It is said that the weather in June is like a child’s face, quick to change. The weather in August is no different. Just a moment ago, the sky was clear for miles, but now it was a dark, oppressive mass, and in an instant, the rain began to pour.
Guiyuan Temple, located west of Changmen in Suzhou, was built during the Yuan Dynasty. Its halls were arranged along a central axis, extending deep into the complex with strict hierarchy and symmetrical regularity. The eastern side was a place for Buddhist worship, solemn and orderly, while the western side was for seeking fortune sticks and divination.
A young woman happened to be walking out from the western side. She wore a Mao Qing cloth wide-sleeved shirt paired with a dark blue horse-face skirt, revealing a section of milky-white knee-breeches underneath. The loose-fitting clothes concealed her five-month-pregnant belly.
She carried a basket in her left hand and held the hand of a little girl in a pink dress with her right. Seeing the heavy rain, she said to the girl, “Zhenzhen, let’s wait under the corridor for a while. We’ll go when the rain stops.”
“Alright, Mother.” The speaker was a little girl who looked to be about seven or eight years old. She had an oval face, a small, delicate nose, and a cherry-like mouth. Her eyelids were rounded, revealing much of the whites of her dark eyes, which shone with a bright, intelligent light. She was born with a very pleasing appearance, but the rouge-colored mole between her eyebrows lent her an air of great dignity.
As the saying goes, a red mark between the eyebrows signifies early wisdom. This little girl also appeared exceptionally clever and bright. However, her precociousness was not innate; she was a transmigrator.
Originally, she was a master’s graduate in Traditional Chinese Medicine, specializing in acupuncture and massage. Less than a year after starting a job at a TCM hospital in her hometown, she had stepped in to break up a fight when a colleague was attacked by a disgruntled patient’s family. Unexpectedly, she was pushed to the ground and fainted. When she awoke, she had been reborn into a small family in the Great Ming Dynasty.
Her paternal grandparents were originally from Huguang. Due to the “change rice to mulberry” policy, Suzhou was short on grain, so the old couple opened a small rice shop at Maple Bridge. They raised three sons and one daughter. When Miaozhen was born, they still lived in the cramped house behind the rice shop.
Later, after their sons were all married, the grandparents felt they had fulfilled their duties and passed the rice shop to their youngest son, Miaozhen’s third uncle. Xu Third Uncle felt the rice shop was too small and the customer base from Huguang was unstable, so he converted it into a small tea and snack shop.
Miaozhen’s father was the second son in the family. After passing the Prefectural Examination at nineteen and becoming a Student, he failed the College Examination, and the family had no money to support his studies. He first made a living by earning a Guan Gu at a Community School. Because he loved reading storybooks during his studies but was often left speechless with anger by those with strong beginnings but weak endings, he began writing them himself in a fit of pique.
Truth be told, he was not taught by a famous master, nor did he come from a scholarly family, yet he had a great talent for storybooks. For the first three years, his remuneration fee was only two or three qian a month, but he persisted. In the fifth year, it was as if he suddenly had a breakthrough, and his monthly income reached a full ten taels.
With this money, her father could not only participate in the College Examination but also support his family.
The College Examination was held twice every three years. Her father, Xu Erpeng, had already participated five times and failed them all. This year was his sixth attempt at the imperial examinations, and her mother, Mei Shi, had brought her to Guiyuan Temple to draw a fortune stick for him.
Now, with the rain pouring outside, the hall was filled with people taking shelter. Miaozhen helped Mei Shi sit down.
It was one thing for Xu Erpeng to be a quintessential, resentful scholar who repeatedly failed his exams, but Mei Shi’s luck was also poor. When she married, Grandpa Mei was just a poor Xiucai. As the eldest daughter with seven or eight younger siblings, her dowry barely filled six carrying poles.
But no sooner had she married than Grandpa Mei passed the Juren examination. The family immediately acquired houses and servants. Needless to say, her younger siblings all married into extremely powerful and wealthy families; one even married into the prominent Qiao Family of their prefecture.
Mei Shi, however, lived a hard life. She became pregnant with Miaozhen right after getting married. Her mother-in-law, who had a daughter only two years older than Miaozhen, did nothing but cry poverty to them and refused to help during the postpartum confinement. Instead, she would secretly take and eat the eggs her husband had bought for her.
Fortunately, her husband was capable. In recent years, she had accumulated over two hundred taels in savings, and now she was pregnant again. Her only hope was for her husband to finally become a Xiucai, which would be the fulfillment of a long-held wish.
“Wife…”
Just as Mei Shi and Miaozhen were sheltering from the rain, a young man wearing a square scarf entered from outside. He had a chubby build but was quite nimble, quickly coming in with two oil-paper umbrellas.
Both Miaozhen and Mei Shi were delighted.
Miaozhen quickly stood up and called out, “Father, why did you come?”
“I figured it was raining and worried you two would get soaked, so here I am, aren’t I?” Xu Erpeng finished speaking and glanced at Mei Shi. “Are you alright?”
Mei Shi quickly shook her head.
