Finest Servant - Chapter 204

Chapter 204 Desire to Kill

It turned out to be a peasant woman who had risen early. A large water bowl was hanging around her neck, a hoe trailing behind her, and she was leading young children to work in the fields early in the morning. One child was three or four years old, the other had just learned to walk. The three of them staggered along the field path. Zhao Kangning’s remark about “A ewe leading two lambs” was meant to mock this peasant woman and her children.

Mei Yanqiu chuckled and said, “Young Prince has a unique interest, drawing lessons from these lowly people.”

Lin Wanrong, who had been led around by his parents in his early years in a similar way, found this scene rather familiar. When he heard Mei Yanqiu’s words, his eyes flared up. He grumbled under his breath, moved to the woman’s side, and said, “Sister, let me help you.”

Seeing the crowd mocking her, the peasant woman was terrified. She shook her head repeatedly, “No, spare me, sir…” She hurriedly left with her children after saying these words. The hoe scraped the ground, the water jug clanged, and the two small children, frightened, fell to the ground. They began to cry loudly, and the woman too was scared into crying out loud, daring not to raise her head.

Zhao Kangning, Mei Yanqiu, and a group of literati watched the mother and children with amusement, laughing out loud. Luo Ning frowned slightly and sighed helplessly.

Lin Wanrong gritted his teeth, his fists tightly clenched, his face as black as coal. Guo Wuchang came over and pulled him aside, “Lin San, are you alright?”

Lin Wanrong quietly said, “I’m fine, Young Master, it’s just… I kind of want to kill someone.”

Young Master Guo was startled, hastily pulling him away, “Lin San, watch your words. If someone heard that, would you still want to live?”

Though usually inept, Young Master Guo was surprisingly understanding at this moment. Lin Wanrong sighed slightly without speaking.

Luo Ning saw his unusual demeanor and rushed over, asking with concern, “Brother Lin, are you alright?”

Lin Wanrong replied indifferently, “I’m fine, Miss Luo. You’d better go back.”

Over there, Mei Yanqiu called out, “Ning’er, come here, I have something to say to you.”

Teacher’s orders were paramount. Luo Ning looked anxious, whispering, “Brother Lin, I originally thought only my Teacher was coming, I didn’t expect that Young Prince would come too, I didn’t mean to hide this from you.”

Lin Wanrong nodded, “I know, it’s not your fault. Go on.” Luo Ning glanced at him one more time before turning away.

When Luo Ning returned, Mei Yanqiu took her hand and said with a smile, “Ning’er, can you answer the couplet that Kangning just recited?”

Luo Ning, worried about Lin Wanrong, had no mood for answering riddles. She hesitated before responding, “Teacher, I can’t answer it.”

The other scholars and ladies who had come with her were also lost in thought, but no one answered. Zhao Kangning turned his gaze to Lin Wanrong and smiled, “Lin San, your couplet exchange with Mr. Shen Banshan the other day was quite interesting, why not give it a try?”

Lin Wanrong replied expressionlessly, “Sorry, I’m not interested.”

“How dare you! Who are you to speak to the Young Prince in such a manner?” Mei Yanqiu, Luo Ning’s Teacher, raised her eyebrows in anger and exclaimed.

Lin Wanrong smirked dismissively, “And who are you, to speak to me like this? If it weren’t for Luo Ning’s sake, I wouldn’t give you the time of day.”

“You, you…” Mei Yanqiu was so angry she couldn’t find the words to retort. Luo Ning looked anxiously at Lin Wanrong, trying to send him a silent message. Zhao Kangning then interjected, “Teacher, please calm down. This man is Lin San, a servant of the Xiao family who defeated Shen Banshan the other day.”

Suppressing her rage, Mei Yanqiu said, “What skills could a mere servant possess? That Shen Banshan must be very pathetic.”

“Yes, Mr. Shen indeed lacks skills. He can only come up with clever verses, unlike Teacher Mei, who has many rich and influential disciples, and enjoys high esteem. I admire that,” Lin Wanrong said flatly. The sarcasm in his voice was obvious to all.

Regardless of Mei Yanqiu’s abilities, judging by the rich and noble students she taught and her derisive remarks toward the common people today, her character was questionable at best. Her disciples, who were from privileged backgrounds, were likely just after a degree to embellish their resumes.

Seeing Lin San and Teacher Mei confront each other, some people were worried, some were cheering, and most were just watching the spectacle. Luo Ning was caught in the middle, finding it difficult to take sides.

In the capital, Mei Yanqiu was highly respected. She had never been teased like this and was so angry that she turned pale. “I won’t waste words with a lowly person like you. If you’re capable, answer Kangning’s verse,” she snapped.

Lin Wanrong chuckled, “I fear that this lowly person may dare to respond, but the high and mighty may not dare to listen.”

Zhao Kangning snorted, “Ridiculous. There’s no verse my Teacher would fear. Lin San, my verse is ‘A ewe leading two lambs’, try to answer it.”

‘Arrogant bastard!’ Lin Wanrong retorted coldly, “A meaningless and unphilosophical verse, it’s not hard to match. Listen well, I match it with ‘two pigs share one trough’.”

The expressions on Zhao Kangning and Mei Yanqiu’s faces changed instantly. This was a naked insult to both of them, especially to Zhao Kangning, a royal prince, who was being compared to a pig. He could hardly swallow this insult. Zhao Kangning blurted, “How dare you, Lin San! You insult the royal family—”

“Young prince, how have I insulted the royal family?” Lin Wanrong retorted coldly.

Zhao Kangning was rendered speechless. He couldn’t say that Lin San had insulted him by calling him a pig, yet everyone understood the meaning behind the verse. Mei Yanqiu shouted, “Lin San, stop the sophistry! We all witnessed you insult the young prince and the royal family today, that’s a capital offense!”

