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    Edict of Peace 13

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    Chapter 13: The Jade Pendant

    One string of cash a day, thirty strings of cash a month.

    Li Guanyi suddenly felt a golden glow emanating from the girl before him, who was no more than a year or two older than himself.

    But, just a companion reader, and she had such treatment?

    The girl opposite him, who appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old, smiled slightly:

    “Please, young master, be the arithmetic tutor for my younger brother. Please don’t refuse.”

    Li Guanyi naturally wouldn’t refuse such a good job. Although the sixty strings of cash were more, and were of high value in gold and silver, they couldn’t be readily used in the short term. Furthermore, putting aside the fact that it was better to have more gold and silver on hand before leaving Chen Kingdom, it would also improve his daily life.

    He had no reason to refuse.

    Moments later, as he was leaving.

    Several tutors saw off Miss Xue. Master Liu Zhuang, who had previously lectured on arithmetic, was also there, his smile much more sincere than before. Unlike before when he had made Li Guanyi wait in the courtyard, he personally escorted them out, his smile never fading, showing concern and care.

    Seeing Li Guanyi leaving with Miss Xue, he stroked his beard and chuckled: “What good fortune! Unwilling to work for me, yet he has found a better place.”

    “Little Brother Li, shouldn’t you thank me?”

    “If I were to say it, you don’t need to thank me, no need to thank me.”

    Li Guanyi said, “Thank you for your words, Master.”

    Looking at the gentle-faced Confucian scholar, he asked for pen and paper, wrote a single sentence, folded it, and gave it to him before leaving with Miss Xue.

    The smile on Liu Zhuang’s face gradually faded. Without looking, he casually threw the paper down.

    “It seems he is indeed somewhat resentful of me. Indeed, only villains and women are difficult to manage.”

    Usually, he wouldn’t mind returning the favor to the people of Huichuntang, but this time was different. Jiangzhou, the capital of Chen Kingdom, was about to host a major event: an experienced arithmetic master, long absent from the capital, was hurrying back to intercede for a certain Marshal Yue.

    His journey would take him through here, where he would meet with prominent families and stay at the private academy.

    At this time, every position in the arithmetic hall was extremely important and couldn’t be given away for free.

    He even learned in advance a question posed to the students in the book written by that arithmetic master, giving it to his favorite student to showcase his talent. Moments later, seeing his student approach with a beaming smile, he reviewed their solution to the problem and couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.

    Goodness! A bright future!

    Liu Zhuang repeatedly praised him.

    “My disciple, you truly live up to my expectations! I knew you possessed great talent.”

    However, these students all looked troubled. In these times of conflict between countries, there were still those who followed the way of the gentleman. They were young, at the most proud and spirited age of their lives, unwilling to take credit for others’ work. They said, “We didn’t solve it.”

    Liu Zhuang asked, “Who did?”

    The young man was puzzled: “Eh? Didn’t the master just call him in?”

    Liu Zhuang was startled, his eyes widening: “You mean… that… that…”

    The student replied, “It was that simply dressed gentleman.”

    This sentence was very ordinary.

    But for some reason, Liu Zhuang’s face turned first green, then white. Suddenly remembering something, he picked up the paper he had casually discarded and unfolded it. Realizing he had let slip a heaven-sent opportunity, he stumbled backward, falling to the ground. The paper fluttered down. He slammed his fist on the ground, lamenting:

    “You… you… you… all of you… useless students!”

    “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier!”

    “How could you mislead me!”

    The students looked at each other, not understanding why their teacher was so angry. They saw the several large characters on the paper.

    Written in a flowing script.

    “Why be arrogant first, then respectful later?”

    Li Guanyi and the driver sat in front of the carriage. For the first time, he was looking at the scenery on either side of the main road, thinking about Liu Zhuang’s expression after learning about his solution and seeing the letter, and his mood improved.

    Li Guanyi’s heart was not big, if you are good to me, I will be better to you.

    If you bully me, I will never tolerate it.

    If you hit a person, hit them in the face; if you kill a person, kill their heart.

    The driver was skilled with his whip, guiding the horse forward with agility. Li Guanyi answered Miss Xue Shuangtao’s questions while simultaneously calculating another matter.

    One string of cash a day, thirty strings of cash a month, could be exchanged for more than twenty taels of silver.

