Chapter 13 White Jade Pendant

One silver tael a day, thirty taels a month.

Li Guanyi suddenly felt that the girl before him, who was only a year or two older than him, seemed to radiate a golden glow.

But, is this really the treatment for just a study companion?

The girl, who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, smiled gently and said,

"Please, Mr. Li, be my brother's teacher in Mathematics, and I hope you won't look down upon the job."

Li Guanyi naturally wouldn't refuse such a good job. Although sixty taels were indeed more, and the gold and silver themselves were extremely valuable, it was not something he could use openly in the short term. Besides, not to mention when he eventually left Chen Country, it would be better to have more gold and silver handy, even for everyday life.

He had no reason to refuse.

When he left moments later,

Several Masters bid farewell to Miss Xue, including Mr. Liu Zhuang who had discussed Mathematics before. His smile was much more sincere than earlier when he had Li Guanyi wait in the courtyard. He personally saw them off, his face beaming with warmth and concern.

Seeing Li Guanyi leaving with Miss Xue, he stroked his beard and said naturally with a smile, "What good fortune, refusing to work in my place but finding an even better opportunity."

Mr. Li, shouldn't you also thank me?"

"If you ask me, there's no need for thanks, no need at all."

Li Guanyi said, "I thank the Master for his words."

Looking at the Confucian Scholar with a gentle smile, he asked for paper and pen, wrote a message, folded it, and handed it to him before he and Miss Xue of the Xue Family left together.

Mr. Liu Zhuang's face slowly lost its smile, not even glancing at the paper, he casually threw it away.

"Seems he was somewhat annoyed with me. Indeed, the saying goes, 'Only petty men and women are difficult to deal with.'

Normally, he wouldn't have minded fulfilling a favor for Huichun Hall, but this time was different. Something big was about to happen in Jiangzhou, the capital of Chen Country. A Master of Mathematical Scripture who had been away from the capital for a long time was hurrying back to plead on behalf of General Yue.

En route, he was to meet with noble families here and stay in a private school.

At this time, every seat in the Mathematics Hall held significant weight and could not be given away lightly.

He had even gone to the trouble of finding out one of the problems posed by the Mathematical Scripture Master in his book to his students in advance and passed it on to his favored disciple, hoping to demonstrate his student's talent. Moments later, he saw his disciple approaching with a full smile, and upon seeing their solutions to the problem, his face beamed with joy.

Ah, what a bright future!

Mr. Liu Zhuang praised them repeatedly.

"Truly worthy of being my disciples, I knew you had great talent."

But the students all looked troubled. Nowadays, with the strife between countries, there were still gentlemen who walked the path of honor. They were young and at the most proud and arrogant age of their lives, unwilling to steal other people's work. They said, "It was not us who solved it."

Mr. Liu Zhuang asked, "Then who did it?"

The young student was puzzled, "Huh? Didn't the Master just call him in?"

Mr. Liu Zhuang was shocked, his eyes widening, "You mean… that, that, that person…"

The young student replied, "Indeed, it was that plainly-dressed gentleman."

This sentence was very ordinary.

But for some reason, Mr. Liu Zhuang's face turned alternately pale and flushed, and then, as if remembering something important, he picked up the casually discarded paper and unfolded it. Realizing he had let a chance of a lifetime slip by, he stumbled backward and fell to the ground with a thump. He clenched his fist and hit the ground in frustration, saying,

"You, you, you... you bunch of... worthless disciples!"

"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner!"

"What a blunder!"

The students looked at each other, unsure why their teacher was angry, then saw the words written in bold and vigorous strokes on the paper.

"Why are you arrogant at first but respectful later?"

......

Li Guanyi sat at the front of the carriage with the coachman, looking at the scenery on both sides of the road for the first time, thinking about the expression on Mr. Liu Zhuang's face after finding out he had solved the problem and read the letter. His mood lightened considerably.

Mr. Li didn't have a big heart. If you were good to me, I would be even better to you.

If you insult me, I will not indulge you.

To hit, aim for the face. To kill, aim for the heart.

The coachman handled the whip with exceptional skill, driving the horses forward with unmatched agility. Li Guanyi responded to Miss Xue Shuangtao's questions while calculating another matter in his mind.

Earning one silver tael a day, amounted to over twenty taels a month.

