Chapter 3: When men revile me and persecute me and utter all kinds of evil against me falsely on my account.

  "I wish to strive tirelessly, but heaven does not give me the opportunity; I want to cultivate virtue and carry things, but people do not teach me knowledge."

  The nearby candidates heard the boy's whisper and couldn't help but stare at the disheveled figure leaving, their eyes filled with complex emotions, and a hint of sympathy arose in their hearts.

  The young assistant also looked at the disheveled figure with a complex gaze, and at this time, he didn't even know if he was doing right or wrong. If considered from the perspective of the school, he wasn't wrong.

  If one can't even accomplish the most basic reading and writing skills, how can they discuss reading books?

  Sandalwood Academy is the best academy in Sandalwood County, gathering young talents from all over. Its resources are only prepared for geniuses and it's impossible to give up one genius for a blind person.

  "What is this? A blind person sneaking into the exam? Can a blind person really enter Tanxiang Academy?" A young man said with contempt in his eyes.

  "This blind kid looks quite pitiful, coming all the way from afar to attend school, yet can't even take part in the entrance exam."

  In another corner of the square, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl looked at the increasingly distant disheveled figure and said with a hint of sympathy.

  "This blind person may be pitiful, but the academy can't make an exception just because of that. If it did, every student who comes to study would pretend to be pitiful, and what would the academy become? The students who take the entrance exam are all outstanding talents recommended by the 36 counties in the prefecture. Each one is a promising talent, and the academy only has 300 places available each year. The 300 students who pass the exam are all extraordinary individuals with exceptional abilities. The academy can't give up on recruiting an ordinary but potentially talented student just to accommodate this blind person out of temporary sympathy, let alone who would be willing to give up their own place?"

  "Xiao Wei, everything has two sides, you can't just look at one side and ignore the other. You are looking from the perspective of sympathizing with the blind person, so naturally you think the school should admit the blind person; if you look from the perspective of the school, you would think that the school shouldn't lose a talented student because of a blind person, and besides, a blind person is not suitable for studying."

  A girl with a typical beauty mark on her face looked at the figure and said in a calm tone, "From an objective point of view..."

  "I was just saying he's pitiful. But it's true, a blind person is fundamentally unsuitable for reading books."

  The girl named Xiao Wei pouted her mouth.

  At this time, the chief examiner walked down from his position and came to Li Tu's position, picked up his answer sheet, scanned it for a few eyes, nodded and said: "The font is wide and majestic, with strong bones and a dignified appearance. A blind young man can write such a good hand, which is not bad, and has put in some effort."

  "Rites are bodily; speech is the body of affairs..."

  "This article can barely be considered third-rate middle quality, but with this alone, wanting to enter the imperial academy is still far from enough."

  The chief examiner looked at the paper in silence for a while, then turned to the young assistant and said: "Zhongqiu, go tell him that if he is willing, he can leave after finishing the remaining five exams."

  "Is this really necessary, President of the Left?"

  The young proctor looked at the old examiner with some confusion. Since the school didn't accept him, what was the point of letting him continue to take the remaining five exams?

  "Then you shall say to him, 'Go away.'"

  The old examiner did not explain, and the assistant examiner Zhongqiu also did not continue to ask questions, but instead strode towards the figure that had left in disarray.

  "The school motto: Heaven is strong and self-reliant, gentlemen should strive for self-improvement; Earth is gentle and nurturing, gentlemen should cultivate virtue to carry all things..."

  "Heaven did not give me opportunities, people did not teach me knowledge."

  "In the end, it's all the same."

  "My life!"

  "In that case, let's go back."

  All the pain, helplessness and bitterness in Li Tu's heart turned into endless sorrow.

  "Li Tu, wait a minute." The proctor Zhong Qiu rushed up in big strides.

  "Anything else?" Li Tu stopped his weak footsteps and said aloud.

  "The Dean of Studies said, if you are willing, you can take the remaining five exams and then leave."

