Chapter 180

Chapter 180

Upon Chen Qingyan’s return, Wang Ying immediately discussed with the family the arrangements for moving to the capital. She intended to take Yuanbao with her, as leaving him alone in the capital was simply too unsettling.

However, her mother-in-law would not be joining them. Qing Yun was due to give birth in a few months, and Qing Song was still attending the prefectural academy. She needed to remain behind to care for the two children.

With them gone, only widows and fatherless children would be left at home. Wang Ying was deeply worried. It would be ideal if Cao Kun and his entire family could also relocate, providing her mother-in-law with companionship.

Yet, this matter required careful deliberation. Relocating a business was a significant undertaking and demanded thorough planning.

Just as they were finishing their meal, a knock suddenly sounded at the private room door. Cao Kun rose to answer it and soon returned, ushering in the County Magistrate of Longquan.

Everyone promptly stood to greet him.

“No need for such formality, please, sit down,” the magistrate said with a broad smile, his gaze falling upon Chen Qingyan. “This must be Top Scholar Chen?”

Chen Qingyan cupped his hands in salute. “Indeed, it is I.”

“I heard Top Scholar Chen was returning, and your humble official has been eagerly awaiting. When might you be free to honor my residence with a visit?”

Chen Qingyan replied, “How about tomorrow?”

“Excellent! Then I shall not disturb your meal any further.”

The group rose and invited him to join them, but after a few polite exchanges, the magistrate declined and departed.

After seeing him off, Wang Ying suddenly realized how much their status had changed. This was the county magistrate, akin to a modern-day county head, yet he had shown such deference to her husband.

Returning from the restaurant, they had to arrange accommodations. The Cao family’s three bedrooms were insufficient for everyone. Chen Rong simply took Li Shu to stay with her in-laws, where only Cao’s mother resided. The two could chat and keep her company.

Cao Kun hitched the carriage and drove them over. The servants were all lodged at an inn in town. After resting for two nights, they would return to the village the day after tomorrow.

The next day, a sedan chair from the county yamen arrived, waiting outside the Cao residence to pick up Chen Qingyan. Cao Kun accompanied him and did not return until after lunch.

Inevitably, they came back with a pile of gifts, but Chen Qingyan exercised discretion, refusing anything overly valuable.

In truth, the magistrate had no pressing business with him—merely offering compliments and attempting to forge connections. A man of Chen Qingyan’s caliber was destined for great success, and it was always better to be on good terms than to create an adversary.

The county yamen also took charge of the ancestral hall project. Even before their return, the magistrate had dispatched officials to their hometown in Qingshui County to survey the land, intending to erect a Top Scholar memorial arch. Now, they could construct the ancestral hall simultaneously.

Early the next morning, the group set off by carriage for their hometown, Qingshui County. They planned to stay for a short while this time, only departing once the ancestral hall was completed.

The thought of returning to her old home filled Li Shi with joy. It was where she had lived for half her life, the place that held her most cherished memories, and the one she found hardest to leave.

Chen Rong and Lin Qiu also returned with them. Building the ancestral hall was a significant event, and as the sole daughter of the Chen family, Chen Rong naturally had to be present.

After three days of travel, they arrived at Qiushui Town. Returning to their hometown brought a sudden shift in atmosphere; even Wang Ying felt a wave of relaxation. Memories of her initial transmigration flooded her mind, one after another, leaving her with an indescribable mix of emotions.

As they passed by the shop they once owned, they saw Da Shun’s wife bargaining with someone at the doorway.

Er Shun excitedly called out, “Sister-in-law!”

“Oh!” Da Shun’s wife looked up and, after a moment, recognized Er Shun as the carriage driver. Overjoyed, she quickly concluded her sale and rushed over.

“Why are you back? Have the masters returned too?”

Er Shun nodded. “They’re all in the carriage. Is anyone home?”

“Yes, yes! Father and Mother are both home keeping watch. I’ll close up the shop and come back with you!”

Soon, they arrived at the house. Er Shun stopped the carriage and ran to knock on the door. After a few knocks, the side gate opened, and his nephew Huzi looked at him curiously, asking, “Who are you looking for?”

Er Shun laughed and playfully scolded, “You little rascal, you don’t even recognize your second uncle!”

Huzi froze. “Second Uncle! Second Uncle is back! Grandpa, Grandma, Second Uncle is back!”

“Hey, at least open the door before running off!”

After a moment, Chen Xi hurried over and opened the main gate. Seeing the carriages outside, he knew the masters had returned and excitedly said, “Come in, come in!”

Once the carriages were parked, everyone disembarked.

Looking at the familiar courtyard, Li Shi couldn’t help but tear up.

Chen Xi pulled his grandson forward to kowtow. “Greetings to the masters.”

Chen Qingyan quickly helped him up. “There’s no need for that. At your age, you mustn’t kneel.”

“How have you been this past year, Master?”

“Well, and how about you and Auntie?”

“Thanks to your blessings, we’ve been well too. She’s in the back garden tending to the vegetables and will be here soon. Please, come inside and rest.”

The entire family entered the main hall. Since no one had lived there for a while, the room, though regularly cleaned, had a musty smell. Wang Ying and Lin Sui quickly opened all the windows to air it out.

After a brief period of shyness, the children began running around the courtyard.

Li Shi stood by the window, looking out. “Seeing Yuanbao reminds me of when Chen Qingyan was little, running around the courtyard just like that.”

Chen Rong sighed. “Isn’t that the truth? Xiaomai is exactly like Qiu Er was as a child. In the blink of an eye, we’ve all grown old.”

After tidying the main hall, a few of them went to clean the back courtyard. Yang Shi was gardening in the small vegetable plot they had left behind. When she saw Wang Ying and the others, she was startled at first, then hurried over to greet them.

