“That’s right,” Zhao said. “However, if you study hard and learn to write, you will pass the imperial examinations and become officials. You will naturally receive a monthly salary. The better you study and the better you do in the examinations, the higher your official rank will be, and the more salary you will receive. Look at your grandfather and father, they both kept the whole family well-fed and healthy.”
Yang Tiandi, knowing this, immediately said, "Then I'll go to the imperial examination with my third brother this year!"
"Although there is no age limit for the preliminary examinations, you've only just started reading 'The Primer for Children,' so it's probably pointless for you to take the exam," Zhao began to belittle her son. "Do you know that some people, like your second brother's classmate Lin Ruqing, studied diligently and became a scholar at the age of twelve? But there are others who, even in their seventies or eighties, with thinning white beards, still struggle with the preliminary examinations year after year, never achieving any official rank. That's all because they didn't study hard when they were young."
Yang Tiange nodded: "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old. That's what the teacher taught us."
“That’s right, exactly!” Zhao said. “So, when you’ll pass the imperial examinations, become officials, and get married depends on how hard you study now. Sigh, although I’m very reluctant to see you suffer, if you haven’t passed by the time you’re in your fifties, Shuangshuang and the little princess will definitely be married to someone else by now…”
Before she could finish speaking, the twins rushed out the door, shouting, "Go find the teacher for another lesson!"
In order to marry their sister as soon as possible, Yang Tiandi and Yang Tiange studied twice as hard as before, staying at home from morning to night, either asking the teacher to teach more or voluntarily finishing their homework early.
If it weren't for the holiday, Yang Tianen and Yang Tianhao would have returned home from the academy and planned to take their two cousins, who had come from afar, to Lou Wai Lou to enjoy a meal, and they would have needed the twins to accompany them. I'm afraid the two little ones would still be hiding in the study, unwilling to come out and see anyone.
The five Yang brothers and the two Jun sisters, a total of seven people, set off from the Governor's Mansion in a grand procession.
The two sisters, Wushuang and Wuxia, rode in a carriage with three young boys. Sixteen-year-old Yang Tianen and fourteen-year-old Yang Tianhao each rode a tall horse, escorting the carriage on the left and right.
Although March isn't particularly hot, around lunchtime, when the sun is high in the sky, it's still hard to avoid getting a light sweat.
Wuxia was too considerate of her two cousins, worried that they might be thirsty or hungry, so she would often think of passing them snacks and tea through the window. She was fourteen years old, close in age to her cousins. Although there were no strict rules about gender separation in the family, she was still a little shy. So she suggested that her younger sister do the work, and all the chores were done by the little Wushuang.
"Big brother, wipe your sweat!" Wushuang poked her little head out and shouted loudly.
Yang Tianen rode his horse closer to the carriage, bent down and turned to the side, bringing his forehead close to Wushuang's small hand, letting her wipe her face haphazardly with a silk handkerchief.
As she stood up, she looked through the open curtain of the carriage window and met Wuxia's eyes, who was holding Wushuang from behind. Both of them were startled. Wuxia was the first to react. She carried her younger sister back into the carriage and quickly lowered the blue silk curtain to separate the inside and outside of the carriage.
Yang Tianen straightened his back, recalling with a sense of loss the genuine fragrance that lingered on the handkerchief when he wiped his sweat earlier.
I wonder if that belongs to my cousin?
The carriage stopped in front of Louwailou. The waiters at the shop entrance recognized the Yang brothers and, without being asked, quickly stepped forward to serve them attentively.
Yang Tianhao jumped off his horse, threw the reins to the shop assistant, and strode toward a calligraphy and painting stall on the east side of the shop. Yang Tianen rushed forward and stopped him.
"Brother?" Yang Tianhao asked, puzzled. "Why are you stopping me? Isn't that Lin Ruqing?"
"It's precisely because you're Lin Ruqing that I'm stopping you," Yang Tianen said in a deep voice.
Wushuang, who was walking out of the carriage hand in hand with her sister, overheard every word of the two brothers' conversation.
Lin Ruqing?
This name... isn't it the same Lin Xiucai who framed her for having an affair with him in her past life?
Table of Contents 44 | 43 | 42 | 5
Chapter 44:
Wushuang followed his cousins' gaze and saw a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in blue, sitting at a calligraphy and painting stall not far from the east side of the Lou Wai Lou entrance. The boy was holding a brush and writing or drawing something. (qiushu.cc [Tianhuo Avenue Novels])
Behind him stood a screen with several paintings and calligraphies hanging on it, but unfortunately the carriage was stopped quite far away, so the contents were not clearly visible.
