The 41st time

  That afternoon, Gu Niang and Tang Mei also returned to their mother's home to visit Old Lady Sheng. Li Shi hurriedly called the maid to bring over the two girls who were playing in Pinlan's room. Pinlan had married early, her elder brother had taken a wife early, and Second Brother Langyu had gone to the capital city, so usually there was no one to accompany her in play, she could only concentrate on studying the Nine Linked Rings, Minglan had never practiced this before, her skills were not as good as others, so she gladly conceded defeat. Pinlan was extremely pleased, while calling the maid to tidy up her skirt and hairpins, she chattered on and on explaining the secrets of the Nine Linked Rings.

  Danju took out a large phoenix hairpin with red gemstones and golden silk pearls from the inlaid mother-of-pearl jewelry box, and Minglan reluctantly accepted it, feeling that her neck had shortened by three inches. On the other side, a senior maid servant was also trying to pin a flower-shaped hairpin with heavy pearls onto Minglan's head, but Minglan pushed it away with a scowl on her face, exclaiming: "I won't wear that thing! Last time I wore it for an afternoon, my neck hurt for three days!"

  The maid coaxed her gently: "My young lady, please put it on properly. If only the old lady and the two young ladies were here, they wouldn't force you to wear it either. But with Hui and the third lady coming too, you see that Ming has already put hers on, and hers looks even heavier than ours."

  Pinlan raised her head and glanced at Minglan's trembling large pearl hairpin, feeling a bit psychologically balanced, and pouted to let her wear it.

  She walked slowly towards the main house, turned a corner along the corridor and a maid standing at the door opened the curtain and said: "The second young lady and Ming young lady have arrived." Minglan followed Pinlan into the room, where Old Lady Shen and Madame Li were seated in the center, with Madame Li sitting on a stool, and Wen Shi was busy arranging tea and fruit, all smiling and chatting with several women dressed in luxurious clothes.

  A woman in her forties was leaning against Old Lady Sheng, whispering and laughing with her. Her skin was slightly dark, but her eyes were lively and energetic, not at all like her age; she saw a girl she didn't recognize standing next to Pinlan, immediately got up and pulled Minglan over for a close inspection from head to toe. The girl's skin was as white as snow, her eyes clear and bright, with a pair of dimples like millet grains faintly visible at the corners of her rosy mouth. Her eyes lit up instantly, she turned back and laughed: "Auntie, is this my niece Minglan? Oh my, look at that little face, it's even more beautiful than a painting! They say nieces resemble their aunts, and indeed you two are like twins!"

  The old lady pointed at her and laughed: "You're so shameless, are you bragging about your daughter or sticking gold on your own face? With your material, even if you were reborn ten times, you wouldn't get such good skin!" The woman actually pouted and stomped her feet: "Mother! I'm doing this to give you face, I look like you, so when I brag about myself, it's also bringing you up, right? You're the one who's ruining the show!"

  The old lady couldn't help but shake her head, and the elder lady was also amused, nodding her head and saying: "Yan Yatou is indeed filial!" Everyone in the house burst out laughing, and the maids and daughters-in-law also covered their mouths and smiled secretly.

  "This is your Auntie Niang. This is the wife of your Third Grandfather's brother. This is your elder sister Shu Lan, and this is your cousin Hui Lan from the third branch."

  Minglan immediately bowed down, curtsied and greeted everyone one by one. The people inside the house saw her greeting was strict and square, from shoulder to waist to knee to ankle, her posture was elegant and light, refined and natural. When they saw the old lady holding her and saying a few words, they all felt that she was generous and dignified, polite and respectful, sincere and close, and everyone liked her very much.

  Sheng Yu was straightforward, pulling Minglan over to chat with her in a soft voice, asking about what she liked to eat and whether she was used to living here. As they talked, she took out a heavy, large red satin pouch with gold embroidery from her bosom and handed it to Minglan: "My family's Minglan is very good at giving birth, I'll ask my aunt to send over a few bolts of the finest cloud-patterned brocade to make clothes for you!"