Infuriated and indignant, Lin Wanrong gave a desolate laugh, “Insulting the royal family? What a big accusation, Teacher Mei, you are really capable. It’s a pity you’re biased. From what I see, someone is making malicious allegations, insulting our founding emperor and the foundation of our great nation.”

Mei Yanqiu asked, “Lin San, what do you mean by that?”

Lin Wanrong snorted, “A ewe leading two lambs! What a concept, a ewe leading two lambs! That peasant woman, laboring hard with her child from dawn to dusk, sustains herself by the sweat of her own brow. How is she beneath you? If you were not born into a good family, you wouldn’t even match up to half of her.”

“You, you—” Mei Yanqiu, upon hearing his offensive words, nearly fainted from anger. Luo Ning hurriedly supported her while giving Lin Wanrong a desperate look for help.

“A nation’s foundation lies in agriculture, its people its root. The common folk are the bedrock of our great Hua Dynasty. What right do you have to scorn them? Teacher Mei, with your great scholarly background, you hail from the imperial city, a place of prosperity and glory. Perhaps your lineage has remained there for generations. To your eyes, everyone else must seem ignorant and lowly. Fine, very good, you are proud and noble. But I am utterly baffled. When your ancestors, eight or eighteen generations ago, emerged from the crevices of rocks, were they residing in cities then? Don’t spew such nonsense! They, like our ancestors, were all common farmers, the ‘lowly’ ones in your eyes. Who was it that started categorizing people as city dwellers and country folk, noble and humble, creating this absurd hierarchy?”

Furious, Lin Wanrong kicked hard at a stone before him, splitting it in two with a resounding crash. Everyone present was intimidated by his intensity and kept their silence. Despite his coarse language, there was undeniable clarity in his words that left even Mei Yanqiu and Zhao Kangning without a retort. “When you ridicule and deride them, you are ridiculing your own ancestors and forgetting your roots. The founding emperor of our great Hua Dynasty was a farmer himself, who took pride in tilling the fields and earning his keep. If you insult the common folk, aren’t you insulting the founding Emperor, our dynasty, and our heritage? Young Prince, you may hold the status of a royal descendant, but your disrespect towards your forebears and the sage emperor is beyond belief. You are certainly bolder than I.”

Upon hearing Lin Wanrong’s pointed rebuke of the Young Prince, everyone fell silent. The story of the founding Emperor of the Hua Dynasty, who rose from a cattle-herding boy to a great monarch, was known to all and seen as a role model. Now, the young prince’s disdain for the peasants was equivalent to disrespecting his own ancestors, an argument none could deny. Despite Lin San’s foul language, his arguments were irrefutable. It was no wonder that Shen Banshan was defeated by him; there was no injustice in it.

Zhao Kangning was covered in cold sweat. Lin San had a sharp tongue and a quick mind. If he accused him of disrespecting the royal lineage, Lin San would retort by accusing him of disrespecting the founding Emperor. It was a losing game no matter how it was played. All he could do was to swallow the insult and the embarrassment.

The northern scholars, enraged by Lin San’s audacity, not only had he insulted the Young Prince but also the universally respected renowned scholar Mei, one of them stepped forward and said, “Brother Lin has quite the sharp tongue, daring to be so presumptuous even in front of Teacher Mei. Though I am not as talented, I have a couplet to offer – a mantis blocking a chariot, a tiger relying on a river, how can an ordinary man speak of bravery?”

To which Lin Wanrong, glaring angrily, retorted, “An ant travels along a locust tree, a bug shakes a tree, the fool falsely claims to be heroic.”

Upon meeting Lin Wanrong’s gaze and sensing his superior wit and charisma, the scholar fell silent, no longer daring to speak. Lin Wanrong grunted and said, “Since this gentleman here respects Teacher Mei so much, I have a couplet for him. The first line is, ‘The Cockscomb has yet to bloom—’”

The scholar, showing some quick wit, instantly responded, “Mr. Dog tail grass (Note: F*ck Teacher…)—” As the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake. Ah, wasn’t this essentially an insult to Teacher Mei?

The crowd burst into laughter, recognizing that the poor scholar had fallen into Lin Wanrong’s clever trap. Lin Wanrong cupped his fist in a salute, grinning mischievously, “Brother, your insight is admirable. I’m impressed.”

Mei Yanqiu was both infuriated and embarrassed. As a renowned scholar admired by many, she couldn’t bear being ridiculed by Lin Wanrong. She flicked her sleeve and said, “Two apes cut wood in the mountains, this monkey can also answer—”

“A horse stuck in the mud, how can this beast move its hoof?” Lin Wanrong responded without hesitation. The scholars were stunned. He was the first person who dared to insult Teacher Mei in public. This Lin San had something of a rogue in him, but given his wit and learning, he could insult anyone and get away with it.

Seeing the renowned scholar Teacher Mei, fluctuating between flushes of red and white, Lin Wanrong felt a great satisfaction in his heart. He had enjoyed the exchange immensely, giving and receiving insults in stride. Let this arrogant woman look down on everything; if he didn’t put her in her place, she might believe she was the most superior person in the world.

With a cold smile, Lin Wanrong said, “Among all the learned in the world, the one I respect the most is Master Xu Wei. His character, temperament, and scholarship are all impeccable. As for you, the renowned scholar Teacher Mei, pardon my frankness, even if you were to continue your studies for another hundred years, you would not match up to a tenth of Mr. Xu. As for the term ‘renowned scholar’, perhaps you shouldn’t claim it at all.”

He sighed, appearing exhausted, and said to Guo Wuchang, “Young Master, this is not where we belong. Let’s go home.”