Chapter 49 [VIP]
"We've finally arrived... Ugh... If we hadn't arrived, I would have lost my life here. Ugh... This place is so remote, it's probably a place that even the barbarian invaders couldn't find back then, but your father found it."
"I'm sorry, teacher, you've suffered so much." Chen Qinghuai apologized with a pale face.
The long journey took a toll on the two people who rarely travel, especially Liang Boqing, who gets carsick and almost vomited halfway through the trip.
The attendant brought the carriage to a stop and quickly went to knock on the door. After a short while, the doorman, Lin, came out and looked at everyone with a puzzled expression, asking, "Who are you looking for?"
The attendant hurriedly took out Chen Jing's letter from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "I am Lord Chen's subordinate. I am here specifically to escort the young master and Mr. Liang back to their hometown."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zai hurriedly went inside to report, and soon Li Shi and Chen Rong came out to greet him.
"Qinghuai?"
"Aunt, Third Aunt!" Chen Qinghuai bowed respectfully to the two elders.
"You still remember us? Our good child has grown up so much! Come in, you must have had a long journey!"
"fine."
When Li saw the thin middle-aged man behind him, she quickly said, "This must be Mr. Liang, whom my fourth brother mentioned in his letter."
Liang Boqing bowed and said, "Greetings to the two ladies."
"Sir, there's no need for such formalities. Please come in."
Once inside, Li pulled Chen Qinghuai aside and asked him about his family situation.
"My father and mother took my second younger sister and third younger brother to Shanzhou. They will write to me after they have settled in."
“I haven’t seen my fourth brother and sister-in-law for more than ten years. The last time you came back, she was pregnant with our third child and couldn’t travel. I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.”
Chen Rong also said, "That's right. I haven't seen her since my fourth brother took office. I've almost forgotten what my sister-in-law looks like."
The two women sighed. Liang Boqing, who was sitting to the side, couldn't take it anymore. These two were going on and on, and he didn't know when they would finish. So he simply rolled his eyes and pretended to faint.
"Oh?! What's wrong with Mr. Liang? Quickly, go and fetch a doctor!"
After a while, the doctor came and examined him, saying that he was overworked and weak, and needed to rest and recuperate.
Upon hearing this, Li immediately instructed the kitchen to prepare chicken soup and dared not disturb them any further.
After everyone left, Liang Boqing opened one eye and asked, "Are they all gone?"
"Master, why are you faking illness again?"
"I find their nagging endless. What about your cousin?"
"I just heard from my aunt that my cousin went to the estate and won't be back until tomorrow."
Liang Boqing sat up and said, "If it weren't for meeting this kid, I wouldn't have bothered to travel this far. Your father praised him to the skies, but I don't know if he's any good or not. I'll have to take a good look at him tomorrow."
Chen Qinghuai said seriously, "My eldest cousin is very capable. He passed the imperial examination at the age of fourteen and became a scholar. If he hadn't been framed, he would have been a scholar by now."
Liang Boqing scoffed, "What's so great about passing the county-level exam? Even if you become a provincial-level scholar, you're still a waste if you don't get into the second rank."
Chen Qinghuai hesitated, but thankfully his father was ranked 37th in the second class, so he wasn't a complete failure...
*
On the other side, Chen Qingyan and Wang Ying were paving the yard for their new house. They had just finished repairing the yard wall a few days ago, and now that they were paving the yard, it would be basically finished.
Because the villa was close to the mountain, for safety reasons, Wang Ying had a large area of the back mountain fenced off, trees were cut down and a fence was built so that wild animals would not accidentally wander in.
The furniture in the house was finished. Instead of a bed, a heated kang was built in the master bedroom. This kind of heated kang is the kind that is common in rural areas in later generations. There is a stove hole on the outside and a chimney on top. If you fill it with firewood, it can keep you warm for half a day.
The construction of the kang (heated brick bed) attracted many villagers to come and watch, since they had never seen a bed that could be heated before!
