Chapter 14: Fate

The young registrar of Xuanwu City is named Wang Lian, who is only twenty-one years old. After passing the imperial examination, he took up the position of registrar in Xuanwu City.

Of course, he did not give up on the imperial examination. While serving as an official, he continued to study, preparing to continue his pursuit of becoming a scholar.

In ancient China, this was generally not allowed. At most, one could serve as a staff officer while preparing for the examination. However, in this world, it was possible.

He is not from Xuanwu City, but from Nanyuan County. However, his talent is well-known, even in Xuanwu City.

He also has another identity, that of a distant relative of the Xuanwu Earl's Manor.

So, does Shen Lang know this young registrar?

Indeed, he does. Three years ago, he even taught Shen Lang how to read for nearly half a month.

And this past also involves a person, the first beauty within hundreds of miles, the dream lover of all young men, the Xuanwu Earl's Manor's daughter, Jin Mulan, who is known as the princess of Xuanwu City.

At that time, Jin Mulan led a group for hunting and came to the back mountain of Shen Lang's house, where they encountered a large black bear. Her warhorse was startled and bolted forward.

At that time, Shen Lang, who was intellectually disabled, was squatting in the middle of the road, shaking his head while holding a primer book.

Why did he have to squat in the middle of the road? Because there was a group of ants moving their nest, and he was not counting the ants, but was worried that this group of ants would be trampled, so he waited here until the ants finished moving, and then left. Once someone passed by, he would remind them to go around.

The startled warhorse charged towards Shen Lang, with a huge black bear in hot pursuit, with over a dozen arrows stuck in its body.

It seemed that Shen Lang was about to be trampled into a pulp by the warhorse.

The young lady from the Xuanwu Earl's Manor quickly dismounted, stood on the ground, and with one hand, she managed to stop the frightened warhorse in its tracks, saving Shen Lang's life.

Not only that, the bear continued to charge towards them, and its huge claws were about to strike Jin Mulan's head.

Jin Mulan grabbed the warhorse with one hand and swiftly drew her sword with the other, beheading the bear with a single stroke. Her martial prowess was truly remarkable.

As for Shen Lang, he was just grazed by the horse's hoof and fainted.

It wasn't a serious injury, but he was scared unconscious.

So, this memory was unforgettable but also somewhat blurry. At that time, Jin Mulan was wearing full armor, with her face covered, and the intellectually disabled Shen Lang had no idea that she was the daughter of the Earl's Manor.

When Shen Lang recalled this memory, based on the silver armor of the woman, the emblem on the shield, and the flag of the troop, he recognized her as Jin Mulan.

Jin Mulan had saved Shen Lang's life, but he was still injured by her warhorse, so she felt responsible.

Therefore, she sent a doctor and some medicine from the Earl's Manor to treat Shen Lang.

She even visited Shen Lang once, but at that time, Shen Lang was still unconscious and did not see her.

Jin Mulan could be considered the princess of Xuanwu City, with a high status, much more noble than Xu Qianqian. At that time, Shen Lang was just an insignificant person, and it would have been his own fault if her warhorse had trampled him to death.

However, this noble lady not only sent someone to treat him but also visited him in person.

So, it's true that the Xuanwu Earl's Manor treats its people like its own children.

At that time, Wang Lian had just passed the imperial examination and had not yet taken up the position of registrar. Because he was a distant relative of the Earl's Manor, he came to visit.

Even though he was a distant relative, he rarely had the opportunity to interact with Jin Mulan. Despite being a newly appointed scholar, there was still a considerable gap between his status and Jin Mulan's.

He admired Jin Mulan very much, and upon hearing about her visit to Shen Lang, he specifically came to Shen Lang's house to offer his condolences. Upon learning that Shen Lang was still studying at the town school, he personally taught Shen Lang how to read. If Jin Mulan came to visit Shen Lang and saw this scene, she would surely be impressed by Wang Lian.

Of course, at that time, Shen Lang was as foolish as a block of wood and couldn't learn at all. Wang Lian, who was exceptionally talented, had never seen someone as foolish as Shen Lang, who was as stupid as a pig.

He persisted for a whole half month, but Jin Mulan never visited Shen Lang's house again because she was called away on military duty.

So, Wang Lian gave up and did not continue teaching Shen Lang how to read, as it was simply torture to teach such a foolish person.

But he and Shen Lang did have a tenuous acquaintance.

When they met again, Wang Lian had grown a short beard and was dressed in official attire. Also, Shen Lang's memories were only clear about a few people, so it took him a while to remember this person.

It was this connection that gave Shen Lang the boldness to challenge the Xu family and produce the purple dye and rainbow dye.

Because he knew that this young registrar had a grudge against Zhang Jin.

During the time he was teaching Shen Lang to read, Wang Lian cursed Zhang Jin more than ten times.

Everything was going according to plan.

...

Upon hearing Shen Lang call him "brother," the registrar furrowed his brow slightly, not responding to Shen Lang's words, but instead said, "You neglect your studies and instead dabble in dyeing. Isn't that a self-inflicted downfall?"

