He Fulang looked dejected. “My husband will not let me go pick him up. He says I cannot read a single character and would only embarrass him.”
Lu Yang thought that, at the very least, this was one of the man’s better qualities. Most people whose lives were unhappy grew jealous of others. He Fulang, however, blamed everything on himself. He did not utter a single sour remark.
“Hurry back inside and eat your liangfen,” Lu Yang said. “I have to go. If I am any later, I will be late.”
He Fulang nodded and stood at the doorway watching him for a long time.
Lu Yang made his way with practiced familiarity to the prefectural academy. Outside, he saw Xie Yan standing in front of a carriage, a look of almost filial admiration on his face—like a son seeing his own father.
Just as Lu Yang was wondering about it, Xie Yan stretched out his hand and the person inside the carriage smacked his palm twice.
Lu Yang: “……”
He lifted his foot, but forcibly restrained himself from speaking and remained standing at a distance, watching.
The carriage was understated, with no carved patterns on the wooden panels. The window lattice was plain and square, without decorative trim.
Sharp-eyed, Lu Yang noticed a layer of gauze behind the lattice. What kind of household was so lavish as to install gauze screens in a carriage to keep out insects?
He hesitated, unsure whether he should approach. Just then Xie Yan spotted him, delight overflowing across his face.
“Jingzhi! Come quickly! Uncle Cui is waiting here for you!”
Carrying the food box, Lu Yang walked over. He had long heard of this “Uncle Cui” and knew the old gentleman had treated Xie Yan well and taught him much.
Lu Yang’s manner was respectful, his smile sincere. He performed the proper greeting of a junior and sweetly called out, “Uncle Cui.” He said, “I have long heard Ah Yan speak of you. He says you have taken great care of him. When he came to attend classes at the prefectural academy this time, he did not see you. At home, he often mentions you, always worried. He even asked around everywhere, but did not know where you lived, so he could not find the way to pay a visit. It is wonderful that you have met today—now he can finally set his mind at ease.”
After hearing this stream of words from Lu Yang and seeing Xie Yan grinning foolishly beside him, Old Mister Cui smiled. “I am afraid he does not truly miss me.”
Xie Yan spoke with complete sincerity. “I did. I missed you several times.”
“When did you miss me?” the old gentleman asked.
“When I first arrived and could not find you,” Xie Yan replied. “And later, whenever I encountered a difficult problem, I would think of you.”
Lu Yang: “……”
Why did his top scholar still talk like this? Where exactly had he gone wrong in teaching him?
After listening, Old Mister Cui turned to look at Lu Yang. Seeing his stiff expression, he burst into hearty laughter. “All right, I have met you. It is time for me to go. You may head back.”
Judging the old man’s age, Lu Yang did not offer the food box.
The liangfen was spicy. An elderly stomach might not handle it well. Next time, he would prepare something else to bring.
As the carriage began to leave, Xie Yan grabbed Lu Yang and followed it for several steps.
“Will you come to the academy tomorrow? I will go to the quiet chamber to find you. What time will you come? Not too late—I have to go home.”
Lu Yang felt as if the sky had collapsed.
Old Mister Cui did not answer. Through the thin gauze behind the window lattice, he listened to Xie Yan’s questions, observed Lu Yang’s expression, and laughed again, clapping his hands.
Xie Yan had no idea what was so amusing. After trailing the carriage a few more steps, he stopped and stood there for a moment. Turning back to Lu Yang, he said, “That is wonderful. Uncle Cui must really like you!”
Lu Yang asked dryly, “How can you tell?”
“He smiled as soon as he saw you,” Xie Yan said. “And laughed so loudly. If that is not liking you, what is it?”
Lu Yang: “……”
Because I looked ridiculous.
He handed the food box to Xie Yan. “Take it to the dormitory and share it with your roommates.”
Xie Yan accepted it and told him to wait, then ran inside to deliver the liangfen.
Lu Yang sat down on the steps at the academy gate, hands resting on his knees, gazing at the broad road ahead. He thought to himself, Never mind. Everyone has their own fate.
Some people spend their entire lives scheming, yet prefer dealing with someone simplehearted. Besides, his top scholar was not truly that simple.
Xie Yan returned quickly, running all the way. Before he even reached the gate, he was already calling, “Jingzhi!” By the time they met, Lu Yang had risen to his feet, adjusted his mood, and put on a smiling face.
“Let us go home. I saved you a large bowl of liangfen. We already ate this afternoon. It tastes excellent!”
