[OASNG] Chapter 101: We Are Disabled
[August 7, 2019] ... "No that won"t do. That won"t do." Wind shook his hands vigorously left and right. "If we"re talking about age, you guys are better suited. Lady Minerva is only twenty, she"s not that old. Wouldn"t Brother Pei Qing be a better match?"
The three tried foisting the task off on each other. They were all good and honest men in their teens. How could they let a lady they didn"t know defile their purity?
This went on into the night with no clear loser in sight.
The next day the five of them went around asking about Lady Minerva"s whereabouts. Fortunately she was the kind to keep a low profile. She rarely frequented expensive restaurants or went to exclusive clubs. Instead she tended to visit the library to read books.
The library wasn"t a place just anyone could go though. There was an entrance fee of one gold coins per hour. Other than the rich, who could afford such a leisure activity? Certainly not ordinary people.
"One hour for two gold. That"s too expensive. How much will it cost for all of us stay there all day? How about we just watch for her outside the library instead?" Wind thought about the debt they would accrue with their loan shark. It was best to limit it as much as possible.
"No, spending everyday outside the library would make us too conspicuous." Jier vetoed the idea.
"I know the kind of person that enter the library without paying." Pei Qing said.
"Who?!" Everyone asked in unison.
"The disabled." Pei said seriously.
"What?! Disabled? You"re disabled!" Wind yelled at Pei Qing.
Rain knocked her brother on the head for being so dense. "Ai-yo. Stupid! That"s not what Pei Qing meant. We just have to pretend to be disabled so we can get in."
"What a good idea!" Everyone agreed.
Feng Wu tilted her head to the side and asked, "How do we pretend?"
Jier explained. "Xiao Wu, you just have to pretend to be dumb and mute. It shouldn"t be a problem for you."
Feng Wu nodded in agreement.
After a few seconds Jier said, "As for the rest of you guys, maybe pretend to be lame. Like you"re paralyzed on one side."
To complete their disguise and deceive the librarian they even acquired appropriate accessories. There were bandages, crutches, and even a wheelchair. They were very prepared.
They showed up at the library the next day, deaf, dumb and maimed. The library wasn"t busy so the librarian actually took quite a bit of notice of them.
It was true, laws did provide for the disabled to read for free at the library, but in reality it was only the rich who ever came to read. What kind of rich person would want to read with disabled people around?
The librarian was a middle-aged uncle who had worked at the library for a few months. In all the time he"d been there, he had never seen an actual disabled person visit the magnificent library. Jier"s group was the first encounter he had.
He got the impression the group weren"t there to learn and improve their self-knowledge. Regardless the rules were there and he was not going to kick them out just because they weren"t reading properly. He would just keep an eye on them in case they were up to no good.
Just because the librarian was OK with it didn"t mean some of the other young aristocrats were. They didn"t expect the uncle would take notice of the group but not do anything. The group of gimps was polluting the air. It wasn"t right. These young aristocrats were unaware of the law that allowed disabled people to freely use the library.
How could they respect a law they didn"t know? It was obvious to the young n.o.bles the group were commoners. Why were they allowed to sit and breathe in the same air as n.o.bility?
They went to the librarian and requested the group be kicked out. Of course the librarian wasn"t going to do that. He bluntly refused their request. What was to be done?
Well of course the young lords and ladies decided to take things into their own hands. The young ladies hatched a plan.
"Oh my goodness! Where is that stench coming from?! Those wretched beggars! Their stench is deathly. Quickly leave. You"re making the ambiance go down!" A gorgeously dressed n.o.ble youth walked over to Jier"s group.
Another dressed in school uniform piped up. "I know right? Tomorrow"s the college admissions test too. How are we supposed to study properly with such stench in the air?" said he as he walked over.
"We"re not leaving. We"re disabled. If you dare drive us out we"ll send a letter to the imperial palace about how you"re forcing disabled people out of the library so they can"t study. It"s a law that"s been in effect for generations. You dare question the wisdom of our ancestor rulers?" Pei Qing, on behalf of the group, severely rebuked the two youths who came over.
Good job Pei Qing! He had somehow managed to escalate the situation and shift the focus to something even more preposterous, suggesting the youths were questioning the wisdom of the kings and queens of bygone eras.
The two youths slunk away when they saw that the disabled group weren"t so easy to intimidate.
Upon seeing that the group was not easily bullied, the other young n.o.bles gave up on the idea of hara.s.sing them.
Jier and Feng Wu found some books and brought them to a table to read.
The n.o.bles all gave group a wide berth. None of them wanted to inadvertently catch anything contagious. Instead of reading in the library, they checked the books out, opting to read in the safety of their own homes.
Jier"s group spent the next ten days like that at the library: sleep then library, sleep then library.
They were bored stiff! If it weren"t for the two hundred thousand gold coins, they would not have been able to persevere.
Feng Wu was an exception; she looked like she was diligently studying every day. She read quietly, unlike the others in her group who either chatted or gossiped about Lady Minerva.
Wind and Rain reached their limits five days later. Any more and they would turn in actual bookworms!
"Xiao Wu, you read so seriously every day. Are you really into it?" Rain was feeling blue so she chatted with Feng Wu.
"Yes. I like it very much."
"Wow. I really admire you. You can be interested in such boring books."
"They"re not boring. They"re very good." Feng Wu genuinely liked reading in the library. It reminded her of the old librarian"s library.