Transmigrated As A Scholar Chapter 4 Part 2

On his way back, Fang Yu secretly felt fortunate. Fortunately, the family residence was large, with each person having their own courtyard. This distance, not too far and not too close, was just right. If the two of them lived in the same room, that would be a real headache.

Returning to his room, his stomach was still a bit bloated. He wasn't in a hurry to rest and wandered around his own room for a bit.

Fang Yu lived in the main room, which was also the largest. It not only had a separate bedroom and dining room but also a study.

The study was elegant and refined, with two bookshelves holding historical texts and poetry. Between the bookshelves was a long desk with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Two meters away was a small table holding things like a teapot.

Fang Yu walked to the long desk. The original owner usually studied here. The desk still held many articles he had written before. Fang Yu observed that the handwriting was not only neat but also possessed a sharp, vigorous quality with strong structural strokes; it was precisely what one would expect from a scholar who had studied for over a decade. It was just that the articles deliberately used ornate rhetoric and embellishment, being overly flashy without substance.

Since the original owner passed the imperial examination at fourteen and became a Xiucai, five years had passed and he was still just a Xiucai. There were countless hidden dragons and crouching tigers outside. Previously, the original owner had taken the provincial examination twice, but the results weren't ideal.

[秀才 (xiù cai): a person who passed the county-level imperial exam in ancient China]

Fang Yu thought carefully. Given the current situation, wanting to go back was already impossible. If he stayed, he had to live and get by. Business was currently not a good path. As the saying goes, "all trades are worthless, only studying is high." Given his present circumstances, persisting in his studies to pursue the imperial examinations wasn't a bad way out.

The next eighth lunar month would bring the triennial provincial examination. He felt a faint stirring of anticipation within him.

He hadn't held a writing brush to write for a long time, and his hand felt very unfamiliar now. He found a collection of essays to copy and practice his handwriting. He had been ill these past few days and had asked for leave from the academy. In a couple more days, he should return to the academy to continue his classes. That way, life shouldn't be so boring.

The next day, at daybreak, Fang Yu got up, tidied himself, and went to Changshou Hall for breakfast and to pay respects. This was something the original owner did daily when he was around.

Previously, the original owner's family lived in the countryside, in two earthen houses. The place was only the size of a palm, and the family saw each other all the time, eating every meal together, so there was no such thing as paying respects.

Later, Fang Yu passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai. That year happened to be the fourth year of the He Li era. The Pingyang Emperor issued an edict emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce. The status of scholars greatly increased. Xiucai not only were exempt from corvee labor, didn't have to kneel before officials, received five taels of silver monthly from the court, but were also allotted ten mu of good farmland without having to pay taxes.

[1 mu: approximately 0.165 acres or 666.67 square meters]

The Fang family's life improved greatly and they became people of status in Fangju Village for a time. But the expenses of studying were also high. Most of the silver received monthly was spent on Fang Yu's studies and socializing with poetry friends. The Fang mother and son weren't good at managing finances either. Although they possessed fertile land, they failed to cultivate it properly, letting the cousin's family take advantage of their relationship and claim the lion's share of the profits, leaving little revenue for themselves.

With such expenditures, the Fang family's finances remained strained, barely covering their basic needs. It was at this juncture that a merchant family from the city proposed a marriage alliance, which the Fang family accepted. This arrangement was only possible because they married the Qiao family's only son; otherwise, how could the Fang family have sustained such spending? In earlier times, even consuming meat had been a source of heartfelt distress.

The Qiao family had few members, with only one young ger raised delicately. After the two families married, the Fang family first received a two-entry courtyard house in the city, then few shops. The dowry of jewels, gold, and silver amounted to thousands.

The Fang family now had both prestige and family assets. The house was larger, they had more money, and with over ten maids and servants, they began putting on airs as masters, learning the rules of wealthy families.

Each master had their own courtyard. Unless specifically summoned, they ate meals in their own courtyards.

Fang Yu usually went to the academy to study and didn't return for lunch. In the evening, he usually drank and gathered with poetry friends, so only breakfast was eaten at Madam Chen's place.

"It's really cold today."

"Master, please hold this tangpozi. It's the beginning of winter today, and the north wind is indeed freezing."

[汤婆子 (tāngpózi): a traditional Chinese hand and body warmer, typically a sealed metal or ceramic vessel filled with hot water, used to provide portable heat.]

[北风 (běi fēng): lit. north wind; fig. representing a cold, harsh, and unwelcome force or change, often symbolizing adversity or the arrival of winter] 

Fang Yu took the tangpozi with exquisitely sewn cloth wrapped around it, making his hands warm. He glanced at his personal servant, Xuezhu, who followed him. He looked only about fourteen or fifteen, bought only after Fang Yu got married. Originally, the Qiao family wanted to arrange all the servants, but Madam Chen felt they would all be spies and wouldn't serve wholeheartedly, so except for those in Qiao Hezhi's courtyard, the rest were all bought and employed by herself.

But after all, they hadn't served him from the start. Although he was a personal servant, the original owner didn't like to keep him by his side. Moreover, having come from poverty, he wasn't used to being served like this. When he became a master, he didn't act like one, and the servants were all distant.

Fang Yu saw the servant's clothes weren't even lined and were still in the autumn style, just with two extra layers piled on: "It's already winter now. Why are you still dressed so thinly?"

"The Old Madam said to wait until the New Year to issue new winter clothes. For now, we have to make do with the autumn ones. Anyway, we're working and it's not too cold."

The servant moved his arms in a deliberately relaxed manner.

Hearing this, Fang Yu frowned. Matters of the inner household, unless particularly major, were generally not managed by men. Everything was managed by the household's internal head.

Before marriage, the affairs of the Fang family's inner household were undoubtedly managed by Madam Chen. But after marriage, they should be managed by Qiao Hezhi. However, Madam Chen had just begun to enjoy the authority of an old matriarch and was naturally unwilling to hand over the management rights to Qiao Hezhi.

Fang Yu had not originally wanted to inquire about these matters, but after seeing that even the master's personal servant was living so shabbily in the middle of winter, he suspected others had it even worse. Servants were people too. If Madam Chen continued to be this stingy and oppressive, trouble was bound to arise sooner or later.

"This year is colder than previous years. How can their bodies hold out until the New Year when winter clothes are issued? Later, go to the accounts room, withdraw some silver, and go buy winter clothes for the servants in the residence. Two sets per person."

The servant was first surprised, then overjoyed: "Thank you, Master. This servant thanks you on behalf of everyone for your kindness."

Fang Yu waved his hand.

When he went out, the sky was already bright. In winter, the sky lightens late, It was probably already chenshi two marks (7:30 AM).

He strode through the garden to Changshou. The morning wind carried frost, and the grass, trees, and plants in the garden were covered in a layer of white. It was so cold that his exhaled breath came out in puffs of mist.

Fang Yu thought that getting up early in winter to pay respects was really an unpleasant thing. It felt exactly like reporting for duty, perhaps even worse. At least with work one received wages, but paying respects not only brought no income but also meant facing the vexing Old Madam Chen. It was genuine suffering.

He thought he had come early enough, but when he arrived at the Changshou Hall, he saw the master and servant standing at the door of the room from the courtyard entrance.

Qiao Hezhi was wearing a plain white fur cloak, his head slightly bowed as he waited quietly at the door. It was unknown how long he had been there, but the joints of his pale, clasped fingers were already red from the cold.