Depart
It's estimated that none of the candidates in Pingdu expected Lu Chang to fail the exam! Even if he didn't rank first on the list, he should at least have a place on it. However, the servant sent by the Gao family to check the list looked at it three times from beginning to end but couldn't find Lu Chang's name. Thinking that he had missed it, he asked someone else to count it again and confirmed that Lu Chang was not on the list.
Upon hearing the news, the old lady tore off her prayer beads. In an instant, the beads fell to the ground, and the room fell silent.
The Duchess looked anxious, twisting her handkerchief as she asked urgently, "But the people at the examination hall are not doing their job properly and have missed Chang'er's name. Why don't we send the second son's wife to the examination hall to ask?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she hurriedly headed towards the second wife's house.
"Stop." The old lady rubbed her forehead with her finger, seemingly heartbroken.
"Go back, let's call it quits. If you didn't pass the exam, you didn't pass." She waved her hand and let the maid help her back.
"Mother—" The Duchess was even more anxious; she simply couldn't believe that Lu Chang would fail the exam!
Although Lu Chang was not surnamed Gao, he was staying at the Gao family's residence. If his career had gone smoothly, he would have only benefited the Gao family. So why did he fail the exam?
Seeing the old lady return to her courtyard, the Duchess stamped her foot in anger! Pointing in the direction of Lu Chang's courtyard, she shouted, "Go find the young master and tell him to come see me immediately!"
The servant immediately ran off and returned shortly afterward, saying that the young master was not in the bamboo courtyard, but there was only a letter on the table.
The Duchess quickly opened the letter, glanced at it briefly, and finally, in a fit of anger, crumpled it into a ball and slammed it to the ground.
"That bastard, get out and don't come back! You've been eating my Gao family's rice for so many years, you're just a heartless parasite!" She left these harsh words and turned to leave the hall.
An hour after the results were announced, besides Qin Gang, the newly appointed top scholar who ranked first, being the subject of everyone's conversation, Lu Chang's failure to achieve the top rank was also a hot topic of discussion.
As a young man, he studied at Yingtian Academy, the most famous academy in Pingdu. The headmaster, Feng Wangnian, praised him as "profound and majestic." Whenever he wrote an article, many fellow students would eagerly pass it around and imitate it. Gu Fengliang, a doctor from the Imperial Academy, once visited the academy and wanted to take him as a disciple, but he politely declined. Whenever there was a society meeting, he would always take the lead in the debate, and his arguments would leave everyone in awe. Except for the last two years when he seemed to be keeping a low profile, Lu Chang's academic career was quite illustrious.
Seeing that he had failed the exam, some candidates mocked him, saying that he was unworthy of his reputation, that he only liked to gain fame when he was studying and did not put much effort into his studies, and that failing the exam was just a return to his original state.
Some people say that he declined Gu Fengliang's offer back then because he was afraid of showing weakness in front of this Imperial Academy scholar and didn't dare to let anyone test the truth of his talent.
Some say that those famous works were all written by someone else behind the scenes, and Lu Chang was just paying to have his name credited.
In short, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down, and Lu Chang's reputation was instantly ruined.
In the restaurant, several candidates who had passed the exam this year gathered, clinking glasses and chatting animatedly. One of them raised his glass and laughed, "I haven't seen Lu Chang at all today. Is it because he failed the exam that he's too ashamed to show his face?"
Upon hearing this, everyone laughed.
The person next to him laughed and said, "It's not that he's too ashamed to come out, it's that he's too ashamed to stay in Pingdu! I heard that after he found out he failed the exam, he immediately packed his things and ran out of the house, leaving only a letter saying that he was going to travel and study, and would come back to take the exam after he had finished his studies."
Everyone burst into unrestrained laughter, their minds filled with images of the man, usually as gentle as a breeze and as bright as the moon, sneaking out of his house like a mouse on a dark and windy night.
"His father was a renowned General Fuyuan, how could he have such a fame-seeking son! It's shameful! Shameful!"
One person deliberately said from the side, "He might as well follow in his father's footsteps and join the army. I don't think he has any talent for the imperial examinations. Maybe if he picks up a sword and spear now, he can become a cook!"
Laughter filled the air atop the high-rise building.
Jingwan didn't understand why Lu Chang did that. She didn't sleep a wink the night the results were announced. The next morning, Qingyu told her about how the Duchess had angrily torn up the letter in the hall.
"I heard that when the young master learned that he had failed the exam, he was disheartened and decided to travel and study elsewhere, and would return in a few days."
Jingwan, pale-faced, leaned against a pillar and asked absentmindedly, "Will you return in a few days? When will you be back?"
Qingyu shook her head: "I don't know."
Jingwan waved her hand and staggered away. Qingyu noticed that she was unsteady on her feet and wanted to chase after her to help her.
Jingwan shook off her hand and walked out of the courtyard, heading straight for the bamboo courtyard where Lu Chang lived.
She didn't go in, but stood dejectedly at the courtyard gate, feeling as if today was a dream. How could he have left without saying goodbye?
She gently rubbed the small purse hanging from her waist; inside were the receipts he had personally placed there the night before.
He knew he was going to fail the exam, and he had already made arrangements to leave...
