Chapter 103

Chapter 103: A Letter from Home On the day of Song Mingxuan's county examination, Cui Zeyu also came. "Elder sister." Cui Zeyu walked to the side of the carriage and looked up at the person behind the wooden window. "Xuan-ge's studies have always been solid. Elder sister need not worry." Looking at her younger brother's gaunt face, Cui Lingrong said, "I'm not worried about his county examination. If he doesn't pass this year, there's always next year. The Imperial Examination is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge—I've never expected him to pass every time. It's you I'm concerned about. Your health hasn't fully recovered, yet I hear you're planning to head south again?" "A good deal of the cloth in the shop was burned. If I don't replenish the stock in time, the business will be hard to sustain." Cui Zeyu said he had mostly recovered. He had thought things through clearly these past days. Since he had chosen commerce and could no longer change that path, he might as well become the most capable merchant and achieve a breakthrough. Thus, for this trip south, he planned to seek out more cloth merchants. It just so happened that County Princess Rongjia had given them a shop front as compensation. Cui Lingrong knew her younger brother was strong-willed at his core, so she didn't try to stop him again. "Just take care of yourself, that's all." With that, she called over Er Shun. "Has Xuan-ge gone in?" Er Shun said he had. Cui Lingrong was about to return to the mansion, and Cui Zeyu offered to escort her. The two headed toward the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion together. Meanwhile, Song Mingxuan had just queued up to enter the examination hall when someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned to see Zhao Xu from the second branch of the Rong Prince Mansion. They were about the same age, studied together at the Guozijian, and because of County Princess Rongjia's connection, they had sometimes walked together at the academy before. Song Mingxuan was about to greet him when Zhao Xu leaned in close to his ear and said, "Your mother is not a good person. She harmed my maternal grandfather's family and got my mother scolded by my father." Song Mingxuan's brows knitted tightly. It was the Qian family who had done wrong—how could anyone say his mother was not a good person? Then Zhao Xu continued, "I'm telling you, you're not allowed to answer any questions on this county examination. If you pass, I'll make sure you can't survive at the Guozijian!" Many young men of the imperial clan like Zhao Xu didn't participate in the Imperial Examination. When they reached a certain age, their fathers would secure them a post, and as long as they performed decently on the surface, promotion was not a problem. But Zhao Xu was from the second branch, and with his excellent academic record, his father wanted him to sit for the Imperial Examination. If he could earn an Official Rank, he would be a rare presence among the imperial clan, bringing honor to the Rong Prince Mansion line. For examinations like the county and prefectural ones, passing meant being ranked. Zhao Xu had spent much of this period listening to his mother curse Lady Cui. Having heard it so often, he had come to loathe the Song brothers along with her. He was confident in his own studies. If Song Mingxuan also passed the county examination and ranked above him, how could he be happy about that? So Zhao Xu had been waiting for today. He wanted Song Mingxuan to fail—that would be humiliating for him, and he could mock him too. "Xu-ge, what do you mean by this?" Song Mingxuan's brows were tightly furrowed. He had been nervous already, and now with Zhao Xu's threat, his heart beat even faster. "Don't play dumb with me. I took care of you at the Guozijian all this time, and yet your mother and uncle ruined my family. Anyway, remember what I said, or I'll make things very unpleasant for you!" Zhao Xu said, shoving Song Mingxuan hard. Song Mingxuan stumbled a full step, and someone noticed. An examiner came over and barked, "All of you, stand properly! This isn't a marketplace. You are scholars—mind your manners!" In front of the examiner, Zhao Xu obediently agreed. After the examiner left, he looked at Song Mingxuan smugly. "Don't say I didn't warn you. If you're smart and hand in a blank paper, I'll let you stay at the Guozijian. But if you dare to outrank me—you know how many people at the Guozijian listen to me!" Song Mingxuan had never been so blatantly threatened in his life. The pride of youth flared up, and he gritted his teeth. "And what if I refuse?" "Refuse?" Zhao Xu laughed quietly. "Do you think your mother actually won against my aunt? How could she? No matter what, my aunt is of the Rong Prince Mansion. Even if she killed someone, she'd still be a Commandery Princess, living just fine. If your mother hadn't been so clueless, why would my aunt have lost so much face?" At this moment, Song Mingxuan was only thinking about Zhao Xu's threat and didn't dwell deeply on his words. He looked at Zhao Xu. He knew Zhao Xu had plenty of lackeys at the Guozijian, but he was someone who would take the Imperial Examination and become an official. If he cowered and backed down at the very first step of that path, then what kind of official would he ever be? Song Mingxuan said no more to Zhao Xu. He knew that reasoning with someone like Zhao Xu was futile. Rather than waste his breath arguing