Chapter 3

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

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In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

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Liu Jun stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and tightly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

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Liu Jun stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and tightly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him. This sharp-eyed and somewhat intimidating woman was Liu Jun's eldest sister-in-law, Mei Lengran, the wife of his elder brother Liu Zhao. She was from the Mei family of Qili Gang in Macheng, one of the four major families in Macheng, though she belonged to a branch of the family. Her father was an old scholar who had passed the examination for xiucai (scholar) with Liu Jun's father, Liu Xiu, and they had studied together. Despite failing to pass the juren (advanced scholar) examination for many years, they remained good friends.

Liu Jun and the Mei family had arranged a marriage many years ago, and six years ago, Liu Zhao officially married Mei Lengran. A year later, they had a son, Liu Hong.

From his memories, Liu Jun discovered that this sharp-eyed and intimidating woman was actually the same age as him. Liu Jun was twenty this year, and his sister-in-law was only three months older.

Sister-in-law Mei Lengran followed closely behind, saying, "I see that Uncle Liu is not young anymore. Now that you are a respected wusheng (military scholar), it's time to consider your personal marriage. How about I help you arrange something?"

Liu Jun felt overwhelmed. In his previous life, he was a bachelor who had dated many girlfriends but was most afraid of marriage. Now, just arriving in the Ming Dynasty, everything was still unfamiliar, and the idea of being set up for a marriage was too early. Moreover, he noticed that even a beautiful woman like his sister-in-law had bound feet. If she introduced him to a scholar's daughter with bound feet, how could he accept it?

Besides, wasn't it true that women in the Ming and Qing dynasties were the most conservative? Why was his sister-in-law so familiar with him?

"Uncle!" The little nephew, seeing his uncle, immediately stopped reciting his lessons and ran over.

Yifeng caught Liu Hong, and he felt no sense of unfamiliarity with this nephew who clung to him, indicating that the original Liu Jun had a good relationship with him.

"Preparation is the key to success. If you prepare beforehand, you will not falter in speech, be trapped in action, feel guilty in conduct, or be at a loss in principle." Yifeng held his nephew and recited the passage that Liu Hong had failed to recite, "You are already reading the 'Rites of Zhou' and 'Doctrine of the Mean.' You are destined to become a top scholar. Uncle asks you, do you know what this passage means?"

Liu Hong shook his head, "Uncle, teach me."

Liu Jun smiled slightly and said, "Alright, Uncle will tell you. The meaning of these words is that preparation is foresight. Any task, if prepared for, will succeed; if not, it will fail. If you prepare your words, you will not falter; if you prepare your actions, you will not be trapped; if you plan your conduct, you will not feel guilty; if you decide your principles, you will not be at a loss. Remember, these words are from the 'Rites of Zhou' and 'Doctrine of the Mean,' written by Dai Sheng in the Western Han Dynasty."

Hearing her younger brother-in-law's words, Mei Lengran was somewhat taken aback and puzzled.

Her younger brother-in-law had always hated reading, preferring to practice martial arts and make friends. Eventually, her father-in-law had given up on the idea of him pursuing a career through the imperial examinations and wanted him to return home to farm. However, her younger brother-in-law had some talent and, through his many friends, managed to enter the military academy in Huangzhou, becoming a wusheng and receiving a rank and privileges.

It seemed that her younger brother-in-law had learned some skills during his two years away, not just martial arts but also the classics.

As they were talking, the maid Baor ran over and said to Liu Jun, "Second Young Master, Elder Sister-in-law, the Master has fainted."

"What happened?" Liu Jun asked.

"It's that butcher Zhang, bullying people with his power!" The maid, out of breath, led Liu Jun and the others into the house and explained.

The village where the Liu family lived was called Xibay, close to the county town and a key transportation route, making it a bustling market with over a thousand households and several wealthy families.

The Liu family was a middle-class family in the town, and their neighbor was a butcher named Zhang, who had monopolized the meat trade in the town and made a fortune. A few years ago, he had paid to become a jiansheng (supervisory student) for his eldest son, and his second son had passed the xiucai and juren examinations, making him very proud. He now considered himself a respected elder, and the Liu family, being his neighbors, had frequent conflicts with him.

Perhaps because he had once been a mere butcher and felt inferior to the scholar Liu Xiu, he now often deliberately caused trouble for the Liu family. Liu Xiu, an old scholar who had spent his life studying and taking the imperial examinations, was not the type to argue with others, especially now that Zhang had a juren son.

