Miao Chu

Chapter 370 Reflections
After a moment of silence, one of them suddenly said, "Can't someone who isn't an imperial censor write articles?"

Even if you're not an imperial censor, you can still write articles.

Hearing such nonsense, everyone turned to look at him.

The man immediately added, "Does Han Li think he's the only one who can write articles, and you and I can't?"

"If he can talk about the Cao family's chickens, why can't we talk about the servants of the Prince of Lu's family?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room became restless.

To be honest, seeing Han Li's past glory, who wouldn't be tempted? It's just writing articles, which student of the Imperial Academy doesn't write every day until their pen is worn out?

Even if I can't match him, I should still give it a try!
If I actually get into the Censorate in the future, will I say I'm not as good as others and therefore stop writing? If I become an official and can't do things as well as others, will I just give up?
Besides, there's never been a first in literature, but there's always a second in martial arts.

What if this time, I write a brilliant piece and become famous throughout the world because of it?
Almost immediately, someone cautiously asked, "Then...who should write it for? Should we select a few?"

"What dynasty is this?! You still expect to recommend candidates for filial piety and integrity?!"

"Exactly! What's the point of choosing? Just write them all! If the quality can't compare, can't we at least compete in quantity? The censors may be afraid of them, but we're students, we're not! We won't submit memorials, we'll just write articles and circulate them privately, without even signing our names. Who will know who wrote them then?"

"Yes, yes! If we all write, and then mix the articles together, you won't be able to tell who's who!"

That's utter nonsense.

Articles vary in quality; poorly written articles naturally blend into the crowd and are difficult to distinguish, but well-written articles mostly have their own unique style.

Many of those who were admitted to the Imperial Academy wrote remarkable articles, and acquaintances could immediately identify who wrote them.

But what does it matter?

Will the teachers stand up and speak out? Will the classmates stand up and speak out?
of course not!

Even if they do, they'll stubbornly refuse to admit it.

"What exactly happened? Should we investigate this thoroughly? Find out who the steward of the Wu family is, and who from the Lu Prince's Mansion is behind this—won't this matter be troublesome for us to investigate?"

"It's bound to be troublesome! You're just a student. If you go to the Kyoto Prefectural Government office to ask, who's going to bother with you? Besides, if you find out the truth and then write it down, wouldn't you be harming the person who gave you the information?"

“We are censors, reporting on hearsay, not investigating cases like the Court of Judicial Review or the Provincial Judicial Commission. What evidence do we need? Is that person from the Prince of Lu's mansion? Was the steward of the Wu family involved? Was he arrested and then released? These are all facts, right? We speak according to the facts. What details or circumstances are behind it is none of our business!”

"That's right, the Dali Temple and the Provincial Judicial Commission haven't paid us our salaries again!"

Once they reached a consensus, they gathered together and began to discuss the details.

"Shall we take the details of what happened next with us?"

"Not only should we bring it along, but shouldn't we also avoid mentioning Song's shop as well?"

"It's not good to bring it up. If we do, won't it just make the Prince Lu's mansion even more interested in Miss Song?"

"Then... how should it be written?"

"As long as you don't go into too much detail later on, and don't mention Song Ji or Song Xiao Niangzi, you can write whatever you want. Too many restrictions will only make it harder to write!"

The group was discussing the matter enthusiastically, with Wang Chang chiming in here and there.

Cheng Zijian hurriedly presented the food box containing cold pig tail salad and banana sprouts, saying, "This was made by Miss Song—after enjoying her delicious food, everyone should put more effort into their writing!"

"What are you saying! Even if it's not Miss Song's business, we can't just stand by and watch such injustice happen! Otherwise, wouldn't all our studies have been for nothing?"

"That's the way it is. The Imperial Academy has always been full of people who lament and sing tragic songs. Are we really only doing this for a bite to eat? Who has chopsticks?"

"Why would we need chopsticks? This food was made by Miss Song. She's such a meticulous person; there must be bamboo skewers in it!"

As they were talking, someone actually pulled out a bamboo skewer from inside.

A group of people gathered around a food box, gnawing on cold pig tails while discussing how to write an article, where to start the topic, and how to narrate the story.

The pig's tail skin is bouncy and smooth, with few bones and plenty of meat. One bite and your mouth is full of meat and skin. It's served with pickled cucumbers, roasted walnut pieces, and cilantro. It's a perfect combination of savory, sour, and spicy flavors. You'll be eating it with gusto. Then, peel a banana bud and take a bite. It's sweet and delicious.

Years later, the students present were scattered all over the country and had different experiences. But when they occasionally reunited as classmates, they would always talk about this night and referred to it as "the memorial written with cold pig tail".

