Chapter Ten: The Cruelty of Human Hearts

  "Brother Wang, I don't know about the matter Li entrusted you with, how did you handle it?"

  In the depths of the palace, a man with equally luxurious clothes and a folding fan in his hand smiled at the young master of the palace.

  "Please rest assured, Brother Li. I have already found a scapegoat. Once the time comes, we will secretly get rid of him and this matter will be unknown to gods and ghosts. You, Brother Li, can then safely enter the Imperial Academy."

  "Haha, then I thank Brother Wang, here's a toast to you!"

  At this time, Li Xiao was resting in the Wang Mansion.

  Why does the young master of this royal mansion want to enter the Imperial Academy, is it really just to have more servants?

  Li Xiao was somewhat perplexed, and just now when drawing the contract, it was extremely strange, and he didn't even need to press his hand to draw a seal, and casually signing his name would do. This kind of thing, Li Xiao had never seen before.

  His signature was Li San, of course, it was written casually. Apparently, the person who saw Li Xiao's painting contract didn't care either. After signing, he brought Li Xiao to this room and left without saying a word.

  All of this seems extremely strange, as if there is some kind of conspiracy targeting oneself. Given one's own family background, there really isn't anything worth targeting, the only possibility being the quota for that national academy.

  On the second day early in the morning, someone brought Li Xiao a bowl of rice and ordered him to finish it quickly, then he would go see the young master.

  Li Xiao looked at the food in his bowl, although it was all vegetarian, but compared to what he had been eating at Old Yuan's house for the past year, it really tasted good. He quickly devoured the rice bowl and soon finished everything.

  With a lingering sense of dissatisfaction, he wiped his mouth, and Yang Wu had already appeared at the door, casting a sinister gaze at Li Xiao, with even a hint of cruel cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

  Li Xiao saw this and was secretly on guard in his heart, knowing that this time going to the National Academy would certainly not be a good thing.

  "Hurry up and get out of bed! Young master has already arrived at the front gate. Today, you must report to the Imperial Academy. What are you still dawdling around here for?"

  Yang Wushi raised his voice, Li Xiao looked at him coldly and did not argue.

  Following Yang Wu Shi to the front yard, he found that Young Master Wang and many slaves were waiting there. Several of them even wore the same attire as Yang Wu Shi, obviously not inferior to him in status.

  Young Master.

  Yang Wushi respectfully saluted Li Xiao, but seeing that he didn't react at all, suddenly wanted to lash out with a whip!

  "Alright, ignorance is no excuse, but this time is the only exception, Li San. Remember the rules from now on, let's go."

  The young master of the Wang family waved his hand, and the horse carriage started moving immediately. Li Xiao and Yang Wu were each assigned a sorrel horse to follow the carriage. As for riding horses, Li Xiao had ridden one once in a pasture in Hebei when he was about to graduate from high school.

  Although his horse riding skills were not particularly proficient, he was still able to control the horse to move forward slowly and steadily, without galloping.

  Yang Wushi did not expect Li Xiao to be able to tame the horse, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. However, the next moment was covered by a cold and gloomy light.

  Not many people followed the young master of the Wang family, except for Yang Wu Shi, there were two more martial artists driving horse-drawn carriages, plus Li Xiao, this time entering Guo Xue Yuan, a total of five places.

  Guo Xueyuan was in Donglan City, which was extremely far from Luoyang City. Li Xiao and others had been traveling for three whole days before they finally arrived at the gate of Donglan City.

  "Young master, we have arrived at Donglan City. However, young master, the clothes Li San is wearing are tattered and worn out, it's an insult to the dignity of our Wang family. Why not give him one of the servant's clothes to wear, what do you think, young master?"

  Yang Wushi smiled coldly and respectfully said to the young master in the carriage.

  "Alright, give it to him then."

  Upon receiving Young Master's order, Yang Wu's eyes narrowed slightly. He then took out a set of clothes from the bundle on his back and tossed them to Li Xiao.

  "Put this on and change out of those beggar's clothes, lest you shame the dignity of our royal house!"

  Yang Wushi looked coldly at Li Xiao, this garment had no patches and was intact, much better than the hemp clothes Li Xiao wore. But when Li Xiao opened his shirt, he suddenly became furious!

  All I saw was a dog character embroidered in the center of this garment, both front and back!

  Think about it, if I wear this set of clothes on my body, how would people laugh at me?

  "What are you looking at! You're a slave of the Wang family, so you're naturally a dog of the Wang family! All slaves who just entered the Wang family have to wear such clothes. If you don't wear them, humph..."

  Yang Wushi had been watching Li Xiao's behavior during this period and had been secretly enduring it, so he wanted to humiliate Li Xiao thoroughly.

  "Psst——"

  Yang Wushi did not expect Li Xiao to be so decisive, and with a loud rip, he tore the clothes into two pieces!

  "How dare you! You're really asking for it! Breaking into the Wang Manor and stealing their clothes, you're simply looking for death!"

  When he saw Li Xiao tearing the dog's clothes to shreds, Yang Wushi was furious. He cracked his whip and lashed out at Li Xiao!

  "Bang—"

  Li Xiao grabbed the whip with one hand, and the two of them stared at each other, exerting force simultaneously. They both fell off their horses, but in a swift movement, Li Xiao landed steadily on the ground.

  "You little brat, you think you're so bold with just this bit of skill? You're looking for death!"

  Yang Wushi made a move towards Li Xiao, and for Yang Wushi's move, Li Xiao had a deep understanding. In the past, he even tore off a piece of flesh from his own hand to counter it, which was extremely vicious!

