Chapter 48: Five-Colored Spring
"Sister, why didn't you respond when I called you for so long?" Baorong knocked on the door and came in. Baozhu shook her head and said she didn't hear it.
"I was just counting the money, and it's hard to make a decision. Otherwise, I'll have to count it all over again."
Baorong nodded, but he didn't notice the cash box and account book on the table. He didn't take it seriously and just said, "I'll sleep with you tonight."
As he spoke, he went to the cupboard to get a pillow. Baozhu stopped him and said anxiously, "I'll get it for you."
Baorong felt that her elder sister was acting very strangely today. She sat on the stool and stared at her suspiciously, "Sister, you want to drink two cups of tea by yourself?"
"I... I'm thirsty. Pour a cup and let it cool down before drinking it."
Baozhu was about to open the cabinet when she heard a noise from inside. Baorong quickly ran over to her and asked, "Sister, did you hear anything?"
Baozhu shook her head with a stiff face. "I think you heard it wrong. There's a sound somewhere. Maybe it's a rat. Mother just said there were rats in the kitchen a few days ago."
Baorong shook her head, wondering if the Sun family had come knocking on her door. She was listening carefully, but when she lowered her head, she saw a piece of clothing sticking out from next to the cabinet. She was so frightened that she almost screamed, and immediately asked Baozhu to cover her mouth.
Seeing Master Pei coming out from the side of the cabinet next door, Baorong looked at him, then at her elder sister, and was confused for a moment. She asked in confusion,
"Ah...Ah, sister, there's someone hiding in your room?"
Baorong was still alert, protecting Baozhu behind her like an old hen protecting her cubs. When she heard that Madam Xu was about to bring in cakes from outside, Baozhu quickly winked at her.
"It's really nothing. Go and lead my mother away first, and I'll explain it to you later."
Bao Rong's face was filled with suspicion. "If there really was nothing wrong, why would they ask him to hide?"
The Sun family's matter was hard to explain, so Baozhu came up with a quick wit. "Grandma Pei asked me to buy something for her some time ago. She fell ill last month and didn't deliver it. After she woke up, I forgot to take it. It happened that Master Pei just passed by the door, so I asked him to come in and take it to Grandma Pei."
Baorong looked at the two of them, not knowing whether he believed it or not. In the end, he listened to Baozhu and went out to call A Niang to come to her room to help make the quilt.
Seeing that there was no one in the yard, Baozhu quickly opened the door and apologized to Lord Pei, saying that she was really sorry for him today.
Master Pei tugged at his robe, feeling a little guilty, but he kept a serious expression, "We are family anyway, it's okay if Sister Rong saw it."
Baozhu was worried that he would be seen by his family, so she just wanted to send him out. If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have asked him to hide. After all, Baorong was family, and she could have just said a few words to get rid of him. But now asking him to hide would only cause Baorong to speculate wildly. Thinking of being pestered by Baorong and asking questions later, Baozhu felt a headache.
As expected, the younger sister kept asking her questions until midnight, but Baozhu still gave the same answer. In the end, Baorong got bored and turned over to sleep.
The Sun family originally wanted to make a fuss about Erlang's palace examination, but the ones who had guaranteed Erlang's examination were the chief academic officer of the Imperial College and the academician of the Hanlin Academy. Now asking them to go back on their words would be like slapping themselves in the face. No matter how high the Sun family's official position was, it would be difficult to deal with it.
Erlang originally wanted to file a complaint during the palace examination, but Baozhu stopped him. "The Sun family has committed countless evil deeds, and their downfall is only a matter of time. Just look at how they only dare to have people block the door, but don't dare to really do anything to us. You can see that even the Sun family dares not act rashly in Bianjing. Why gamble your future with them?"
Second Brother had studied so long, hoping to become a good official who could get things done for the people. Regardless of whether or not the complaint was successful in the palace examination, if such a situation arose during the examination, Erlang's future would be ruined, and the entire Zhen family might even be implicated.
The palace examination papers still had to be sealed and ranked before they could be handed over to the emperor for personal review. The examiners would review the papers and determine the rankings. The eunuchs would call out the names, and only those whose names were called could enter the court to see the emperor.
Erlang was the most eye-catching, simply because he was the youngest. The emperor had read his answers and then looked at his answers from the provincial examinations. He found his writing to be well-structured and his policy papers put the benefit of the people first.
When asking him questions, he was neither humble nor arrogant and calm in his answers.
The emperor asked a few more questions and named the candidate the third place on the spot. As the saying goes, a three-thousand-word essay on the imperial examination platform is as colorful as a name on the imperial examination list.
Erlang is only nineteen years old this year, and the emperor originally wanted to appoint him to the Hanlin Academy.
My second brother actually said he wanted to help with flood control. The official didn't scold him for being ungrateful, but instead smiled and suggested he go to the Capital Water Conservancy Bureau to control the Yellow River. Every year when there was heavy rain, the Yellow River would overflow, causing disasters. Displacement of people on both sides of the river was a common occurrence, and even the emperor suffered greatly from the disasters. Everyone felt that this was a hot potato.
Now someone took the initiative to take on the job. Those who work hard will always succeed, and those who keep going will always get what they want. The official encouraged him, and from then on, the second son of the Zhen family became a well-known person in his eyes.
When Erlang returned home, everyone in the Zhen family heard what he said and was overjoyed. However, the yamen soldiers who reported the results did not care. They had already spread the news widely in the streets before coming to the Zhen family to report that the new top scholar had passed the imperial examination at such a young age and had gained many benefits just from this one visit.
After waiting outside and talking for a while, they came to the Zhen family to congratulate. This task was rushed by all the soldiers in the yamen. The Zhen family generously distributed wedding money and welcomed the guests into their home. People came to congratulate one after another, and the Zhen family poured cups of tea one after another.
