Chapter 86 Discussion

Chapter 86: Discussion

After the heavy rain, the weather turned cold. Song Tingzhou only rested at home for one day, and the next day he brought gifts to visit the teacher of the Yizi Class together with Zhu Zening and Wu Zhaoyuan.

Since they had passed the provincial exam, it was only proper to go and thank the teacher. Although the teacher was not a formal master, he had indeed taught them with dedication, so they ought to hold a banquet in his honor.

After the thank-you banquet, it was no longer appropriate for them, as successful provincial graduates, to remain in the Yi Class. They were assigned to the Jia Class according to the rank list.

The Jiazi and Jiachou classes were for those preparing for the spring metropolitan exam in February of the following year. Song Tingzhou and Wu Zhaoyuan, having slightly better rankings, were placed in Jiayin Class, waiting for the candidates in the Zichou classes to take the metropolitan exam. If they failed, the classes would be reorganized based on scores, making room for outstanding candidates among the new provincial graduates.

Zhu Zening was near the bottom of the list, so he should have been assigned to Jiaxu Class. But Third Master Zhu, upon learning that his son had passed the exam, dropped everything and rushed back to Changping. How could he be content with Zhu Zening being placed in a lower class? He secretly donated a large sum of silver and managed to buy his son into Jiamao Class.

At least it was closer to his friends, and Zhu Zening was quite satisfied.

Song Tingzhou resumed his daily routine of attending the prefectural school. Since it was close to home, it only took him about half an hour to walk there.

In contrast, Wu Zhaoyuan, who had also passed the exam, was not as carefree as he had imagined.

"Mother, if you keep causing trouble, I'll have no choice but to buy a farm outside the city and send you there." Wu Zhaoyuan lived with his mother in a one-courtyard house in the southern part of town, but in a different direction from the Song family.

Lady Fan, over thirty, was still fair-skinned and beautiful, like a delicate flower reflected in water.

Scolded by her son, she complained in a delicate, aggrieved tone, her beautiful eyes welling with tears, "After all, I am your father's woman. How can I hide away forever and never see him again?"

In her heart, she still relied on Prefect Wu rather than her son. In other words, she longed for the power that Prefect Wu could command with a wave of his hand. Even as his concubine kept outside, the shop managers would still defer to her.

If she really cut ties with the Wu family, relying only on her son, they might not even be able to afford servants. Her delicate skin and slender hands—how much money did they need to maintain? Just one month in Fengtian had made her feel several years older. What Lady Fan feared more than being framed by the principal wife was that period in Fengtian.

Wu Zhaoyuan said incredulously, "The principal wife sold you away with Father's tacit approval. Do you think he would defy his legal wife's wishes for you?"

Lady Fan clung to her son's arm, pleading, "Your father still has a place for me in his heart. Once I explain to him what happened in the inner quarters, he will take me back."

Wu Zhaoyuan clenched his fists, "I told you, if you keep deluding yourself and causing trouble, I will buy a farm outside the city and send you there."

"Where would you get the money to buy a farm?" Lady Fan, like a parasitic vine, relied on Prefect Wu, but she knew her son's shortcomings well.

Wu Zhaoyuan's voice was cold, and he said in a stern tone, "As long as you don't make trouble, I will find a way!"

---

The weather turned cold, and life returned to calm. Meng Wan also felt inclined to write a perfect ending for his third volume of *Human-Demon Romance*.

He blew on the manuscript, spread it on the desk to dry, put down his brush, stood up, and stretched—all in one smooth motion.

"I should also send word to Huang Zheng and start preparing everything."

The sky outside was still fine. Meng Wan put on his outer robe and had just stepped out of the room when Chang Jinhua called him, "Wan Geer, come here."

"Coming~"

Meng Wan walked into the main room and was greeted by a floor full of cloth scraps. Chang Jinhua and Bi Yun were busy on the heated brick bed (kang), with three piles of finished clothes on the edge.

"How many have you two made?" Meng Wan was astonished.

Chang Jinhua massaged her waist, "We've been busy for over half a month. It's not like you haven't seen this before."

"Mother, you're a true tailor. Why don't you open a ready-made clothing shop? It would be packed with customers." Meng Wan flattered his mother-in-law as usual.

"If it weren't for Bi Yun helping me, I wouldn't have made so many. Next year, go buy ready-made clothes from a shop."

Chang Jinhua was now almost immune to Meng Wan's sweet talk. She picked up a finished long gown with a padded lining and handed it to Meng Wan, "Go try it on to see if it fits. I can only make big cotton-padded jackets. Bi Yun taught me how to make this long gown. He knows many patterns."

Meng Wan picked up his bamboo-green long gown and looked at the finished ones. "Why is my garment still made of brocade cloth?"