with Zhao Xu, it was better to compose himself and not let Zhao Xu disturb his focus. Zhao Xu saw that Song Mingxuan wasn't speaking and thought to himself that this inexperienced fellow was indeed easily intimidated. He was already convinced Song Mingxuan was afraid. As luck would have it, the two were assigned to adjacent examination cubicles. While waiting outside for the examiner's command to begin, Zhao Xu remained arrogant. "Someone like you—even if you became the Zhuangyuan, Top Scholar, without my aunt's support, you'd never amount to anything. I advise you and your brother to grovel a bit more to my aunt. Maybe she'll take pity on you and smooth your path to officialdom. As for that father of yours—heh." Zhao Xu didn't comment on Song Shulan directly, but his tone was dripping with contempt. Song Mingxuan clenched his fists. If he weren't inside the examination hall, he would have thrown a punch. It was not until the examiner gave the order that Zhao Xu snorted and entered his examination cell first. Song Mingxuan took a deep look at Zhao Xu's retreating figure before entering his own cell. Meanwhile, Cui Zeyu asked the carriage to wait while he went to buy his sister's favorite horse-hoof cakes. As it happened, the Duke of Dingguo was passing nearby. From a distance, he caught sight of a figure that seemed somewhat familiar. Just as he was about to move forward, Qian Jin pulled him aside to talk. By the time he looked again, the young man's figure was gone. "What are you looking at?" Qian Jin, ever since being demoted, had been currying favor with the powerful everywhere, hoping to be restored to his former post. Today he had invited the Duke of Dingguo and several others for drinks, but noticed the duke kept drifting off. "Ah, nothing. I have matters to attend to—no more drinking today. Another day, I'll host and treat you." The Duke of Dingguo left hurriedly with his attendants. He went to the stall to inquire. The stall owner said he didn't know the man's identity. "Forgive me, Your Grace, but he only came to buy some pastries. I wouldn't dare ask his name." The Duke of Dingguo was deeply disappointed. The young man from just now bore some resemblance to the Peng'er in his memory, and he looked about the same age. Even from such a distance, he'd felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. He had been searching for his son recently, but had found no leads at all. Now, seeing someone who resembled him, yet not knowing his identity or name, left him at a loss. An attendant, sensing his master's thoughts, said quietly, "Your Grace need not worry too much. Since he's in Bianjing, with some time and effort, we're bound to find him." Given the Duke of Dingguo's resources, finding one person wouldn't be too difficult. The Duke of Dingguo grunted in acknowledgment, took a silver ingot from his servant, and placed it on the stall. "If this man comes to buy again, and you can find out his name and address, go to the blacksmith's shop east of the city and tell the shopkeeper. I'll give you another silver ingot." He couldn't reveal his identity, so he could only have the stall owner relay messages to his shop—the blacksmith's shopkeeper was his man. The stall owner, seeing the silver, was thrilled. "Certainly! Don't you worry, I'll find out everything for you." One silver ingot was worth several taels—months of his income. He couldn't stop smiling. After the Duke of Dingguo left, Cui Zeyu escorted his sister to the gates of Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion but did not enter. "Sister, are you still at odds with Song Shulan?" As he asked, Cui Zeyu carried a hint of hope but couldn't help worrying. "Don't trouble yourself over matters between the Marquis and me. Since you're heading south to buy cloth, leave early and return soon. In a few days, the south will be hit by continuous rain—remember to bring waterproof covers, or the bolts of cloth will all go moldy." After giving her instructions to her brother, Cui Lingrong urged him to head back quickly. When she returned to Qiushuang Zhai, Nanny Qiu brought a letter, saying another one had arrived from the Cui family. Just then Song Yu came by, so Cui Lingrong had her daughter read the letter. Song Yu scanned it, then angrily slapped the letter on the table. "Grandfather is going too far! He says County Princess Rongjia is of noble status, and since she's already married Father, he wants you to curry favor with her. Anything you can't accomplish, County Princess Rongjia surely can." The more she spoke, the angrier she grew. "Mother, what is Grandfather asking for?" "To get your cousin into the Guozijian." Cui Lingrong had expected her natal family wouldn't give up easily. She picked up the letter and scanned it—her father, upon learning of Song Shulan's promotion, not only wanted her to secure her nephew's admission to the Guozijian but also asked her to have Song Shulan advance her elder brother and younger brother's careers. In the entire letter, there wasn't a single line asking if she was doing well. Song Yu, afraid her mother would be hurt, tried to console her. "Perhaps Grandfather doesn't know the situation in the Marquis household. If he knew—" "He simply doesn't care about my feelings." Cui Lingrong had Nanny Qiu burn the letter. "Pretend we never received it. I won't do a single thing for the Cui family." Having her grovel before County Princess Rongjia—that was indeed something her father would think of.