  Pinlan was naturally open-minded, seeing Minglan being liked by others didn't make her angry, she just pretended to be annoyed and said: "Auntie is so biased, now that you've seen a better sister than me, you've forgotten about me?" Sheng Yu tapped Pinlan's forehead with force and scolded with a smile: "You little heartless one, haven't you taken enough from Auntie all these years!"

  Everyone in the house was talking, but no one went to talk to San Tai Tai. She sat alone drinking tea and suddenly said: "Pinlan's niece, you should be content with what you have. Although you are both nieces, your sister Huilan is not inferior to you."

  Minglan looked down and secretly glanced at Huilan, only to see her face red with embarrassment, her head hung low in silence. Then she looked at the third madam, whose clothes seemed bright and new, but upon closer inspection, there were signs of wear and tear on the edges and cuffs.

  She didn't bother to reason with her, but just lightly said a sentence: "Aunt has been very kind to us siblings, and Minglan's niece is not ordinary either." The third aunt was put down, turned her head and stared at Huilan fiercely, scolding her indirectly: "You're useless, if you had half of your cousin Minglan's charm, you would have gotten something from your aunt! Now you've called her aunt for over a decade, but haven't even gotten a penny!"

  Sheng Wei immediately retorted: "I don't understand what you're saying, Big Sister Huan. Are you implying that the children in your household call me 'Aunt' just to take advantage of my belongings?"

  Third Aunt raised her eyebrows and said in a sharp voice, "Oh, how dare you! But now outsiders are all saying that the Sheng family's first and second branches have accumulated wealth like mountains of gold and silver, yet they don't even care about their own brothers and uncles who are struggling to make ends meet. Relying on daily charity to gain a good reputation is just pretending to be a kind person!"

  Pinlan immediately shouted, "My father just sent several carts of firewood and rice to San Aunt's house the other day. As for silver, it's been coming in every month. Is this also just a show?"

  "Pinlan, you dare to be so impudent! Get out of here at once!" Madam Li said in a stern voice.

  A moment of flashing knives and swords indoors.

  Minglan secretly bit her tongue, only lowering her head and not daring to let anyone see the surprise on her face: In the past, she and her sisters would argue or Wang Shi and Lin Daiyu would make veiled attacks, but they had never been so openly confrontational. She stole a glance at the others, seeing that everyone, including Old Lady Sheng, was calm and composed.

  The old lady hummed: "Xiu Er's daughter-in-law, are you here to pay respects to your second aunt or to pick a fight? You're not afraid of being laughed at by the younger generation for shouting and yelling in front of your elders!"

  Third Mistress's face turned red, she didn't say a word and sat down, drinking tea and eating snacks.

  Minglan turned her head, only to see Pinlan with a smug expression, provokingly staring at Huilan. However, Shulan couldn't bear it and pulled Huilan away to talk, relieving the awkwardness in the room. At this moment, a maid came in and reported: "Madam Li's niece has arrived."

  The old lady hastily said, "Quickly, invite her in." The maid opened the curtain and a woman with a full head of pearls and jade, plump skin, came in. Seeing the two elderly ladies, she respectfully curtsied and smiled, saying: "I've come to disturb you, please don't blame me, it's just that I often hear my younger sister mention her aunt's kindness and love, so today I'm thickening my face to pay respects."

  Old Mrs. Shi smiled and said, "Auntie is too modest, we're all family, what's the need for formalities? As people get older, they like lively gatherings, I'm delighted you could come... Minglan, come greet Auntie."

  Minglan stepped forward and bowed, hesitating about what to call her. Aunt Xiang hastily spoke up: "You can just call me Auntie like Pinlan does." Minglan looked up at Old Madame Sheng, saw that she nodded slightly, and then cleverly called out: "Auntie is well."

  Auntie Zhu's eyes narrowed into a line as she smiled and said, "What a good omen for the young lady! The old lady is indeed blessed!" As she spoke, she also took a lotus-colored purse from the hand of her maid and handed it to Minglan. Minglan glanced down and saw that the purse was embroidered with pearls and adorned with precious gems, extremely luxurious and dazzling. Without even looking at what was inside, just the purse itself was already very valuable.

