WSMTATMC C126

Chapter 126

During the New Year, it would have been proper to visit Elder Lu, but they had returned too late; then, right after the holiday, they hurried to the county, and never found the time.

Now that they were back, they naturally had to pay a visit, and also ask Elder Lu’s disciple, Liu Changyi, about experience with the prefectural and academy examinations.

By coincidence, the day they arrived was a rest day, and Elder Lu was at home.

When the doorman reported it, the old gentleman rose at once. “Quick, let them in.”

Soon the three entered carrying modest gifts; though the items were not expensive, Elder Lu dispensed with ceremony and took Chen Qingyan by the arm to ask, “Why don’t I see your master?”

“Master went to Ting County to stay a few days with his son. He should be back before the prefectural exam.”

“Oh, I remember—Liang Shuo is serving as magistrate in Ting, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Come inside—how did the county exam go this time?”

Chen Qingyan said, “As hoped, the three of us all passed.”

Chen Qingsong added, “Elder Brother even took first place on the county list!”

“Excellent! I said Boqing’s eye for talent wouldn’t be wrong. Prepare well for the prefectural exam; once the prefectural and academy exams finish, you can come study at the prefectural academy.”

“That’s our plan as well. We’d also like to visit Brother Changyi to ask about the prefectural exam—might he be at home?”

“He’ll certainly be home. That child won’t go out even on rest days—his father complained to me just a few days ago, saying the boy’s read himself stupid and won’t keep a single friend. Go see him, spare his father the worry.”

“Understood.”

After taking leave of Elder Lu, the three went straight to the Liu residence. They had been twice before when they first came to the prefectural city and remembered the way.

The Liu home sat on Tong Street in the northern part of the city. Though Liu Changyi’s father held only an idle seventh-rank post at the yamen, anyone living on that street was no ordinary family.

It was said he had an elder brother who was a favorite at the Emperor’s side—now a second-rank Minister of Appointments and an Inner Cabinet managing minister. Thus the Liu family rose with the tide and was quite renowned in Jizhou’s prefectural city.

Yet Liu’s parents were not aloof. Father Liu was mild and few of words; Mother Liu was forthright, lively, and very warm.

Each visit felt like kin calling—Mother Liu never treated them as outsiders, always preparing food and, on parting, sending a basketful along.

On the way, Chen Qingsong swallowed and said, “I still remember how delicious Mother Liu’s crystal pork knuckle was.”

Chen Qinghuai flicked his forehead. “Don’t say that when we get there—you’ll get laughed at.”

Qingsong stuck out his tongue. “I wouldn’t dare—just talking to you.”

At the gate, Chen Qingyan stepped forward to knock. Soon a houseboy opened the side door, blinked at the three, and said, “You must be the three young masters of the Chen family?”

“Yes—so you remember us.”

“Of course! Our young master often mentions you. Please wait—I’ll announce you.”

Moments later came the patter of running feet from the courtyard. “Brother Qingyan! Qinghuai! Qingsong!”

The main door swung open—Liu Changyi ran out in a thin jacket.

They embraced in delight. “Half a year without seeing you—are you well, Brother Changyi?”

“All’s well—come in! Mother just fried tang yuanzi—eat them hot, they’re fragrant and sweet!”

The four entered hand in hand. Lady Liu came in with a tray, paused in surprise, then broke into a smile. “I remember you—Changyi brought you last year.”

The three bowed respectfully.

Lady Liu waved it off. “Enough with ceremony—sit, and taste whether my tang yuanzi are good.”

After washing their hands, the three sat and picked up a few with their chopsticks to try.

“Careful—they’re small, but the sugar inside is hot. Don’t burn your tongue. There’s honeysuckle tea on the table to cut the richness.”

Qingsong, the sweet tooth, ate one and praised, “Mmm—Auntie’s are truly delicious! Crisp skin, soft and glutinous inside—the sugar is just right: a touch more would be cloying, a touch less would lose flavor.”

Lady Liu couldn’t stop smiling. “If you like them, eat more. There’s more in the kitchen!”

After a brief chat, Lady Liu returned to the kitchen, and the atmosphere loosened.

Liu Changyi asked, “When did you get back?”

“The twenty-eighth of the twelfth month—we just made it.”

“Then why’d you wait so long to find me!”

Qinghuai explained, “Forgive us, Brother Changyi. We rushed back and, after the New Year, began packing to return home for the county exam. After the county exam, we performed ancestral rites; only a couple days ago did we get back to the prefectural city.”

“Oh, no wonder. You passed the county exam, yes?”

All three nodded together.

“Let me guess who took first.” His gaze flicked between Qingyan and Qinghuai before he said, “It must have been Brother Chen the elder.”

“Wow, Brother Changyi, you guessed right!”

“Brother Qingyan’s essays lean toward practical governance; Brother Qinghuai’s toward elegance. Knowing the current policy essays, I figured Brother Qingyan would edge ahead.”

“And me, what about me?” Qingsong piped up.

“You’re improving—your script is much better than mine,” Liu said with a grin.

Qingsong scratched his head and laughed; he, too, thought his hand had improved.