Because of his slightly plump build, Xu Erpeng appeared good-tempered and gentle, but he was a man of perseverance. Apart from diligently writing his storybooks every day, he focused wholeheartedly on preparing for the imperial examinations, vowing not to stop until he became a Xiucai.
Xu Erpeng said, “This morning, I heard Father say that Eldest Brother is coming back from Yunnan. He’s only been gone for a little over a year. I wonder why he’s back?”
Hearing this, Mei Shi worried about something else. “Will Eldest Brother and his family be living at home after they return?”
Four years ago, the Xu grandparents had their sons pool money to buy a house at Maple Bridge, just three li from Guiyuan Temple. Fortunately, property prices in the Ming Dynasty were not high, and they bought a two-story building with a four-room-wide facade for a total of fifty-six taels.
With eight rooms in total, top and bottom, each of the three brothers got two rooms. Xu Laoguan and his wife lived in one, and another was used as a kitchen. Although Eldest Brother was not home at the time, he knew the family was buying a house and sent back twenty taels.
The second branch of the family lived in the two rooms on the east side of the upper floor. Xu Erpeng and Mei Shi shared one room, and as Miaozhen grew older, she began to sleep in the outer room. They only occupied two rooms. However, Xu Laotai’s daughter, Xu Siniang, had grown up and occupied one of the first branch’s rooms. The third son, Xu Sanlei, who ran the tea and snack business, also used the other room to store flour and some molds, turning it into a storage room, thus occupying the first branch’s other room.
But Xu Erpeng chuckled. “Eldest Brother passed the Student examination at fifteen and was chosen as a son-in-law by that pearl merchant, Fang. When he failed the College Examination, Fang sent him to study at Jinling Academy and even had his household registration transferred to Yingtian Prefecture, saying it was easier to pass the exams there. Although Eldest Brother failed twice in a row and Fang Zhushang’s daughter died of illness, he was willing to let Fang Guniang be buried in our family’s plot. So the Fang family gave Eldest Brother the one thousand taels of dowry money they had prepared for their daughter. Think about it, Eldest Brother became a Selected Tribute Student in Yingtian Prefecture and later even went to Yunnan as an official. How could he be short of money? Why would he care about these two rooms?”
“That’s true,” Mei Shi said with a laugh.
Then Xu Erpeng added, “Actually, I don’t want to live here anymore either. But let’s wait a bit longer. Once we have more money, I want to open a bookstore.”
Miaozhen was puzzled. “Father, why do you want to open a bookstore?”
“Volume twenty-six of the Ming Hui Yao records that in the eighth month of the first year of the Hongwu reign, an edict was issued to abolish the tax on books. There’s no tax on selling books. Besides, I’m not willing to open a school. A Community School only pays eight qian a month, or one tael for a better one, and those children are so mischievous. Even if I become a Xiucai, I wouldn’t want to open a school.” Since he was young, Xu Erpeng had loved books like The Curious Cases of Lord Bao. Many of the books he wrote now were also about solving crimes, and such books had a considerable following.
Miaozhen thought about how they lived at Maple Bridge, beside the Nine Li Road outside Changmen. Changmen was the most famous area in Suzhou Prefecture for book-engraving workshops. The Wu Engraving from Changmen’s workshops was renowned throughout the empire. It was no wonder that besides writing books, her father was also learning woodblock carving.
So it was all in preparation for opening a bookstore!
“Father, Mother just drew a fortune stick for you. She got the best fortune stick,” Miaozhen said with a smile.
In truth, Mei Shi had drawn two bad sticks before finally getting the best one and stopping.
Xu Erpeng had never believed in such things, but hearing his daughter, he simply said, “I don’t know how many years I’ve hoped, and how many years I’ve been disappointed. If I don’t pass this time, I’ll wait another two or three years, and then I’ll give up this idea completely.”
He wanted to become a Xiucai more for the recognition of his status. Although the grain subsidy for Xiucai had long been abolished, a Xiucai could travel for studies without restriction and did not have to kneel in a public court, among other benefits.
As the three of them were talking, they saw the rain outside had stopped. Xu Erpeng led his wife and child out. Unexpectedly, when they arrived home, several carriages were parked at the entrance. It turned out that the eldest master of the Xu family, Xu Yiming, had returned with his wife and child.
Miaozhen looked at her eldest uncle. He wore a crepe gauze corrugated hat, a lake blue dark patterned gauze pleat shirt, paired with a moon white gauze skirt. On his feet were high-quality cool summer white socks and fine knotted Chenqiao shoes. His features were handsome and refined, his clothes respectable. Standing there, he made their humble home shine with splendor.
In contrast, his wife, Huang Shi, seemed somewhat lackluster. Even though she was also dressed in silk, her complexion was slightly sallow, and her brow was furrowed, giving off an air of melancholy.
Eldest Uncle’s family also had only one daughter, named Miaoyun. She already had the demeanor of a little lady, and her curtsy was very graceful.
