CH 89

Tidying up the shops and switching out property and assets were such a big matter. In the ordinary course of events, Cui Xie, as the Master of the household, ought to personally watch over the matter. Unfortunately, there was an Imperial College examination at the end of the month——

Every month, Imperial College students have to answer two questions on classical scriptures, two questions on the Four Books, and then two questions were randomly selected among the choices of writing a mock edict, announcement, memorial, discussion on current affairs, a discursive essay and five critical judgements. The exam papers were not limited to the inspection by Imperial College Educational Officials. At the end of every quarter, they would be sent to the Hanlin Academy for scrutinization. If one did not write it well, it would become a lifetime of dark history.

Examinations related to their face and future prospects hung over his head, how could he care about some shop?

When he had just started taking over the Cui Residence’s duties, he had come across a handful of Xu Furen’s IOU in which she had engaged in usury. He would rather pick the lesser of the two evils and directly ask someone to make a trip to the Shuntian Prefecture to annul those receipts to avoid financial loss and disaster. As for the Southern Goods shop, from start to finish, it had been unworthy of his attention.

Cui Dahui refused to cooperate and Cui Xie did not plan on using him. Pointing to the other two Shopkeepers and the accountant of the Southern Goods shop, he ordered, “When cleaning out the storehouse, make an inventory of what is there. Cui Liangdong is inexperienced in running business, if there is anything he does not understand, please give him a few pointers. After this matter is completed, the silver obtained will be stored on the accounts for family use and the rest will be invested into the two remaining shops. As to how it is to be distributed, it depends on your performance.”

Cui Jinzhi and Cui Ting’s eyes lit up brightly, and they immediately nodded and bowed their heads, agreeing, “Young Master be at ease. We will naturally take this matter seriously and complete it beautifully!” Besides, there were accountants and clerks in the Shop, Cui Dahui had only become the Shopkeeper after Xu Furen had left. He was not some elder who had worked for many years and without him, operations could still run without a hitch.

Cui Xie glanced at Cui Dahui again——

This person could not be a shopkeeper anymore, and with such a resentful personality that was soaring through the skies, it did not seem he could properly act as an Assistant Shopkeeper or Deputy Manager. It was better to send him to the ancestral residence’s farmstead for labor reform.

Once the shop was cleaned up, those employees who ran the Southern Goods Shop could be subcontracted to the newly opened Peace of Mind Study. There was no need to change their work address and business trip locations. It was merely switching from procuring food to procuring books. Presumably, they would not have any big objections to this.

After arranging how to clear out the shop’s inventory, Cui Xie ordered the two shopkeepers. “Your five-year plans are not up to par. I understand that you are doing this for the first time and have no prior experience. Hence, I will not ask you for long-term plans in the time being. However, starting from next month, submit a monthly plan to me at the beginning of each month, a quarterly plan at the beginning of each quarter and a summary at the end of each month and quarter. Compare the plans and come report your analysis to me….”

The two shopkeepers were dripping with cold sweat as they listened, and there was no trace of joy that could be seen before. They hated that they could not just abandon this carrying pole and its load. Cui Xie also understood that people in the workplace were most afraid of reporting to their superiors, so he waved his hand, “No need to trouble you. Just try these out and every morning, make a plan of what you will do for the day, what the employees are doing, who you are meeting…no need to hand them over to me. You can first write down these exchanges and summarize it yourself. Once you become more familiar with it, you will learn to write a long-term plan.

The shopkeepers did not want to be familiar with these at all and they both left with a bitter expression. Cui Dahui was also dragged away by the orders of the Head Steward. In a few days, they had arranged for him to be sent to the ancestral farmstead to enjoy the rest of his life in toil.

These stewards and shopkeepers dispersed, and the Old Furen ordered people to bring in food. Cui Xie asked someone to move the folding screen into the room and took Cui Qi and He-ge to the other side. This allowed Yun-jie to have dinner with her Grandparents inside and the family of six could eat dinner together. The Grandfather of the Cui household was finally able to sit at the table to eat at this time. The Old Furen sat down next to her husband and personally scraped the fish and shrimp meat off the bones. She also gathered soft tofu and vegetables, bringing it to his lips. 

As the eldest brother, Cui Xie also had to take care of his younger ones. While instructing people to serve them the dishes, he also asked the wet nurse and maids about the circumstances of his younger siblings’ studies.

The mama serving He-ge rushed to answer, “Teacher Lu said that the third-ge is talented. He memorized 《Pairing Types》and《Thousand Character Classic》very quickly. Whatever is teached, he can learn. He is set to have boundless prospects in the future and can be admitted as a xiucai early like the Eldest Young Master.”