There was nothing wrong with having a buffet in the past, but now that Erlang had been appointed an official, it was not appropriate to show off like this. However, the Zhen family could not keep a low profile even if they wanted to. It was well known in the streets and alleys that the new top scholar came from the Zhen family. Most of the people who spread the news were from the common people in Bian Jing, because among the new scholars, there were few who came from ordinary families.
It is easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to help in times of need. In the past, the Sun family suppressed the Zhen family and no one had any contact with them. Now that the second son of the Zhen family has his own abilities and has a good reputation with the government, those who do not want to offend the Sun family have gradually come up with their own considerations, not to mention those who have heard a little bit of the rumors, and now they no longer take the Sun family seriously.
The emperor bestowed the Qionglin Banquet, and all the newly-appointed Jinshi scholars attended the banquet in court robes. Jinshi scholars of the same year had their own feelings for each other, and after the banquet, they exchanged business cards to congratulate each other and gave each other gifts.
In early March, there was also an examination for the children of officials. This examination was much simpler. One was selected from three people. The young man from the Song family was appointed as an official and went to a wealthy county in the south of the Yangtze River to serve as the county magistrate. Yuanniang took her little brother, who had just learned to crawl, with her.
Among Erlang's peers, there are many families with more prestigious status than the Sun family. He has always been sincere in his interactions with others and always has something to say when talking about the past and the present. Even if he had not passed the imperial examination, he would have had a wide circle of friends, not to mention that he is now in the limelight and there are even more people who want to deal with him.
After a while, everyone knew that he was not on good terms with the Sun family. Those who could not stand the Sun family's arrogant behavior had no scruples about being on good terms with him, and would tell him any gossip they heard in private, whether it was true or false.
For example, the news that the Minister of Personnel had uncovered had already spread far and wide, and those who knew about it were only waiting to see when the Sun family would fall. If an official were honest and upright, and allowed his family members to oppress the people and take their lives, no matter how honest and capable he was, he would still suffer the consequences. Moreover, if he was truly an honest and upright official, he would never condone his family members' crimes.
Perhaps the Sun family was too busy to take care of themselves, and the thugs in front of the Zhen family's restaurant disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Baozhu and her eldest brother watched for a few days and reopened the door after making sure that no one would come to cause trouble. Now that the second brother is still in the limelight, even if the Sun family dares to cause trouble, they have to consider the situation.
It’s a pity that the store has not been open for more than a month. Not only has the one month’s rent been wasted, but the meal coupons that were previously distributed to promote the business have also been wasted, resulting in a huge loss.
But since my second brother is so popular now, I might as well ask him to write an article for our restaurant, praising the food there to the highest standards.
This article was widely circulated among scholars, and after a while, the people of Bianliang could read a few sentences of it.
Because the previous closure of the store was unclear, the colored paper meal coupons that had been issued were still valid as long as they were brought in. Baozhu and her eldest brother reorganized the shop and sent a letter to Xuzhou to ask Jiang Shi to come back.
When the store reopened, there were even more customers than before. They swarmed in like a swarm of bees and would not leave unless they had a seat. Baozhu took advantage of her second brother's popularity to sell Tanhua coins, saying that this was the new Tanhua's favorite food since he was a child.
Attracting diners based on a momentary interest is not a long-term solution. If you want to keep your business going for a long time, the taste is more important.
In May, the Sun family incident occurred, and people who wanted to target the Sun family emerged like mushrooms after rain. Lord Sun, old uncle Sun, and all the nephews and nephews of the Sun family who were involved in the case were sentenced to death, and family members who were not seriously implicated were sentenced to exile.
All the Sun family's wealth was turned over to the national treasury. It was said that the silver and antiques alone filled dozens of boats. The Sun Mansion was even more extravagant. The mansion of the Earl, which was not allowed to be inherited, illegally requisitioned the houses of the common people and occupied an entire street. Its usual extravagance was extremely extravagant.
The Sun family fell from power, their hand often tied to their side, even the emperor of the prefecture was implicated. Gusu was freed from its troublesome existence, and every household fired cannons and whipped firecrackers, kowtowed in the direction of Bianjing.
Fan Lou came to ask Zhen's father to go back and be the head chef, but Zhen's father refused after thinking about it. The Zhen family restaurant was doing good business and they were short of staff, so he was helping out now.
Madam Xu's dental records were returned to her. She had many old customers and planned to save some money to do buying and selling business for others.
After Jiang Shi arrived at the restaurant, Zhen's father had some free time. Now that the Sun family had fallen on hard times, he wanted to return to Gusu. After all, it was his family's home, and the house had been uninhabited for so long that it might get moldy. He was going back to clean it up. Upon his return, he planned to specialize in catering. He already had a good clientele at the restaurant, so he wasn't afraid of not making any money.
The young master of the Song family and Yuan Niang also wanted to take up posts in the south of the Yangtze River. Now that the three families had communication, Zhen's father went south with them on a boat.
The flood season was approaching, and Erlang was about to take up his new post. Madam Xu had made him many clothes, shoes, and socks, and had given him countless instructions. The family had never been apart, but now that my father and second brother were gone, the house felt a little lonely.
Master Pei must have been busy with the Sun family's affairs these past few months, and he's rarely seen. Without his help, there's no telling what would have happened to our family. Baozhu had just returned from the restaurant and, for some reason, wandered around to the front door of the Pei family's house to take a look. Inside, Grandma Pei had gone to bed, the lights off, and everything was dim. It seemed Master Pei hadn't returned yet.
Just as he was about to turn around, he saw someone standing behind her, and he was so scared that his heart skipped a beat.
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Author's words: *From Wang Mian's "Sending Wang Kemin to Anfeng Recorder" in the Yuan Dynasty
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