Chapter 115: The Humble Magistrate

"..." Su Lu felt a storm of internal conflict upon hearing this. He wondered whether he should clarify his family's situation with the Magistrate, and what might happen if the man still held a grudge.

However, he quickly weighed the pros and cons. Even if Lu Zhaoye bore a grudge, the current atmosphere was the most opportune moment to turn over a new leaf. If he didn't speak now, the truth would eventually come out, and it might trigger a disaster later.

Steeling his resolve, he bowed and said in a low voice, "My home is in Erlangtan. My late grandfather, Da Cheng, was originally a platoon leader in the Yongning Garrison. My father, Youcai..."

After he finished, he noticed that Magistrate Lu’s expression remained entirely calm; it was clear the man had long forgotten about that incident. It made sense—with hundreds of cases judged in the county every year, how could Magistrate Lu remember a minor dispute from a decade ago? A feud between two clans over a well might be a matter of life and death to them, but to a county magistrate, it was truly a trivial affair.

Magistrate Lu then asked if anyone else in his family was pursuing an education. Su Lu answered truthfully, "My father is a scholar, and I was tutored by him from the start."

"Oh? Is that so?" Magistrate Lu asked with interest. "Only a great master can produce a talented student. You must have a deep foundation, Su. Was he affiliated with the county academy or the prefecture academy?"

Su Lu thought to himself that his father had only ever been in the 'clan school,' so he smiled bitterly and replied, "My father’s academic path has been difficult. He has taken the county examinations many times but never caught the eye of the authorities."

"Ah? Haha..." Magistrate Lu laughed with a touch of embarrassment. "The examination hall is just like that. If your time hasn't come, you’ll be trapped in those cubicles, suffering year after year. Let him try again next time; his luck is bound to turn."

"Yes," Su Lu replied hurriedly, adding a bit of flattery: "Although my father has been trapped in the examination system, he has always said that you, sir, are the most impartial official."

"Of course. In selecting talent for the nation, this county has always upheld a sense of public justice," Magistrate Lu nodded hastily, fearing he might leave a bad impression on Su Lu.

"Indeed. This year, when my elder brother took the county exam for the first time, he ranked third. It shows my father was right," Su Lu said softly.

"Oh?" Magistrate Lu pondered for a moment, and the pieces fell into place. "Is your brother named Su Man?"

"That is my brother," Su Lu nodded.

"Sigh, it's a pity for him. His scholarship was enough to earn him the title of 'xiucai'..." Magistrate Lu sighed. "It is just unfortunate that he did not catch the eye of the Prefect. What else can be done?"

As he spoke, he looked deeply at Su Lu. "This is also why I summoned you. I have read your essays; your talent is even more brilliant than your brother's, but we must ensure you do not repeat the same mistakes."

"I ask for your guidance, Magistrate," Su Lu hurriedly stood up and bowed, as this was precisely what he feared most.

"Regarding that..." Magistrate Lu finally stopped beating around the bush. He looked steadily at Su Lu and asked, "Would you be willing to call me... Master?"

"Ah?" Su Lu was stunned. He hadn't expected the Magistrate's request... to be so humble. He had assumed Magistrate Lu wanted him to formally acknowledge him as his 'teacher' (mentor/patron), but it turned out the man only wanted to be his 'master' (teacher/instructor).

The difference between the two was vast. One could have many masters—like his father, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhu, or even the head of an academy—all of whom were his masters. But one could have only one 'teacher' in the formal sense.

Su Lu was no longer the naive youth he once was; he knew that in the circle of Ming Dynasty literati, the title of 'teacher' could not be used lightly. Once a formal teacher-student relationship was established, it created a binding personal tie. For instance, in the imperial examinations, successful candidates would address the chief examiner as their 'teacher,' forming a bond of patron and protégé. From then on, they shared honor and disgrace; the student could not betray the teacher, and the teacher could not fail the student. In the Ming officialdom, this relationship carried a strong implication of career dependence—it was essentially a way to cloak the act of swearing allegiance to a patron in a veneer of warmth.

An academy master, however, simply taught knowledge without forming such a binding relationship, and thus could not be called a 'teacher.'

Back to Su Lu and Magistrate Lu: if the Magistrate had asked him to become his formal protégé today, Su Lu would certainly have agreed. Because the man held his future in his hands—if he refused, as long as Lu Zhaoye remained in Hejiang, he could forget about passing the county exams. Su Lu had always prioritized survival over pride. Besides, having a magistrate as a patron had tangible benefits! To someone like him, this was not a problem at all.

Therefore, Su Lu felt a bit surprised, and even carried a hint of regret... *Why didn't you ask me to be your protégé? If you don't ask, how do you know I wouldn't agree? What's the point of just being a 'master'? It’s like scratching an itch through a boot—the more you scratch, the itchier it gets...*

*Being a formal protégé or even a disciple is what's useful! If the conditions offered were high enough, I’d even consider being your adopted son...*

Zhu Liu and Magistrate Lu were both wily old foxes; they saw through his thoughts at a glance. Zhu Liu chuckled and shook his head but remained silent.

Magistrate Lu spoke from the heart to Su Lu: "You are a rare prodigy that I have encountered, and what is even more precious is your benevolent heart. I am determined to cultivate you into a pillar of the nation! But precisely because of that, I cannot be the one to drag you down."

"Why would you say that, sir?" Su Lu asked hurriedly.