“Auntie, please rise. Er Shun is back too. Go to the front courtyard and see everyone.”

“Ah, good!”

The backyard rooms were locked. Wang Ying retrieved the key from under a stone by the door.

When she opened the door, a musty smell rushed out. She quickly opened the front and back windows to let the air circulate. The room was largely unchanged, just as it had been, though now covered in cobwebs and dust, making it look worn.

Chen Qingyan took a broom and swept away the cobwebs from the walls, then fetched a basin of water to wipe down the tables and windowsills. Wang Ying had brought plenty of bedding from the experimental field. Once the beds were cleaned, they laid out the bedding, restoring the room to its former appearance.

In the west courtyard, Lin Sui and Lin Qiu also cleaned their rooms, making them habitable for the night.

By the time everything was in order, it was time for dinner. Chen Xi sent his two sons to town to slaughter a pig, and at noon, they cooked a large pot of pork stew.

“We didn’t know the masters were returning, so we didn’t prepare anything.”

Li Shi said, “This isn’t someone else’s home. Why would we need to prepare anything?”

Once the meal was ready, the family gathered around the table for a reunion dinner. The only regret was that Qing Yun, being pregnant, couldn’t join them.

After the meal, Chen Xi said, “A few days ago, some people came from the county town saying they were going to build an arch for our family. I didn’t really understand, so I let them measure the land on the estate themselves.”

Wang Ying explained, “They were sent by the county yamen. Since Chen Qingyan passed the imperial examination as the Top Scholar, they’re building an arch in our honor.”

Chen Xi’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Heavens! This is incredible! The master actually became the Top Scholar! This is like the Star of Literature descending to earth!”

"We came back this time to build an ancestral hall on the estate to enshrine our ancestors' memorial tablets."

Chen Xi said, "This is a proper and important matter. Back when the old master was alive, he had considered building an ancestral hall, but he suddenly fell ill... and the plan was never carried out."

This was also an opportune moment to compile the family genealogy.

The news of Chen Qingyan's return as the Top Scholar spread throughout the town the very next day. People, both familiar and unfamiliar, came to visit in an endless stream. Among them were several ladies who were old friends of Li Shu and came to see her.

One of them was Madame Lu. Earlier, her son had been misled by Scholar Zhang and gathered a group of people to mock Chen Qingyan at the vegetable shop, causing him to fall ill from anger.

So many years had passed, and Chen Qingyan had now achieved the title of Top Scholar, while her son still hadn't accomplished anything.

A few years ago, during a flood, Master Lu fell ill and passed away. Her son was incompetent, and her daughter-in-law was sharp-tongued and difficult. Now, she lived a very stifled life and looked more than a decade older than before.

When they met, Li Shu hardly recognized her. It was only after speaking for a while that she realized it was Madame Lu, and her face immediately fell.

Madame Lu said awkwardly, "You still blame me, don’t you?"

"What happened was so long ago—there’s no grudge to speak of. I just don't care to keep up with your family."

Hearing this, Madame Lu’s face flushed bright red. "I just came to see you... I have matters to attend to at home, so I’ll take my leave now..." With that, she hurried away.

Madame Song, who was sitting nearby, whispered, "She’s having a hard time these days. After the flood, her family’s business declined. With Master Lu gone, her son can't land a good position but won't settle for a humble one—he keeps trying to pass the imperial exams but hasn’t even managed to become a xiucai. He’s wasted a lot of silver, and I heard that last year they had to sell their shop and now rely on a little rental income to get by."

Seeing an old friend reduced to such circumstances made her uncomfortable. Li Shi sighed and said, "Let’s not talk about her anymore. Earlier, you mentioned that your family had twin grandchildren?"

...

As the saying goes, "No one visits the poor in the city center; distant kin seek out the rich in the mountains."

For three or four days in a row, the threshold of their home was nearly worn down by visitors. Besides those bringing gifts, there were also those who wanted to offer Chen Qingyan a concubine, which annoyed Li Shu so much that she simply shut the door to visitors.

Chen Qingyan, Chen Qingsong, and Chen Xi went back to the estate together to discuss with the town officials and decided to build the ancestral hall on the site of the former villa.

All the men in the village came to help, and it was expected to be completed in about a month. During this time, Chen Qingyan also gathered all the relatives to fix up the family genealogy, filling in the gaps from the past.

The Chen family branch had moved here from elsewhere, and it was impossible to trace further back. They only knew the name of the great-grandfather, and below him were the grandfather and father.

Many of the side branches had lost touch, and several households had died out during the flood. It took only four or five days to complete the revision of the genealogy.

After finishing the genealogy, Chen Qingyan planned to take this opportunity to take his mother to Tianyang County. Although she never said it, she had always wanted to see her elder brother.

On the twenty-sixth of April, Chen Qingyan brought his younger brother and mother to visit her elder brother’s home.

Before leaving, Wang Ying advised Chen Qingyan to let his mother stay there for a few more days. The elders were getting old, and with such distance between them, each meeting was precious. It would likely be difficult to see each other again in the future.

He and Yuanbao did not go, as the child’s health couldn’t handle the journey. He had been suffering from diarrhea for several days, and his little face had thinned considerably. Still, his spirits were high, and he spent his days getting into mischief climbing trees and playing in the mud with Qing Er and Xiaomai.

Life in their hometown was slow and leisurely. They woke naturally each day, tidied the house, tended to the flowers and plants, and strolled through the courtyards of Lin Sui and Lin Qiu. A day passed just like that—nothing could be more comfortable.

This kind of life continued until mid-May, when the mother-in-law and the others returned from Tianyang County.

They brought back sad news: Elder Uncle Li had fallen ill and was now bedridden, with likely little time left...