He-ge was also quite confident and puffed out his chest, “Da-ge can test me, I can answer anything!”

Cui Xie randomly tested him with a few phrases from the Thousand Character Classic and He-ge could actually recite them. Occasionally, if he got stuck, he could continue with a small reminder/hint.

If this level of achievement was seen in primary school students in modern times, this was more than enough for parents to flaunt to the rest of the world. It was a pity that in the Ming Dynasty, they had higher requirements for recitation and this child will have many more recitations in the future. Cui Xie gave a few words of encouragement and added a ‘but’: “It is not completely fluent just yet, you will have to memorize more later. It must be to the point that no matter where you start, you can recite it fluently. Do not be afraid of bitterness when studying. If there is anything you do not understand, just ask and if you do not dare ask Teacher Lu, then come ask Da-ge. Ge-ge will teach you.”

He-ge nodded repeatedly and adoringly said, “Teacher Lu said that Da-ge is a Little Tertiary Winner and asked to learn from my Da-ge, study hard so that I can also become a Little Tertiary Winner in the future and bring honor to our Cui Clan.”

Cui Xie smiled at him and gently added a few more words of advice. He then inquired after Cui Qi’s studies. Cui Qi replied, “Teacher Lu is very diligent in teaching. Even someone like me who did not enter an academy receives extremely strict exams, which makes me a little afraid of him. He teaches painting well but it is just that….it is quite different from the style most are fond of. He is currently teaching me how to paint flowers and birds. He says he will teach me landscapes in the future, all using the mogu style[1] approach.

Cui Qi usually helped trace and touch up manuscripts for Cui Xie, so the vigor of his strokes was getting stronger day by day. The tones of the colors blended were becoming more and more suitable, one did not need to ask too many questions to see that the Teacher had been diligent in his teaching. Cui Xie nodded and asked Yun-jie what she usually studied. Yun-jie replied herself, “Usually, I will do some needlework with my yiniang and occasionally read Lessons for Women and articles about the virtues of women and so on…”

This daily life was a little too lacking, no? Looking at Lessons for Women, weren’t those things that were usually derided by online communities? Cui Xie peeked at the other side of the folding screen and asked in surprise, “Wasn’t Teacher Lu invited to teach Yun-jie? Do you have any good friends you can play with?”

Yun-jie lowered her voice and replied, “I am but a woman, what kind of Teacher can I invite? When the late Furen was here, there were indeed some chances to see other unmarried daughters of Father’s colleagues, but now it is inconvenient to go out. I will only talk to a few of my female companions in the residences to the left and right of us. If Da-ge does not disdain my clumsy hands, mei-mei is willing to sew a few embroidered purses and handkerchiefs for Da-ge to use later.”

Cui Xie was not willing to ask her for these things, so he hurriedly declined, “No need to do these things. You are still a young girl, you should play in the courtyard more often in such fine weather. Don’t stuff yourself in the room and do tedious needlework. If you still want to see those friends, just inform Grandmother. Wouldn’t it be alright to have a few more servants to accompany you on your trips out?”

In the years since he had transmigrated into the Great Ming Dynasty, although he did not have first-hand knowledge of what rich families were like, the atmosphere of the common people was not bad. It had not been so confined to the point that women were not allowed to roam around the streets and visit other’s homes. Yun-jie was only at the age of beginning middle school in modern times but was locked at home doing needlework every day and not even allowed to see her friends. Thinking about it made one feel pity for her.

From the inside, Yun-jie declined a few times, but Cui Xie and her did not have a close relationship, so they could not talk too deeply. Hence, he just said, “You can just listen to Grandmother when you go out. I will only look after your studies. I do not know where I can find a female teacher and this will take some time. In the next couple of days, I will find a copy of useful books like the 《Complete Collection of Essential Arts for Family Life [2]and《Dream Pool Essays [3] as well as some history books and picture books for your entertainment.”

When his new study opened, he would send several sets for his younger siblings to read and gain some insights.

As a result, everything in the Residence had been arranged for and he merely needed to wait for the monthly examination to end before going to the Xie Residence on account of their invitation. This thought flashed through Cui xie’s mind and he unconsciously wondered if Colonel Xie would wear the custom made yesa and what he himself should wear. Should he take advantage of this time to make some new robes….

