A square Eight Immortals table stood before the couplets and the family precepts, with a dignified spirit tablet of Confucius placed upright on it. At the right side of the table sat a middle-aged man with a black gauze Dongpo cap on his head, wearing a brown cloak with sleeves resembling a Daoist robe, three long wisps of beard, and a refined, elegant face.

Miss Grace was kneeling before him, crying and complaining to him.

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This middle-aged man was the master of the The Sullivan Estate, Elder Mr. Sullivan. By rights, he should not have to deal with such trivial matters, but for the sake of strict family rules and upholding the family’s reputation, ever since his grandfather’s time, any fighting or brawling within the clan was regarded as a disgrace to the family’s scholarly tradition and strictly forbidden. Once discovered, the family head would personally handle it, and as long as it was verified, the offender would be expelled from the family—an extremely harsh rule.

If this authority were handed to others, wouldn’t the The Sullivan Family household fall into chaos? So, although he was quite impatient, he still had to restrain himself and ask about the ins and outs of the conflict.

He was being driven dizzy by the rambling, dialect-laden speech of ‘Miss Grace’, when he saw a handsome, bright-eyed young man enter from outside. The boy looked only thirteen or fourteen, and though his clothes were patched, they were spotlessly clean and neatly worn, making him look all the more fresh and pleasant.

Even more admirable, the child walked with composure and behaved with proper manners—clearly a well-educated person, surely from a scholarly family.

Compared to the Miss Grace kneeling on the ground, foolish and fat as a pig, the difference was like heaven and earth, snow and mud. Unconsciously, Elder Master fell into the habit of judging by appearance and found himself favoring the young man.

After entering, Adam Sullivan lifted the hem of his robe and respectfully saluted the image of Confucius on the table. This gesture further increased Mr. Sullivan’s goodwill. After paying respects to Confucius, Adam Sullivan turned to Mr. Sullivan and said in a clear voice, “Tongsheng Adam Sullivan greets Elder Mr. Sullivan.”

Mr. Sullivan quickly laughed and said, “Please, please rise, no need to be so formal.” This was not because Mr. Sullivan was easygoing or reluctant to let Adam Sullivan kneel... In this era, kneeling was an essential ritual to distinguish ranks and establish authority, especially in a large family like the The Sullivan Family, where there could be no carelessness.

The reason he did not accept Adam Sullivan’s bow was because of the word ‘tongsheng’ from Adam Sullivan’s mouth. What is a tongsheng? It’s not just a way of saying “I’m young, please take care of me,” but a declaration of status... Someone who has taken the county, prefectural, and academy exams but has not yet obtained the shengyuan qualification—a scholar, regardless of age, is called a tongsheng.

This often gives the impression that ‘tongsheng’ is synonymous with failure or bad luck, with a social status barely above that of a beggar. But in fact, as long as one could take the imperial exams, it meant the tongsheng’s family background was clean—no male criminals in three generations, no remarried women, and had received formal education—a proper scholar.

In the Ming dynasty’s hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant, ‘scholar’ was highly respected and privileged, belonging to the ruling class. Although ‘tongsheng’ was the lowest rung of this class and might live worse than a farmer, it did not diminish their superior political status.

This is easy to understand... Even if someone is down and out now, who knows if they might succeed in the next exam and rise to prominence? So everyone tacitly maintained proper boundaries, just in case they met again in the future. Over time, a rule formed for tongsheng: except in formal occasions, kneeling could be excused whenever possible.

Last year, Adam Sullivan had taken the tongsheng exam, but had to withdraw halfway due to his mother’s serious illness... This was not shameful at all; on the contrary, it was highly praised as an act of filial piety.

But since he had taken the county school exam, he was considered to have participated in the tongsheng exam and thus qualified to call himself a tongsheng—the most respectable kind.

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Upon hearing this, Adam Sullivan promptly stood up and bowed deeply, saying, “Humble student Adam Sullivan greets Elder Mr. Sullivan.”

“No need for formalities,” Mr. Sullivan said with a laugh. “You are the son of Mr. Sullivan, aren’t you?”

“In reply to Elder Master, I am indeed,” Adam Sullivan replied politely. “My father often says that when he and I were in distress, we were taken in by your kindness, Elder Master. We can never repay you, and can only be eternally grateful...”

Mr. Sullivan waved his hand, feigning displeasure: “Aren’t you all members of the The Sullivan Family? To say it like that is to treat us as outsiders.” From Brian Sullivan’s father’s generation, the family had split, so strictly speaking, they were not one household anymore, but there was nothing wrong with speaking as if they were close.

Seeing their lively conversation, Miss Grace felt things were going badly for her and couldn’t help but interject, “Great Uncle, it was he who caused your granddaughter to end up like this.”

Chapter 9 The The Sullivan Family Courtyard (Part 2)

Although he had a good impression of Adam Sullivan, family rules were above all.

Frowning, Mr. Sullivan said in a deep voice to the Fourth Young Master standing by, “Fourth, you brought them here. Tell me what happened from the beginning.”

“Yes, Father,” Fourth Young Master replied meekly, as obedient as a kitten, lowering his head and eyes. “This afternoon, I was studying in my room when someone from Miss Grace’s family suddenly came to complain, saying this young man had injured his wife.” He glanced at his father, and seeing no change in his expression, continued carefully, “You told us to look after the clan, so I followed your instructions and went to Wentao Courtyard to check. There I saw the injured Miss Grace and this young man who lives upstairs.”