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Chapter 183 - 183: 144: Child, Pick Up and Deliver My Shoe! 2

Feng Qing’an began with a smile, but after dealing with it for a whole day, he felt fed up. So, the next morning, he left the tavern and walked alone in Yongning County.

“Finally, some quiet!”

Being the center of attention may feel nice, but if it lasts too long, it’s going to become unwelcome. This moment of peace was far more comforting for Feng Qing’an.

Unconsciously, Feng Qing’an came to a river in the County. He stopped and saw maidens and young wives washing cloths and rice on the other side of the river. Though ordinary looking, these women’s laughter and playful banter brought a refreshing and vibrant touch of worldly life which made one appreciate the beauty of living.

“Look, the handsome young master on the other side is peeking at us!”

“He’s not peeking. Isn’t he staring at us openly?”

The customs of Da Jin were not so open, and there were still various restrictions between men and women. Despite this, ordinary people didn’t care so much. The many maidens and wives on the river bank were not afraid of idle talk.

Immediately, a group of young wives pointed and whispered to each other about Feng Qing’an. The bolder ones even started shouting at him.

“Young man, what are you looking at? Have you taken a liking to any of our sisters?”

“Young master, you can’t just look around. They’re all married. Why not consider my little sister? She’s young and single with pretty features, and she’s good at doing laundry and cooking.”

Some women even tried to play matchmaker for Feng Qing’an on the spot, recommending their younger sisters. The young women blushed and teased their sisters-in-law, causing the surrounding women to burst into laughter.

“Sister Liu, the young man is obviously a scholar who took the Imperial Examination. Your sister will be out of his league.”

“Why not? Judging by his age, it seems he must have come with his elders.”

“Hey, young man, were you one of the candidates who took the county’s Imperial Examination some days ago? Did you pass?”

A woman across the river asked Feng Qing’an.

“By some stroke of luck, I topped the list!”

Feng Qing’an answered with a smile. Any ordinary youth would have run away in the face of the women’s teasing, but he was calm as a spring breeze. “Oh, the top scorer of the examination, isn’t that our county’s champion?”

A woman exclaimed in surprise. Feng Qing’an never expected that even the ordinary women had heard of him. The Imperial Examination was a big event, but it was only important to the participants. For everyone else, it was meaningless.

“I am not even a Child Student and thus can’t be considered as a scholar.” Feng Qing’an explained.

“But I heard from my family’s servant that this year’s top scorer in our county is the brother of the Champion of the Yongkang-era 28 years ago!”

The hustle and bustle on the other side of the river fell silent almost instantly. The women and girls looked at each other. In just a moment, the lively river bank had become incredibly quiet. Nobody was there except the helpless young man on the opposite side.

“You and your big mouth!”

Feng Qing’an gave his mouth a light flick. The vibrant feel of human life that he had just felt disappeared with his words.

He might not care, but the people who faced him dared not. From the moment his elder brother topped the Imperial Examination, their family was no longer ordinary, and a gap had formed between them and the ordinary families.

“Sigh!”

Feng Qing’an sighed and was about to leave. He had lost the mood to wander around the city. But at that very moment, plop!

A patch-ridden cloth shoe, faintly emitting a sour stench, landed not far from Feng Qing’an, followed by the sound of an authoritative and aged voice, “Boy, pick up my shoe and hand it to me!”

Feng Qing’an looked up in the direction of the voice, and saw an elderly man dressed in coarse hemp standing on a stone bridge not far away. Looking down on him from above, the elderly man’s demeanor carried an arrogance hardly expected of someone from a destitute family.

“Boy, why are you not hurrying to grab my shoe and hand it over?”

Seeing that Feng Qing’an had directed his gaze at him, the apparently destitute old man berated him.

“How dare you! I am addressing you. I see you are an educated person. Did you extract the wisdom of the sages onto the belly of a dog? You disrespect the requests of your elders!”

A clamoring voice rose again. Feng Qing’an raised his head, looked at him, and broke into a smile. As he walked towards the worn-out shoe and just before a smile of approval appeared on the old man’s face, he drew up his right foot and kicked – sending the shoe dozens of feet away.

Watching this unexpected event, the old man whose hand had been caressing his beard froze, his eyes widening slightly. However, he instantly regained his composure. His face immediately turned red with rage, and he roared in reprimand,

“You insolent child, what are you doing?”

Nonetheless, Feng Qing’an turned a deaf ear to his roar. Headed in the direction where he kicked the shoe, pace unhurried, he walked for hundreds of steps, kicked the shoe again, sending it dozens of feet in the distance.

Watching Feng Qing’an act as if he’s playing a game of kickball, the old man dressed in coarse clothing, trembled with anger as he pointed at the swiftly retreating Feng Qing’an, rendered speechless by his fury.

“Haha, Mr. Jin, your Cloud Stepping Shoes were kicked away by that lad. Aren’t you going to retrieve them?”

A mocking laughter full of derision sounded from the side of the old man. His flush face immediately fell and he irately glared at the fortune-telling Taoist priest who was approaching him with a flag in hand.

“Am I a spectacle for you?”

“Hahaha, It’s highly amusing! I must share this funny incident the next time I meet with Cang Yunzi and others. We will get a good laugh at your expense for a couple of cycles!”

The fortune-telling Taoist priest was rocking with laughter on the stone bridge, completely devoid of any decorum. Yet, the passersby on the stone bridge acted as if he did not exist. Not one of them took a glance at him.

“Ignorant child, you are blind!”

Seeing the familiar fortune-telling Taoist priest mock him, the old man was so angry that he was breaking into a string of curses. The scene unfolding before him was something he had never anticipated.

This was such a simple test that any slightly intelligent person could have gotten it right. All they had to do was restrain their temper, assist him in putting on his shoes, and he would have rewarded them.

He had prepared two scrolls of the Dao Sutra with great care, but to his surprise the lad kicked the shoe he dropped, and kept on doing so. This was downright disrespectful.

“Hahaha, Mr. Jin, how can you blame Young Master Feng? It is clearly your fault for being disrespectful and arrogant given your old age. How could a young man tolerate such kind of insolence?”

After the fortune-telling Taoist priest regained his composure, he wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes. He spoke a few words, and then was bending with laughter again. He too hadn’t anticipated this situation and it was indeed an eye-opening experience for him.

“I merely wanted to test him, but who could have expected that he would be so unbearably ignorant! He may appear as glittering as gold on the outside, but he’s as worthless as rotten cotton inside. He lacks discernment and the capacity for patience or tolerance. He will certainly not be successful in the future!”

Yellow Ape Master was still mumbling angrily, seriously peeved.

“Yellow Ape Master, your statement is erroneous. I fear that the young man has already seen through your facade and that’s why he reacted this way. He was merely responding to your disrespect!”

The fortune-telling Taoist priest did not agree with Yellow Ape Master’s views, and his words revealed admiration for the young man.

“Even if I was disrespectful, I am still his elder. Why didn’t he comply with my wishes? Does the Confucian School’s teachings he’s been studying instruct him to kick away the shoes of an elderly man?”

Yellow Ape Master remained unconvinced. Had the young man been ignorant and naive, it would have been understandable for him to fail to recognize a true person right in front of him. But he had understood, and still did what he did, wasn’t he clearly looking down on him?

That made him even angrier!