Chapter 88: Asking For Money
At the academy’s courtyard entrance. Jiang Yihuan was stopped, and even after she said all the nice things, the old man guarding the gate still wouldn’t let her in.
She rummaged around and pulled out two copper coins, saying to the old man, “Old man, do me a favor. I have important business with Xiao Ci. You know Xiao Ci, right? Your academy even waived his tuition fees just to let him study. Now that he’s in, you’re treating his family like this—it’s too heartbreaking.”
The old man didn’t take the money Jiang Yihuan offered him. When he heard Xiao Ci’s name, his tone became even more serious.
“This is the academy’s new rule. And this new rule was personally requested by scholar Xiao Ci himself. He can’t break the rules he set, can he?”
Jiang Yihuan’s expression changed slightly, with irritation flashing in her eyes, but she quickly recovered her gentle demeanor and said, “Then help me pass a message. I won’t go in; I’ll just wait here for him and say a few words.”
The old man thought that Xiao Ci was the favorite student of the headmaster and teachers, and the next promising candidate from their academy to pass the imperial examination. This was a good opportunity to get on good terms with him, so after hesitating a bit, he agreed.
After the old man went in, Jiang Yihuan’s face darkened. Only when she heard footsteps did she change her expression, looking up with a beaming smile. But when she saw Jiang Yihui, her smile froze on her face.
When Jiang Yihui saw Jiang Yihuan, he said mockingly, “The gatekeeper said Xiao Ci’s family came looking for him. I was wondering how a servant could have family. Turns out it’s my good younger sister! You come to the city but don’t visit your own brother, and instead go see a servant. Could it be you’ve really fallen for him?”
“Brother, don’t talk nonsense. There’s no such thing.” After Jiang Yihuan said this in annoyed embarrassment, she saw a familiar figure approaching closer and her expression shifted from annoyed embarrassment to self-deprecation. “Someone like me, how could I be worthy of Xiao Gege?”
Jiang Yihui frowned and looked at Jiang Yihuan with disgust. “What kind of person are you? You’re at least of commoner status, better than him by who knows how much. Apart from his decent face, how is he worthy of you?”
“Brother… don’t talk nonsense.” Jiang Yihuan stomped her feet, so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground. “Xiao Gege is so excellent; he’ll take the imperial examination and become a high official in the future. I’m just a village girl who doesn’t even know many big characters. How could I qualify to match with him? Don’t ever say such ridiculous things. You’re just upset that I brought food but didn’t bring any to you. I’ll give it all to you.”
Jiang Yihuan picked up the basket on the ground and shoved it into Jiang Yihui’s hands.
Jiang Yihui wanted to say more mocking words, but he saw Xiao Ci walking over. The latter said to Jiang Yihui, “The teacher is testing schoolwork right now; it’s almost your turn.”
Jiang Yihui glared fiercely at Xiao Ci. “I’m telling you, no matter what, this stupid girl is still my younger sister. Don’t get any ideas about her. With you like this, it’s not even certain if you can pass the imperial examination. If you don’t pass, you’ll still be a servant of our Jiang family, and you won’t escape our Jiang family your whole life.”
Back then, the reason Zhong Lanhua was willing to cooperate with him in changing his status was because she had written a deed in advance. In the deed, Xiao Ci had to pass the imperial examination and gain an official position. If he didn’t, he would be sent back to his original status. If he did, he had to repay the Jiang family with tens of thousands of taels of gold. Because of this deed, no matter whether Xiao Ci passed or not, the Jiang family wouldn’t lose out, so they generously changed his status for him.
“You don’t need to worry about my affairs. Worry about your own. If you can’t pass this schoolwork, the teacher will demote you from Heavenly Class to Human Class.”
Jiang Yihui clearly thought of something, and his face grew even uglier as he flicked his sleeves and left.
“What’s Heavenly Class? What’s Human Class?” Jiang Yihuan asked. “It sounds like something extraordinary.”
“Human Class is for newly enrolled students, aged from five to ten years old. They are periodically assessed based on their learning progress, and only those who pass can enter Earthly Class. The students in Earthly Class have studied for three to five years with a solid foundation, but they still haven’t reached the level for examinations. Whenever the teachers feel they are ready for the imperial examination, they can be promoted to Heavenly Class.”
“So, can those in your Heavenly Class go take the imperial examination and become officials soon?” Jiang Yihuan looked at Xiao Yanci with adoring eyes.
Xiao Yanci greatly enjoyed Jiang Yihuan looking at him with such eyes; it comforted all the setbacks and blows he’d suffered recently.
“Not exactly. Our academy is still too small; there aren’t many promising candidates in total. Not many in the current Heavenly Class can take the imperial examination yet. We can only say we’re a bit better than Human Class and Earthly Class.”
“No matter about others, I know Xiao Gege definitely already has the ability to take the imperial examination. After all, you’re the one the teacher and headmaster came to recruit for studying.” Jiang Yihuan said.
She hadn’t come to hear these boring things. This person really had no sense, talking to a girl about things she couldn’t understand.
“Right, Huan’er, did you come to find me for something?” After finishing talking about his own matters, Xiao Yanci remembered why Jiang Yihuan was looking for him and asked.
Jiang Yihuan’s eyes reddened.
“What’s wrong?” Xiao Yanci looked at her with worry. “Who bullied you?”
“Lately, I’ve been planning to find work in the city. I’ll be quite busy, so I came to tell you, in case you go home and can’t find me and worry.”
“What work? Your embroidery is so good; don’t you usually earn money with embroidery?” Xiao Yanci frowned. “Tell me; I’ll help you.”
“A while ago, my mother and I borrowed money to buy a horse-drawn carriage. Unexpectedly, the carriage collided with the Su family’s ox cart. The carriage was wrecked, the horse ran off, and we were left with nothing but tens of taels in debt. If I don’t figure out how to earn more money soon, when the creditors come, my mother and I will be sold into servitude. Wuwu, it’s my fault. I should have persuaded my mother not to buy the carriage.”
Xiao Yanci frowned. “Why buy a horse-drawn carriage? It’s expensive and impractical.”
“You know our family has a grudge with the Su family. The Su family bought an ox cart, and my mother was so angry her chest hurt; she couldn’t sleep well for days. Later, she said buying a horse-drawn carriage would outdo the Su family, so she bought it.”
“Out of nowhere, how did it collide? The Su family must have done it on purpose, right?” Xiao Yanci said angrily. “That family uses despicable tactics, only tripping people up in the shadows. Truly shameless.”
“I heard there’s an embroidery shop in the city hiring. If I stay in the city doing embroidery, I can earn three taels of silver a month. If I meet generous customers, I might even get unexpected tips. If I work there for a year or so, I should be able to pay off this debt.”
Xiao Yanci pulled a silver note from his pocket and said, “This is the silver I earned from painting a wall painting for Yuanwai Liu. It’s ten taels in total. Take it first to pay part of the debt. When I earn more, I’ll send it to you.”
“How can I? I can’t take your money.” A gleam flashed in Jiang Yihuan’s eyes, but her face showed deep shame.
“I’ve said that as long as I have it, whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. If not for you, I wouldn’t even be alive. Huan’er, although your mother is very harsh, I’m still very grateful she bought me. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met such a kind young lady like you…”