As a result, the Liu family's retreat only emboldened Zhang.

Especially in the past two years, with the second son, Liu Jun, studying at the military academy in the provincial capital and the eldest son being as soft-spoken as Liu Xiu, the family had been increasingly bullied.

Today, because the second son had returned, Liu Xiu planned to slaughter a pig they had raised. However, when he started, the pig escaped and ran to the Zhang family's front door. Zhang immediately drove the pig into his pen, and when the Liu family came to claim it, the Zhang family claimed it was theirs. They demanded five taels of silver to return the pig, which was essentially robbery.

Even if the pig belonged to the Liu family, it would not have cost that much at the market. A pound of good pork cost only two fen of silver, so a hundred-pound pig would cost only two taels of silver.

Liu Xiu argued with Zhang and his sons, but an old scholar could not match a butcher. In the end, he not only failed to get the pig back but also fainted at the Zhang family's door and had to be carried home.

"This Zhang butcher is too much. How can he do this? Is there no law or justice?"

As Liu Jun entered the main hall, he heard an angry voice. Recognizing the voice, he knew it must be his elder brother, Liu Zhao. As the voice and tone suggested, Liu Zhao was a somewhat weak and timid man. He had studied since childhood and had spent over twenty years in school, but he was still only a tongsheng (student).

A tongsheng was someone who had passed the county and provincial examinations but had not yet passed the prefectural examination to become a xiucai. Therefore, a tongsheng was only slightly above a commoner, with no real privileges. A xiucai could exempt two family members from corvée labor and did not have to kneel before officials, but a tongsheng did not have these benefits.

Liu Zhao had failed both in literature and martial arts, and he would continue to study and take the examinations. He was oblivious to the world outside, focusing solely on his studies and ignoring household matters. His father, Liu Xiu, earned money as a teacher, but Liu Zhao lived off his family, contributing nothing.

Fortunately, he had married a good wife. Although her family was also a scholar family, the Mei family was the leading clan in Macheng, and she brought a substantial dowry, including forty acres of land and a shop, which allowed him to live comfortably.

However, this made him even more isolated from the world, focusing solely on his studies, which resulted in poor social skills. Now, even when bullied, he only dared to complain at home, not even daring to shout at the Zhang family's door.

Seeing his elder brother's weakness, Liu Jun could only shake his head in frustration. Despite his weakness, he had good fortune, marrying a good wife and having a well-behaved son.

"Law? Zhang's son-in-law is the county magistrate, and his eldest son is a jiansheng. His second son has just passed the juren examination. In Xibay, who can stand up to Zhang? Forget it, it's just a pig, worth only two taels of silver. Consider it a loss to disease. One pig won't ruin us, nor will it enrich them."

Liu Xiu had already regained consciousness, lying on a bamboo chair, looking dejected and dispirited. Faced with the Zhang family's bullying, he could only swallow his anger and remain silent to avoid further trouble.

Liu Jun's mother was a quiet old lady, sitting on the side without saying a word.

"If we had a juren, would Zhang dare to bully us like this?" Liu Xiu sighed, trying to motivate his descendants. However, looking at the men in the room, he felt disappointed. He had three sons, but the eldest, though diligent in his studies, was not cut out for it, having only passed the tongsheng examination, not even as good as his father, who had passed the xiucai examination.

The second son was even worse, having been a troublemaker since childhood, refusing to study. Liu Xiu had wanted him to farm, but he was restless and made friends outside. However, this son was clever and managed to enter the military academy, becoming a wusheng, which was a military xiucai. If he passed the military juren examination, he could become a military official. Although military officials were not as respected as civil officials, any official position would bring glory to the Liu family.

However, the Liu family's real hope for a career through education lay with the third son, Liu Jian, who was only thirteen but had already passed the tongsheng examination. Although he had not yet passed the xiucai examination, he was young and talented, with a good chance in the future. Liu Jian was now studying at the county academy, the most promising candidate for the xiucai and juren examinations. Liu Xiu hoped that he would at least pass the juren examination, though he did not dare to hope for the jinshi (imperial scholar) examination.

Liu Zhao lowered his head in shame, knowing his own limitations. The more examinations he took, the less confident he became in passing the xiucai examination.

Sister-in-law Mei Lengran then said to her son, Liu Hong, "Did you hear what your grandfather said? Study hard and pass the jinshi examination. Then we won't have to fear anyone bullying us."

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