Chapter 5 The Lone Phoenix's Curse (Part 5) - Strange Circumstances.
“I didn’t do very well on that policy essay,” Ye Xingwen said, his head bowed even lower as the old lady’s gaze was drawn to him. “The professor gave me a below-average grade.”
"Below average?" The old lady's voice deepened. "A descendant of the Ye family, only achieving below average in the Imperial Academy? What have you been doing all this time?"
"The coursework has been difficult lately, and the annual exams are sure to be tough... I'll do my best to cope." Ye Xingwen's voice grew softer and softer.
The old lady frowned. Seeing this, Second Master Ye suppressed his rising anger and embarrassment, stood up and tried to smooth things over, "Mother, please calm down. Erlang is dull-witted, which is my fault for not supervising him properly. Fortunately, there is still some time before the year-end exams. I will definitely discipline him strictly and ask a famous teacher to guide him, so that he can live up to my expectations and not bring shame to the Ye family."
Zhou Shi chimed in, "Mother, Wen-ge'er is a bit too honest, not as clever and outgoing as Jian-ge'er, but he's a sincere and hardworking boy! Our Marquis's son can't be too bad."
Wang lowered her eyes, the spoon gently brushing against the rim of the bowl. How could she not hear the sourness in Zhou's words? Her son Jian read by candlelight until midnight every day, which she described as a cheap trick of being clever and witty.
However, Wang Shi, being the dignified mistress of the house, disdained to argue with Zhou Shi over this matter at this time, and simply pretended not to hear it.
The old lady's gaze lingered on Ye Xingwen's lowered head for a moment, and in the end she only gave him two words of advice and said nothing more. "Since you know you are not good enough, you should work harder. Don't think that just because you have the title of the young master of the Marquis's mansion, you can be lazy. The Ye family's reputation was earned by our ancestors with swords and spears, and we cannot afford to be careless."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the table below, "Alright, everyone start eating, the food's getting cold."
The atmosphere eased slightly, and the light clinking of chopsticks and plates resumed.
Ye Mu sat at the end of the juniors' table, being carefully taken care of by Zi Jing while she ate. She silently chewed the fish meat that had been deboned, but her little ears were perked up, taking in all the commotion at the head of the table.
I vaguely remember from my past life that although my second brother, Ye Xingwen, was of average talent and never made it into the Imperial Academy, he eventually made it into the Shuaixing Hall. Both of my brothers in the family were promoted to the Shangtang Hall, and the family held a grand banquet to celebrate, which was quite lively for a while.
At that time, Ye Mu was naive and joined in the joy, thinking that her second brother had listened to their grandmother and was working hard.
Looking back now, there must be something fishy going on. How could someone who only scored below average in the entrance exams suddenly make such a leap in the year-end exams? This is definitely not something that can be explained away by simply saying "hard work." Ye Mu doesn't believe there's nothing fishy going on.
However, she couldn't quite figure out the reason behind this strangeness.
-
After the Beginning of Winter, the north wind gradually intensifies, and the sky is always shrouded in a gray haze over the glazed tiles, with the chill deepening day by day.
That afternoon, Ye Mu woke up from her nap feeling refreshed. Zi Jing went to the small kitchen to bring her some freshly stewed rock sugar pear soup, and Ye Mu then wandered out of the west wing of the warm pavilion, wanting to go to her father's study to find an interesting picture book to look at.
Master Ye's study is named "Baopuzhai". It is located in the most secluded corner of the west courtyard, next to a small bamboo grove, in a quiet and peaceful environment.
Ye Mu, wrapped in a small jacket, looked like a glutinous rice ball. As soon as he reached the window of the study, he heard voices coming from inside, one of whom was Second Master Ye.
Ye Mu stopped, focused her mind, and pressed her ear against the wall. But the wall was so cold that it made her shiver. Ye Mu shuddered twice, then quickly warmed her little ear with her palm before pressing her face tightly against the wall under the window.
The sounds from inside the room penetrated the paper window and clearly reached her ears.
"...Third brother, as you know, Wen-ge'er's studies at the Imperial Academy are really difficult, especially with Dr. Wu, who teaches classics and history, being the strictest." Second Master Ye sighed, "With the year-end examination just around the corner, if he doesn't do well again, not only will he have no hope of advancing to the court, but he might also be reprimanded by the Chancellor, bringing shame to the entire Ye family!"