He felt the bamboo-patterned brocade on it. A bolt probably cost eight or nine taels of silver. "And there's jacquard? A plain surface would be fine."

Chang Jinhua was displeased. Now that her son had passed the provincial exam, the family was not short of money. Meng Wan was only seventeen, running around for the family all day, and in the village, he dressed old-fashioned to avoid attracting attention. Now that life was better and there was no gossip, it was time to dress Wan Geer more brightly.

"Look at Jiang Fulang next door. He's almost twice your age, yet every piece of clothing and accessory he wears is exquisite. Only you, so young, dress in plain clothes all day. It's one thing for colors not to be flashy, but now even a pattern is unacceptable?"

Those who don't do the work have no right to criticize. Meng Wan quickly apologized, "Alright, alright, who said it's not acceptable? I don't know how beautiful it is. I've never worn anything so lovely in my life. I absolutely love it."

Chang Jinhua's room also had a screen. He went behind it, hung up his outer robe, and changed into the new bamboo-green long gown.

The collar was a stand-up collar with a slanting placket. The cuffs were not tight but also not wide sleeves; they hung loosely with room for three fists.

Meng Wan felt inside the sleeves and found pockets sewn in. In the old days at Sanquan Village, Chang Jinhua used to sew pockets into the chest area. The pockets in this garment were probably sewn by Bi Yun.

Meng Wan was tall, and Chang Jinhua had carefully measured his figure before cutting. Now that he wore the gown, it fell just to his feet, loose at the waist, and he needed a wide waistband to cinch it.

He gathered the clothes and went out to show Chang Jinhua. She looked at him with delight, "Not bad. There's still a few feet of iris-blue brocade. I'll make you another set tomorrow."

Bi Yun also said, "Fulang, I added some cotton padding. If it gets colder, you can wear it as a layer, and then put a fur coat over it to block the wind and keep warm."

Chang Jinhua asked curiously, "What's a fur coat? Is it one of those with fur edges that noble ladies wear?"

Bi Yun patiently described, "A fur coat is made of animal skins, with fur trimmings that look nice and keep you warm."

Meng Wan was worried they would tire themselves out, "You've been working for so many days, Mother. You should rest for a while. There's no hurry to wear them."

Chang Jinhua tidied the clothes on the kang, "Now that we're not running the breakfast stall, I'm bored all day long. Making a few clothes isn't tiring. I've finished two sets for my son and put them here. You can take them to your room. These two are for Xue Sheng—short padded jackets are convenient for his work. Bi Yun, take these to his room."

She handed out the clothes to Meng Wan and Bi Yun, thinking to herself: Wan Geer has grown a bit taller than when he was in the village, and also taller than when they first arrived in the prefectural city. Bi Yun was half a head shorter. She could alter Meng Wan's old clothes for Bi Yun to wear—they were made of fine cotton, not too shabby for a servant.

She would leave that to Bi Yun, who was good with needlework, and let him alter them himself.

Chang Jinhua had her own considerations. Her son needed to dress decently for his studies. Wan Geer, as a husband in the family, was friends with the young man from the Nie family. They often played together, and the Nie family was wealthy, so their clothes were naturally sumptuous. The family's money came from Wan Geer's earnings, so there was no reason for him to dress worse than others.

Meng Wan carried the clothes back to his room and put them in the wardrobe. Then he took out a small locked chest from the cabinet next to the kang, which held the family's silver, Xue Sheng and Bi Yun's deeds, the household register, and other valuables.

He took out eighty taels of silver. Chang Jinhua must have spent a lot on buying fabric. He didn't know if the silver he had given her for household expenses was still there, so he decided to give her more in one go.

The fur coat that Bi Yun mentioned was indeed worth preparing. Furs were expensive, and one had to search thoroughly before buying. And if he bought the furs home, Chang Jinhua would definitely be reluctant to have one made for herself, so it was better to take the furs to a tailor shop.

"Any news on your business? Winter is almost here."

In the Changbei Playhouse, Meng Wan and Nie Zhiyao were listening to storytelling again.

Meng Wan shelled and ate peanuts, "The third volume is a bit later than I expected. Don't worry, don't worry."

Nie Zhiyao asked with interest, "Oh, so you mean you've finished it? Let me see it first."

Meng Wan, without another word, took a storybook from his bosom and handed it to him.

Nie Zhiyao chuckled lightly, "You really trust me."

Meng Wan shot him a glance, "Don't ask such stupid questions next time."

If the Nie family were to act dishonestly, he would just eat this loss and refuse to collaborate on the next volume.

The three bookstores, Kongmo, Panshi, and Baojin, are deeply entrenched in Changping. Couldn't they have taken the thing from him, a mere young man? Yet they dutifully give him his share.

