What he didn’t know was that, as soon as this name was mentioned, quite a few faces in the surrounding crowd suddenly changed.

"Lu Erdan? From Dayu Town?"

Inside the Champion Scholar Pavilion, several wealthy masters murmured quietly.

"A true talent!"

A sigh came from one of the wealthy old men in front. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The other gentlemen all nodded one after another.

Ordinary people might not understand the meaning behind this name, but people like them definitely did.

’Erdan’—just from the sound, you could tell it’s a lowly name. Many rural folk have names like this, it’s not that rare. But for a name like this to appear on the Child Scholar register, well, that’s something else entirely.

One of the masters noticed his family members were confused, so he explained: "There’s nothing special about a lowly name; most people in towns around Black Mountain Prefecture have them. But such names are not favored by us scholars. The dignitaries at Jixia Academy have been soaked in Literary Qi for years, they can’t stand these filthy names. So, anyone with a bit of vision, or some mentorship, will always go to the Prefecture Office in advance and change their official name!"

"In the years the imperial exams have been held, it’s not that nobody has entered with a vulgar name. But usually, those folks lack connections or mentors, and even if they make it on the list, it’s after they’re much older. For someone this young, it’s always children from big families who show up here!"

Upon hearing this, the family members looked utterly shocked.

They couldn’t help feeling a sense of admiration for the young man.

"A youth like that, surely has a bright future ahead?"

"Heh, that’s not so certain! Everything depends on the choices he makes!" The master chuckled mysteriously, but shook his head.

The family member didn’t understand and was about to ask more, but, glancing subconsciously at those around them, suddenly felt a jolt in their heart.

They saw all those well-fed, large-sleeved gentlemen showing the same sort of smile.

Usually, that smile seemed kindly and friendly, but looking now, for some reason, it felt strangely cold.

"This—how can it be him?"

Elsewhere, Mr. Chen suddenly snapped up from his seat, startling Zhao Qing beside him.

"What’s the matter, sir?"

Mr. Chen took a deep breath, his face much more composed. He grabbed Zhao Qing’s hand, gently patted it twice, as a show of concern.

Zhao Qing was puzzled inside, not sure why the old man suddenly felt so tender.

Ever since she gave birth to Chen Lin, his affection for her had nosedived. Normally, he’d soak himself with those wealthy old men in pleasure houses. Word was, lately he was planning to ransom a courtesan.

If he weren’t so old and lacking energy, she suspected she’d be shut away in the deep house like those other concubines.

Thinking about it, she forced out a tear, saying pitifully, "It’s been so long since you cared about this slave!"

The word ’slave’ made Mr. Chen immediately recall their passionate newlywed days.

Zhao Qing might not have been the prettiest concubine he took, but she was certainly the most skillful at bedplay. Sadly, her natural gifts couldn’t match those professionally trained ones.

Compared with the courtesan, she was still lacking, and after having a child her body couldn’t compare. Inevitably, Mr. Chen’s mind wandered back toward women in the pleasure houses.

Luckily, he still remembered his purpose for now!

"People from the village are often related in some way. That Lu Erdan is from your village, and he’s come seeking you—I imagine he wants to recognize you as kin. When we leave, bring some gifts and pay him a visit—"

Zhao Qing was momentarily stunned, seeing his perfunctory expression, suddenly felt chilled.

She didn’t know who Lu Erdan was, but since the master said so, surely there was something behind it. She agreed for now, planning to find out later.

······

Lu Chang’sheng had no idea that his original name and age had left quite a few people a bit shaken.

After the roll call, it took a while to issue the official document.

This usually took half a day to a full day.

Taking advantage of that time, he decided to go over to the prefecture office and change his name, so if he ever ran into something like this again, it wouldn’t be so awkward.

"Thank goodness no one really recognizes me yet!"

He dragged Li Nangua toward the exit, but before they got far, a few people shoved their way toward him.

