Chapter 176: Liang Han Is Overjoyed [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support! Bowing Again!]

The seventh day of the seventh month.

In the morning,

after washing the sweat off his body with water in the room beside the kitchen,

Xu Xu Zaijing changed his clothes and came to the Main Lady's courtyard; as in previous years, a colorful tower had already been erected in the yard, and before the tower were placed the Moheluo figurines, wine, meat, and needles and thread bought yesterday—this was the Qiqiao Tower where the women of the household would come to worship in the evening.

But Xu Xu Zaijing walked a few steps then stopped, because he discovered that, unlike previous years, there was unexpectedly another colorful tower beside the Qiqiao Tower this year.

Within this colorful tower was enshrined a statue with a fierce countenance, a golden body, a green face, and round eyes; holding a cinnabar brush in one hand and an ink line in the other, it stood on one leg like a golden rooster, stepping on a four-legged ao fish with a dragon's head and a fish's body, while kicking its other leg backward in a dynamic pose.

Xu Xu Zaijing thought for a moment and realized this was Kui Xing, the deity in charge of fame, fortune, and official rank; legend held that passing the imperial examinations depended entirely on the dot of the cinnabar brush held in this deity's hand.

And the seventh evening of the seventh month was precisely Kui Xing's birthday.

Previously, when the Xu family had their sons study, it was mostly just for basic enlightenment and literacy, without any great expectations, after all, noble martial families relied primarily on hereditary titles for their legacy.

Therefore, in past years on Qixi, the family mostly had the daughters worship the stars to beg for skill, while the Xu sons would merely recite a few poems and verses along the way.

But the eldest son-in-law's success in the examinations gave Xu Minghua and his wife hope, and since their two sons were both studying, they had specially built this colorful tower for Kui Xing this year so that the young men of the household could perform sacrifices in the evening.

After arriving in the main hall and finishing his breakfast, Xu Xu Zaijing was pulled by Xu Xu Anmei to search everywhere in the family garden and the horse racing field for spiders weaving webs.

Since the morning dew was heavy, most spider webs had condensed water droplets and were easy to find; before long, Xu Xu Zaijing had caught several spiders for Xu Xu Anmei, placed them in an exquisite small wooden box, and set it before and behind the Qiqiao Tower, earning a round of praise from his second sister.

Returning to his own small courtyard, Xu Xu Zaijing relaxed for a while before sitting at the desk in the study to copy calligraphy models; regardless of other merits, good handwriting could at least ensure full marks for the presentation of your exam paper during the imperial examinations.

After practicing calligraphy for a while, just as he was about to look at a few questions from previous county exams to work through them, Seeing Seeing Qingcao arrived at the study door and said in a low voice, "Young Master, Wu Da Da Niangzi from the Yongchang Count's Manor has arrived; Da Da Niangzi asks you to go take a look."

"Has Liang Liu Lang also come?"

"He has."

After organizing his paper and brush, he walked a few steps to the Main Lady's courtyard.

"Auntie Wu, I pay my respects."

"Come here, Jing-ge'er; it's been nearly half a year since I last saw you; come let me have a look. I heard from your mother that you are now studying at the Sheng Family Academy, and you must be seated in the hall by the second mark of the hour of Mao?"

Wu Da Da Niangzi asked, holding Xu Xu Zaijing's hand.

Beside them, Liang Han, who was not yet old, looked utterly astonished and said, "Brother Jing, so early? How can you manage to get up?"

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "It is about the same time as when I used to practice martial arts and train; getting up early every day has become a habit."

"Look at your Brother Jing, and then look at you! Sleeping every day until the sun is three poles high!" Wu Da Da Niangzi said, pointing at Liang Han several times in the air.

Liang Han looked away indifferently, yet for some reason, his eyes held a hint of loss and melancholy.

Hearing Wu Da Da Niangzi praise her younger son, Sun Shi looked at Xu Xu Zaijing with an expression of deep gratification.

"Sister, have you heard the news? In the past few days, Princess Princess Pingning has taken her Heng-ge'er to the Lady Ningyuan Hou Fu twice!"

