Chapter 163 — The Third Place Scholar
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 2 of 4
Ji Yong changed into a brand-new straight-fronted robe of sapphire-blue Hangzhou silk and went to the Western Garden.
After a day of the palace examination, Ji Yong, sure enough, was named the third-place scholar, the tanhua.
Every aunt and distant uncle of the Ji family came to offer congratulations.
Yet Ji Yong felt a stifled anger in his chest that would not disperse, and his face was dark.
He took out the wooden hairpin he had carved for Dou Yan and gazed at it a long while, then with a "pa" flung the box into the corner of the bed and lay down on the reclining chair in his study, feigning sleep. Though guests crowded the house, not a corner of his eye or brow stirred.
Zixi and the others were frantic, yet none dared urge him to go receive the guests.
Lady Han came in, wearing a jacket of bright red silk embroidered all over with gold. Seeing Zixi and the rest standing at the study door, she lowered her voice. "What is it?"
Zixi quietly told Lady Han how Ji Yong had thrown the box holding the wooden hairpin into the corner of the bed.
Lady Han was both startled and pleased. She was startled that her son should indeed be so taken with the Dou family's fourth young miss; she was pleased that he might, for that very reason, be too embarrassed to appear before her—and in the long run, that might not be such a bad thing.
She was just about to instruct Zixi to take good care of Ji Yong when the study door swung open with a creak, and Ji Yong came out.
He showed no surprise at seeing his mother.
Given that he had not come out to greet those who had come to congratulate him this year, it was only to be expected that his mother should come look in on him, anxious as she was.
He nodded to his mother and said, "I will go to the front courtyard to receive the guests now," then handed the camphor-wood box in his hand to Zixi. "This is my coming-of-age gift for the Dou family's fourth young miss. Ride hard and deliver it to Zhending yourself."
His ease was so complete that it left both Lady Han and Zixi somewhat discomfited. Fortunately Zixi was quick-witted and soon smoothed away that trace of awkwardness, stepping forward respectfully to take the box and departing with an answering word.
Ji Yong had much on his mind and did not pay much attention to his mother and Zixi. When Zixi had gone, he asked his mother, "Would you like to sit in my room a while? I will change my clothes and go to the front courtyard."
"Very well!" What her son was playing at, Lady Han could not guess. She followed him into the hall.
It was five days later when Dou Yan received Ji Yong's letter. Having read the letter in the camphor-wood box, she could not help laughing aloud.
It happened that Suxin came in just then with fresh peach cakes from the kitchen. Seeing her, she laughed and asked, "What does Young Master Ji say in his letter?"
Dou Chu put the letter away, smiling. "He says that when the palace examination began this time, the Emperor strolled once around the great hall, and seeing that he was the youngest, looked him over closely twice. He suspects the Emperor never read his essay at all, and only named him tanhua because he was the youngest. He read the essay of the top scholar, Cai Guyuan, carefully, and it was not written nearly so well as his own..."
Suxin could not help laughing too.
Dou Yan tasted the peach cake and said, "Cousin Ji is still like a child. He knew my birthday was coming, yet he insisted on waiting until he had made the tanhua before sending a gift. If he had failed this examination, I daresay he would not have spoken to me for years. When all is said, he still remembers what I said about him and Dou Ming carrying on like fools."
Suxin nodded and poured Dou Yan a cup of tea. "This Young Master Ji may be very proud, but he is straightforward and open-hearted—which actually makes him easy to get along with."