Chapter 175: Enrollment and Before Qixi [Many thanks for everyone's support! Bowing again]

Seventh month, hour of Mao.

The sky had already brightened.

The breakfast stalls on the Imperial Street no longer bustled with serving the officials heading to morning court.

Fortunately, the sun had not yet risen, and the air still held a touch of coolness.

Because summer brought frequent rain,

Xu Xu Zaijing and his elder brother did not ride horses but chose to take a carriage instead.

After disembarking, they happened to see Qi Heng, yawning, stepping down from the carriage with the support of Hearing Buwei.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Jing."

Since it was the first day of school, Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng had been waiting at the gate early; upon seeing their three classmates arrive, they guided them together toward the study hall.

Xu Xu Zaijing followed behind his elder brother, walking into the courtyard.

From his previous visit, Xu Xu Zaijing knew the Sheng family residence had five progressive courtyards.

The study hall did not reach the second gate; it was located roughly within a courtyard in the second progression.

Upon entering the courtyard, Xu Xu Zaijing faced a lecture hall that was open on three sides; near the courtyard gate, a row of green bamboo and several arhat pines had been planted, their branches still holding dew condensed from the previous night.

Several strange rocks were arranged nearby, and in the corner of the courtyard stood a wutong tree so ancient that two people could barely encircle its trunk.

Sheng Changbai paused on the steps before entering the lecture hall and pointed to a path on the left, paved with green bricks and lined with bamboo: "This path leads to the courtyard where Master Zhuang resides."

With that said, everyone followed Sheng Changbai into the lecture hall.

Inside the lecture hall, nine desks were arranged in three rows of three; Sheng Hualan had already been confined to her boudoir, embroidering her dowry.

"Grandmother and Father instructed that the younger sisters of the household should also receive enlightenment from the tutor, studying books to understand reason."

As they spoke, a chorus of chirping voices arose at the courtyard gate, and the three Sheng 'Lan' girls arrived before the lecture hall.

Xu Zaizhang declined Sheng Changbai's offer to arrange the seating, saying, "Brother Bai, Xiaowu and I are merely auditing students; how could we overstep our bounds? You should arrange it."

Hearing this, Sheng Changbai cupped his hands in a bow.

The three Sheng 'Lan' girls were not seated by status of birth but by age order: Seeing Mo Lan took the first seat, Hearing Rulan the second, and Minglan the last.

On the other side, Sheng Changbai intended to yield the central position, but Xu Xu Zaizhang politely refused.

In the end, for the central row, Sheng Changbai took the first seat, Qi Heng the second, and Sheng Changfeng the last.

For the side row, Xu Zaizhang took the first seat, Gu Gu Tingye the second, and Xu Xu Zaijing the last.

At the very back behind everyone were their respective young attendants and maids.

Xu Xu Zaijing sat at his desk, leaning back on his hands; from this spot, the view of the lecture hall was completely unobstructed.

In his previous life, such a position would undoubtedly have been a haven for poor students or a zone for delinquent boys.

Looking at the back of Sheng Changfeng's head nearby, Xu Xu Zaijing nodded: Poor student.

Gazing at Minglan in the distance, who looked utterly bewildered, Xu Xu Zaijing nodded: Temporarily a poor student.

Then he looked at himself: A graceful and handsome youth.

Just then, a cough sounded from outside the lecture hall; an old man with white beard and hair entered slowly, holding a folding fan, and everyone hurriedly rose to bow, saying, "Greetings, Tutor."

"Mm, everyone is here; sit."

Master Zhuang sat on the arhat chair at the very front, gently waving his fan as he observed the nine students in the hall; the three 'Lan' girls were merely there to join the fun as auditors, so teaching them some principles of conduct, calligraphy, and poetry would suffice.

The remaining six boys were the key students he needed to instruct.

Master Zhuang held no book; simply by fanning himself and asking a few casual questions, he had already gauged the general level of the six boys.

The best were Xu Zaizhang and Sheng Changbai; both were the eldest in their respective families and had already passed the county examinations.

Next in rank were Gu Gu Tingye and Xu Xu Zaijing, who still appeared somewhat immature.

Qi Heng and Sheng Changfeng, due to their young age, both showed deficiencies, though Qi Heng was clearly superior to Sheng Changfeng.

What left a deep impression on Master Zhuang was Xu Xu Zaijing's memory; when he casually asked a few phrases from the Four Books and Five Classics, Xu Xu Zaijing answered them almost without thought, reciting them smoothly.

Having obtained a general overview of the students' situations, Master Zhuang began teaching according to individual aptitude over the next few days.

Since Xu Zaizhang and Sheng Changbai were facing the upcoming prefectural examinations, Master Zhuang mostly provided them with past prefectural exam questions to attempt first;

Then he would discuss with them the 'standard answers' that had achieved top-five rankings in previous years;

Afterwards, while having the two attempt the questions again, Master Zhuang would always extend his explanations toward the metropolitan examination level, meaning these two occupied the most classroom time.

