Chapter 74

Chapter 74

The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and the household was bustling with preparations for the celebration.

To liven things up, Wang Ying specifically asked Chen Qingyan to invite Liang Boqing, Qing Huai, and Qing Song back to town.

In previous years, Old Liang certainly wouldn't have come, but this year was different. With Little Yuanbao around, he came happily trotting along.

Yuanbao was already seven months old and had grown four milk teeth. Besides drinking milk, he could now eat some soft, easily mashed foods.

Wang Ying often peeled peaches and apples for him, steaming them until soft to make fruit puree for the child. He remembered his grandmother saying that she used to prepare food for him this way when he was little—it was both appetizing and nutritious.

As children grow older, they understand more. Although Yuanbao couldn’t speak yet, he already knew who was his father and who was his daddy.

Old Liang was absolutely crazy about Little Yuanbao. Every time he saw him, he would hold him for a while, and inevitably, Yuanbao would yank his beard. The little one’s hands were quick—once he got hold of it, he wouldn’t let go.

This had given the old man something of a psychological shadow. Whenever he held Yuanbao, he would lean back, afraid the child would pull his beard off.

In this dynasty, the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival hadn't yet emerged. In previous years, people would prepare fruits, wine, and dishes to make offerings to the moon goddess on the night of the fifteenth.

The wine was osmanthus wine, mellow and slightly sweet—even those who didn’t usually drink could enjoy a few cups.

After the midday meal, Wang Ying began making mooncakes.

The mooncake molds had been carved by a carpenter a few days earlier. Both designs were about the size of a palm, one engraved with "blooming flowers and a full moon" and the other with "Mid-Autumn reunion."

In his previous life, Wang Ying had never made mooncakes, but he had baked pastries, so he figured it couldn’t be too different.

The mooncake pastry crust was made from flour mixed with oil and sugar. The fillings, however, required more care. One was a five-nut mooncake filling made with melon seeds, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and sesame. The other was a filling made from brown sugar and red bean paste.

After wrapping the fillings, he placed them into the wooden molds, pressed gently to imprint the patterns, brushed them with a layer of egg wash, and baked them in the oven.

Aunt Chen watched in amazement. "Young Master, what is this?"

"They’re called mooncakes. I learned how to make them from a book. It’s my first time, so I’m not sure if they’ll turn out well."

"Just looking at them is impressive. They’re as beautiful as flowers—I’m sure they’ll taste delicious."

It was his first time baking mooncakes, and Wang Ying wasn’t sure about the timing. After about twenty minutes, he took them out, but they had cracked open. Still, the taste was good—the nutty aroma mixed with sweetness was so fragrant it made one's mouth water.

Wang Ying gave the cracked mooncakes to Aunt Chen, asking her to take them home for her family to try later.

For the second batch, Wang Ying turned down the heat and baked them for about twenty minutes. This time, the temperature was just right, and each mooncake came out perfectly golden brown—a beautiful sight!

Once they had cooled sufficiently, Wang Ying carried the mooncakes to the main hall. As he reached the doorway, he heard cheerful laughter. "What’s everyone so happy about?"

"A Ying, come quickly!"

Li Shi pointed at Yuanbao and laughed. "Just now, to get the tassel from Qing Song, he crawled over by himself!"

"Well, look at that—he’s showing off his new skills!" Wang Ying set the mooncakes on the table and picked up his son, hoisting him onto his shoulders.

Little Yuanbao clung to his head and began gnawing on the hairpin holding his topknot in place.

"Don’t chew on that, or you’ll drool all over my hair again."

Qing Yun and Qing Song gathered around the table. "Sister-in-law, what are these? They smell amazing!"

Wang Ying, while lifting the child off his head, explained, "These are mooncakes—pastries for the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are two flavors. Try them and see what you think."

Everyone picked up a mooncake to taste.

Li Shi took a bite and said, "Mmm, sweet and delicious. These pastries are really good!"

Wang Ying took one of the red bean ones and had a couple of bites. Just like in his previous life, they were a bit dry going down, but the flavor was still nice.