Thinking about it threw his heart and mind into disarray and he was unable to make up his mind. He himself felt that his personality was too troublesome so he took out his notes forcibly devoted himself to reviewing. After reciting for a while, he found that he could not carry it on and his mind wandered off at every turn. He simply took out the Four Books, flipping to a random page and using the sentence his fingertips stopped on as a topic. He then copied it down using a brush and paper and practiced writing in the maoti[4] and amplification[5] format. According to the topic selected, he recalled historical materials quoted in the《Four Books》, 《Classic of Poetry》, 《Garden of Stories》and《Expanded Meaning of the Great Learning》so he could select suitable allusions for quotation.

With the help of a brush and paper, it was not so easy to get distracted. He forcefully reviewed all night and did not put away the paper until his eyes had become blurry and overused. After washing up, he shut his eyes and continued to read the pdf version of the notes.

He did not know until when he had been reciting, but the brightly labeled notes and words in front of his eyes grew fuzzy and those colors metamorphosed into a gorgeous yet vague picture. Cui Xie was worried about his hazy eyesight so he quickly opened his eyes and looked around desperately. That bright color gradually became clearer and it materialized into a crimson material embroidered with golden flowers, hovering closely within his sight.

He slightly relaxed upon knowing that he had not grown nearsighted. It was just that he could not see clearly because he had been too close. He tilted his head backwards and his field of vision subsequently opened up. At long last, he could clearly view the clothes and the person wearing those clothes.

That person’s lips were in excellent shape, the philtrum arched like a bow and the corners of the mouth were faintly upturned, as if always harboring a gentle smile. It seemed like Cui Xie’s eyes had been covered up with something and he could not see that clearly, but it seemed that the person was undoubtedly looking at him, his gaze penetrating and glittering, sweeping towards him like a bolt of lightning——

Cui Xie suddenly opened his eyes. The room was still shrouded in darkness and he was sweating profusely. A quilt was pressed against his chest and he felt stuffy as he panted for breath.

The brilliance that had filled his sight just now was fading into the darkness. In just a little bit, he had to go to the Imperial College and the day after was the examinations. This residence and shops outside were still waiting for him to manage…But he could not fall asleep anymore. Sitting up cross-legged, he looked at the slightly purple sky outside the transparent paper screen window, sighing deeply.

Even if it was a dream, he should be dreaming about his past life with AC and computers.  Just what was going on that he was dreaming about an acquaintance he hadn’t even met more than a few times?

On this day, all Imperial College students were supposed to attend the review lectures. Hence, he simply didn’t go back to sleep and opened the windows, memorizing the notes from the last lecture in the morning.

He had to concentrate his energy on attending lectures during the day and could be free of distractions. When he went to bed at night, he could not help thinking of that strange dream he had in the morning.

It was too embarrassing to dream about others and he was afraid of doing it again. This time, he didn’t dare to fall asleep memorizing his  notes so he deliberately got up and practiced his sword skills for half an hour. He trained until his spirit was weary and his strength was exhausted. After training, his racing thoughts halted and he didn’t have any messy dreams the entire night, sleeping peacefully until the first rays of dawn.

The 29th day was the Imperial College’s examination day.

On this day, the first two questions were on the Four Books, one was from 《The Analects·Xian Jin Chapter 11》, “Musics were rustics” and the other was from  《Mencius·Wan Zhang II》, “The Son of Heaven constituted one dignity”; for the two questions on the Five Classics, one question was from  《The Classic of Poetry·Wen Wang》, the verse starting with “Profound was King Wen” and the second question was from《The Odes of Lu·Pan Shui》, the three verses starting with “Pleasant is the semi-circular water”. This intensity was enough to take all day. The next day, after resuming the review lecture, he took an examination in the style of a historical discursive essay and composed an announcement conferring a title of wangfei to a Joseon princess.

The results of the examinations would only be released after his break, but there was even a more worrying thing during his break——what should he wear? Should he wear his own straight-bodied gowns made by himself or the yesa given by Colonel Xie?

But the robes he had brought back with him from Qian’an were not made from good material and the robes he made were either green or blue, all of which was the typical straight-bodied style used by scholars. It was not convenient to wear when riding a horse…picking left and right, it seemed that the few sets given by Colonel Xie were more suitable for going out to play.

Compared to the robes he usually wore, these garments were much more gorgeous. In addition to a red and white set, there was also a set of lush, dark green robes sprinkled with gold, a set of robes with colorful embroidery contrasted against a dark cerulean background and a jade-colored yesa….the  most lowkey one was the jade-colored robe. Only the arms and knees had been decorated with a pattern of golden lanterns and the color was not too strong.