As for Xu Xu Zaijing, Gu Gu Tingye, and the other four, their tasks were much simpler: practicing calligraphy and grinding through exercises.

However, it was not easy at all, because sometimes Master Zhuang would also have these four attempt the same questions as their two elder brothers.

After five or six days, Xu Xu Zaijing was in the best condition; after all, in his previous life, he was not an educational dropout.

The second best was Gu Gu Tingye; after all, with Gu Gu Tingyu, who had ranked first in both lists of the palace examination, at home, any uncertainties could be clarified immediately.

Meanwhile, the youngest, Qi Heng and Sheng Changfeng, had both developed dark circles under their eyes.

On this day,

precisely at noon,

after Master Zhuang finished lecturing on the final essay, he waved his fan and said, "The day after tomorrow is the Qixi Festival; starting from this afternoon, the study hall will be on holiday for two days."

After everyone completed their bows, Master Zhuang leisurely left the lecture hall and walked toward the small courtyard where he lived; passing through the moon gate, he heard the cheering disciples inside the hall and smiled while shaking his head.

Inside the lecture hall,

the maids and young attendants were tidying the desks,

while Sheng Changbai and Xu Zaizhang were exchanging insights about the essay they had just discussed.

The four in the back two rows gathered together.

Xu Xu Zaijing stretched and said, "I heard from my Second Sister that the Moheluo puppets made on the east side of Pan Lou Street are excellent, along with the 'Floating on Water' and 'Grain Board' displays; shall we go see them this afternoon?"

Gu Gu Tingye's face lit up with joy as he said, "Han Wulang, I'll go, I'll go! These past few days my brain is about to break; even my dreams are filled with writing essays. Sheng Changfeng, Brother Heng? Let's go?"

"Pei Erge Gu, Xu Wu Ge Xu, I'll go!" Sheng Changfeng hurriedly nodded.

The two people ahead, who had been discussing essays, turned their heads to look back seriously; Chang Feng fell silent, and Gu Gu Tingye also looked somewhat embarrassed.

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "Pei Erge, Chang Bai, shall we go?"

The two people ahead exchanged a glance, smiles appearing on their faces as they said, "Let's go."

Qi Heng, however, spoke with some embarrassment: "My mother at home instructed me to return immediately after the temple release, so I... will not go."

"It's fine, it's fine."

Xu Xu Zaijing said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

The three Lans nearby, hearing Xu Xu Zaijing's words, all revealed looks of hope.

At this moment, a young female servant at the courtyard entrance performed a bow and said, "Young Masters, the Old Lady says that if you are idle, please come to Shou'an Hall for dinner."

Xu Xu Zaijing laughed and said, "Hehe, today we are in for a treat; perhaps Mama Fang is cooking again."

Gu Gu Tingye's eyes also lit up; on his second day at the Sheng household, he had already tasted the food from Shou'an Hall, and it was quite excellent.

Having received the headcount, the young female servant hurriedly returned to Shou'an Hall to report.

They bade farewell at the courtyard gate; Chang Bai and Ru Lan, Chang Feng and Mo Lan each returned to their own quarters, while Qi Heng returned to the Qi family home.

The remaining four headed toward Shou'an Hall; watching Minglan and Xiao Xiao Xiaotao, who were short in stature and running swiftly ahead, Xu Xu Zaijing called out, "Hey, little girl, why are you running so fast?"

"I need to tell Mama Fang that Xu Wu Ge is coming to eat, so she can prepare extra food," Minglan shouted back before turning a corner and disappearing at the second gate.

"What are you laughing at?" Xu Xu Zaijing asked, resting his hand on Gu Gu Tingye's shoulder.

"Uh, nothing..."

Shou'an Hall,

Lady Sheng used the handkerchief in her hand to wipe the sweat from Minglan's forehead, saying, "Ming'er, why did you run so fast? The weather is so hot!"

"Grandmother, if Sun Nu didn't run faster, I was afraid that by the time Jing Jing Biao Ge Jing arrived, Sun Nu would have no food to eat."

Hearing Minglan's words, Xiao Xiao Xiaotao standing nearby also nodded in agreement.

"Hahaha!" Hearing Minglan's words, everyone in Shou'an Hall burst into laughter.

"You little monkey, you only know how to joke about your cousin."

As they spoke, the two sons of the Xu family and the three from the Gu family arrived at the front hall of Shou'an Hall.

The Old Lady came out to show her face briefly: "Just treat this as your own home; do not feel constrained."

The three clasped their hands and bowed, agreeing.

After the meal, they drank some beverages to aid digestion and relieve the summer heat, then took an afternoon nap for two ke.

Taking advantage of the fact that the day had not yet reached its hottest point, the five of them rode horses and took carriages, heading toward Pan Lou East Street.

By the time they arrived at Pan Lou, the sun had already begun to turn fierce and scorching.

Under the guidance of the tea and wine attendant at the entrance, the five entered Pan Lou, which had curtains hanging at its door; blocks of ice were placed starting from the entrance, so upon entering the building, there was no feeling of heat, but rather a cool breeze that rushed to meet them.