After the kang (heated brick bed) is set up and dried, a mat is laid on top. Once the firewood is burned, the kang can stay warm all night.
Many families with elderly members are planning to go back and try it out. The elderly are old and frail, and they prefer warmth to cold. With this kang (heated brick bed), they can sleep much more comfortably in winter.
The hexagonal pavilion that Chen Qingyan wanted has also been built, with stone tables and benches inside, so that the two of them can sit here and enjoy the flowers and scenery in their spare time.
After working for half a day, the courtyard was almost ready. Just after lunch, Ershun brought news that his cousin Qinghuai and his master had arrived.
The two quickly settled into the bedroom and had Uncle Chen bring out the bedding they had prepared in advance to air it out. These were all newly bought in advance; although they didn't know if the two would stay at the estate for an extended period, they had to be prepared to avoid any impoliteness.
In particular, my fourth uncle wrote in his letter that his close friend had a bad temper, and that I shouldn't offend him since I'd come all this way.
The next morning, the two took a car back to the town.
Upon entering the courtyard, Chen Qingyan did not see Chen Qinghuai or his master. He asked in confusion, "Didn't you say that my cousin and the others arrived yesterday? Where are they?"
Li said, "Early in the morning, Mr. Liang took Qinghuai out, saying he wanted to see the local customs and culture of the town."
He looked so weak yesterday, but after a night's sleep he's full of energy. What a strange person.
Actually, Liang Boqing was craving something good. He hadn't been able to eat anything decent on the way here, and his mouth was practically watering at the seams.
When they arrived at the Chen family's house, because they had pretended to be sick the night before, the meals today were mostly bland and they couldn't eat much. So they dragged Chen Qinghuai out to get some wild food.
"Pah, why is this wonton so gritty?" Liang Boqing spat out the sand in his mouth, nearly knocking out his teeth.
The woman selling wontons chuckled and said, "Perhaps there were pebbles in the dough when you were kneading it. Don't be angry, sir, I'll scoop out two more for you."
Well, you can't hit a smiling face, but he couldn't eat the wontons anymore, so he turned to Chen Qinghuai and said, "Eat these for me, and I'll go buy some sugar cakes."
“Yes…” Chen Qinghuai picked up his master’s bowl as usual, finished eating in a few bites, quickly paid the bill, and continued shopping with him.
The two returned after a satisfying meal, and it was almost noon. Liang Boqing finally met the nephew Chen Jing had mentioned.
Chen Qingyan and Wang Ying also saw this distinguished guest. He walked in with a serious expression, his hands behind his back, and his sharp eyes scrutinized the two of them. If it weren't for the cilantro leaf stuck to his beard, he would have been quite intimidating...
“My nephew Chen Qingyan and my wife Wang Ying pay their respects to Mr. Liang.”
Standing behind him, Chen Qinghuai hiccuped and said, "Greetings, cousin and cousin's wife."
After exchanging pleasantries, Liang Boqing went straight to the point and asked, "Are you still studying?"
Chen Qingyan was taken aback, not understanding what he meant by asking that question. “In reply to you, sir, I read for three hours every day without fail.”
Liang Boqing nodded slightly. "One who abandons himself cannot be reasoned with; one who gives up on himself cannot be helped." This quote comes from Mencius's *Li Lou* chapter, part one, and is Mencius's criticism of those who give up on themselves. ①
I thought that after what happened, he would have lost all interest in studying, but now it seems that his character is still quite good.
Once inside, Liang Boqing tested Chen Qingyan's literary skills, mostly on the Four Books and Five Classics. Chen Qingyan answered fluently, but struggled with anything more advanced. After all, he had never formally studied under a master, so his level of knowledge was already quite impressive.
Chen Qingyan, unsure of his meaning, said, "Mr. Liang, you are unaware that I am no longer able to obtain official rank through the imperial examinations..."
“I know, Zhenghe told me everything about you.” Zhenghe was Chen Jing’s courtesy name, and the two addressed each other by their courtesy names in private.
