Chapter 57 Beginning of Winter (Part )

The next morning, Zhenyi opened the Yueling Jijie that she had not had time to read the day before, and talked with Jingyi about the Beginning of Winter solar term.

“Winter is the end, when all things are stored…”

All things should be put away, and people should also avoid the cold. Jingyi is weak, so Zhenyi rarely takes her sister out of the house this winter.

When the first snow fell this winter, Orange lay lazily outside the cotton curtain of the Jifang Book House, with his two mangosteen-like furry front paws elegantly crossed. He squinted his eyes and quietly watched the fine falling first snow, his snow-white beard trembling slightly with satisfaction from time to time.

In the study room separated by a curtain, Zhenyi was reading poetry with Jingyi and Luoger. The tender and earnest voices of the children reading were like a pleasant and peaceful lullaby, making Juzi, who was enjoying the snow outside the curtain, drowsy.

The snow gradually accumulated, covering the Jifang Book House and Defeng Pavilion with a layer of soft, silvery-white silk clothing.

Footprints were left on the intact “silkworm coat” on the ground. Wang Jie came with an umbrella in one hand and a book in the other. He folded the umbrella and went into the study. He smiled and said that he was confused about an article he read today. The more he thought about it, the more puzzled he became, so he came here to find his second sister to discuss it together.

Wang Jie knew that it was true that his second sister was knowledgeable and it was also true that she wanted to come out for some fresh air.

Wang Jie failed the exams many times, and the pressure on his shoulders increased year by year. He was depressed and doubtful, but he dared not express it. The study room was cramped because it was filled with books, his father’s deep eyes with high hopes, and his mother’s daily tonic soup, all of which were intertwined into a big net that was warm but sticky and could not be peeled off, and Wang Jie was entangled so tightly that he could hardly breathe.

Walking through the snow all the way to Jifang Book House, the air was cold but smooth. The second sister raised her eyes from behind the desk with clear and bright eyes. She then looked at the third sister and the even younger nephew. Wang Jie suddenly seemed to have returned to the days when he and his second sister listened to his grandfather’s lectures in this book house when he was a child.

This feeling made Wang Jie feel safe and relaxed.

When Juzi walked through the curtain and into the study, she saw Wang Jie’s originally tense shoulders slowly and silently falling with the falling snow outside.

After that, Wang Jie often came to Jifang Book House, sometimes discussing poetry and literature with his second sister, and sometimes just sitting quietly reading.

One day, Wang Luo secretly chatted with Jingyi: “Aunt, is Second Uncle going to school with us now?”

Wang Jie listened to the childish words and nodded: “That’s right, how about you two study with me?”

Eight-year-old Jingyi blinked her big eyes and asked, “What about my sister?”

“Deqing is the teacher.” Wang Jie looked at his second sister with a smile: “He is the teacher of the three of us.”

Little Wang Luo asked: “What about the oranges?”

“Juzi is a guard.” Wang Jie looked at the big cat dozing by the brazier with smiling eyes: “He is the guard of the four of us.”

The next year, when the spring breeze was warm, the orange guard dozed off – no, the sentry position was moved from inside the house to outside.

As the new year approaches, the people in the study are one year older, and the cat outside the study is also one year older. The cat thinks that the study should also be one year older, and the same goes for Defeng Pavilion and the jujube tree.

This year, Zhenyi is already twenty-one years old, and Wang Jie, who is four years older than Zhenyi, is about to have his fourth imperial examination this year.

At the end of spring and the summer solstice, Zhenyi received a letter from her good friend Chen Ningtian. The letter was sent from Shandong. Two years ago in the spring, Chen Ningtian was married to the Kong family in Shandong under the arrangement of her family.

Chen Ningtian had tried to resist, but on one side were her family members who had already made up their minds, and on the other side was Wang Jie who was far away and silent. She felt as if she was in an empty valley, with the only response from her own voice.

The echoes gradually became weaker, and suddenly one day she heard a noise again. It was the sound of suona and firecrackers from the wedding procession.

Two years later, Chen Ningtian shared with Zhenyi the good news that she had given birth to a child in April in a letter. He wrote a poem to express his longing for Zhenyi. Finally, he greeted the Wang family and Orange in turn. The five words “Second brother of the Wang family” were quietly hidden among the titles and did not seem to be anything special.

After hearing what his second sister said, Wang Jie nodded slightly and smiled: “Okay, as long as she is safe.”

In the following days, Wang Jie was surrounded by his father and uncles every day to prepare for the autumn examination, and he seldom came to Jifang Study.

In mid-June, when Wang Jie left the study for the last time, Zhenyi sent her second brother to the Defeng Pavilion. There is no need to elaborate on her words of encouragement. At the end, Zhenyi said, “Second brother, as long as you try your best, you will have nothing to regret.”

