Chapter 14
Chapter 14: That Brother Hong
“Ah, I finally found you!” The man wasn’t even through the door, but his voice charged in ahead of him. “Brother Li? Brother Li!”
Li Jin Zhu shook water from her hands and hurried to greet him.
Hong Zhen Ye met her and immediately bowed deeply. “This must be Eldest Sister. I’m Brother Li’s friend and same-year classmate. My surname is Hong, my name is Zhen Ye. Eldest Sister, hello.”
“I don’t deserve that, I don’t,” Li Jin Zhu said, flustered as she returned the greeting. “I heard Brother mention you. You’re Master Hong Er. Thank goodness for Master Hong Er—if you hadn’t helped, ah…” She stumbled over her words, then hurried on. “Brother is still not up. Master Hong Er—Master Hong Er…”
“Just call me Hong Er,” Hong Zhen Ye said cheerfully. Then he frowned at the stairs. “The sun’s already high and he’s still not up? Which room? I’ll go wake him!”
“I’ll wake him,” Li Jin Zhu blurted, and darted ahead of him toward the room.
But Hong Zhen Ye’s page had already shouted downstairs loud enough to wake the whole inn. Little Nan and Li Xue Dong were already scrambling inside.
They gathered up the papers from yesterday—the notes, the explanations, every ink-stained scrap—then searched the cramped guest room corner to corner until they were sure nothing had been missed.
Little Nan rolled the papers tight and stuffed them into her sleeve, then curled herself into the bed corner. Li Xue Dong straightened his clothes, took a breath, and opened the door.
“Congratulations, congratulations!” Hong Zhen Ye was still several steps away, already grinning and cupping his hands. “Brother Li placed sixteenth! I’ll be honest—I never expected it! Ting Feng! Bring the gifts!”
“I don’t deserve it,” Li Xue Dong said, tongue thick with nerves, face flushing red. “I was only lucky.”
“Hahaha! Yes, yes!” Hong Zhen Ye laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s exactly how you answer. Smart!”
He slung an arm around Li Xue Dong’s shoulders and started dragging him along. “Come on. Let’s go!”
“Where are we going?” Li Xue Dong yanked back so hard he nearly fell.
“Where?” Hong Zhen Ye drew the word out with a teasing lilt. “I forgot—you don’t know any rules, you don’t know anything. Listen. You passed, so today you have to go thank the gods at the Confucius Temple and the City God Temple. After that, we have to go to the Ping Jiang Guild Hall.”
He kept pulling as he spoke, Li Xue Dong stumbling along. “Since the list went up yesterday, the Kun Shan Merchant Guild and the Ping Jiang Guild Hall have been looking everywhere for you. Nobody even knew where you were staying! Then they came to me. They were smart enough to know to look for me—only I can find you. So hurry.”
“Thanking the gods takes copper coins, doesn’t it?” Li Xue Dong protested, clinging to the doorframe. “And why is the Ping Jiang Guild Hall looking for me? Tell me first. Don’t drag me like this.”
“Copper coins?” Hong Zhen Ye snorted. “You need incense and candles. What are you going to do, throw copper coins at Master? That won’t do.” He waved a hand grandly. “Don’t worry. I bought everything already. I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“Then you still haven’t said why the Ping Jiang Guild Hall is looking for me.”
“Hahaha, you!” Hong Zhen Ye laughed again. “Why would they look for you? You’re a xiu cai scholar now!”
He leaned closer, voice full of relish. “This year Ping Jiang Prefecture produced only six. Only six! And Education Commissioner Wei was ruthless—this year’s passing numbers aren’t even thirty percent of previous years. So of course they have to celebrate. Noon is the Ping Jiang Guild Hall celebration banquet. Tonight is the Kun Shan Merchant Guild celebration banquet. And tomorrow you still have to attend the celery-plucking banquet.”
He pinched the cloth of Li Xue Dong’s homespun short shirt, frowning hard. “Hey—did you prepare clothes for tomorrow? Don’t tell me you’re wearing only this.”
“I need to talk to Eldest Sister—” Li Xue Dong tried to twist back.
Li Jin Zhu, who had kept pace beside them, hurriedly pressed a few bits of silver into his hand. “Follow Second Young Master and learn.”
“Eldest Sister, don’t be polite,” Hong Zhen Ye said brightly. “Just call me Hong Er. We’re going now—don’t worry. I’ve got him.”
With that, he dragged Li Xue Dong out the inn door, where his pages helped bundle him onto a horse.
Little Nan slipped out and hid behind Eldest Sister, peeking around her shoulder as Hong Zhen Ye hauled Li Xue Dong away like an unruly kite.
Only when they disappeared down the street did Li Jin Zhu finally breathe out. Then she turned to Little Nan.
“They woke you up?” Her smile kept breaking through no matter how she tried to hold it back. “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Third Uncle left word at the counter—we can eat whatever we want.”
“Did Eldest Sister eat breakfast?” Little Nan asked, looping her arm through Li Jin Zhu’s. “What does Eldest Sister want?”
“You little kid,” Li Jin Zhu said, tapping her forehead. “Chicken-soup rice. Two eggs in each bowl.”
“Okay!”
Li Jin Zhu spoke to the shopkeeper and headed into the back yard—only to find a woman squatting by the washbasin, scrubbing clothes hard.
“Hey, that’s my—”
“Oh!” The shopkeeper rushed forward, all apologies and smiles. “That was my oversight. How could I let Eldest Lady do rough work? From now on, if you need clothes washed or water fetched, Eldest Lady only needs to say the word.”
Li Jin Zhu went stiff with embarrassment. She held Little Nan’s hand tightly and smiled back. “Thank you. When Third Uncle returns, we’ll thank you properly.”
“You’re too polite. Please sit and have tea first. The food will be ready in a moment.”
They chose a table in the corner. Soon a clerk brought two bowls of chicken-soup rice, a plate of shredded cucumber mixed with shredded chicken, and a plate of braised chicken offal.
“Eat more,” Li Jin Zhu whispered, lifting her egg to put it into Little Nan’s bowl.
“I have mine too,” Little Nan said quickly, holding up her own poached egg. “Two each.”
Li Jin Zhu paused, then laughed, pulled her hand back, and took a careful bite from her own egg as if it were something precious.
After they ate, Little Nan said, “Eldest Sister, Brother won’t be back until after dinner. Let’s go out and look around.”
“Okay,” Li Jin Zhu agreed immediately. She knew how much A Nan loved to see everything. This whole trip to Hang Zhou, A Nan had kept her eyes down and her mind on study, hardly daring to look at the bustle along the road. Now the exams were over—A Nan deserved to look her fill.
They left a word with the shopkeeper and went out together.