Qingyan said, “The prefectural exam is nearly here. We have no experience, so we’ve come to ask you.”

“The prefectural exam is much like the county exam, but you must arrange for stipended students to serve as guarantors—this isn’t hard. Just find a few at the prefectural academy to help. It’s already mid-third month; you should hurry to register, or it’ll close at month’s end.”

Qingyan said, “This year, Qinghuai and I will sit the prefectural exam. Qingsong is younger—waiting a bit won’t hurt.”

“I’ll handle the guarantors,” Liu thumped his chest. “After the prefectural exam, we’ll go to school together.”

“Many thanks, Brother Changyi.”

“Don’t be formal. Tell me where you’re staying—on my rest days, I’ll come study with you.”

Qingyan hesitated; they’d stayed so briefly he didn’t even know the lane’s name. He left the name of their vegetable shop instead.

“On Yang Street—Wang’s Vegetable Shop is my spouse’s. Ask there, and he’ll tell you in which lane we live.”

“Wang’s Vegetable Shop?” Liu cried in surprise.

“What is it?”

“I’ve heard Mother mention it—several times. She said the shop suddenly closed, and after New Year we couldn’t buy fresh vegetables. We thought it had shut down—never imagined it was your family’s!”

“We returned to our hometown, so we closed for a while. Now that we’re back, it should reopen soon. If Auntie wants any greens, she can pick what she likes.”

“I must tell Mother.”

After discussing the exam, they turned to Yangzhou. Liu had scarcely traveled—the farthest being the capital to escort his elder sisters when they married—so he longed for Jiangnan.

Qinghuai described its scenery in detail, and the experiences of their journey.

Liu sighed again and again. “If only I could have gone with you!”

But his parents would never agree—too far, gone for half a year, and if danger arose, who knew if he’d return? He deeply admired the Chen brothers for it.

When the tale ended, he spoke of happenings at the prefectural academy over the past half year.

“Do you remember that poetry gathering?”

They nodded—their first such large gathering, unforgettable.

“Afterward, your poems spread—everyone vying to read them. You made quite a name at the academy! Especially your ‘Untitled’—it’s almost become the poem scholars use to pledge their hearts.”

Qingyan’s face burned. He had never dared show that poem to Wang Ying, fearing he’d be laughed at.

“And Fang Wenke—he kept telling people he didn’t believe you wrote those poems, saying Master Liang must have coached you and you prepared in advance.”

In private, Liu had argued with him several times; the other, mindful of Liu’s standing, promised not to spread it—but still belittled the Chen brothers behind their backs. Since then, Liu rarely associated with them.

Liu was somewhat introverted, not quick to socialize. Because of Elder Lu, he had grown close to the Chen brothers and become good friends.

After they left, he brought no one home again. His father thought him too solitary, with no friends, and went to complain to Elder Lu.

Near noon, Lady Liu warmly invited them to dine. Hard to refuse such hospitality, they stayed. Just then, Liu’s father returned from the yamen and joined them.

He was gentle by nature, speaking slowly and carefully—like a warm spring breeze. He asked after the three, learned they had finished the county exam and were preparing for the prefectural, and gave them kindly, elder-like advice.

On parting, Lady Liu pressed food into their hands again. Learning that Qingyan had married, and that there was a child over two, she said, “Next time bring the little one to play.”

“My child is too mischievous—I fear he’ll trouble you.”

“Children are meant to be mischievous—they’re a joy. Bring him next time.”

Lady Liu loved children, but her own sons’ marriages had not gone smoothly, and she had yet to hold a grandchild.

Liu was the same age as Qinghuai—eighteen. In these times, most men would already be engaged; early marriages might already be fathers.

He had been negotiating a match—the girl was the former Jizhou Prefect’s daughter, three years his junior. The two families planned to betroth them in autumn last year and wed in spring.

Plans couldn’t keep up with change. Because of the flood, the prefect was demoted to Liuzhou, and the whole family went south.

The Lius thought a demotion wasn’t fatal; a betrothal once made shouldn’t be broken. They hoped, once the family settled, to bring her north.

Never did they imagine that on the journey south, the girl took ill and died.

Lady Liu wept in secret when she got the news—poor thing, gone so young. Had they insisted on keeping her then, the two would have been wed by now.

Liu had two elder sisters, both married in the capital. They seldom returned; grandchildren were unseen. She could only dandle others’ children to soothe her longing.

After the guests left, Master Liu said, “These three children please my eye. Their bearing is proper—not like those raised in the country.”

Liu Changyi sighed. “Because their master is Liang Liufang—naturally not ordinary!”

Father Liu shook his head. “Learning can be taught; household upbringing cannot. Their family’s instruction must be upright to have raised such children. I wonder if they have a daughter—if she were of age, it wouldn’t be a bad match…”

Footnotes

• Prefectural exam (府试) and academy exam (院试): Successive layers after county-level exams, governing advancement to the prefectural academy and ultimately toward provincial exams. 
• Stipended student guarantors (廪生保结): Registered stipend scholars who serve as sponsors/guarantors in exam procedures. 
• Tang yuanzi (糖元子): Small deep-fried sticky-rice balls with molten sugar filling; served hot, often with tea to balance richness.