Chapter 128 [VIP]
Wang Ying never expected that the imperial court would send someone to deliver a letter after so long.
He does have other methods to increase crop yields, but it's a long cultivation process. However, he doesn't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing to share all this knowledge.
Seeing his hesitation, Liang Boqing said, "I have already replied to your letter and turned it down for you, saying that you only know how to grow wheat and nothing else."
"teacher……"
"A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind; agriculture is the foundation of the nation. If it falls into the hands of ordinary people, it will be a curse, not a blessing. You must understand that not everyone wants the people to live in peace and prosperity, free from worries about food and clothing. Once their interests are threatened, there's no guarantee they won't turn on you."
Wang Ying shuddered. He had never really considered this before. After hearing what Old Liang said, he got goosebumps.
"Thank goodness you helped me decline, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do."
It must be said that experience counts, especially for a seasoned political thinker like Liang Lao who has weathered many storms and traveled extensively. He had long seen through the court's ways, so in order to protect Wang Ying and his disciple, he directly rejected the matter.
Liang Boqing said, "You don't need to feel regretful. Right now, Qingyan doesn't have any official rank or reputation. Even if you offer up all your methods, the fame won't come to you in the end. When Chen Qingyan can stand on his own, that's when your abilities will be revealed, and you will definitely benefit the people of this region."
"Thank you for your guidance, Master!" Wang Ying knelt down and kowtowed, expressing her heartfelt gratitude.
"Get up quickly, I'm going to sleep. My bones are about to fall apart from sitting in the carriage for so long. If Qingyan and the others come back, go straight to the study. I've left them some homework."
"Okay, I understand."
After Mr. Liang left, Wang Ying wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, her heart still pounding.
They were too simplistic in their thinking, relying on the memory of an extra lifetime to think that the ancients were inferior to them, not realizing that feudal society had its own set of rules that superseded the law.
Thinking back to his previous life when he was studying history, he remembered his teacher telling them about the story of the Qing Dynasty's "three taels of silver to govern the people," which meant controlling people's income to be slightly lower than their basic living expenses, so that the people would have to work hard to make a living and would not have the time or energy to resist the government.
Sometimes the imperial court doesn't want its people to be too wealthy and powerful; it just wants them to be obedient...
Back in his bedroom, Wang Ying went to the experimental field and tidied up his manuscript. He needed to continue writing this book; otherwise, he was afraid he would gradually forget everything. However, he didn't plan to release it for the time being, but rather wait for a later opportunity.
I also sorted out the vegetables. Today I sold one-fifth of the inventory. There are still quite a few vegetables in the experimental field. I'll take out more to sell tomorrow.
It was already late when they finished tidying up. Chen Qingyan and his two younger brothers returned from outside. When the three of them saw the carriage in the courtyard, they knew that their teacher had returned, and they were excited to go find him.
Wang Ying quickly stopped them, saying, "Old Liang just rested; he must be exhausted from the journey. Don't bother him."
The three stopped and lowered their voices.
Today they went to the prefectural government office to register. The results of the county examination had already been sent to Jizhou Prefecture along with the examination papers, so the registration process went smoothly for the three of them. All they needed to do was bring their identity documents and household registration.
Liu Changyi, the guarantor, also helped find four people in total: himself, his good friend Song Shi'an, and two other scholars who often acted as guarantors.
As is customary, Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai would need to pay them a sum of money, since acting as guarantor carries a certain risk; if Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai cheated on the exam, they would both be implicated.
At best, they would lose the imperial court's rewards and be unable to vouch for others; at worst, they would be implicated and unable to take the imperial examinations.
Therefore, young people generally don't do this kind of thing; most older people only act as guarantors to earn money.
Liu Changyi and Song Shi'an refused the money, but the two old scholars each gave five taels of silver as a guarantee fee and signed a contract stipulating that if they were unable to act as guarantors due to their involvement, Chen Qingyan would not only have to compensate them with one hundred taels of silver, but also pay them three dou of rice per month. (The imperial court provides Bingsheng with three dou of grain per month.)
After registering, I waited for the exam on April 6th.
There are still two weeks until the county examination, so I might as well use this time to consolidate the knowledge I have learned in the past.
In the study, Liang Boqing had already assigned homework to the three of them, specifically outlining different review directions to address the weaknesses of Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai.
This is where the advantage of having a teacher by your side becomes apparent. If you were studying at the prefectural school, although the teacher could still teach you, there would always be times when he couldn't take care of everyone, and you would have to rely entirely on your own efforts and talent.
The three of them read until late at night before resting. The next morning, they got up early and waited outside Master Liang's room for their master to correct their essays.
Life returned to its former state, simple, fulfilling, and warm.
*
April arrived in the blink of an eye. Around the time of Qingming Festival, there was plenty of rain, with three consecutive days of drizzle.
The rain wasn't heavy, but it wasn't light either; if you didn't take out an umbrella, your clothes would be soaked in half an hour.
In the Liu family courtyard, Master Liu was digging soil to plant flowers, while two servants stood beside him holding umbrellas for him.
Before long, Madam Liu came out. "You still have the mood to tend to these flowers and plants? Did you find out what you were asked to find out?"
Ever since Madam Liu saw Chen Qingyun once at the vegetable shop, she had been thinking about her. This girl was not only beautiful, but also poised and generous, without any petty airs. She was simply admirable.
In addition, the three Chen brothers were all gentle and refined, which gave them a more favorable impression of Chen Qingyun. When they got home, they urged their husbands to inquire whether the girl was engaged.
Lord Liu wiped his hands and said, "I only found out that they do have a daughter named Chen Qingyun, who is two years younger than Yi'er."
Madam Liu was delighted to hear this, "Has she ever been engaged?"
