The night wind howled like a woman’s wailing, but within the courtyard of the Liu Family’s mansion, faint sounds of laughter could be heard.
Tomorrow was the Imperial examination, and Liu Zide, the youngest son of the Liu Family, would also enter the fray early on. Wang Chunchi, Liu’s aunt, had specially prepared a feast to celebrate her son’s upcoming journey to the examination hall.
The table was laden with chicken, duck, and beef, and in the center was a bowl of bird’s nest soup. Wang Chunchi picked up the small bowl of bird’s nest and handed it to her youngest son, her smile especially bright, "My son, after you finish this bowl, you’ll have to endure a few hard days in the examination cells."
The Imperial examination comprised three sessions, each lasting three days and three nights, adding up to a total of nine days and seven nights spent in the examination cells, where eating, drinking, and sleeping all took place without ever leaving. Bird’s nest was out of the question; even the dry rations were enough to choke on.
Liu Zide, dressed in his brand new satin robes, drained the bird’s nest soup in front of him in one gulp. His brows slightly raised, revealing a hint of uncontrollable pride.
He had every reason to be proud, for the silver ant to bribe the Minister of Rites Chief Examiner had already been sent. Once the examination was over, he would beco a candidate for scholarship just like his brother. After a little more waiting, he would blend into the ranks of officials and no longer be the son of a noodle vendor. Everyone he t would have to respectfully address him as "My Lord".
Thinking of the title "My Lord", Liu Zide’s face grew even more cheerful.
However, his elder brother Liu Zixian’s brow was clouded with discontent. He spoke in a low voice, "The appetite of those at the Ministry of Rites has grown even larger. They’ve had the nerve to hike the price..."
Just a few days ago, the contact at the Ministry of Rites sent word back, declaring the silver sent was short, demanding an additional eight hundred taels. Eight hundred taels on top of the original amount, totaling one thousand six hundred taels of silver, an enormous sum that many commoners could not earn or spend in their entire lives!
For this one thousand six hundred taels of silver, the family had scraped together everything they had, emptied their savings, and even the salary Liu Zixian had saved over the past year and a half was completely drained. Despite being brothers, his heart was inevitably uneasy.
Noticing his displeasure, Wang Chunchi’s eyes shifted before she spoke with a smile, "It’s a bit more, yes, but our noodle shop is doing well. Once Zide passes the examination and gets appointed to an official position, with both of you as officials, won’t the silver flow into our household? Looking to the long term, there are plenty of good days ahead for us!"
Her words were auspicious, and Liu Kun, the Liu patriarch, nodded incessantly, "Indeed, one does not fear spending silver in the official circles, but fears having silver without opportunities to spend it. With well-managed connections, the future will be much easier." He sighed sentintally, "Back in the day in Capital City, our Liu Family had to sneak around even just to set up a small stall. Now, we’ve finally made it."
Upon these words, there was a sigh of sentint among those at the table.
Initially, the Liu Family ran a noodle stall in a Shengjing alley, often bullied by the local rchants. Yet, in just a few short years, they had secured a pri storefront on the bustling Que’er Street, the eldest son had passed the examination to beco an official, and the future looked limitless for the youngest. Neighbors who once scorned them no longer dared to gossip openly; everyone approached them with complints and flattery. Looking ahead, those days of bowing and scraping, groveling for rcy, had vanished like a wave never to return.
Truly, it had not been easy.
Liu Zide stuffed a shrimp ball into his mouth, laughing with a hint of arrogance, "Of course, our family producing two candidates for scholarship, even in Capital City, is a rare honor. This is far more impressive than that kid from the Lu Family in Changwu County..."
His words trailed off, as if touching upon a widely recognized taboo. Liu Zide abruptly fell silent, and the room quickly quieted down.
Liu Zixian’s brow furrowed deeply, and even Liu Kun’s expression darkened. After a mont, it was Wang Chunchi who broke the silence with a smile, "After all, after tomorrow’s ordeal, we won’t have to endure these hardships." Her words intentionally avoided the na just ntioned, as if stepping over a secret known to all yet unspoken.
Liu Zide quickly echoed, "Yes, yes, everything has been taken care of—Mother, just wait at ho for the good news!"
As the gathering ate and drank, Liu Zide did not dare overindulge to avoid missteps on the following day. After eating so, he went to rest in the inner room, and Liu Zixian also turned in. After Wang Chunchi cleaned up the tableware, she returned to her room, where Liu Kun sat trimming the wick of the lamp.
After cutting off a piece of the wick, the lamp shone a bit brighter. Amid the fixed glow of the fla, Liu Kun sat rigid, resembling a piece of withering wood about to decay.
A gust of wind blew through the window, causing the shadows on the wall to sway. Wang Chunchi closed the window and took off her shoes to climb the bedstand. Perhaps it was because the autumn nights had suddenly turned cold, she pulled her clothes tighter around her and shivered a little, scooting closer to the wall on the inside of the bed. The candlelight shone on her wrist, where the once heavy golden bangles were no longer present, making it look sowhat bare.
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