Hearing Wu Da Da Niangzi's words, Sun Shi looked surprised and said, "This... I haven't heard Yu'er mention it."

Wu Da Da Niangzi smiled and said, "They say they drew a lot from a Daoist Priest at the Yuqing Temple, who stated that the Gu family's eldest son possesses an aura of literature and should be approached closely."

"Ah?"

"It's not that I'm boasting, but although this Gu family eldest son is the child of a noble house, not only did he pass the examinations, but he also achieved such a high rank; isn't that precisely having an aura of literature!"

Wu Da Da Niangzi said with an assured tone, while Sun Shi beside her looked at her own younger son and nodded.

Then the two main ladies whispered a few words to each other, glancing at Liang Han and Xu Xu Zaijing seated below.

Sun Shi said, "Ahem, Jing'er, take Han-ge'er outside to play for a while."

"Mother, I still need to practice—"

Xu Xu Zaijing felt his sleeve being tugged several times.

Seeing the pleading look in Liang Han's eyes, Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Yes, Mother!"

Having spoken, Xu Xu Zaijing and Liang Han both bowed and then walked out of the main hall.

"I think we should just ask Yu-ge'er for a writing brush he has used..."

The words of the two main ladies drifted faintly to their ears.

They exited the courtyard gate.

Xu Xu Zaijing and Liang Han, whose eyes were shining with excitement, exchanged a glance.

"Brother Jing, let's take my family's carriage to go out and play; the water tanks from winter are now filled with ice blocks, making it very cool."

Saying this, Liang Han pulled Xu Xu Zaijing and walked quickly away.

"Quick! Let's go!"

Talking as they went, the two, accompanied by their respective young attendants, boarded the Liang family carriage and left Quyuan Street.

"I was forcibly dragged here by my mother; I thought I would miss today's affairs! Who would have thought I could still get out!" Liang Han said happily inside the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Xu Xu Zaijing took the folding fan Liang Han handed over, opened it, and fanned himself while asking, "What matter has Sixth Young Master so concerned?"

"Slurp... Hehe, Brother Jing-ge'er, Qiao Jiu and I have invited a few young courtesans from the Qiyun Tower and Feiyun Terrace who have not yet had their hair combed; though they are not old, their music and dance skills are extraordinary. Mama Cui Ruan said these girls have never revealed their names in public before! It cost us quite a bit of silver, although we can only watch their veiled performances."

"Just that?"

"We can also listen to songs, watch dances, and discuss poetry and verses! They were all carefully selected and trained; they might well become the top-ranking Yang Yang Xingshou of their respective houses."

Seeing the surprised look in Xu Xu Zaijing's eyes, Liang Han scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"You rascal, your methods are quite wild; how did you manage to invite them?"

"Money was spent."

After talking for three quarters of an hour, the carriage stopped on the street a hundred zhang away from Pan Lou.

The reason they did not stop directly below the tower was simply because on this Qixi day, there were simply too many commoners and officials on the street; people were shoulder to shoulder, and the carriage could not possibly enter.

The two could only disembark and, leading their people, walk toward Pan Lou.

Just as they were nearing Pan Lou, Liang Han led Xu Xu Zaijing around a corner into an alley.

There were far fewer people in the alley; after knocking on an exquisite wooden door, a young attendant about Liang Han's age opened it, took one look at Liang Han, and shouted with a smile, "Young Master, Han-ge'er has arrived!"

Hearing the attendant's voice, a hubbub of conversation came rushing from within the courtyard.

"Quickly, please come in!"

"Didn't the message say you couldn't make it?"

"You even managed to slip out of that?"

"Alas, this time I won't be able to take advantage of him!"

"Just now, Mother Cui Ruan didn't see Brother Han and thought we were reneging on our debt."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing these words, Xu Xu Zaijing followed Liang Han into the courtyard; on the corridor between the main hall and the gate stood six or seven noble youths, who looked at Xu Xu Zaijing with surprise.

"Today, it is only thanks to Brother Jing that I could come!"

Several who had met before cupped their hands in greeting one after another, and Xu Xu Zaijing returned the courtesy.

"Let's go, let's go, head inside!"

And also

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(End of Chapter)