Chapter 167 [VIP]
After the New Year, preparations began for Chen Qingyan's trip to Kyoto.
The imperial examination is held in mid-February every year. Although it is still some time away, they plan to leave on the eighth day of the month to avoid any delays on the way.
Ordinary people who want to go to Kyoto need to complete the procedures with the government in advance to obtain a travel permit; otherwise, they cannot even enter the gates of Kyoto.
Obtaining this travel permit was extremely complicated. It required submitting application materials to the prefectural government, specifying the applicant's name, address, age, purpose of travel, and other information. Five people also had to act as guarantors, and a fee of ten kan (a unit of currency) was also required. Therefore, ordinary people could never even make it to Kyoto in their lifetime.
Of course, Chen Qingyan didn't need to go through all that trouble. He was going to the capital to take the imperial examination and didn't need to spend extra money. He just needed to apply at the government office in advance.
Since we were going with the Liu family this time, we didn't even need to prepare a carriage; we only brought our luggage and a servant.
That night, the two lay in bed discussing the matter. Wang Ying asked, "Who are you planning to take with you to Kyoto this time?"
Chen Qingyan rolled over, hooked her arm around his waist, and said, "If I could, I would most like to take you with me."
Wang Ying kicked him: "Stop fooling around, I'm talking to you about serious matters."
"Then let's go with Ershun."
"That's not a good idea. Er Shun's wife is quite far along in her pregnancy. I'm sure I'd be worried about leaving her alone at home."
"Or perhaps Uncle Chen?"
“Uncle Chen is getting old, and I don’t want him to travel back and forth in this cold weather.”
Chen Qingyan nodded, "That's true, or I'll go by myself."
Wang Ying shook her head, "No, it's better to have someone by your side to help if something happens. Otherwise, let Xiao Ma go with you. He's the most clever of all the servants."
"You can arrange it as you see fit."
Wang Ying held his fingers and fiddled with them, "You won't be back for another two or three months. Yuanbao will definitely cry again when he finds out."
Chen Qingyan hugged him and said, "After I finish this exam, no matter what the result is, our family will never be separated."
*
Before she knew it, the day of her departure arrived. Before dawn, Wang Ying got up and carefully checked her packed luggage to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.
"I've put all the money in the experimental fields. You can take it yourself when you need it."
"Sigh." Chen Qingyan put on a thick cotton coat, then draped a cloak over it, and wore a mink hat, covering himself up completely.
"Leave a message in the experimental field if you need anything. I will read it every day. If you don't need anything, try to stay away from the field so you don't get discovered."
"I understand."
Should we also tell Yuanbao?
Chen Qingyan glanced at her sleeping son, whose face was flushed, and shook her head. "Don't wake him. He'll definitely cry again if he knows I'm leaving."
Wang Ying's nose stung with tears. "When he wakes up and can't find you, he'll cry too."
Chen Qingyan walked to the crib, bent down and kissed her son's little face. "I'm leaving now. The house is in your hands."
"Go ahead, be careful on the road, and don't catch a cold."
"Don't worry." Chen Qingyan carried his bundle out the door. The lights in the front yard were already on, and Li Shi and Chen Rong were awake. They had cooked hot dumplings for him to eat.
Ma Zhandong also ate a bowl. After finishing their meal, amidst everyone's instructions, the two boarded the Liu family's carriage and prepared to head towards the capital.
Liu Changyi's eyes were also red in the car; he had cried in his wife's arms when he left home.
Qingyun was fine; she didn't feel too anxious about the separation. She planned to go back to her parents' home to rest and prepare for childbirth as soon as her husband left.
The two of them didn't have much to say while sitting in the carriage, so they simply closed their eyes to rest and take a nap.
The Liu family prepared three carriages in total. The first two were used to transport people, and the last one was loaded with goods. All of these were prepared by Liu's father for his eldest brother. Although he had sent New Year's gifts before the New Year, he still brought quite a lot of things this time.
My son will inevitably need to trouble my older brother's family to take the exam in Beijing, so it's always good to bring extra things.
It was almost dawn when the carriage arrived at the city gate. Because it belonged to Lord Liu's household, it was not checked much and left the city directly.
It takes more than ten days to travel from Jizhou to the capital, and with the slippery roads in winter, it may take half a month to arrive. However, the good thing is that this road is an official road with many pedestrians and merchants, so it is relatively safe.
Just outside the city, they encountered a caravan also heading to the capital, and the drivers followed behind the caravan into the capital.
*
Yuanbao woke up at the end of Yin hour and, as usual, was helped by his old woman to wash, dress, and get dressed.
After getting dressed, he walked towards the front yard with Mu Tou and Chun Sheng. It wasn't until they were eating that he belatedly realized his father wasn't there. "Grandmother, where's my father?"
Madam Li put down her chopsticks and said, "Your father has gone out on errands."
Yuanbao continued eating. When Wang Ying returned from the shop at noon, she saw her son was still cheerful and assumed he already knew about Chen Qingyan's departure, so she didn't pay much attention.
By evening, Yuanbao still hadn't seen his father return and started to get anxious.
"Father, why hasn't Father come back yet?"
Wang Ying said, "Didn't your grandmother tell you?"
"Grandmother said Father went out on errands."
Wang Ying squatted down, took her son's hand and said, "Your father has gone to the capital to take the exam. He won't be back for three months."
Upon hearing this, Yuanbao burst into tears. "Didn't Father promise me he wouldn't leave? He... how could he go back on his word..."
