The night wind howled like a woman’s wail, yet faint sounds of laughter drifted from the courtyard of the Liu residence.

Tomorrow was the autumn imperial examination, and Liu’s younger son Liu Zide would also be taking it. Aunt Liu, Wang Chunzhi, had specially prepared a feast to celebrate her son’s impending departure for the examination grounds.

The table was laden with chicken, duck, and beef, with a bowl of bird’s nest soup in the center. Wang Chunzhi lifted the small cup of bird’s nest soup and handed it to her younger son, smiling with particular joy: “My son, finish this bowl, for tomorrow you’ll have to endure several days of hardship in the examination cell.”

Each autumn examination consisted of three sessions, with each session lasting three days and nights. For nine days and seven nights, candidates had to stay in the examination cells, unable to leave even for eating, drinking, or sleeping. Forget bird’s nest soup – even dry rations were hard to swallow.

Liu Zide, dressed in brand new silk garments, drained the bird’s nest soup before him in one gulp, his eyebrows slightly raised, hiding two parts of barely contained pride.

Naturally, he had reason to be proud. The silver meant to influence the chief examiner of the Ministry of Rites had been delivered. Once the autumn examination was over, he too would become a successful candidate like his brother. Wait a bit longer, work his way into an official position, and then he would no longer be just the son of a noodle shop owner. Everyone would have to respectfully address him as “Master.”

Thinking of the title “Master,” Liu Zide’s face brightened with an even broader smile.

His elder brother Liu Zixian, however, had some gloom between his brows and said in a low voice: “The people at the Ministry of Rites have become increasingly greedy, actually raising the price on the spot…”

A few days ago, the contact at the Ministry of Rites had sent word that the silver delivered was insufficient and demanded another eight hundred taels. Eight hundred taels on top of eight hundred taels – a total of one thousand six hundred taels of silver, an enormous sum that many common people couldn’t earn in a lifetime!

For these one thousand six hundred taels of silver, the family had scraped together everything they had, emptying their savings. Liu Zixian’s year and a half of official salary had all been spent. Though they were brothers, he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable about it.

Wang Chunzhi noticed his displeasure and, rolling her eyes thoughtfully said with a smile: “It may be a lot, but our noodle shop business isn’t bad. Once Zide passes the examination and becomes an official too, with both brothers as officials, why worry about silver not flowing into our family? Looking at the long term, we have many good days ahead!”

These words were auspicious, and Old Master Liu, Liu Kun, nodded continuously: “That’s right. In officialdom, the worry isn’t about spending silver, but about having nowhere to spend it. Once the connections are properly established, things become much easier later.” He then sighed wistfully, “Our Liu family used to run a small stall in Beijing secretly, but now we can say we’ve finally made it.”

At these words, everyone at the table grew somewhat emotional.

Initially, the Liu family had operated a noodle stall in Beijing’s hutongs, often bullied by local merchants. Yet in just a few short years, they had acquired a proper shop on the bustling Que’er Street. The elder son had passed the examinations and become an official, and the younger son also showed unlimited potential. Those neighbors who used to look down on them no longer dared to gossip to their faces; everyone came to curry favor and flatter them. Looking back, those days of bowing and scraping, begging for mercy had vanished like dissipating waves, never to return.

It truly hadn’t been easy.

Liu Zide popped a shrimp ball into his mouth, giggling with a somewhat agitated tone: “Of course, our family producing two successful candidates is a rare honor even in Beijing. This is much more impressive than that boy from the Lu family in Changwu County back then…”

At this point, as if mentioning a well-known taboo, Liu Zide suddenly fell silent, and the surroundings instantly grew quiet.

Liu Zixian’s brows furrowed tightly, and Liu Kun’s face darkened even more. After a moment, it was Wang Chunzhi who smiled and spoke again: “Anyway, after enduring a few more days in the examination hall tomorrow, we’ll be completely free from these hard days!” Her words carefully avoided any mention of the previous name, as if skipping over some mutual, unspoken secret.

Liu Zide hurriedly agreed: “Yes, yes, yes, everything has been arranged. Mother, just wait at home for your son’s good news!”

The meal continued with eating and drinking, but because of tomorrow’s important matter, Liu Zide dared not indulge too much lest it affect him. After eating some, he went to the inner room to rest. Liu Zixian also went to sleep. After Wang Chunzhi finished clearing the dishes and bowls, she returned to their room where Liu Kun sat at the table trimming the lamp wick.

