Chapter 8

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"Indeed, it is the Su family." As the door opened, a gentle young lady stood before Chen Chen, dressed in a pink and green robe, with a light pink silk sash around her waist and her hair tied in two soft buns. She asked softly, "I wonder what brings this scholar here?"

"This young lady, please," Chen Er, after just a glance at her, quickly lowered his head and said, "I am surnamed Chen, from Qingcheng County. My father's courtesy name is Gongbi. I have come to Meishan due to some family matters and have come to seek your esteemed household. I wonder if he is here..."

He was not usually so clumsy, but for some reason, today his words were tangled and unclear.

"You must be Mr. Chen's son," the young lady, being quite clever, understood his meaning and smiled, covering her mouth. "Then you are Brother Chen. Please come in. Uncle Chen is in the back garden writing with my father."

The girl's voice was as gentle and warm as the breeze over West Lake, soothing Chen Er's anxious heart, yet making his heart beat faster. He quickly composed himself, straightened his clothes, and followed the young lady into the courtyard.

By the pond in the courtyard stood two little boys, the older one about ten years old, the younger one about seven or eight, engrossed in a game of grass fighting. The Song people loved gambling, regardless of age. This game of grass fighting was divided into physical and literary contests. Generally, boys played physical contests, while girls played literary contests. The physical contest was simple: during the spring when the grass grew, they would find their favorite grass leaves and compete by strength, with the more resilient one winning and the broken one losing.

Since the older sister was leading the game, it was naturally a literary contest. Earlier, she had taken her younger sister to a garden by the street and picked a large bunch of various flowers, which she placed in a water basin to play with her two younger brothers. The game required them to report the names of the flowers in a couplet form, with the one who knew more flower names and had better couplet skills winning.

The older sister, aiming to make the game both educational and fun, naturally would not show off against her younger brothers. So the two boys started competing:

One picked up a willow branch and said, "I have the Guanyin Willow."

The other picked up a pine branch and replied, "I have the Luohan Pine."

The first one then picked up another and said, "I have the Bell Grass."

The other responded, "I have the Drum Flower."

The first one continued, "I have the Golden Chalice Grass."

The other said nonchalantly, "This is the Jade Hairpin Flower."

Just as the older sister led Chen Chen in, the older brother picked up a flower and said, "I have the Brother Flower."

"How can this be called the Brother Flower?" the younger brother was puzzled. "It's clearly the Spring Plum."

"Look, the plum blooms on one branch, with some above and some below, just like us, born from the same mother, with me before you. Isn't it the Brother Flower?" the older brother argued confidently.

"Such a Brother Flower, then this one..." the younger brother searched in the basin and picked up a flower with two stems, "This is the Husband and Wife Flower."

The two boys' arguments made the seven-year-old younger sister giggle, "If the flowers bloom in different sizes, it's called the Father and Son Flower, and if they bloom back-to-back, it's called the Enemy Flower?"

Her words made the two older brothers blush. The older one laughed and ran over to pinch her mouth, and the two started chasing each other. Seeing her older sister, the younger sister ran over and pouted, "Sister, look, Big Brother is bullying me again."

"Stop playing around, don't you see we have a guest?" The older sister smiled apologetically at Chen Chen, "Brother, please forgive us."

"No, no, your younger brother and sister are very quick-witted and innocent," Chen Chen stammered, "I am very envious." His flustered appearance made the younger sister giggle.

The older sister glared at her, then asked the two younger brothers to lead the guest to the guest hall, while she took her younger sister to the study to invite "Uncle Chen."

In the study at the back of the courtyard, a portrait of the Eight Immortals' Zhang Guolao hung in the main hall. The bookshelves and desks were piled high with books. Two men, both in their thirties, each occupied one end of the desk, writing diligently.

The older one was the master of the house, Su Xun, also known as Su Laoquan. In his youth, he was a clever and strong-willed person who disliked being controlled. He detested the examination system of his time and enjoyed traveling.

But later, after the birth of his eldest son, he saw his older brother, his brother-in-law, and his two brothers-in-law all succeed in the imperial examinations and become officials, while he remained idle and dependent on his family. This situation, even for an average person, would be a source of frustration, let alone for someone with extraordinary intelligence.

He regretted wasting his youth and began to study hard, distancing himself from his former dissolute friends and learning from scholars. He had been studying in seclusion for eight years.

But effort does not always lead to success. In the past eight years, Su Laoquan had failed the imperial examinations twice. This made him increasingly silent and eccentric, and his radical ideas and bold statements made him unpopular with the conservative scholars.

