Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

On the day of Song Mingxuan's county examination, Cui Zeyu also came.

"Sister." Cui Zeyu walked to the carriage and looked up at the person inside the wooden window. "Xuan-ge'er has always done well in his studies, so you don't need to worry."

Looking at her younger brother's gaunt face, Cui Lingrong said, "I'm not worried about his county exam. If he doesn't pass this year, there's always next year. The imperial examination is like a thousand soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge; I never thought he could pass every time. But you, you haven't fully recovered yet, so why did I hear you're going south again?"

"Most of the cloth in the cloth shop was burned. If it's not replenished in time, the business will be hard to sustain," Cui Zeyu said, adding that he had almost finished raising the cloth.

He's thought things through very clearly these days. Since he's chosen to go into business and can't change it, he should become the most capable businessman and make a breakthrough.

Therefore, on this trip south, he planned to find more cloth merchants, and fortunately, the county magistrate of Rongjia gave him a shop as compensation.

Knowing her younger brother's strong will, Cui Lingrong didn't stop him further. "Just take care of yourself," she said, then called to Ershun, "Has Xuan-ge'er gone in yet?"

Er Shun said he went inside.

Cui Lingrong was about to return to her residence, and Cui Zeyu offered to escort her. The two of them headed to the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence together.

As Song Mingxuan was queuing to enter the examination hall, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Zhao Xu from the second branch of the Rong Prince's Mansion.

They were about the same age, studied together at the Imperial Academy, and, due to their connection with Princess Rongjia, had even traveled together at the Imperial Academy before.

Just as Song Mingxuan was about to greet him, Zhao Xu leaned close to his ear and said, "Your mother is not a good person. She harmed my maternal grandparents' family and also caused my mother to be scolded by my father."

Song Mingxuan frowned. It was clearly the Qian family who did something wrong, so why did they say his mother wasn't a good person?

Immediately afterward, Zhao Xu added, "I'm telling you, you're not allowed to answer any questions in this county exam. If you pass, I'll make sure you can't stay at the Imperial Academy!"

Many members of the imperial clan, like Zhao Xu, did not participate in the imperial examinations. When they reached a certain age, their fathers would help them find a job. As long as they could maintain appearances, promotion was a given.

However, Zhao Xu was born into the second branch of the family, and since he excelled in his studies, his father wanted him to participate in the imperial examinations. If he could pass the examinations, he would be a rare figure among the imperial family, bringing honor to the Rong Prince's lineage.

If you passed the county or prefectural examinations, you would be ranked.

During this period, Zhao Xu heard his mother cursing Cui Shi quite often. After hearing it so much, he also began to despise Song Mingxuan and his brother.

He was full of confidence in his studies. If Song Mingxuan also passed the county exam and even surpassed him, how happy would he be?

Therefore, Zhao Xu had been waiting for this day. He wanted Song Mingxuan to fail the exam, which would make Song Mingxuan lose face, and he could then mock Song Mingxuan.

"Brother Xu, what do you mean by this?" Song Mingxuan frowned. He was already nervous, and after being threatened by Zhao Xu, his heart beat even faster.

"Don't play dumb with me. I used to take care of you at the Imperial Academy, but your mother and uncle have ruined everything for me. Anyway, remember what I said, or you'll regret it!" Zhao Xu said, bumping into Song Mingxuan hard.

Song Mingxuan stumbled a large step, attracting attention. The examiner came over and angrily reprimanded him, "Stand up straight! This isn't the execution ground. You're all scholars; behave yourselves!"

In front of the examiner, Zhao Xu obediently replied, "Okay." After the examiner left, he looked at Song Mingxuan smugly, "Don't you believe me? If you knew better and handed in a blank paper, I might let you stay at the Imperial Academy. But you dare to be superior to me; you know how many people at the Imperial Academy listen to me!"

Having never been openly threatened before, Song Mingxuan's youthful temper flared up, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "What if I say no?"

"No?"

Zhao Xu chuckled softly, "Do you think your mother won against my aunt? How could that be? No matter what, my aunt is still from the Rong Prince's mansion. Even if she killed someone, she's still a princess. If your mother hadn't been so tactless, she wouldn't have lost so much face."

At this moment, Song Mingxuan was only thinking about Zhao Xu's threat and did not think deeply about Zhao Xu's words.

He looked at Zhao Xu. He knew Zhao Xu had many lackeys at the Imperial Academy, but Zhao Xu was someone who wanted to become an official through the imperial examinations. If he had to bow down and admit defeat at the very first step of the examinations, what kind of official could he be?

Song Mingxuan stopped talking to Zhao Xu. He knew that there was no point in reasoning with someone like Zhao Xu.

