novelAbuy Chapter 4 Heart Fluttering
Chapter 4 Heart Fluttering
Li Chong was not very surprised by Cui Shi's words.
Even if he were incredibly stupid, seeing the corpse in the pit that looked so much like himself, and hearing about the wealth Cui Shi had mentioned, Li Chong could guess a thing or two.
However, whether this is "wealth and honor" or "misfortune" remains to be discussed.
In front of Cui Shi, Li Chong suddenly changed color and broke free from Cui Shi by flicking his sleeve.
"Brother Cui, what are you talking about? Impersonating an official of the imperial court is a capital offense. I'm perfectly healthy, why would I take that risk? Farewell!"
After saying that, Li Chong turned and walked away.
Seeing Li Chong turn hostile, Cui Shi became increasingly flustered and quickly stepped forward to stop him.
However, in his panic, he didn't notice that although Li Chong said he was leaving, he deliberately paused for a moment, waiting for him to catch up.
Having gone through so much trouble to travel through time, is Li Chong really willing to be an ordinary citizen? Of course not.
Leaving aside the fact that ordinary people in ancient society lived hand to mouth, could the impending disaster really be completely avoided by simply hiding in the south?
In chaotic times, people are treated worse than dogs. If he could, Li Chong would naturally want to control his own destiny.
Impersonating someone else and gaining entry into the Northern Song Dynasty court—this was an excellent opportunity.
However, there are many hidden dangers, and there is also the variable of Cui Shi. Li Chong must take the initiative into his own hands, which is why he put on this pretentious act.
Choi Si didn't notice Lee Chong's little scheme; after all, Lee Chong's reaction was that of a normal person.
Ordinary people, who would dare to impersonate an official for no reason?
Choi Si was forced into this situation and happened to run into Li Chong; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to even consider it.
"Brother Li! Brother Li! Please listen to me first!" Cui Shi knelt down again, hugging Li Chong's legs to prevent him from leaving.
Li Chong struggled for a couple of moments, then turned around and pretended to be angry, saying, "No! I don't deserve to be called Brother Li. I was just trying to help you out, but you want to take me to be beheaded. That's not fair."
Seeing that he had been completely fooled by Li Chong, Cui Shi said with a sorrowful expression, "I was forced into this situation and had no other choice. But I assure you, Brother Li, you won't suffer any losses. Once this matter is settled, you will truly be an official. Wouldn't that be better than what we're in now?"
Upon hearing this, Li Chong paused for a moment, and his struggling movements ceased.
After a long silence, Li Chong spoke up and asked, "What if someone finds out? Impersonating an official is a capital offense."
Seeing that there was a chance, Cui Shi hurriedly shook his head: "No! No! This is the middle of nowhere, and only the two of us know about this. I asked Brother Li to do this, so how could it be leaked to others? Besides, Brother Li looks exactly like my master, how could anyone else recognize him?"
Li Chong turned around and looked at Cui Shi: "Others might not recognize you, but do you think your master's parents wouldn't recognize you? Your young lady wouldn't recognize you? Isn't this a capital offense sooner or later?"
Cui Shi quickly replied, "Brother Li, rest assured. My master has no relatives. He only has one older sister who is already married and we haven't heard from her since."
"As for my young lady, because of this official transfer, my master sent her back to her hometown to fulfill her filial duties. He said he would bring her back after she had established herself here. We can delay for a year or two, and Brother Li, you can distance yourself from her a bit more, and I guarantee there won't be any problems."
"This person is an orphan. Could it really be fate?" Li Chong was intrigued.
Hearing Cui Shi say that, this matter really has potential.
Being a county magistrate is much better than working for someone else, isn't it?
Moreover, if one could be promoted, one could accumulate some strength to protect oneself before the Jin army marched south.
If all else fails, retreating south is much safer.
Li Chong bent down and pried Cui Shi's hands off, not caring about being dirty anymore. He plopped down on the ground and said to Cui Shi, "So you've done all this work, and all the benefits have gone to me. What did you get out of it?"
Seeing that Li Chong had sat down, Cui Shi also sat down opposite him, his face full of bitterness.
"Since Miss married into the family, I have been assigned to be the master's page. Over the years, I have gained quite a few benefits. When the master was alive, no one cared about me. But I came with the master to take up my post. If I go back and say that the master is dead but I am still alive, I am afraid that I will be worse off than dead."
Human rights are not a concept in this era.
For a family to produce a scholar who has passed the imperial examination is an honor worthy of being recorded in the family genealogy. Now that it has been cut short, they must find someone to vent their anger.
People were looking for a son-in-law through the list of successful candidates, all for the sake of this promising young man. Now that the son-in-law is gone, how can Cui Shi expect to fare well?
But he miraculously survived, so it's not hard to guess who he'll vent his anger on.
Li Chong was still puzzled: "Even if you can't go back, you don't have to take this risk. Why don't you just go somewhere else and start a new life?"
Cui Shi glanced at Li Chong and shook his head helplessly: "It's not that easy. Not to mention my mother is still at home, what can someone like me do far away? Even if I wanted to be someone's hanger-on, no one would want me. Am I really supposed to make a living by manual labor?"
As the saying goes, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
Even the servants in an official's household are still servants, but their lives are far better than those of ordinary people.
He really couldn't bear to let Choi Si-il abandon everything and run away.
But if they didn't run, they might not even be able to save their lives.
Li Chong's sudden appearance undoubtedly pointed him to another path.
Nodding slightly, Li Chong agreed that Cui Shi's reason was sufficient and had no reason to doubt it.
After a moment's hesitation, Li Chong looked at Cui Shi seriously and said, "Tell me everything about your master from beginning to end. As for whether I agree or not, I'll decide after I've heard it."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Cui Shi's eyes, and he nodded heavily: "Okay!"
"Like Brother Li, my master is also named Li Chong, courtesy name Hefu, and he lost his father at a young age..."
"He passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Zhenghe era and was granted the title of Jinshi. Later, my master selected him as his son-in-law and married my young lady, whose given name was Xie Wenyu. She also has a younger brother and a younger sister..."
"After that, he first served as a registrar in Shanxi. Three years later, he returned to the capital and was offered positions everywhere. In the end, it was only through my master's money and connections that he was able to get a position as a county magistrate..."
As Choi Seol recounts her story, the life of another "Li Chong" slowly unfolds before Li Chong.
It's not exactly legendary, but it's not ordinary either. To stand out among so many people and become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) is already quite an achievement.
If what Cui Shi said is true, Li Chong might actually be able to impersonate him and take office as Yang Gu.
"Speaking of which, is there a Ximen official in Yanggu County? Could he possibly take in a Wu Song?" Li Chong was a little distracted.
"Brother Li? Brother Li?" Cui Shi waved his hand in front of Li Chong. "I'm done talking, look..."
Li Chong composed himself, thought for a moment, and then asked another crucial question: "You said impersonation, but how am I supposed to impersonate someone? Just the two of us going to Yanggu to take up our posts, will the county officials recognize us? They won't know me, and naturally they won't know your master either. How will they verify our identities?"