Speaking of the pickled cucumbers, banana sprouts, and even the cold pig tail salad from that night, they are all unforgettable.

Inside the Imperial Academy, a group of students were busy discussing essays. Meanwhile, in the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office, Officer Dong, who was also carrying a food box and basket on his way back, entered a room.

Inside, a group of officials were gathered together, talking and eating. When they saw him come in, they all greeted him.

"Old Dong is back?"

"What did Miss Song say?"

"Is she scared? Did you tell her to call a few people to help watch the house?"

Amidst the chatter, Xin Feng put down his bowl and asked, "Old Dong, does the patrol station at Zhuque Gate know anything about this?"

Officer Dong, with only one mouth and two ears, almost couldn't hear or respond to everything.

He hurriedly said, "Give me a break! Say one more thing after you've finished saying the other one!"

Once he could hear clearly again, he answered each person individually, then placed the food box and basket on the table where everyone was eating. He opened the lid of the food box, raised his chin, and gestured, "Here—Miss Song asked me to bring these for you."

She added, "She said someone gave her a good pig's tail, which she used to make a cold dish. It tasted very good, but she couldn't finish it all, so she asked us to help her share some—she also said that it's suitable as a side dish with rice, bread, or as an appetizer with wine."

As he spoke, he took out a jar of pickled cucumbers and a basket of banana leaves, saying, "She gave them to me too." The people in the room, who had been noisy and asking questions, suddenly fell silent upon seeing the food box full of cold pig tails and other snacks.

Before long, someone couldn't help but say, "Old Dong, you—you're shameless! How can you take this?! We haven't helped you at all! You haven't even done your own job properly!"

"That's right! Usually, when victims come to bring things, if the case isn't solved, we wouldn't even dare accept a pair of straw sandals, it would be too painful to see—but this time it's Miss Song, do you suddenly become shameless just because she's an acquaintance?"

Feng Er was extremely embarrassed and said, "To hell with it! I personally let that person in charge go—you're bringing this back, aren't you just slapping me in the face? Brother Dong, are you afraid I'll die of embarrassment!"

Old Dong said, "What's all the fuss about! If it were you going, could you refuse? Miss Song said it was for you, not for me, so how can I refuse?"

He rolled his eyes and said, "If you put in a little effort now and investigate the case thoroughly, whether it's useful or not, at least you can give Miss Song a clear explanation—wouldn't that be fair to all the good things she gave us?"

Several dishes were laid out on the table: a lotus leaf wrapped with braised vegetables, several cloves of garlic, a packet of sauce, and a stack of steamed buns.

Unless there are special circumstances, such as urgent or serious cases, the public kitchen of the Kyoto government office is not open at night. The fact that everyone is gathered together at this time is to privately discuss the case of the steward of Master Wu's household colluding with fugitives and instigating thieves to break into people's homes at night.

If you create trouble for yourself, you'll naturally have to take care of your own meals.

For convenience, they asked someone to bring back these steamed buns that they used to eat, wrapped them with some vegetables, and served them with a drink.

The dishes are just whatever you eat, so they're not going to taste very good. You can just eat them quickly and that's it.

But today, Old Dong is really looking forward to it.

He casually picked up a steamed bun, ignoring the garlic, sauce, and braised dishes that were usually indispensable. He grabbed a thick bamboo skewer from the small bamboo tube next to the food box, plucked out two large pieces of pig tail from the box, added several small pickled cucumbers, rolled it up, and put it at the very end.

While saying, "You're all thin-skinned, but I'm thick-skinned. I'll eat, and then I'll work—you all shouldn't eat!", Old Dong took a big bite of half a pancake, his mouth full of pancake crust, pork tail meat, and pickled cucumber. He immediately started chewing heartily, completely absorbed in his meal.

Seeing him like this, the others could no longer resist and rushed over.

"You old Dong! Miss Song asked you to bring some back for us, but you ended up eating it yourself!"

"You shameless bastard!"

"That huge piece of pig's tail, the best part right in the middle, and you just picked it all away like that? Have you no shame?!"

A group of people shouted and refused to give way, and began to grab the items.

For several days in a row, after finishing their own urgent matters, they squeezed in time to visit and investigate.

Although this time the investigation was focused on the steward of Master Wu's household, Xin Feng, who was in charge of the case, always believed in the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free." He thoroughly investigated Master Wu's entire family, and as the investigation progressed, more and more information emerged. When everyone gathered what they had gathered, they all felt that things were getting a bit tricky.

Both the Imperial Academy and the Kyoto Prefectural Government received a box of cold pig tail salad from Song Miao. They were both busy with their own affairs and were thinking of doing their part to contribute.

