Chapter 235 Attitude Shift
After breakfast, I went to the dock to ask the boat captain if the boatmen had returned.
Upon learning that they could sail today and would observe the weather conditions at their next destination, Sheng An and the others did not delay any longer and immediately packed their bags and headed to the dock.
Once aboard, the boatman came over and said, "This rain and snow will start as early as tomorrow. If the river ahead freezes prematurely, you'll have to hire a vehicle to travel by land."
Fang Qingzhou nodded: "It's alright, you can return to port early, and I'll give you every penny."
The boat captain was relieved and a big smile spread across his face.
The sky grew increasingly overcast in the afternoon, but the warmth in the air had not dissipated.
Upon arriving at a city called Lucheng, the boatman docked ahead of schedule.
The next pier is too far away, and we definitely won't be able to get there by evening. If we don't dock early, we'll have to sleep in bed all night.
This time, everyone specifically chose the best inn in Lucheng.
If rain or snow comes and you can't travel, staying in a nice inn won't be too bad.
As the boat captain had predicted, the next morning, a northerly wind began to blow, and a light rain began to fall, accompanied by sleet that rattled against the windows.
Knowing that he couldn't travel today, Sheng An stayed in his warm bed and didn't want to get up.
Xu Jinnian was worried that she would go hungry, so he personally went to the kitchen to bring her hot water to wash her face and brush her teeth, and even brought breakfast to her bedside so that she could eat it in bed.
Sheng An didn't have the habit of eating in bed, so she quickly got dressed and got up, then picked up the sweet tofu pudding that was at the perfect temperature and started eating.
Just after they finished eating, Tan Zhenlin and two others came over and invited the couple to go shopping.
The rain and snow were light and not very cold. Staying in the inn was really stuffy. Since it was the first time the group had been to Lucheng, they naturally wanted to explore the city properly.
Sheng An wasn't particularly interested in shopping on rainy or snowy days, but she didn't spoil the mood and went out with them.
Coincidentally, they ran into Wang Juren and his party on the street again.
Xu Huaining was not there, after all, his leg injury had not yet healed and it was not advisable for him to travel in rainy or snowy weather.
Upon seeing Xu Jinnian, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Wang Juren's face.
He hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting to Xu Jinnian: "I spoke rashly the other day, which caused you trouble, Brother Xu. Please forgive me."
The night before last, Wang Juren subtly learned Xu Jinnian's full name from Xu Huaining, and naturally also knew that he was the top scholar of Dongjiang Prefecture in this year's examination.
Having offended a promising top scholar, Wang was filled with remorse and tossed and turned all night before finally managing to fall asleep.
Originally, Wang Juren planned to apologize to Xu Jinnian when he met him in the lobby the next morning. However, he couldn't bring himself to do it in front of so many people, and thus missed the opportunity.
Now that they met again on the street, Wang, the scholar, finally mustered up the courage to offer his belated apology.
Seeing the anxious look on Wang Juren's face, Xu Jinnian nodded slightly: "I accept your apology."
Wang, the scholar, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands in a respectful bow once more, and watched Xu Jinnian and his entourage depart.
Only after they had walked quite a distance did Wang Juyuan turn his gaze away, and with a look of shame, he said to the other candidates, "It turns out that Xu Jieyuan is not an arrogant person who relies on his talent; his mind is much broader than mine."
The others shared the same thought and glanced back at Xu Jinnian's retreating figure:
"Xu Jieyuan is so young that he has won the top spot on the imperial examination. Besides his superior knowledge, his character is also beyond doubt. Such a person has a limitless future!"
That day at the inn, anyone else would have probably exposed Xu Mengting's (Xu Huaining's courtesy name) true colors long ago.
In the past two days, Wang Juren and others, though not saying it aloud, have secretly become wary of Xu Huaining.
Ultimately, their relationship with Xu Huaining was merely one of companionship; they didn't have a deep connection beforehand, didn't know much about him personally, and were even less aware of his family situation.
The fact that Xu Huaining did not refute Xu Jinnian's words is enough to prove that there is a deep grudge between the two parties, and the one at fault is still Xu Huaining.
After such consideration, Wang Juren and others had a better impression of Xu Jinnian than of Xu Huaining, who had traveled with them.
It's fair to say that people with high levels of knowledge tend to have a biased view of others.
Sheng An and his party had plenty of money and were accompanied by a group of guards, so they were not afraid of displaying their wealth. Whenever they saw a shop that attracted them, they would go in and take a look.
If I see something I like and the price is right, I'll buy it.
Sheng An wandered into a fur shop and saw that the fur coats were tailored to be of better quality than the ones she had bought at a high price in Qingzhou. She bought two of them without hesitation.
She got one, and Xu Jinnian got one.
After experiencing the cold of the North for the first time, Fang Qingzhou and his companions realized that the warm clothes they had brought were not enough to keep them warm, so they all took out their money and bought two fur coats.
This purchase emptied the fur coats from the fur shop, much to the delight of the owner, who generously gave each person a pair of fur gloves.
Sheng An put it on right away. The soft and warm touch made her squint her eyes comfortably and rub her hand against Xu Jinnian's face.
Xu Jinnian smiled and lowered his head slightly, letting her rub against him.
Sheng An, however, realized they were outside and immediately withdrew her hand, not daring to look at the expressions of others, pretending that no one had seen her.
Her self-deceiving reaction made Tan Zhenlin and the others cover their mouths and chuckle, but they had to pretend to be serious so as not to make Sheng An uncomfortable.
After shopping for a while, the group bought quite a few things and then found a well-regarded restaurant for lunch.
The private room wasn't very soundproof, and the guests next door, whether naturally loud or drunk, were discussing politics without lowering their voices.
At first, Sheng An didn't pay attention, but as he listened, he unexpectedly heard a familiar name.
She paused in her chopsticks, her ear piercing as she listened.
In the next private room were several young people dressed as scholars, who were obviously candidates from other places who had come to the capital to take the imperial examinations, but whose journey was blocked by the rain and snow and had to stay in Lucheng for the time being.
One of them had a flushed face and reeked of alcohol, clearly indicating that he had drunk too much.
He pointed at a handsome student present and said in a slurred, lewd tone:
"I've heard that Princess Pingyuan's mansion keeps a hundred male concubines, the most handsome of whom is a fair-faced scholar with a dashing appearance. If Brother Su can catch Princess Pingyuan's eye, a life of wealth and honor will be within his grasp."
The scholar being pointed at blushed and looked furious: "Brother Zhang, you've had too much to drink!"
Scholar Zhang chuckled, staggered to his feet, and put his arm around Su's neck like a good brother: "If you become rich and powerful, don't forget me. If you become an official in the court someday, don't forget to help your friend out!"
His words made it sound as if Su Juren had already climbed the social ladder to become the wife of Princess Pingyuan.
The others exchanged bewildered glances and quickly stepped forward to pull Zhang away, saying, "You're drunk, don't talk nonsense."
Walls have ears, and if this gets back to someone with malicious intent, who knows what kind of trouble it could cause? They don't want to be implicated.
Unfortunately, Scholar Zhang didn't understand everyone's good intentions and continued to blurt out a juicy piece of gossip he'd heard from who-knows-where:
"If you ask me, Princess Pingyuan is too old. If you want to climb the social ladder, you should try to marry Princess Shanmin. She has just as many male favorites as her mother, and I heard that her estates in the suburbs are overflowing with them!"
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