Liang Boqing held a mooncake in his palm and spontaneously recited two lines of poetry: "A jade plate emerges from the Jasper Terrace, crisp sugar wraps the moon as it arrives. Qing Yan, you continue."

Chen Qingyan thought for a moment and said, "Full or waning, both hold flavor, wandering together across a thousand miles."

Old Liang stroked his beard. "Lacks a bit of elegance. Qing Song, you try."

"Ah?" Chen Qingsong hurriedly swallowed the mooncake in his mouth, frowned, and pondered for a while. "Autumn wind condenses osmanthus dew, laughter fills the clear terrace."

"Passable, but conventional. Qing Huai, your turn."

Chen Qinghuai cleared his throat. "From afar, conveying longing, ten thousand lanterns cut the night."

Old Liang fell silent, knowing Qing Huai was thinking of home.

As everyone was enjoying the mooncakes, the gatekeeper Lin Zai suddenly rushed in. "Old Madam, Master, Young Master—there are several government officers outside saying they’ve come to report good news!"

Wang Ying turned around sharply. Li Shi stood up excitedly. "Could it be that there’s news?"

Chen Qingyan was still completely in the dark. "News about what?"

"Come on, let’s go see quickly!"

Old Liang was the first to pick up Yuanbao and hurry out. Despite his age, he moved with surprising speed. The others followed closely behind to the front courtyard.

The two officials were from the county yamen, holding a document. Seeing the family, they stepped forward cheerfully. "Congratulations, Young Master Chen. Your injustice has been rectified, and your eligibility for the imperial examinations has been restored."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qingyan’s mind went blank with disbelief. He glanced back at Wang Ying, who nodded at him, and then he slowly walked forward.

The document was drafted by the Ministry of Rites. It contained 138 characters detailing the entire case from beginning to end.

Because it involved imperial examination cheating, the court took it especially seriously. A thorough investigation was necessary; otherwise, if similar cases arose in the future, everyone would claim they were framed, and chaos would ensue.

The Ministry of Rites ordered a comprehensive investigation. The Jizhou Prefecture specially assigned two officials to handle the case, sending them to Longquan County for the inquiry.

The cheat sheet found during the initial search had been stored at the county yamen all along. They retrieved Chen Qingyan’s Tongshi exam papers and Zhang Shiqiu’s county exam papers for comparison. The handwriting was easily distinguishable.

Chen Qingyan was accustomed to writing in regular script—his characters were square and forceful. Zhang Shiqiu’s handwriting, on the other hand, was slender, appearing elegant but lacking strength.

Since the writing on the cheat sheet was very small and had alterations, it was nearly impossible to imitate. The comparison confirmed that the cheat sheet was written by Zhang Shiqiu.

Additionally, there was testimony that the two had lived together at the time, matching the timeline, location, and individuals involved. In the end, this evidence helped overturn Chen Qingyan’s conviction.

The greatest credit for this belonged to the Minister of Agriculture.

Originally, Wen Yanping hadn’t intended to get too involved, as his friendship with Liang Boqing wasn't particularly close—they had only been schoolmates for a year in Yangzhou.

However, after the wheat harvest at the end of May, he discovered that the wheat seeds sent from Jizhou yielded sixty to seventy percent more than wheat from other fields.

What did this signify?

If wheat across the entire country could increase production by sixty to seventy percent, wouldn’t the people have surplus grain, leading to a prosperous nation and strong citizens?

This made him even more eager to meet the person mentioned in the letter, so he took a special interest in the matter. He pulled strings everywhere and finally succeeded in getting the case overturned.

Chen Qingyan's hands trembled as he received the rehabilitation notice. The words on the page blurred before his eyes as tears welled up. He had waited a full three years for this outcome.

He was unfortunate to have been framed by a friend and lost his qualification for the imperial exams, yet fortunate to have been vindicated with the help of his family and friends.

He was likely one of only two scholars in the entire Wu Dynasty to have their exam disqualification overturned.

Chen Qingyan knelt and kowtowed three times to Liang Boqing, saying, "Thank you, Master!"