The lamp wick was trimmed shorter, making it brighter than before. In the frozen lamplight, Liu Kun sat rigidly, like a dying tree about to wither.

The wind blew in from outside the window, making the shadow on the wall sway. Wang Chunzhi closed the window and removed her shoes before climbing onto the couch. Perhaps because autumn had suddenly turned cold, she tightened her collar and shrank her body, moving closer to the wall. The candlelight illuminated her wrist, which no longer bore the heavy gold bracelet from before, making it seem somewhat empty.

The gold bracelet had been given to her by Liu Zixian after he took office, made of solid gold. This practical show of filial piety from her son had made her happy for half a year.

However, a few days ago, this bracelet had been exchanged for silver and sent to the Ministry of Rites.

She looked at her empty wrist for a while, then suddenly spoke: “Husband, I dreamed of that Lu boy last night.”

Just as she finished speaking, the wind outside suddenly blew open the previously closed window with a “bang,” startling her. She hurriedly looked over in alarm.

Liu Kun, sitting on the edge of the couch, also jumped in fright, but quickly calmed down and scolded: “What nonsense are you talking?”

“It’s true!” As if fear had found a channel for release, Wang Chunzhi couldn’t help but shrink further against the wall. “I dreamed he came to our house, just standing at the door, not saying a word.” She shuddered, lowering her voice slightly, “Husband, my eyelids have been twitching non-stop lately, and my heart feels uneasy. Could something bad happen?”

Liu Kun’s dark yellow face twitched as he reproached: “The silver for the arrangements has already been sent out, what could happen! Women are just overthinking things, what’s the point of all this wild imagination?”

Hearing this, Wang Chunzhi fell silent, lying against the wall with her back to Liu Kun, muttering: “Fine, I won’t say anything then.”

Wang Chunzhi had gone to sleep, but Liu Kun still sat cross-legged on the edge of the couch, his shadow casting an eerie darkness on the ground, like a spreading Kun Peng bird.

His long-dead father had given him the name “Kun,” hoping he could spread his wings like the Kun Peng bird, flying high and far. Liu Kun had also believed that one day he would surely rise above others. However, his ambitions were as high as the sky while his fate was as thin as paper. Without a family background or talent, after struggling for most of his life, he could only earn a hard living among the farmers in Changwu County.

His cousin Lu Qilin was a completely different person from him – good-looking and well-educated, even his son was better at studies than Liu’s two boys. Liu Kun always harbored a subtle jealousy toward this cousin, but fortunately, Lu Qilin, perhaps due to a scholar’s pride, had all the talent and ambition but didn’t understand human nature, ultimately only managing to become an ordinary teacher in Changwu County. So that subtle jealousy had also dissipated.

Liu Kun stayed in Changwu County until he was thirty-five when he finally couldn’t bear such a hopeless life anymore. So he borrowed money and brought his whole family to Beijing, vowing to make something of himself.

Beijing was beautiful, with its brocade-like scenery and golden buildings, prosperity and glory everywhere.

But this glory wasn’t meant for them.

The Liu family had come with burning ambition but encountered setback after setback in this alluring prosperity. There was no place for them among the splendor – no matter how large the Kun Peng’s wings, they couldn’t fly past those who had ladders.

Without education or connections, he could only set up a small stall in Beijing’s hutongs, selling the most common eel noodles from Changwu County. He thought that money was easier to make in Beijing than in Changwu County, and bit by bit, he could earn some prospects.

Since ancient times, happy days pass quickly while bitter days drag on. Liu Kun didn’t know how long he had endured. He calculated that the money saved over these years might be enough to acquire a small shop on Que’er Street. He had looked at that street, with its endless flow of customers – if he could set up shop there, he could make quite a profit each month.

But just when everything seemed settled, the property owner suddenly increased the price by one hundred taels of silver. His family had already sold all their savings, and borrowed from every neighbor possible. Their money, like thoroughly ground-dried wood, couldn’t squeeze out even a drop more.

The shop couldn’t be acquired. He returned home dispirited, and it was then that he saw the travel-worn Lu Qian.

Lu Qian…

The night outside was misty, and Liu Kun’s eyes flickered.

Lu Qian was Lu Qilin’s son, his nephew.

This nephew’s temperament wasn’t as rigid and stern as his father’s, but rather like the warm sun of March in Changwu County, bright and carefree. He was well-educated, good-looking, and pure-hearted – it was hard to dislike him.

Liu Kun liked him very much too.

