TRBDM -Chapter 25 Bullying at the Private School

Wei Zhaorong’s expression shifted slightly. She signaled to Nanny Qi not to make a sound, and the two of them stepped quietly into the residence.

Master Shen’s house was not large. In the front courtyard stood a rockery, and the commotion was coming from behind it.

“Second Young Master Zhang, please let go! My Third Young Master can barely breathe!” a panicked voice cried out. But the speaker was quickly muffled, reduced to indistinct whimpers.

“You dog! Still dare to shout at me? Drag him out and drown him in the pond!”

“Yes.”

Then came the sounds of struggle, along with Xie Lan’s furious voice: “Zhang Lin, let Shi Yi go!”

His throat seemed to be gripped; his voice was distorted, forced out in a strained rasp.

“Xie Lan, you’d better worry about yourself first. If a book boy dies, he dies. It’s no different from crushing an ant. But you—now you’re much more interesting to play with.”

Zhang Lin’s arrogant laughter rang out, harsh and grating.

In his eyes, Shi Yi’s life was worth less than a dog’s. And as for Xie Lan—though he was nominally raised under Wei Zhaorong’s name—Zhang Lin had long heard from his elder brother, Zhang Xiuzhuan, that Xie Lan ranked no higher than a dog in the Mingde Marquis Manor.

Because of the previous incident, his brother had been sullen for days, and even his relationship with Xie Sheng had grown strained.

Zhang Lin had long wanted to vent his brother’s anger, but Xie Lan rarely left the marquis manor, hiding away in the servants’ quarters. Zhang Lin couldn’t very well barge into the manor to settle accounts.

Who would have thought fate would hand him the opportunity? Xie Lan had also enrolled in Master Shen’s private school.

On the first day, Zhang Lin showed nothing unusual. He simply observed in secret.

On the second day, he began testing the waters—snapping Xie Lan’s writing brush in half. Xie Lan’s brows knitted tightly, but he didn’t utter a single word of complaint.

On the third day, Zhang Lin threw away Xie Lan’s homework, causing him to be severely reprimanded by Master Shen.

After repeatedly probing Xie Lan’s limits, Zhang Lin discovered that Xie Lan had none.

Here, Xie Lan stood alone and helpless, allowing himself to be kneaded and molded at will.

With each act of silent endurance, the scale of the bullying grew larger and more brazen.

Coincidentally, Zhang Lin had recently gotten into trouble. When his father found out, his monthly allowance was cut off.

Ordinarily, Zhang Lin spent freely eating, drinking, and entertaining himself with other young nobles in the capital. Silver flowed like water in such company.

Losing his allowance was no different from losing his wings.

And so, he set his sights on Xie Lan again.

Though Xie Lan was not favored in the marquis manor, his clothing and daily provisions appeared refined and expensive.

The fabric of his robes was costly, the tailoring impeccable—likely purchased from the finest ready-made clothing shops in the capital.

The attendant who followed behind him was strikingly handsome, with red lips and white teeth, and spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly. Were it not for his coarse linen clothing, Zhang Lin might have mistaken him for Xie Lan himself.

This book boy must have been carefully selected by the manor.

Therefore, Zhang Lin was convinced that Xie Lan carried money on him.

After lunch today, Master Shen had suddenly encountered an urgent matter at home. Before hurrying away, he instructed them to recite poetry, practice calligraphy, and annotate their texts.

Xie Lan sat at his desk while Shi Yi ground ink for him. Head lowered, he focused intently on his writing.

Xie Lan had entered the private school late and lacked a solid foundation. Determined to make up for lost time like a clumsy bird that flies first, he refused to waste even a single moment.

After returning to the manor, he and Shi Yi would often study by lamplight late into the night, only reluctantly going to sleep when their eyelids could no longer stay open.

Ever since moving into the Lan Courtyard, Xie Lan’s food, clothing, and daily provisions had been no different from those of the other two branches of the family. No matter how late they burned the lamp oil, they never had to worry about running out.

The two of them were like beggars who had once possessed nothing, suddenly dropped into a house of gold and silver, so wealthy that they didn’t know what to do with themselves.

