That afternoon, her married aunt Sheng Yun and cousin Shu Lan returned to her parents' home to pay a visit to Old Madam Sheng. Lady Li hurriedly ordered the maid to fetch the two girls who were playing in Pinlan's room. Pinlan's eldest sister had married young, her eldest brother had married young, and her second brother, Changwu, had left for the capital. With no one to play with, she devoted herself to studying the Nine-Ring Chain. Minglan, who had never practiced it before, admitted defeat, feeling inferior. Pinlan, overjoyed, instructed the maid to adjust her skirt, hairpins, and rings while she rambled on about the secrets of the Nine-Ring Chain.
Danju pulled out a massive hairpin from her mother-of-pearl jewelry box, a phoenix holding a ruby and gilded with gold beads. Minglan gritted her teeth as she accepted it, feeling her neck feel three inches shorter. A large maid also hurried to insert a heavy pearl hairpin inlaid with gemstones, flowers, and butterflies into Pinlan's hair. Pinlan sullenly pushed it away, shouting, "I won't wear that thing. Last time I wore it for the whole afternoon, and it made my neck hurt for three days!"
The maidservant tried to persuade him: "My dear girl, please wear it properly. If only the aunt and the eldest daughter were here, we wouldn't force you to wear it. But Miss Hui and the third wife are here too. Look, Miss Ming is wearing it too. Hers looks even heavier than ours."
Pinlan looked up at Minglan's slightly trembling large pearl hairpin, and felt a little more balanced. She pouted and let her put it on.
She walked slowly towards the main room and turned a corner along the corridor. A maid standing at the door opened the curtain and said, "Second Miss and Ming Miss are here." Minglan followed Pinlan into the room. In the middle sat Old Madam Sheng and the eldest Madam. The eldest Madam Li was sitting on a stool, and Madam Wen was standing there preparing tea and fruit. They were all talking and smiling with several women in luxurious clothes.
A woman in her forties had been whispering jokes into Old Madam Sheng's ear. Her complexion was slightly dark, but her eyes were lively and bright, far beyond her years. Noticing an unfamiliar girl beside Pinlan, she immediately stood up and pulled Minglan over to examine her closely. The girl had skin as white as snow, clear eyes, and a pair of dimples the size of rice grains faintly visible at the corners of her rosy lips. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she turned around and smiled, "Auntie, this must be my niece Minglan! Oh my, look at her little face, she's even prettier than in the pictures. They say my niece resembles Auntie, and it turns out she's a spitting image of me!"
The old lady pointed at her and laughed, "You shameless woman! Are you praising Ming Ya or flattering yourself? With your material, you'll never find such a good skin even if you are reborn ten times!" The woman actually stomped her feet in a coquettish manner, "Mom! I'm doing this to win your honor. I was born to look like you, so when I praise myself, I'm also praising you. But you're trying to ruin my plan!"
The eldest old lady shook her head helplessly. Old Lady Sheng was also amused and nodded, saying, "Yun girl is really filial!" Everyone in the room laughed together, and the maids and wives also covered their mouths and laughed secretly.
The eldest old lady pointed at the woman and said to Minglan, "This is your aunt Yun." She then pointed to a woman with pointed eyebrows and narrow eyes sitting on the lower stool and said, "This is your aunt from the third old master's family." Then she pointed to a young wife and a young girl standing nearby, with their heads bowed, and said, "This is your elder sister Shulan, and this is your cousin Huilan from the third house."
Minglan immediately bent over, bowed gracefully, and called out each one. Everyone in the room saw that she saluted strictly and properly, with her shoulders, waist, knees, and arch of the foot graceful and elegant. When the eldest old lady pulled her aside to talk to her for a few words, they all felt that she was graceful, well-mannered, respectful, honest, and approachable, and everyone liked her very much.
Sheng Yun was the most straightforward. She pulled Minglan over and spoke carefully, asking about her favorite food, her living conditions, and so on. At the same time, she took out a heavy purse with a red and gold embroidered edge and gave it to her: "My Minglan is beautiful. Later, my aunt will give you some fine brocade and Japanese satin to make clothes for you!"
