SMMW | Chapter 4

Wen Qing strolled through the garden with Yuan Hao, admiring the scenery and casually chatting about this and that. Although their temperaments seemed well suited to one another, Wen Qing still could not let go of those strange dreams. In those dreams, it seemed that only Yuan Hao was different.

He asked, a little abruptly, “Brother Yuan is greatly talented. May I ask, which attempt was this for your county-level exam?”

Without even thinking, Yuan Hao answered, “The tenth time.”

Wen Qing stopped in his tracks and looked at Yuan Hao in astonishment. They were clearly about the same age, so how could this have been his tenth time?

Could it be that his question had been too rude, so Yuan Hao had simply tossed out a careless answer?

Wen Qing moved his lips for a long while, then awkwardly said, “Brother Yuan… great accumulation has finally borne fruit.”

He had originally meant to let the matter pass, but unexpectedly, Yuan Hao immediately changed his answer and said, “The third time.”

Three times? If it was three times, then it matched the dream. Wen Qing nodded and wanted to ask whether Yuan Hao had truly taken the exam three times, or whether, like himself, he had taken it twice in dreams.

But they had only just met. Asking something that strange would be far too abrupt. It would be better to think it through slowly in the days ahead.

At last, things had some clue to them, and Wen Qing relaxed. Cupping his hands, he said, “My own studies are still shallow. Since Brother Yuan and I are now fellow students, I will surely ask for much guidance in the future. I only hope Brother Yuan will not disdain me.”

But Yuan Hao did not answer. Instead, on his own, he changed the answer again. “The first time.”

Wen Qing’s eyes widened, half shocked and half angry. He had already determined that Yuan Hao was deliberately making a fool of him, but since he himself had been abrupt first, it was hard for him to blame the other party.

Wen Qing felt sullen, and repeated the same polite words about asking for guidance once again.

After that round of sparring, Wen Qing had already lost all interest in continuing the conversation. Just then, they had reached the study, and he remembered that the essay he wanted his teacher to comment on was still lying on the desk, not yet sorted out.

At a time like this, it would not be right to let a guest go eat at the banquet by himself, so Wen Qing invited Yuan Hao to sit and drink tea and casually have some pastries. Once he had sorted out his drafts, he would accompany him to the front courtyard together.

Yuan Hao seemed completely unaware of the little friction between them earlier. Instead, he was very interested in the pastries and enthusiastically asked about every single one.

Wen Qing was already good-tempered to begin with, and on top of that, as the host, he naturally answered everything he knew, warmly and attentively.

“What is the first plate?”

“Horseshoe cake. Our family’s new cook is especially skilled at making horseshoe cake. It tastes even better paired with clear tea.”

“What is the second plate?”

“That is osmanthus cake. There is an old osmanthus tree in the back courtyard. Right now the flowers are blooming, so the servants like to pick some to make pastries. After the petals are dried, they are also very nice for sewing into fragrant sachets.”

“What is the third plate?”

“Poria cake. It has the effect of calming the mind and soothing the spirit. Mother often urges me to eat some. If Brother Yuan likes it, you may as well take a box with you when you leave.”

After asking all that, Yuan Hao stopped speaking. The only sounds left in the room were pages turning and the chewing of pastries.

Wen Qing secretly laughed at Yuan Hao’s childlike temperament, and the guard in his heart dropped a little more.

When he came out holding his manuscript and invited Yuan Hao to go to the front hall for the banquet, he could not help glancing at the tea and pastries on the table. He had assumed they would have been eaten into a complete mess, but unexpectedly, only the osmanthus cake had been touched, and even then only one piece had been eaten. There was not the slightest crumb left on the table either. It seemed Yuan Hao’s table manners were also extremely refined.

Thinking that he had just secretly teased him a moment ago, Wen Qing felt that was truly petty behavior. He blushed a little. After reflecting on himself, he felt even more embarrassed. With the intention of making amends, he not only took the greatest possible care of Yuan Hao during the banquet, but also, when seeing off the guests, deliberately prepared a whole food box of pastries for Yuan Hao to take away.

Yuan Hao looked quite happy when he saw the food box and accepted it without the slightest awkwardness, which made Wen Qing feel even more favorably disposed toward him.

That good mood lasted right up until he saw his mother’s pale complexion, whereupon it cooled completely.

“Mother, how are you?! Yesterday I already thought your complexion did not look very good. Have you not been taking your medicine on time?”

Madam Wen covered her mouth with her handkerchief and coughed twice, then forced herself to say, “I’ve been taking it. It’s an old problem. Don’t be anxious.”

“Then that means the medicine isn’t strong enough. We should replace it with some fresh stock. I’ll go ask at the apothecary right now.” Wen Qing rushed out in a fluster, paying no heed at all to Madam Wen’s attempts to stop him.

He walked quickly, almost at a run, and by the time he reached the apothecary, he was already out of breath. Seeing that it was an acquaintance, the young shop assistant hurriedly went to call the person in charge.

The door curtain was lifted, revealing a delicate and lovely face that turned even gentler upon seeing Wen Qing. “Young Master Wen?”

“Miss Yun.” Wen Qing nodded in greeting. “I came to ask whether there is any fresh stock of the medicinal herb my mother often takes.”

Yun Ling, the apothecary owner’s daughter, shook her head and explained, “That herb is hard to come by. For some reason, the mountain woman who usually comes to sell medicine has also not come for a while now.”

Wen Qing frowned, and the worry on his face did not lessen.

Yun Ling spoke up to comfort him. “However, yesterday a young gentleman came to ask about the prices of medicinal herbs. Although he only asked about some ordinary ones, from the way he spoke, it sounded as if he planned to come sell herbs regularly. The next time he comes, I will make a point of asking around a bit more. Madam Wen will not be left without medicine.”