  Zhongqiu was silent for a while before finally speaking up, saying that he didn't understand why the Left Chancellor did what he did.

  Li Tu also fell silent for a while, then said: "Since I've come, I'll finish the exam before leaving." After that, he quietly walked out of the school.

  Chongqiu watched as Li Tu's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, and let out a sigh in his heart.

  Li Tu appeared at the gate, and the old servant immediately came up and said: "Young Master, is the exam over?"

  "The exam is over, and the examiner asked me to continue. Come on, old fellow, let's go." Li Tu smiled at the old servant.

  "Master, is this true? Did the examiner really say that?" The old servant exclaimed excitedly, his body even trembling.

  "Hmm, the examiner really let me continue with the next five tests." Li Tu said with a hint of smile.

  "This is too good, too good. Young master, you must be able to pass the exam, you must be able to enter the academy, you certainly can." The old servant was so excited that he became somewhat incoherent, tightly grasping the young master's arm.

  "That's great, that's great...... Young master will definitely pass......"

  Seeing the old servant like this, young Li Tu felt an unbearable sadness in his heart. If I weren't blind, how great that would be!

  The young man did not dare say that he had already been expelled from the school, and the subsequent exams might just be a formality for the school to have a beginning and an end, with the outcome already decided.

  All these years, relying on the old servant for survival, in his heart, the old servant is like a father, mother, teacher, friend and companion. The old servant is the most important person in his life, and also the only relative he has in this world.

  He didn't dare say he was expelled from school.

  He is afraid.

  On the way back to the Bamboo Building, the old servant was still excited and hadn't calmed down yet, as if he had become several years younger and more spirited.

  "Sandalwood Academy is indeed the best academy in the entire county." The old servant said excitedly.

  "Lao Mo, I haven't even passed the entrance exam yet, what if I don't get in?"

  "Young master, you can definitely do it." The old servant said affirmatively.

  By the Wei River, on a bamboo pavilion.

  Young Li Tuopan sat in the corridor, with an old guqin on his knees, facing the gurgling stream, but his fingers couldn't fall, and he unknowingly emitted a faint sorrow.

  The next day, the old servant got up early before dawn with excitement and urged the young man.

  "The imperial examination is an important matter and cannot be taken lightly."

  "It's still early, it's not dawn yet. Getting up early won't help, the exam results aren't based on who arrives first."

  "It's almost daylight, after washing up and having breakfast, it's about time to head to school."

  Moreover, getting up early is good for your spirit and you can make good preparations for the exam, so when it's time, you won't be flustered.

  Upon arriving at the school, the old servant said to the young master: "Young Master, take your exam well, you will definitely pass."

  The boy nodded, but his heart was extremely bitter.

  The second subject of the imperial examination is "Music".

  Li Tu walked into the academy with a broken zither on his back, immediately attracting the attention of many candidates, some puzzled, some shocked, and some bewildered.

  "What's going on? Why is that blind guy still here? Didn't he leave yesterday?" a test-taker asked in puzzlement, turning to his companion.

  "Alright, what's going on here? What is that blind man doing coming back?"

  "It seems that the examiner let him finish the remaining five tests before leaving, probably because he felt sorry for him and wanted to give him a sense of completion." A candidate explained.

  "This blind man's face is really thick, the examiner just said a polite phrase, and he actually came."

  "This blind man won't be an idiot too, will he?"

  Many candidates whispered sarcastic remarks or made fun of it to relieve their own stress about the exam.

  A boy of about fifteen years old smiled and said to the people around him, "I'll tell you something that happened yesterday. Do you know what I encountered in the city? I met an old beggar who was blind and couldn't even eat his fill, yet he was holding a tattered copy of 'The Analects' and nodding his head as he recited 'In the morning, having heard about the Way, one can die in the evening.' I was very curious, so I went up to him and asked, 'Old man, aren't you blind? How can you still see?' Do you know what that blind old beggar said? He said, 'My eyes may not be able to see, but my heart can.'"