Instead of wasting words arguing with Zhao Xu, it's better to calm down and not let Zhao Xu disturb my peace of mind.

Seeing that Song Mingxuan remained silent, Zhao Xu thought to himself that this inexperienced person was indeed easily frightened and that Song Mingxuan was already scared.

Coincidentally, the two were assigned to adjacent examination rooms.

While waiting outside for the examiner's order, Zhao Xu was still arrogant, saying, "Someone like you, without my aunt's support, even if you became the top scholar, you wouldn't amount to anything. I advise you and your brother to try to curry favor with my aunt; maybe she'll take pity on you and make your careers smoother. As for your father, hehe."

Zhao Xu didn't comment on Song Shulan, but his tone was full of sarcasm.

Song Mingxuan clenched his fists; if they weren't in the exam hall, he would have wanted to punch him.

Until the examiner gave the order, Zhao Xu grunted and went into the examination room.

Song Mingxuan took a deep look at Zhao Xu's back before entering the examination room.

Meanwhile, Cui Zeyu asked the carriage to wait a while, as he was going to buy his sister's favorite water chestnut cake.

Dingguo Gong happened to be passing by and saw a person in the distance who looked somewhat familiar. Just as he was about to walk forward, Qian Jin pulled him aside to talk.

When he came to his senses and looked again, the young man was nowhere to be seen.

"What are you looking at?" Ever since he was demoted, Qian Jin had been currying favor with powerful figures everywhere, hoping to get his post reinstated. Today, he invited the Duke of Dingguo and a few others for drinks, but he noticed that the Duke of Dingguo was lost in thought.

"Ah, it's nothing. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't drink today. I'll treat you another day." The Duke of Dingguo left in a hurry with his entourage.

He went to the stall to inquire.

The stall owner said he didn't know the other person's identity, "Sir, he just came to buy some pastries, how could I dare to ask his name?"

Duke Dingguo was very disappointed. The young man just now looked somewhat like Peng'er in his memory, and they were about the same age.

Despite the distance, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

He has been searching for his son recently, but has not received any news. Now he has seen someone who looks similar, but does not know his identity or name, leaving him at a loss.

The attendant, sensing his master's thoughts, whispered, "Your Excellency, there's no need to worry too much. Since he's in Bianjing, we can find him with some effort."

With the Duke of Dingguo's power, finding someone wouldn't be too difficult.

The Duke of Dingguo grunted in agreement, took a silver ingot from the servant, and placed it on the stall. "Next time this person comes to buy, if you can find out his name and address, go to the blacksmith shop in the east of the city and talk to the shopkeeper. I will give you another silver ingot."

He couldn't reveal his identity, so he could only send the stall owner to his shop to relay a message that the blacksmith shop owner was one of his men.

The stall owner was overjoyed to see the silver. "Alright, don't worry, I'll definitely find out for you."

A single silver ingot was worth several taels, representing several months' income for him, and he couldn't contain his smile.

After the Duke of Dingguo left, Cui Zeyu also saw his sister off to the gate of the Marquis of Jiangyuan's residence, but he did not go in.

"Is your relationship with Song Shulan still strained lately?" Cui Zeyu asked with a mixture of anticipation and worry.

"Don't worry about my affairs with the Marquis. Since you're going south to buy cloth, go and come back as soon as possible. In a few days, it will be rainy in Jiangnan, so remember to bring raincoats, otherwise the cloth will get moldy." After instructing her younger brother, Cui Lingrong told him to hurry back.

When she returned to Qiushuangzhai, Qiu's mother brought her a letter, saying that the Cui family had sent another letter.

Just then, Song Yu came over, and Cui Lingrong had her daughter read the letter.

Song Yu glanced at it, then angrily placed the letter on the table. "My maternal grandfather is going too far. He said that Princess Rongjia is of noble status, and since she has already married my father, you should try to please her. If you can't do it, she certainly can."

She grew angrier as she spoke, "Mother, what did Grandfather say?"

"Regarding getting your cousin into the Imperial Academy." Cui Lingrong knew her family wouldn't give up easily. She picked up the letter and glanced at it. Her father had learned that Song Shulan had been promoted and not only wanted her to help her nephew get into the Imperial Academy, but also wanted her to ask Song Shulan to help her elder brother and younger brother.

The letter came without a single question asking how she was doing.

Fearing that his mother would be upset, Song Yu comforted her, saying, "Perhaps my maternal grandfather is unaware of the Marquis's household situation. If he knew..."

"He doesn't care about my feelings." Cui Lingrong told Qiu's mother to burn the letter. "Just pretend I never received it. I won't do anything about the Cui family."

Making her humble herself before Princess Rongjia was indeed something her father could have thought of.