This was not prejudice. In this world, there are two noble crafts: studying and martial arts, with little distinction between the two.

In the ancient Chinese Song Dynasty and beyond, scholars generally looked down on martial artists, favoring the scholarly pursuits.

However, in this world, in the Great Yan Dynasty, both scholarly and martial pursuits were equally noble, both being absolute ruling classes.

The status of passing the martial and scholarly examinations was equally prestigious.

On the other hand, being a dyer was considered a lowly profession.

Just now, the master dyer from the Xu family was already extremely outstanding, but he was never addressed by his name from beginning to end, only referred to as Master Xu.

Of course, this young official was just saying it casually.

Back then, in order to please Miss Jin Mulan, he had taught Shen Lang to read for half a month. His memory of Shen Lang's stupidity was still fresh, and such a person would never pass the imperial examinations even in a hundred years; studying was just a waste of time, life, and money.

"As for Miss Jin from the Count's Manor!" the young official Wang Lian turned his head and glanced at Shen Lang, saying, "She is a noble daughter of a hundred-year-old aristocratic family, so her name is not something a mere country bumpkin like you can directly address."

With that, the young official Wang Lian turned and left.

As he turned away, a contemptuous expression appeared on his face.

The reason he had a conflict with the Xu family just now was entirely because of his grudge with Zhang Jin, using the opportunity to suppress the Xu family, not because of any past relationship with Shen Lang.

Although he had taught Shen Lang to read for half a month, he had no sentiment towards him at all.

"The ridiculous country bumpkin actually still wants to build a relationship with me, truly delusional and ignorant!"

Young official Wang Lian sneered in his heart, then rode his horse back to the manor.

Shen Lang saw it all clearly from behind; this young official had no regard for him and had no intention of forming any past relationships.

Of course, he wasn't surprised by this at all.

...

After the departure of the young official Wang Lian.

The owner of the Jinxiu Pavilion, Lin Mo, said, "Shen Lang, you won, thoroughly embarrassed the Xu family. But it's as if you lost, now you're in an even more miserable state!"

Tian Shisan from the Black Clothes Gang said indifferently, "Shen Lang, you're finished!"

Lin Mo said, "The young official was only hostile to the Xu family, that's why he made a move to suppress them, he had no intention of protecting you. So whatever troubles and dangers you encounter next, he won’t be willing to lend a hand to help, you can't climb up to his level."

Shen Lang knew all of this!

This young official, Wang Lian, was arrogant and came from a prestigious family, so he would never look upon a country bumpkin like him. Based on his previous memories, Shen Lang had enough understanding of him.

But just by using him to suppress the Xu family today was enough, and Shen Lang didn't expect to build any relationship with him at all.

And soon, Shen Lang would become this Wang Lian's rival.

So, Shen Lang's whole family hadn't escaped danger yet, and they might even be in a more dangerous situation. The Xu family now wanted to kill him even more.

He was just buying time, only needing one day to execute his reversal plan.

Once successful, he would completely reverse the situation, and even surpass everyone.

By that time, the Xu family, the Lin family, and Tian Heng would all be afraid to even touch a hair on him's head, and they would be concerned that Shen Lang might come to suppress them.

And this one day would rely on the value of the Rainbow Dye, which was also the reason why he had just dyed the Rainbow Silk.

This Rainbow Silk had to be stunning and breathtaking, demonstrating immense value, enough to make the Xu family covet it.

If all went well, Xu Qianqian would come looking for him very soon.

Today's events were indeed dangerous, but they were all within his calculations.

...

Sure enough, shortly after Shen Lang left Lin Mo's Jinxiu Pavilion, Xu Qianqian appeared; her carriage appeared before him.

"Shen Lang, I underestimated you before," Xu Qianqian said softly, "I didn't expect you to learn dyeing for me. You really care, why didn't you say so before?"

Her thinking was quite normal. Shen Lang had been very infatuated with Xu Qianqian before, willing to give everything for her.

And since the Xu family was in the business of fabric and silk, in Xu Qianqian's eyes, it was only natural for Shen Lang to learn dyeing in order to please her and be useful.

This craft of dyeing might not be suitable for smart people; it required a single-minded and foolish person to experiment countless times and eventually discover the perfect formula.

"If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have had to drive you out of the house," Xu Qianqian's voice became even gentler, "Our marriage was always a sham, I want to marry Young Master Zhang Jin. But you can still return to the Xu family and be a provider. How about that?"

Shen Lang remained silent.

Xu Qianqian's eyes were gentle, she spoke tenderly, "Shen Lang, I’ll give you ten gold coins each month, enough to support your whole family. As long as you hand over the formulas for the purple and rainbow dyes, I can prepare the best dyeing workshop for you, so you can immerse yourself wholeheartedly in the art of dyeing and become an outstanding craftsman. Don't you love me? Aren't you willing to give everything for me? This way, you can help me."

...

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