He was not truly a sixteen or seventeen year old at her and he was not used to wearing such beautiful clothes and picked the most simple, yet elegant option.

On the morning of the first day of his break, he brought the robes with him to the school and planned to offer a sacrifice at the civil temple before boarding the carriage to the Xie Residence after changing in the carriage. Who would have thought that after returning from offering sacrifices at the temple, just as he exited, he saw a larger carriage decorated in red oil paper next to the Cui Residence’s carriage. The driver in the front also looked extremely familiar. It was Xie Shan who had traveled to Qian’an several times.

Before Cui Xie had reached the front of the carriage, Xie Shan waved to him and shouted, “Young Master, please take our carriage. The roads outside the city are not smoothly paved and our carriage has a lot of thick cushions prepared. Laoye instructed us to stably escort the Young Master to the farmstead in a safe and sound manner.”

Cui Xie took a look at his small green carriage and compared it to the other larger carriage. Just by appearance, he could tell which one would be more comfortable. In front of Colonel Xie, he did not need to maintain face or unflinching righteousness so he said to Xie Shan, “Then I will first go in and change my clothes first. Xie Shan-ge will have to wait for a little bit before leaving.”

Cui Xie did not need to change his inner robes, and simply exchanged his straight-bodied robe for a yesa and his black gauze fangjin for a towering fork hat, getting out of the carriage not long after. Xie Shan watched as Cui Xie alighted the carriage and then changed in the blink of an eye, from an obedient scholar to an agile warrior. He could not help but cheer, “Young Master, you look much better in this look than those straight-bodied robes. At first glance, I thought you were a Jin…the son of some noble family.”

Cui Xie laughed, “That is because Xie da-ren’s robes are good. Xie Shan must stop praising me. The journey is quite far, let’s head over as soon as possible.”

He asked the Cui coachman to go back and inform the Residence that he had alighted into Xie Shan’s carriage outside of the city.

The Xie Residence’s carriage was indeed much more well-furnished than his own. Layers upon layers of cushions had been spread out in the interior and there were even summer sleeping mats laid on top. The seats were wide enough to sit or recline. There was a small table fixed at the corner of the carriage, on which were refreshment boxes and sheepskin bags of fresh water. Xie Shan had said that these had all been prepared for him and told him to use as he pleased. However, Cui Xie was slightly embarrassed and only nibbled on a few plums laced with ginger strands to curb his  motion sickness. He pried open the window curtains and looked at the scenery outside.

The weather at the beginning of May was full of verdant mountains and he could see the raised paths leading north and south joined together in the distance. Grain stalks in the fields swayed and tossed in the breeze, and farmers were scattered in the field. It was almost time for a good harvest. But, as the fields got closer and closer, the road in the field became narrower and narrower. The carriage began to jolt around. Xie Shan’s loud voice rang out, comforting from the front, “After passing through this field, the Xie farmstead will be located up ahead. However, this section of the road is not easy to pass through. On your way back, you can ride through this section on horseback and then get in the carriage. That will be much more comfortable.”

Sucking on a plum, Cui Xie leaned against the windowsill, closing his eyes, “Is this far from the farmstead? Should I get off and walk over?”

Xie Shan chuckled, “Young Master, bear with it. There is only a little bit left. If our da-ren sees me making you get off halfway to walk, he may blame me for not being able to drive properly!”

He flicked the whip and the speed of the carriage suddenly increased, to the point that Cui Xie almost fell out. Thanks to his broad shoulders, he was jammed at the window opening and was thrown back into the car by the motion.

Now, it really seemed like he had fallen into a rolling laundry machine, bouncing up and down for a while. His buttocks barely touched the seat so he could only hold onto the cushion and half lie on the seat, hanging on by using his body weight and friction. 

He did not know how far they had gone but the carriage stopped with a bang. The horse neighed and its four hooves landed on the ground, jolting the carriage again. Feeling that the wheels were no longer moving, Cui Xie hurriedly went to crawl out of the car——No matter how far he would have to walk, he had to get off. If he continued to undergo this shaking, he was going to get a concussion.

He climbed to the carriage door and was about to push it open, but the small door was pulled open from the outside. A fantastic golden-red radiance illuminated from outside, unlike the white sunlight that should be shining through at this time.

Cui Xie leaned against the carriage door, squinted his eyes and took a closer look, only to realize it wasn’t a red light, but radiance caused by rays of light hitting on red brocade mixing with the flash of woven gold. He did not peer at the face wearing the fabric and rather lifted up a hand to rub at his eyes heavily.

Was he dreaming again? Colonel Xie had really worn that red yesa?

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