Not only were there no oxen or donkeys, there wasn't even a single mule.
Was that Scholar really planning to walk all the way to the Prefecture on his own two feet?
The question had been a mystery, but now it seemed there was an answer.
"Apparently, a steward from a powerful family was out on business and offered the Scholar a ride. Seeing his tattered clothes, the steward offered him some gold and silver. But the Scholar didn't appreciate the kind gesture. He cursed the man, drove him away, and declared that while he may be poor, he had his integrity and wouldn't accept charity. Then he started acting deranged, banging his head against a wall and crying, 'My poor daughter!' over and over..."
De'an shook his head and sighed. "Who knows what he's been through. Something must have snapped in his mind."
Both De'an and Zhao Jing treated it as idle gossip. They listened, but neither of them took it to heart.