Pinlan was open-minded by nature. Seeing Minglan being liked by others, she was not angry at all. She just pretended to be annoyed and said, "Auntie is so biased. Now that she has seen a sister who is better than me, she has forgotten me." Sheng Yun tapped Pinlan's forehead vigorously and scolded her with a smile, "You little heartless girl, you haven't taken enough from Auntie all these years!"
Everyone in the room was talking, but no one paid any attention to the Third Madam. She was drinking tea alone when she suddenly interrupted, "Niece Pinlan, just be content. Although we are all nieces, your sister Huilan has nothing to lose."
Minglan lowered her head and glanced at Huilan secretly, only to see her blushing face and keeping silent. Then she looked at the Third Madam, whose clothes looked bright, but a closer look revealed traces of wear and tear at the cuffs.
Sheng Yun ignored her and only said lightly: "Aunt has been very kind to my brother and me, and Minglan's niece is no exception." The Third Madam was left behind. She turned around and glared at Huilan fiercely, saying in a roundabout way: "You are useless! If you had half the ability to please people like your cousin Minglan, you would have won all the big and small things from your aunt! But now you have called her aunt for more than ten years in vain and haven't earned a penny!"
Sheng Yun immediately retorted, "I don't understand what Sister-in-law Zhu said. Could it be that the children in your family call me aunt because they are looking at me and plotting against me?"
The Third Wife raised her eyebrows and shrilly said, "Oh, I wouldn't dare! But now everyone outside is saying that the first and second branches of the Sheng family have mountains of gold and silver, but they just watch their brothers and uncles become so destitute that they have to beg for food without doing a thing! They give out porridge and rice to strangers every day, but they are just trying to gain a reputation as kind people. It turns out it's all just a pretense!"
When Pinlan heard someone insulting her father, she immediately shouted, "My father just sent several carts of firewood and rice to Third Aunt's house the other day. As for money, he has been sending it every month. Is this just for show?"
The eldest wife, Mrs. Li, said in a deep voice, "Pinlan, stop being so rude! Leave now!"
There was a flash of swords and shadows in the house.
Minglan was secretly shocked, her head lowered, not wanting anyone to see the surprise on her face. In the past, the three sisters had quarreled, and Wang and Aunt Lin had been sparring, but never had they done anything like this. She stole a glance at the others, but saw that everyone, including Old Madam Sheng, looked normal.
The eldest old lady snorted, "Zhui'er's daughter-in-law, are you here to pay your respects to your second aunt today, or are you here to pick a fight? You're yelling and shouting in front of the elders, aren't you afraid of making a fool of yourself by the younger generation?"
The third wife blushed, sat down without saying a word, and drank tea and ate snacks.
Minglan turned around and saw Pinlan looking at Huilan with a smug look on her face. Shulan, however, felt sorry for her and pulled Huilan away to talk, thus alleviating the awkward situation in the room. At this moment, a maid came in and announced, "Mrs. Li is here."
The eldest wife hurriedly said, "Come in." The maid opened the curtain, and a woman with a head full of pearls and jade and a plump complexion came in. When she saw the eldest and Sheng wives, she bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "I am sorry to bother you, old ladies. Please don't blame me, but I often hear my sister-in-law talk about your kindness and love, so I have the audacity to come and pay my respects today."
Old Madam Sheng smiled and said, "Aunt and Madam are too modest. We are all family, why are you talking about different families? When you get older, you like to be lively. I am very happy that you can come. ... Minglan, come and meet Aunt and Madam."
Minglan stepped forward and bowed respectfully, hesitating about what to call her. The auntie quickly said, "Just call me auntie, like Pinlan does." Minglan looked up at Old Madam Sheng and saw her nod slightly. Then she called out obediently, "Hello, auntie."
