That evening, a banquet was set in the warm pavilion. Luo Chengzhang spoke in turn to the three candidates for the provincial examination. Lastly, he took Luo Huaiyuan to the study for a private conversation.
Luo Shenyuan sat resting by the railing of the warm pavilion, alone and pensive. Yining spotted him from afar and approached, sitting down beside him. Luo Shenyuan glanced at her but remained silent.
Yining wanted to offer some words of encouragement but struggled to find the right ones. Finally, she said, “Third Brother, you must do well in this exam.”
Luo Shenyuan turned to her and asked, “How well do you want me to do?”
Without hesitation, Yining replied, “As well as possible, of course.”
Luo Shenyuan smiled faintly and said, “Alright.”
Yining’s gaze fell on the fierce scar on his hand resting on the railing. She recalled Old Madam Luo’s words: “To catch you, he was pinned to the ground. The scissors pierced through the back of his hand, and blood covered his entire palm. The pain made his face turn pale…”
Still troubled by this memory, Yining took her third brother’s hand and gently caressed the scar on his palm. She felt him stiffen slightly at her touch. “Third Brother, is there no way to heal your hand completely?” she asked.
“I just can’t control the strength in it,” Luo Shenyuan explained calmly, watching the little girl examine his hand. “It’s not a major issue unless I’m writing or doing something similar.”
Yining thought that if the little Yining were still here, she would surely feel guilty and responsible too. Luo Shenyuan had been left with a minor disability because of her. Though not severe, it would stay with him for life.
That night, Yining dreamed of this scene. When Xuezhi woke her, she learned that Luo Shenyuan and the others had already left.
Yining regained her spirits. She wasn’t worried about Luo Shenyuan at all – since her third brother had promised her, she knew he would surely succeed.
Lin Hairu wasn’t worried either, as she never thought Luo Shenyuan would pass the exam.
The most anxious person in the household was Madam Chen. It was said she worried so much that she couldn’t sleep the night before. Early in the morning, a cold sore had appeared on her lip.
Success or failure could be determined in an instant, no wonder Madam Chen was nervous.
Yining couldn’t remember if Luo Huaiyuan had passed the exam in her previous life. Living in the inner quarters, she only heard about important figures. There were too many scholars like Luo Huaiyuan; she had never even heard his name mentioned.
Back then, these people were just casual mentions in others’ conversations. Now they were real individuals in her life.
Luo Yiyu was also worried about her brother. She shut herself in her room, embroidering auspicious phrases like “Great Achievements” and “Instant Success” on shoe uppers and handkerchiefs for Luo Huaiyuan. Luo Yixiu, characteristically carefree, spent her days hanging around Yining, eating and staying over. When Old Madam Luo asked if she was worried about Luo Huaiyuan’s exam, she replied bewilderedly, “Huh? If he doesn’t pass, he can just try again. Why worry?”
Yining laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She thought Luo Yixiu should be Lin Hairu’s daughter instead.
Teacher Gu had returned after attending her father’s funeral in her hometown. She wore mourning bands on her sleeves and seemed even more subdued than usual. Seeing her poor spirits and hearing about her several younger siblings at home, the Old Madam gifted her several hundred taels of silver and told her to return after her mourning period ended.
That meant not seeing Teacher Gu for a full year of deep mourning!
Luo Yixiu was delighted upon hearing this news. She quickly had her maid add forty taels of silver to Teacher Gu’s tuition, encouraging her to stay away as long as possible so she wouldn’t have to get up early for lessons. Yining, who was practicing calligraphy when she heard about this, thought for a moment and told Xuezhi, “Add another forty taels of silver from me to Teacher Gu as well.” Remembering that Teacher Gu’s hometown was in Gaoyang County, quite far away, she added, “Carrying so much silver isn’t safe. Send a carriage to escort her for part of the journey.”
Teacher Gu, holding several hundred taels of silver, remained silent for a moment with reddened eyes before boarding the carriage without a word.
With this turn of events, days became even more leisurely.
In mid-August, the provincial examinations concluded. However, the results wouldn’t be announced until September when the osmanthus flowers were in bloom, hence the name “Osmanthus List” for the exam results.
Yining was sketching floral patterns with Luo Yixiu when Luo Shenyuan and the others returned. Old Madam Luo, Madam Chen, and Lin Hairu personally went to the screen wall to welcome them. Luo Huaiyuan appeared confident about his performance, showing no signs of fatigue. Luo Shanyuan looked weary, while Luo Shenyuan, following behind them, expressed neither optimism nor pessimism.
Madam Chen and Luo Yiyu’s eyes reddened at the sight of Luo Huaiyuan. Seeing his mother looking even more haggard than himself, Luo Huaiyuan was also moved. Mother and son embraced, exchanging words for a good while.
Lin Hairu, unburdened, had been eating and sleeping well. She glanced at Luo Shenyuan, then looked at Yining questioningly, as if asking:
“Your Third Brother is like a wooden block. I can’t tell whether we should console or congratulate him.”
Fortunately, Old Madam Luo quickly ushered everyone back to the main hall, allowing the three candidates to rest. The provincial exam was different from the prefectural one. Candidates sat in cramped examination cells with barely enough room to turn around. The cell contained just two wooden planks – used as a desk and chair for writing and joined together as a bed for sleeping. All daily activities took place in this confined space, and as long as there was no cheating, the inspectors sent by the authorities didn’t care what the candidates did inside.
