On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone is on holiday, even the emperor rarely gets a break.
Jiang Sheng was basking in the warm sun, with her three older brothers beside her, helping Aunt Zhang make dumplings.
The dough had been proofed long ago and divided into portions.
The eldest brother is the most skillful. He holds a short, round rolling pin, rolls the dough in circles twice, and it becomes a dumpling wrapper that is thin on the outside and thick in the center.
If my second brother were here, he would definitely tease me in a cheeky way, "No wonder it's the hands of a scholar; even his dumpling wrappers look better than ours."
The fourth and fifth brothers were a little clumsy. They would dip the meat filling into the dumpling wrapper and then carefully pinch it together, resulting in a semi-circle.
Then look at the dumplings Aunt Zhang made. Each one is delicate, round, and plump, with even and beautiful pleats. There's no comparison.
Just as Jiang Sheng finished making her mental assessment, she heard her fifth brother call out, "Little sister, come and wrap two too."
She immediately shook her head vigorously.
No, no, no, one should know one's own limitations. Even her two older brothers can manage to wrap a half-circle, but she only knows how to waste dough and meat. Even if she manages to wrap it into a circle, it will still break when it gets into the pot.
If boiling dumplings turns into noodle and meatball soup, that's not good at all.
The chubby girl put her hands on her hips and said confidently, "I'll go burn firewood."
She was familiar with this. During her years of wandering, she started collecting firewood to make fires as soon as she grew a little older, because only fire could drive away the cold, maintain the temperature, and keep her alive on cold nights.
Even though she had been living a life of luxury these past few years, with her aunt taking care of her and her brothers loving her, Jiang Sheng still hadn't forgotten how to start a fire, and she lit the dry branches in no time.
Fill a clean iron pot with water, add enough firewood, and you can safely burn it for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Just as Jiang Sheng was about to take a break, the wooden door to the courtyard was slammed shut.
It was a collision.
It was like a large animal charging at the door, making a loud enough noise to wake up even the old man sunbathing in the neighboring yard.
Xu Mo, who was in the courtyard, threw away the dumpling wrapper in his hand, placed his flour-covered palms on both sides, and his eyes were full of vigilance.
Jiang San and Jiang Si, holding sticks, stepped forward and cautiously peered through the crack in the door.
Upon seeing the ferocious humanoid animal outside, Jiang San opened his mouth wide, and Jiang Si quickly removed the door bolt. The two opened the door at the same time, and Qi Huai tumbled and crawled in.
The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy should have been full of vigor, confidence, and composure, but at this moment he was gritting his teeth, snot and tears streaming down his face, "Oh no, Brother Xu, people from the Golden Palace have come to arrest An Jun."
Not only An Jun, but his own elderly father was also detained, unable to move forward or backward, and had to endure the slander and defamation from the Zhu family and other powerful families, unable to defend himself.
“Brother Xu, were we wrong? The corruption in the imperial examinations has far-reaching implications; it’s simply beyond our control.” Qi Huai choked up. “My father once warned me that I was too confident, and now he’s embroiled in court troubles, and even Brother An is about to be arrested…”
It's clear that he cares too much about being the Minister of Rites, to the point that he's abandoned all decorum and even started to doubt himself.
Xu Mo remained relatively calm, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Qi Huai, you need to calm down first."
Jiang Sheng brought over a cup of cold tea without anyone noticing.
Xu Mo reached out and took it, then splashed it on Qi Huai's forehead.
Jiang Sheng, who had originally planned to offer him a cup of cold tea to refresh him, was speechless.
Fortunately, the effect was remarkable. Qi Huai's runny nose and tears finally stopped, and he calmed down again.
“Brother Qi, it’s understandable that you’re worried about Father and An Jun, and it’s normal for you to be concerned,” Xu Mo said slowly. “The Zhu family’s alliance with other aristocratic families with similar interests to slander us is indeed very powerful, but don’t forget, we still have the imperial family above us.”
"If the imperial family were incompetent, tyrannical, and cruel, how could the Dayu Dynasty have achieved its current prosperity? As long as the cheating in the imperial examinations is true, and the articles are indeed An Jun's, the imperial family will certainly not let the cheaters go unpunished, much less tolerate them harming loyal ministers."
That makes sense.
No matter how turbulent the northern frontier was, the central plains remained peaceful and tranquil. The people were not wealthy, but they were not displaced. The imperial family deserves much credit for this.
"Most importantly, the Minister of Rites has served as an official for many years. Would he risk his life just to spite his eldest son?"
As Xu Mo questioned him one by one, meticulously examining the issue, Qi Huai finally realized, "I understand now. If my father hadn't prepared a backup plan, he would probably have been convicted long ago, instead of interrogating An Jun first."
"But...but we need Bao Jun! We promised him we'd help us, and now we're sending him to the imperial palace to be interrogated by the officials. Isn't that ruining his life?"
Mentioning this made Xu Mo's expression turn grim.
He wasn't worried about the Minister of Rites, a cunning old official who had served for many years and was unlikely to surrender easily.
He worried that if An Jun, this weak and powerless scholar, were to be retaliated against and framed, or even lose his life, while trying to help them uncover the cheating in the imperial examinations, they would never have peace of mind.
However, the emperor's word is law, and not going is disobeying the imperial decree, which is a serious crime.
Xu Mo's expression grew increasingly somber.
After a long pause, he clenched his fist and said softly, "The imperial family only said they wanted to see the author of the article, but they don't know who the author is. Just tell them that I am An Jun, and An Jun is me."
It turns out that he has to bear everything on behalf of An Jun.
Qi Huai was shocked and his face was full of reluctance, but he couldn't find a better solution.
It was clear that the two were about to walk right into a trap.
Chang Yan, who was making dumplings, finally sighed, "Brother, who told you that if you go to the Golden Palace, you will definitely be retaliated against by the entire Fengjing aristocratic family?"
Xu Mo and Qi Huai stopped in their tracks abruptly.
An Jun exposed the cheating in the imperial examinations with his article, and the ghostwriter was only known to the powerful families of Fengjing. This move certainly offended the powerful families.
“I’m not saying the aristocratic families of Fengjing are kind, I’m saying… would they dare to retaliate?” Changyan seemed to know what the two were thinking. “A scholar who has been to the Golden Palace before even taking the imperial examination, he’s the only one in the whole world who would dare to touch him.”
Xu Mo and Qi Huai believed that protection meant hiding An Jun away so that no one could find him.
But in Changyan's view, true protection is to put him under everyone's watchful eyes, so that everyone knows him, pays attention to him, and therefore dares not touch him.
When everything is transparent, who would dare to use underhanded tricks in secret, and who would dare to defy public opinion and retaliate against An Jun?
"Besides, what do you think, elder brother? Does An Jun want to miss this opportunity to debate with everyone in the Golden Palace?" Chang Yan said with a half-smile, putting down the most perfect dumpling. "It's not too late for you to go to the Golden Palace in his place when An Jun is unwilling to go."
Regardless of what they think, ultimately, the path belongs to An Jun, and it is An Jun who has to choose it.
Qi Huai and Xu Mo exchanged a glance, then simultaneously boarded the carriage and headed to the Qi family's villa.
When they learned that An Jun had volunteered to go to the Golden Palace to testify against cheating in the imperial examinations, the two sent him to the Qi family.
There, people sent by the Heavenly Court are waiting.
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