  "Stop it!"

  A lazy voice came from inside the carriage, and Yang Wusheng was startled by this. He hastily stopped:

  Young Master.

  "Give Li San a set of Wangfu servant's clothes."

  The young master of the Wang family's words carried an irresistible majesty, and Yang Wu shivered, hastily responding with a "yes".

  He snorted, and Yang Wushi took out another set of clothes from his bundle and casually threw them at Li Xiao. The style of this set of clothes was the same as the previous one, but on that set of clothes was written a "dog" character, while in the middle of this set of clothes was a "slave" character.

  Li Xiao knew that this was already a concession from the young master of the Wang estate, and he didn't have the right to be picky at this point, so he put on the suit. From the previous probing, Li Xiao confirmed his thoughts - these guys indeed needed him for something, otherwise they would never accommodate a lowly servant like himself.

  Following the Wangfu's carriage, Li Xiao and others entered Donglan City.

  A few people found a high-end tavern, selected several guest rooms, and then each returned to their room to rest.

  Li Xiao was also allocated to a superior guest room, but he couldn't sleep. Now the young master of this Wang Fu is using him, since Wang Fu has the qualifications to send people into the National Academy for assessment, why would they still look for someone like himself with no background?

  It seems that someone wants to join the national academy, but cannot enter directly. Although I am innocent and have no power or influence, even if I were to be replaced or killed, I believe no one would care.

  It seems like the answer is just around the corner.

  Li Xiao thought about what he had just noticed, since there were only five people on their side, why did they ask for six rooms?

  A faint cold smile played on his lips, and Li Xiao had already found the answer in his heart. He remained silent, quietly waiting for the night to pass.

  On the second day, Li Xiao finished his meal and was taken to the road by Yang Wu Shi. He met up with Young Master Wang Fu and two other martial artists at an inn.

  This time Li Xiao did not see the sixth person, Li Xiao and three martial artists carried the sedan chair, the young master of the Wang mansion sat in the middle, walking towards the center of Donglan City.

  Donglancheng has gathered many people at this moment, with many elegant young masters and ladies in brocade sitting in sedan chairs or horse-drawn carriages, waiting for inspection.

  Li Xiao and a few others, along with the young master of the Wang family, were lined up at the very back. Just as Old Yuan had said, the Wang family was indeed extremely powerful in Luoyang City, but elsewhere, they didn't have much authority. They quietly waited at the back for the routine inspection by the Imperial Academy.

  After waiting for about half an hour, it was finally the turn of Wang's family.

  After checking Li Xiao and several others, the gatekeeper showed no mercy and asked Young Master Wang to get off the sedan chair for inspection.

  "Li San, aren't you going to help Young Master down from the sedan?"

  Yang Wushi kicked Li Xiao with one foot, causing the unprepared Li Xiao to almost crash into the sedan chair, and he couldn't help but glare at him angrily.

  "That's enough! This is a national academy, no noise allowed! Li San, get down and let me off the sedan."

  A voice came from inside the sedan chair, it was the young master of the Wang family. Li Xiao's eyes were cold and stern. He could kneel to his parents, he could kneel to his elders, why should he kneel to an outsider?

  "Young master, I'm afraid I must decline your request. I only kneel to heaven and earth above, and to my parents below; apart from that, I will not kneel to anyone else."

  Li Xiao's performance finally enraged the young master of the Wang family in the sedan chair:

  "You dare not to obey others! A small servant like you, still thinking of turning the world upside down?! Come on, break his legs for me!"

  Three martial artists received the order and went straight to Li Xiao's place.

  "Hold on, this is a national academy, not a place for you to fight. If you want to take the exam, get off your horses immediately and accept inspection, otherwise, you can leave!"

  The man guarding the gate showed no mercy to the young master of the Wang family. After a few moments, the pale-faced young master had no choice but to get out of the sedan chair and undergo inspection with a cold glance at Li Xiao.

  "Alright, you few can go in now, next one!"

  The man guarding the door had just finished speaking when the young master of the Wang family seemed to suddenly wake up with a start:

  "Oh, by the way, look at my memory. Brother, I left the medicine for treating illness at the inn, hope to send someone to fetch it back."

  The young master of the Wang family revealed a hint of a smile, but the man guarding the gate was icy and expressionless:

  "No! Since you've undergone inspection, you must enter the National Academy's front hall for evaluation. No one can leave!"

  Upon hearing this sentence, Young Master Wang was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing.

  "Brother, I am Wang Qi of the royal family of Luoyang City. These are just some trifles from my household, mere playthings. I present them to you as a small gift, not worth much."

  The young master Wang Qi walked up and handed a crystal-clear jade pendant to the man guarding the door, instantly making his face much more relaxed.

  "To be honest with you, I'm not feeling well physically. If there's no medicine, I'm afraid it will affect my performance today, and that would be a lifelong regret. Please do me a favor."

  The man guarding the gate seemed to think for a moment before saying:

  "Wang Lao Di has an excuse for his absence, but that's all the time I can give you. You have one incense stick's worth of time to fetch the medicine and then attend the assessment. If you're late, it'll be a matter of official business, and your qualification will be revoked immediately!"

  "Thank you so much, brother! Your great kindness and virtue, I, Wang, have no way to repay!"

  As he spoke, Wang Qi turned his head and went straight to Li Xiao and Yang Wu Shi:

  "You two, hurry back to the guest house and bring me my medicine. It must be within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Remember?"

  "Yes, young master!"

  Yang Wushi clasped his fists in response, a glint of cold light flashing across his eyes.