"Your father had no choice, don't blame him."
"But I miss Daddy so much!" Yuanbao threw a tantrum, crying more and more tears, his eyes bursting with tears like a floodgate had been opened.
Unable to soothe him, Wang Ying had no choice but to carry him to the front yard. Li Shi had already lay down to rest, but upon hearing the sound, she quickly put on her clothes and got up.
"Oh dear grandson, what's wrong?"
Wang Ying said, "I didn't tell Qingyan that he left. I just told him and I was so upset that I couldn't bear it."
“This child, come here and let Grandma hold you.”
Yuanbao sat in Li's arms, sobbing uncontrollably, "Grandmother lied, lied...didn't you say Father, Father went out on errands?"
"It was Grandmother's fault; she shouldn't have lied to Yuanbao."
Yuanbao pouted pitifully, and another wave of tears washed over him. The old lady's heart softened, and she also started to shed tears.
Wang Ying, fearing that Li Shi would be upset, quickly comforted her son: "Don't cry. It's not like you'll never see him again. Your father will be back in a while. This time he promised he would never leave again. If he does leave, he'll take us with him."
Yuanbao sobbed, "I promise, I promise, I'll keep my word!"
"It counts, it definitely counts!"
It took a long time to coax the little guy to sleep. Since it was cold, we didn't bother him to go back and forth and just let him sleep in Li's room.
Wang Ying put on her clothes and returned to her bedroom alone. Looking at the empty room, she recalled how Qingyan had held her and discussed the trip last night, and felt increasingly empty inside.
Unable to sleep in bed, I decided to take a stroll in the experimental field.
We picked two baskets of tomatoes, one basket of cucumbers, cut thirty pounds of chives and celery, pulled ten pounds of scallions, picked a lot of green beans, and also a few pumpkins and winter melons.
Only two pounds of chili peppers were picked, and very few people bought them; most people are not used to such a spicy flavor.
The second batch of cucumbers next to them were already about the length of a finger, and they would be ready to sell in about ten days. The tomatoes were also turning red. Wang Ying picked one that was a little darker in color and started eating it.
A few days ago, he sorted out the money in the experimental field. He had earned more than 670 strings of cash from selling vegetables in the two months before the New Year, and he had exchanged it all for silver.
With the money left over from buying the house, I've saved up almost a thousand taels. I heard that if I pass the imperial examination, the prefectural government will reward me with five hundred taels of silver, and if I pass the first-class examination, the reward will be even higher. I might be able to make a fortune then.
With nothing else to do, I decided to pick up the book I hadn't finished before and start writing it again.
Knowledge needs to be used frequently to be truly remembered; I've almost completely forgotten many of the points I know.
After grinding the ink, Wang Ying finally managed to gather her thoughts and began to write. She wrote for two hours before the experimental field reminded her that public time was running out, at which point she finally stopped.
After carefully stacking the completed sheets of paper and putting them back in the box, Wang Ying turned on the light screen to water the experimental field. Suddenly, she noticed a small exclamation mark flashing in the corner.
Upon clicking, I discovered that I had gained new experience points, but only 200.
Wang Ying was a little curious about where this experience came from. Could it be from the book she had just written? It was getting late; she would try again tomorrow.
*
The next morning, Wang Ying and Lin Sui came to the shop to sell vegetables as usual.
The weather has been cold these past few days, so the two of them quickly lit the stove as soon as they arrived at the shop.
Just as the house warmed up, the vegetables arrived. Tianju and Ershun unloaded the vegetables from the truck and arranged them neatly. Soon after, the guests came to buy the vegetables.
Since most of the customers are regulars, there's almost no need to explain the prices; they can simply pick out their dishes and come over to pay.
She made more than seven strings of cash in the morning, but the weather wasn't very good in the afternoon, so Wang Ying decided to close up shop and go home early.
As the group was packing their things, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the door. Wang Ying looked up and saw Marquis Wuping dismount.
Wang Ying called out to Lin Sui, "Your lord has arrived."
Lin Sui's ears turned bright red. She put down the dishes she was holding and went to greet him, "What brings you here, Lord Marquis?"
Li Mulai had important business to attend to. He took off his hat and got straight to the point: "There's been a war in the Northwest. I'll have to lead my troops into battle soon. I'd like Qing'er to recognize you as her godfather. I'd appreciate it if you could take care of her while I'm away."
Lin Sui was stunned, and it took her a while to react. "Why is there suddenly a war going on?"
Wang Ying asked nervously, "Where is the Northwest? It's not Shanzhou, is it?"
My fourth uncle and aunt are both in Shanzhou!
It was inconvenient to go into details about the war, so Li Mu simply said, "We haven't reached Shanzhou yet, we're still quite far away, outside Yumen Pass. Don't worry, we won't be able to reach here anytime soon."
Lin Sui's heart clenched: "How long will it take before they stop?"
"I can't predict it. I estimate it will take at least a year and a half. If the wedding is delayed, we can set a date when I come back."
"Okay... I'm not in a hurry..."
Seeing that he looked like he was about to cry, Li Mu felt a pang of longing. He clicked his tongue, regretting that he hadn't married him sooner, otherwise he could rightfully hold him in his arms and comfort him now.
"I'm going back now. I'll send someone to pick you up in a few days."
The two escorted Li Mu to the door.
Lin Sui watched his retreating figure and murmured, "Why did they suddenly start fighting? It sounds kind of creepy."
"Yes, my heart is pounding. Let's go home first."
A note from the author:
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