Commoner Hero

The thin monkey was somewhat confused. In all his years of experience in reading people, he had encountered numerous noble families and powerful figures who would often play the role of a commoner. If they served their guests well, the reward would be quite generous.

But this master, just hearing about a reward of one or two hundred taels, had his eyes light up. This didn’t look like the demeanor of a noble or wealthy person at all.

It was no wonder that the thin monkey immediately deduced that Su Qi’an was no ordinary person. He appeared to be just over twenty, and for someone of such youth to be a scholar, he surely had significant backing.

Unfortunately, the thin monkey had no idea that this was the one time he had misjudged someone, and that Su Qi’an was about to be the one to cause his downfall.

The thin monkey’s eyes darted around as he thought quickly. In no time, he heard Su Qi’an’s voice.

“Are you leaving or not? Do you not know the way?”

“Coming, coming! What’s Mr. Su saying? There is no place in Lingbei County that I, Thin Monkey, don’t know. Please follow me, take your time.”

Hearing the summons, although a bit confused, the thin monkey quickly snapped out of his daze and jogged ahead, eager to lead the way.

Whether this gentleman was a noble or a commoner didn’t matter. Since he had taken on the task, he needed to do it properly to avoid tarnishing his reputation of many years.

Guided by the thin monkey, after passing through several alleys, they came to the end of a main road where a five-story tavern stood in full view.

This tavern was quite grand, built with ancient wood carvings. Every floor had its own unique wooden sculptures and paintings, and from afar, it gave off an antique charm.

Atop the fifth floor, a large flag fluttered in the wind, with three bold characters: Wang Yue Lou (Wang Yue Tower).

This Wang Yue Lou was not only famous in Lingbei County but could even rank among the top three in the entire Chuandu region.

It was rare to see all five floors open at once, as usually, only up to the third floor would be used. The fifth floor would only be open during large events like county examinations.

For it to have stood in Lingbei County for so many years without falling, Wang Yue Lou’s background was clearly not to be underestimated. Rumor had it that some government officials were involved.

No matter what the rumors said, they only made the reputation of Wang Yue Lou grow louder.

Su Qi’an entered Wang Yue Lou and handed a token verifying his identity to the head waiter, who immediately arranged for a servant to guide Su Qi’an and the thin monkey upstairs.

During the imperial examination period, whether one was a noble or a commoner, as long as they had the title of scholar, they could enter Wang Yue Lou for free.

From this action, one could see the establishment’s attitude. Wang Yue Lou’s business was to make money, but it didn’t look down on common scholars. They treated everyone equally.

Over the years, many scholars who rose from humble origins had flourished through the imperial examinations. Even though the examinations were mostly controlled by influential families now, the chances for commoners to succeed had significantly diminished. But this didn’t stop Wang Yue Lou from treating everyone with respect.

Because of this openness, Wang Yue Lou had received support from many benefactors over the years, both openly and secretly. It was almost impossible to bring down this establishment. Instead, its business only grew larger.

Following the thin monkey, Su Qi’an went straight to the fifth floor without stopping at the third or fourth floors. Fortunately, the fifth floor was spacious enough to accommodate over a hundred people. Even standing at the edge, Su Qi’an didn’t feel crowded.

Looking at the large number of people seated around the area, Su Qi’an felt like a transparent figure, neither being noticed nor drawing attention. He simply stood silently by the side, listening.

In the middle of the fifth floor was a small table, large enough to accommodate four or five people. At that moment, two well-dressed young gentlemen in silk robes were sipping wine and composing poetry.

Su Qi’an listened for a while, his initial interest quickly waning. What he heard were lines like:

“If I rise to the gold list one day, I’ll kneel and thank my teacher for his guidance.”

“A glass of fine wine, a poem to recite, I am the number one in Wang Yue Lou.”

These were the kinds of mundane, trivial verses that Su Qi’an could hardly bear.

He had expected the young masters to compose some fine poems, but instead, what he heard left him thoroughly disappointed.

It was fortunate that poets like Li Bai and Du Fu were not born in this region; otherwise, they would surely be enraged to the point that even their coffins might not contain their anger at such abuse of poetry.

Though Su Qi’an had no particular talent for poetry, he had studied the 300 Tang and Song poems from a young age and knew them by heart.

Originally, Su Qi’an had no intention of participating in this meaningless poetry gathering, but the constant flattery and sycophantic praises around him became too much to bear. He finally spoke out.

“Is this what you call a poetry gathering? I thought I could learn something here, but it seems I was wrong. It's nothing more than a group of worthless people who are destroying poetry.”

The moment he spoke, the entire fifth floor fell silent. The thin monkey behind him was startled, looking at Su Qi’an as if he had seen a ghost.

He had already introduced the two poets to Su Qi’an earlier. On the left, dressed in purple robes, was Song Wen, a 23-year-old scholar from Lingxi County. His family, the Song family, was quite powerful in the area, and they had produced an imperial scholar and several other successful candidates in the imperial examinations. Even the local county magistrates wouldn’t dare offend them easily.

On the right was Wei Yun, in blue robes. He was from Chuanzhong County, and his uncle was the governor of Chuandu, second only to the regional governor. He was also one of the examiners for the current county exams.

Many people were certain that Wei Yun would rank among the top three in the upcoming county exams.

Such influential figures were not someone Su Qi’an could afford to offend. The thin monkey had already informed him of the consequences, but Su Qi’an still blurted out these dangerous words.

“If it weren’t for everyone staring at us, I’d have run away by now,” the thin monkey thought.

“Who are you, a country bumpkin, to criticize poetry in Wang Yue Lou? What are you even worth?” Wei Yun’s gaze was sharp as he glared at Su Qi’an. After all, in such a public setting, being criticized by Su Qi’an was a slap in the face.

“When did Lingbei County get someone who dares to offend the Wei family? Are you tired of living?”

Su Qi’an remained calm, his expression indifferent. He looked at Wei Yun and Song Wen before replying with composure.

“I’m just a common scholar, but if poetry is to be like yours, then I, Su, would be too ashamed to even hold the title of scholar.”

“Hiss!”

Upon hearing this, the entire fifth floor gasped in shock. Everyone stared at Su Qi’an, eyes wide with disbelief.

They knew that Wei Yun’s poetry wasn’t great, but who dared to speak the truth about it? Everyone would flatter him to ensure their own futures. But this young scholar from who knows where was bold enough not only to speak out but to make sarcastic remarks.

Although most of the people present didn’t recognize Su Qi’an, a few did. He was famous in Lingbei County for his youth and talent. He was the youngest scholar in the county, known as the "First Prodigy."

Even though many years had passed, just mentioning his name would bring up old memories.

When Song Wen and Wei Yun heard about Su Qi’an, they scoffed.

“Hmph, so you’re that so-called prodigy from Lingbei County who has failed to pass the exams for over ten years,” Song Wen sneered.

“I heard a few months ago that you were mocked by some ruffians and tried to commit suicide by jumping into a river. As a scholar, you should have kept your pride and died then, preserving your integrity. But now you’re still alive, running around here talking nonsense. Truly disgraceful for us scholars.”

Laughter erupted across the room, mocking Su Qi’an with no restraint.

Su Qi’an’s face remained impassive as he slowly responded.

“Ah yes, for people like you who care about your reputation, it’s natural to flatter others for a smooth career. I, Su, would never stoop so low. I really don’t know if your ancestors would be proud to see you lick the boots of others. Wouldn’t be surprised if the coffin lid can't even hold you in.”

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