It turns out that yesterday was a farewell.
He simply left without saying goodbye!
He had just said he would marry her when he turned around and left.
Jingwan was heartbroken and about to cry, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Just as tears were falling, a voice rang out: "Hmph, so it turns out there's more than one person in the family who's eyeing our good cousin!"
Upon hearing the sound, Jingwan quickly turned away, wiped away her tears, lowered her head, called out "Sister" and was about to leave when Gao Yun grabbed her arm.
"What, you like Lu Chang too?"
She asked without any politeness.
Jingwan quickly shook her head in denial: "What are you saying, sister? I was just passing by and am about to leave."
Gao Yun wouldn't let her leave, and continued, "Don't try to argue, I've been standing here watching you for ages!"
She deliberately circled around Jingwan, her eyes filled with undisguised disdain. As she looked her up and down, she sneered, "Although Lu Chang's parents are gone and he has no one to rely on, it's still not something someone of your status can dream of. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking; you just want to seduce him."
"But your plan has failed. I never expected that this cousin would not only be of inferior talent, but also of questionable character. He simply left, and now he has become a laughing stock in Pingdu, and even dragged our Gao family into being ridiculed!"
After speaking, Gao Yun became angry and, with the swearing style she had learned, fiercely cursed Lu Chang in the bamboo courtyard.
She used to be suppressed by her cousin, but now that he's not around, it's convenient for her to vent her anger.
Jingwan didn't want to hear any more of her foul language, so she shook her head and walked away. This time, Gao Yun didn't stop her.
She returned to the courtyard and sat quietly on the bed, holding a jade pendant in her hand—she had originally planned to give it to him today, but now she had no chance.
She couldn't fall asleep until late at night, only thinking that Lu Chang hadn't left, and that perhaps at some point tonight he would suddenly appear and tell her that he was still there.
Even if I have to leave, I should take her with me.
He left in such a hurry, without even leaving her a letter... not a single word...
Is it unwillingness, or is it not worth it?
Until dawn the next day, until her legs were so numb from sitting, she raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight streaming through the window.
Then the tears fell drop by drop, from individual drops to a stream, until she could no longer hold back and covered her face, weeping bitterly.
A month passed without anyone visiting the courtyard, and Jingwan finally accepted the fact that Lu Chang was really gone.
From then on, she stayed indoors, practicing her carving skills in the courtyard, and occasionally asked Bo Jun to bring her some books to study on her own.
As time went on, she used more and more jade, and she felt too embarrassed to trouble Bo Jun any further, so she calculated her remaining silver and decided to buy some jade herself.
Inside the room, Qingyu was tidying up the carved trinkets for her. She packed them up neatly, filling a small basket to the brim. Looking at the delicate white jade comb, Qingyu sighed, "Miss's craftsmanship is getting better and better. That's why the shops outside sell such good ones!"
Jingwan laughed and said that she was exaggerating. She knew that the jade she used was of inferior quality. Even if the craftsmanship was improved, it would be useless if the jade quality was not good.
When Qingyu mentioned that shops outside also sell these goods, she had a sudden thought. Instead of keeping these trial items at home, she might as well take them out to sell. Even if she made little money, it would still be some income.
Looking down at the basket of small items, Jingwan felt more and more that this was not impossible, as long as she could keep it a secret from the Gao family as usual.
After all, she knew that neither the Duchess nor her father allowed women from the Gao family to show their faces in public and do business.
After having this idea, she pondered it for several days before finally making up her mind.
I quietly prepared a few simple, plain clothes, a mat for the stall, and some small jade pieces...
As night deepened, Qingyu and Moyu had both gone to bed early. She carried a large bundle and slipped out of the courtyard, following the path Lu Chang had led her along to leave the mansion.
She had already decided where to set up her stall. The Imperial Street area within Pingdu City had the Long Boat Night Market, which had the most shops and stalls, but they were all run by locals, each with its own owner and strict management. She wasn't qualified to have a spot there. A distance from the Long Boat Night Market was the East Bridge Night Market...
city.
Dongqiao Night Market has few shops but many stalls, and it is a popular place for merchants from other places to trade. They sell their goods and leave without lingering, so any open space can be used as a market.
The goods traded here are unique, including items from all over the country, and there are many tourists at night.
Lu Chang had brought her here before, and they bought many rare little toys.
Thanks to my experience in the Northwest, I was so adept at being an ordinary citizen. I would simply spread out a wide cloth, lay out a few pieces of jade, sit on a small stool next to it, and take out my tools to carve a piece of jade, making sure to practice my skills as much as possible.
She wrapped her head in a dark gray cloth, covering half her face, leaving only her bright eyes staring at the guest.
Because of the low price, people still came to inquire. She was busy until the night market closed, and she sold three pieces of jewelry, earning four taels of silver.
One woman even praised her for making the jade comb and asked her to carve another one from better white jade, but in a more delicate and smaller way so that it could be worn on the head.
Jingwan agreed, and the woman said that if she did a good job, she would order a few more from her.
That night, Jingwan fell into a deep sleep, exhausted. Perhaps she was too tired, for the person who had always appeared in her dreams did not come tonight. When she woke up the next day, she sat blankly on the bed, feeling lost and forlorn.
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