His own two sons were unremarkable, and he couldn’t be bothered with them, but Lu Qian loved following him around. Perhaps because Lu Qilin was too rigid, while Liu Kun seemed much more agreeable. Lu Qian liked to go fishing with him, catch loach, and hunt crabs by the stream at dusk. The neighbors all said that compared to Lu Qilin, he looked more like Lu Qian’s father.

But after he went to Beijing, except for exchanging some letters with the Lu family every year and a half, there was no more contact.

Many years had passed in a flash. The once bright and elegant youth now looked much more steady. Liu Kun was both surprised and delighted, but Lu Qian’s smile was very forced.

Lu Qian had come for Lu Rou’s funeral matters.

Lu Rou was dead.

Liu Kun had known this news early on and felt very regretful. When Lu Rou first married in Beijing, she had visited the Liu family once. However, she had married into a wealthy merchant’s family with strict rules, especially her mother-in-law who was particularly harsh. Liu Kun couldn’t brazenly visit too often, and gradually they lost touch.

Liu Kun had thought Lu Qian came for the funeral, but Lu Qian told him there was more to Lu Rou’s death.

Lu Rou had been murdered.

The secret from Lu Qian’s lips was horrifying, shocking Liu Kun to his core. The young man, as unyielding as in his youth, gritted his teeth and vowed to seek justice for his wrongfully deceased elder sister.

“Qian, this is no game. Do you know how powerful the Grand Tutor is… when he stamps his foot, all of Beijing trembles! If you rashly go to accuse him, forget about overturning the case, even your parents will be implicated. Listen to your uncle, go home, otherwise, you won’t even keep your life!”

That was how he had advised Lu Qian then.

But Lu Qian wouldn’t listen at all.

Though the young man’s temperament was vastly different from his father’s, his stubbornness was the same. He looked at Liu Kun: “Uncle, my sister is dead. I know the truth yet must hide and endure, while those evil-doers remain high above – there’s no justice in this.”

“Under the broad daylight, at the foot of the Emperor’s throne, with grievances that cannot be voiced, with wrongs that cannot be righted – isn’t this absurd?”

“Even if I die, I must seek justice for my sister.”

He was too young, still unaware of how easily worldly power could break a family’s backbone.

Unable to dissuade Lu Qian, Liu Kun could only watch helplessly as he staked everything on going to the Criminal Review Office, like a moth flying into a tightly woven web.

Sure enough, before long, wanted posters for Lu Qian to appear on Beijing’s streets. All sorts of jumbled charges – molesting others, theft – were heaped upon the person in the portrait. Looking at the small text offering a hundred taels of silver reward, he thought the Criminal Review Office was quite generous.

He dragged his tired and numb body home, where Wang Chunzhi was crying and making a fuss, saying they couldn’t rent the shop on Que’er Street and the deposit wouldn’t be returned – fifty taels of silver that would take them ages to save again. Zide and Zixian had gone to confront the shop owner, only to be beaten and thrown out.

The house was in chaos, with his sons’ curses and his wife’s wailing mixing together, giving him a headache. He suddenly felt such grief and bitterness that even life in Changwu County seemed happier. Amidst the noise, he fell asleep without realizing it. When he woke, it was deep night, and someone was calling him: “Uncle, Uncle!”

Liu Kun raised his head.

Lu Qian stood before him, having come under cover of night, looking desperate and somewhat agitated.

“Young Qian?” Liu Kun sat up straight, momentarily at a loss for words.

But Lu Qian said: “Uncle, Magistrate Fan Zhenglian of the Criminal Review Office has secretly colluded with the Grand Tutor’s mansion to frame and imprison me.” He walked a few steps to a jar of dried fruits in the room and retrieved a paper-wrapped package from inside.

Liu Kun was surprised: “What’s this?”

Lu Qian smiled – even at a time like this, he could still smile, his eyes carrying a hint of cunning: “Evidence.”

“Evidence?”

“Evidence my sister left me. After thinking it over, I realized you were right to worry, Uncle, so before I went to see Fan Zhenglian, I hid this at your house. I’ve come today to retrieve it.”

He walked back to Liu Kun, paused for a moment, then spoke solemnly: “Uncle, now that the arrest warrant has been issued, I’m a criminal and can’t stay here to implicate you.”

Liu Kun asked: “Then what will you do now?”