People came and went on the street, and occasionally someone would stop in front of the stall to look at the paintings and calligraphy he was selling. The boy did not take the initiative to look up and greet them, letting them come and go as they pleased.
“Brother, I’ve always known his family is poor, but out of friendship, I haven’t been able to help him directly. Now that we’ve run into him, why not go and buy him a few paintings and calligraphy pieces? That would be a good way to help him without making him lose face.” Yang Tianhao still didn’t understand his brother’s reason for stopping him and was still going to go forward. “Besides, there are many of us. If each of us buys one piece, it will be enough for him to wear for a while.”
“Lin Ruqing has always been proud and aloof, but his family’s financial situation has forced him to sell his calligraphy and paintings at a stall, which has already damaged his reputation. If you bring a bunch of friends to his stall, he won’t think you have good intentions; instead, he’ll think you’re deliberately humiliating him, and it might even create an enemy,” Yang Tian’en advised. “Since we know he’s setting up a stall here today, let’s find some unfamiliar faces later to buy his works on our behalf. This way, we can leave room for each other, and it won’t be awkward when we meet again at the academy. This is the best way to truly help him.”
Yang Tianhao scratched the back of his head, thinking that his brother made sense. He stopped insisting on his own opinion and instead led the way, taking Wuxia into the Louwailou restaurant.
Seeing Wushuang standing there in a daze, Yang Tianen reached out and touched her little head, which was styled in a bun, and asked with a smile, "Cousin, would you like to carry Shuangshuang upstairs?"
Wu Shuang nodded absentmindedly, and Yang Tianen bent down to pick her up, taking long strides as he climbed the steps.
Wushuang perched on her older cousin's shoulder, but her gaze remained fixed on Lin Ruqing and his calligraphy and painting stall.
When someone falsely accuses you of being innocent, the best way to handle it is not to confront them face-to-face, but for the men in your family to step in and find evidence that the person is lying. Therefore, she had never met Lin Ruqing in her previous life, and even if time were reversed eleven years, she would not recognize his face.
I remember my older cousin Junheng telling me about the results of the investigation. Lin Ruqing was a precocious child who passed the county-level imperial examination before he was twelve. Everyone thought he would have a smooth career and become a legendary figure in Hangzhou Prefecture.
For the next ten years or so, Lin Ruqing failed the imperial examinations repeatedly, and by the time Wushuang was sixteen, he was still only a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examinations).
Junheng inquired at Xishan Academy, where Lin Ruqing was studying, and everyone said that he had no relatives left, but no one knew his background or family circumstances.
Because Lin Ruqing was from Yuhang, Junheng wrote to Yang Xi, asking him to help verify the information. However, before his maternal grandfather's reply arrived, Wushuang had already been forced by He Shi to run away from home to save her life.
Is this person really Lin Ruqing, the one who harmed her in her past life?
If he were truly a proud and aloof person, how could he have wronged her for no reason? Moreover, his family was poor. He studied at the academy in his registered residence area, where he could get a small discount on tuition. He still had to go out and set up a stall to make a living. How could he afford to pay the expensive tuition of Xishan Academy in the capital?
Wushuang was filled with questions that no one could answer, so he was somewhat depressed.
After everyone was seated in the private room on the third floor, she still kept her head down, pouting and fiddling with her fingers, and didn't smile for a long time. [www.qiushu.cc Lots of great novels]
Yang Tianen noticed that his little cousin was unhappy, so he took her to the window.
Their reserved private room faced West Lake. As soon as the window was opened, the vast and misty lake view came into view. Yang Tianen held Wushuang in one hand and stretched the other hand out of the window, pointing out the locations of the ten scenic spots of West Lake in order.
"After we finish eating, we'll go boating on the lake. Do you both like that?"
Wushuang understood her cousin's good intentions and obediently nodded, saying, "I like it."
The waiter bustled about, serving tea and water, setting out cold dishes and fruits, while the door to the private room opened and closed from time to time.
Suddenly, a boy in brocade robes darted into the room. His entire attention was focused on the bamboo-ribbed silk umbrella he was carrying. Only when he reached the table did he look up and say, "This is for Wanwan..."