    In Guan Yi City, this was considered a lot of money. Thirty strings of cash was enough to replace his current dwelling—a place where one could look up at the stars, look down at ants, and occasionally kill a few rats—with a house that had brick floors, a warm stove, and a comfortable bed, and wooden furniture.

    He could also buy new clothes for himself and his aunt, and some good food and fruit.

    And, to retrieve his aunt’s jade pendant.

    Li Guanyi saw the pawnshop not far away, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Miss Xue, I have a small request…”

    Xue Shuangtao smiled, “Please speak, young master.”

    Li Guanyi said, “Can I have an advance of ten strings of cash?”

    Miss Xue was slightly surprised, then noticed Li Guanyi’s bleached clothes and slightly frayed but clean garments, becoming thoughtful. She said softly, “I was negligent. You are a hired tutor; according to the rules, you should already have received your monthly salary.”

    The maid Qing’er in the carriage froze, her eyes wide open looking at her mistress.

    Eh?

    Eh eh eh?!

    When did our family do this?

    Xue Shuangtao put her finger to Qing’er’s lips, winked, and made a silencing gesture, then said softly, “It’s because I was so pleased by the master’s amazing arithmetic skills, I forgot about it. Please forgive me, sir.”

    “Qing’er, give the master thirty taels of silver.”

    Thirty taels of silver were equivalent to thirty-six strings of cash.

    Li Guanyi accepted it, thanked her softly, and said, “Can we stop at the pawnshop ahead? I pawned something belonging to an elder, and I want to redeem it.”

    The driver smiled, “Respecting elders is the right thing to do, sit tight, young master.”

    With a flick of the whip, the carriage stopped at the pawnshop. Li Guanyi got off the carriage and went into the shop. When he first arrived, he had pawned the item temporarily; as long as it hadn’t been sold, he could redeem it. Li Guanyi, worried that the item would be gone after such a long time, walked in with thirty taels of silver, stating his purpose.

    But when the pawnshop owner saw Li Guanyi, his expression subtly changed.

    When he heard that Li Guanyi was redeeming something, his eyes darted to the side.

    Li Guanyi’s heart sank.

    Sure enough, the owner forced a regretful expression onto his face, saying apologetically, “I remember your jade pendant, but unfortunately, a customer has already taken a liking to it…”

    The pawnshop curtain was lifted, and a young man walked out with a jade pendant, smiling, “Manager Wang, this jade pendant is truly exquisite. I’ll take it, and the money will be recorded on my account. You can send it to my house at the beginning of next month.”

    Li Guanyi recognized the young man as the young master of Huichuntang.

    He didn’t care about that; he immediately recognized it as his aunt’s jade pendant. Stepping forward, he stopped the young man, neither humble nor arrogant:

    “Unfortunately, I’m here to redeem this jade pendant today.”

    The young master of Huichuntang glanced at Li Guanyi, seeing his simple clothes, frowned, and disgustedly flicked his own clothes, saying, “Yours?”

    “Hahaha, unfortunately, this jade pendant is mine now.”

    Li Guanyi said in a deep voice, “According to pawnshop rules, you haven’t paid yet, so it doesn’t count as purchased; I pawned it temporarily, and the jade pendant hasn’t left the shop, so I can redeem it.”

    The young man was momentarily speechless, but recognizing Li Guanyi as one of his dismissed employees, his confidence surged. He looked Li Guanyi up and down, sneering, “Redeem it? Little worker, keep this money for yourself; this thing, young master, I want it.”

    He yelled, “Get out of the way, don’t block the path.”

    Raising his hand to push Li Guanyi away, Li Guanyi lowered his head, his internal energy circulating.

    Light footsteps sounded.

    A flutter of sleeves, carrying a faint scent of orchids, and a gentle voice beside him, “Mr. Li, why so late? Did something happen at the pawnshop, that you couldn’t get it back?”

    Xue Shuangtao stood beside Li Guanyi.

    The eyes of the shopkeeper and the young master of Huichuntang instantly froze.

    This is…

    The Xue Family?!

    The beautiful girl’s hands gently folded in front of her, standing beside the plainly dressed young man. Her eyes slightly raised, looking at the young master of Huichuntang’s outstretched right hand, she smiled softly:

    “Sir, what are you doing reaching out to my Mr. Li?”
    (Chapter end)

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