Aunt Zhu's eyes narrowed into a line and she smiled, "What a beautiful daughter! The old lady is so lucky." As she spoke, she took a lotus-colored purse from the maid beside her and stuffed it into Minglan's hand. Minglan looked down and saw that the purse was embroidered with brilliant beads and inlaid with precious stones. It was extremely gorgeous and dazzling. Even without looking at the things inside, the purse alone was worth a lot of money.
Everyone sat down to chat. Aunt Zhu ignored the Third Madam as usual and only spoke to Old Madam Sheng and the others. They talked about everything from Nanjing to the capital, from the inner family to their children. Minglan never looked down on the gossip and flattery among the women in the inner house. Only after listening carefully did she know that Old Grandpa Li had made his fortune together with Old Grandpa Sheng in his early years. At the beginning, it was not as prosperous as the Sheng family, but they raised their son well (no foreign genes were introduced, but they married him with a wife from the countryside). After three generations of hard work, the family business prospered and became one of the best families in Youyang County.
The Third Wife tried to interrupt several times but failed. The First Wife spoke for a while and then suddenly said to Sheng Yun, "Where's Taisheng? Didn't he come with you today?" Sheng Yun laughed and said, "It's rare for Wu'er to come back from the capital. My silly boy never stops talking. Hey, Auntie, are you here alone today?" Zhu smiled and said, "Yu'er and Du'er are here, but they're both out."
The eldest old lady smiled and said, "They are all relatives, call them in quickly."
With that, she called for the maid to pass someone along. Then, the curtain was drawn aside, and three boys of similar age came in. They all bowed to Old Madam Sheng. The eldest old lady smiled and pointed to the boy in the front, with smiling eyes, red lips, and white teeth, and said, "This is Yu, the second son of my aunt's family." Then she pointed to a shy boy on the left and said, "This is Du, the third son of the Li family." Finally, she pointed to a boy with a dark, thick, and strong complexion and said, "This is my maid Yun's son, Taisheng."
The three boys each had their own style, and for a moment the room was filled with a lively atmosphere. Except for Minglan, everyone else already knew them, so Minglan had no choice but to come over and greet them one by one, and followed Pinlan in calling them all "cousin".
Zhu smiled and said to Minglan, "You have an older cousin who is out doing some shopping. Your older cousin's wife is a very kind person. Please come to my house and play with me in the future."
Old Madam Sheng praised, "You are so lucky, my uncle. Your son is so handsome and elegant. He is truly a man of good character." The uncle's wife laughed and said, "These two devils are making a fuss. You are too kind, old madam."
Old Madam Sheng pulled the two Li boys over and asked them about their studies. Learning that the elder had passed the imperial examination and the younger was also a student on government stipend, she was even more pleased: "Very good, very good! Hard work is the way to make progress." Zhu smiled and said, "Their achievements are nothing compared to what I've heard. I heard that your eldest grandson passed the imperial examinations for both scholar, juren, and jinshi degrees on the first try, and now has been appointed a Shujishi and serves in the Hanlin Academy. This is truly the destiny of the Wenquxing star descending to earth."
Old Madam Sheng turned and glared at the eldest Madam: "It must be the old sister-in-law who spread the news everywhere. She's praising the children to no avail." The eldest Madam smiled and said: "Of course we should praise the good things. When these two children go to Beijing for the exam, you should take care of them."
Old Madam Sheng said, "Of course, Wei Ge's daughter-in-law's nephew is like our own child. Auntie, when the brothers go to the capital, they can stay with me. I have two young men at home preparing for the exam, so they'll be just the right companions."
Zhu was waiting for this sentence, and laughed repeatedly, "Thank you so much, old lady. Yu'erdu'er, why don't you kowtow to express your gratitude?"
Li Yu and Li Du immediately bowed down again, and the aunt thanked them again and again.
Pinlan leaned over to Minglan's ear and whispered, "I'm just staying with my relatives. Why are you thanking me like this?"
Minglan smiled bitterly. This little girl was really bold. She just replied, "I have a lot of books at home."