The man sitting opposite him was one of his few close friends, Chen Xiliang, also known as Gongbi, from Qingcheng County. He was slender and had a cold, stern face, with clear, bright eyes, indicating a person of integrity and determination.

Unlike Su Xun, who had been frivolous in his youth, Chen Xiliang was a disciplined person who had studied diligently from a young age. However, fate had been unkind to him, and his path in the imperial examinations had been fraught with difficulties.

He studied hard until he was twenty-two and felt confident enough to take the examination. He passed the preliminary exam and went to the capital, but just before the final exam, he received news of his father's death and had to return home, delaying his next attempt.

The imperial examinations were not held regularly but were scheduled according to the needs of the government. Since the current emperor ascended the throne, the number of officials had increased, so the examinations were held every four years.

Four years later, at the age of twenty-six, Chen Xiliang took the examination again, but the examiners had changed their focus from classics and history to couplets and prosody. As he was not skilled in this area, he failed.

On his way back to Sichuan, he met Su Xun, who had also failed for the same reason. The two quiet men, coincidentally sharing the same cabin, could go days without speaking. But by the time they disembarked, they had become close friends. Over the next few years, they corresponded frequently and studied couplets and prosody together.

So Su Xun instructed his daughter to include couplets and prosody in the games she played with her younger brothers, a lesson learned from their failures.

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After three years of hard study, Chen Xiliang was twenty-nine, and Su Laoquan was thirty-four, both at an age where they could no longer afford to fail. So as soon as spring arrived, Su Laoquan dragged Chen Xiliang to various literary gatherings to improve their poetry skills.

Chen Xiliang was initially worried about his three children, but knowing that if he passed the examination, he would be away for over a year, he spoke to his brother and sister-in-law and repeatedly instructed his son to be obedient before setting out on their journey with Su Xun.

Now, after two months of travel, with only three days left before the registration at the prefecture office, Chen Xiliang planned to return home immediately after registration. For the next few days, he would stay at the Su family's house and work on some examination essays with Su Xun. Unlike later times, the imperial examinations in the Song dynasty were only valid for one attempt. If they failed, they would have to take the preliminary exam again. Although they were confident, the literary scene in Sichuan had become increasingly competitive, so they could not afford to be complacent.

As they were writing, a knock came at the door. Su Xun frowned, put down his pen, and asked sternly, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Father."

"Ba Niang? Didn't I tell you not to disturb us?" Su Xun's tone softened when he recognized his eldest daughter. "What is it?"

"Uncle Chen's son has come, saying he has urgent news for Uncle."

"My son," Chen Xiliang's heart skipped a beat, and he put down his pen. "Brother Laoquan, I'll go see what's happening."

"Go quickly." Su Xun did not pry into family matters.

Chen Xiliang stood up and followed Ba Niang to the guest hall in the front courtyard.

Chen Chen was at a loss for words, being questioned by the Su brothers. Seeing his father, he quickly stood up and said, "Father, something serious has happened..."

Chen Xiliang raised his hand, signaling him to stop. "Come with me to my room." This was not to hide anything from the host but to avoid involving him in any potential issues. If there was a serious matter, the host would be in a difficult position whether to help or not, so it was better not to let him know.

Back in the guest room, Chen Chen told his father what had happened at home: "The messenger said that San Lang almost killed Da Niang and is now locked up."

Chen Xiliang did not believe it. "San Lang is so gentle, he would even save injured cats and dogs. How could he hurt anyone, let alone his aunt?"

"Well..." Chen Chen, having only heard the story secondhand, was at a loss for words. "But the family is searching for you everywhere and says they will report to the authorities if you don't return soon."

"Report to the authorities..." Chen Xiliang's face darkened. He quickly packed his belongings into a bamboo chest and slung it over his shoulder. "We're going back!" He then walked out of the room and toward the courtyard gate.

Ba Niang was waiting in the courtyard. Seeing Chen Xiliang's attire, she was surprised. "Uncle, are you leaving?"

"Niece, I have an urgent matter at home and must return immediately," Chen Xiliang said, bowing to her. "I don't have time to say goodbye to your father. Please convey my apologies." He then walked out quickly.

Ba Niang could only open her mouth in surprise as he rushed past like a gust of wind.

Chen Chen apologized to her, "I'm sorry, my father is like this..."

"Since it's an urgent matter, Brother, please follow quickly." Ba Niang smiled and bowed. "I hope everything goes well for you."

"Thank you, thank you," Chen Chen bowed deeply and hurried after his father, nearly colliding with the screen wall.

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As usual, the characters in the book will be adjusted according to the needs of the story, but their essential characteristics will not be altered.

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