Xie Yan nodded eagerly. “Yes! When I took it out just now, Ji Mingzhu had two bites and kept praising it. He even told me to ask you where you bought it, saying it tastes better than the liangfen he buys outside—especially the peanuts. They are crisp and fragrant. When you bite them together with the liangfen, the flavor is incredible!”
Lu Yang could not stop smiling. Walking hand in hand with him, he lifted his chin in pride. “I shelled the peanuts this afternoon and fried them right before packing the food box. The oil heat had not even faded—they were perfectly crisp. You cannot buy that outside.”
Xie Yan exclaimed, “Wow, wow! My Jingzhi is amazing. You have worked so hard for me. Tonight, I will definitely make it up to you.”
Lu Yang smacked him.
How dare he flirt with him in the street!
Seeing how cheerful Xie Yan was, Lu Yang asked about it, and the answer was just as he expected.
Old Mister Cui had returned and resumed his role as the keeper of the quiet chamber. Xie Yan had been happy since morning. At noon he had even gone outside to wait, though Lu Yang had not come. He had bottled up this joy all day, and by afternoon he could not suppress it any longer. As he walked along the road, the corners of his mouth nearly stretched to his ears.
Lu Yang said sourly, “Look at how happy you are. When will you ever pine for me like that?”
“I already did,” Xie Yan replied. “That is why he did not rush home this afternoon—he wanted to see you before leaving.”
Lu Yang called him foolish again. “When you see him, why not discuss your studies? Why keep bringing me up?”
“I do not know,” Xie Yan said. “After just a few sentences, you came up. We changed the topic, and somehow it turned back to you again. He hit my palm several times. Hehe.”
Lu Yang could not hold back his laughter either.
They lingered at the gate for a while and arrived home later than usual.
Li Feng had returned earlier and brought back two watermelons. One had already been cut open, a basin of slices set on the bamboo couch, and he was calling them over to eat.
At the sight, Lu Yang’s head began to buzz.
What was he supposed to do? He had not saved any liangfen for Li Feng.
Not only had he failed to save any, but Xie Yan made matters worse.
Xie Yan ran into the kitchen, brought out his bowl of liangfen, and ate it while circling around Li Feng.
“Who does not have liangfen bought by their husband? Who does not have liangfen bought by their husband? It is Li Feng!”
The watermelon in Lu Liu’s hand no longer tasted sweet.
Zhao Peilan had no idea what had gotten into Xie Yan. She grabbed him and pulled him back inside, not allowing him to step out of the courtyard again.
Both fathers surrounded Lu Yang and chattered at him. “Yang Ge’er, this is not good. How can you bully Dafeng like this?”
Lu Yang pressed a hand to his forehead.
The inns and restaurants were still open at night, and some vendors packed up late.
Lu Yang said he would go buy another portion. Lu Liu went with him.
The two brothers left the alley and immediately burst into laughter.
They could not quite explain what was so funny, but they kept bumping into each other, laughing as they walked.
Lu Liu said, “Brother, you are right. No matter what happens with them, as long as we two are affectionate with each other, that is enough.”
Lu Yang nodded. “Exactly. It is only a bowl of liangfen. Look at how anxious those two got.”
Then Lu Liu asked, “Brother, where are the peanuts you shelled this afternoon? Why did you not give me any?”
Lu Yang: “……”
All right. Understood.
They would buy another basin, and everyone would get a refill.
In the sixth month, there was a grand market in the prefectural city.
The officials cleared the streets and began preparations five days in advance.
The grand market was set for the thirteenth. By the eleventh, everything had been arranged. The eldest young master of the Hong family would come to inspect, and Li Feng’s assignment as a guard officially began.
The market was held at the crossroads near the yamen, centered on Minfu Street and Minzu Street. In total, there were eight main streets and twelve smaller lanes.
The shops along the main streets remained open as usual. Areas in front of the storefronts had already been marked out for stalls. Most of these establishments were inns and restaurants; a few operated purely as lodging houses. There was one money house and two pawnshops. All were two-story buildings. Between them, lengths of cloth had been stretched overhead to provide shade while allowing light through.
Li Feng looked up. The shade cloths were all pale in color. Each street section used a different hue. From a distance, he could see water blue, pale green, goose yellow, soft pink, and more. He remembered that Xie Yan wore garments made of this very fabric. One bolt cost four taels of silver.
The fabric was narrow in width. To cover all eight main streets like this, the cloth alone would cost over a thousand taels of silver.
It was truly a grand display of wealth.