The hot summer wind blew the jujube leaves on the tree rustling. Wang Jie nodded: “Okay, second sister, I’ll remember it.”

The young man took a step back seriously and bowed to his sister: “I have benefited a lot from your company and your help these days. I must be determined to take this test.” He wanted to achieve fame, to wipe away the worries between his parents’ brows, to no longer be looked down upon at home, to give his elder sister more confidence in her husband’s family, to give his second sister a good marriage and as much choice as possible, and to give his hardworking brother and sister-in-law a little protection within his ability…

He wanted too much, and all of this pointed to the same way out, which was only in his writing.

In the examination room, Wang Jie calmed his mind and concentrated his energy, writing with endless determination to find a way out.

On the day when the results of the autumn examination were announced, Wang Xipu couldn’t help but feel a little hesitant when he thought of the time when he returned home disappointed and was comforted by others. Wang Xichen understood why, so he asked his third brother and his son to wait at home while he took Qisheng out early to check the results.

After Wang Xichen left, time at home seemed to freeze. Orange felt as if there was a big western watch at home, but the hands of the watch stopped moving. He was so anxious that he wished he could use his paws to move it.

As Wang Xichen hurried back, the invisible pointer seemed to have finally been moved, and it began to tick and tap to the sound of everyone’s hurried footsteps. Orange followed Zhenyi and saw Wang Xichen so excited for the first time. His voice trembled, like a harvest of rice ears swaying in the autumn wind:

“… He passed! Jie’er passed! He passed the imperial examination!”

There was silence at first, then Wang Xipu’s careful confirmation, and then an explosion of endless joy. Jingyi, who had no clear understanding of the imperial examination, also cheered.

Tears welled up in the third wife’s eyes, and the few strands of gray hair on her temples sparkled in the sunlight. She was so happy that she couldn’t utter a complete sentence.

“Quick!” Wang Xirui stopped the crutch in his hand and said, “Send a message! Send a message back to the Tianchang clan!”

He hurriedly said, “Jie’er doesn’t need to go in person. You should take a good rest now so that you can prepare for the imperial examination in Beijing next year!”

“Yes, yes!” Wang Xichen took the initiative to say, “I can go! I’ll pack my luggage tonight and set off tomorrow!”

“In that case, I’ll have to trouble you, second brother, to make the trip!” Wang Xipu raised his hand and bowed. Although his back was bent, it gave people a straight and inspiring feeling.

“Go to the store and call Luo Ge’er’s father and mother back, call them all back!” The eldest wife held her grandson and ordered Qisheng: “And ask them to get a few bottles of wine! Good wine!”

In the midst of joy, Juzi sat upright and looked up at Wang Jie, only to see that Wang Jie looked at Zhenyi in the chaos, with tears in his eyes, and he gave his second sister a big smile.

There was no arrogance in that smile, instead there was a sense of relief hidden in the endless joy that only Zhenyi could understand.

This day at the Wang family became the most lively day in Orange’s memory. People came to congratulate one after another, the evening food and wine were particularly rich, and the smile in everyone’s eyes never left.

Wang Xichen set off early the next morning.

When the mule cart that Wang Xichen was riding in drove out of the city of Jinling, the examiners in charge of supervising the Jiangnan Autumn Examination also smiled and humbly boarded the boat one after another. The boat slowly sailed on the Qinhuai River, and was about to leave Jinling.

However, the boat had not traveled half a mile when something unexpected happened. Angry curses were heard from both sides of the river, and countless bricks and stones were thrown at the officials’ boat. The incident happened suddenly, and the boats on the water collided in chaos. The people on the shore were crowded and pushed, and the situation was out of control for a time.

By the time the officers managed to get the situation under control, it was already getting dark.

An official was injured, and the riot spread quickly throughout Jinling City. That night, Qisheng brought back news he had gathered from outside: “…the troublemakers are those scholars who failed the imperial examinations! There are nearly a hundred of them!”

“They’re spreading the word that this fall’s examiners are corrupt and partial!”

“Because they were dissatisfied, they gathered together to stop the examiner’s boat, saying they wanted justice!”

“…Why is there such a big fuss? These people are so bold!” The third wife asked anxiously, “Will their fuss…have any impact on the candidates from Jiangnan this year?”

Wang Jie also felt a little nervous.

Wang Xipu said calmly, “There have been rumors of cheating every year, but they have never caused any big disturbances…Jie’er passed the imperial examination based on his real knowledge and good conduct. These small disturbances and rumors cannot hinder him.”

“That’s good, that’s good…” The third wife chanted a Buddhist mantra.

Zhenyi’s mind was not completely settled yet. She looked out the window and saw the autumn wind blowing past, swaying the flowers and trees in the courtyard.

(I went on a long trip and missed the update. Sorry.