The next day, Madam Chen specially instructed the kitchen to prepare fine dishes. The main courses included steamed four-gilled perch, braised ham, pickled goose feet, roasted venison, and marinated crab. Wanting to nourish her two sons well, and not wanting to show favoritism, she also sent a portion to Luo Shenyuan.
Yining happened to visit her Third Brother when the maid brought the food. She opened the food boxes one by one to look. The steamed perch was garnished with shredded ginger and scallions, drizzled with soy sauce and sesame oil, emitting a wonderful aroma. The roasted venison glistened, its rich sauce looking delicious.
When Luo Shenyuan came out in his straight-collared robe, he saw Yining with a crab leg in her mouth. Unaware of being caught, Yining waved and smiled, “Third Brother, come quickly and eat. Elder Aunt sent you some delicious food.”
Luo Shenyuan frowned and said, “Crab is cooling in nature, especially when pickled. How can you eat that?”
He reached out and took the crab leg from her mouth.
Sitting down, he picked some fish for Yining: “Eat this instead.”
Yining held her small plate, thinking there was nothing wrong with eating crab. Her former chef was from Yangzhou, and she had eaten plenty of pickled crab before. The Luo family’s chef cooked more in the Northern Zhili style, so she hadn’t had pickled crab in a long time.
Yining wanted to try the venison, but Luo Shenyuan stopped her chopsticks: “You’re not allowed to eat that either.”
Yining realized that since becoming closer to her Third Brother, he had started to be more controlling. Hadn’t he been quite indulgent before? After pondering for a while, she asked suspiciously, “Third Brother, are you just saying this because you want to eat it yourself?”
Luo Shenyuan smiled and asked softly, “Is that what you think?”
Yining noticed her Third Brother staring at her intently. She smiled back and didn’t dare say more, obediently eating the fish on her plate.
A large portion of fish ended up in Yining’s stomach. Luo Shenyuan picked out the fish bones for her, barely touching his plate.
Yining looked at the largely untouched plate of crab and sighed inwardly. Full and content, she lay down to sunbathe under the eaves. Luo Shenyuan thought she looked like a little cat, curled up in a circle with her long eyelashes casting shadows on her fair face. Her small face rested on the pillow, soft and unwilling to move.
As he was lost in thought watching Yining doze, a sound came from inside the room.
Yining was startled awake. Looking up, she saw that her Third Brother had already gone into the inner room. Through the latticed window, she could see that the maid in the lake-green jacket had knocked over a plate. As the maid reached to pick up the broken porcelain pieces, she pricked her fingertip. A drop of blood hung from her delicate fingertip, as precarious as the tear on her cheek.
Yining was suddenly wide awake.
She now knew this maid was called Hualü, and the other one was Huatang. These names, suggesting literary refinement, were likely bestowed by the well-read Madam Chen. Their original names were probably something common like Daya or Erya. These tactics seemed so familiar to Yining…
She thought of Concubine Qiao.
Concubine Qiao must have been a very successful concubine for the maids to imitate her.
Yining found it amusing and lay back down. Soon, Luo Shenyuan came out and asked her, “Did the noise disturb your sleep?”
Yining shook her head. She hadn’t been asleep anyway. She asked Luo Shenyuan, “I saw that her hand seemed to be hurt?”
Luo Shenyuan replied calmly, “She broke a plate. I docked two months of her wages and sent her to bandage her hand. She doesn’t need to serve for now.”
Yining was not quite satisfied. Her Third Brother was good in many ways, but he could be a bit insensitive. Didn’t he understand that the young maid had hurt herself on purpose, hoping he would comfort her, maybe even help bandage her wound? Instead, her Third Brother had fined her and sent her away…
Yining grew increasingly curious about which family’s daughter her Third Brother would eventually marry. Why couldn’t she remember?
As Yining pondered this, she realized she had no recollection at all. Back then, she had been just a hairpin, knowing only what others said. Her elder sister-in-law wouldn’t have cared about Luo Shenyuan’s wife, and the servants certainly wouldn’t have either.
She returned to Old Madam Luo’s quarters to find that the eldest Luo brother had returned, likely from Beijing specifically for Luo Huaiyuan’s provincial exam. Luo Chengzhang sat beside Luo Chengwen, the three of them chatting happily. Luo Chengzhang asked about the content of this provincial exam and how Luo Huaiyuan had answered.
Luo Huaiyuan detailed his responses, and Luo Chengzhang nodded repeatedly, saying that passing the exam was certainly not a problem.
Madam Chen listened with pride. Luo Huaiyuan was only eighteen. If he passed, it would be a year earlier than Luo Chengwen. Her words would carry even more weight in the Luo family in the future.
Luo Chengwen looked at Luo Huaiyuan with approval: “I’ve already heard from Academician Zhang. You’ve indeed studied hard. I’ve come back this time and will stay until after your results are announced. It would be too late to rush back then.”
Luo Huaiyuan smiled modestly, feeling quite pleased. He turned his head to see Yining entering from outside and smiled, calling her over: “Meimei, why haven’t you been close to your eldest brother lately? Did you like the glass doll I sent you last time?”
Yining thought to herself, “I’m not a puppy for you to play with when you’re in a good mood.”
She smiled and said, “I liked it.”
Madam Chen was in such a good mood that even Yining looked pleasing to her eyes. She took Yining’s small hand and said with a smile, “On the day the results are announced, if your eldest brother passes, you can ask him for anything you want. If he doesn’t buy it for you, I’ll scold him.”
Yining nodded in agreement, thinking to herself that she too was waiting for the day of the announcement.