Ascending to the second floor of Pan Lou, where thin gauze was fixed over the windows of the small rooms, one could see from inside the rooms the merchants and commoners walking and hawking their wares on the street below.

Xu Xu Zaijing ordered iced su-lao cheese along with seven or eight other snacks, and the five of them talked while eating ice to dispel the summer heat.

Perhaps knowing that there were many nobles in the building, even though it was the hottest time of the afternoon, the sounds of hawking below Pan Lou still rose and fell one after another.

Gu Gu Tingye occasionally instructed Zhi Que and the others, who were standing guard at the door also eating iced su-lao cheese, to go downstairs and call over the hawking merchants, bringing up several Mohele figures made of pottery, porcelain, or wood to examine.

When they encountered good-looking ones, he would even call the other four over to buy a few.

Perhaps knowing that the noble young masters in this small room liked such things, just after buying a few Mohele figures, the tea and wine attendant respectfully spoke from outside the door: "Honorable Guests, there are a few sellers of 'Floating on Water' items outside our building; this humble one has inspected and compared them, selecting two that are well-made."

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Good, let them come in."

Chang Feng, standing nearby, said, "If I take a fancy to them, your reward will not be lacking."

"Yes."

After a while, two women carrying trays arrived outside the door and, after receiving permission, entered the small room.

Inside the small room, Xu Xu Zaijing, looking at the Great Zhou version of little yellow ducks, bought ten in one breath.

He also picked out a few lifelike swimming fish and turtles made of yellow wax with the others and bought them.

After this group left, several sellers of grain boards were guided over.

Xu Xu Zaijing asked Chang Feng to help him pick a few, while he himself walked to the window-side position of the small room and glanced in the direction where Brother Qingyun was staring blankly.

Xu Xu Zaijing saw that under the scorching sun, several children with skin tanned dark by the exposure, wearing short trousers, bare-backed with wet hair, were using lotus leaves to shield their heads while clutching several unopened lotus flowers in their arms and hawking them.

"What is wrong?"

Hearing Xu Xu Zaijing's question, Brother Qingyun quickly regained his senses and replied, "Young Master, I was just thinking that previously I also sold lotus flowers on the street."

"Buy a few branches; we will use some ourselves and give the rest to others."

"Yes, Young Master."

Brother Qingyun hurriedly went downstairs happily.

After staying in Pan Lou for one shichen, when the sun was not so intense, the five of them wandered through the shops near Pan Lou.

By the time the sky gradually darkened to the hour of You, when there were more people on the streets, the five of them each took carriages and returned home.

Shou'an Hall,

Chang Bai, who had returned home to pay respects to his grandmother, and his personal servant Han Niu, both had their hands full of items.

Evening,

On the table in the main hall of Shou'an Hall sat two exquisite grain boards.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Minglan and her grandmother, the two generations of grandmother and granddaughter, sat before a table, watching the 'Floating on Water' items drifting in the water basin on the desk, laughing joyfully.

Mama Fang entered holding a tall vase, into which she placed two unopened lotus flowers.

Jin'an Studio,

Sister Sister Xiaodie placed the porcelain Mohele figure on the table in the room.

Wei Wei Shuyi was currently coaxing the son in her arms, saying, "Sister Xiaodie, later replace the mosquito-repellent medicine sachet sent by Hou Fu with a new one, and place one by your bedside as well."

Sister Sister Xiaodie smiled, glanced at the Mohele figurine, and replied, "Yes."

Just then, a voice came from the courtyard gate: "Wei Shuyi, has our child been well today?"

As soon as the words fell, Dong Rong lifted the curtain, and Sheng Hong bowed his head as he walked in.

The next day

Quyuan Street

Xu Xu Zaijing, who had risen early to exercise, finished breakfast and thought he could finally rest.

Instead, his mother assigned him a task: deliver braised foods and fruits to Jiying Lane.

The Xu family's in-laws required gifts on the Qixi Festival.

The eldest, Xu Xu Zaiduan, was to deliver gifts to the Xie family; the second son was to deliver the Xu family's return gifts to the Gu family; naturally, only Xu Xu Zaijing could go to the Sheng family.

When Xu Xu Zaijing returned, the carriage carried the Sheng family's return gifts; since the marriage had not yet been formally announced, the gifts were ordinary items.

Had the wedding date already been set, Hua Lan's embroidery would have been included among the return gifts.

In the blink of an eye,

Qixi arrived.

Mohele: Dolls made of clay, wood, porcelain, or other materials, symbolizing a prayer for children.

Water Floats: Fish, turtles, purple mandarin ducks, and other toys carved from yellow wax and placed in water.

Grain Boards: A wooden board sprinkled with soil and seeds, featuring miniature wooden houses; similar to modern dioramas or simulated estate toys.

My condition is poor,

Or rather, I cannot get into the zone.

I sat before the computer for three hours and wrote only a thousand words.

That is all for today.

My deepest apologies!

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(End of Chapter)