In Guan Yi City, that counted as quite wealthy—a sum of thirty taels could replace the kind of dwelling where one could look up to see the stars, bow down to kill ants, and occasionally need to finish off a few mice. One could afford a house with stone flooring, a warm stove, and comfortable bedding, furnished with wooden pieces.

It would be enough to buy new clothes for both himself and his aunt and enjoy some nice dishes and fruits.

And of course, to retrieve his aunt's jade pendant.

Li Guanyi caught sight of the pawnshop approaching and hesitated before speaking, "Miss Xue, I have an impertinent request…"

Xue Shuangtao smiled, "Please speak, Mr. Li."

Li Guanyi said, "Could I possibly get an advance of ten taels?"

The young lady of the Xue Family was slightly surprised but then noticed Li Guanyi's clothes that were washed to a pale hue and, although tidy, were fraying at the edges. She pondered for a moment, her voice gentle, "It was my oversight. As the teacher we hired, you should naturally be paid a month's salary in advance as per the customs."

The maid Qing'er inside the carriage was stunned, her eyes widening in disbelief at her young mistress.

Huh?

Hmm?

Hmmmm?!!

Since when did our family have this rule?

Xue Shuangtao placed a finger against Qing'er's lips, blinked her eyes, and signaled her to be silent. She then softly said, "Just now I saw your remarkable abilities, Mr. Li, and I was so delighted that I forgot about this matter. Please forgive me."

"Qing'er, give Mr. Li thirty taels of silver."

Thirty taels of silver was in fact equivalent to thirty-six taels of money.

Li Guanyi received it and softly expressed his thanks, then said, "Could we stop at the pawnshop ahead? I need to redeem something that belongs to an elder of mine."

The coachman laughed, "Showing filial piety to elders is proper, sit tight, Mr. Li."

With a flick of the whip, the carriage stopped at the pawnshop, and Li Guanyi got down to conduct his business. He had pawned the item as a 'live pawn', which meant it could be reclaimed provided it wasn't sold already. Worried that too much time had passed and the item might be gone, Li Guanyi entered with thirty taels of silver and stated his purpose.

But upon seeing Li Guanyi, the shopkeeper's face changed subtly.

When he heard that Li Guanyi was there to redeem an item, his eyes shifted to the side.

Li Guanyi felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

Indeed, the shopkeeper squeezed out a regretful expression and awkwardly said, "I do remember your jade pendant, but unfortunately, a customer has taken an interest in it…"

The curtains of the pawnshop parted as a young man emerged with a jade pendant, laughing, "Manager Wang, this pendant is truly fine. I'll take it. Put it on my account and send the bill to my home at the beginning of next month."

Li Guanyi recognized the young man as the young master from the Huichun Hall he had encountered earlier.

He didn't care about that. Instead, he immediately recognized his aunt's jade pendant and stepped forward to block the youth, respectfully but firmly saying,

"Unfortunately, today I am here to redeem this pendant."

The young master of Huichun Hall glanced at Li Guanyi, noted his simple attire, frowned, and disdainfully flicked his own garment, "Yours?"

"Hahaha, unfortunately, this pendant now belongs to me."

Li Guanyi stated in a firm voice, "According to the pawnshop's rules, since you haven't paid yet, the purchase is not finalized; I pawned it as a live pawn, and as long as it hasn't left the pawnshop, I can still redeem it."

The youth, momentarily at a loss for words, recognized Li Guanyi as the clerk who had been let go by his family. With a sense of superiority, he looked Li Guanyi up and down, scoffing, "Redeem it? My boy, it's better you keep the money for yourself, I want this piece."

He ordered, "Step aside, don't block the way."

Raising his hand to push Li Guanyi away, Li Guanyi lowered his gaze as Inner Qi circulated within him.

Soft footsteps sounded.

Fluttering garments carried a faint fragrance of orchids, and a gentle voice arose beside him, "Mr. Li, why the delay? Did something happen at the pawnshop? Were you unable to retrieve it?"

Xue Shuangtao stood by Li Guanyi's side.

Both the shopkeeper and the young master from Huichun Hall found their gaze frozen for a moment.

Is this…

The Xue Family?!!

The beautiful young lady stood with her hands gently folded in front of her, beside the simply dressed young man. She looked slightly up at the young master from Huichun Hall's right hand and smiled lightly,

"Sir, what are you intending to do with your hand extended towards my Mr. Li?"