Neighbors also came over to watch the excitement, all addressing Eldest Uncle as Senior Tribute Student Yan. Grandfather Xu Laoguan sent someone to call the third uncle’s family back from the tea and snack shop.
Miaozhen saw that her own father was fair and plump, and her third uncle was also slightly chubby with a ruddy face. Only her eldest uncle looked so different that he didn’t seem like a member of the Xu family at all.
The women prepared a feast in the kitchen. A large table was filled with dishes like pig’s head meat, whitebait, carp, tripe, lungs, chicken, and duck. Even the usually stingy Xu Laotai brought out Yunpian cake and assorted sugar for everyone to eat.
The Xu family had long since divided their household and kitchen, but now, because of Eldest Uncle’s return, all boundaries were forgotten.
Miaozhen and the other children ate at a small table. She sat in the middle, with her cousin Miaoyun and Xu Siniang on her left. Xu Siniang was Xu Laotai’s youngest daughter, only ten this year. On her right sat the two siblings from the third branch, Miaolian and Zhang Ge’er. Miaolian was a year younger than her, and Zhang Ge’er was three.
It had been a long time since the children had such a good meal, and they all buried their heads in their food, eating voraciously. The adults’ table, however, was much more refined.
Hearing that his younger brother was still trying for the Xiucai examination, Xu Yiming couldn’t help but say, “You are too persistent.”
“It’s not like I do nothing but study for the exams.” Xu Erpeng didn’t think there was anything wrong with his pursuit of the examinations. He said, “How could I be like you, Eldest Brother? You were a government-subsidized student in Yingtian Prefecture and then a Selected Tribute Student at the Imperial Academy. Naturally, you don’t understand the struggles of people like us. It’s not just me; even Third Brother gave up after trying two or three times.”
With him putting it that way, Xu Yiming found it hard to say anything more.
Xu Laoguan said, “I heard you went to Yunnan to be an official. Why have you returned now?”
Xu Yiming quickly waved his hand. “I was just a clerk, that’s all. What official? I went there because of County Magistrate Zhang in the first place. Now that County Magistrate Zhang has resigned, we came back. By the way, Father, we’d like to rest at home tonight, I wonder…”
“Of course, of course. I’ll have someone tidy up,” Xu Laoguan said hurriedly.
Beside him, Huang Shi was fuming. Huang Shi’s father was also a Xiucai, and she had been educated since she was young. Her needlework was also excellent, so she went to Jinling to be a teacher for girls. Initially, she was drawn to Xu Yiming’s unparalleled beauty, gentle personality, and stylish clothes, so she deliberately got close to him and married him. She never imagined that the Xu family’s circumstances were so poor, even worse than her own.
Although her father didn’t earn much as a tutor, her uncle owned a silk floss shop and engaged in money-lending and grain hoarding. Since her uncle had no daughters, he treated her like his own.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Xu Erpeng quickly said, “Eldest Brother, speaking of which, what does an Imperial Academy Certificate look like? Could you show it to me? Let us admire it too.”
“That certificate is at the bottom of my trunk, it’s not easy to find. I’ll show it to you after I unpack my luggage.” Xu Yiming felt very guilty as he said this. While studying in Jinling, he had frequented brothels with his friends, living the life of a noble scion. His money didn’t last long, and in the end, he failed to achieve any scholarly honor, barely even passing the Prefectural Examination.
To give his family an explanation, he planned to purchase the status of a Student of the Imperial Academy. But for a commoner, purchasing this status cost three hundred and fifty taels, not to mention another fifty taels to grease the wheels. When he saw that other people’s certificates had the words “Purchased by Donation” on them, he felt it wasn’t worth it. Besides, he didn’t have much money left, so he spent only a few dozen taels to get a fake Imperial Academy Certificate.
Xu Yiming was terrified of being exposed, which made him feel very guilty, yet he was hopelessly addicted to the vanity of being a tribute student. He changed the subject, asking his two younger brothers, Xu Erpeng and Xu Sanlei, what they did for a living.
Hearing that Xu Erpeng wrote storybooks, he strongly disapproved, but he praised Xu Sanlei for being down-to-earth.
Just then, several yamen runners entered, beating gongs and drums. As they got closer, smiles were plastered on their faces.
“Good news! The master of this esteemed household, Xu, given name Erpeng, has passed the Suzhou Prefecture College Examination, ranking fifty-sixth! The capital gazette continuously publishes the yellow list!”
Miaozhen let out a “ya!” and exclaimed, “Father has become a Xiucai!”
Xu Yiming, who had been speaking so eloquently just a moment ago, dropped the peanut he had picked up with his chopsticks. His face was filled with astonishment. Xu Erpeng, while getting some loose change to tip the messengers, said modestly, “Eldest Brother is a tribute student. I am merely a Xiucai. There’s a huge difference.”
Xu Erpeng genuinely felt that he was inferior to his tribute student brother. He just never expected that his elder brother would now be envious of him. At least Xu Erpeng’s Xiucai title was genuine and could be used anywhere without fear. His own fake Imperial Academy Certificate, however, had to be hidden from sight.