Third Master Ye had never liked such mundane affairs and scheming. Upon hearing this, he offered a few words of comfort, "Second Brother, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. As for studying, you can't force it. Just do your best and leave the rest to fate."
"That's true, but how can parents just stand by and watch their children fall down? Third brother, your second brother really had no other choice but to swallow his pride and come to you for help."
"Me? Second brother, you're joking. How could I possibly be of any help?"
"No, no, only you can help with this." Second Master Ye lowered his voice. "That Dr. Wu is obsessed with antiquities. Ordinary gold and silver don't catch his eye. He only loves these rare ancient books from previous dynasties. Your copy of 'Yunlu Mountain House Annotations' is annotated by the great Confucian scholar Han Jizi from the previous dynasty. It has long been extinct on the market. If the doctor accepts this favor, he will naturally pay more attention to Erlang's studies. This will give him a better chance in the year-end exam, won't it?"
"Second brother, this is probably inappropriate. This book is extremely precious; it is I..."
"Third Brother!" Second Master Ye suddenly raised his voice, then softened it, speaking earnestly, "Second Brother knows you love books more than anything, but no matter how good a book is, it's still just an inanimate object. Erlang is your own nephew, a member of our Ye family bloodline. If he can excel at the Imperial Academy and bring glory to our family in the future, wouldn't that be better than you guarding this dead book?"
"Second Brother, this..." Third Master Ye hesitated, "This collection of annotations is Han Jizi's magnum opus in his later years. The annotations are exquisite. I only found it by chance, and it took a lot of time..."
"Whatever it costs, your second brother will reimburse you double. You know your second sister-in-law's family is in business; they would never shortchange you," Second Master Ye interrupted, his tone resolute.
"It's not about the money; I've been searching for months, and I haven't even finished reading it myself..."
"Third brother, this is not the time to worry about this. Wen'er has lost face in front of Mother so badly. If he fails the annual examination and is unable to advance to the next court, how can your second sister-in-law and I hold our heads high in this household? Third brother, can you bear to see your nephew's future thwarted? Just consider it a loan to your second brother. Once it's done, I will return it to you intact!"
"Borrow?" Third Master Ye didn't believe it. "Isn't it a gift?"
"Of course it's a loan! Would your second brother possibly keep your treasure?" Second Master Ye said confidently.
Silence fell in the room.
Ye Mu could almost picture his father frowning, stroking the book, his face full of struggle. He cherished ancient books as if they were his own life, but he valued brotherhood even more, and he was easily swayed. This book would definitely be given away.
really.
"Second Brother, you need to draw up a written agreement," Master Ye sighed. "It should state that it's just a loan, with a one-month term, and that it must be returned."
"Alright! Stand up! Stand up immediately!" Master Ye replied repeatedly.
Ye Mu pressed himself against the cold wall, his heart sinking.
It turns out that my second brother was promoted to Shuaixingtang because of a rare book treasured by our father.
But this rare copy from his previous life was never returned. Years later, Ye Mu overheard his father sighing sadly to his mother: "Second brother even wrote a written agreement... Now, alas, that book is probably never coming back."
At the time, she didn't know what book could have made her father so disappointed.
What's even more chilling is that Ye Mu suddenly remembered that when Jiang Si framed the Marquis's mansion, he casually mentioned that the mansion "secretly possessed the calligraphy of a former court official."
At the time, she thought it was a fabricated charge, but now she thinks it probably refers to this book, "Yunlushanfang Jizhu".
In the seventh year after Ye Mu married Jiang Si, the new emperor ascended the throne. He disliked the great Confucian scholar Han Jizi the most, saying that he was seeking fame and reputation and criticizing the late emperor. With an imperial edict, all of Han Jizi's works were confiscated and investigated, and even the families who collected his manuscripts were implicated.
The person ordered to oversee this case was Jiang Si.
Ye Mu was pondering this, guessing that Jiang Si had traced the Yong'an Marquis's mansion through Dr. Wu.
Cold sweat instantly soaked through Ye Mu's undershirt.
She knew perfectly well that giving away this book would sow the seeds of disaster, but she was just a six-year-old child who struggled to even cross the threshold of a study. Her words were as light as dust, so how could she possibly persuade an adult?
Ye Mu stood silently beneath the cold window, his brows slightly furrowed. This situation concerned the safety of the Marquis's mansion and had to be broken. However, the key to breaking the situation lay in borrowing the help of one person.
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