  "At that time, I saw the blind man speaking fluently, as if it were true. A blind man who couldn't even eat a full meal was so humble and eager to learn, I admired him very much and wanted to ask how he studied with such dedication. But then, out of nowhere, someone's horse suddenly ran wild on the street, knocking the blind beggar flying several meters away, blood splattering everywhere. Even thinking about it now is terrifying, luckily at that moment I happened to look up and dodged just in time, or else I wouldn't be able to take this exam today."

  The young man burst out laughing after finishing speaking, and several other boys around him also followed suit.

  The girl, Xiao Wei, standing next to the typical beauty with a melon seed face, saw Li Tu being ridiculed and teased by everyone, couldn't help but get angry, saying: "Wu Qi, you're going too far, has your blindness from reading books affected you? No wonder your father gave you this name, it's truly fitting, utterly shameless."

  "Hmph, Xiao Wei, what does it have to do with you?" Young Wu Qi coldly snorted at Xiao Wei, then shook his head and said, "In the morning, I hear the Tao, in the evening, I can die."

  "You're shameless!" Xiao Wei said indignantly, pointing at him before turning her head away.

  "Hey, is this young lady calling me?" Young Wu Qi suddenly said with a mischievous grin.

  "You're shameless." Xiao Wei was so angry that her eyes were wide with rage.

  "Wu Qi, say one more word and I'll throw you out, no need for an exam today."

  That typical beauty with a melon-seed-shaped face glanced at Wu Qi and said faintly.

  "Heh heh, if you don't want to say it, then don't say it. Can't provoke me? I can still hide?" Young Wu Qi dryly laughed a few times.

  A white-clad youth in the distance heard the girl speak up, his gaze shifted to her body for a few breaths, then moved to Wu Qi, and his eyes suddenly became sharp.

  Young Wu Qi felt the piercing gaze of the white-clothed youth and disdainfully glared back.

  "That blind man is really something, being humiliated like that and not even daring to retort a single sentence. I knew he was a timid and fearful person, I shouldn't have helped him. Hmph!"

  Xiao Wei was also somewhat angry at Er Gouzi's lack of spirit, and said with a huff.

  "Xiao Wei, how can a blind person refute?" said the girl beside him calmly.

  Xiao Wei's heart skipped a beat as she thought about it, and indeed, the blind man couldn't refute it, and besides, he hadn't even mentioned his name.

  Li Tu stood quietly, his face still calm, but in his heart was an unbearable sorrow.

  "What's wrong with this world? Why do they humiliate me, cheat me, scare me, deceive me, slander me, bully me and mock me?"

  "Although I am blind in both eyes, I humbly seek knowledge; is this also wrong?"

  "Can it be that a blind man reading books is really just an absurd fantasy?"

  The second test is finally going to start, and the examination room for the "Music" test is also set up in the school's square. The examinees are rushing towards the examination room.

  Li Tu carried the broken zither on his back and quietly followed behind the crowd.

  "Blind fool, get out of the school as soon as possible. Is this a place where someone like you can enter? Moreover, what I, young master, despise the most is people like you who don't even have a bit of self-awareness, can't distinguish reality from dreams, and can't recognize what they are, yet pretend to be strong and unyielding, always thinking that one day a wild chicken can fly up to the branch and become a phoenix - an unrealistic blind fool."

  "Face reality, blind man. Some things aren't obtainable just by thinking about them, asking for them, or working hard." Wu Qi said disdainfully before striding away.

  "One day, you will humiliate me, cheat me, scare me, deceive me, insult me, and mock me; another day, you will definitely respect me, fear me, admire me, esteem me, and look up to me." Li Tu said softly.

  Wu Qi immediately stopped in his tracks, turned around and glared at him with a fierce gaze, saying: "You blind fool, you're courting death. If I were you, I'd swallow these words whole and keep them locked in my heart, rather than speaking out and then finding a place to lick my wounds for ten years before speaking again."

  "I think you're not just blind, but also a complete idiot." With that said, he turned around and walked away.