Returning Empty-handed

Xu Wenwu raised his eyebrows and said: "Indeed, someone did come knocking on my door. I turned them away. Did you face the same thing, Brother Zheng?"

Zheng Yaoyang nodded: "Yes, but I didn't know who they were, so I just made up an excuse to get rid of them. I neither accepted nor rejected their offer."

Xu Wenwu remarked: "Judging by the timing, it couldn't have been the same person we encountered!"

Zheng Yaoyang replied: "I think there's something fishy going on here. The person even said that if I agreed to join them, they'd secure me a position in the capital—not just any position, but one that would ensure my prosperity. Anyone who can talk like that must be someone of significant influence."

Su Chenyu agreed: "That's true. It was probably some high-ranking official in the capital who wanted to recruit promising students. If we had joined them, we would have naturally been aligned with them once we started our careers as officials."

Zheng Yaoyang pondered for a moment and said: "This person's ambition is no small thing. But they're cautious too. Since I didn't agree, they didn't reveal who they're working for."

Xu Wenwu stated: "We don't know what the real situation is within the court right now."

Zheng Yaoyang sighed and shook his head: "Brother Xu, will you be joining us in the capital for the next examination?"

Xu Wenwu nodded: "That's right, I am planning to go to the capital. Brother Zheng, what about you? What are your plans for the future?"

Zheng Yaoyang smiled: "I just want to be a small-time official and do some good for the people in my area. That's all I ask for."

Xu Wenwu nodded: "Well, then I wish you all the best, Brother Zheng."

"Thanks for the good wishes."

"What about you, Brother Bai? Any plans?"

Bai Zeyu smiled wryly: "I'm not sure yet. I want to keep taking the exams, but I don't have much confidence!"

Zheng Yaoyang patted him on the shoulder: "Hang in there! Don't give up hope. It's too early to say you can't do it. You won't know unless you try."

Bai Zeyu nodded.

The three of them chatted about their thoughts on some books. When they saw it was getting late, the younger ones tactfully took their leave.

After sending them off, Xu Wenwu pondered for a moment. He felt he needed to tell Su Chenyu and Jing Chen about this. After all, the two were no ordinary people.

Xu Wenwu recounted Zheng Yaoyang's encounter to them.

Su Chenyu slapped his head: "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Cousin, what do you make of this?"

Jing Chen let out a cold laugh: "That old fox isn't bothering to hide his plans at all, is he!"

"He's just trying to gather support for Feiyu!" Su Chenyu said: "There's already a trend among officials to pick sides. I bet that old fox is pushing this from the shadows."

"Is that all you think his ambition amounts to?" Jing Chen asked: "Feiyu could hardly function without him!"

Su Chenyu frowned: "Are you suggesting he's a puppet master?"

Jing Chen didn't respond, his thoughts inscrutable.

After a moment's consideration, Su Chenyu asked: "Should we report this?"

"Are you sure the Prime Minister was being subtle?" Jing Chen countered: "I bet he knows already."

"Then why not stop them?"

"It's not time yet, is it?"

Although Jing Chen harbored resentment toward his paternal Emperor, over the past two years, he had noticed many instances where the Emperor was displeased with the Prime Minister's behavior.

For the Prime Minister to try meddling with something as important as the imperial succession—does he not care about the Ye family at all?! thought Jing Chen. No Emperor would be willing to let a subject lord over him.

Xu Wenwu also picked up on some clues from their conversation.

Su Chenyu observed: "That Zheng fellow is quite cunning. Most people would have accepted such generous offers without thinking twice!"

Xu Wenwu said: "Yeah, we haven't spent much time together, but from what I've seen, he seems like a respectable guy."

Su Chenyu shifted his eyes thoughtfully and said: "If he's only ranked below you, he must have some skills. We should try to recruit him to our side. If he's talented, that'd be even better!"

Jing Chen asked: "Are you planning to follow my example?"

Su Chenyu replied: "I don't have that much free time. I'm just saying that we don't need to go out of our way for this Zheng guy. He's already in Xujia Village, so if I have spare moments, I'll test him out and see if he's worth my attention."

The next day, Xu Dabo hitched up his cart and headed to town. Using his mother's influence, he planned to find a shop to sell the village girls' embroidered goods.

After breakfast, the old man called Qibao over and said: "Qibao, I looked at the blueprints you gave me, and after talking with the village chief, we think they'll work. Yesterday afternoon, we found some skilled carpenters to start building. That big slide thing will take a while, probably close to a month to finish."

Qibao nodded and said: "No rush, we need to make several of each! There's no point in rushing if the quality isn't right. If we don't make sure everything is safe, there could be accidents."

"Qibao, don't worry." The old man said: "I've made sure they'll use solid wood. They know how important this is and will do their best."

"That's good." Qibao smiled: "Thank you for all your hard work, Grandpa."

The old man laughed and tousled Qibao's hair: "Silly girl, you don't need to thank Grandpa. I'm not the one doing all the work! Your little head is the one that's so smart. Grandpa is just running some errands. It's not that hard!"

Qibao wrapped her arms around the old man's arm and playfully said: "Grandpa, it's not my head that's working hard at all! Your granddaughter's brain is sharp as ever!"

The old man laughed heartily: "That's right! In our family, Qibao has the sharpest mind!"

The grandfather and granddaughter enjoyed this warm and loving moment together.

Jing Chen's lips softened into a small smile. This girl sure smiles more than before. He couldn't help but think about his grandmother back in the palace. She must be thinking of me too, he bet! His heart felt warm at the thought.

Then his mind wandered to another face—someone who looked just like him. Before he could fully form the image, he pushed the thought aside.

In the afternoon, Xu Dabo returned with a worried look on his face.

"Xu Dabo, what happened? Why this state?"

Xu Dabao handed the horse reins to Fifth Brother Kui, sat down, and took a sip of water: "Mother." He said, addressing Mrs. Wang: "I've asked around town, but no one wants to sell their shop." 

Mrs. Wang was surprised and asked: "No way, didn't someone sell a shop every now and then in this town? Have you asked the landlord?"

Xu Dabo replied: "Yes, Fang Yazi said that it was because of our village that the popularity of the whole town was boosted. The more people there are, the better the business will be. Who else would be stupid enough to sell a shop? Besides, there are some merchants from other places who want to come in and share a piece of the pie. Fang Yazi had a few shops before, but they were all bought by them in advance. We are a step late. "

"Ah..."

Madame Qian said: "It doesn't matter. Since we don't have it, forget it. It's the same if we sell it in the village. As long as we can embroider it well, we don't have to worry about not being able to sell it."

Qibao took out a stack of papers from her bosom and handed it to Madam Qian, saying: "Auntie Ru, these are the patterns I prepared. Although you didn't get to buy the shop, my words definitely count. I prepared these patterns in advance."

Madame Qian took the stack of patterns from Qibao and started flipping through them. As she looked, her surprise grew, until she was openly amazed by the end.