  Everyone sat down and chatted, Auntie Zhu still ignored the Third Lady and only spoke with Old Lady Shi. They talked about everything from Jinling to Beijing, from family members to children. Minglan never underestimated these trivial conversations among women in the inner courtyard, but listened carefully, and only then did she learn that in their early years, Mr. Li and Mr. Shi had made their fortunes together. At first, the Li family was not as prosperous as the Shi family, but they had a good son who married a local woman (without introducing external genes) and through three generations of hard work, their business flourished, becoming one of the top two families in Youyang County.

  Third Aunt tried to interrupt several times but failed, Old Aunt said a few words and suddenly asked Sheng Yu: "Where is Tai Sheng? Didn't he come with you today?" Sheng Yu smiled: "Wu Ge (brother) rarely returns from the capital, my silly kid can't stop talking. Eh, Aunt, did you come alone today?" Zhu Shi smiled: "Gou Ge and Du Ge came too, they're outside."

  The old lady smiled and said: "They are all relatives of our own family, hurry up and invite them in."

  She called the maid to summon them, and then the curtain was lifted. Three boys of similar age came in, all bowing down to pay their respects to Old Lady Sheng. The old lady smiled and pointed at the first boy with a smile on his face and red lips: "This is the second son of Aunt's family, Yu Ge'er." Then she pointed at the shy boy on the left: "This is the third son of the Li family, Dou Ge'er." Finally, she pointed at a sturdy boy with a slightly dark complexion: "This is my grandson, Tai Sheng."

  Three boys each had their own charm, and for a time the house was filled with a lively atmosphere; except for Minglan, all the others had known each other for some time, so Minglan could only come over to pay her respects one by one, and Pinlan generally called them "older male cousin".

  Madam Zhu smiled and said to Minglan, "You also have an elder male cousin, who is currently out on a business trip. Your elder female cousin-in-law is extremely kind, you must come to my house to play in the future."

  Mrs. Sheng praised: "Auntie is so blessed, all her sons are so handsome and elegant, they are really good materials." Auntie smiled: "These two little devils are quite mischievous, Mrs. Sheng has overpraised them."

  The old lady pulled over the two boys from the Li family, and asked them in detail about their studies. She found out that the elder one had already passed the imperial examination to become a xiucai, while the younger one was also a linsheng. She liked what she heard: "Good, good, good! Hard work and progress are indeed the right principles." Madam Zhu smiled and said: "These boys are nothing compared to your family's eldest grandson. I've heard that he passed all three levels of imperial examinations in one go - xiucai, juren, and jinshi - and is now working at the Hanlin Academy as a compiler. This is truly a remarkable fate, a real 'scholar star' descended from heaven!"

  Old Mrs. Sheng turned her head and glared at Old Mrs. Wang: "It must be that you've been bragging about the child everywhere, and haven't exaggerated at all." Old Mrs. Wang smiled: "If they're good, of course I'll praise them. Later on, when these two children go to Beijing for the imperial examination, just take care of things a bit, okay?"

  Old Mrs. Shi said, "Needless to say, Wei's wife's nephew is just like our own child. Auntie, when the brothers go to Beijing, you can move in with me, and there are two other young men studying for the exams at home, so he'll have some company."

  Madam Zhu waited for these words and laughed repeatedly: "Then thank you, old lady, Yu'er, hurry up and kowtow to thank her."

  Li Yu and Li Dou immediately kowtowed again, and Auntie Xie thanked them repeatedly.

  Pinlan leaned in close to Minglan's ear and whispered, "But it's just staying at your own relative's house, why be so polite?"

  Minglan smiled wryly and replied, "My family has many books."

  The fact is that, apart from hard work, the imperial examination also requires a lot of pre- and post-work. There are many doors to this: first, you need to know the likes and dislikes of the chief and deputy examiners, even their fondness for certain fonts, then there's the current political climate, avoiding taboo topics and factional struggles, etc., finally, you also need to make friends with influential people and get familiar with the upper class.