"To be honest, from a selfish standpoint, I would certainly want to take you as a protégé. Who wouldn't want a brilliant student?" Magistrate Lu said with a pained expression. "But that would be too disadvantageous for you."

He laughed at himself. "You might not know this, but I entered the service through the 'li-jian' route... Back then, I couldn't pass the provincial examinations, and having some family wealth, I impulsively donated money to enter the Imperial Academy. The result was a slip that became a lifelong regret, one that I have been mocked for to this day."

"You speak too harshly of yourself, Magistrate," Zhu Liu finally spoke to comfort him. "Your background only represents the past. Right now, you are a county magistrate with great authority; who dares to mock you? And who has the qualifications to do so?"

"People who think like you, Brother Dejia, are in the minority," Magistrate Lu gave a grateful smile and sighed. "Others certainly wouldn't mock me to my face, but such things are like drinking water—one knows the temperature for oneself. They do look down on me, there is no doubt about it."

He looked at Su Lu. "In the future, others will ask about your mentorship countless times. Every time they ask, it will be like a slap to your face. Are you willing to endure that?"

"I don't care," Su Lu quickly stated. "Let them say what they want, as long as they don't actually slap me..."

"That is because you haven't experienced it yet, so you speak lightly. But since I hold high hopes for you, I must consider your future," Magistrate Lu said in a grave tone. "You may not be aware that aside from the county exams, which I can decide, every hurdle thereafter is not something you can pass just by burying your head in books and taking exams. It requires the concerted effort and support of many parties."

"Indeed," Academy Head Zhu nodded in agreement. "The path of the examinations has never been as simple as just studying." This was exactly what he had been instilling in Su Lu all along.

"At most, I can help you pass the prefectural exam, but the Provincial Education Commissioner will never give face to a lowly county magistrate like me," Magistrate Lu said with a bitter smile. "On the contrary, they are the 'pure stream' officials, and I am the 'turbid stream.' The pure and the turbid do not mix. If you have me as a teacher, the Commissioner will never select you."

"But isn't it said that the examination papers are anonymized?" Su Lu asked softly.

"Hahaha." Magistrate Lu and Zhu Liu exchanged a look and laughed. The latter said, "You are still young and do not know the dangers of the world."

"No matter how strict the rules are, they are executed by people. As long as there are people, there are ways." Coming from Lu Zhaoye, the head of a county, these words carried particular weight.

"I am not saying that all Commissioners are corrupt. They are 'pure stream' officials with bright futures, and they value their reputations far more than money. You couldn't even bribe them if you tried."

"But based on basic fairness, there are still human connections that must be considered," Zhu Liu added. "The Commissioner is not a lone wolf; they all have a circle of former classmates, fellow villagers, and peers. This is inevitable."

"Even after the grading is finished and the list is finalized, the Commissioner can make adjustments at any time. For instance, to protect their own reputation, they might remove a student of a 'turbid' official like me from the list and replace them with a child of a 'pure' family, such as your nephew, Brother Dejia," Magistrate Lu said with a wry smile. "This is all within the Commissioner's authority. They can do it openly, and no one would say a word."

"But that is not fair," Su Lu said quietly.

"And so what? They are 'pure officials who passed both sets of exams'—they can balance emotion and reason as they please. Even if they slightly overstep the rules, no one will say they are wrong, and no one will impeach them. Instead, they will be praised for having the courage to act and not being tethered to outdated methods," Magistrate Lu said with resentment. "But for a 'turbid' official like me, if I were to cross the line even a little, the sky would collapse. Of course, we never get the chance to be Commissioners anyway..."

"That is why you must pass the jinshi examination to become an official! Do not follow my path; be like your Academy Head and have ambition. Do not participate in the 'da-tiao' selection even if you fail for ten years!" Magistrate Lu admonished him again.

"There is no need to use me as an example..." Zhu Liu couldn't help but smile bitterly. "But indeed, it is much better to become an official as a jinshi. Being a provincial graduate or an academy student in office really has too many limitations, which is quite unpleasant."

"Finally admitting it, right? Haha!" Magistrate Lu didn't laugh for long before he winced in pain. After he finished, he asked Su Lu once more: "I have told you all that should and should not be said. Let me ask you again, are you willing to call me your master?"

"I would naturally be delighted to," Su Lu said, his face full of emotion. "But seeing you think so much for your student, I am deeply moved; in my heart, I have already regarded you as my teacher!"

"I don't care about mere mockery. I will definitely slap the faces of those people back, hard! I will vent this frustration for you!" Saying this, he bowed deeply, requesting with utmost sincerity: "Therefore, I implore you, sir, do not hesitate to include me among your students!"

Su Lu's reaction was far beyond what Lu and Zhu had expected.

Zhu Liu looked at Su Lu with surprise, unable to figure out why he insisted on becoming his protégé. But given the Academy Head's stature, he realized in an instant—this was the only correct solution!

The logic was not complicated. Magistrate Lu didn't want to take Su Lu as a protégé because he feared his own background would drag the boy down. If Su Lu had readily agreed, it would imply that he agreed with Magistrate Lu's view, confirming that the Magistrate would indeed drag him down. In that case, even if the Magistrate voluntarily refused, he would inevitably feel a knot in his heart afterward.

That was why Su Lu had put on a show of being even more eager to become his protégé. It wouldn't change the final outcome, but even if it was just for show, it ensured that Magistrate Lu would have no lingering resentment.

This point was crucial, for only with a heart free of knots could their relationship last.