Old Liang quickly reached out to help him up. "Good child, do not waste this opportunity."

"Yes!"

Li Shi promptly instructed someone to fetch rewards, giving each of the messengers a guàn of coins. The two messengers were overjoyed, their smiles stretching from ear to ear.

Delivering such happy news was a lucky assignment, sure to bring a reward. The two had pulled strings to secure this assignment and make the trip to the town.

They had expected the household in town to offer at most two strings of cash as a token gesture, but to their surprise, the family was exceedingly generous. Their congratulations became much more sincere: "Congratulations, Young Master Chen, on regaining your exam eligibility! May you soon pass the imperial exams with honors!"

"Thank you, both officials. Since it’s getting late—why not stay for a meal?"

"No, we have other duties to attend to," the two messengers quickly declined. They knew better than to impose on a family during a festival. It was far more comfortable to take the money and enjoy a good drink at a tavern.

After seeing the messengers off, the family burst into excited cheers. Chen Qingsong was the happiest, waving his arms and shouting, "Wonderful! Elder Brother can take the exams again!"

(Now I won’t have to shoulder the heavy responsibility anymore!) He didn’t dare say the last part out loud, afraid he might get scolded.

With such joyous news, everyone drank a few extra cups that evening.

Chen Qingyan felt lightheaded, still unable to process the happiness. From time to time, he asked Wang Ying to pinch his arm. "Am I dreaming?"

Wang Ying punched his shoulder. "Silly, it’s not a dream. You’ve really been exonerated."

Chen Qingyan let out a long sigh. "I’ve dreamed of this scene dozens of times, always imagining the day I would be cleared. Now that it’s really happened, it feels unreal."

Old Liang added food to his bowl with his chopsticks and said, "Don’t celebrate too soon. If you don’t do well in the exams, don’t you dare claim you’re Liang Liufang’s disciple. I won’t have you embarrassing me."

"Ah, heh heh..." Chen Qingyan quickly picked up the wine pot to refill the old man’s cup.

Now that his exam eligibility was restored, he had to prepare seriously. There were no county exams the following year; he would have to wait until the second month of the year after to take them, which coincided with Chen Qinghuai’s exam schedule.

Liang Boqing said, "The year after next is a major exam year. If you pass the county exam, you’ll take the prefectural exam in April, and after that, the provincial exam in August."

Normally, scholars would study at a prefectural school for a few years after passing the exams before attempting the provincial exam. But Chen Qingyan had already lost too much time. Liang Boqing planned to let him try directly.

"Master, do you think... I can do it?"

"Why not? Do you think those stuffy scholars at the prefectural schools have much to teach you?"

This was true. Although some prefectural school teachers were former jǔrén holders, most were lower-ranked graduates who had turned to teaching after failing to secure official posts. The truly capable scholars were all at the Imperial Academy in the capital, though it was not a place just anyone could enter.

Liang Boqing drank as he spoke of matters in the capital. Though he had never taken the imperial exams himself, the friends he associated with were all renowned scholars and great Confucians, each a distinguished figure in their own right.

The old man had always been proud of his talent, not easily impressed by anyone—and with good reason. Now that he had taken on disciples, he was even more eager to show them off to others, lest people say his reputation was unearned.

The moon climbed to the middle of the sky. Liang Boqing, drunk, was helped back to his room by Qing Huai and Qing Song. Li Shi and Qing Yun carried the sleeping Yuanbao to his room.

Only Chen Qingyan and A-Ying remained in the courtyard.

"Raising my cup, I invite the bright moon; with my shadow, we become three!" A-Ying, quite drunk, lifted his cup to clink with Chen Qingyan.

"A-Ying, no more drinking."

"I’m happy! I’m happy today!" A-Ying threw an arm around Chen Qingyan’s shoulder. "When you pass the provincial exam and become an official, our son will be an official’s child! Let’s see who dares bully us then!"

"Yes, yes, I’ll study hard and strive to pass the provincial exam," Chen Qingyan said, taking the cup from A-Ying’s hand and carrying him toward the backyard.

That night, the flickering lamplight cast their entwined shadows as the two embraced.