out one piece to use for a promotion event, to enhance the fame of her shop and increase sales.
Ruan’s wife’s stroke was caused by hypertension, which required long-term medication. Therefore, Wei Ruo would go into the woods every once in a while to treat Ruan’s wife.
Gradually, she became familiar with the couple. Sometimes, Wei Ruo would also bring some delicious food or calligraphy materials to them.
Ruan Zheng disliked Wei Ruo’s ugly handwriting and claimed that if Wei Ruo were a man, he would definitely accept her as his disciple.
However, Ruan who was stubborn in certain aspects would never accept a woman as a disciple.
This time, when Wei Ruo was thinking about finding a schoolmaster for Wei Jinyi, she thought of Ruan since he was knowledgeable and respectable and had many students when he was an Imperial Scholar in the capital. Being his disciple would be very beneficial for Wei Jinyi in the future.
The reason why she made it so complicated and borrowed the name of the Four Treasure House to make Wei Jinyi a disciple was to avoid revealing too much about herself and causing unnecessary trouble.
In addition to Wei Jinyi, whom Wei Ruo proposed to become a disciple because of their good relationship, had some of her own selfish motives.
She was thinking if she could make the invisible character in the original book visible, wouldn’t it mean she caused a significant change in the whole plot from a certain perspective?