After several nights plagued by anxious nightmares, Xie Lan gradually began to accept reality.

The Old Madam had truly changed. She was no longer harsh toward him, but treated him as if he were her own son.

He could keep studying without worrying about not being able to afford tuition, or paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones.

In Xie Lan’s eyes, Zhang Lin’s provocation was insignificant.

He refrained from arguing with Zhang Lin because he did not want conflict.

If things escalated and reached the Old Madam, Xie Lan feared the hard-won opportunity to study might be taken away from him.

Therefore, his tolerance was exceptionally strong.

Every day when he left the marquis’ residence, he was in high spirits. In the evenings, after returning from the private school and accepting Wei Zhaorong’s review of his lessons, he never mentioned a single unpleasant thing that had happened there.

No matter how much grievance he suffered outside, he swallowed it all himself.

But today, Zhang Lin’s demand had gone too far. For the first time, Xie Lan clashed with him.

Xie Lan did have some silver on him, but it was meant for Shi Yi.

Although Wei Zhaorong had said that the allowances for Lan Courtyard would henceforth be the same as those of the other two branches, it was not yet time to distribute them, and Xie Lan had not received any silver.

The money he carried was what he had saved up long ago.

Shi Yi’s birthday was approaching, and Xie Lan wanted to buy him a gift.

Thus, when Zhang Lin demanded that Xie Lan hand over the silver on him, Xie Lan refused without hesitation.

“Well now, Xie Lan—you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.” There were many people in the classroom. Zhang Lin was not a fool; striking him openly would invite gossip.

“Xie Lan, come out. I have something to say to you.”

Knowing full well that Zhang Lin intended to bully him, Xie Lan had no choice but to follow him behind the artificial rockery.

The moment they entered, Zhang Lin grabbed Xie Lan by the throat and slammed him against the stone.

The rock was damp and cold. The impact forced a mouthful of blood up Xie Lan’s throat.

Zhang Lin reached into the pouch Xie Lan carried and barked, “If you’d just obeyed, this wouldn’t have happened. You really forced me to use harsher means. Don’t you weigh yourself first—do you think you’re a match for me? I planned to settle this peacefully, but you insisted on making me use force.”

Zhang Lin yanked at the pouch, but Xie Lan clutched it desperately.

“Zhang Lin, you can tamper with my homework, you can touch my paper and brushes—I won’t resist. But you cannot touch my silver.”

The corners of Xie Lan’s eyes reddened. The veins at his neck bulged so fiercely they looked ready to burst.

At that moment, Shi Yi rushed forward. “Don’t touch my Third Young Master! Let go!”

“Get lost!” Zhang Lin kicked Shi Yi in the stomach. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Shi Yi!”

“You dog! Still dare to shout at me? Drag him out and drown him in the pond!”

Zhang Lin had brought two or three attendants with him, all tall and strong. Xie Lan and Shi Yi, who had long been underfed and poorly clothed, were smaller than their peers and no match for them at all.

Shi Yi was dragged out from behind the rockery. At the pond’s edge, they forced him to kneel and pressed his head down toward the water.

Just as his face was about to plunge beneath the surface, a furious shout rang out—

“Insolence!!!”

The two attendants looked up and saw Wei Zhaorong standing not far away, her face blazing with anger.

Their hands loosened immediately as they dropped to their knees in panic. “Greetings, Lady… Lady Xie.”

Shi Yi’s entire body went limp. He collapsed onto the ground and struggled to lift his head.

He saw his family’s Old Madam standing there like a deity descending from the heavens. Just her presence alone assured him that the Third Young Master and he were saved.

“What are you doing! Speak truthfully—why is my Lan’er’s study attendant being pinned down behind you? Were you planning to drown him while no one was watching?”

“No, no, Old Madam… we were just… playing.”

Even with ten times the courage, the two attendants would not dare admit what they had done.

“Where is Shen Yingke? Tell him to get out here and see me at once!” Wei Zhaorong was aflame with fury, her back teeth grinding audibly.