“That is all we can do.” Wen Qing barely forced up a smile. “I must trouble you to take the matter to heart.”

“You are too polite, Young Master Wen,” Yun Ling replied softly.

Although he had gained nothing, he could not trouble her for no reason at all. Wen Qing took a thin booklet from his sleeve and handed it to Yun Ling. “I found this in the book loft. No one in my family understands medicinal principles, so giving it to you is exactly suitable.”

“Th-this, how could I…” Yun Ling looked very excited, but out of a young lady’s reserve, she still declined.

Wen Qing set the thin booklet on the counter. “Take it. I am still counting on you to become the greatest divine physician under heaven, so that my mother may be protected and live a long life of a hundred years.”

Yun Ling held the booklet in both hands, suppressing her excitement as she said, “Thank you, Brother Wen~”

Wen Qing smiled and inclined his head. “You’re busy, so I won’t disturb you.”

“Alright, Brother Wen, walk carefully.” That was Yun Ling seeing him off at the door.

“Take care, Young Master Wen~” That was the shop assistant at the door, watching the fun.

The shop assistant looked at Yun Ling and pinched his voice into something strange. “Bro~ther~ Wen~ walk~ care~ful~ly~”

“Li San! Are you asking for a beating?!” Yun Ling instantly lost the gentle manner she had worn earlier, picked up a medicine basket, and started smashing it toward the assistant.

The assistant seemed already quite used to being hit. Crying out in pain, he darted around everywhere, laughing as he begged for mercy. “Don’t hit, don’t hit, your Brother Wen will see… hey! Don’t throw it at my head!”

After coming out of the apothecary, Wen Qing did not go home. Instead, he chose to wander the streets to dispel the gloom in his chest.

The stalls lining both sides of the street had already laid out their wares, and their owners cried out energetically.

“Fermented rice dumplings, ten wen a bowl~”

“Yangchun noodles, fresh out of the pot!”

“Freshly roasted duck right out of the oven, half a duck for sale too~”

…

Out of habit, Wen Qing unconsciously wandered to the entrance of the bookstore. The bookstore was not as quiet as usual. Instead, people had gathered around something and were discussing it.

At the very center, the bookstore owner was at a complete loss as he explained to everyone, “This truly was copied by Yuan Xiucai. He is the dignified top scorer of the county-level exam, how would I dare forge it… besides, even if I were going to forge it, I would at least find someone with neat handwriting.”

Wen Qing looked inside, and only then did he see the book placed in the middle. He could not help letting out a laugh. There was no other reason. The handwriting was too ugly. Crooked and wobbling, shaky and trembling, like something scratched out by an old man with a cane.

Hearing the laugh, the bookstore owner discovered it was Wen Qing, and it was as if he had seen a savior. “Young Master Wen, come, come.”

The bookstore owner stood beside Wen Qing. “A few days ago, when your family was holding the banquet, didn’t you also invite Yuan Xiucai? You tell everyone, is this Yuan Xiucai’s handwriting or not?”

“Brother Yuan was indeed invited to the banquet yesterday, but… I did not see any of his calligraphy.”

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!” The crowd broke into a roar of laughter and did not believe the owner’s words at all. No matter how the owner flushed red in the face from anxiety, the people all dispersed one after another without more to say.

By this point, even the owner himself was no longer confident. He started asking Wen Qing whether the person he had seen yesterday had really been Yuan Hao in the flesh.

With anger in his voice, the owner began describing him. “A young man, tall and handsome enough, dressed in rags, loves to chatter. He asked around all over my place and bought nothing. Instead, he claimed he was the top scorer of the county-level exam and had copied a book to leave here for consignment sale. This old man also went to see the posted results the day before yesterday, and he seemed familiar to me, so I should not have been mistaken. I said I did not want any commission and would advertise for him for free, and we were chatting perfectly fine. But once the book was opened, look at this… it’s not even as good as my own writing!”

“Hahahahahahahahaha!” Wen Qing laughed uncontrollably. In his heart, he thought, he himself had said he had taken the exam ten times. If he failed all ten times, then with handwriting this rotten, that really did make sense.

“Oh dear, you… help me come up with an idea here.” The owner spread his hands helplessly.

“Haha, cough. Hearing you put it that way, I also think it probably was Yuan Xiucai.”

The owner stood there with his mouth hanging open, wearing an expression like the dynasty was doomed, how had they picked such a thing to be top scorer?

“How much was he planning to sell this book for?”

The owner curled his lips. “One hundred qian.”

Wen Qing pondered for a moment, then said, “Yuan Xiucai’s family circumstances are poor. I imagine the academy term is about to begin, and he is in a hurry to scrape together the tuition gift, so he hastily copied a book to sell. Therefore, the handwriting… falls somewhat short of standard. But this is not something that should be publicized. It would harm his reputation. So, I will buy it for five hundred qian. You need not tell him who bought it, only say that it has been sold. If he wishes to sell books again, I trouble you to send word to my residence. I will buy them as before.”

“Ah, Young Master Wen, your heart is truly kind. You preserve Yuan Xiucai’s reputation, help him out besides, and still do not let him know, this… this truly…” The owner sincerely wanted to praise him, but helplessly found himself at a loss for words. He went on stammering this, this, this for quite a while without managing to finish. If he had said his rotten handwriting could compare to Yuan Hao’s, then it seemed he had really been telling the truth.

Wen Qing waved a hand. “Only enough to relieve another man’s thirst for a time, that is all.”

Wen Qing tucked that great masterpiece into his sleeve, bade farewell to the owner, and stepped onto the road home.

When he came out, he had taken a book with him. When he went back, there was still one volume tucked in his sleeve. It seemed the empty space in the book loft could be filled after all. It could not be counted as having gained nothing.