The truth is, taking the imperial examination requires more than just hard work, but also a tremendous amount of preparation before and afterward. There's a lot of nuance to this: first, one must understand the essay preferences and political leanings of the chief and deputy examiners, even their preferred fonts. Then, one must understand the prevailing political climate, avoiding taboo topics and factional struggles. Finally, one must make friends, seek out teachers, and establish a familiarity with the elite.
Although the exam papers were sealed with names, the chief examiner could generally identify familiar candidates based on their handwriting and writing. This wasn't a way to cheat, but as long as the results weren't too outrageous, they could earn a relatively high score. With an official family like the Sheng helping with introductions, Li Yu and Li could achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Minglan thinks that... a candidate who doesn't want to pass the exam is not a good candidate, but an exam venue that doesn't use connections is a good exam venue.
At this time, Pinlan went over and talked to Hu Taisheng, laughing a little louder. Sheng Yun turned to look, frowned, and then walked over to Old Madam Sheng and said with a smile, "My Taisheng is not a good student. Auntie is dissatisfied with him."
Old Madam Sheng seemed to be very fond of this naughty niece. She scolded her with a smile, "You naughty monkey! How many times did I teach you to read and write when you were little, but you only studied for a few days and slacked off for a few days. You can't even recite the Three Character Classic. And you still have the nerve to talk nonsense?! Taisheng, this is all because of you! Taisheng, come here." She took Taisheng's hand and said with a smile, "Good boy, every family has its own top talent. I often hear your uncle praise you, saying that you are diligent, kind, hardworking, and very capable in managing the family business. I can't help but feel happy for your mother when I hear that!"
Hu Taisheng just had a simple smile on his face. Pinlan came over and said with a smile, "Cousin, my sister Ming is new here. Did you bring any goodies?" Taisheng answered honestly, "Western snacks from across the lake. Let my sisters try something new."
The third wife was unwilling to be lonely, and after enduring for a long time, she finally spoke: "I have never tasted Western pastries in my life. I heard that they are very sweet. Bring some back for me so that your third uncle can have a taste. Nephew, don't learn to look down on your third uncle's family!" Huilan also smiled and said: "Look at what mother said, cousin Taisheng is the most kind-hearted. How could he be partial to our family and look down on us?" Huilan spoke in an intimate tone, and looked at Taisheng with a pair of watery eyes. Taisheng blushed and stood with his head down, and would never speak again.
Everyone else in the room pretended not to notice, only Pinlan was angry and wanted to rush over again. Minglan sighed inwardly. She wanted to pull Pinlan's sleeve, but after estimating the power comparison between her cousin and herself, she decided to change her strategy.
Minglan turned lightly and stopped in front of her without leaving a trace. She hadn't thought of an excuse yet, but the arrow was on the string, so she said something she thought was very clever: "Sister Pinlan, please tell me how to solve the nine-fold interlocking knot. It's been hanging in my mind for a long time, and it's making me feel uncomfortable."
Pinlan was indeed stopped and turned around in surprise: "Huh? Didn't I explain it to you step by step just now? How come you don't know it now?" Her voice was a little loud, and several boys standing nearby looked over, especially the youngest Li Du, whose expression vaguely showed the words "she is so stupid". Minglan's face was burning with embarrassment, and she cursed him in her heart.
Li Yu chuckled softly, glanced at Minglan, and said, "Only someone as clever as Miss Pin can master something as profound as the Nine Links in one go. We're so clueless, so we'll have to go through it more often." Hu Taisheng was the most honest, agreeing repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I can't learn it either."
Pinlan was very proud when she heard this: "My cousin is right." She turned around and patiently told Minglan the trick to solve the Nine Rings again.
Minglan felt quite melancholy: "How profound! But at least I achieved my goal."
Minglan listened with a smile on her face, nodding her head in agreement. When she turned around casually, she suddenly saw Old Lady Sheng sitting at the head of the table. She was talking to the other female relatives and smiling continuously. Minglan was a little stunned, and felt that her grandmother's smile was somewhat familiar... Oh, yes, this was the smile her grandmother had on her face when she used a boiled egg to coax her into getting her ears pierced when she was a child.
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