"How would I know? Rather than me asking, I'd rather let Yi'er find out for himself. Doesn't he have a good relationship with the Liu family's children?"
Qin Furong had a fiery temper, and she became anxious upon seeing her husband's expression. "Marriage is a matter of parental consent and matchmaker's words, not a child's play! What kind of nonsense is it to let the child ask? Won't people think we look down on other people's daughters? What if the marriage doesn't go through and we end up as enemies instead!"
"Don't worry..."
"How can I not be anxious! The Ma family next door is a year younger than Yi'er, and his baby is already a month old, while our family hasn't even settled on a marriage yet!"
"It's not too late to ask after the autumn imperial examinations are over..."
"Aren't you in a hurry, but isn't the girl in a hurry? What if she's already booked it in advance, and it's pointless for her to ask when she gets there!"
Seeing that his wife was about to get angry again, Lord Liu had no choice but to change his mind and say, "I will find out the truth tomorrow!"
"That's more like it." Qin Furong calmed down, but in the end, her son's opinion was the most important. She would find out more about the situation and then pay a visit to him, so that the two children could meet.
As luck would have it, the next day was a day off, and Liu Changyi was going to find Chen Qingyan and the others to study.
Because he hadn't saved their address beforehand, Liu Changyi had to go to the vegetable shop to inquire about their accommodation.
It rained quite heavily in the morning, and the rain only subsided around noon. Liu Changyi then took his umbrella and went out onto the street alone.
After searching along Zhengyang Street for a long time, I finally found Wang's Restaurant. Just as I was about to go in, a voice called out to me.
"Young master, the book bag behind you is about to fall apart."
Liu Changyi turned around upon hearing the sound and saw a beautiful young woman in a light green ruqun standing behind him. The girl held an umbrella in one hand and a food box in the other. She nodded slightly to him and then went straight into the vegetable shop.
When he came to his senses, half of his body was soaked by the rain.
He quickly straightened the umbrella and opened the book bag. Sure enough, the bottom had already fallen apart. If the girl hadn't reminded him, all the books inside would have fallen out in a moment.
He closed his umbrella and went into the shop, where he saw the girl in green counting money, and two young men sitting next to her eating.
"What dishes would you like to buy, sir?" Lin Sui put down her chopsticks and stood up to greet him.
Liu Changyi quickly looked away, nervously saying, "I... I'm here to find someone. Last time, Brother Qingyan said he didn't know the name of the alley where he lived, so he asked me to come to the shop to inquire..."
Wang Ying suddenly realized and said, "Young master's surname is Liu, right?"
"Yes, yes, I am Liu Changyi."
"If you're not in a hurry, young master, I can have my little sister take you there on her way back later. Otherwise, I won't be able to tell you the name of the alley where we live."
"No rush, no rush." Liu Changyi looked up at Chen Qingyun again.
Just then, the other person was also looking at him. Their eyes met, and Liu Changyi hurriedly turned his head away, which made Chen Qingyun smile.
After Wang Ying and Lin Sui finished their meal, Qing Yun tidied up the dishes and put them in a food box, then led Liu Changyi home.
The shop wasn't far from their alley, about a 15-minute walk away. During the walk, Liu Changyi kept his head down and followed behind Chen Qingyun, afraid that looking up would be disrespectful to the beauty. His eyes were only on the hem of her light green skirt.
"We're here. Let's stay here."
Chen Qingyun stopped and knocked on the door. After a short while, the doorman opened the door.
"Please come in, young master."
Liu Changyi folded his umbrella and followed Chen Qingyun into the courtyard. The courtyard was not large, but it was quiet and secluded. Many flowers and plants were planted in the courtyard, and they were all lush and green in spring, which was very lovely.
"Big brother, your classmate is here to see you!" Chen Qingyun called out.
Upon hearing the sound, Chen Qingsong rushed out, "Brother Changyi, you're here!"
"Brother Song."
"Come inside quickly, eldest brother and second brother are doing their exam papers." In the past few days, Liang Boqing has found a lot of past years' prefectural exam papers for the two of them to do, which are equivalent to modern mock exams.
Liu Changyi entered the room and saw Old Liang sitting to the side reading a book, while Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai were engrossed in writing.
He quickly bowed to Elder Liang and said, "This junior greets Uncle Liang."
Liang Boqing looked up and saw him, saying, "Changyi is here, come and sit down."
Liu Changyi obediently sat down beside him, untied his book bag and placed it on his lap, watching Qingyan and Qinghuai answer their exam questions.
"It's been half a year since we last met. How has your master been lately?"
“Master is in good health, but his leg ailment is getting worse. He is in so much pain that he can’t walk on rainy days.”
Lu Zhongqi also suffers from rheumatism, which is even more severe than Liang Boqing's. Both of these ailments are caused by wind exposure when they were young, and they have become more pronounced in their old age.
“Perfect timing. When Wang Ying comes back later, I’ll have him draw a diagram of how to build a heated kang for you. Take it over and have Zhongqi build one too. It’s exceptionally comfortable to sleep on. He slept on a heated kang at the manor all winter and his leg ailment didn’t flare up.”
Liu Changyi was overjoyed to hear this and quickly thanked him.
The two of them had to wait a while before they could finish their papers, so Liang Boqing asked Liu Changyi to take out his recently written articles and look at them.
Such an opportunity was rare, so Liu Changyi quickly took out his own articles and poems from his book bag and handed them to Mr. Liang.
Before long, Chen Qingyun brought in a pot of tea. She couldn't help but steal glances at the young master of the Liu family who was sitting next to her, listening attentively to the lecture. She was so engrossed in watching him that she forgot to put the pot down.
It was Liang Boqing who noticed something amiss. He coughed lightly, and Chen Qingyun blushed. She quickly put down the teapot and hurriedly went out.
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