“Naturally, I’ll continue finding ways to seek justice for my sister. Uncle,” he lowered his eyes slightly, “if I die, don’t worry about my body. Please just write a letter back to Changwu County to deceive my parents – deceive them as long as you can. However,” he smiled again, with the characteristic nonchalance of youth, “I don’t think I’ll fall into their hands so easily.”

He waved: “I’m leaving.”

The young man was about to disappear through the doorway, as if about to vanish completely into Beijing’s boundless night.

Liu Kun said: “Wait!”

Lu Qian turned around: “What is it?”

This should have been the moment of farewell when he should have given detailed advice to this nephew he had watched grow up. However, at that moment, for some reason, Liu Kun inexplicably thought of the hundred-tael reward he had seen on the wanted poster during the day.

A hundred taels, exactly enough to rent that coveted shop on Que’er Street, enough to resolve their current family chaos.

Lu Qian asked: “Uncle?”

Liu Kun shuddered and blurted out: “Young Qian, stay tonight. Officials are everywhere outside.”

“That’s exactly why I can’t stay. Uncle, if I’m discovered here, you’ll all be implicated.”

As he turned to leave again, Liu Kun grabbed him.

Lu Qian was puzzled. Liu Kun swallowed: “You’ve been hiding everywhere these past few days, probably haven’t eaten properly. Who knows when you’ll find peace after leaving? Wait, I’ll have your aunt make you a bowl of eel noodles. Leave after eating.”

Unable to refuse Liu Kun’s insistence, Lu Qian agreed to stay a while longer. Wang Chunzhi, hastily woken by Liu Kun to cook noodles, was extremely unhappy and scolded: “He’s a wanted criminal! You still want to feed him – you might not fear being implicated, but I do!”

Liu Kun’s eyes flickered: “Yes, he is a wanted criminal.”

And also the money that could help them through their current crisis.

Soon, Liu Kun placed the fragrant noodles before Lu Qian, who picked up his chopsticks and ate heartily, smiling between bites: “After all these years, Aunt’s cooking still tastes the same.”

Liu Kun smiled too, but as he smiled and looked up again, Lu Qian’s head had drooped into his arms – he had put enough sleeping medicine in the bowl to knock out an elephant.

In the dim lamplight, half of Liu Kun’s face was invaded by light and shadow as he emotionlessly watched the young man’s sleeping face. He thought, Lu Qian had offended the people of the Grand Tutor’s mansion and would die sooner or later. Rather than dying unclear at the hands of others, better to pass through his own hands – at least he could make some contribution to their family.

One life, a hundred taels of silver, enough to rent the noodle shop on Que’er Street.

And that “evidence” might bring even more.

Wang Chunzhi, who had gone to report to the officials, had returned and was urging quietly from behind the door. So he stood up and walked over…

“Bang-“

The door wasn’t properly closed, and the wind outside caught one panel, making it swing back and forth in the night, interrupting Liu Kun’s thoughts.

So he stood up and walked over, just like that night-

With a “click,” he locked the door.

…

The long wind blew past the funeral banners in the poor scholar’s home, and past the lanterns of wealthy official residences. That night, some laughed while others wept.

In her room, Lu Tong was burning incense before a small Buddha shrine.

Yin Zheng walked in from outside, smiling as she spoke: “Tomorrow is the autumn examination. Young Master Dong’s servant just came to buy the ‘Plucking Osmanthus’ medicine tea. I offered some auspicious words in your name, to make Young Master Dong happy.”

Lu Tong smiled faintly.

Dong Lin will also take the autumn examination this year. His lung condition had improved considerably, and staying in the examination cell for a few days wouldn’t affect him. Madam Dong wasn’t hoping for him to pass, just wanted him to experience it, to let those Beijing ladies see that her son was healthy and not the sickly boy of rumors.

Dong Lin’s affection for Lu Tong was almost undisguised now. Yin Zheng thought that Dong Lin’s decision to take the examination this year might well be to impress Lu Tong. Men, after all, were like peacocks showing off before their beloved, straining to perform even if their actions might seem foolish to the other party.

Yin Zheng thought for a moment: “Scholar Wu will also take the examination tomorrow. Won’t you pray to Buddha for him?”

Lu Tong reached out and lit an incense stick from the candle flame.

In the small Buddha shrine, the Buddha’s compassionate gaze fixed upon her, cold yet merciful.

She bowed three times, placed the incense in the censer, and spoke softly.

“Then I wish him to top the golden list, claim the first rank, let his name spread throughout the world, and pluck the osmanthus in the Palace of the Moon.”