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Chapter 11: Mr. Zhang

"Mr. Zhang, why are you here?"

Upon hearing Yin Shi\'s surprised voice, Feng Qing\'an in the room reacted, followed by his elder brother, Feng Qingping\'s polite response,

"Dear teacher!"

"Chengwen! Where\'s your brother Feng Qing\'an?"

The elderly voice softened somewhat, but it was still angry, only restrained slightly.

"He is still in his bedroom!"

"This is already late, and he is still indulging in sleep. I ask you, did he really claim to become a Master Official yesterday?"

"Indeed, he did say so, but it was but a joke on my brother An\'s part. Please do not take it seriously, Master," replied Feng Qingping.

Feng Qingping glanced at the elderly man before him, his face full of protruding hair. This man was not only their village\'s teacher but also his mentor and currently his younger brother\'s tutor.

"Take me to him. I want to ask him in-person about his outrageous statement!"

"Yes!"

Looking at the bamboo whip in his teacher\'s glistening hand, Feng Qingping turned anxiously to Yin Shi, a helpless look in his eyes, and could only lead the way.

Clang ~

The door to the bedroom was opened. The elder with a bamboo whip followed a young man into the room. Inside, a child straddled the window sill. It was Feng Qing\'an, who sensed trouble and tried to escape through the window, but he was sluggish due to the beating he received yesterday and was a step too late.

"Good morning, sir!"

Feng Qing\'an, straddled on the window sill with an obedient smile on his face, greeted the village schoolmaster.

"What are you doing?"

Mr. Zhang looked expressionless at the mischievous child who claimed to want to become a Master Official.

"Sir, I like to crawl through windows!"

Feng Qing\'an lied blatantly. He couldn\'t openly admit he was about to run away. Although his motives were apparent to anyone watching, he was embarrassed to say it out loud.

"Are you telling me that you don\'t like to walk the right path?"

Mr. Zhang\'s grip tightened around the bamboo whip in his hand.

"No, no, no, Sir, you misunderstood me. I occasionally crawl through windows, but usually, I like to take the front door and stick to the right path."

Feng Qing\'an jumped down from the window hastily. It was clear that he couldn\'t run away anymore, so he decided to face the situation.

"Is that so? But I heard you want to become a Master Official?"

"Sir, What if I said it was merely a jest, would you believe me?"

Feng Qing\'an looked at the stern, elderly face and asked cautiously.

Mr. Zhang was one of the few non-Feng Family members within the region of Feng Family Hill. Despite this fact, Mr. Zhang was still highly respected within the community. His presence had elevated the literacy level within the village.

A scholar, especially an established one like him, cherished his reputation and respected his face.

Feng Qing\'an knew this. Ever since his elder brother passed the imperial examination, the elderly teacher had developed a habit of showing off his exceptional student among his friends.

"A jest? I heard of your infamous title as Master Official all the way in Cheng Jia Gully yesterday!"

Mr. Zhang looked at the mischievous child in front of him and sneered.

"Cheng Jia Gully? That\'s twenty miles away!"

Feng Qing\'an was astounded. On one hand, he was amazed that the elderly man would travel so far to show off his students; on the other hand,

"Sir, you came here early in the morning because you heard the wind of the rumor?"

"Last night, I spent half the night thinking and tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Feng Qing\'an, for three years I\'ve taught you. Why do you have the intention to become a Master Official? All the sacred books you\'ve learned and recited, was it all just to bluff me?"

Mr. Zhang questioned, his stern face softened, replaced with a look of weariness and confusion. He truly couldn\'t understand why his student would think in such a way.

"Certainly not, sir! I shouldn\'t have spoken those words. I was wrong. I just..."

Feng Qing\'an felt guilty looking at his teacher\'s state.

"Enough, you don\'t have to apologize to me. Instead, I should be the one apologizing to your parents. I failed to discipline you properly."

With a sigh, Mr. Zhang shook his head and walked out of Feng Qing\'an\'s bedroom. His bamboo whip remained unused through the entirety of their encounter.

"Sir!"

Feng Qing\'an was alarmed. If Mr. Zhang actually apologized to his parents, wouldn\'t they beat him to death?

"Stay here and be honest, don\'t get involved. I\'ll go and explain this to him!"

Seeing his younger brother\'s panic, Feng Qingping chuckled.

The teacher\'s move was splendid. His younger brother would probably never dare to mouth such a jest again. This was more effective than a whipping.

"Eldest brother, I\'m relying on you!"

Looking at his elder brother, Feng Qing\'an\'s eyes were filled with hope. The tactic Mr. Zhang used was unexpected, catching him off guard. If the apology happened, even if he didn\'t care about his reputation, he wouldn\'t be able to hide from it.

"Teacher!"

Feng Qingping didn\'t respond to Feng Qing\'an and hastily rushed to catch up with Mr. Zhang.

"Please hold on! Listen to my words!"

"Chengwen, what do you have to say?"

Seeing his star student, Mr. Zhang called him by his courtesy name and his attitude softened significantly. However, he became more disappointed for his younger brother.

"Sir, you are misunderstanding my brother. His statement about wanting to become a Master Official was just a jest..."

Feng Qingping relayed his younger brother\'s situation but as soon as he finished his sentence, the anger within Mr. Zhang surged again.

"A fine young man should possess lofty ambitions! How can he be so shy and willing to give up so prematurely? Becoming an official? Although he\'s not as intelligent as you, this young lad is quite clever. Despite this, his goal is so trivial! If this gets out, what would the scholars in Da Jin think of me? Turning a precious jade into a worthless stone!"

"Teacher!"

Even Feng Qingping, in this situation, couldn\'t respond. He respected his younger brother\'s choices, but it wasn\'t the same in other people\'s eyes.

"Truly an honorable elder brother!"

Feng Qing\'an, who had been eavesdropping, sighed in disbelief, hearing the conversation between his elder brother and Mr. Zhang.

"Let\'s go. I need to have a proper conversation with your parents."

"About the apology...?"

Feng Qingping glanced cautiously at Mr. Zhang.

"It was just a test to see how he would react. It\'s good that he knows to respect his teachers. If I do apologize to your parents, how is he ever going to lift his head up again? I can\'t just look after my own reputation!"

Mr. Zhang spoke calmly, his worldly wise eyes held a sense of control.

"On behalf of my foolish brother, thank you, Master!"

"No need to thank me. This is my duty as a teacher. I am determined to guide this young man on the right path and not waste his time."