Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist-Chapter 172 - 45: Jiang Family’s Past, the County Magistrate Bestows a Name
Two days later!
The competitions in the ten counties ended.
This grand event for the new batch of martial arts academy students in Raozhou Prefecture came to a close.
Many names will start to spread among the martial arts academies in various counties from this competition.
Shen Ge from Yanshan County, Wang Hu from Wannian County... and the most talked about, Lin Chen from Poyang County.
A battle involving martial artists in the Opening Acupoints Realm may not cause a stir among all the martial artists in Raozhou Prefecture, but those with a keen interest will remember these names.
Jiang Mansion!
The plaque with a black background and golden characters bears the words "Jiang Mansion," with bold and vigorous strokes, shining brightly under the sunlight.
The mansion is grand and imposing, with stone lions on either side of the entrance standing taller than a person.
On the quiet street, the sound of horse hooves suddenly approached, stopping in front of the Jiang Mansion.
"Master is back!"
Hearing the sound of horse hooves, the gatekeeper came out to look, and upon seeing the middle-aged man dismount from the horse, a look of excitement appeared on his face. He turned back and shouted towards the inside, while quickly stepping forward to take the reins from the man’s hand.
The man’s posture was as straight as a pine, his facial features distinct, and his eyes deep and spirited, as he dismounted and walked into the mansion.
In the back courtyard of the mansion.
Jiang Duanchao stepped through the gate, bypassed the main hall, and headed straight to the mansion’s back garden.
In the back garden, rockeries, ponds, pavilions, and towers were arranged in an orderly fashion. At the moment, by the pond, a dignified and elegant woman was feeding the koi in the pond.
"Husband is back?"
"Wife, where is Qing’Er? Wasn’t she supposed to return from the martial academy?"
Not seeing his precious daughter, a puzzled look appeared on Jiang Duanchao’s face.
"Qing’Er left for the martial academy early this morning. You came back just a bit late."
Seeing the regretful expression on her husband’s face, Zhuang Min teased, "It seems in Husband’s eyes, there’s only Qing’Er. If it weren’t for Qing’Er returning, Husband wouldn’t bother coming back home."
"Wife, I didn’t mean it that way."
Listening to his wife’s words, Jiang Duanchao immediately explained, "It’s because I missed wife so much that as soon as I finished my military affairs, I rushed back."
"Really?"
"Absolutely not false," Jiang Duanchao said with a chuckle.
"If that’s the case, then I forgive you. I’ll instruct the kitchen to prepare a bowl of cistanche tiger soup for you, to relieve the fatigue of your journey."
Jiang Duanchao paused for a moment, and facing his wife’s teasing gaze, he reluctantly agreed.
"What’s this?"
Looking at the xuan paper on the table, Jiang Duanchao changed the topic and asked.
"This was issued by the Military Affairs Department, and Qing’Er brought it back. This time the Raozhou Military Affairs Department held a county competition, and it records the rankings of the academy students from this edition."
"Really? Let me take a look."
Picking up the xuan paper on the table, Jiang Duanchao scanned it quickly, without much change in his expression. To him, competitions among Opening Acupoints Realm martial artists seemed like child’s play.
However, when he saw one particular name, his pupils contracted slightly.
The official document issued by the Military Affairs Department not only recorded the rankings of the county competitions but also included some students’ names, and each student’s academy and hometown were recorded beside their name.
Jiang Duanchao’s gaze fell on a young man named "Lin Chen."
Lin Chen: Student of Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, Mountain Suppressing Martial Arts Hall in Poyang County, from Linhu Village.
The words Linhu Village caught his attention.
Even without the words Linhu Village, Jiang Duanchao would have found it hard not to notice the name Lin Chen, as the information on Lin Chen was circled in cinnabar pen on the document.
"Qing’Er circled this, saying this Lin Chen is from the same place as you, Husband. When Qing’Er was at Jingshui Martial Arts Hall for three months, she paid special attention to Lin Chen because of his origin, and from Qing’Er’s tone, she speaks highly of him."
"What good can come out of Linhu Village."
Jiang Duanchao snorted dismissively, and Zhuang Min covered her mouth with a soft laugh, "After all these years, and you still can’t let go of such a small matter. Qing’Er indirectly asked me why we never return to Linhu Village, and I felt embarrassed to tell Qing’Er it’s because you were bullied by peers in the village as a child and fear recalling those embarrassing moments."
Mentioning Linhu Village, Jiang Duanchao indeed had unpleasant memories.
His Jiang family’s ancestors moved to Linhu Village to escape natural disasters, and by his generation, it was only the third. The Jiang family had few members, and without siblings, he was often bullied by peers in the village as a child.
The reason Jiang Duanchao was unwilling to return to Linhu Village was that he didn’t want to see those people. Even if he returned now, those peers of his childhood were now likely parents themselves and would probably treat him with respect, yet he still felt uneasy.
"I’m not afraid of losing face, it’s just that I got tricked by that old fellow Zhao Canghe, which left a grudge in my heart. Anyway, granting Linhu Village ten years of free tuition is already repaying my debt to that hometown."
Zhao Canghe was indeed very shrewd. On the day of his county examination, he brought dozens of villagers from Linhu Village to the city to cheer for him, repeatedly referring to him as the hope of Linhu Village and the pride of Linhu Village.
To outsiders unaware of the situation, it seemed like he had a deep bond with the villagers of Linhu Village, and that his Jiang family was well-regarded in Linhu Village.
Yet, for the sake of his reputation, he couldn’t publicly deny it.
The Military Affairs Department not only required martial talent and strength from the students but also considered their character.
In the end, he had no choice but to pretend to have an extremely close relationship with Linhu Village. Who knew that old trickster Zhao Canghe would take advantage of the situation, encouraging the villagers to widely promote his talent and achievements in the Martial Path.