  Although the exam papers are anonymous, in reality, as a chief examiner, one can basically guess who the familiar examinees are from their handwriting and writing style. This is not used for cheating, but as long as it's not too far-fetched, one can get relatively higher marks. With the help of influential families like the Shengs, introductions and connections can make things much easier for Li Yu and Li Dou.

  Minglan thinks that... a good examinee is not one who doesn't want to take the college entrance exam, but rather one who can maintain a good relationship with the examination room.

  At this time, Pinlan went over to talk to Hu Taisheng, and the sound of their laughter grew louder. Sheng Yu turned her head to look, furrowed her brow, and then leaned in close to Old Lady Sheng with a smile, saying: "My family's Taisheng isn't material for studying, is Auntie displeased?"

  The old lady seemed to like this mischievous niece, laughing and scolding: "You little monkey, when you were young, I taught you to read and write so many times. You learned for three days and then went fishing and sunbathing for two days. You couldn't even recite the Three Character Classic, and yet you have the nerve to talk back?! Tai Sheng is just like you! Tai Sheng, come here." She pulled Tai Sheng's hand and said with a smile: "Good boy, a young man should make a good impression wherever he goes. I often hear your uncle praising you, saying that you are diligent, kind-hearted, and responsible in handling family matters. When I heard this, I was overjoyed for your mother!"

  Hu Tailai only smiled with a silly face, Pinlan leaned over and laughed: "Brother-in-law, my younger sister has just arrived, did you bring something good?" Tailai honestly replied: "I brought some Western pastries from the seaside, for my sisters to try."

  Third Aunt couldn't bear the silence, and after a long time finally spoke up: "I've never had Western pastries in my life, I hear they're extremely fragrant and sweet. Bring some back for your Third Uncle to try; don't learn from others to look down on your Third Uncle's family!" Huilan also laughed and said: "Look at Mother saying, Taisheng is indeed very kind, how could he be so thick-skinned as to look down on our family?" Huilan's tone was affectionate, her sparkling eyes gazing at Taisheng, who blushed bright red, lowered his head, and refused to speak.

  Everyone else in the house didn't see anything, only Pinlan was furious and wanted to rush over again. Minglan let out a silent sigh, she had originally wanted to grab Pinlan's sleeve, but after estimating the strength difference between her and this elder cousin, she decided to change tactics.

  Ming Lan turned around lightly and stood in front of her, saying a sentence that she thought was clever: "Pin Lan sister, can you tell me again how to solve the nine-linked ring lock? This old puzzle has been hanging in my mind, and I feel like I'm going crazy."

  The plum was indeed blocked, and she turned her head in surprise: "Huh? Didn't I just explain it to you clearly with my hands? How come you don't know now?" Her voice was a bit loud, and several boys standing nearby looked over, especially the youngest Li Dou, whose expression seemed to say 'she's so stupid'. Minglan felt embarrassed, her face burning, and she silently cursed the servant girl.

  Li Yu smiled lightly and looked at Minglan, saying: "It seems that only a clever person like Pinmei can learn something as profound as the Nine Linked Rings after just one lesson. We're not as smart, so we need to be taught several times." Hu Taiyu was the most honest, repeatedly agreeing: "Yes, yes, I also can't learn it no matter how many times I try."

  Xianglan was delighted: "Brother said yes." She turned around and patiently explained the solution to the nine linked rings puzzle to Minglan again.

  Minglan felt a bit melancholy in her heart: "You're so mysterious! But at least the goal has been achieved, right?"

  Minglan smiled and nodded in agreement, occasionally turning her head. Suddenly, she saw Old Lady Shen sitting at the top, chatting with the other women, smiling continuously. Minglan was taken aback, feeling that her grandmother's smile seemed a bit familiar... Ah, yes! When her maternal grandmother had coaxed her into getting her ears pierced with a hard-boiled egg when she was young, it was this very same smile.