Chapter 116
"Take a look at your newly arranged room. See if there's anything missing or anything you'd like to add. This side gets plenty of sunlight. We didn't even hire workers for this, your father rebuilt it with his own hands."
Xu He led Little Ruili to see the new wing room. With both children grown up, sharing a room had become inconvenient. Now that Ruijin needed to focus on his exams, it was the perfect time to move Ruili to his own space.
"Huh?" Ruili’s mouth hung open. He had wondered why there had been so much hammering and fixing at home lately, his father had even told him it was because the roof was leaking. But it turned out they were preparing a room for him! After looking around, he had to admit the new room was nice, spacious, and bright, but still: “I’d rather stay with my brother.”
He and his brother were inseparable as body and shadow. Having shared a crib since birth with his identical twin, the thought of separation was unbearable. Who would he kick at night? Who would he steal blankets from? He'd never be able to sleep alone.
[形影不离 (xíng yǐng bù lí): lit. Inseparable as body and shadow; fig. Extremely close companionship]
"Your brother will be studying late for his exams with candles burning. Aren't you afraid he'll keep you awake?"
"Ugh, I can put up with it for a few days! Besides, he hardly ever studies in the room, he’s always in the study reading and writing. He wouldn’t bother me at all"
Xu He grabbed the escaping boy by the collar. Ruili had always clung to his brother like a shadow, of course he'd resist being separated. Seeing excuses wouldn't work, Xu He changed tactics: "You're both too old to share a room, people will laugh if word gets out. When your brother marries someday, will you still squeeze into the same room? Better get used to your own space now."
"I don't want to!" Ruili flopped onto the daybed like a petulant kitten. "Then I'll just marry brother! Then we won't have to separate."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Xu He flicked Ruili's forehead. "Family members can't marry each other!"
Rubbing his stinging forehead, Ruili argued back: "But Uncle married his cousin! He said it's called 'kinship on top of kinship' - wouldn't marrying brother make us even closer?"
[亲上加亲 (qīn shàng jiā qīn): lit. Kinship on top of kinship; fig. Strengthening family ties through marriage between relatives.]
Xu He's fists clenched involuntarily. "Do you want a beating?!"
Ruili scrambled to the far end of the daybed like a startled rabbit. "But it's true!"
"Cousins are distant relatives - not people who grew up under the same roof!"
Hugging a pillow to his chest, Ruili pouted in defiance: "Even if brother doesn't marry me, he won't marry anyone else. He always says he wants to 'study until old age' - when would he even have time to marry?"
"Your brother actually takes his studies seriously, unlike a certain naughty child."
"Hmph!"
Xu He sat down heavily on the daybed. "If you don't help the servants move your things today, you're forbidden from leaving the house. And who knows, those clumsy servants might accidentally let your precious crickets escape..."
With that threat hanging in the air, Xu He stood to leave. Ruili immediately sprang up in panic: "Don't touch them! I'll move everything myself!"
Ruijin happened to emerge from the study just then, seeing his little brother trailing after Xu He like a duckling. "Moving out today?"
"Brother, quick! Stop father!"
Ruili grabbed Ruijin's sleeve desperately, but his brother remained as immovable as a mountain. Realizing he'd been betrayed, Ruili's eyes welled up: "You...you've been wanting to get rid of me all along, haven't you?!"
"Not for long. Just since yesterday."
"You...you don't love me anymore!" Ruili's voice cracked with theatrical despair.
By mid-May, a letter arrived from Suzhou - Zhang Xiaotian and Xiaoxuan's trade trip had gone remarkably smoothly, with most goods already sold at good prices. They would be returning ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Qi's second martial arts school flourished as well as the first. With his child's first birthday approaching and a new house purchased, he planned to combine the housewarming and birthday celebration - unfortunately scheduled for the same day as the Tongsheng exam, as both events had been set for this particularly auspicious date on the lunar calendar.
The Zhang family suddenly found itself stretched thin, needing to send people to help at the Zhuang family's event while ensuring Ruijin's exam preparations weren't neglected.
In earlier years when imperial exams were first being emphasized, the Tongsheng exam had been split into county and prefecture tests. Candidates needed to pass both before advancing. But with both stages being extremely strict, the court found itself short of qualified candidates for higher exams. Thus the system was reformed - the two tests were combined into one with five consecutive examination sessions.
The summer heat had already begun bearing down mercilessly. At dawn, wealthy families accompanied their young examinees to the testing site. Xu He personally double-checked Ruijin's examination box - while not as strict as higher-level exams, any irregularity in writing materials or suspicious items could lead to disqualification. What's worse, because of the mutual guarantee system, any infraction would affect all five students in their examination group.
As servants prepared the carriage at first light, Little Ruili - whose school had closed for the exam period - dragged himself from bed like a sleepy bear cub. Despite barely being able to keep his eyes open, he'd promised to see his brother off.
"Just a trial exam. No need to be nervous." Zhang Fangyuan adjusted Ruijin's collar.
"I know." Ruijin's calm demeanor never wavered.
When the family arrived at the examination site, they found it already swarming like an overturned ant nest. While higher-level exams had fewer candidates, this preliminary Tongsheng exam drew the largest crowds, mostly children under ten escorted by entire families.
Thank you si much for the updates!!!
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