Chen Qingyan pursed his lips awkwardly, thinking that he would lecture him, but unexpectedly Liang Boqing said, "I am in the same boat as you. Seeing you now is like seeing my former self."
"Have you encountered something like this, sir?"
"I don't know if you've heard of my name, but I'm Liang Liufang from Yangzhou."
Chen Qingyan's eyes widened instantly as he stared at him in disbelief. This person was none other than Mr. Liang, the top scholar among the Ten Great Talents of Jiangnan back then!
Seeing his appearance, Liang Boqing knew that he had heard about his story. If it weren't for the fact that the two had similar circumstances, he wouldn't have made the long journey.
Tears welled up in Chen Qingyan's eyes, as if a thousand words were stuck in her throat.
"Stop, let's not bring up the past anymore. I heard you moved to the estate, is it far from here?"
Chen Qingyan quickly wiped away her tears. "No, it's not far."
Liang Boqing was unwilling to live in this mansion, especially after hearing that one of the two wives in the Chen family was a widow and the other was divorced, and that it would be inconvenient for him, an outsider, to live with them.
Seeing his hesitation, Wang Ying quickly said, "The village is about forty miles from the town. It is surrounded by mountains and water, and the climate is suitable. The farmers in the village are all our tenants, and they are kind to everyone."
Our newly built house is spacious enough, and there's a warm spring behind it; soaking in the spring water in winter has the effect of dispelling cold and dampness.
Liang Boqing's expression grew better and better as he listened, until he heard that vegetables could be grown and eaten around the warm spring in winter. He immediately made a decision, "Let's go, let's go, let's stay at your estate!"
Wang Ying was amused by the old man's impatient temper. "Mr. Liang, is there anything else you need? We'll buy it all back from town."
"Bring enough food; nothing else is needed." He himself is a walking encyclopedia, his mind filled with books comparable to those of the Kyoto Academy.
After lunch, the group drove back to Chenjiazhuang in mule carts and horse-drawn carriages.
On the way back, Chen Qingyan was called to the carriage, and Liang Boqing told him about his own affairs, "Boy, you only know that I was framed for cheating in the imperial examination, but you don't know that the court once allowed me to participate in the imperial examination again."
Chen Qingyan jumped up excitedly, hitting his head on the car roof, making him wince in pain.
"Then why..."
Why didn't you pass the imperial examination and become a scholar?
"Um!"
"Back then, I was young and impetuous. I once wrote a poem that said I would never serve in the imperial family. I felt that it would be a loss of face to participate in the imperial examination again, so I refused."
Chen Qingyan: ...
"Looking back now, I do regret it. To put it bluntly, we scholars are here to learn both literature and martial arts, and then serve the emperor. Even if we want to convey our ideas, we need to have status and position. Otherwise, with just the status of a scholar, where can we lecture and have people listen to us?"
Chen Qingyan was shocked by his frank words, but also felt that every word he said made sense.
"Over the years I have traveled to many places and seen my former classmates, who were once as stupid as pigs, become great teachers and scholars. I feel more and more that I made the wrong choice back then."
"So I decided to take on a few apprentices while I still have the energy. I can't let people only know my name but not my talent."
Chen Qingyan: ...
“You’re not the brightest kid, but you have a good character. I’ll reluctantly take you in and have you study with me under Qinghuai’s guidance. In the future, I’ll help you make a name for yourself and you’ll have a chance to take the imperial examinations again.”
Over the years, countless people have wanted to become his disciples, including many exceptionally talented children, but he has never taken them all seriously. He is arrogant and conceited, and if it weren't for his close friendship with Chen Jing and his liking for the child, he wouldn't have accepted him so easily.
Chen Qingyan knelt down on the car and kowtowed three times, saying, "I wish to become your disciple!"
"Get up, get up. That doesn't count. You need to prepare a formal apprenticeship gift, including wine and meat."
Chen Qingyan: ...
A note from the author:
Liang, unrestrained and unconventional, the young old man, Qing.
Note ① is selected from Mencius.
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