"Is the young Mr. Lu Chang’sheng up ahead?"

Lu Chang’sheng had never met Liang Yun, so he didn’t recognize him as the Three Red Gang leader. But seeing them look fairly friendly, he paused.

"And you are——?"

"Liang Yun!" Liang Yun’s eyes showed no reaction; he’d already investigated the background of everyone at the Archery Practice Ground, so he knew Lu Chang’sheng’s real name early on.

The rest, however, were different. When their leader said that Lu Erdan was the young master, they were stunned for a moment.

Registering with a lowly name—that’s rare indeed.

At the same time, they grew a bit more admiring toward the half-grown youth standing before them.

"I can see at a glance that you and I would get along. If it was any other time, I’d insist we drank ourselves silly together. But you’ve got important business to attend to, so I won’t keep you," said Liang Yun.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t quite catch his meaning and asked, "Sir, please speak plainly."

"Just now, my men told me that the people you left in the courtyard were kidnapped by the Shaving Knife Gang. Those thugs are ruthless, willing to do anything to get their way. I’ve heard you value loyalty—surely you won’t just ignore what’s happened?"

Lu Chang’sheng’s heart skipped a beat. Without saying much, he grabbed Li Nangua and walked off.

"Chang’sheng, is there going to be trouble? I don’t think those guys are good news!" Li Nangua said.

"You’re not wrong! Even though they tried hard to hide their intentions, their words gave something away! Besides, to have the guts to target the Archery Practice Ground at a time like this, that’s not something normal folk would dare!"

The Archery Practice Ground had been running for two years, with lots of regular students, so even in the West Gate it was known as a tough nut.

Back in the early days, when they were just starting to make money, Zhao Hu used to take Wang Heihou and the others to deal with anyone with bad intentions.

Lu Chang’sheng heard about this all later, but didn’t say much over it.

The Archery Practice Ground was a juicy piece of meat, so it was only natural to attract flies and dogs.

"It’s probably the Three Red Gang!"

"Whether there’s trouble, we’ll have to see for ourselves!"

Lu Chang’sheng figured, since they only mentioned Wang Heihou, it was likely Zhao Hu and the others weren’t captured.

Sure enough, not long after, the two of them found Zhao Hu and the others in another part of the crowd.

Once they learned that Lu Chang’sheng had passed the child scholar exam, the whole group’s faces flushed with excitement.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Zhao Hu, knowing exactly what this meant, grabbed Lu Chang’sheng by the shoulder, with tears glimmering in his eyes.

"Chang’sheng, don’t let me down this time!"

Lu Chang’sheng knew he was talking about Zhao Qing, so he nodded, then said gravely, "That’s for later. First, tell me—where is Black Monkey right now?"

Even at a moment like this, he kept unusually alert, refusing to trust others easily.

"Black Monkey? We were planning to come in this morning to see if you’d passed the child scholar exam, but Black Monkey said he needed to guard the courtyard, so he stayed by the West Gate! Why?"

"Let’s head back and see if Black Monkey’s still at the courtyard!"

Seeing his tense face, Zhao Hu, Niu Dazhuang and the others realized something was wrong and hurried out toward the city gate.

"Liang, shouldn’t we intervene on this one?"

Master Zhao was standing beneath the eaves inside the city gate, watching Lu Chang’sheng and the group walk away.

"Yeah, boss! The Second Mo’s men—weren’t they waiting at the courtyard? I bet they’re trying to poach the young master and his crew for the South Gate!"

The other gang members chimed in anxiously.

"If they actually poach them—well, I might actually not care that much! Let’s just wait and see!" Liang Yun sighed, thinking to himself: That’s the Black Mountain Prefecture for you. If they can’t even handle a little pressure from the Shaving Knife Gang, their future will be limited to being an old Child Scholar.

Some Child Scholars could make it big, but that’s not the type he was hoping for.

"Just wait... wait a little longer!"

······