First, they are not short of money; second, they cherish their own reputation. Moreover, ordinary bookstores are willing to have long-term stable cooperation with writers to squeeze more profit out of him. How could they think of a one-off deal?

Nie Zhiyao took the book, skipped the front, and flipped directly to the end. "They still ended up with Mei Lang? What about Chang Ming?"

Meng Wan continued shelling his peanuts and was speechless at that. "The book is in your hands – why are you asking me?"

Nie Zhiyao then flipped from the back to the outcome for Chang Ming, the demon-subduing master, and said with a rare hint of childish dissatisfaction, "Why aren't Chang Ming and Xiao Liu together? They are clearly a better match."

Meng Wan almost choked on his peanut. Good heavens, Nie Zhiyao turned out to be a fan of Chang Ming and Xiao Liu being together.

"Alright, take the book home and read it slowly. This is my manuscript, take good care of it and don't lose it."

With a thud, Nie tossed the book in front of Meng Wan.

Nie Zhiyao said cautiously, "Better keep it yourself for safety. I'll read it when it makes its way into my family's bookshop."

Meng Wan raised an eyebrow and asked in puzzlement, "I am cautious because of my family background, but why are you so cautious about everything?"

Nie Zhiyao smiled bitterly. "Having a good family background doesn't guarantee everything goes smoothly. Sometimes these are shackles and burdens."

Fang Jinrong dared to say money smells of copper because he was naive and unworldly. But for a smart person like Nie Zhiyao to say this, he might really be held back by his family.

Meng Wan let out a sincere sigh on his behalf. "With your intelligence, you could either enter officialdom through the imperial exams or become a traveling merchant, and you would surely make a difference in either path."

Nie Zhiyao put away his worried expression and burst into laughter. "Your husband passed the xiucai and juren exams one after another, so you think the imperial exams are easy? If a bit of intelligence could pass them, they wouldn't be called one in ten thousand. Traveling as a merchant is even harder. Some bandits even dare to rob on official roads. Merchant caravans have to pay tribute to these wolves every year to ensure safety."

His ancestors had clawed their way up. The younger Nie offspring must listen to the family's rise to fortune every year, remembering the ancestral teachings to guard against arrogance and rashness.

Meng Wan retorted, "Never mind whether you can do it or not, I'm just asking you: if you could set up your own household, would you dare to venture out?"

Nie Zhiyao replied calmly, "I'd never dare."

Meng Wan turned his head to look at him.

Nie Zhiyao immediately added, "But I would marry a scholar without any family background, sit behind the scenes, train subordinates, and control the business."

Meng Wan stroked his chin thoughtfully. "What you said does make some sense."

"Any progress on the next steps?"

"Most of the preparations are done. Just wait for the new shop to open."

They exchanged a few more words, and a new storyteller came on stage.

"I'm sure everyone has heard of the recent sensation across Changping: the Guqing County Human Bones Case. Magistrate Yan of Guqing pursued it for half a year before finally catching the murderer. Today, we'll tell the whole story of this case."

The storyteller on stage set the tone, and with just a few words, he captured everyone's attention.

"As luck would have it, my wife has a close friend who married into Guqing County, and this case happened right next door to her house..."

Meng Wan was completely absorbed. This case had names and specific addresses, as if it really happened. That made it even more immersive, but the storyteller certainly embellished and exaggerated, such as now—

"That Er Lang bore a deep hatred for him. In a fit of rage, he raised an axe and hacked away wildly, sending blood and flesh flying, internal organs rupturing, and eyeballs split in two and smashed to pieces. Yellow-green bile stuck to the axe handle, then flowed down his hand and into his sleeve..."

"Ugh... retch..."

From Meng Wan's side came the sound of someone vomiting. He watched as a woman covered her mouth with a handkerchief, backed out of the booth, and ran out.

He turned around and saw Nie Zhiyao, pale-faced and said, "Which establishment hired this storyteller? In such poor taste."

"It's not that bad. Some people are really into it, right?"

There were people leaving because they couldn't stand it, but more were throwing tips onto the stage. Meng Wan also threw a few copper coins up, and even rubbed his hands together eagerly, thinking of making a collection of detective cases.

The popularity of 'Human-Demon Romance' pioneered the genre of supernatural romance stories in the Yu Kingdom. Others will surely scramble to imitate it.

Meng Wan's own writing ability is average; he merely seized the opportunity when no one else was writing such stories. Once those talented writers jump in, he won't be able to compete. No matter the era, there is no shortage of brilliant talents. He can only use a few clever strategies, taking advantage of the lingering popularity of Qingxiao Jushi, to come up with something novel and capture the market first.

After listening a little longer, Nie Zhiyao couldn't stand it anymore and excused himself first. Meng Wan, however, stayed with Bi Yun, thoroughly enjoying himself listening to the rest of the story.