A marriage proposal

The sudden declaration from the alchemist nearly gave all the scholars a heart attack. His words were as sharp as knives and pierced through their cold hearts.

'What's this? Is luck suddenly raining on me?' Mei Deng thought to himself, staring at the red cloth in his hands.

'Who the heck is this old timer?' Ming Baozhai perceived that his presence was somewhat intimidating, but he was unsure as to who exactly this man was.

Just taking one glance at the scholars, it was painfully obvious that he outwitted them in class and status.

Brother Chen alongside the other witnesses present at the wonton soup shop didn't fail to recognise the old man whom Yu Xiaoguang had allegedly beaten up.

"Isn't that the same uncle Yu Xiaoguang had bullied?" Brother Chen asked aloud, drawing unnecessary attention towards himself.

The scholars upon hearing that could barely stand on their feet, as they believed that Yu Xiaoguang had gone as far as to bully the alchemist himself at the wonton shop.

"Great scholar, your arrival is so sudden, that you catch us administering discipline to this unfilial student. Please, allow us to dispenser justice upon him." The scholar in charge of calligraphy announced, knowtoeing to the imperial scholar.

Mei Deng inwardly rolled his eyes at how quickly they shed their skin, and focused his gaze on the old man whom they referred to as the imperial scholar.

"If we knew that this runt had laid hands on you, we wouldn't have stopped at expulsion only." Said the scholar of arithmetic in a haughty tone, as he dared to raise his hand to pull Yu Xiaoguang by the ear.

Unfortunately for him, the imperial scholar grabbed him by the wrist with candid strength, preventing him from laying a hand on his prized student.

The act was enough to cause a panic amongst the scholars, who were without a doubt grasping for straws as to why the alchemist would defend such a brat.

"Do you want to soil my welcome ceremony with such antics? If I knew the imperial college had fallen so low, I would have refused the emperor's request to teach here. Perhaps I should revoke my letter of appointment?" The black bellied scholar rhetorically asked, causing chills to run down the spines of the scholars.

"Don't be too hasty now, why don't we show you around and offer you a cup of freshly brewed tea?" The scholar in charge of calligraphy had little evading skills and made it too obvious he was shaking in his shoes.

The alchemist's grip on the scholar's wrist did not lessen, if anything he tightened his fingers with no intention of letting go.

Mei Deng who noticed that blood was no longer circulating freely through the scholar's body, knew he had to intervene.

"Pardon my intrusion, but may I make a request?" He sheepishly asked, playing the role of the white lotus.

The scholar who was of the idea that Mei Deng had sought out a suitable punishment for these two faced scholars, gave him a solid go ahead.

'Fufu...this alchemist is a fan of face slaps, and won't spare these geezers for age shaming me.' in truth the alchemist just wanted revenge over being called an old man.

"It is said that one cannot touch the heavens till he touches the feet of his mentors. As the flowers in the field need the gentle nudge from the autumn breeze, so does this lowly student need the wisdom of the scholars." The notorious student calmly chanted, clasping his hands in a humble manner.

His words came as a shock to the rest of the college, the scholars most especially. In their opinion, Yu Xiaoguang was not knowledgeable in anything other than fighting. And more so, there was no other student as arrogant as he was.

Whatever was behind his sudden change in personality, the scholars were more than pleased it could save them from the alchemist's wrath.

The alchemist on the other hand had turned incredibly pale and could barely latch on to the wrist he was holding. After hearing the words of Mei Deng, he had lost his will to carry out his revenge.

'What sort of crap wisdom is that? How does Mei Deng expect me to carry out my revenge now?' the defeated alchemist inwardly rolled his eyes, before reluctantly letting go.

The scholar in charge of arithmetic immediately retreated to his colleagues, holding his bright red wrist to his chest.

"Look at how wise my student turned out to be, you scholars should have a shred of dignity." The alchemist retorted, overly sensitive over his age shaming.

Mei Deng who had perceived that the trouble was soon drawing to a close couldn't be happier the old man he helped was the alchemist.

'It's truly just like on television, perhaps I was transmigrated to a webnovel of some sort.'

Mei Deng who had some beforehand knowledge on these matters, based off of watching soap operas. Knew better than anyone that those who showed the most kindness would always have a string of good luck.

It was only due to this logic that he opened his mouth and said such bullshit. Otherwise, he had no intention of sparing those uncles.

"It is our mistake." The scholars chanted amongst themselves, "we should have been more observant."

The alchemist who knew they were shedding crocodile tears, decided to let them off the hook just once for calling him old.

"Please, allow us to introduce you to another student who shall catch your eye as well." A polite smile planted itself on the face of the corrupt scholars.

The scholar for calligraphy immediately pulled Ming Baozhai to himself and presented him in front of the alchemist, as though he were a jar of wine.

"This is our starlight student of the college Ming Baozhai, whose has not only broken the record of most accurate in..."

"That's enough, I don't want any of your sheltered eggs introduced to me. I shall handpick my favorite students, in accordance to my own standards." At this point, the alchemist had gestured Mei Deng to stand beside him, to prove a point to the others.

"And as of recent, he is the only student of the college who has met my standards." The alchemist boldly announced, not caring to hold back on his words.

Mei Deng who could feel all glares directed at him, tried his hardest to hold in his happiness, and act humble.

The welcome ceremony took an unexpected turn, as the question on everyone's mind, was what exactly was the imperial scholar's standard?

And more importantly, how Yu Xiaoguang was able to meet them.

But those string of thoughts hadn't even dared to cross Mei Deng's mind, for he had things of a higher importance to brood upon.

**********

Mei Deng sat in his room, reading through the scrolls that had been sent to them, over and over again.

"It seems father's death has spread around the capital like wildfire." He exclaimed, staring at the unexpected letters that reached their doorpost, an hour after he left for the college.

"The house was in disarray, and the young master was no where to be found." Huahua filled him in, pouring Mei Deng a cup of tea.

"You are his only successor, hence the responsibility falls upon your head." She explained, helping Mei Deng to open all of the letters sent.

"You must think I left the house to catch some fun and play." He said reading her thoughts clearly.

"Am I wrong?" She asked, placing a letter with a red seal in front of him.

Mei Deng picked it up and broke it's seal, "I infact went to the college, and before you scold me for it. I'll have you know that I come bearing good news." He informed her, eager to share his epic face slap encounter with her.

Mei Deng absentmindedly started to read through the content of the letter, only to almost choke on the tea he casually sipped from.

*Cough*

Huahua immediately bolted from where she sat and took the tea out of his hand, giving him a backrub, all while discreetly reading through the contents of the letter.

It didn't take up to seven seconds for Chunhua's jaw to drop. The cup of tea ended up falling from her hands and landed on the rug beneath them.

"A marriage proposal from young general Wang!" Chunhua exclaimed at the top of her lungs, wide-eyed in astonishment.