As for Song Miao herself, she was not idle either.

That very night, she asked the Xu Family Escort Agency to send several more bodyguards over to help guard the courtyard day and night, just like last time, so she could sleep soundly.

The next morning, after busying herself with the proper business at the restaurant, Song Miao greeted everyone, took a bodyguard with her, went out into the street, searched around, and bought a basket of sour dates.

Knowing that the Imperial Academy had just held an exam and that all the teachers were busy grading papers, making it difficult for her to leave, she hesitated to approach Teachers Cao and Chen.

Fortunately, I still had Master Cao's name card.

She sent someone ahead of time to deliver her calling card and a visiting card, stating her identity and that she would visit him the next day.

Because she had overheard Master Cao talking to Imperial Censor Cao before, Song Miao knew that he had an old mother and a wife at home, and that his wife, Liu, was currently pregnant.

Taking advantage of the good weather, she washed the basket of sour dates, scalded them with boiling water until the skin cracked, then peeled them and put the sour date pulp and pits into a sieve, stirring and pressing continuously to extract only the sour date pulp paste, which she then boiled with maltose and rock sugar.

She stopped cooking the fruit puree and sugar paste until it was sticky, thick, and heavy. She then used washed banana leaves as a base, poured it into a bamboo basket, spread it evenly, and sun-dried it for two days, turning it over repeatedly until it became a brownish-yellow, semi-transparent, dry sheet.

Once it's dried, take a bite, and you'll find it's sweet and sour, very appetizing—that's called jujube cake.

Song Miao took a knife and cut the sour jujube cakes into square pieces, then rolled them into small rolls and packed them in a box. She also made a box of cakes with the character "福" (fortune) and a box of cakes with the character "寿" (longevity). She picked up some food from a restaurant and bought some fresh fruits along the way. Then, carrying her things, she hailed a carriage and took a bodyguard with her to the Cao residence.

As expected, Imperial Censor Cao was on his way to his office at that moment, with only his mother and wife in the mansion.

Song Miao carried Master Cao's name card, and both the old lady and Liu gave her a great deal of face, and they came out together to receive her.

Upon meeting the two, Song Miao first bowed, introduced herself and her background, and then told them how she had been introduced to Imperial Censor Cao by Master Cao, and how the latter had helped her a great deal.

She was always sincere, and she described the actions of Imperial Censor Cao in great detail, her tone full of gratitude. Finally, she put out the food box she had brought and said, "I don't know what the situation is in the Censorate, so I can't just go in and out. I'm afraid I'll disturb Mr. Cao. After thinking it over, I realized that although I don't have any other skills, I do have some decent cooking skills. I might as well send some snacks to the old lady and the madam as a token of my gratitude."

As she spoke, she pointed to the box of jujube cakes and said with a smile, "I wouldn't dare to make anything else carelessly, but the ingredients here are only jujubes, maltose, and rock sugar. There are no taboos. When my mother was pregnant with me, she often used it to whet her appetite and satisfy her cravings. I heard from Mr. Cao that the old lady takes medicine from time to time and doesn't like pure sweetness. The lady is also pregnant..."

"This is all from the bottom of my heart, please don't find it offensive."

Everyone loves to hear words of gratitude. The old lady and Liu Shi exchanged a glance, feeling honored that someone had come to their door with a handmade gift and to thank their son and husband in person. They were eager to invite Song Miao to stay for dinner and chat with her.

Song Miao stayed for only a short while. When she took her leave, she took out a letter from her sleeve while Liu was away checking on the return gifts. She handed the letter to the old lady and said softly, "When Madam was here just now, I knew she was pregnant. I was afraid that people would worry if I told them. This is a letter for Master Cao. Please help me pass it on, Madam. I ask that you be careful in handling my matter and let it go."

She told him that Lu Wang's men had gone to the capital's government office and released the Wu family steward, and added, "I didn't know that he had such a powerful figure behind him, and that he was willing to help him. It's really not good to drag Master Cao down with me."

After listening, the old lady held the letter tightly and asked, "You want my son to give up now, but what about you?"

“I am not constrained. I am all alone. I will find another way. In broad daylight, under the clear sky, there is always a way to go.”

　Thank you so much to Queenie.° (I can't type a few symbols TOT) for the super boost of energy I received! It's just a small token of my appreciation, but you've gone to so much trouble!
　　Thank you to my cat Egg and Miss Ultraman from the bookstore for gifting me a typing aid each :)

　　Thank you so much to my dear friends Wo Ai Nong Nong, Ke Le, and a'Wang Zai Yan for each of the little gifts you sent me =3=
　　(End of this chapter)